Twin Suns

by Feynna

First published 26th of July, 2020

Suddenly dying sometimes leads to you questioning a lot of things. I am Summer Sol, twin sister of Celestia Sol, and this is my journey. If only I could go through it with my beloved... but maybe I will find her again? Perhaps I never lost her?

Dying was... not exactly something I would have expected at my age. Even more so was the cause of my death. It was just so... random. Like something you would expect would happen to a protagonist in a book or a game.

But perhaps my own death was the greatest thing that could have happened to me. It cost me my humanity, my beliefs, my very identity... but I gained that much more for it. I realize now as I look back that this new life was meant to be. I understand now. Admitting to yourself you were never meant to be male was so very hard, so very maddening... and so very relieving.

I am the Summer Sun incarnate. My twin and I will have to face many challenges in a world that has yet to be united. At what cost that will happen, I cannot tell, but I dearly hope I won't ever have to lose my loved ones like I lost my family on Earth. I only wish the universe hadn't taken me away from my beloved.

Faced with species prejudice, how will my twin and I ever live a peaceful life? If there is one thing I know, it's that fate won't grant us an easy life. My name is Summer Sol and my twin is none other than Celestia... and perhaps even more, I'm not certain yet. Could it be you... Catherine? Oh, my beloved...

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This story was updated on the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

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Google Docs version can be found here

Also: Keep in mind that the comment section contains spoilers. You have been warned.

#-#-# 26. July 2020: Well... I didn't actually think this would get to the Featured Box on the front page. Thanks, my lovely readers! :3 #-#-#

Warnings:
Much like the My Little Pony Comics, this will have the occasional adventure through alternate universes (crossovers and such, mainly RWBY). Speaking of the comics, there are a few that get referenced a lot, so be sure to read those first if you don't want to be spoilered (mainly the comics pertaining to Starswirl's mirror portals). The same is true for the Journal of the Two Sisters. There will be a disclaimer in the chapter itself about which comic is being used and which universe I'm referencing/making a crossover of. It's not required to read the source material of the story, but it will spoiler it to varying degrees.

Keep in mind, Summer’s Earth isn't our Earth (as you might notice by the 'weird' history). Summer & Co.'s Earth is a mix of our Earth and two partial crossovers, those being RWBY and Fringe. Partial meaning that not everything from those universes is as they are in 'canon'.

Characters might act out of character, but I'm sure you will figure out why that is. *wink wink*

This contains smut every so often and there is ‘incest’. Technically. Reincarnation plays a big part in why that is, and... well... there kinda is a lot of character building based on that. Chapter three is controversial in the sense that Summer goes through puberty again, and puberty means estrus for ponies. You can figure the rest out from there. Just to be clear: Summer & Co. were adults in their previous lives, and while they may act like immature idiots from time to time, adults do what adults do.

Additionally, some other things also apply that might put off a few readers (sex-change spells, transgender themes, and whatnot). Bear that in mind if you want to give this story a chance. Sex won’t be a focus of this story, though, and there won't be any indicators as to when smut begins and ends because I believe it ruins the flow of the story.

On top of that, there are some rather difficult topics mentioned in this story. I'd appreciate it if you keep your mind as open as you possibly could and forgive me for the uncomfortable things that might happen. I promise you I don't enjoy making my characters go through such hardships and I implore you to not accuse me baselessly of something without knowing my opinion on certain matters first.

I do not own My Little Pony - Friendship is Magic. I own horse words, though. Kinky horse words.

Chapter 001 - Reborn in another world.

Author's Notes:

Welcome to Version 2.0! It took me a while, but here it is! This is more of an enhanced version than a complete rewrite. Meaning: most of the things are still the same (more or less), there are some juicy new scenes here and there, improved writing and dialogue and stuff, and some new mysteries that may or may not play a part in a sequel if I ever decide to write one (I do have an idea where to take it, nothing concrete yet, though).

Special thanks to everyone that gave the vanilla version a chance. I appreciate all the feedback I got (even the negative feedback, although some of you can go bounce on a cactus...).

Many thanks to everyone that gave this story a vote up, it helped a lot. Here's to hoping this reaches seven hundred votes as a birthday... uh... 'totally-not-important-day' gift.

And finally, thanks to my friends, PoneFluff, Moterius, and Feeritas. I'd be lonely without you. I mean it. You're my only friends that bother checking up on me.

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Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

So, I kinda died? Well, I don’t know how it really happened. One moment I was on my way home from a visit to my parents and then, snap, I’m dead. I’m pretty sure there was no other person around my vicinity and there were definitely no cars or the likes that could have just crashed into me or gone 'Boom!' and ended my life in a fiery explosion. Besides the possibility of getting killed by a sniper hiding in a ghillie suit for whatever reason, but that's just silly.

It probably was just instant death through a brain tumor, who knows.

Anyway, I’m pretty sure I wasn’t supposed to be able to think anymore, what with being dead. Or feel anything, for that matter. Sight wasn’t available to me, either, but I could tell I still had eyes (even if they felt weird at the moment). And whatever that sound was, it was slowly driving me insane. It was a constant beating that wouldn’t stop. At. All!

Du-dum, du-dum, du-dum! Argh, it was driving me up walls! If I knew where they were, that is.

But I was getting ahead of myself here. My name is... or was, Rudolph Baker. No, I was not a baker in my lifetime, and yes, people made jokes about reindeer around me. Not that I minded, I kinda found it funny, too. Sometimes. One can hear a specific joke only so much before it gets annoying, after all.

All in all, I lived a rather ordinary life with the usual drama everyone was used to in one way or another. I was a programmer for an indie games company, had a rather nice car (it was my wife's, don't judge me), and was lucky enough to have met the most amazing woman in the entire world (she's a bombshell that somehow fell for a scrawny, nerdy guy like me). We had two kids, one just over sixteen years old and a very special girl that was the jewel of my life. Both of them were, really, but Tabetha was a special kind of child. I swear, sometimes she was just too smart for her own good. It was honestly a challenge raising her while my wife was off to work on her career. My little Star would have started going to university way before what was considered normal next year and I meant it.

She was a prodigy. And not just any kind of prodigy but a true genius, one that only appears once every generation. She literally had the choice to go anywhere and every school tried to get their hands on her. And yet, she wanted to go to one that was close to home and where her sister could join her without too much difficulty. Those two were pretty close with each other and it was no wonder my youngest didn't want to be left alone. Rose was her only friend that understood her, and as far as sisterly bonds go, they were thick as thieves (I've had to put down my work more than once every day because they got it into their heads to play adventurers at home).

I had little hope Tabby would have been able to find friends at university of all things, so I went pretty easy on them and their antics, usually even joining in on them when I wasn't too busy with my code. I had the advantage of being able to work from home and didn't have a heavy workload most days.

Or had, I should say. Same with my little Tabetha. I have no idea how my death would affect her and her plans to go study. I had so much to look forward to with my family, and now? Now it was all gone.

My wife was suddenly a widow, having to take care of two kids all alone. Although my parents and her sister would, without a doubt, help her out, I’m sure of that. Mom and Dad always had a soft spot for my wife and our kids, they are going to worry needlessly over them until they drop dead from exhaustion next, seriously. They were kinda that selfless, at times.

I always tried to make them think about their own health first before committing to such large tasks as buying a farm so they had something to do when they retired. It was quite endearing, though. They would take good care of my family without needing to be asked.

My concern rested with the sister of my wife, though. While she loved my kids more than anything, perhaps a bit too much, she didn’t really see eye-to-eye with my wife most of the time. She and Catherine seemed to have a different definition of when someone was taken or not, constantly getting into fights with each other until I had to get involved and stop their petty squabbles. Catherine managed to win my heart without any difficulty and her sister (sorta) hated her for it.

I had no idea how her jealousy would affect her now that I was kind of(?) dead. I might be in a coma for all I know. Would she resent my wife for what happened? What about the children? How would she feel about them, now that I was gone from the picture?

What about the rest of my family? My wife must be totally devastated by now. And my daughters would certainly miss me a whole bunch, to be sure.

How would they react to my passing? Would they find out what caused my premature death? I’m sure I didn’t have any relatives that had serious illnesses that could give them a clue as to what I had. If I had anything, that is. Maybe it was divine retribution for something I did or someone just hated my guts for no reason and poisoned me.

I still haven’t ruled out the sniper theory just yet. Then again, I don’t think anyone hated me that much to hire a hitman because of it. There was also the fact I felt no pain at all as I died and found myself here. Wherever 'here' was, I mused glumly. The incessant beating never stopped, so I had to be somewhere, at least.

I wanted to sigh in despair, but my body was incapable of such an action. Wherever this place was, it felt like I was submerged in some kind of thick fluid (it had to be thick if I couldn't move, right?). For that matter, I was uncertain how I was still alive with no air to breathe. All that my body could do was twitch a little bit and that felt like a heavy workout already. I must have been here for quite a while before regaining consciousness if my muscles deteriorated this much, right?

Then again, my body also felt really numb. Too numb, to be honest. I couldn’t tell if my limbs were all there or not, so I just prayed I wasn’t drugged on some substance that left me fully aware but incapable of everything else.

Perhaps this was hell? I mean, it kinda was unbearably hot and loud in here. Being submerged in water and drowning was one of my greatest fears, so this might be a punishment for whatever sin I committed. Not to mention the fear of being trapped within my own mind...

Maybe I should have gone to church while I was still alive? If God just punted everybody to hell for not going to church then I’m not certain I would have gone, anyway. It’s not worth following someone willing enough to do something like that to everybody not faithful to him, in that case.

I wasn’t particularly religious, to begin with, and it just made me stick with my belief in science more. Science was at least something understandable and didn’t care about your morals. I preferred to live by my own morals, thank you very much.

This is what I get for believing in science, wasn’t it? There was no way I could just simply believe in some higher being when science debunked everything the church had to say. At least whatever devil was watching over me, this wasn’t as bad as it could have been.

While I feared drowning quite a lot, I didn’t want to be subjected to physical torture, so I found it to be better like it was now. The constant but bearable suffering instead of the constant and painful suffering. In all my forty years of life, I always thought I was a decent person... so, why was I here, then?

As time went on, nothing seemed to change much. There was the occasional muffled sound reaching my immobile body that I couldn’t quite make out, but it always brought a sense of peace with it. My theory of this being hell was starting to lose its weight more and more.

There could be no pleasant things in hell, could there? I mean, sure, there was the possibility of me being granted a small reprieve and getting it cruelly stolen away, but I don’t think that was what was happening here.

It could be a very elaborate trap, I thought. Perhaps they wanted me to develop Stockholm syndrome? But why go to such lengths if there were by far easier ways to accomplish something like that? Certainly not with the setting I found myself in, submerged in fluid, unable to move, and the drum beat that never stopped.

Du-dum, du-dum, du-dum. On and on it went. Never stopping, never ceasing. Always there.

My perception of time was also slightly skewed, I had no way to count the hours efficiently. One little slip-up had me counting anew and it didn't help that the sound of booming thunder made me lose concentration multiple times in a row, so at some point, I just gave up trying to stave off the boredom like that. Counting time just managed to make me go slowly mad, anyway.

I would take my chances with boredom, then. Lest I go crazy and write strange symbols on the walls (if I ever find them, that is). And any time I actually tried to reach out towards the walls of my prison so I could try and break free from this accursed place, it felt sluggish and oddly different. I tried to put my finger on it, but even that I seemed to lack nowadays. Whatever happened to me, someone decided to steal my hands for some reason.

A strange thing to do by my captor, I have to admit. Why would anyone even go so far as to cripple their prisoner like that? So they couldn't escape? A pair of cuffs would have done the job, too. Most of the time, that is. I didn’t know how to break free from those things, so they certainly would have been enough to keep me contained.

That is what I thought for a long time afterward. There was no way there could have been any other possible explanation but some kind of serial killer going around collecting hands for their sick pleasure. But as time continued on, I noticed my body was not normal. At least by human standards.

Well, I don’t think my captor thought it funny to stitch my hands onto my back and somehow make it possible for me to still feel some amount of dexterity from them. I wish I could actually see something here in my prison cell. I wanted to look at what they had done to me, but my desires were sadly left unanswered.

I also felt something that I shouldn’t have where the end of my spine was supposed to be. I tried to figure out what it was, but only came up with one ridiculous answer after the next. Sometimes, I even got it to twitch, which left me wondering for days before I gave up making sense of it. The only viable theory I had was too ridiculous to be true, and for that reason alone, I wanted to dismiss it by default.

Then, one day (at least I think it was during the daylight hours because I had the vague sense of my prison being moved around), I felt something poke me in my side with a nub of a limb. I assumed it was a limb, it had to be because it gave me the strangest impression of someone kicking me aside for more space.

Dread started to fill my being and I did my best to ignore the most likely answer to my newest theory. I wasn’t as alone in my prison as I had previously assumed, it seemed. Either this was indeed some scheme of a mass murderer going around stuffing people in tanks filled with liquid and somehow keeping them alive, or this was something even worse.

It wasn’t too hard to come to the conclusion that after dying I ended up in the afterlife. Whether it was hell, the psychopath with a hand fetish, or reincarnation, I didn’t feel great about any of those possibilities. All of them were equally bad, in my opinion.

I always thought that after death, there would be nothing that comes afterward. No hell, no heaven, no reincarnation. Nothing but the void of nonexistence. All of those feeble hopes were nothing more than wishful fantasies of people that were afraid of dying, hoping there would be something, anything, beyond life to make it feel less meaningless. I was realistic, though. The body had no such thing as a soul. I always believed that and assumed it to be the absolute truth. We would have found evidence of the soul with science already, would that have been the case.

What even was a soul, to begin with? Some imaginary component that allowed you to live on? Your very being? No, all we were was some data in the brain within our bodies, memories stored away until the time of one's own passing. After that, the brain would start to die, and with it, erase what you were with each memory gone.

I really had a bleak outlook on life, hadn’t I? I swear, normally I’m not this philosophical about it. Generally, I’m quite a relaxed person, open to everything and quite forgiving. My death must have changed that. That, or the boredom, I wasn’t too sure about that, yet. I swore to rein in the bit of depression I found myself in, I couldn't allow myself to fall deeper into it.

No need to get into the mindset of life being a waste of time, after all. I found life to be interesting and worthwhile, it would be bad if that changed. Also, my wife would be so disappointed in me were she to hear my thoughts right now.

I would hold on to my spark of hope as fiercely as I could, I decided. I won't give up on everything I held dear to my heart. Kindness, generosity, forgiveness... the joy of life itself, I won't let go of it, ever. I owed it not only to myself but to all those I left behind. I owed it to Catherine and Rebecca, to Rose and Tabetha... Mom and Dad. Even to my brother, Tobias.

Whatever may come, I will endure it with my head held high. It might get difficult here and there, but I will make it through. Hopefully. Maybe.

Despite my encouraging words to myself, I felt the hollowness creep in of a lie told to myself in a desperate attempt at keeping my sanity in one piece. I was doomed to fail, wasn't I? All I wanted was to wake up from this nightmare and go back to my loved ones. I didn't want this. I never wanted to leave everyone behind, I...

There was another poke at my side and this time I poked back, annoyed. I didn’t want to admit it to myself, especially after I was taken from my family so suddenly that I had only this eternal prison as a place to grieve my loss, but the longer time ticked on, the more undeniable it got.

My sibling didn’t help in my grieving at all. That was the only thing that came to my mind that made sense to me, which only proved to put on an even bigger strain on my stressed-out mind. There was no point in lying to myself anymore. Wherever I was, this body was a second chance at life and I would have to content myself with never seeing my loved ones again.

I died and reincarnated. I have to accept that or I won't ever be able to move on. Not that I wanted to move on, in the first place. I was happy with what I had, why did this have to happen to me?

That brought up the question of the soul, again. Perhaps there was some truth to it, something that could explain why I got this second chance. I always thought the brain was the only thing responsible for our memories, but... if I had a new body now, how could I remember my old life? This wasn’t technically the same brain, right?

This new life was a second chance I didn’t want, though. Not if it meant that I had to leave behind my family. And, I had to admit to myself, there was no mistaking it as my body continued to grow within this womb. I had been reincarnated... and I wasn’t human anymore. If the poking of my incessant sibling was any indicator, the limb was some kind of foreleg.

I’m pretty sure we were still mammals in nature. That was at least some kind of relief, even though it was quickly overshadowed by another fear of mine. Was I now in the body of an animal? The original belief of reincarnation had something to do with karma, right? So, how shitty was my karma that I ended up in this position?

That thought filled me with even more dread. I didn’t want to be some sort of dumb animal for the rest of my life. I liked my ability to speak very much, thank you. And what even was I? Something with hooves, going by the shape of said limbs?

Was I doomed to live my life on a farm, being a beast of burden? Would I be robbed of my own freedom? Or would I end up in some dehumanizing zoo, being stared at all day long by little children and their parents?

Please, for the love of all things holy, don't let me end up in a petting zoo. I don't want them to tug on my hair or... or ride on me! Please, I'll take hell over that! Anything but that.

Were those human voices I sometimes heard? Were those my new owners, me being a mere object in their eyes? Or was I destined to live my life in isolation as a lab rat? Constantly being experimented on for whatever reason and purpose...

I couldn’t take that reality, my poor existence wouldn’t be able to live with that. I would break, I knew that with a hundred percent certainty.

Instead of eternal torture in hell, a mass murderer with a questionable fetish for hands, or reincarnation as a human baby (heck, even the petting zoo would be more humane than my newest theory), I was some kind of genetic experiment in some unknown lab out in the middle of nowhere, wasn’t I? But for what purpose would these extra limbs on my back be needed by them? Was it an attempt at breeding a weapon for an obscure and far-off war that was more efficient than a normal animal? Why even use animals in the first place when you had soldiers and machines to do the dirty work for you?

Even more dread started to rise up within me as my mind wandered over to some rich guy wanting an exotic pet, deciding to create a hybrid out of different animals. What have I been turned into? How come no one was putting a stop to this inhumane experiment? Or have I been reincarnated so far into the distant future that this was a legal thing now?

Fuck, and here I thought people were panicking needlessly over the whole designer baby bullshit while I was still a human. Have they found a way to dramatically alter the genes of mammals so that something of this magnitude was achievable?

Suddenly, I didn’t want to ever leave this place if it meant living in captivity by some rich idiot thinking this was okay. Everything was better than that possibility. Fuck, I would take hell over this! Or the damn petting zoo! Or whatever other horrifying fate my mind could come up with, to be honest.

Another poke brought me out of my panic-induced mind. I tried swatting the offending appendage away from me, but nothing came from it. Well, in the sense of getting my sibling to stop, from the outside I heard what sounded suspiciously like giggling and happy mumbling.

That... that couldn’t be right. I was sure the giggling came from the being I was currently taking unwanted refuge in. Was this genetic experiment even more convoluted than I originally thought?

Or... was this something different entirely?

My mind tried to remember every little bit and piece I could about fictional characters being reborn. I had read a lot over the years, most of the books I had were gathering dust in our personal library in our home. And in all the books I had read over the years, there wasn’t all that much about reincarnation to be found in them.

It was either the slow way or some godly force playing favorites with an unfortunate mortal that caught their attention. And since I didn't believe in any of that, it must be a natural cycle of life and death, repeating endlessly. If that were the case, though... why could I still remember who I was in my previous life? What was different now?

Or did I get lucky? I certainly didn't feel all that lucky. Not after everything I went through, every fear and possibility I had to face to arrive at this point. I had frighteningly little information at my disposal. And yet, I knew more than I did at the start of this nonsensical journey. Nothing made sense anymore.

If this wasn’t some kind of experiment and my new mother was apparently capable of speech (or expressing feelings with giggles at the very least), then where was I? What place even had other sentient species aside from humans? Certainly not anywhere from where I came from, that's for sure. Earth was a vast place, but something like that would have been noticed ages ago.

The answer my brain provided me with was far more nerve-wracking than all my previous theories up to this point. While I have never heard of the concept of reincarnating as another creature as smart as humans, my thoughts went to those generic isekai novels my wife liked to read so much (it was almost like a drug to her). She would flip her shit over something like this, enjoying every moment of it. And then do something perverted like seducing her sibling out of grief, but that's another thing entirely.

She has her flaws, okay? I loved her regardless. Thinking about it... she probably is going to try something with her sister now that I am gone, won't she? Besides the multitude of other, even more perverted, things on top of that, that is. Sometimes I wonder what went wrong in her childhood for her to have turned out like that, but I had to admit that I loved her even more for it (not the 'making moves on your own sibling' part, though).

Haah. Anyway, enough of that, back to the topic on hand. Or whatever limb I now had. I wasn't too sold on the hooves idea just yet, even though it was the most likely one.

It was a popular trope in fiction, wasn't it? Reincarnated to a different world or universe. That was the basic concept behind those kinds of stories, wasn’t it? That meant that, not only was I now a child of some creature that apparently had weird limbs on their back, but I was also forever cut off from seeing my family. I couldn’t even see what future generations of my loved ones would have been like, had this been the future. No, I was entirely removed from that possibility.

This was worse than hell, a mass murderer, a petting zoo, some government experimenting on animals, a rich guy wanting exotic pets, and being reincarnated in the future all combined. My anguish lasted for what felt like months. All the while I was being subjected to the annoying touch of someone that couldn’t take no for an answer.

That really reminded me of my wife, sometimes. She also didn’t know when to stop, especially when it came to the topic of sex. It didn't matter where we were, she had no shame at all (seriously, she once asked me if I wanted her to suck my dick... at a restaurant! In front of the waiter, no less!).

Anyway! As time went on, regardless of what I felt about it, and I was left to quietly stew in my anger at the universe, it started to get tighter and tighter in our confines. I couldn’t hold on to my grief forever and I was getting tired of feeling miserable because of that.

Here I was, mourning the loss of something I would never be able to see again, wallowing in self-pity for such a long time my wife would have told me in no uncertain terms to get over it and start smiling again. Then she would have told me to have even more kinky sex, like the perverted idiot that she was. My perverted idiot, though...

I wanted to cry as I slowly began to feel acceptance of my fate. I have to accept that I wasn’t ever going back home, that I wouldn’t get to see my kids grow up into adults of their own right and grant me grandchildren. I knew my wife would move on eventually. Probably. Hopefully...

I felt angry that I was getting over this so easily as time passed on and the day of my rebirth came ever closer. I wanted to have my wife with me, so much. She was my rock, my everything. How could I go on without her? Life was meaningless without her at my side.

And, as I felt my body grow into the being that would see the light of day with entirely new eyes, I felt something even more devastatingly different about my body. It wasn’t the tail, the foreign limbs on my back, or the pointy nub on my head. No, it was what was between my hindlegs that changed my entire perspective anew.

I might have been someone that at some point wanted to know what it felt like on the other side of the fence, but coupled with everything that I had lost? I felt like laughing madly for the rest of time.

I was a friggin’ girl. A girl... pony? I think. I mean, my hooves (there was no mistaking it now that those were indeed hooves) were entirely too small to belong to a newborn horse. I mean... not that I knew how big hooves were supposed to be, I guess.

How was I supposed to feel about this? On the one hand, or I guess hoof now (pony-isms were kinda cute, gotta be honest here), I wanted to rage and kick and scream about the unfairness of the universe, but on the other one, I... felt kinda excited.

Excited to experience what no one before me could. At least, not to the degree of being biologically female from the very start. I felt... happy about this. Was this normal? I’m pretty sure it wasn’t. But it felt so... right. As if I was meant to be female in the first place and I never realized it. A deep part buried in my subconsciousness just clicked with the thought and I knew with absolute certainty I would never want to go back.

You know... this reminded me a lot of those transgender people I always empathized with. People don’t deserve to be born with the wrong sex, nor did they deserve to be treated like trash because of it. It was torture in itself that no one should have to go through. Sadly, even with modern medicine, it couldn’t replicate everything a body of the opposite sex had. Those people would never experience the joy of being a parent in the way they wanted. Not without jumping through a lot of hoops and a lot of heartaches along the way.

Bigotry was all kinds of bad for homosexual people already, transgender people had it no easier. If anything, it might be even harder for them to be themselves around idiots that constantly try to force them back into the closet and make them more miserable than before. It takes a brave and strong person to weather that kind of storm and still smile, even as they get denied that which they should have had from the beginning.

It was a hard-fought battle for each and every one of them. The right to be who they are, deep down. And in some ways, they were better off for it. I was envious of those that found the courage to look inside and recognize their true self. It took literally reincarnating for me to be able to do so. To even consider it.

And that was everything I could do, unable to change a thing about my situation. I started thinking. Thinking about everything in my life with a new perspective. A new and enlightened one.

For one thing... I always kept wondering what it would have been like had I been the one to carry our children... or at least one of them. A forgotten memory of a feeling resurfaced, a feeling of jealousy as I watched on as my wife carried our children instead of me.

I wanted to have what my wife had and I never could admit it to myself. I hid my feelings in fear of confronting my own desires, afraid no one would accept me for who I was.

I lived a lie, a farce, and I deluded myself into thinking I was happy with everything I had. That it was 'good enough' and that I didn't need to risk everything for the off-chance of being able to pass after forty years of life. While I wasn't exactly the most manliest man in existence, there was no way anyone could mistake my gaunt face for what it was.

And yet, despite all of that, it wouldn't have been too hard for me to make it work. I knew my wife would have supported me no matter what.

It was like a punch to the face. An ice-cold realization. A wake-up call.

I was transgender and never noticed it, not until now...

That would explain so much about my childhood. Feeling more comfortable around other girls, having an aversion towards fighting, sweat, dirt, and grime most of the boys didn’t overly seem to mind as much as I did, the occasional confused glance at some of the kids around me. Playing girly games and acting more feminine before I lost that spark of hope...

It would also explain why I dreaded puberty so much. The feeling of resignation as I grew into an adult, unable to change a thing as I had no idea what was making me feel these things.

All of that could mean nothing, in the end. But despite that, I was certain that some part of me knew, always knew, that something was different about me. That there was something that set me apart from everyone else.

The feelings of jealousy towards girls and other women as I grew up different than them. The fact that I didn’t think there was anything wrong with wanting to know what it was like to have grown up like they did, too afraid to voice out such thoughts. Sometimes I wondered what I would have looked like, had I been born female from the very beginning. Or if I had voiced out my feelings early enough to my parents. I could have avoided the wrong puberty had I known.

I really was transgender, wasn’t I? My heart told me I was right about this, but my mind rebelled against the idea. I loved my wife dearly, was that just a lie I told myself? That couldn’t be true, though! It couldn’t!

My mind was so occupied that I didn’t notice that something was changing around me. The confusion in me warred with every emotion, throwing me down a spiral of sadness and, oddly enough, happiness.

No, my feelings for my wife were never false, that I knew with absolute certainty. I might have been jealous of her, now that I think about it, but that didn’t change my feelings about her.

It was the body that didn't match my true self at the time. Had I been aware of my feelings in my previous life and gone through transition, I’m certain I would have still loved my wife with all of my heart. In no way could anything less have been the case, she was just the type of character that demanded someone to fall in love with her (much to the chagrin of her sister).

I knew with absolute certainty I would have still fallen in love with her, not only because I still felt attracted to females, but also because my wife was actually the perverted one in our relationship and wouldn’t have been stopped by me being a woman myself.

She would have even loved it, I’m sure.

Some of the things she had me do bordered on dressing me up as a girl so she could at least pretend for a while to be in a lesbian relationship. I don’t know why I hadn’t noticed then, but now I knew. I knew with so much clarity, making me want to hit myself for having been so oblivious to my own plight.

Fuck, I’m sure if I had told her I had the suspicion that I was transgender, she would have found a way to be a pervert about it. She would have even made me go through with it, just to sate her fetishes. I couldn’t have gotten mad at her for that, though (even if I wanted to), mainly because her intentions were always well-meant.

A slight breeze fluttered against my face and I felt something wrap itself around me. For a moment I was confused at what was going on, as it was the first real break from the routine of sleeping, being poked at by my sibling, and the constant flood of thoughts. And other bodily functions that shall not be mentioned.

Anything that broke the boredom was a welcome change I embraced with open arms. The feeling of coldness was almost alien now, not having experienced it in such a long while. Was I free now? Have I at last been released from the prison within my new mother?

As I opened my eyes for the first time, I happily noticed I wasn’t in the womb of my mother anymore. And while my newborn eyes were unused to the input of light and everything was kind of blurry, I could still make out a few things. We were in what appeared to be a small cottage and through an opening in the wall that could generously be called a window, I saw the sight of two suns in the sky, about to dip down below the horizon.

The loving faces of what could only be my father and mother greeted me with bright smiles. My mother was a beautiful mare, lacking the weird, fragile appendages I felt flutter at my sides, but a spiraling horn glowed a soft green color amidst a light blue mane. Her twinkling golden eyes looked upon me with pride and affection, while her dark blue muzzle was stretched out in a wide (but exhausted) grin.

“She has my mother’s eyes, dear. Both of them,” the deep voice of my father spoke in a deep commanding tone.

“And they have your color of hair,” my mother smirked and I noticed that yes, I did have his hair color. A bright fucking pink. Seriously? I might have realized I actually wanted to be a girl but that didn’t mean I wanted to go full-tilt feminine. Can I try my luck at reincarnation again? Anything just to be rid of this color scheme...

Argent Star, as I learned was his name, was a very tall stallion who had a pair of wings at his side. Bright white wings that shouldn’t be possible, by any means. I mean, a horn I understand, but what the fuck went wrong with their evolution that they had the possibility to have wings?!

That at least cleared away one mystery for me. Whatever I was, I was a cross between a unicorn and a pegasus. Chances are, my sibling has the same traits. I was a mini version of my father with a pointy nub on my forehead, and I wasn’t happy about that. Not one single bit. I didn’t want to look almost exactly like my new father, for fuck’s sake!

“What should we name them?” he asked her and Lunar Sky (that’s the name of my new mother, by the way) gave out a small hum.

“A good question, dear,” she answered. “I don’t think any of the names we thought of would do them justice.”

Her eyes followed my curious stare out of the window towards where the two suns were setting.

“How about Summer Sol for this little cutie and Celestia Sol for this mischievous filly?” she spoke up, setting me down beside the other bundle of cloth and fur.

“You’re naming them after the suns?” he asked her, a smile slowly spreading in approval. So, that was what they were called here? The Summer Sun, it’s a nice name if I have to say so myself.

“They are our little rays of sunshine, are they not?” she shot back, daring him to say otherwise.

“That they are. They are quite unique, don’t you think so? I don’t think I have ever seen a hybrid between the two tribes like that,” Argent said. “You don’t think they will be ostracized, do you?”

“I have no idea, dear,” Sky said, frowning slightly. “The tensions have been rising as of late. I don’t want to subject them to this unnecessary hatred.”

“We don’t have to fear for their well-being here, we are living quite remotely from any settlement. Should the tension get out of hoof and reach us here then we can always pack up and move further south,” he reasoned, throwing a reassuring wing over her back.

“I hope you are right,” she said, leaning into his side with a little nuzzle and content sigh. “For now, let us just enjoy this moment.”

“Yes, I imagine you must be quite tired after yelling so loud I fear you have scared off every bird in the forest,” he chuckled, ignoring the friendly swat of his wife. As I let out a little yawn, I heard them coo at the sight. “Seems little Summer agrees with me.”

“Her sister seems quite energetic, though,” my mother commented, watching my sister as she broke free from her loose bundles of linen. My eyes shot wide open as I felt her glomp down on my left ear and I began to squirm in discomfort.

The memory of my wife flashed before me, her doing the same in quite a similar fashion during the last few years. It had been a new development of habit that she had gotten after reading one too many adult novels.

She always developed new fetishes just to drop them later once she got bored enough of them. Before that, it was my chin. Don't ask.

Of course, the first thing my new sister did to me left me wanting to cry out in grief, sadness, and mourning. I felt despair claw at my small and very fragile heart, threatening to swallow me whole.

A green glow from the horn of my mother separated us two not a moment later. Argent was laughing silently all the while. At least one of us felt mirth at my discomfort, friggin' asshole. But, to be honest, I would have reacted the same way in his position so I didn’t hold it against him. Overly much, that is.

A few seconds later, I was also enveloped in the glow of what could only be magic, making me go wide-eyed at the feat with wonder and fascination. Not a moment later I got to see where she was taking me. My sister was already happily gorging herself on the milk from one of the teats in front of us.

Oh, for everything that was holy, this wasn’t really happening right now, was it? I mean, if my wife were in a situation like this she would happily go along with this, unable to repress the pervert in her. Or stuff herself for a minor piece of comfort, not unlike my new twin sister.

My stomach let out a pang as I was set down in front of one of Mom’s teats and my mind threw a fit at me. I couldn’t really consider doing what my body demanded of me, could I?

This was something I hadn’t even considered all this time within the womb of my mother, always thinking about things that wouldn’t affect me for years to come. How could I have been so foolish? Of course, the essential need for sustenance would have to be addressed as soon as I wasn’t passively leeching off of my mother anymore.

I was admittedly (and shamefully) suckling beside my twin as the hungry god within my tummy demanded to be sated. This certainly wasn’t how I imagined the first few moments of my life to be like. It was degrading and embarrassing, but I shut out the complaining part of my psyche as I guiltily enjoyed the taste of the milk.

Much to my dismay, my sister had no qualms about trying to take away my dinner, either. Were it not for our mother, she would have succeeded at that, too. I could already tell that she would be a pain in the flank to deal with in the coming years. Celestia proved to be just as greedy for food as my wife and it was just as adorable as her stealing bits and pieces from my plate during the many dates we went on.

I shut my eyes tightly and forced myself to stop comparing her to my wife. Going down that road only led to madness. And with me still grieving the loss of my beloved, that was not something I wanted to entertain.

Celestia was going to be her own person, damnit. Not some kind of replacement for Catherine, so I told my mind to take a hike and stop comparing them to each other. It was not fair of me to think like this, to either of them.

Celestia is not Catherine, end of story. I won't let this shadow get in between us and ruin this opportunity to get to know my sister as my sister and not this haunted memory of my wife. I won't treat her as someone she is not. I won't alienate her from me this early on in life. I have to be a good sister for her.

I have to accept the reality of my situation or I won't ever be able to live my new life to the fullest. I can't waste this chance to live life anew. My life on Earth ended, it's time I stop pretending I could go back and be together with my wife again. I can be a child again and learn to love somepony else, eventually.

The hollow feeling in my chest persisted as I made that vow to myself, refusing to fade away. And I fear it never would. I had given a piece of my heart to my wife and I would never be whole again without her.

For better or worse, I would have to learn how to live with that feeling. In a way, Celestia filled that void now and I swore I would never leave her side. She was too precious for me to abandon her only because of a few silly similarities.

After our first meal was over, we were placed in a crib together, and sleep soon followed after. And, as I quickly found out, Celestia was a clingy newborn. I didn’t mind the embrace by her, though. It felt nice and warm. A little smile graced both of our muzzles in our slumber and I felt a little bit more at ease knowing she would be there, growing up with me.

I could do without the wake-up call of my sister nibbling on my ear, though. And in the middle of the night, too. I let out a little whimper, unable to stop the tears from coming as I also felt the pangs of hunger start up again.

Damn this childish body. Damn Celestia for making me cry. Damn me for making her cry in return. Only she was the loud one, not helping my poor ears and stressed-out self.

I might have dealt with my daughters like the loving parent that I was when they cried to the high heavens and not complained about it, but this was an entirely different matter altogether. This wasn’t me taking care of a little baby, trying to figure out what it was that they wanted from me.

No, I was the child now and got to experience these things while perfectly capable of understanding what was happening to me, not like Celestia (or my first time as a baby, even though I don’t remember it). This was me filling the role of the newborn now, unable to properly address my need to the ones taking care of me.

Thankfully, our parents didn’t freak out trying to figure out what we wanted. It seemed Sky had a good mother’s intuition and was able to calm us down in record time. Seriously, I would have loved to have had her with me when I had my first kid. Perhaps it was something ponies knew on an instinctual level?

“You two are so adorable, my little fillies,” our mother whispered fondly after preventing my sister from going after my meal. Again. “Now, if you would just stop going after your sister’s meal, everything would be just perfect.”

After I was done and feeling satisfyingly full, I couldn’t help the little burp from escaping me. It managed to confuse me quite a lot. I thought horses (or equines, I suppose) didn’t do that. Were ponies here different in some way? I mean, it wasn’t a big thing, not like the whole ‘having wings and a horn’ thing or... you know... being reincarnated, but still. What else was different in that case?

As it turns out, ponies were also perfectly capable of throwing up after stuffing their stomachs full. I could have sworn horses weren’t supposed to be able to do that, either. It didn’t help that I now had a half-digested meal from Celestia all over me.

Way to go, sister. Way to go...

That led to us having to take a bath in the middle of the night. I could tell Mother wasn’t too happy with that, but she gave us the bath with a loving smile on her muzzle.

Celestia was having fun with the warm water and a bit later with the end of my tail. I really wished she would stop using me as her chewing toy. At least she left my wings alone as I was sure I wouldn't enjoy being chewed on there.

I guess in some ways she knew more restraint than my wife, huh? Yay for that...

Not long after our bath, we were back in our bed. Celestia managed to somehow drape herself right over my back and I found out that I didn’t quite mind as much as I thought I would. At least she wasn’t squishing my wings or nibbling on my ears this time around. Small miracles, that.

The next morning arrived in no time. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that Celestia hadn’t latched on to any part of my body with her mouth. Instead, I saw her with the end of the blanket in her muzzle. The sight was entirely too adorable to resist giggling about it.

It was something that reminded me of my own daughter when she was as little as we were now. She also had the habit of latching on to the blanket in her sleep, causing us to have to wash it every other day.

I even found myself starting to forgive her for throwing up on me last night. Not that I was capable of holding a grudge for long. Already I felt myself growing closer to Celestia, actually enjoying her antics. Who could say no to this cute bundle of fur and feathers?

Just like I couldn’t resist the charm of Catherine, Celestia weaseled her way into my heart in no time. Not in a romantic way, but in a sisterly way. I would do my best to be the best sister I could be to her. She deserved at least that much, and my own family would roast my backside if I ever managed to hurt my own twin.

Even if that meant never being able to deny her anything that she wanted. Celestia could beg me for one thing or another and I would say yes without hesitation. Something I dearly feared she would come to exploit a lot in our later years, and I was sure she would somehow find out about it sooner rather than later.

I was pretty bad at lying, after all. Saying no and meaning it? Yeah, that won’t ever come across as genuine. She would see right through it, I’m certain of that. If my wife was already notorious for doing so, Celestia would be just as able at it, I could tell.

I was an open book, what can I say?

As it turns out, our parents were also unable to say no to us. Over the following days, Celestia managed to break free from the confines of our crib by the use of the little appendages on her back. This also made me curious and soon enough we were absolute terrors to deal with.

I’m not sure how I would have coped with flying children in my previous life, but it couldn’t have been anything good. I mean, I already felt like we should be bound down to our bed so we couldn’t hurt ourselves. How far would I have actually gone to make sure that nothing happened to my children? What would I have resorted to if I was the one having to take care of someone like me?

We were absolute monsters to our parents. Well, more to our dad because he couldn’t do jack-shit to stop us from getting to the most impossible places with our little wings (serves him right for giving me pink hair). It was a miracle he wasn’t frothing at the corners of his mouth by the end of the first week, let alone the first month.

Celestia and I behaved like the curious children that didn’t know any better and lacked the definition of 'No' in our dictionary, constantly getting into trouble. At least, as long as our mother wasn’t there. She always managed to rein me in no matter what. I had to curse my childish body multiple times as I gave in to the urge of playing around like Celestia, managing to drive my father up the wall as he was unable to stop us like our mother could.

I was only slightly sorry for him, still not having forgiven him for inheriting his pink hair. I was fine with the white fur over my body, but I drew the line at pink. Seriously, why did it have to be pink? Paint my walls pink for all I care, I don’t want to live the rest of my however long life with pink hair.

Please, don’t let me die randomly again. I’ve had enough of that for a lifetime. The thought of leaving my adorable sister behind, too, would break my heart entirely. Let’s not dwell on such dark thoughts again, Summer. Remember the promise you made to yourself. No more 'life is meaningless'. You can do this. No biggie. Take a deep breath and pony on.

Wait... did I just call myself Summer?

I mean, it kinda is my name now. Why shouldn’t I use it? Although, it did leave behind a bitter taste in my mouth. Was I really ready to just throw away my old identity for this? Rudolph Baker was dead, that much was abundantly clear at this point. If there ever was a 'Rudolph' Baker, in the first place, that is. But still, was my old life getting less important to me now? That wasn't exactly my intention when I told myself I would try to move on.

Now that I think about it, in another time and another life, my human mother would have also named me Summer had I been a girl. Perhaps Rose to honor her old family name. It was the reason why I named my little petal after her.

This new body seemed very insistent on adapting to my new environment. When I thought of my mom, I thought of Lunar Sky instead of my human mom. Did that make me a bad person? Pony?

No, I wasn’t throwing away my old life. I was... merely accepting my new one, I decided. I was still the same person I was as Rudolph. I still loved my human family as much as the new one I had here. I just... seemed to latch onto the only source of comfort and safety for now.

My old family wasn’t here to help me through these more than tough times (and literally change my diapers, although I wasn’t mad that I had to wear those considering my body lacked the necessary 'practice' to... you know... keep it in). So, of course, I would feel that Mom meant Lunar Sky and not my old one. She was here right now while I had left behind a grieving family.

Their son was dead, I had to accept that. I couldn’t come back, and even if I could, they wouldn’t recognize me like this (not that I wanted to go back to pretending to be a man). I had a family here and a very loving one at that. Sure, Celestia was sometimes annoying, but weren’t all sisters supposed to be? I loved my family as a human and I vowed to love my new family just as much as a pony.

Now I wasn’t feeling quite as bad about calling myself Summer anymore. It didn’t feel like I was betraying my old self. Rather, I was honoring it. I would uphold the same ideals of kindness and generosity just as much as I did as Rudolph. I would keep that promise no matter what. It was everything I still had, I couldn't leave that behind.

I was still me, after all. Even if I was a pony now. And that pony would be a good role model for my sister if it was the last thing I did! She deserves nothing less of me. The thought of having a sister of my own filled my heart with warmth. If only Catherine was here with me. Everything would have been perfect in that case.

It would be better to not dwell on such thoughts. I know I can do it. I just... have to keep myself distracted from them.

Good thing life was never boring with Celestia around. And there were other things we could focus on to make things a bit more interesting for us, aside from playing with each other.

The first winter we experienced was unlike anything I had ever seen on Earth. Granted, it was extremely cold, that's for sure, but also exponentially more beautiful. Trees that previously looked so ordinary you wouldn’t have given them a second glance were now turned into crystalline sculptures that demanded your full attention and nothing less. It was like a piece of art painted by nature itself.

The small lake by our house was like a perfect mirror, reflecting the breathtaking view of the two stars from above. The glare of the suns that was reflected upon it made the surrounding trees and shrubberies sparkle, shine, and twinkle a brilliant yellowish red the closer it got to evening.

Our dad laughed at us as we pawed away at the falling snowflakes, gently drifting down from a single, large cloud up above. He had been gone all morning, doing whatever it was that he did in his free time. As he came back, though, he told Mom he had a small surprise for her and bundled my sister and me up in as many layers of linen as we needed to not freeze to death.

And then, he showed us the view we were all admiring now, steaming mugs of tea in front of him and Mom.

“Thank you, dear,” Sky said, resting her head against his. “It’s wonderful. And the fillies love it.”

“Of course,” he nuzzled her, a small smirk on his muzzle. “Anything for you.”

“Anything~?” she giggled, fluttering her eyelids at him. He let out a blush and I wanted to gag. Of course, they just had to go lovey-dovey on us and I’m sure I would hear them do it later in the evening after my sister and I had been fed and put to bed. “What do you say to lighting up a few candles and...”

A slimy tongue invaded the inside of my ear as Celestia managed to tune their conversation out and for once I was glad that she did so. I let out a squeal, squirming around in her grasp, and she continued to abuse my ear to her heart's content even as I felt the chill of the air make my fur stand straight up. Pretty sure that was also something that ponies shouldn’t be capable of, but I didn’t care at the moment. Maybe we were part cat?

Celestia let out a happy hum, making me giggle from the vibrations running through my ear. I gave up on breaking free from her after that and stayed still in her embrace, quietly suffering through her affections. I might have been tempted to think she did this on purpose, but that was just a ridiculous thought, wasn’t it? That would imply she was way smarter than I gave her credit for.

All the other times she acted like any other child would have spoken against it, and I desperately held onto that notion. Otherwise, it would mean she knew perfectly well what our parents were talking about and that was in no way okay in my mind.

She hadn’t seen them do... that... had she? Oh, please, don’t let her be traumatized by that, already! I’m not certain that she could even understand what that act meant, but I have been wrong about so many things concerning ponies, for all I knew they knew what reproduction and sex meant at an early age!

I wanted to throw up. I needed brain bleach, seriously. And then I needed brain bleach for my twin because that shouldn’t be something she should have memories of. Fuck, those were memories I never wanted, either!

I felt myself get lifted off the ground by the familiar humming sound of our mother’s magic aura and we were brought back into the house where it was cozy and warm. Mom settled down in front of the fireplace, presenting her teats to us as she had done so often by now. I’m not sure when we would finally get to drink from bottles, I couldn’t wait to stop myself from feeling embarrassed each and every time we had to eat.

Celestia had no qualms about greedily sucking down the liquid from within them, though. And if I didn’t hurry, there would be nothing left for me and my hungry tummy. Or the angry god that slumbered within.

“Not so hasty, little one,” Mom giggled, eating from her own plate Dad provided for her. Argent had put one of his large wings over her back as they watched us with pride and fondness. Celestia disregarded her warning, still going at it like she was about to starve and then some.

“You will have to watch out for that one, dear,” Argent snickered, munching on whatever he and Mom were having for their meal. It looked a bit like fish, but I wasn't sure. Ponies don't eat meat, do they? Or this was another one of those weird differences I have noticed so far. “If she continues on like that, she will throw up again.”

“Not on my watch, Argent,” Sky shot back, looking back at him with an upturned muzzle. Thankfully, Celestia didn’t throw up on either of us, so there was that.

Speaking of throwing up, though, the thought of a pony with their muzzle buried in the guts of a poor deer did make me queasy, quite a lot. I could do fish if I have to, but cute little innocent animals? Those I could not do. At least... not when I have to watch them die... begging me with their big eyes to have mercy on them... not knowing if they had children of their own to look after...

While there were some fish that looked nice from afar, up close... those soulless eyes were unnerving me to no end. I would lose no sleep over eating those. Not that I was a fan of fish, in the first place. The taste was... kind of weird. Maybe my new pony tastebuds might change that.

And fish rarely cared for their offspring, so... they are soulless monsters. End of story.

Anyway! The days were thankfully quiet following our little day trip to enjoy the snow while it lasted, the only thing that managed to break the monotony was Celestia continuing to harass my ear. Thankfully, neither of us ever witnessed our parents have their... ahem, alone time... and I was immensely glad for that.

What I wasn't thankful for was the lack of noise-canceling headphones. I really do not need to hear their passionate cries, moans, and grunts every other day. I made sure to be an extra difficult child whenever they got a bit too out of hoof with their fun time, just to enact my terrible vengeance on them.

It ended up being more cute than anything, making them d'aww and chuckle at me. I gave up on getting my revenge pretty soon after that. What use were my tantrums if they didn't see them like that?

Another notable thing that happened was Celestia lighting up our bed with bright blue flames soon after that, causing our parents to panic for a moment. The giggling coming from my twin managed to calm them down (somewhat) and seeing that the flames didn’t actually consume us in a fiery blaze was cause for relief.

That begged the question though, how did Celestia do that? I had no luck with accessing my own magic (yet), so I wondered what she did differently than me. At least Mom was able to extinguish the flames before they actually grew out of control and started to burn things.

And continuing that disaster, Celestia turned our cushions and toys into plush versions of ourselves because random bursts of magic were apparently more prone to show in early foalhood once you started using your horn. Mom was giggling for days at the sight of our bed having been flooded with stuffed plushies looking so much like us you had to search through all of them to find our giggling selves.

After that, I actually got the hang of some basic telekinesis, as well. It was surprisingly easy and instinctual, requiring only the desire to hold something aloft that made my horn light up in a golden aura.

That brought about an entirely new era of mischief on behalf of my twin and myself. Dad had no chance against us as I levitated the plushies around that Tia created with the stuff I offered her.

Our army was vast. Our army was strong. Our army was endless! Mwahahaha! None shall stop us!

Suffice it to say, our mother put a stop to the antics of me and my sister after it started to get out of hoof. I was left pouting grumpily to myself while Tia happily returned to munching on my ears again.

There goes all my fun...

Chapter 002 - The cold icy chill of winter.

I snuggled deeper within the embrace of my sister, trying to escape the blasted sunlight streaming in through the window. I had no idea how the physics behind it worked out, but two suns were worse than just the one I woke up to on Earth. It didn't help that our window was also on the side where the morning suns rose above the horizon. Even the curtains were useless even while closed. Stupid sunlight being too strong. Stupid curtains being too thin. Stupid nonsense solar system. Stupid everything.

Seriously, what does the orbit of this planet look like? As far as I can tell with my limited understanding, the two suns rising up in the sky were impossible. That’s it. They couldn’t possibly maintain their position in the center of the solar system like that and not crash into each other. Both of them never seemed to change positions every time I observed them. Not even remotely at that. They were always exactly the same distance away from each other. There wasn’t even a change in perspective as I observed them over multiple months. Impossible, I declared defiantly in my mind. Utterly impossible.

Unless they were orbiting the planet, which was such a ludicrous idea to even consider, they were not possible. End of discussion.

Celestia glomped down on my ear, making me giggle and shriek at the same time. I struggled to get out of her grasp as she continued to happily gnaw on my appendage without a care in the world. I whined as she began to lick the inside of it, subjecting me to this disgustingly wet torture early in the morning. Like the hundreds of times that she had done so in the past. And the hundreds of times she would no doubt continue to do so.

“My, my, already up, huh? What are my little fillies doing?” the voice of our mother reached us and I squinted up at her frame, silhouetted by the suns’ rays. She looked like an angel coming to save me. I turned my big pale magenta eyes up at her in a pout, but all she did was smile at our antics.

You will regret not helping me, dear Mother. One day soon, I shall inflict my terribly cute vengeance upon you and you will die of a heart attack because I am too cute for this mortal shell to contain my true might! None shall stop me! Mwahahaha!

"Aww, look at you, my cute widdle Summer Sun!" Mom giggled, patting my head.

Shoot, she resisted my charm!

“Honey? Are the foals already awake?” the sleepy voice of our father asked, making Mom turn her head to face him. I continued my struggles futilely against my sister who held on to me with no effort at all. Damnit, foiled by my own sister! I shall have my vengeance... later.

“Sure are, sugar,” she grinned. I swear, she delighted at my suffering. A true monster, I tell you. “And you really need to see this.”

“Oh?” Argent Star said, coming up to her side. I gave him the same pout and the only thing he did was chuckle at my misfortune. Ugh. My parents are monsters. Both of them!

“Tia!” I whined, as now my other ear got the same treatment as the other one. My parents stared down at me in what I could only place as awe. Well, the secret was out, I guess.

“Her first word!” Mom bounced up and down. “And it took only nine months! Oh, look at you, my little cutie!”

I continued to glower as now my horn was subjected to the same abuse next. Curse you, Tia! You win this time.

“Now I’m sad. Here I hoped to hear her say ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad’,” Argent commented lightheartedly.

“Just wait until Celestia says her first word. I’m sure she won’t disappoint you, dear,” Sky giggled, resting her head against his as they watched on as my own sister molested me. Damn you, horn! Why won’t you work when I want you to?!

Regrettably, my pleas fell on deaf ears as my horn continued to be stubborn. Okay, then no levitation... it's not like I need you! I can get out of this with my own mighty (nonexistent) strength, just you wait and see!

Alas, struggling against my sister was just as futile as getting my horn to work and my parents were total jerks today. Betrayed by those I hold dear to my heart! Oh, the horror! Why won’t anypony help me?

I let out a dejected sigh, venting out my frustration. I swear to everything I hold dear if Celestia wasn’t this cute...

Grumbling noises aside, even she wasn’t in the mood to let go of me today, it seemed. Normally I would be free by now, whether it was because I broke out of her grasp or she decided to let me go after having had her fill of molesting me.

Damn you, Catherine, for making me like it. Damn you, Celestia, for continuing where my wife couldn’t. And damn my parents for watching me squirm in her forelegs. Monsters.

It took a while, but our parents finally decided to have mercy upon me and lifted us out of our bed. Celestia was already running around as soon as Dad set her down while Mom wiped away all of the slobber my sister left on me.

“There we go, squeaky clean again,” Mother said, smiling softly as I rubbed my muzzle against her leg gratefully. “Aww, I love you, too, my little Summer Sun. Let's get some yummy food into you, hmm?”

With a quick use of telekinesis, I was sitting atop her withers admiring the view. Celestia soon joined me as we rode out towards the terrace, our mother heating up some milk in our bottles with her magic.

I valiantly defended my bottle against my twin. Although, as Celestia stared sadly at her empty bottle, I felt bad. So, being the good sister that I am, I gave her my half-empty one. It was worth the look of happiness on her face and our mother shook her head in mock despair.

“You have too big of a heart, my little one,” Sky said, taking away the bottles before Celestia decided they could be thrown around. She sometimes did that, I've got no idea why. My sister really had a short temper at times. At least I was able to calm her down most of the time by letting her chew on my ear, much to my own discomfort.

I think it was a ploy on her part, to be honest. Catherine also used all kinds of underhanded tricks so she could have her way with me. Little deviant that she was. It left me feeling slightly empty, remembering her like that. Perhaps that was why I was giving Celestia all of these things. She was so similar to my wife...

Come on, Summer. Stop that line of thought right there. There's no need to get mopey all over again. You are past that. Remember to keep your promise. Celestia is her own pony.

Maybe Mom was right, but who wouldn't dote on such a cute sister? It was almost a crime not to show her favoritism.

“Tia,” I simply answered as if that would explain my overly kind behavior and she rolled her eyes at me.

“Yes, you love your sister very much,” my mother tittered. “But that doesn't mean that you have to give her everything she wants.”

“Tia!” I shot back, trying to convey how I would do everything for her. Mom nuzzled me affectionately in response. “Tia?”

“Of course, my little Summer Sun,” Sky giggled and turned to also give my sister a nuzzle. Said sister giggled happily at the display of love and I felt satisfied. “Now why don’t you go play a little with your sister while I get myself something to eat, hmm?”

Once more we had the pleasure of taking a ride on the back of our mother as she brought us back to our bedroom. Celestia immediately set on playing with the blocks of wood while I sat beside her and pushed the blocks back her way as one crude tower after another lost stability.

My sister seemed to be having a lot of fun with that, it was quite adorable. So, I helped her try and build a more stable construction that wouldn’t fall apart after a few seconds, feeling the joyful buzz of my golden magic help us with our task.

It wasn’t long before my sister lost interest in the blocks and instead tried to get the ball from the shelf. Our father had put it away and out of reach after the last time we had demolished parts of the kitchen with it. Too bad we couldn’t fly in our room anymore after Mom had put up some kind of magic ward to prevent us from the more riskier shenanigans we could think of.

I tried to get it to come loose with my magic while my horn still complied with me. And, as it turns out, that was a big mistake. As I poured more and more mana into the quickly flaring aura of my horn, the formerly stuck ball shot out like a cannonball and broke through the wall with a loud cracking noise.

The noise surprised me so much that I didn’t notice my magic going out of control before it was too late. The commotion attracted the attention of our parents and the eyes of my mother shrank to pinpricks as she saw what was about to happen.

“Quick, Argent! Get Celestia out of here!” she shouted, powering up her own magic as the first bolts of wild magic jumped away from me as I let out a frightened squeak. “Summer is about to have a surge!”

Tears streamed down my face as the build-up of magic made my head pound painfully as if someone had decided to crack it open like an egg... from the inside. I shrieked as I felt myself become weightless and then everything got even worse.

Magic exploded away from me, and through the pain, I was just about lucid enough to notice that my dad and sister were a safe distance away. My mom was doing her best at containing the surging power being unleashed from my body. It almost felt like the blood in my veins had been replaced with rampaging magma as the out-of-control mana rushed through every part of myself.

I was going to burn to death and everything else around me would follow suit until nothing but ashes remained...

Like the frightened child that I now was, I cried out for my mommy to come and save me. The entirety of my body crackled with magical lightning and fire as parts of the walls got scorched, toys came to life, unused diapers flew around in a hurricane around me, and stuffed animals exploded into fluffy bits and pieces, catching fire immediately. Nothing was going to be left untouched. Nothing except my mom.

“It’s too dangerous, Sky! Get away from her!” Argent shouted, fearing for the life of his wife. One of the magic bolts impacted the doorframe, scorching it a deep black while smoke rose away from it. It didn't catch on fire, thankfully.

“I’m not going to let Summer die because of this, Argent! I’m not losing another foal! Not again!” she snarled back at him. I felt the tears on my cheek vaporize as unbearable scorching heat began to emit from the core of my very being. Heat was everything that I was and there was no end in sight. The font of my power was drawing in more arcane energy from the world around us than it could safely hold, threatening to tear itself apart and me with it. Everything felt so hot and frighteningly cold at the same time.

Almost like nothing could match my heat, leaving me feeling paradoxically cold. I wanted it to be gone, for it to stop and go back to normal. But I knew nothing would ever go back to the way it was. Not if I didn't survive this.

“Mommy!” I croaked out and I felt like throwing up any second from now. Everything was swimming around in my vision and I had to concentrate to stop myself from seeing duplicates of my mom. Or seeing duplicates of anything else, for that matter.

“I’m here, my sweet little Summer child. I’m here,” her voice reached out to me and a hoof made contact with one of my forelegs.

“Ow,” I said, the sounds my mouth was able to make were still limited to very simple things. It was all I could say to convey the anguish I was feeling right now and it seemed my mother got the meaning behind my word.

“I know, sweetheart. I know. I'm here, don't be afraid,” she said and her smiling face came into focus right in front of me. All over her body were scorch marks and I felt bad for having hurt her so much. “Don’t fight my magic when I reach out to yours, okay? I know you might understand very little of what I’m saying to you right now, but I know you’re a smart little filly. Can you do that for me? Can you be brave for me?”

Oh, Mom, if only you knew. I tried so many times to tell you that I was perfectly capable of understanding you, but all you ever did was smile and think me a prodigy. I really love you, you know? You’re always there when I need you, just like now.

I gave her a nod and she looked surprised and relieved at me. And as I felt her magic prod at mine, I gave her the utmost trust I could and let her manipulate my out-of-control magic.

Slowly, the unbearable fire in my chest dimmed down to an ember of its former power and everything in the room returned to relative normalcy. As normal as it could be, I guess. There was a lot that would need to be replaced or repaired, but the house was still in one piece thankfully.

“No more magic without supervision,” Sky muttered to herself as I gave her a very grateful and teary-eyed hug. She returned my gratitude with motherly compassion and I felt Celestia nudge my side that, in a way, asked if I was okay now. So, I glomped her and did what she normally did to me.

It was slightly disgusting to my tongue, but I did it anyway to cheer her up. The taste of her ear wasn’t anything that I could wash out of my mouth anytime soon. I couldn’t understand what my sister found so great about it, or even my wife once upon a time. It felt great making her laugh and squeal, though.

Mom and Dad watched our sisterly bonding time with fond smiles and for once I wasn’t bothered in the slightest by Celestia returning the favor. It was her particular way to show affection and how could I hold that against her?

And so the days continued on and seasons changed from one to another. Celestia said her first word not long after I managed to do so, which left our father feeling quite happy that she said ‘Dadda’ to him. I could already tell she would have him wrapped around her little hooves in no time.

Not unlike how I managed to wrap our mother around my hoof. What can I say? I am irresistible. Ponies, in general, had the great advantage of looking cute no matter what and I learned how to weaponize that.

I shall take over the world and nopony will be able to stop me! Ah ha ha ha! Yes, bow down to your future mistress, pitiful mortals! I shall be queen! Mwahahaha!

Ahem! Anyway, our parents managed to repair the house with no difficulties at all, even making some additions to it. One of the new rooms would be used for magic practice and was therefore especially reinforced with wards and runes. I tried my best to understand what each rune meant that Mom set up, but it wasn’t an easy task that I set for myself. The only one I figured out was a force negation rune and that was only due to seeing the piece it was on fall down to the ground and not make a dent in the floor.

Another one was apparently meant to contain my flames if they ever got out of hoof again, but I had no idea which one it specifically was. Mom really wasn't taking any chances with this and I knew I wouldn't be looking forward to what her training in regard to our fire affinity would entail. Our blue magefire was more or less harmless as long as we didn't expressly wish it to burn things, but that uncontrolled raging flame simmering inside me? It would leave nothing but ashes in its wake, I knew that with absolute certainty. Had Mom not been able to contain its power... I don't even want to think about what would have happened then.

Clearly, our magic was dangerous and we desperately needed to learn how to control it, even in stressful situations. But that wasn't everything we needed. We were sorely in need of a distraction to wind down and relax after that fiasco. Good thing there was one coming right up: our first birthday.

It was a great and momentous occasion. Celestia absolutely loved the cake, practically devouring almost all of it were it not for Mom and Dad holding her back. I had no idea where she put all of that, she wasn’t even getting the slightest bit pudgy from overindulging in her eating habits.

For a birthday present, we both got matching armbands with sun motives. It was my most cherished treasure now, and Celestia never left our bed without it. Mom even enchanted it so it wouldn’t ever get destroyed and always fit around our fetlock, no matter how much larger we grew.

Then, the weeks started to blur together more and more as our routine barely differed between days. Dad was out working our own little garden that could generously be called a small field. Mom took care of us most of the time when she wasn’t busy weaving new pieces of cloth, enchanting them while she did so. Tia still molested my ears and I continued to learn by observing my parents' work.

Mother oftentimes let us watch from the porch as our dad did his work on the small field. We were cut off from civilization by quite a distance as I learned and lived a quiet and humble life without having to bother with what little I caught between our parents about the rising tensions between the pony tribes.

Apparently, even in this world, there was racism. Or tribalism, whatever it was actually called here. I just hoped it would stay far away from us. My parents shared my view of it being a stupid thing to get riled up over, especially as we found out that my sister and I were a mix between all three tribes and not as we originally thought a hybrid between unicorn and pegasus.

It was a shocking surprise to see my sister make a sizable dent in one of Dad’s tools by accident (with next to no effort, as well!). That brought out the scientist in our mom and we found out where our limits currently were. Suffice it to say, we had the stamina of a fully grown pegasus mare, the strength of an earthpony stallion, and as we learned from my surge, the magical capacity to turn the forest into ash if we really wanted to.

That brought about a frenzied redesign of our training room to make it more sturdy in case we got even stronger as we grew up. Unless we surged on purpose, I think it was a bit overkill, but I wasn't one to argue. I'd rather be on the safe side and not wreck our home again.

Tia and I were playing around in the snow as winter arrived. Or so I thought, but my parents seemed to think that the snow shouldn’t have been possible. I wasn’t entirely sure why they thought it unnatural that it began to snow by itself.

By now we were old enough to actually speak coherent sentences and I noticed our mother gaining a little bit of weight. While I wanted to chalk it up to the preparation for winter, I noticed the warm smiles she directed at her belly every once in a while.

I didn’t know how to feel about getting a little sibling and Celestia was, as it seemed, oblivious to what was going on. On the one hoof, I felt a little bit excited about getting a little sister or brother as I only had a big brother in my previous life. On the other hoof, though, I was getting a bit anxious with what I felt was a civil war looming on the horizon.

And, as the months passed on unhindered, we noticed that the winter didn’t want to go away. All the while our stored food reserves were slowly beginning to dwindle away to nothing.

“Mom, what’s going on? When will the snow be gone?” I asked her one day, and by now, there was a sizable bump showing on her. It was unmistakable, a clear indicator that she was due any day now.

“I don’t know, my little Summer Sun,” Mom smiled reassuringly down at me and my sister. We had grown a lot over the last few years and we were learning all kinds of things from our parents now. While the farm work had practically come to a stop, we still learned things from our dad about our pegasus heritage and magic under the supervision of our mother's watchful eye.

As it turns out, pegasi can control the weather. Which kinda clued me in on the reason why my parents thought this winter was unnatural and shouldn't be a thing. Everything in this world needed to be micromanaged, even the heavens as it turns out.

Among some of the things Dad taught us was fishing. Not just fishing, though. No. He taught us fishing pegasus style.

I was not a fan of it. At all.

Apparently, some of the pegasus cloud cities floated over the ocean and the only way for them to get food was to dive into the water below and use their pegasus flight magic to swim incredibly fast underwater.

Ponies can do a lot of weird stuff, can't they? Maybe pegasi are part seals? Wouldn't surprise me.

“When will Dad be back?” Celestia asked, staring longingly out the window. We had actually gotten around to trading for glass panes with the distant village in exchange for some of the harvest we managed to bring in, so we didn’t have to worry about the snowstorm getting into the house.

Not that it helped keep the warmth in, hence the need to get as much firewood as possible. Dad had a natural resistance to cold weather, so I knew he would be okay. Hopefully.

“Soon, dear,” Mom answered, also a bit worried by how long Dad was already out there getting more fuel for the fire.

“Should we go look for him? What if he is lost? Maybe he can't see because of all the snow!” I asked as panic set in and I hopped up beside my sister at the window sill, trying to look out for the lantern he took with him. I think I saw a flicker of red and yellow, but it was gone in the next moment. Or I just imagined it, seeing that nothing happened afterward.

“Dear, I don’t think that is such a great idea,” Mom said, grunting slightly as she felt a kick in her womb. “Oh, dear, the little rascal is quite active today, huh?”

“Are you alright, Mom?” my sister and I asked at the same time and we turned to face each other with surprised looks. Celestia shot me a playful grin and I returned it with a smaller, concerned one. I was getting afraid something bad might happen with Dad still out cutting wood and Mom's pregnancy nearing her due date.

“Yes, I’m good, my little rays of sunshine,” she said, although judging by the grimace, it was a lie. My ears splayed back in worry. If our little sibling came to the world now, all she would ever know is this little house and the eternal winter.

I didn’t want that to happen at all, I thought grimly.

A thud at the door caught our attention as it opened up with our snow-covered dad stumbling in, chattering with his teeth as a small mist of air escaped his lungs. Tia and I ran over to him, asking him if he was okay and why it took him so long to return.

“No worries, my little fillies,” he answered us, shaking the snow from his body. “I was merely held up by some ponies getting too close to our home.”

Mom looked at him in alarm hearing that little bit of news and even I felt like he wasn’t telling us the whole truth about that. That was something we really didn’t have the time to worry about, and who knew what their intentions were. I could tell that Dad hadn’t really talked with them, he was more of a silent observer if it came down to it.

“Dear, I... I think the water broke,” Mom suddenly interjected and I turned around in surprise seeing a puddle forming under her. Now?! I wanted to feel happy about this, but the looming threat of what I felt could only be raiders of some kind wasn’t easing my feelings about this.

The bad feeling I had suddenly got worse. I wasn't just afraid for my unborn sibling anymore. With these strangers so close to our home, I feared for all of our lives.

“We will get through this,” Dad said reassuringly, helping our mother to her hooves. “Girls, could you be so kind as to get some towels and a bowl of warm water?”

“On it, Dad!” we shouted, already scrambling to get the requested things as he led our mom to somewhere a bit more comfortable than the floor.

I filled the bowl with as much water as I thought we would need and heated it up with one of the charms my mother taught me. As I turned around, I saw Tia already with a veritable mountain of towels in her grip.

“Come on, Tia!” I said, galloping towards where I heard our mother scream at our dad that he was at fault for ‘knocking her up’ again and I could tell that my sister understood what she meant, her cheeks lighting up in a rosy red tint. Sadly, I also knew what that phrase meant and it left my white muzzle a deep, cherry red.

Way to go, Mom, for giving me these disgusting images. I wanted to gag at the thought of them, well, doing it, but I suppressed the urge. Now wasn’t the time for that, anyway. Let's hope everything ends up being alright...

Dad wanted to shoo us out of the room after we brought him the requested items, but I was insistent on staying with Mom and helping keep her calm. Tia was a little bit scared, just as much as I was, although she stayed with us after seeing me not budge from our mother’s side.

And, as the hours passed well into midnight, pained screams turned into relieved laughs as our little sister finally came to the world. She had the hair color of our mother and a slightly lighter fur color, twinkling turquoise eyes stared out of the bundle of clothes Dad had wrapped her up in and babbling noises greeted us with a quiet fascination at what she saw around her.

“Celestia, Summer, meet your little sister, Luna Nocturnis,” Mom said, a proud smile on her muzzle as she looked down at the small filly.

“She looks just like you, Mom!” I said and giggled as little Luna took the tip of my hoof in her mouth as I held it in front of her. Celestia giggled as well at the sight, also wanting to greet her little sister.

“Continuing the trend of the family name, huh?” Dad chuckled, smiling just as brightly as we did. “She certainly fits the name quite well, dear.”

“Oh, hush,” Mom shot back. “She is a Luna through and through, don’t tell me otherwise. How can I not name her like that when she looks almost exactly like my granny?”

“I didn’t say anything!” he countered, giving her a small pout that didn’t remotely work like he wanted it to. Mom, Celestia, and I snorted at his pathetic attempt to give us the sad puppy look.

“You’re hopeless, you know that?” Mom giggled and Dad just sulked a little bit more. “Stallions just can’t pull off a good pout.”

“You’re being mean to me,” he grumbled. “I can pout. My brother, for example, can’t resist it.”

“Yeah, but he is a pansy,” Mom shot back and Dad scowled before letting out a disgruntled sigh. “And don’t even try to deny it.”

“This argument is totally unfair, though,” Dad muttered. “I can’t insult any of your siblings because somepony refuses to introduce me to their side of the family...”

“I’m... sorry, Argent,” Mom sighed, grimacing slightly. “I just... haven’t found the opportunity for that, yet?”

“It’s okay, Sky. You don’t have to introduce me to them if you don’t want to. Regardless of that, it seems our little Luna is also a combination of all three tribes, my love,” Dad said. “It seems our little fillies are destined to live no ordinary lives.”

“You might have a point there. I would have chalked it up to luck, but three cute little fillies like this? We must be blessed,” Mom commented with a grin, nuzzling both me and my sisters. I happily nuzzled my mother back, as did my sister.

The following days were wrought with chaos as little Luna had quite the pair of lungs. Celestia got a little bit jealous that all of the attention was going toward our newborn sister, but that was the least of our concerns for now.

Things were about to change forever for us and none of us were prepared for it.

The ponies our dad saw a few days ago had managed to find our residence at the most inconvenient time possible. Father told us to hide with our mother, telling us to pack up as much food and fabrics as we could muster.

I had a bad feeling about this. A very bad feeling. Celestia and I were reluctantly doing what he told us, raiding the pantry and getting the thick blankets from our bedrooms. We stuffed them into the saddlebags we had lying around in one of the cabinets Dad had built over the years.

Tia and I tried to ignore the sounds from the front of the house as Mom ushered us out through the back of the house. Luna was getting fitful in her sleep and I feared that if she were to awaken right now, she would give us away before we could make it to our storage shed to get the last saddlebag filled with the rest of the preserved food.

The metallic sound of a sword being drawn made my heart stop instantly. There was a brief sound of struggle and then... silence.

“Hmph, that's what I thought. I don't want anypony else wasting my time, so do what you must do and be quick about it. We have wasted enough time as it is, Her Ladyship is expecting results and nothing less. Find the food and get back to camp! I think I deserve a bath after this,” a muffled voice said and my heart sank further. He didn’t do what I thought he did, did he? Was... was Dad gone? Just like that? How... how could they be so mean and heartless and... and... cruel! This was not fair!

Daddy... why?!

My magic began to act on its own as it erected a tall barrier out of my blue magefire flames, the crackling spell taking on a mind of its own once it had been cast, and they slowly began to crawl up the outside wall of our house to slow our pursuers down. It wasn't enough to trap them, but it would buy us enough time to get a head start.

This really was a nightmare, wasn't it? Tears streamed down my face as I still couldn't fully believe what happened. All of our faces were wet with tears, I should say. Even Celestia couldn't stop herself from weeping as I suspected she knew perfectly well that Dad wouldn’t be coming with us.

Six years and I was already robbed of one of my parents because somepony thought it would be okay to take that which wasn’t theirs to take without asking and by force. Had they asked, I would have been happy to offer them something, but this was despicable. They were nothing but thieves and murderers, blinded by hatred and greed.

I didn’t pity the ones that tried coming after us as Mom wasn’t as kind with her magic as I was. Where I only created a barrier that would slowly consume the rest of the house, she activated one of the runes remotely and blew the entire building apart in vengeance.

She never was the same afterward. She continued to retreat more and more into herself, a former shell of her loving self. It was hard getting her to move as we traveled further down south to hopefully find a place that wasn’t perpetually set in winter. Had it not been for me and my sisters, I don’t think she would have had the will to live on for much longer.

It wasn’t like she stopped taking care of us, though. Mom’s behavior started to resemble that of a mindless zombie at most times, it was almost entirely mechanical in nature. It took me about a year to get her to talk once more and another one for us to find a place where the plant life wasn’t covered entirely in snow.

The journey wasn't an easy one, that's for sure. Mom was still sore from giving birth and couldn't walk long distances at a stretch, so we had to pause often to give her time to rest. I tried my best to keep the morale up, but it wasn't easy. Were it not for Luna, I would be no better off than Mom, too shocked to be of any help. But I had to be strong, now more than ever.

There were multiple close calls with the wildlife around us, but we managed to sneak by. It was not easy, but we had the fortune of them fighting among themselves over who would get a piece out of us. Tia and I did our best to keep Luna and Mom safe, picking off those that got their shit together.

Strangely enough, we sometimes came upon larger predators that have been slain prior by something else entirely. Despite their drained appearances, the... carcasses... were all more or less 'fresh' kills and some of the small fry happily took advantage of that to get a quick meal. I was just glad we didn't have to fight our way past some of those slain beasts, a few of them looked like even Mom would struggle against them in a straight-up fight.

It made me wonder what must have happened for dragons of all things to have lost a fight when they were, for all intents and purposes, the perfect predator. Their hide looked incredibly tough and those claws could slice even through the hardest rock if I was not mistaken by the signs of struggle. And that's not even mentioning their deadly fire breath attack. Nothing short of another dragon could have felled a foe of that proportion and it left me wondering...

What else could be in this forest that stood a chance against a mythical beast like that? I shudder to think what would happen if we were to stumble upon it while it was out on the hunt.

It wasn't like Mom was entirely catatonic, though. Anything we couldn't deal with on our own, Mom made short work of in her few lucid moments. The way she fought was almost cruel as if she took pleasure in taking her anger out on those predators that were foolish enough to stand in her way. She only ever got like that when we were in danger, thankfully. I'd rather not see her become consumed by this wrath simmering inside of her.

I guess the saying about a mare scorned is particularly true for our mother, huh? She was damn scary when she wanted to be.

Anyway! Once we were far enough away from where the conflict developed (and most importantly the perpetual winter), we found a nice spot on the edge of a forest, a moderately large pond not too far away for us to fish in.

Slowly, we rebuild. Luna was constantly asking us where our dad was and I couldn’t bring myself to tell her the truth. My heart just wasn't in it, to be honest. Mom and Tia couldn’t do it, either.

How do you tell your little sister that no, your dad didn’t abandon you and instead gave his life for your protection? I certainly had no idea how to do that, so I just told her he would be back one day, not wanting to break her little heart so soon in her life.

I didn’t know whether this was a kindness or cruelty. Was it so bad of me for wanting to give her a little bit of hope? I had no idea. Sometimes I just wanted to tell her the truth, but then I thought about how crushed she would be. How devastated...

Never knowing your dad... that must be a hard thing for her.

As Luna turned four, she found out the truth as she listened in on one of our hushed conversations about how we should tell her, if ever. She wasn’t pleased in the slightest by the news and ran away from our new home. It took all of my stamina and will to not lose her in the dense wilderness, and as I found her, I saw some weird wooden wolf about to eat my little sister.

“Get away from her, you foul beast!” I shouted angrily, rearing up as I stood protectively over the small, huddled form of my sister after I teleported the rest of the way. I didn’t know how I accomplished such a feat, but I was glad that my sister was still in one piece.

The same couldn’t be said about me.

The abomination managed to bite down on one of my outstretched forelegs and we struggled against each other. More howls could be heard in the distance and the frightened sobbing of my sister spurned on my magic as golden lances of arcane energy ripped the monster apart in front of me.

“Are you okay, Luna?” I asked, the adrenalin I was currently experiencing a rush from kept the worst of the agony at bay, somewhat at least. My wound was thankfully not too deep, but putting weight on my leg was out of the question. I got lucky this time, had it bitten me from a different angle, I might have lost my leg from the damage of the wound.

“Summer, you’re hurt!” she cried, no doubt feeling guilty that she had been the cause of that. I didn’t hold it against her, though. She was upset and we had lied to her for so long, it should be me apologizing to her.

“Oh, my little Luna,” I smiled gently. “This is nothing I can’t recover from. More importantly, are you able to walk? Show me that leg, please.”

“I stumbled,” she whispered, holding her sprained ankle towards me so I could inspect it. I grimaced slightly at the bruise swelling on it. I don’t think she managed to break it, but better safe than sorry.

“Come on, climb on top of my back,” I told her, gently lowering myself to her side. “We have to get out of here before more of these things find us.”

“Sister, look out!” Luna shouted frightened and I turned to see the thing I had ripped apart mere seconds ago reassemble itself like nothing happened to it in the first place. My eyelid twitched at the bullshit in front of me. What were those things?!

Suddenly, I wished I was fighting against a dragon instead because those things made at least some modicum of sense! I swear, this world was insane! How the fuck did those things even evolve?! How can they even reassemble themselves when they should have been dead?!

The thing let out a deep howl and others of its kind answered in return. Soon after that, we were surrounded by a whole hunting pack of these... timberwolves.

I don’t think I could fight them in the conventional way and if I were to set them on fire, it would cause more harm than good. If the whole forest were to be set ablaze we would be as good as dead. I had to think of something and fast.

Come on, come on, Summer! Think!

“This is bad...” I muttered, trying to keep these abominations away with my magic. Luna was hiding behind me as I felt my energy dwindle more and more with each prod from our adversaries. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold them off without a solution to our problem. Aside from using my blue magefire, I had no idea what to do. And unleashing my magic like I did during my surge would endanger Luna as well...

“I’m so sorry, Summer,” Luna mumbled between hiccups. “If I hadn’t run...”

“Don’t feel sorry for that,” I grunted, the adrenalin slowly beginning to lose its effect. I had to throw up a full bubble shield as one of the things managed to somehow climb a tree to ambush us. I swear, if they were part cat, I’m gonna light them on fire regardless of the risks. “It’s my fault for leading you on that Dad would come back one day. I should have been honest with you, I’m so sorry.”

“What are we going to do now?” Luna asked me, shrinking back as she saw one of their snapping faces break through a part of the shield. “We’re trapped! I don't want to be eaten!”

“And you won't. Just... let me think for a minute or two, okay?” I told her as I shoved the wolf away with a blast of magic to the face. I was sadly still coming up with blanks, unable to think of a spell that would permanently get rid of them. Not without risking a forest fire at the same time, that is. And running was as good of a death sentence as everything else I could think of. Not only were those things larger and faster than we were, but the forest would only slow us down. Not to mention, both my sister and I were injured and running on fumes. Even if I could concentrate through the pain, I couldn’t carry Luna out of here and defend ourselves at the same time. Flying wasn’t an option either, I never was that good with my wings. I could barely get myself into the air when I wanted to, I’d never be able to with the threat of being eaten alive hanging over Luna and me. My only option left was magic and I was running rapidly out of mana.

Damnit! If I just knew how I managed to cast that teleportation spell to come to Luna's aid! I could get us out of here in no time. Then again, I had no idea if I could take anypony with me and... I couldn’t leave Luna here like this. I can't leave my sweet little Moon behind! I won't! Only over my dead body!

A pulse of my mana heard my determination, tugging at my horn like I had only ever felt once before in my life. Instinctively, my core reached out to one of the wolves and raging flames disintegrated it into dust within an instant. Unlike during my surge, though, that little feat of destruction left me wheezing afterward.

And while I knew I couldn't do that more than a few times, I needed to do that again. I have to do that again, or... we might not get out of this alive. I have no time to figure out teleportation, but... I have enough time to distract them. I can give Luna the escape she needs.

I’m so sorry, sister. But this is the only thing I can do for you. You’ll understand one day, I hope.

“I don’t think we have a minute,” Luna quietly commented and I saw another timberwolf claw away at the gap the other one made. I bit my lip, feeling that my mana pool would only be able to support two more of those spells from before. Three if I felt sufficiently desperate. It would have to do.

Resignation filled me and I gave Luna one last look filled with love. “When I tell you to run, you run,” I said to Luna, my voice tired and dead serious. “Don’t look back, my little Moon. Your big sister loves you, never forget that. I'm so sorry.”

“I’m not going to leave you!” she stubbornly shot back and I glared down at her. Don't make this any more difficult than it has to be, Lulu. I really don’t want to fight with you over this when this is... this is going to be the last moment I have with you.

“And I’m not asking you. I’m ordering you as your big sister. Do as I say!”

In the next moment, I let the barrier fall, shot two of the bastards between the eyes with the spell fueled by my core, and then I threw Luna in the direction of our home, telling her to go as fast as she could.

I tried to kick the remaining three away as best as I could, but the exhaustion was already catching up to me. I couldn't keep doing this for much longer, I knew that with perfect clarity. I was going to die again. At least this time, I will have done something good and worthwhile with my oh-so-short life.

I'm sorry, Lulu. I love you.

One of them managed to throw me against a tree, knocking the wind out of me while a lance of sharp, piercing pain made me scream out in agony. F-fuck. I must have hit a branch or something, my breathing came out in rattles and my vision swam. I was barely staying conscious, trying to scrounge up enough strength to hopefully make it out of this alive, but I knew better what my chances were. It wouldn't take long until... until... I shook my head, blinking away the tears clouding my vision as I tried my best to reach out to the last vestiges of my mana in the hopes of at least taking one last timberwolf with me into the grave, but then I saw it.

Horror filled me as the little figure of Luna stood protectively in front of me, pawing one of her hooves over the leafy ground as she snorted wildly, likely trying to intimidate the remaining wolves and dissuade them from attacking. Her horn was sparking with light blue, almost white magic and crackling lightning danced over her feathers in an impressive display of pegasus magic. A feat neither Tia nor I ever accomplished, taking too much after Mom in that regard.

My heart sank as my ears picked up on the sound of their approaching figures. I heard the saliva dripping down from their hungry maws onto the forest floor and their mocking growls. The heartbeat in my ears got louder as it sped up frantically in my panic and there was nothing I could do about it. My body refused to listen to my commands to move.

No. Please, no. Not like this. Not my little Luna, anypony but her! No!

The pitiful last amounts of my mana reacted to my panicking self and I hoped beyond hope that a miracle would happen. I didn’t want it to end like this. I refused to let my sweet Luna die here. I can't let that happen!

In my desperate moment, I dredged up even more mana from our surroundings and forced a part of my very being into my horn, probably shaving off years of my life all for the chance I might save my precious Moon from an early death.

If I was going to die, then at least with the knowledge Luna would be safe and sound. It was a small price to pay, knowing she would grow up into a strong and beautiful mare. I could rest easy knowing I did my best.

A moment later, a flickering light answered my call and my sister was whisked away in a brief flash, bringing her toward safety. I laughed in exhaustion and relief, resignation filling me. I did it. I saved her. My sweet little sister is safe.

Now I knew how it works. By the twin suns, I feel so dumb now. Passion was the key to opening the way to a place well-known, determination was the link between here and there, and desire was the trigger to cast the spell. A teleport spell of my very own design. I would have been proud of that little realization, but... it was too bad that it was the last thing I could do before my vision began to darken. My mana was spent and my exhaustion was too great to do anything else.

Just as everything went black on me, I saw a blurry figure that looked so much like Luna, I almost forgot that it was my mother. Funny... I didn’t know she had wings...

A storm of mana followed in her wake, and the next moments that I could remember were a blur, but they were all back at home with my family safe and sound. Luna played the little nurse as my feverish self was confined to bed rest. I could have sworn Mom had wings, but they were gone the next time I saw her. I must have been hallucinating before I passed out. Whatever was in that saliva from the timberwolves really didn’t agree with my body. At all.

Celestia constantly made me soup, spoon-feeding me on every occasion she got. It was kinda cute how my sisters fought over who would do what to help me recover from this sickness. I just wished they would stop being so loud about it, and judging by the irritated expression of our mother, she agreed with me on that.

“Say ‘Ah!’,” Luna said while she held the spoon aloft in her light blue magic aura. One of her hooves was shoved into the muzzle of my twin, keeping her away so she could have me all to herself.

If I could, I would have laughed at the sight. As it was, everything felt sluggish and heavy, my body aching too much to make a sound. It probably was a combination of the timberwolf saliva and my drained mana recovering only sluggishly.

Both of them had wrestled for control over the spoon (thankfully not the soup itself) and Luna used a dirty trick to win against my twin. Flicking somepony’s horn while they were casting magic was not a pleasant experience, seriously.

I rolled my eyes tiredly and opened my mouth, swallowing the rest of the soup with a little bit of difficulty. I had to admit, Tia was a great cook.

And Lulu... made for a very cute nurse, not gonna lie. I will have to get bitten by timberwolves more often if that's how they are treating me.

“Now, let her rest, Luna. She needs the quiet just as much as I do,” our mother said, taking the bowl and spoon from my little sister. Luna pouted, although she did hop reluctantly off the bed as a stern stare from our mother told her to do what she said or there would be no cookies come the next morning. Mom made the best cookies, so whenever we felt like she threatened us with not making more of them we quickly became obedient. The power of sugar... it cannot be underestimated. “Sleep well, my little Summer Sun.”

I nodded tiredly, absentmindedly noting that Celestia stayed at my bedside watching over me with a small smile. Sleep overtook me not soon after and it wasn’t a very restful experience. Sweat poured from my body in rivers and the few moments that I found myself slightly awake I felt the eyes of my twin staring at me as I shivered a lot from the fever. Her strong legs held me tightly against her chest and the aura of her magic stroked slowly through my mane in a calming effect.

She always treats me so nicely...

The nightmares themselves always confronted me with the same scene. The timberwolves were about to eat me while I was desperately trying to protect my sister from their dripping teeth. Despite that, Mom never showed up in any of them. All of them ended the same way and they repeated themselves throughout the night. Even the few times I managed to get some shut-eye during the day, my rest never lasted for long.

The mornings blended into each other as I sometimes felt better and on other days even worse than before. I was lucky to have such doting sisters and a loving mother, even though sometimes their concern for me felt a little bit over the top, in my opinion. I don’t know why both of my sisters felt like they needed to compete over who took care of me, so I just silently bore with it to keep them happy.

It was starting to get weird, though. They continued to act like this even as my fever went away and we got older. Both of them offered to do the most menial tasks for me so I wouldn’t ‘strain myself’ as if I was unable to do those things myself. That certainly managed to make me feel useless at times. Thankfully, Mom helped me beat that mindset out of them by the time Celestia and I turned thirteen.

Our education picked up soon after that. Once we had managed to reconstruct our little training chamber, Mom taught us how to fight for real. I had no idea where she had learned most of this stuff from, as some of it seemed eerily efficient in subduing, or rather, killing other ponies with the least amount of movements needed.

The past of our mother was shrouded in mysteries, and ever since Dad was gone, she didn’t seem particularly keen on opening up about it. She knew a whole plethora of spells that could be repurposed for going to war with a small nation. Heck, she even taught us how to use anything as a makeshift weapon.

I was concerned about why she knew so many ways to 'incapacitate' somepony. The only ponies, or rather people, that I knew of that had such a particular set of skills didn’t use it for good. Although Mom never seemed like the type to be an assassin, I also never thought that she would have been so well-versed in the craft.

Dad’s passing made her rethink having kept that side from her family for so long. And as it turns out, our family wasn’t some super-secret spy family or any other such nonsense. No, on one particular evening, I learned the truth from her as she had partaken in a little bit too much alcohol.

“You know, I ran away from home to be with your dad,” Mom slurred, not turning from her seat at the window as I entered her room to check up on her. Every year on the same day she would lock herself away in her own room.

Today was the day Dad sacrificed himself to buy us enough time to escape the raiders on that fateful day. Had I been old enough, I’m sure I would be sitting beside her. But seeing my mother stare out forlornly into the distance changed my mind about the usefulness of alcohol.

This wasn’t her, this drunken mare wallowing in self-pity. This was a broken mare that put on a brave face for her daughters for the rest of the year. Somepony who blamed herself for not having stood beside her husband when he needed her the most. I didn’t blame her, I sometimes felt just as bad as she felt now. Especially today.

“Why would you do that?” I asked her gently. My mother gave out a scoff, snorting in amusement at whatever she found so funny about my question.

“Come on, my smart little filly, you can figure it out,” she grinned, but her eyes looked so empty in contrast to her smile that it managed to send shivers down my spine. “Why would somepony run away from home?”

“Your parents...” I whispered, narrowing my eyes in thought. “They didn’t approve? No... that is just part of the reason. If they didn’t approve you didn’t have to run away...”

“Getting there, warmer and warmer,” Mom commented, taking another swig of whatever poison she decided would make this day more bearable for her. To my nostrils, it smelled quite strong and sweet. “Go on, my little Summer Sun.”

“I... always found it strange that you never told us you were so skilled in the art of war, scarily good even...” I muttered, thinking back to all of the long and grueling hours we had spent in the new training room by now. Luna was already getting curious about what we did in there for so long. A few more years and I’m sure she will find out firsthoof. Not that I wanted her to find out, per se. She was far too cheerful for such a grim fate. “Normally I would attribute this to someone having been trained as an assassin.”

“Ah, getting colder again, my dear,” my mother told me. “I’m no assassin if that is what you were wondering.”

“Then... what else could it be?” I asked, confused.

“Oh, dear Summer... my little Sunshine...” Mom giggled, nudging my horn with a hoof. “Think a bit harder, I know you can.”

“It has something to do with that tribalism going on up north, hasn’t it?” I stated, not asking for confirmation. I didn't need it. “That could explain the running away, but what about the combat knowledge?”

“Now we’re getting somewhere,” she slurred, drinking once more from her beverage. “That is part of the answer, so what is the rest?”

“I don’t think any ordinary pony can just learn what you have learned, what you’re teaching us...” I said, connecting a few more dots in my head. I had a working theory, but that would mean...

“Go on...” Mom prodded, smiling wistfully now. I gulped at the thought of voicing my theory. She waited patiently for me to continue as I thought of more possibilities, but I knew those were just half-baked attempts at avoiding the truth.

“You... are part of the nobility, aren’t you?” I asked, not enjoying the bitter taste it left in my mouth. Earth was a great teacher in that those of ‘noble’ descent couldn’t be trusted with power and the ongoing conflict up north was just further proof of that. The first few generations of nobility might still uphold the ideals that got them their position in the first place, but the longer they hold such a position, the greedier they always get.

Not that all of the nobility was like that on Earth (and possibly here in this world), but those were sadly only a minority. Arrogance was like a disease that plagued those with wealth and far too much power, lacking the kindness and generosity I held so dear to my heart. Perhaps the saying of those reluctant to rule being the best at it is true after all. Someone of humble origins lacking the drive to subjugate their peers was a better fit for the position than the one that got everything handed to them, feeling no compassion for those around them.

“But... why the excessive need to know how to”—I had to gulp at the thought, not liking it one bit—“...kill somepony? In what way is that needed for a noble?”

“The crux of the matter, isn’t it?” my mother commented. “Why, oh why, would Mother dearest know how to kill anything that stands in her way?”

“I...” stuttering, I looked upon her with horror. “I don’t believe this. There is no way that could be...”

“Oh, but it is exactly as you think it is, my dear,” she answered, her voice darkening with hate. “I never told your father because I thought he would look at me in a different way. And I never wanted to tell you, either, but here we are.”

“...but why would your own family?”

“You see, my little Summer,” she began. “My family was a poisonous bunch, the only ones with a lack of greed had been my cousin as well as my grandmother, Lunaria Solitas. She was the rock I desperately clung on to as my own 'parents' fashioned me into a weapon to take the throne with. I'm not an assassin... I'm a one-mare army, a killing machine, a... a failure that couldn't even protect the stallion I loved.”

“I’m so sorry, Mom,” I whispered, embracing her in a tearful hug. "It's not your fault. You couldn't have protected us and distracted the raiders at the same time. You gave birth, Mom. There's nopony to blame but those monsters."

“There, there,” Mom said, patting my back as I fought with my breath to not start sobbing like the not-so-little child I still was. “It’s in the past now and you're still here with me, are you not? Argent would be so proud of you. I know I am.”

I smiled before I remembered a particular thing she said. “So, you named Luna after your grandmother?” I asked after we stayed like this for a while.

“Well, yes. But also after me, or have you forgotten the name of your own mother, my little Sunshine?” she answered, a little mischievous glint in her eyes. I tried to deny her accusation, but not a moment later, I was already on my back laughing uncontrollably as she tickled me with the help of her magic. “Whatever shall I do for your punishment?”

“St-Stop! Please! I-I beg you!” I continued to laugh, my breathing coming in gasps and wheezes.

“What does one say when they apologize?” she teased me and I begged on, trying to crawl away from her. “I’m certain it was along the lines of ‘I am sorry’, or am I wrong?”

“N-no! Please!” I giggled, feeling some of my discarded feathers join in on the assault. “Tia! Tia, help me!”

“Oh, no you don't. No calling for help, tsk tsk. I taught you better than that,” Mom told me, booping me on the muzzle with a hoof. The door to her bedroom opened and the inquisitive head of my twin sister appeared in the doorway.

“What is going on?” Celestia asked us, confused. I sent her a pleading gaze as my mother continued the feathery torture, hoping that she would come to my rescue.

“Oh? Another one for the tickle goddess?” our mother cackled and quickly captured my struggling sister with her magic.

“No! Summer, why!?” my sister sent me a glare before she, too, was at the unmerciful touch of our captor. “I’m never, *snerk*, coming to help you again!”

“I-I’m sorry!” I whined, exhausted from all the laughing. At least Luna was spared from this embarrassment.

It took a bit of time, but eventually, Mother got bored of hearing us plead for mercy. Our foalhood days were coming to a close and with that came the most embarrassing and confusing time in all of my life.

Being a teenager again going through puberty, ugh. Fuck my life.

Author's Notes:

To those to whom it may concern... flying in a forest while injured and protecting your sister from predators larger than you is a *fluffy bunny* idea. *looks at one particular person*

Well... I can't complain about padding the word count. I did manage to make it fit in that whole mess adequately well.

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Chapter 003 - Sister.

As it turns out, there is a significant difference between humans and ponies. One that brought about a lot of chaos the first time I experienced it. It was bad enough that our mother had to lock me and my sister away in two separate rooms and tell Luna that she couldn’t see her sisters for some time.

It was a maddening experience, that's for sure, and I was completely unprepared for it. Pony mares don’t go through a monthly period like human females on Earth. No, what we had to go through was so much worse. The mood swings were the easiest to deal with. The constant urge to molest myself so I could satisfy the damn drive to reproduce, on the other hoof, was driving me up against walls and had me screaming my voice raw as I pleaded for somepony to just end my misery. I was cursing my mother for having had the foresight to set up some of her teleportation wards so I couldn’t escape and find somepony willing enough to help me out.

To tell the truth, though, that probably was for the best. I was glad that there was also a noise cancellation field in my sister’s and my own room after the urge slowly subsided. I didn’t want to explain to my little sister why her big sister was constantly moaning behind closed doors as I abused the hell out of my dripping wet pussy. I swear, even weeks after I had gone through that ordeal my room still smelled like I just had sex in it.

I really wished my wife was there with me at the time. I know, I know. I shouldn't even entertain this notion of ever seeing her again for even a single moment, but... it didn't hurt to fantasize, right? Catherine was the only one I ever felt like this around and my mind was quick to remind me why I loved her and her perverted side.

She would have happily complied with my demands to fuck me silly, not once questioning me about my more... submissive... tendencies. She could have teased me endlessly (a thing she gleefully took advantage of more than once) and I would have liked it despite putting up a front of being frustrated. I wouldn't have said no to some wild sex, either. Heck, I'd probably relish the feeling of being unable to walk straight for weeks, knowing my wife was the reason for that.

And, oh my gosh, sex as a mare felt so much better than it ever did as a human male! My wife could have done all sorts of things to me I never experienced before and I knew it would have been like the bliss of Heaven and Valhalla combined, a symphony of pleasure. My wife was that mind-numbingly good, and I'm sure she could have easily shattered my limited experience with something else on an entirely different level. I already felt like nothing else compared to the feeling of every cell screaming out in ecstasy as I got off time and time again, how much better could she have made me feel?

And then, there was the matter of magic. Magic was even better than any toy I could have used to satisfy myself with, imagining for just a moment my wife was doing all the things to me that I did to myself. Every little pulse of mana running through my overly wet marehood managed to make me scream out even louder than before, mimicking the actions I pictured my wife doing to me. The smallest touches sent shivers and pleasant tingles down my spine as my eyes rolled up in my head with each orgasm, and even then, I didn't stop until I couldn't stay awake any longer.

It was only a fantasy, but during that time, I felt happier than I ever did since reincarnating. A small part of me told me that what I was doing was wrong and it would only prolong this profound heartache, but I could have cared less at that moment. I was living from one moment to the next as I played teasingly with my body. I needed to unwind from this pent-up stress even if it meant falling for this illusion for a short time.

Deep down, I knew I could never let go of my love, it was just not possible for me to not yearn for her touch. It was everything I desired, to be with her again. Nothing I could tell myself would ever change that. And yet, for me to live as a functional being, I needed to be able to survive on my own and live my life to the fullest without her by my side. She would have wanted nothing less of me, I knew that.

Then again, with or without my wife, I could have done without the constant, excessive need to keep doing it long after I had exhausted myself, to be honest. At the time, I didn’t care that I slept in my mare cum soaked bedsheets, finding myself not able to care in the slightest about the sticky feeling clinging on to my fur, feathers, and hair. A small perverted part of my mind found it even more arousing than the sounds my throat made as I voiced out my pleasure, hoping against hope that somepony would hear me and invite themselves in.

Even more arousing was the thought of another mare licking my insides out as I was left to fantasize about all the kinky things my mind could come up with. Going even deeper down the rabbit hole, I tried to imagine what my wife would have looked like as a pony. And since I had the parts now, I couldn't help but imagine her eating me out just as I did with her while I was still a human, running her tongue over my vulva with teasing flicks and plunging it deep into my tunnel and drinking from my heavenly nectar while I held her pretty head against me with my hindlegs, not allowing her to stop until I was fucked thoroughly into unconsciousness.

The thought of that image alone made me cum all over again, even while I was still left convulsing from my last orgasm. It was like my body had lost the very ability to hold itself back during my estrus. All the images of her using whatever toys we could get our hooves on left me wanting, needing, for somepony to be in my company at the time. I wanted somepony else to make me their mare so badly, I was crying in my sleep about it.

Every time I managed to force my body to go through another earth-shattering orgasm, the feeling of emptiness persisted. The fucking burning in my nethers just wouldn’t ever stop, no matter what I tried. That was probably my body telling me that yes, sex was amazing and I should have more of it and no, it wouldn’t stop until I was pregnant.

During my estrus it was everything I wanted, so very much, but afterward? It felt like my own mind and body betrayed me. The thought of having little foals of my own running around was downright terrifying, I was way too young to be thinking about having a child of my own with this body. And the prospect of having to carry them myself? Yeah, thanks but no. Not when I was still a friggin’ teenager. Maybe when I was older again and somehow got around the admittedly disgusting idea of letting a stallion do that to me.

That was one thing that didn't change one bit from my previous life on Earth. Being together like that with somepony identifying as a stallion just didn't do it for me. Sure, my wife was a bit rough around the edges and far from the girliest girl, but she was a tough girl and tough girls are hot as fuck. She wasn't completely butch or anything, but you could clearly see her defined muscles when she got serious about defending someone's honor and their feeling of safety. Deep down, she was a decent person that valued justice and loyalty equally as much as I valued kindness. And she still managed to be the most feminine woman I've ever met, leather jacket and all included.

I guess the aftermath of the decades-long Great War for the right to express yourself however you wanted blurred the lines of what was 'feminine' and 'masculine' in a lot of ways. It wasn't just the custom of wearing more colorful clothes and family emblems somewhere on your body, but the style of fashion itself shifted to something more free and less conservative. While I liked the idea of dresses, nothing screamed more 'woman' than my wife on a motorcycle with a confident smile on her face.

Compared to that, not a single stallion could hold a candle to her sheer badassery. The only thing she didn't have that my body craved above all else, was a thick cock to penetrate me deeper than even I could reach with my magic.

Then again... I couldn't help but blush as my mind provided me oh-so-helpfully with the image of my wife having both a vagina and a penis at the same time, causing me to masturbate to that image with reckless abandon as I found it sexy as hell. I had to wonder whether or not there was a spell for that, and if not, I totally would make one of my own that would do just that. The thought of a mare mounting me like that had me biting into my fetlock as I moaned heavily.

I don’t think I was bisexual (or was it biromantic?) as the thought of being in a relationship with anypony but a mare made me want to gag. I had no idea why my mind found it okay if a mare had two parts instead of the usual (or only a big fat cock with juicy grapes for balls as long as they were clearly feminine), but something about the thought of being together with a 'stallion-y' stallion rubbed me the wrong way. Even as I went through my estrus cycle I found myself unable to get excited over somepony having their way with me when it didn't involve that pony being predominantly feminine.

There was just a certain excitability to the fantasies I had about being pleased by another mare that set my heart aflutter. Maybe it was part of my old life that ingrained that into me or it was just an aspect I never paid attention to until now. Either way, I felt somewhat relieved that my body didn’t crave the company of a stallion.

The question, though, was what would my mother think of me if I told her that her daughter was a lesbian? I don’t think I would ever mention my weird fetish of a mare with 'stallion' parts to anypony, though. Maybe my twin would understand my peculiar taste as we almost felt the same about a majority of things, but that is a can of worms I didn’t want to open any time soon.

My wife, on the other hoof, would gladly jump on the opportunity, I just knew it. She had a lot of strange fetishes over the years, some of them she even managed to get me to play along with. Some I also found alluring, not that I would ever admit that out loud.

After what felt like an eternity I was all too happy to finally get out of my room and not feel like I had to keep masturbating every single second of the day. Mom gave me a knowing (and deeply empathetic) look once she saw the absolute mess I left my room in and I was all too happy to burn my sheets to cinders. We had spares, so it wasn’t like it was too great of a loss.

I might want to learn some cleaning spells in the future, though. I don’t think I could go around ruining my bedding each and every time and then default to destroying it afterward. It was a hassle to make new ones and trading wasn’t a notion I entertained all that much, either. Ponies were already suspicious enough of our mom and dad a few years ago, I didn’t want to find out how they would react to me and my sisters.

Celestia didn’t fare better during our craze and was just as glad as I was once it was over. Our mother told us that the estrus would get progressively less bad each time we had to go through it and both Celestia and I weren’t looking forward to the next time for sure. How much the urge would lessen with each time wasn’t something Mom told us, though. I had a bad feeling that it would take me well into adulthood before I started to notice any change at all.

It was hard to say no over and over again to Luna as she wanted to know why we had to be locked into our rooms for over two weeks and some odd days. I didn’t want to tell her what would have happened had our mother not had the foresight to do what she did. We really would have gone for the first available pony if it weren’t for her.

Considering there were no other ponies around us for several miles... I'd rather not continue going down that rabbit hole. Nothing good would come from it. Nope. Nuh-uh.

Anyway, after a few weeks, some normalcy finally returned to our lives (thankfully). Celestia and I kept working on the field whenever we weren’t training under the watchful gaze of our mother. We had to make sure that we had enough food to last us at least a month in advance in case something like the extended winter happened again (more like a mini ice age, to be fair). Our storage shack had enough charms to keep the food from spoiling for several months, but our growing bodies demanded more and more sustenance as time went on.

Mother suspected that we needed to eat so much because we had the characteristics of all three tribes, and therefore all three types of magic. The farmwork also had the purpose of training us in our earthpony magic besides providing a meal on the table. Mom didn’t know as much about earthponies as she would have liked, though. So we needed to learn by doing, more or less. Much like we had to learn weather magic and how to fly on our own, though at least she knew some things about that due to having learned a thing or two from Dad.

One thing we did learn about our earthpony magic (besides the obvious strength boost) was the fact that we could make plants grow more healthily even under less-than-good conditions. It was a reassuring thought that we wouldn’t have to worry so much about our crop dying on us. That and the fact the yield was by far more bountiful with a nudge here and there (it also helped that the local honey bee hive adored me for giving them a sweet reward or two in exchange for their help).

“Mom?” I shouted back into the house as I stood in the open doorway, Celestia a few paces ahead of me looking puzzled at the first few snowflakes gently drifting down from the overcast sky. We were just about to go work on the field when it became apparent that something wasn’t quite right.

“Yes?” the groggy voice of our mother answered back. “What is it now? It’s still too early for me to deal with you and your sister’s antics, you know...”

“No, it’s not like that,” I said, rubbing a hoof against the back of my head. While yes, we sometimes really do need to learn how to behave when our mother wasn’t breathing down on our necks, this was a bit more important than that. “Is it supposed to snow this early?”

“What do you mean, snow?” she asked me, coming up beside me. “Oh dear... not again.”

“Is it like a few years back?” I questioned her, getting afraid at the prospect of the conflict up north following us back here to where we decided to make our new home. “Don’t tell me we have to move again.”

“I’m not sure, my little Summer Sun,” she answered, nuzzling my drooping ears comfortingly. “For now, just make sure the crops won’t die on us. We will figure something out, I promise.”

“If you say so...” I said uncertainly, joining my sister on the field as we let our hooves do the talking. Earthpony magic was more of an instinctual thing, something that is done passively. While one could force it to work rapidly, it didn’t help the soil if we decided to do that. We kinda depend on the earth being fertile, but anywhere else? It was quite a surprise to see my sister make roots grow into a fence-like barrier at the border of the nearby forest.

Luna was a bit miffed about not being so good at growing things. On the other hoof, she was a lot better at flying and manipulating the weather than us. So we had a routine worked out for caring for our little farm. My little sister was quite proud of being helpful and getting all the praise from me for being so good with the weather.

Sadly, even she couldn’t do anything about the falling snow. Where our dad had utterly failed at keeping the rogue clouds at bay, Luna was at least able to stop it from going full-on blizzard on us (at least, for now). I don’t think we’re going to need extra firewood this time around. At least, not immediately.

What we needed was a solution to what was causing this mess, to begin with. The unnatural coldness has to have a cause that we could fix, we just needed to know what it was.

The days continued in a quiet fashion. Our mood was way more somber than before as we watched on as our new home slowly got overtaken by the freezing temperatures. We had enough food to go through a prolonged winter if we were careful with how much we used per day, but even then I’m not certain if this winter will last as long as the one we fled from. It might last even longer...

I was afraid that we wouldn’t make it through this. Secretly, I gave my little sister and Tia parts of my portions so they wouldn’t have to go hungry to bed. That was something I could deal with without a problem, I had the mental fortitude to go without but they lacked that. My mother said nothing about my bleeding heart and I noticed she was doing the same for us.

We took to sleeping in a big pile by the fireplace so we wouldn’t freeze to death overnight. Although, with all the blankets and the quiet crackling from the fire, we still felt the cold creeping in.

Some days it got so bad, we couldn’t even leave the house. This winter proved to be the worst one yet and with Luna unable to stop the clouds anymore, we were trapped for good. My little sister wasn't happy about that, grumbling unhappily about not being able to do what she was better than us at. Well, in that regard, my twin and I weren't better off...

“When is this damn winter going to end?” Celestia grumbled, shivering against my side. “This is the fault of those ponies up north, isn’t it?”

“I don’t know, sister,” I answered. “I don’t think we should go around blaming anypony.”

“You’re too kind for your own good, Summer,” she retorted, snorting away a cloud of steam. Tia seemed to be having it way worse with the cold than I did. I suspect that's why she always clung on to me since we were foals (aside from molesting my ears, that is). “Don’t think Luna and I didn’t notice you and Mother giving us more than what is our due share.”

“I can deal with a little bit of hunger if it means you and Luna have a full stomach,” I shot back, stubbornly looking away from her. She sighed and rested her head against mine.

“Why do you insist on this so much? Does your generosity know no bounds?” she asked me in a whisper, a saddened tone evident in her voice. I laid one of my wings over her under our covers and looked back at her. Her eyes reflected the flickering flame within the fireplace in a mesmerizing way.

I wondered why she had to confront me like this. Was it really so bad that I wanted her to be comfortable and not go to bed hungry? She is my twin, after all. Isn’t that something every twin wants to do for their sibling?

Maybe that was why she was getting concerned for me. She would want the same for me, I knew her as well as I knew myself. It was probably eating her up from the inside that I was sacrificing my own well-being for her.

“I don’t want to see you unwell, sister,” I finally said, knowing full well how much of a hypocrite I was by denying her the right of returning the favor. “The thought of you hurting for anything makes my fur crawl.”

“And I don’t want to see you like that, either. So please, stop starving yourself for my sake,” she said, nuzzling me insistingly. “What sister would I be if I let you do this to yourself any longer?”

“Your loyalty is truly inspiring,” I giggled. Fine, then. I will accept her ultimatum, she was right with that, after all. I couldn’t deny her that. I guess it was good that she confronted me like this. I could be just as stubborn about something as her, couldn't I? “I’m glad to have you for a sister, Celestia.”

“And I you, Summer,” Celestia said, laying her head against mine once more. “What would I do without you, I wonder?”

“Hmm... I don't know. I could ask you the same thing, you know?” I retorted with a teasing smile, enjoying the moment for every second. We stayed like this until Luna managed to weasel herself between us, making my twin pout grumpily.

“I’m glad to have you, too, Summer!” Luna said, grinning up at me. “You like me more than Tia, right?”

“Of course, my sweet little Luna,” I giggled, ruffling her mane playfully. “There is enough room in my heart for both of you, though.”

“No! You’re mine, I say so,” Luna insisted with a little stomp of her hoof. Celestia rolled her eyes from where she started sulking. Our little sister didn’t seem to mind, though.

“Then you must be right,” I said with a pondering look. “I seem to recall you having stolen my heart at your birth, you little troublemaker.”

“Yay, I win!” she cheered, blowing a raspberry at Celestia. “Take that, Tia! She is mine!”

“I think a little filly needs to be taught a lesson on how to share with others,” Celestia sneered, feathers at the ready. In the next moment, Luna was squealing around the floor, trying to get away from my twin.

“S-Summer! Help, please!” Luna pleaded with me, quickly starting to become out of breath.

“Yes, Summer, 'help' won’t you?” Celestia cackled delightedly and I shook my head at their antics. I was tempted to help both of them, so I chose the middle ground.

“As you wish,” I grinned, my own wings ready to do what was my chosen mission.

“Hah! Take that, Tia!” Luna laughed gleefully as I began to tickle my twin at every point where I knew she was ticklish. Mostly because I knew I was ticklish in the same spots.

“No~! Why, Summer?! Betrayed by my own twin! Ah hah hah! Stop! I give up, I give up! Please!" Celestia giggled uncontrollably as she tried to swat me away with her twitching legs, but her weak attempts helped her not one bit. Luna tried to join in, but that was when I sprung my trap.

I had two wings, after all. Why not use both of them on two naughty siblings having a fight over little old me? Hah! My mercy knew no limits!

Bow down to the tickle mistress! Mwahahaha!

“Su-Summer! W-why?” Luna asked, betrayed. She was completely unprepared for my superior assault against both of them at once and I took full advantage of this. Neither was able to fight back against me and our mother looked on with a fond smile.

“That’s what you get for fighting over me,” I smiled devilishly, not letting up with my assault on them. Their struggles were futile for I learned from the best! Ah hah hah ha! I am unstoppable!

The magic aura of my mother caught me off guard as I, too, began to roll on the floor with a shriek, our blankets having long since been discarded all over the room. Her tickles were of legendary proportions, managing to make us so exhausted we fell asleep in a giggling twitchy pile of fur and feathers.

I was barely conscious enough to notice Mom putting the blankets back over us before I succumbed to slumber with a small, content smile. At some point, I’m sure we will get our revenge on our dear mother, whenever that day comes.

During the night I had a pleasant dream of being at a beach with a ponified version of my wife looking out at a sunset with two suns halfway down below the horizon, the water shimmering in a stunning way I had never seen before.

“You’re going to have to let me go at some point, Red Nose,” she told me, her blue eyes looking at me from the corner of her vision. Her chocolaty mane danced around her face playfully, perfectly complemented by the smirk stretching her beige-colored muzzle wide with amusement.

“I don’t have a red nose now and I never had one, to begin with,” I shot back, sticking my tongue out at her. I didn’t want to let her go just yet, so of course, I ignored her words much to her displeasure. That was something I just couldn’t do... she was my everything for more than twenty years of my life. Previous life, I suppose. How could anyone let someone like her go?

“You do when you blush, beautiful,” she grinned, licking my cheek slowly in a sensual way. She always had been a massive tease like that. No wonder I fell in love with her.

“S-shut u-up,” I said, my breath hitching as one of her wings trailed down towards my flanks with just the tip of a primary feather.

“Oh, I know of a hundred different ways you could shut me up, gorgeous,” she whispered into my ear with a hot breath tickling the inside of it, making it flick a few times as a shudder went down my spine.

“I...” my voice quivered, a shaking tongue wetting my dry lips.

“I know about those little fantasies of yours, my dear,” she continued, her teeth lightly nipping the edge of my ear as she bit down on it, dragging my head down and I felt my nethers heat up with a cherry-red blush on my face. “See, lighting up is what you do, my little Red Nose Reindeer.”

“You know I hate that ridiculous nickname,” I whispered, whimpering in need of release. My wife was relentless in her teasing, though. She always was.

“No, you don’t,” she told me and Catherine shoved me lightly on my back, trapping me beneath one of her hooves. Despite her rough and wild appearance, she still looked soft and dainty, even as a pony. Her slightly toned muscles did things to me I didn't know I could feel. I was completely at her mercy as my tummy quivered with suppressed shudders. Fuck, she's so frigging hot.

“No... I don’t...” I gulped, agreeing with her. She was the only one that was allowed to call me her Red Nose Reindeer, after all. And by everything that was holy, it was sexy as hell when she did it.

“You like it when you’re not in control, don’t you?” she whispered huskily, going in with her muzzle to kiss me but denying me from ever reaching hers as I went to go meet hers with mine. “So helpless, I can smell your arousal, you know?”

“P-please...” I cried pathetically out to her, wanting... no, needing her to have her way with me. She merely grinned mischievously down at me, and I felt my tail press itself even deeper into the sand as I couldn’t get out from beneath her.

“Oh, look at how cute you are like this,” Catherine said, running her hoof over my bottom lip. I wanted to suck on it, but she withdrew it before I could do so much as even lick it with my tongue. “You like it as a cute little mare, hmm?”

“Yes...” I breathed out, trying to buck out towards her with my rear. I wanted her to appreciate me in a wholly different way...

“None of that, now,” she grunted, shoving me back down on the warm sand. “You’re not allowed to lead, not when I’m on top.”

“S-stop teasing, already...” I whimpered, begging her with my eyes as she stroked the fur on my chest.

“Oh, I’ll do so much worse than teasing, my little Red Nose,” Catherine giggled, slowly trailing a few kisses up my neck towards my jaw. She stopped just short of my delicate chin. “Why don’t you just enjoy this, hmm?”

I nodded numbly, my voice failing me entirely. One of her wings reached out to my splayed-out ones, brushing a little bit of sand away from them. That just made me quiver more as it felt like she was torturing me for a little bit of fun at my expense.

“You like that,” she stated, not even having to ask. She repeated her actions with an even lighter touch this time and my wings started to press themselves even harder against the ground at that. “So very sensitive, aren’t they?”

“Y-yes...” I shuddered, biting my lip as I tried to not moan from the sensation. My wife smiled down at me and pressed the lightest kiss against my muzzle, holding my head back at the throat so I couldn’t make it more passionate. She knew me too well, it seemed.

“Don’t try to fight for control or I’ll stop. Disobey me one more time and you will regret it,” Catherine ordered me and I forced myself to lay as still as I could under these circumstances. It took a lot of willpower on my part, I had to admit. “Now that's a good little filly.”

Her tail brushed against mine and my nostrils flared when she began to play with my lips again with one hoof. I wanted to never forget this intoxicating smell of sweet chocolate (and the faintest hint of motor oil) as her scent continued to play havoc on my body.

Catherine straddled my barrel with her back legs as she sat on top of me, one of her primary feathers tickling my lips slightly. She reached out with her right foreleg towards my dripping nethers with a teasing flick, not even having to look away from my pleading eyes. It came back into my vision glistening with my fluids, reflecting the light of the suns with little sparkles.

“You smell so beautifully, my dear,” she said, taking a deep sniff of my arousal. I whimpered as I felt my insides burn from the sight of her half-lidded eyes, turning me on so much that I thought I would orgasm from the view alone. Catherine gave her hoof a small lick, moaning as she did so. “And the taste...”

“C-Catherine...” I whined, my own forehoof tried to reach out towards my own nethers, but she was quick enough to stop my pathetic attempt at pleasuring myself.

“None of that, have I not told you so already?” she snarled, glaring down hotly at me. “Do I need to punish you?”

“Y-yes! P-punish me!” I nodded eagerly, hoping she would just do so before I lost it completely. “I’m a bad filly, I need to be p-punished!”

“Oh, is that so?” Catherine giggled, slapping my bare flanks with a resounding snap. This time, I moaned loudly. “You have been so naughty, it will take a while to slap the bad out of you.”

“M-mhhmmm!” I agreed vigorously with her, my marehood agreeing wholeheartedly with her.

“Lick my hoof clean, won’t you?” she asked, holding the hoof with my juices in front of my face. I moaned throatily as I did just that, not taking my eyes off of her as she watched me like a hawk. “That’s better. Do as I say and I might reward you. Now, call me your mistress or I will be quite cross with you...”

“Y-yes, Mistress,” I said, continuing with my ministrations to please her. Just as I thought I was doing a good job at it I felt her flick my aching nub of a clitoris harshly, coaxing out a scream of pleasure from me.

“Not so fast, do I make myself clear?” Catherine growled and I gave her a wordless confirmation that I wouldn’t get too eager again. “That's better~. Now, lick my hoof clean again and behave yourself this time.”

“Mhmm,” I hummed, already working on said appendage like she wanted me to. She let out a pleased tone as I did so, making my vulva tingle happily.

“You’re so hot, do you know that?” Catherine told me, withdrawing her hoof and engaging in a hungry kiss with me. “Licking your own juices like that, it makes me go wild.”

“I aim to please, Mistress~.”

“That you do,” she smirked, slapping my flanks again a bit harder this time. I sucked in a sharp breath while I went cross-eyed, shuddering underneath her. By the twin suns, I love being her submissive little pet, fuck. “Now, why don’t you tell me why you won’t let go of me?”

“I can’t,” I answered, melting under her grasp as she gave a single buck against my needy marehood. I let out a gasp, winding my hooves around her back as she bit down on my lip, tugging on them ever so slightly before letting go.

“Can’t or won’t?” Catherine inquired, going for one of my ears next.

“Won’t...” I said, my eyelid squeezing shut with a shudder as she licked the inside of my ear slowly. My throat let out a moan once more, reveling in the sensation. It was a wholly different thing from when Tia did this to me on so many occasions. This clearly was meant as something sexual. And I loved it. Oh, how much I loved it...

Despite my current bliss, Catherine stopped with a frown on her beige muzzle. “Then you need to wake up,” her voice was a strange mix between hers and Celestia’s. “Don’t hold on to the past.”

“What do you mean, wake up?” I asked her in confusion, looking around me as I started to get afraid. Everything around us was starting to fade away slowly. “What is going on?”

“Let go of this dream, my little Red Nose,” Catherine told me, a sad smile on her face. “Don’t torture yourself over this. Move on.”

“But I don’t want to!” I shouted, terrified of what was happening to the little island. The palms were almost all gone by now, as was the mountain in the distance. “You are my everything!”

“And you mine, Summer,” her voice was getting more distant the longer this went on. “I will always love you, dear. Don’t let that stop you from living your new life, though. Do it for me, please.”

“How can I do that?!” I glared at her, tears streaming down the side of my head. “I might have deluded myself that I have moved on, but that won’t ever change what I feel in my heart!”

“Does your heart have so little room in it that I occupy all of it?” she asked me with a rueful tone. “Have I stolen it so completely?”

“Please, don’t make me let go of you!” I cried out, seeing her start to fade away, too. “I don’t know what to do without you! Please! Cath... I... I love you. Please stay with me. I don't want this to end, even if it is only a dream...”

"You know I can't," she told me, brushing a strand of my disheveled mane out of my face with a gentle, loving touch. “I'm not real, my love. You know what to do, though. I'm not the only one your heart yearns for. Stop lying to yourself. You can move on and be happy again.”

“But...” I started, but she placed her hoof on my lips.

“Don’t give me that, now. You know that I’m right, so why fight me on it?” Catherine said, her colors changing from beige fur to light fuchsia-ish gray that was almost pearl white if you missed the subtle hint of color, her blue eyes fading to a pale magenta, and her chocolaty mane to a bright pink. “I know you want to... I know you the best, after all. Give in, my little Red Nose. She can make you so much happier than I ever could as a dream version of what cannot be real.”

“But it is wrong! She is my twin, for fuck’s sake!” I said, slapping her hoof away. She instead brought me into a rough kiss, causing my insides to whirl around in so many confusing feelings.

“I’m not the only perverted one in our relationship, Summer,” she replied in a sultry way, her voice having been replaced by Celestia’s. She captured my lips a moment later, her light magenta eyes smoldering down at me. “Give in, my sweet Sunshine. Your heart yearns for it, why deny it? Give it what it wants...”

“Please... not like this,” I let out a moan against my will. “Anypony but her. I don’t want to lose her. Not like I have lost you, Catherine. I can't.”

“You never lost me,” she huskily replied. “I stayed with you in your heart all this time, now I ask you to let go of me. Can you do that for me, please?”

“Why Celestia, though?!” I screamed at her, thrashing under her grasp. Our little world was almost gone by now.

“Because she reminds you of me, doesn’t she?” Celestia-Catherine told me, forcing me to acknowledge the truth. She really did and it made me want to cry so much. This wasn’t fair! I hate these damn feelings for her! Why did it have to be my own twin?! I felt so dirty because of that... “You have to let go of me for you to find your true happiness. Do it for me, please.”

“No! I... I won’t! I can’t let go of you like that. It would mean that I have let you go for good. I-I don’t want that! I love you, Cath. Please... not Celestia... not... not like that. She and Luna are everything to me, I can’t risk that!” I said, a hiccup forcing itself out of my poor, abused throat. “I’ve already lost so much, I’ve only got so little to give before I start to break down.”

“Hmph. And here I thought you were so generous you would stop at nothing,” she stated, staring down disapprovingly at me. “Or are you so weak that you falter so easily?”

“What if she rejects me? What then?!” I demanded of her, staring her down as my anger flared hotly in my chest. “I won’t have anypony left, then!”

“How do you know she will reject you?” she asked me, a challenging look in her eyes. “How do you know she doesn’t feel the same way about you? Can’t you see the signs? Are you that blind?”

“What signs?!”

“Oh, my poor, poor Summer,” Celestia-Catherine looked sadly upon me. “I didn’t know you had deluded yourself so much. This intervention couldn't have come soon enough, it seems.”

“Deluded? Deluded?!” I growled, infuriated. “You are deluded for thinking this is a wise idea! Stop playing with my heart!”

“You will see, my sweet Sunshine...” she simply said as she faded away completely and the world around me grew dark. “Accept it. Embrace it. Don’t shun it.”

Those were her last words to me before I felt myself wake up from this strange nightmare. I wished she hadn’t stopped the sexy time to bring up my darkest, most closely kept secret that I tried to hide away from.

All this time I had to suppress the tingles and blushes as Celestia reminded me more and more of my own wife with each passing year. I would have even gone so far as to think she was an alternate version of her or even her reincarnated self, just like me, but I couldn’t let myself get weak like that. There was no way that was in any shape or form true.

I promised it to myself, even though it sometimes seemed so eerily like the truth. Little things that I knew only my wife did were mirrored by my own twin, making me hate myself for feeling like that. It just couldn’t be possible. I had to be projecting these things onto her, I just had to.

Otherwise, that would mean my wife was dead by now. That... that she died, like me. And that was something I couldn’t entertain the thought of. If she was indeed a reincarnated version of the love of my life, then that meant she took her own life as she learned of the death of my human self.

The thing about that, though, was that that was something I could see her actually do. It would have been a thing I would have done if I were honest with myself. Our children would have been a painful reminder of what I once had with her, and it would have slowly driven me mad. If not suicide, then I would have lost myself to alcohol for sure. That wasn’t something I could have condoned, though, selfish as it was.

What happened back on Earth? Did my passing have such a large impact on her? I would have thought she was stronger than this, but then again, I would have thought to be stronger than this myself. We were bad parents, weren’t we? So selfish that we couldn’t live without one another.

I wanted to puke at that thought. I didn’t deserve to live on and be happy. Not when that meant that I caused my own wife to take her life. I could be wrong, of course. My heart knew differently, though.

There was a reason why the dream version of my wife changed into Celestia, wasn’t there? It couldn’t be, though. These were the confused ramblings of a madmare, this was my mind playing tricks on me. Nothing more. A way to convince me of a forbidden love that shouldn’t be.

Have I lost it, already? Trying to see my wife in her because I missed her so much? Was my subconscious trying to convince me Celestia was Catherine because of how much they resembled each other? Was it trying to reason that Celestia could be Catherine because I might have the fear she took her own life? That Catherine reincarnated like me because of that? Was I really unable to let go? Was it my brain’s way of coping with my new life?

I wanted to say no, I couldn’t be so depraved as to cling on to this false hope, but everything else in me said yes, I am very much capable of it. My heart yearned for these fantasies to be the truth because otherwise, I...

I wanted to rip my mind to shreds just to stop myself from feeling like this. But as I felt the strong legs of my sister hold me in her grip, I felt myself awaken more and more. I felt her tongue ravish the inside of my ear so much that I wanted to moan out, and... I felt a part of me relish these emotions I held for this forbidden love.

A hoof of mine found its way to my wet nethers, unbidden. The guilt in me warred with the perverted part of my mind and quickly lost to the ecstasy flooding my brain. I loved how Tia played with my ear and I felt revolted at myself at the same time. A small part, a very small part, wanted me to accept my feelings for her right at this moment, turn around and force myself on her. My marehood practically begged me to do so. But I couldn't. It wouldn't be right of me to do so.

No. It would have to be a secret I need to take with me into the grave, I decided. In no way would I ever risk her finding out and hating me for it. Nor would I ever force her into accepting my feelings, that would be even more wrong of me. I can't risk her shunning and hating me for feeling this strongly about her. She was too innocent for me to taint her like that. Never, I swore to myself, would I tell her of my feelings.

I would silently admire her from the safe confines of my own mind, I told myself that as a compromise, but I would never go beyond that. It was the only piece of guilty pleasure I could allow myself to have. And yet, my heart still rebelled against me.

I couldn't help but feel like the words I told myself were the most dishonest thing I have ever told myself in both of my lives...

And, as I felt my guilty orgasm shudder through my body, I looked out the window and had to bite back a gasp. It was such an alien sight after having been trapped within the house for so long, I never thought I would be able to see them through the clouds again.

Those clouds were gone now, as was the blizzard. No more snow fell down from the heavens, and the shiny blue sky was perfectly complemented by the glowing suns rising like nothing was ever wrong in the first place.

The early winter had come to an end at last after so long. I was grateful that it didn’t last for eternity. Telling time was already difficult enough without a calendar to count the months by, I didn’t know which month we currently had right now.

“Summer...” Celestia whispered dreamily and the voice of my twin brought me out of my musings as I felt her bite down on my ear again, sucking on it. My blush brightened as the words of the dream version of my wife came back to me. Was... was that one of the signs she mentioned? But Celestia did that since we were newborns, for fuck’s sake! There was no way that there was anything remotely sexual about it!

I silently continued to suffer as Celestia abused my poor quivering ear and I felt my tail start to stand up. Not like this, not before she was about to wake up! Please body, get a grip on yourself!

My body ignored my thoughts, though. After the dream of my wife doing the same thing to me, my traitorous body couldn't help but interpret Tia's actions as the same thing with the same intentions.

Desperately, I grabbed my tail before it could move even further and give me away. Not that that helped me in any way as a small moan escaped me due to Celestia biting down on a particularly sensitive spot as if doing it on purpose.

I felt the mouth of my sister quirk up into a smile and I did my best to pretend to be asleep. Oh, god... by the twin suns, what if the dream version of Celestia-Catherine was right about her? I... no. Don’t get your hopes up like this, Summer. It's wrong and you shouldn’t even entertain such thoughts in the first place.

It's wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong! So fucking wrong... Damnit, Summer! Think unsexy things, quick! Anything but this...

Celestia made a wet slurping noise and my wings started to go up a bit as my heart was quickly filled with fear and horror. Don’t have a wing-boner now, don’t have a wing-boner now, don’t have a wing-boner now, I desperately chanted within my mind. I wished this was a nightmare instead, but I knew better.

One wrong move and my sister would hate me forever. I cannot let it come to that. I can't.

“Stop abusing your sister’s ear and get up, you have to see this,” the voice of our mother managed to pierce through the awkward tension in my muscles and I heard Celestia let out an unhappy groan as she stretched her limbs out with a cute little yawn. My heart skipped a beat as I heard her breathe in deeply through her nostrils.

Please, don’t smell my arousal. Please, don’t smell my arousal. Please, don’t smell my arousal. Why the fuck did I have to masturbate right before she woke up? While in her embrace, no less?! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

“C'mon, sister, wake up,” Tia called out to me, shaking me on my shoulder. “Mother wants to show us something.”

I tried to fake being roused from my slumber, but I had a nagging feeling in the back of my mind that Celestia knew perfectly well what I had just done. She had that twinkle in her eyes that reminded me so much of a mischievous Catherine.

My brain was such a dick, sometimes. Stop seeing things, I told myself and tried to hide my glistening hoof away from her gaze. My blush threatened to reappear.

So wrong. This was depraved and wrong and depraved and... so wrong. It was stupid, and... and sexy, but wrong! Wrong, damnit! For fuck’s sake, Summer! Get a grip on yourself.

“What is it?” I asked, not having to fake the yawn. Thankfully, I could wipe away the mare juices on the blanket and I was reasonably sure she didn’t notice as I did so with all the secrecy I could muster. It helps that she was staring out the window at the time.

Her flanks looked so divine from this angle, my mind treacherously whispered and I shook my head rapidly to clear the thoughts away. It was wrong! Utterly, damnable, heinously wrong!

She just motioned for me to come up beside her and so I did what she wanted me to do. Outside, where previously a heavy blanket of snow covered the landscape, now were green fields of grass, chirping birds, and puddles of water.

“How?” I asked, perplexed. The sight made me forget my previous thoughts completely (thankfully).

Outside, there wasn’t even a single speck of snow left to be seen. It was... confusing, to say the least. I would have thought for sure to at least see heaps of snow still covering the ground, there was no way it could have melted so fast without a trace.

“That’s something I would also like to know, sister,” Celestia said, glancing at me from the corner of her eyes, and for a moment, the image of Catherine stood before me, the same look in her eyes. After a blink she was gone, a mere ghost from my dream here to haunt me in my waking hours.

Why does this have to happen now?! Couldn’t I just live my life in peace?! Must I be reminded of my wife by everything my twin does?! These thoughts needed to stop before I did something foolish. Something foolish like blurting out 'I love you, Tia!' and then kissing her perfect lips... tasting her tongue as I deepened it before she could protest... forcing her to moan for me as I caressed her with my magic against her will... I... fuck! Stop it, brain!

This is so fucking wrong. It's wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. Wrong, damnit! Disgustingly wrong. These feelings, these thoughts... they were all wrong! Wrong and disgusting! So fucking wrong. It was abominable and disgusting and wrong and abominable and disgusting and... and...

“Are you okay?” she asked me, looking at me in concern. Startled, I gave her the best confused gaze I could muster and she lifted her hoof to my cheek, bringing a tear back with her.

Oh, Catherine... I missed you so much, even if you wanted me to let go of you, I can’t. And if it truly is you standing before me... what would I do then? This notion of forbidden love is driving me crazy now, why did you have to open my eyes like that? Why did you have to make me acknowledge these feelings? Why?!

I’m not okay, Tia. Not one bit. I... I love you. I really do. More than a sister should. And it’s so damn wrong of me to feel like this. It’s disgusting, detestable, depraved, and... and so friggin' sexy. Oh, fuck, it's so damn sexy and I can't help but want to kiss you so badly. And I want to do so much more to you, but I can't. I can't give in to these incestuous feelings, they are wrong. I can't just force myself on you and make you love me back. I can't. It's wrong of me to have these disgusting thoughts of you. You deserve better than this depraved, foolish mare as your sister.

Why? Why did it have to be you of all ponies?! Why can’t I go back to being ignorant? I don’t want to lose you... I love you. I really do and it hurts. So. Damn. Much!

“I’m okay...” I whispered, afraid of what I would say if I were to continue to talk, or even if I were to give her the reason for that drop of liquid. I cannot tell her the truth, as much as I wanted to. It’s wrong. So damn wrong. What would you think of me if you weren’t somepony that was reincarnated like me, sister? You would think me mad, wouldn’t you? I’m sorry that I harbor such a love for you...

“Are you certain that you're okay?” Tia asked again, skeptically. I gave her a slight smile, but it didn’t reach my eyes. My body betrayed me as it demanded of me to tell the truth to her. But I couldn’t. I wanted to, so very much, but... I was too much of a coward to do so.

And it was wrong. Atrociously wrong.

“I’ll be fine, I just had a nightmare,” I reassured her, hoping that would be all we would talk about on this topic. I feared I might confess my feelings regardless of how much I didn’t want to if this conversation kept on. At the same time, my heart wanted to spill everything out and leave myself at her mercy. Everything about her just... continued to remind me of my wife.

Despite my wishes, my mind couldn't stop making me see these things in her. It was unfair to Catherine and Celestia. It was especially unfair to my own sister. She didn’t deserve to be treated as a replacement. She didn’t deserve to be treated as someone she couldn’t possibly be. It was impossible.

It was wrong and despicable. We are twins, damnit! Twins! Family! I couldn’t give in to these impulses! I couldn’t give in to things like incest just because my heart yearned for it. How depraved would that make me?!

“Hey. You can talk to me anytime,” she said. “I promise, I will listen. Do it for me?”

“I...” my breath hitched. Those words... Why did she have to use those words? Of all the words... why did it have to be those? Every other pony would have asked 'Can you do that for me?' instead of 'Do it for me?', so why did it have to be those words? Before my inner eye, I saw Catherine's devil-may-care smile just before she asked me in the exact same way to do something for her. She always said the same words when she asked me for something she wanted of me. And I always gave in, no matter what I thought about it. I always ended up doing it because I knew she would be happy. I loved seeing her happy...

There were countless instances of her asking me for one thing or another. And each and every memory was so similar to each other, perfectly matching the expression she made to the same pleading one Celestia had on her muzzle now. The slight bow of the head, her lip pointing out the smallest bit, her eyes staring practically into my soul. It reminded me so much of her, it was uncanny.

Celestia giggled and I blinked, confused. “Your face just lit up a bright red, was your dream about sex? Aww, my sister is so naughty~,” Celestia said with a mischievous grin. “You have a red nose, you know. It's really cute.”

Red Nose. That’s the nickname Catherine gave me. Red. Nose. There was no way, it must be a coincidence! Celestia can't be Catherine! Stop this, brain! I plead with you. Stop playing with my heart so much. Stop. Stop! STOP!

It's so damn wrong. Please. I... I can't do this anymore. I have to get away from her. I can't give in to these deplorable feelings. I'm sorry, sister. I love you. Please, don't hate me. For your sake and mine, I'll have to get away from you. I can't stay near you, it will break my heart.

A bright flash later and I was sitting in the middle of the forest, sobbing my heart out. I screamed out in anguish, hitting my hooves against the dirt. I ignored the aching from the impacts, ripping out chunks of grass and dirt with my magic.

I continued with my rampage, uprooting trees and throwing boulders around. My voice got more and more raw from the sobs leaving my throat, and still, I couldn't stop. Everything welled up from within me and I needed to vent it out, lest I fall victim to my memories of her. Despite my every effort, everything continued to flash by me. Our first kiss. The first date. The stupid car race for the sake of impressing her, trying to connect with her through her love of cars. The cheesy romance movies she watched with me only because I liked those...

The first time we had sex.

“Why?!” I raged, burning the ground with bright blue flames of magefire. “Why does this have to happen now?!”

I let myself fall to the ground, sorrow gripping my heart tightly as my voice did it injustice in voicing it to the heavens. The flames continued to lick against me as everything around me burned. They did not hurt me, though. No, they felt strangely comforting to me. Not even the heat of the scorched earth around me felt uncomfortable. It was as if they were a part of me and thus couldn't hurt me even if they destroyed everything else.

“Damn you, Catherine!” I croaked out, my voice still working despite how much I had abused it by now. “Damn you, Celestia! I hate this. I hate this so fucking much... Why can't I just be... normal..? Why do I have to feel like this..?”

Tia... Why do you have to be so similar to her? And why did I have to notice it now?! I can't do this anymore, I'm sorry. I can't keep pretending to not see these things in you, anymore. I can't stay near you anymore. I just... can't. It hurts too much. Please, take care of Luna and Mom for me.

And yet, I still wanted my twin sister here with me so much. I saw everything about her in Celestia. Every expression of Catherine I loved was mirrored perfectly by my twin. Not only that but the way they behaved was like they were one and the same person. A teenage Catherine stared back at me when I looked at my sister now and no matter what I did, I couldn’t stop thinking like that. That alone was reason enough to stay away from her. I couldn't do this. Even if I just love her in secret from the safe confines of my own mind, it would destroy me more than it already did if I stayed near her.

This was the fault of my second puberty, wasn’t it? Forcing me to recognize these things about my sister, if I wanted to or not. My heart yearned for my love and it sought somepony similar to fill that role now. I fucking hated it.

“Damn my stupid heart...” I whispered, holding my forehooves close to my chest, whimpering mournfully. I tried denying it. I tried to be angry about it. And I tried to reason myself out of this. I wished for anypony but my twin to fill that role. But nothing I did could have changed those feelings. They stayed the same, torturing me at every opportunity they got. It was unfair.

Couldn't I have been born into a different family? Everything would be so much simpler then. It was of no use, thinking like that. Nothing would change now, and... I just burned all bridges, didn't I? I couldn't go back, even if I wanted to. Things would never go back to how they used to be. I could never see Celestia as anything other than this beautiful goddess I fell in love with. It was impossible.

Now... now I was depressed. I couldn’t let go, even if I wanted to. All I saw in Celestia was Catherine. My beloved. And now, Celestia made me feel the same way as I felt about Catherine. It made me want to puke, it made me want to cry in happy tears and in sad ones, and it made me want to kiss her so badly. If only I hadn't run away...

Fuck. Why did I have to die and leave her on Earth? Why did I have to be reborn and find myself seeing her in my twin? Why did I have to fall in love with my twin?! Why?!

All of these questions... and no answers. I couldn’t know for sure what happened with Catherine and the kids back on Earth. I couldn’t know for sure Celestia wasn’t Catherine in disguise. I couldn’t know for sure what to feel about this.

I wanted to feel this way, and I didn’t. I wanted to have Celestia be Catherine, and I didn’t. I wanted to love her so much, and I didn’t. Everything I wanted, I also didn’t want. What a damn conundrum.

“My love, what are you thinking of me now?” I asked, staring up at the heavens. “What would you say? Not the dream version, but the real you?”

No answer came back.

Of course, a good guess was all I could make. And everything I came up with was the same conversation I had with her in my dream. Accept my feelings, truly accept them. Not just fantasize. Not just look and not touch.

I wanted to accept that I had these feelings. But was that so easy? I mean sure, it was easy accepting that I could admire Tia from afar, not even saying anything to her. But what I really wanted to do was to go back and lay my heart out to her, hoping beyond hope she would accept it.

Like I accepted feeling these things about her, to be honest. I couldn’t... I couldn’t continue to deny feeling like this anymore. I really do love her, Dream-Catherine was right. It was futile trying to deny it. She was right, just like she always was. I loved my twin with all of my heart.

I loved my own twin... I loved her and I ran away. I ran away because I loved her. She is going to be so worried about me, isn't she? Ugh, I can't believe how stupid I can be. I'm so dumb. Nay, unbelievably dumb, even. Tia is going to search for me and it will break her heart that I abandoned her. I'm still that foolish filly that hid the truth from my little sister. I keep lying to those I love.

At least I stopped lying to myself, huh? This wasn’t a crush. This wasn’t just a stupid phase. This was true love. The kind that made one do stupid things. Like running away from home and marrying somepony, as our mother did. Like running away out of fear and denial, trying to escape your own sister and feelings, as I just did.

The smile and giggle from Celestia just before I teleported out on her made me smile and giggle wistfully myself. The way she still continued to molest my ears in her sleep left me wanting for more. The guilty pleasure I let myself have as she sucked on my ear made my nethers flare up with arousal once more.

And this time, I didn’t feel guilty about it. I moaned, thrashed, and cried out in pleasure as I began to masturbate to the image of my sister and I felt no shame. Only love, unbridled love for somepony dear to my heart. She would never know, and that was okay. I hope she will get over me, eventually.

I cried out her name as I came once, then twice. And once more, my body shuddered with overwhelming pleasure and I didn’t stop there. I needed to feel good and I didn’t care that I was masturbating to my twin. I wanted to go back to her and have sex with her. The desire burned brightly in me and I desperately clung on to this feeling of need within me. It was going to be everything of her I would still have for the rest of my life.

“Celestia! Ahn~, hah... hah..."—I huffed in exhaustion as I felt myself shudder again from another orgasm—"I love you, so much,” I whispered to myself as a tiny giggle escaped me. “Fuck, ngh~. I wish I could be together with you. I want to, but... I can’t tell you. I can't ever let you know, I'm sorry. Not unless I know for sure you feel the same way about me. I guess I'll never find out, huh?”

“You don’t have to tell me, Red Nose,” her voice whispered back and I felt my heart stop, eyes popping wide open as my body froze in fear. No. No no no, this wasn’t happening! I... I ran away because I wanted to avoid this very thing! Why? Why did you have to find me?!

“...Tia?” I asked, a nervous tone entering my voice. Slowly, my eyes turned to the right and I saw her twinkling eyes staring back at me, a smile on her muzzle. “What are you doing here?”

“I came looking for you, dummy,” she giggled as she approached me slowly. “So, what is this about? Why hide in the middle of the forest? You really did a number on this place, huh? I didn't think you had it in you to be this destructive.”

“I...” I murmured and my reply fell short as my eyes took her fully in. I couldn't tell her I just ran away because of her, but then... I noticed that her tail was notably raised, she was biting her lip, and there was no hostility in her eyes. Tears fell from my eyes as I said my next words. They fell out of my mouth unbidden, but my heart danced with joy as they reached her ears. “I love you...”

“I heard... you weren't exactly silent, you know? Had I known you felt like this... mhh~, I would have done a lot more to you than suck on your ear, Summer...” she whispered huskily and I felt my marehood clench tightly, a shudder running through me as her voice did wonders to my body. “You know, you kinda remind me of someone. Someone I loved a lifetime ago...”

“I could say the same thing,” I rasped out, the abuse I subjected my vocal cords to began to finally catch up to me.

“I think we both know what this is about, Red Nose,” Celestia said as she came closer to me until she stood over me. Slowly, she caressed my cheek with her hoof and I nodded up at her, gulping thickly. “I missed you, you know.”

“Cath...” I started but her hoof stopped me from fully voicing her name.

“I thought I lost you as I died,” she said, placing a small kiss on my lips. I blushed brightly as she lifted her head ever so slightly. Her beauty was almost swan-like. “I thought I left you alone on Earth...”

“I did, too...” I whispered, returning the kiss with one of my own, tears of anguish and joy forming in the corner of my eyes. “I don’t know what happened, but the next moment I found myself here.”

“Same...” she said around the kiss, asking me for permission with her tongue and I granted it readily. Her tongue moved around just like I remembered it, wrestling for control in no time. Not that she had to fight for long, I let her win as I always did.

“But... if we’re here...” I started, breathing heavily. Celestia broke the kiss and a somber mood settled over me. “What about Rose and Tabby? Or your sister?”

“I don’t know...” she returned, frowning. “I thought you were still with them, but I seem to have been mistaken about that.”

“I’m sure my parents or your sister are taking care of them...” I replied. “I know they would.”

“You know my sister was jealous of me for having you,” she shot back. I nodded meekly, grimacing at the reminder. She really was, but I’m sure she wouldn’t let that get in between taking care of them.

“You don’t seem so surprised that I enjoy being a mare...” I started and she grinned lecherously down at me. “But then again, you are a pervert.”

“Says the right one,” she giggled as I made that remark in a deadpan voice. “I was conscious as you moaned out into your fetlock this morning. Had you not grabbed your tail, I'm sure it would have done the most wonderful things to my body... I was kinda tempted to do it with you right then and there~.”

“I knew it!” I shouted with a pout, poking a mare cum soaked hoof into her chest. “You did that on purpose!”

“I always did,” she said, laughing. “I couldn’t resist trying to make my own twin love me. I mean, it’s a thing that seemed to work in my light novels. At first, I only did it because it was cute and gave me comfort after I thought I had... lost... you, but now? Oh, fuck me, Summer. You are so damn hot~.”

“You little pervert,” I said, pouting. “Would you have done this to me if I hadn’t been who I am?”

“What do you think?” she asked me, raising an eyebrow back at me. Of course, she would have. How could she not? “There is no way I wouldn’t have gone after the first love interest like in a dating sim. Besides, this is basically an isekai but with cute little ponies. That's like a furry's wet dream come true and there's no way in hell I am going to miss a chance like that. Who do you take me for?”

“A devil?” I shot back. “You’re the worst. Why am I not surprised you're into that?”

“Aww, you know you love me~,” she said.

“I don't know... I’m in doubt about that,” I said playfully, smearing a bit of my juices on the tip of her muzzle, making her go cross-eyed. A shudder went through her body, her inner pervert no doubt loving it. “What would you have done if you didn't have a twin?”

Tia snorted. “Don’t think just because Luna is six years younger I would have kept my pretty hooves off of her,” she smirked and I sighed in despair. Why did I have to ask? “Aww, c'mon! Don’t give me that look, now. I knew I would have moved on from you eventually, as I’m sure you would have, too, judging by you screaming my name out in bliss.”

“You’re incorrigible. Going after your own sister, for shame,” I said, turning my muzzle up at her. She laughed at that, her head shaking in mirth.

“And what would that make you?” Tia retorted, a smug smile on her pretty muzzle. “At least I admit it.”

“But Luna?! How can you go after your own baby sister?” I asked, aghast. “We’re at least the same age! It’s like dating a kid, for fuck’s sake!”

“Dear, we are kids,” she argued, rolling her eyes. “And it’s not like I wouldn’t have waited until we were adults, idiot.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“No, you.”

“You times double,” I shot back, blowing a raspberry at her. Tia giggled, embracing me tightly. Fond eyes stared back at me.

“See? Such a child,” Celestia told me. “I’ve missed this.”

“Me, too. I had this dream where I dreamt of your human self as a ponified version, you know?” I said, gazing back up at her twinkling magenta eyes. “Chocolate hair, beige fur...”

“Why not blonde? I’m sure you haven’t already forgotten that I dyed my hair,” she said with a raised brow and I nodded shyly.

“I liked it dyed, though...” I mumbled and she giggled, nuzzling me lovingly and I sighed happily into the touch. I’m glad I won’t have to let go of her...

Then, her expression turned mischievous and teasing. “So... was it a kinky dream~?” she asked me and I sputtered for a moment. My blush was enough of an answer for her to know and she smirked down at me. “What did I do?”

“You... do you remember the first fetish I asked you to let me try out?” I whispered, squirming a bit in her embrace. She nodded and I felt her breath start to pick up a bit more. “You had me pinned under you...”

“Go on...” she gulped, licking her lips.

“And then teased me endlessly with your wings, denied me from playing with myself, and slapped my flanks...” I answered, making a shudder go through her, her wings flared out as she beheld me with hungry eyes.

“Did I make you call me your mistress?” she wanted to know and I merely nodded. “Mhh. You were a bad filly, weren’t you?”

“Y-yes...” I confirmed and she pressed me into the ground, giving me a rough kiss. “Mhmm...”

“I’m so gonna fuck you right now...” she growled, grinding against me. Her own marehood was slick with her arousal and I moaned into her mouth. “I wished I had you with me as we went through our first estrus, you know?”

“Mhhh...” I hummed, rolling her over so I was on top. I was careful to not squish her wings as I did so. I smirked back at her as I reached out with my own wings, repeating what Catherine did to me in my dreams which managed to make Celestia mewl out in delight.

“Ru–mph...” she whispered out, but my kiss interrupted her. That was a name she shouldn’t speak out loud anymore. I was Summer now and I let her know that. Our horns clanked against each other, making stars go through our vision. It didn’t stop our make-out session in the slightest, though.

“That’s Summer, Tia,” I said to her, heavily flushed with arousal and need. With a quick flare of my horn, I made her squeal out my proper name as I vibrated her clitoris gently. “I have longed for this day so much, sister.”

“And so have I... Fuck, it really turns me on when you call me your sister,” she said, her hips bucking out against mine. We gasped into each other’s muzzle as a pleasant jolt went through us. She turned the table back on me and I found myself trapped underneath her once more. “Now shut up and let me fuck your brain out.”

“Shouldn’t we worry about Mom finding out?” I breathily asked her, feeling her magic begin to go for my own marehood. “E-especially after... Ahn! F-fuck, that feels good! Tia, I... we need to make sure Mom doesn't "—I let out a wordless shriek as she gently twisted her magic around my nub and I glared up at her for interrupting me again—"Tia! W-we need to make sure Mom won't come looking for us, especially what happened the l-last time one of us ran away!”

“Don’t you worry your pretty head about that, I’m better at magic than you,” she said matter-of-factly while repaying me tenfold for using my magic without her permission. “She won’t find us until I'm done with you here.”

“Say... w-when... fuck, right there, Tia~! Ahn! Yes! Oh, fuck! Oh my, nghh... h-harder! Yes, oh fuck! Right... there! Ahn~!"

"That good, huh?" she grinned and I whimpered for more. Thankfully, she decided not to be a tease about it and used her magic to vibrate my entrance more. She gave me exactly what I wanted, making my eyes roll around in my head as she pulled and twisted my clit while also pressing down and massaging my vulva. This was so much better than doing it myself, all the while feeling her weight comfortingly on top of me.

If only she had a dick right now, we could...

"T-Tia?" I asked breathily and she hummed, doing her best to make me go out of breath. "W-when do horses go through heat a-again?”

“Spring and Summer, why?” she asked me. I gulped, crying out against her chest as she found a particular weak spot of mine.

“W-what time of y-year is it?” I shot back with a fearful quiver, whining as my question made her pause.

“Shit...” she exclaimed, her own eyes going wide as well. “No wonder, I was getting more frisky than I should have been.”

“I think the winter lasted too long...” I retorted, wiggling my flanks in the hopes she would pick up where she left off. “I don’t want to be alone again...”

“Neither do I...” she said. “How long do you think until we go fully nuts?”

“Last time it was relatively fast,” I answered her, squirming underneath her. She went back to work on my needy pussy with a renewed vigor, much to my joy and relief. “Do you think we can... mhn... somehow alter the spellwork of Mom? So we could get to each other when she locks us away again?”

“We would have to be stealthy about it,” Celestia said, biting down on one of my ears. I let out a throaty moan at that, causing her to smirk playfully. “I knew you liked this already, but I didn’t expect a reaction like that.”

“S-shut up!” I mumbled, cheeks coloring up brightly. “All the times you have been going after it, it changes how one feels about it. I can’t believe you did this as a foal, you pervert.”

“Hey now. You're being unfair, I was clearly trying to get some comfort after finding out I reincarnated as a cute little pony," she retorted, frowning unhappily. "Besides, I was a grown-up in a baby's body, how should I get my fix in your opinion? I won the cute competition, no doubt about that."

Of course, she made it into a competition to be the cutest against her newborn sister. Not that I agreed on that point, I had clearly made the bigger impact on Mom (Dad doesn't count). The title of Mistress of Cuteness clearly goes to me.

Still, to do that with your own twin sister at that early of an age. She really was beyond the point of no return, wasn't she? Unfair competition aside, how could she not control her own urges around a baby?

Well, I guess she didn't mean it in a sexual way because that would be truly messed up. Her kind of fix either meant molesting me or 'molesting' me.

Three guesses as to what molesting and 'molesting' meant. And only the first one counts. 'Competition to be the cutest' my flank, she only did it so she wouldn't bawl her eyes out because I wasn't there, didn't she? She really is a clingy twin. Not that I was any better in that regard.

Speaking of molesting my ear, I felt my body seize up with an orgasm again and, uh... I squirted, much to my embarrassment. Celestia raised an eyebrow at me as I stared tiredly up at her.

“What?” I asked her, daring her to say something.

“Oh, nothing, nothing! I'm just curious. How often did you make yourself cum already before I found you?” she inquired. I couldn’t help but giggle nervously.

“I... kinda lost count?” I answered sheepishly. Tia looked down at me incredulously. “That dream really had managed to make me question a lot of things. I tried to deny my feelings for you for so long, it flooded quite literally out of me once I accepted my love for my own twin...”

“Flooded out, huh?” she smirked before she let out a perverted giggle. “I wonder if you taste the same as me.”

“Of course, that’s the first thing you think about, you pervert.”

“Stop calling me names,” she pouted. “I seem to remember you being quite a bit perverted, too.”

“Not as much as you, though,” I argued with her. She rolled her eyes at me.

“So...” Celestia began. “Do you want to try oral?”

“Uhm... I don’t know what it feels like with a vagina, so yes?” I asked her unsurely. I mean, if it felt half as good as what she was doing with me before, then I certainly wouldn’t say no.

“Oh, you’re going to love this,” she said, standing up from me with a last kiss and a flick of the tongue on my horn, making me go cross-eyed at the sensation. The next thing I saw before me was her sopping wet snatch and the sensation of her tongue running around the edges of my own opening. I let out a moan as I heard her smack her lips in thought. “Spicy-sweet, rich in flavor, and... totally like me. Fuck, I love it...”

“You weren’t kidding when you said you tasted yourself...” I groaned, biting my lip. “Why do I love the fact you’re such a pervert sometimes?!”

“Well, of course, I would. Do you have any idea how hard it is to resist something like that? Who do you take me for?” she answered me, giving me a slow, wet lick from tip to bottom. “Oh, by the way, this is totally an upgrade to the taste of your human cum, gorgeous. Don’t know whether that is because of pony tastebuds or not...”

“Ugh...” I whined. “Why do you have to bring that up now?”

“It’s true,” she complained, her magic reaching out to my head forcing me a bit closer to her marehood. “Now, I’m sure you want to know what this piece of flank tastes like.”

“Your dirty talk needs more work,” I replied, giving out a tentative lick. Tia was right, spicy and sweet at the same time, quite rich in flavor. I stared at my own cum-soaked hoof, slowly taking it into my own mouth and finding out that yes, I did have the same taste. “Fuck, you were right, this is so weird.”

“Stop licking your own juices and lick mine instead, ass,” Celestia complained, wiggling her nethers into my face. I moaned out, getting her to hum with a pleased tone. “Gotta do more than that to make me cum, pretty.”

“I’m your twin, I know where your sweet spots are now, sister,” I shot back with a smirk, snaking my tongue into her waiting canal. That rewarded me with a long and deep moan from her. I felt myself shudder from her own ministrations as her tongue entered mine in return.

My hindlegs squeezed her head against me as the sensation of something physically entering me was unlike anything I have ever felt before (magic just wasn't the same). Celestia giggled into me, not stopping what she was doing and I felt my insides quiver around her tongue, my arousal spiking up from what she was doing to me.

I fought myself from going cross-eyed as she gave a sudden wiggle inside of me, a moan forcing itself out of my throat. Fuck, where did she learn that from? My forehooves gripped her flanks roughly as I searched enthusiastically with my own tongue for a particular spot within her marehood I knew must be there.

Judging by the groaning coming from Tia, she liked me kneading her flanks quite a bit. So, I let myself grin a little bit as I dug my hooves into her soft but firm muscles. That made her buck out against me, causing my teeth to scrape against her opening which in turn made her scream out beautifully.

My own rear bucked out against her as she won the race against me in finding the sweet spot with her thick pony tongue. A muffled scream of her name forced itself out of my mouth and my walls clenched against her wiggling tongue, not letting it get away from where it currently was. The entirety of my body twitched a few times from the orgasm she inflicted upon me.

Celestia let out a mirthful laugh as I almost lost consciousness this time. Once my pussy started to let her go, she withdrew her tongue from my nethers, lapping up every last drop of my arousal with loud, exaggerated, totally hot slurping noises.

After I felt myself calm down enough, I went back to her own marehood with a vengeance. There was no way I wouldn’t get her off within the next few seconds.

“Mhmm, right there,” Celestia mewled, pawing against my flanks with her own forehooves. She let out a few cute noises I didn’t know we could make as I almost had her where I wanted her. “D-don’t s-stop!”

I grinned and did just that. I let my tongue go completely still and she whined out against me, trying to get me to continue with a few wiggles and shakes.

“Summer, p-please?!” she begged, turning her head around so she could stare into my mischievous pale magenta eyes. Her own pale magenta orbs seemed to glimmer in the light with desperate tears. “C-come o-on! Don’t be a d-dick, now!”

“...” I silently laughed and gave her sweet spot a sharp lick, making her go entirely limb as her eyes rolled up in her head suddenly. Her walls clamped down on my tongue, trying to milk it for something that it couldn’t give. I withdrew it with a small bit of difficulty, getting my twin to shudder even more, as I felt her own juices squirt out against my face.

“Fuck, that is so hot,” I mumbled, drinking her practically dry as her orgasm found no halt. “Damn, it’s like you never had sex before in your whole life!”

The only response I got was happy giggling and I smiled, a flutter going through my heart with an overwhelming sense of love for my reincarnated wife. I’m happy I won’t have to let go of her, having her here with me. We would have to continue our relationship in secret, though.

This technically counted as incest, didn’t it? Celestia and I knew how much this was frowned upon while we were still human, how did ponies view something like this? I mean, as Rudolph I wasn’t of a different opinion than the rest of humanity, but now?

This was my friggin’ wife and she was my sister for fifteen years by now. Almost as long as we had been married. We swore we would love each other while in life and in death. This didn’t change a damn thing about that. But it was everypony else I was concerned with.

We couldn’t just say we were a reincarnated couple and expect everypony to believe us. They would think this is some sick excuse so we could be together out in the open. We would be ostracized, even more so for being an amalgamation of the three pony tribes.

“Hey... what are you thinking about?” the voice of my wife-turned-twin brought me back to reality. I saw Celestia next to me with a small content smile, her eyes holding love and happiness in their pale magenta depths. Her forelegs wrapped themselves around me as I scooted over to her and I put my head on her chest with a small, soft sigh.

“You know we can’t ever let anyone else see us like this again, right?” I told her, feeling sad. One of her hooves stroked through my mane slowly and I heard her let out a small, thoughtful hum. “Not like we could when we were married. No kisses in public places, no saying ‘I love you’ in the romantic sense, no more teasing words in front of anypony...”

“I hate that you’re right with this, Summer,” Celestia said, making an unhappy noise. “This could very well become something life-threatening if it ever caught the wrong kind of attention.”

“That, and everypony would think us freaks,” I said. I let out a giggle afterward, though. “Although your perverted nature is quite freakish sometimes, sister.”

“You going along with it is the freakish thing, sister~,” she retorted and I could practically hear the smirk in her voice. I didn’t bother to argue against that, it was practically true by now.

“So, what are we going to do now?” I asked her. “Not to mention the thing with the estrus, that’s going to suck if we can’t circumvent the wards in our rooms somehow.”

“I might have an idea about that,” Tia told me and I turned my head to look at her inquisitively, careful not to poke her with my horn. “What if the wards think our rooms are one and the same room? We can still teleport within the confines of our own bedrooms, can we not?”

“How do you propose we do that?” I asked skeptically. She grinned down at me and whispered her plan into my ear, tickling the inside of it.

“Quite simple, right?” she stated, eyes twinkling in mischief.

“If it works... I mean, what are we going to do when Mom brings us our food? I doubt she is going to fall for an illusion,” I answered. “And what about afterward? What are we going to do about our relationship? We aren’t going to tell Mom, right?”

“I say we continue on like nothing happened,” Celestia said with a shrug. “Luna and Mom don’t need to know, so we just tell them you tried to get away before your estrus started and I dragged you back when I found you. I’ll set up our rooms in the meanwhile and don’t you worry your pretty little head about the glamor, sister.”

“Okay, Tia,” I mumbled, agreeing that this was probably the best course of action for now. I had run away from home suddenly without explanation and if it gave Tia the necessary distraction so we could be together during our estrus, I would happily throw myself at our mother’s mercy. “But, what are we going to do about our relationship when we get older? Are we going to hide this forever?”

“We will have to, Summer,” she sighed. “You know just as well as I do that something like this won’t ever get accepted. While I’m sure there is a lot of inbreeding going on within the nobility of this world, even they would frown upon siblings like that.”

“This sucks...” I pouted. “Couldn’t we have been born in two different families? Then we wouldn’t have to worry about this so much.”

“Summer, you dummy. Think for a moment,” Celestia sighed. “We wouldn’t even know we exist at all. It was a massive coincidence we were born as twins, already. Imagine how unlikely that must have been! I think this only happened because we died at the same time, most likely.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” I said, pointedly ignoring the ‘I always am’ from her. “I just... this isn’t fair...”

“Dear... even if we had been reincarnated in two different families and somehow found each other, what do you think they would think of two lesbian mares?” she questioned me and my ears splayed back as I perfectly knew what people thought about homosexuality for a very long time in Earth’s history, even up to the present day. It had been getting better over the last few years since the end of the war, something I very much approved of, but one couldn’t eradicate prejudice like that entirely, sadly.

Not to mention the transphobia running rampant... I don't want to imagine what ponies would think if they knew I hadn't been a mare in my previous life. Well, a cisgender mare, I should say. I was very much a girl through and through in my heart.

Judging by the lack of technology and any form of modern housing, this world was still in the middle ages or so. If we were lucky we would be chased out of the country, if not, well... I don’t think they would do anything less than what humans had done when they thought they had to purge the rainbow out of the 'affected' like a disease. There was a reason why people had kept something like that hidden from others during those times.

“When should we head back?” I asked after I decided I had wallowed in my misery for long enough. Celestia squeezed me tighter to her chest for a moment, most likely unsure if she wanted to get up at all.

“We probably have been gone for too long already,” she answered with a sigh. “But this is too nice for me to get up.”

“Hey, now. Let’s make this a quick thing and get it over us, Tia,” I smiled. “I know I’m sexy, but we can’t stall forever.”

“You’re strangely eager to get locked up again, Summer.”

“If we do it right, then we won’t be alone this time~,” I shot back and she let go of me reluctantly. I could tell she was miffed at having to let go of me for just a little while, now that we knew who we were to each other.

“Fine...” she grumbled. “You go do the talking while I’m will meddle with the wards without alerting Mom in the process.”

I nodded, and together, we made our way back home. Mom was relieved to find out that I hadn’t run away for good. While I distracted her with the little story we spun up about me trying to flee the house before the estrus fully got to me, my twin stealthily did her work on the wards in our rooms.

To say that Mom wasn’t pleased in the slightest by my ‘attempt’ to avoid getting locked up in my room was the understatement of the century. It was the first time that I saw her get so mad that she dragged me up to my room by the ear. Luna was confused as to why I was in the situation that I was in, but Mom told her to not get too curious about it with the threat of no cookies hanging in the air.

Thankfully, Celestia was long gone out of my room before Mom closed the door on me. A few minutes later a triumphant twin appeared in my room, grinning from ear to ear at having outsmarted our mother.

And our mother was none the wiser of what we did~.

Author's Notes:

So... I thought about changing the whole puberty thing, but then the whole character-growth thing wouldn't make any sense with Summer & Celestia. Which married couple would keep their hooves off themselves during estrus? Unless you're ace and/or under a vow of celibacy. *shrug*

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Chapter 004 - The Land of Equestria.

Having my twin with me during our estrus was the best thing we could have come up with. It lessened the painful drive to get a friggin’ foal into my womb marginally, but it didn’t stop us from having sex like crazy depraved bunnies going at it as if they were about to die in the next minute or so.

And by the sweet, sexy, hot-as-fuck devil of a sister of mine, I loved every second of it. While we behaved more like rabid animals most of the time, I didn’t care so long as I had my wife acting in the same idiotic way as I did.

I still can’t believe fate brought us here together for some reason. This couldn’t possibly have been a fluke with us dropping dead seemingly at random. Something... or rather, someone (or somepony?) had brought us here, I was certain of it.

Celestia had the crazy idea of comparing our lives to one of her stupid isekai novels that she had enjoyed so much in her previous life, where some people decided to summon a hero to save the day. Yeah, right... it sure was a weird way to go about it to get your friggin’ heroes in that case. I was content with the life we had right now, even though it wasn’t perfect. I don't need to go play the hero in a battle against the pony demon lord, or whatever.

There was no need to worry about that right now, anyway. For the moment, all that really mattered was our farm, Luna, Mom, and of course, my wife. Our way of life was peaceful and I didn’t want anything to take that away from me (seriously, if there is a demon lord threatening this world, I don't want to have anything to do with them).

Sadly, even that had to come to an end. Ponies started to appear by the hundreds, all looking like they had just migrated from the other side of the world. Whatever happened between them, it seemed that there was a temporary truce between all three tribes for now. Now, whether or not it would stay that way remains to be seen, though. Tia was rather skeptical that this peace would last for long, but I had hope.

There was one downside to this, though... with the arrival of those ponies also came problems. My sisters and I couldn’t continue our farmwork without wearing cloaks to hide away our wings to avoid unwanted attention and we couldn't show our earthpony magic in an overt way. For better or worse, we had to hide who we truly are and live in constant fear of being discovered by the curious eyes of our new neighbors. While yes, we did live mostly removed from sight, that didn’t mean others couldn’t see us use our wings or earthpony magic.

That brought about the end of our own personal weather for our fields. Luna was quite mad that she couldn’t do the one thing she was at least somewhat better than us in. And without the best weather, we had to put extra work in to achieve the same results we could have gotten with the optimal conditions.

Mom started to get more paranoid again, too. She didn’t want us to get hurt by ponies finding out what we were, so she was the only one that ever talked to strangers when they came by for trading.

While we got some nice commodities like new tools for farming, candles, oil for lamps, actual cutlery, and so on, we had to give up more and more of our privacy.

Before long, ponies started to use currencies instead of trading and we learned the name of the new nation that suddenly formed around us.

This was now the land of Equestria, currently governed by a council of the former rulers of the three pony tribes. Princess Platinum had the gall to implement exorbitant high amounts of taxes on anypony living in this land and her aide, Clover the Clever, was next to useless in stopping her from doing so just after this nation was founded.

Chancellor Puddinghead (whoever his parents were must have hated him), like the buffoon that he was, had lots of crazy ideas for new laws, some of which actually made it through. It was apparently illegal now to wear a hat that was bigger than your head, for whatever reason. Of course, he was exempt from that rule. His aide, one Smart Cookie, was desperately trying to keep him from running this new nation into a state of ruin from the get-go.

And the former commander of the pegasus army, Commander Hurricane, was already doing his best at pissing off every other nation in the world. Were it not for Private Pansy (I feel sorry for her name, too), I’m sure we would have already been invaded by an opportunistic nation seeking to expand their land. Like the Griffon Empire, for example.

It was a hard transition time into this new era, for sure. My family tried its best at staying away from most of it, sometimes successfully and sometimes... not. We had to pay our fucking taxes now. Taxes! I was quite annoyed by that because it wasn’t like I hadn’t had enough of that a lifetime ago.

The thing was, there was still quite a bit of hostility between the tribes, although 'officially', there wasn’t supposed to be any animosity anymore. While it didn’t seem like it was as bad as it was a few years ago, there was still a heavy hint of prejudice in the air.

It basically boiled down to unicorns being greedy, pegasi lazy, and earthponies 'dirty' (whatever that was supposed to mean since all of them were filthy to a degree). I stayed the hell away from it, I didn’t want to get tangled up in that particularly nasty ball of retardedness. Racism was already bad enough in the history of Earth, I wasn’t in the mood to deal with this tribalism here in Equestria.

Then, there was the whole stigma behind ponies not having their, ugh, Cutie Marks. Who came up with that name, Puddinghead? While Mom didn’t have to be subjected to any ridicule because she had hers since she was ten or so, my sister and I were worried that we would be seen as freaks because we didn’t have one of these stupid pictures on our flanks.

Who needed those, anyway? I could be plenty good at anything and not need a pretty picture on my butt to tell me what I could do and what I couldn't. It seemed to me that these ponies put way too much worth on those buttmarks.

...No, I’m not jealous that I don’t have one of my own (not yet, that is). I am not. Definitely not.

Okay, maybe I am. But only because they look cute! I can't possibly call myself the Mistress of Cuteness without having achieved maximum cuteness, after all.

Then, things actually managed to get worse for some time. Apparently, this fucking impossible world was in a planetary-centered solar system. I had no idea how that worked and Celestia was just as stumped about it as I was.

So, at least now I knew why the two big burning balls of fire didn’t ever seem to change their position in relation to each other. They friggin’ orbited our own planet through the use of magic (don't ask, I've got no idea how that happened in the first place, either).

Wasn’t the sun supposed to be in the center of a solar system? I mean, it was called the solar system and not the planet system, after all. I mean, it had been a ridiculous thing people had believed on Earth ages ago, but... there was a good reason why ponies knew this was a geocentric system. And it was utterly ridiculous.

Ridiculous. Impossibly, utterly, stupidly ridiculous. That is what this was.

The actual bad thing about it was the fact that those suns? They didn’t rise over the horizon on their own. Noooo, they had to be manually moved, if that wasn’t enough yet. Oh yeah, and the moon? That stupid rock didn’t move on its own like it should, either!

What was wrong with this world?!

Anyway, those little celestial objects throwing physics the middle finger had to be raised by magic. And the ones responsible for that? They were all unicorns, causing the rest of them to be massive jerks to everypony else because they had a superiority complex as high as the tallest mountain.

The problem behind this little revelation wasn’t the mindset of most unicorns, though. No... it was the order of the most powerful mages burning through the magic within ponies like cheap batteries. Because apparently, their little ritual to move the heavens wasn’t the easiest thing to do and had massive consequences on the bodies of the casters.

There was one unicorn that has been able to do this for decades now, but he was getting old by now. This Starswirl the Bearded, weird title I have to say, was in charge of the ritual and wouldn’t probably be in the position for much longer.

Most of the spells our mother taught us were actually from him, so I had some modicum of respect for that old coot. At least for now, I had no idea what he was like as a pony. For all I know, he was an arrogant bastard.

While it was nice and all that they made the celestial objects their personal playthings, they had to start getting ponies from elsewhere for their rituals so they had enough unicorns to cast the spell.

Most of them never got their magic back. A few poor unfortunate souls even lost their lives, sadly. But even if somepony was lucky enough to only lose their magic to this ritual, they were doomed to live a half-life. The magic of a pony was an intrinsically important part of their self and without it, they were next to useless.

This continued on for years, them looking for all the willing ponies first before they moved on to less-than-ideal candidates. They went through those a lot faster than they did with the volunteers. Ponies that were sick to the degree that they hadn’t much to look forward to with the rest of their lifespan, ponies that were less ‘worth’ for society as a whole, and ponies that wouldn’t be missed.

Mostly criminals, but those weren’t the only ones. Oh no... if only that was the final line they drew. No, they started to enlist the average pony because they had no other choice.

So far, they only enlisted ponies older than sixty years of age currently. I didn’t have to be worried that my sisters and I were going to be taken away and lose something that I had come to like more than I had ever appreciated my hands for.

Sadly, the same couldn’t be said for our mother.

“Stay in the house and don’t come out,” Mom said, the voice of our only parent that was left to us was quite thick with authority. I didn’t dare speak out against her, even though I really wanted to. I wanted to tell her not to go meet those guards outside of our property, but not even the slightest noise escaped my lips.

Celestia tried to argue fiercely against our mother, but Mom was having none of it. So, rather reluctantly, we continued to watch from afar as she went over to greet the stallions in golden armor.

“This really is a bad time for Luna to go through her first estrus,” I mumbled with a frown, glad ours hadn’t started yet. A few years did wonders for us in noticing when that time of the year came around for me and my sister.

“Especially now,” Tia whispered, trying to get her newest spell to work so we could listen in on the conversation being held outside of our house. It was quite fascinating how creative she could get with magic, I have to admit. Particularly in the bedroom~. “We knew that the time would come after she turned fourteen, but now? She could have picked a better time for it, seriously.”

“It’s not like we can choose when we go nuts, sister,” I chided her, and she stuck her tongue out at me. I gave it a quick lick, making her giggle back at me. She nuzzled my cheek softly and I was all too happy to return her affections.

“Now let me concentrate on this, please. This is more delicate spellwork than what you call waving your horn around, sister,” she said, making me pout. Just because I relied more on feelings than actual thought-out and calculated spells didn’t mean I was any less good at what I did.

I still wasn’t on the same level as my twin and that would probably never change with time. To be honest, I was surprised she hadn’t actually gotten her Cutie Mark for something magic-related yet. If there was anything that would warrant her getting one, it was that. She was almost like a prodigy with the arcane arts.

Now that I think about it, it was a bit ironic that I was the one that used emotions for spells and my twin was more... analytical about it. I would have thought that, what with my past profession of programming games, I would be the one to calculate my spells, instead. But I suppose magic was fundamentally different than programming, huh? If I ever get the chance to see Earth again, I would like to see how far my old field of work has advanced... maybe those 3D games were actually decent by now...

Magic... it’s still kind of hard to believe, isn’t it? A world full of wonders and the inhabitants don’t realize how extraordinary such a thing truly is. Well, some did, but considering how they find ways to be racist about it is... disappointing to say the least. While yes, magic was certainly something one could be proud of if they were proficient with it, it didn’t make one automatically better than the rest of ponykind. Flight to manipulate the weather and the connection to the earth to grow plants were equally as important.

Not one tribe of pony was better than the other, after all. Well... unless you count whatever my sisters and I were into the mix. We sort of had an advantage over every other tribe, but that just emphasized how much each tribe had its own strengths. We knew what made each tribe unique and could empathize with them.

If only they could look past their differences... but perhaps that was a futile hope on my part. I would really like to see them grow beyond their petty hatred and be the best they could be. They were capable of so much good if only they dared to reach for that happiness. Alas, they were incredibly stupid and dumb and intellectually impaired... and retardedly dumb. How can they not see past their differences and notice that we were all ponies? It doesn't make any sense to me.

As I watched my sister try to calibrate her spell just right so that we could listen in on what was going on outside of the house, I couldn’t help but admire the look of concentration in her eyes. It was almost like there was nothing that she couldn’t do and... it made me wonder a bit.

Mom was wrong to call me a prodigy because I spoke my first word so soon, my twin deserved the credit way more. My wife had found her calling in this world and I couldn’t be prouder for her.

“M-ma’... We-ee-n-’am...” a sudden noise came from the glass pane in front of us, due to Celestia calibrating her spell. Currently, it was still gibberish, which managed to make her growl out in frustration. Trying to calm her down, I draped my wing over her back in a hug.

“I-I... d-do-o-n’t-n’t-n’t ca-aa-re... wh...” The sound came out a bit wobbly and clearer, but then it cut off again.

“Argh! Damn this spell, work already!” my sister snorted, pawing at the ground while one of her eyelids twitched.

“You can try again, dear,” I whispered comfortingly. She let out an explosive sigh, narrowing her eyes in focus. We really needed to get around to ironing that temper out of her.

Not that I couldn’t get... as angry as her at times, I suppose. Tia’s anger burned quick and hot while my own was more like a... simmering wrath that burned slowly. It doesn’t happen all that often, but I could be... terrifying... when somepony managed to earn my ire. Mostly Tia and Lulu when they were fighting over something...

Usually me, let's be honest here.

I try to keep my rage in check while my twin is more prone to act on it and get it out of her system. Maybe Tia wasn’t the only one that should get her anger under control. I don't lash out often, but it does happen. I shouldn’t worry so much about this when our mother was currently out there dealing with whatever it was that those ponies wanted...

“And I told you,” the voice of our mother finally started to come through, although it was still a bit muddled. It was better than nothing, I guess. “I have children to take care of!”

“Ma’am, we understand, but the duty to ponykind comes first,” the voice of one of the stallions came through. It sounded quite exasperated, and judging by how he held himself, he was tired of having to argue with our mother. Honestly, arguing with Mom was a futile effort and I wasn’t surprised it got on his nerves. “If we can’t continue the cycle, then your daughters won’t have a world to live in anymore.”

“I don’t want to hear what regurgitated words your ‘Princess’ has to say on this matter, you can’t force anypony to go with you,” Mom shot back, a snarl evident in her tone. “I have to provide for my daughters, they still have a lot to learn. My youngest just turned fourteen not too long ago, you can't just take me away from her.”

The guard sighed, sounding like he felt pity for our mom. “I'm sorry, Ma’am, but please just understand where we are coming from,” he said, only for Mom to snort derisively. “If we have to come back here with specific orders from Her Ladyship, we will have to take you back in shackles. Do you want your daughters to see you like that?”

“Oh, make Platinum come for me, alright,” she retorted angrily. “What has she ever done for you that you’re so loyal to her?”

“Ma’am, she is doing this for the good of this nation,” the other guard told her and I heard my sister scoff at that. I was inclined to agree with her, not at all believing those words. Maybe Mom should have dethroned Platinum's family while she was still with our grandparents, after all. That so-called 'princess' didn’t sound like the most selfless pony and I just knew she had ulterior motives behind this.

“Oh, she is doing this from the kindness of her little rotten heart, is that it? Please, don’t make me laugh,” Mom snorted and we saw her cross her forelegs through the window. “That she roped Starswirl into this little scheme of hers is...”

“Ma’am, please. Starswirl is already looking for a replacement that can continue what he does, Princess Platinum said that this is only a temporary measure,” he answered with a sigh. “But I can see you won’t come with us today, we will be back tomorrow.”

“You won’t have any luck then, either,” Mom simply said and we saw her turn around.

“Quick, shut the spell down, sister!” I said while my heart skipped a fearful beat. “Before she notices we were eavesdropping on them.”

“I’m on it, don’t push me so much!” Tia retorted, sending a quick glare towards me. I saw Mom raise an eyebrow as she saw us bickering through the window and I put on a sheepish smile, hoping to not arouse her suspicions. “There, see? No need to panic.”

“What are you two up to, now?” Mom asked us as she closed the door behind her.

“Nothing! Right, Tia?” I said, laughing awkwardly. “We were just... wondering what this was all about?”

“You don’t have to concern yourselves with that,” she told us with a scowl. “Now, I don’t see you doing anything, so why don’t you go and work on the field?”

“Do we have to?” Tia groaned, dragging herself out of the house, anyway. “It’s always work now...”

“We have to pay those taxes somehow,” Mom scolded her and before she could direct her glare my way, I scrambled to catch up after my twin. My pouty face sadly lost its effect on her years ago...

Haah. Those were the easy days.

“Luna doesn’t have to do this, why do we?” my sister mumbled dejectedly. “Can’t we have a free day from time to time, too?”

“Tia, she is in heat,” I answered her rhetorical question. “Do you want to risk her running off to get impregnated by some random stallion?”

“Don’t even start with that, Summer,” Celestia said. “I don’t want to entertain having to feed another demon spawn in this family.”

“Demon spawn?!” I asked incredulously.

“What? She eats more than both of us combined!” she shot back.

“Yeah, because we give her the food instead,” I said. “What is this about?”

“Oh, I don’t know...” she started, sniffing. “How about the fact that you coddle her so much?”

“My, my... is that jealousy I hear?” I grinned.

“No...” Celestia answered, her tone not managing to convince me.

“Aww, you are jealous!” I giggled to myself. “Of your own baby sister, no less. Oh, this is rich!”

“Fuck you,” she retorted, pouting cutely at me. “I’m not.”

“Oh, you definitely are,” I smirked. Then my muzzle got just shy of her ears so I could whisper into them with a husky voice. “And there is a spell I want you to try out... so yes, please fuck me~.”

The sight of her cloak falling off as her wings stood up stiffly delighted me to no end. My magic quickly caught the piece of cloth and I giggled as I hung it up on her horn.

“Oh, you devious little...” Celestia breathed out a shuddering breath. I bit my lip as she glowered at me from behind her cloak, forcing her wings to comply with her before somepony saw her. Then she gave me a curious, and admittedly overly lecherous, stare. “Have you actually figured it out before me?”

“My, what is this I hear? Am I a better pervert than you?” I giggled, giddy. “While I lack the methodical skill for casting spells like you, I totally outperform you when it comes to the instinctual side of magic. What can I say, this kind of spell is well outside of your reach, sister.”

“So, how does it work?” she asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Desire for the outcome, lust for the act, love for the sensation, and determination so one can decide if it actually does what it naturally can or just imitate the real deal. Sadly, it works only on others and not the caster,” I explained, smiling proudly. “Let me tell you, that mouse was so mad at me for experimenting on it.”

“I love you so much right now,” Celestia whispered excitedly. “Although I’m pretty sure it will take me a few years to get that mix of feelings down for me to cast it. So there is no risk for... that?”

“Not if we don’t want to~. And it’s probably for the best like this,” I answered, nodding. Celestia embraced me in a crushing hug, shaking me around like an excited filly. “A-air! Ugh..”

She set me sheepishly back down on the ground as she rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry,” she said, giving me a peck on the cheek. “You’re going to love it, I promise.”

“Yeah, well... be gentle, okay?” I asked her demurely, scuffing my hoof on the ground. Tia gave me a small nuzzle reassuringly, murmuring her agreement and telling me that it would be a first for her, too. “But I think we should wait until, you know...”

“I agree,” Tia said. “Now, let’s get this work done before Mom comes out to yell at us to stop standing around while doing nothing.”

That was what we did and the day went over quickly after that. The only other ‘exciting’ thing that happened that day was us delivering Luna’s meal up to her room. Our little sister didn't even notice us opening the door to her bedroom and shoving it in.

I had to drag a snickering Tia away as the moans and shrieks of our little sister made me blush. Sometimes, I really do hate my wife.

Anyway, just as the guards had announced the day before, they returned, and this time, they didn’t take no for an answer. It was actually kinda badass seeing Mom beat up more than fifteen ponies all at once, but even she couldn’t fight on forever against multiple opponents at her age. Both my sister and I wanted to help her out, but a barrier kept us from coming out to assist her. Not even our teleport spells were of any use as the entire house seemed to have gone into lock-down mode.

Mom really doesn’t want them to find out what tribe of pony we are, huh? Sometimes her paranoia was warranted, though. It was sort of excessive that Platinum sent so many ponies to apprehend our mother and I couldn't fathom why she would. It made no sense...

Unless she knew from which family our mother hailed from. A royal would recognize the name of one of their nobles, wouldn't they? Platinum must know Mom belonged to the House of Luna and considering the relationship between Mom's parents and the royal family, it was no wonder she was so cautious.

We had to watch on sadly as our mother was carted off to who knows where. Celestia had long since stopped trying to force the door open with her hind legs in order to try and break Mom’s spell on the house.

Tia ran out as soon as the damn barrier dropped, discarding her cloak and taking to the skies to try and catch up to our mother. I did my best to keep up with her, trying to tell her to slow down a little bit. She didn’t listen to me, though.

Some of the ponies below stared up at us in surprise and I had to bite back a fearful whinny. Yeah... that was something that took me by surprise, unprepared for the alien sound leaving my throat for the first time I made it. Celestia was laughing at me for weeks afterward, at least until I managed to make her do the sound, too.

It also managed to make her perverted side extremely aroused, but that wasn’t really important right now, I told myself. I had to try and get my sister back home before too many ponies noticed that something wasn’t quite right with the winged unicorns ripping through the sky.

We really do need a better word for our specific pony tribe, don't we?

“Tia, please! My sides are aching already...” I wheezed out, rasping in a breath with difficulty. I haven’t used my wings for this long before and I was kinda out of practice (neither do I ever fly this fast, for that matter). Damn these ponies for forcing us to hide away a part of ourselves. My sister was doing her best at destroying all our efforts, though.

At my desperate cry, she let go of her maddened pursuit, trying to find the pegasus carriage that held our mother prisoner. This Princess Platinum chick just couldn’t take a no, could she? She had just managed to piss off two extremely powerful siblings, not to mention what Luna might do when she found out they abducted our mother.

Where are civil rights when you need them, for fuck’s sake?! This was so unfair to us and our mother, I wanted to set the forest and the small village on fire in my own rage. I suppressed my pyromaniacal urges, though. It would do nopony any good if I let it out on innocents that had nothing to do with this.

I would give Platinum a thorough tongue-lashing if I ever met her, though. She wasn’t safe from the wrath of my sister or myself, that much was for certain. I don’t care if she was royalty, she friggin’ deserved it. And perhaps this Starswirl guy, too. It depends on how involved he is with this whole abduction business.

“Can you see them anywhere?” Celestia asked me, her breathing also quite winded. Not as much as mine, though. “Please, we can’t abandon her now! Not like Dad...”

“I’m sorry, sister,” I cried, sniffling. “But she probably tried to stop us from doing something stupid. You know, like going after her?”

“I don’t care about that, Summer! She is our mother, for Christ’s sake!” she shouted angrily, blue flames licking parts of her hooves and wings. Oh dear, she really was mad right now. I ignored the flash of light in the distance in favor of calming my sister down. It didn't match the color of our mother's magic, anyway, so I doubt she somehow managed to escape. “If I get my hooves on that bitch, I'll..!”

“Please, calm down!” I said, trying to reach a hoof out to her. She swatted my appendage away from her, though, snorting heavily. Her wild eyes scanned every part of the horizon, not giving up on finding our mother. “Sister, stop!”

“And then what?! Do you want me to leave her to their mercy, Summer?!” she retorted furiously. “You know what happens to those ponies in that ritual! Why are you trying to stop me?!”

“Because you’re causing a scene, you idiot!” I shouted back at her, tears streaming down from the sides of my head. “Have you ever considered for one second what you have just done?!”

“What?” Tia asked, looking confused back at me. Then she took notice of the pegasi staying a safe distance away from us, gaping openly at the fiery inferno lighting up my wife in a bright blaze. “Oh...”

“Yeah, ‘Oh’ isn’t even doing it justice, sister,” I told her while wiping away my tears. “This was what Mom wanted to prevent by making us stay away from her! Now we have to come up with a solution to this problem, so please, let us go back home before more ponies see us.”

“Okay...” she muttered, ashamed. Her ears were splayed back in a way that made her look like a kicked puppy. “I’m sorry, sister.”

“You don’t have to apologize to me, Tia,” I said gently, sniffling with a sad smile on my face. “Mom is going to be so mad when she comes back.”

“If she comes back,” my twin said bitterly. I wanted to tell her that there was no way Mom would die from this, but then again... she was already a shell of her former self... only continuing to live on for my sisters' and my own sake. There was the very real possibility that losing this last part of herself, the magic holding her like a crutch, would bring her toppling down.

And I feared my sister was right about that. Sometimes, there was this mysterious sense that she had, telling her when something was about to happen. Normally, it was just a sense of something small transpiring and she couldn’t tell exactly what it would be that would happen. But then, there were the rare few cases where she prevented something that could have hurt us. All of this started after our sixteenth birthday and now that we were twenty, she started to get slightly better at it.

I, on the other hoof, sometimes had a feeling I understood what the animals around me were feeling. It was a jarring experience the first time I felt it. I just had this 'sense' that the bird was happy as it caught a worm. Or that little mouse that I used for my small experiment.

That mouse was really weirded out by my spell. I tried apologizing to it and it actually felt like it accepted my apology (only begrudgingly, at that).

I don’t think this was something normal ponies could do. Mom certainly never mentioned having experienced anything like what we were telling her about. I had no idea if this was something specific to the tribe my sisters and I belonged to or not.

For now, it certainly seemed like it. It just reaffirmed the belief our dad held that we would never get to experience an ordinary life. I really missed him, despite inheriting his damn pink hair. Even Tia hated how glaringly pink it was.

Then again, my sister and I were actually glad we had something to remember him by. The same could be true for Luna if our mother... left us... just as suddenly as Dad did. I don’t look forward to telling her that Mom could potentially be gone for good, too.

Something about this world just wanted me to lose my family members, didn’t it? Fat chance I would let it take my sisters away from me, too. Not Luna, and definitely not my wife. I already thought I had lost her once, not again.

A few days later, Luna was finally able to leave her own room and she was happy to be let out. Not that that happiness lasted for very long, though. We had to lock her away in the training room as we told her the news and she accused us of abandoning our mother, all the while throwing things at us in anger.

Celestia was all too happy to enter a fight with her, both of them slinging around spells like there was no tomorrow. I tried to stop their fight, throwing up two separate bubble shields around them, but sadly, those got quickly destroyed, much to my dismay.

It was when they started to rip each other’s feathers out that I had enough and teleported them into the middle of the forest with me. If they wanted to make me mad, they had managed it.

And I was a terrifying force to deal with when mad. Especially when I used my trump card. My little gravity field forced both of them to the ground and I let my magefire circle around them. They couldn’t get out even if they tried.

“Stop this at once!” I growled at them, my eyes narrowed and I extended my wings in a threatening manner. “None of this helps our situation. We have to hope Mom comes back, and if not, then we have to figure out what to do with the ponies knowing about us!”

“Let me out, Summer!” Celestia grunted, snorting like a wild animal. “I will teach this naughty filly a lesson for accusing us of abandoning Mother!”

“You let those ponies take Mom away from us!” Luna shot back. “Don’t deny it, sister!”

“Didn’t I tell you to stop?” I asked, my voice low. Both of their eyes shrunk to pinpricks. Good, they knew what was about to come. Nopony stood a chance against my true might.

“Come on, sister! We can talk about this?” Luna laughed nervously, but I didn’t care anymore. They didn’t want to talk before and they certainly wouldn’t now.

“Summer, don’t do this, I beg you!” Tia whined. I raised a skeptical brow at her. Then, the gravity well started to increase tenfold under them, beginning to crush them cruelly and I levitated two loose leaves from the ground, growling with rage. I was this close to letting loose and beating some sense into them, but I had a better idea. An idea that was perhaps even crueler, but they had asked for it. It's time for me to play dirty.

There will be no mercy.

The tickle apocalypse was swift. It was relentless. It. Was. Glorious!

I didn’t stop until I had them apologizing to each other and even then, I continued on until they begged me for release. I wasn't in the mood to be merciful, and until they couldn't breathe any longer, I would torture them to teach them a lesson. These were hard times and required equally hard decisions. Cooperation was a must if we wanted to make it through them and I would be hard-pressed to let my family tear each other apart. What was left of it, that is.

Once everything had calmed down enough from the heightened emotional stress, I gave them a few minutes of rest so they could recover from my ultimate trump card against naughty sisters™. After they caught their breath, we started to debate about what we should do next. We had to come up with something, and the faster we did so, the better. The secret was practically not so secret anymore, meaning we would either have to deal with the ponies coming for us... or run away.

Obviously, I voted for the ‘run away and hide’ option. There was no way I was going to deal with strangers on the lookout for us. Who knows what their intentions are? I certainly wasn't going to trust anyone offering us 'candy'. Neither did my sisters, so we unanimously agreed on that part. We were still iffy about the details, though.

Celestia wanted to observe our house for a few days to see what would happen while Luna just wanted to take our stuff and find a new place to live far away from Equestria. And I just wanted my mother back with us, have the secret still be undiscovered, and have Equestria accept homosexuality while we are at it, but we couldn’t get what we wanted, now could we?

No, that would be too easy. The universe wasn’t that kind to us, after all. As we reluctantly went with Tia’s plan (I really can't say no to her, can I?), we saw those guards return a couple of days later.

And our mother wasn’t with them.

Fear gripped my heart like a vice and I had to stop both a raging Celestia and Luna from going over to them to burn them into a crisp. Or dismember them and feed them to the wolves. Or increase gravity to the point of creating a miniature black hole, sucking them into it. Never before have I felt hatred in my two lives. Well, not the true kind of hatred where you hated someone’s gut so much you wanted to make them evaporate with your gaze alone.

This got me very close to that feeling, but I had to stay strong. If not for Celestia, then for Luna. She was a heartbroken mess like us. One of us had to keep this family together, though. Besides, I couldn't go around creating a black hole because I was grieving, I wasn't a monster that kills for revenge.

Mom was already old, that much we were aware of. Ten or twenty years and she would have been gone, either way. Ponies had a great life expectancy here in this world even in what seemed to be like the equivalent of the middle ages. Something about a healthier lifestyle, I’m sure. Or magic was just that much of a game changer, I guess.

That doesn’t mean that we wouldn’t have been grateful to have her with us for the next odd few years, though. Alas, we would have had to come to terms with it sooner or later, anyway. And while the loss of our father had hurt just as much, it was still hurting us to this day even, we learned how to cope with it already.

We... would just have to cope with this, too. How hard could it be? All alone, without anypony to teach us... guide us... s-support us... I... f-fuck, I can’t do this. This was exactly what I feared most since having lost my old family. While Catherine was still here with me, we had left everyone behind on Earth. And now, we had lost the two figures that had raised us since we had to wear diapers and nurse from the teats of a mare that was at first just a replacement for what we had lost. Not that we actually thought of Mom as a replacement for that long (if at all).

Both of whom we had learned to love with our whole hearts, having embraced them as family. And we would never see them again. They weren't perfect, but they were our parents.

We didn't even get a chance to say goodbye to them...

We could only rely on each other from now on. And we weren’t exactly the most mature bunch, even though we were mentally older than our physical bodies.

Well, at least Celestia and I were older than we appeared. While Luna acted quite mature for her age at times, she also had the tendency to goof around like a little foal. She was still a teenager, after all. Not that we were better in that regard, sometimes.

What? I was a programmer for an indie games company in my last life, I never grew up in the first place. Sue me. And considering Tia made racing her career... she never grew up, either.

So, during the night, we packed up everything worth something to us, mainly food, blankets, and the few memorabilia we had of our parents. We filled a whole cart full of all the things we wanted to take with us and then we set out to find a new place to live. A clearing in the forest would do, one where we could hopefully live undisturbed by civilization.

If Mom didn’t want us to risk our lives for xenophobic idiots, we would honor her last wishes for as long as we could. Her memory deserved nothing less.

That also meant building a new house with all of the wards we could muster up that Mom had taught us over the last couple of years. While we weren’t exactly on the same level of spellcraft as her, we managed to at least safeguard ourselves from most threats.

We were experts in building homes by now, so the task was literally done within a few days. It helped that we had a lot of resources to work with, mainly our magic. And we didn’t actually need such a big house like before, we did kinda want to be hard to find.

At least we had gotten Mom to write down most of her spellwork so she wouldn’t forget it somehow. It was no problem to replicate what we had in our old homes.

That also included a safe room for us to lock ourselves away during estrus, much to Luna’s annoyance. I didn’t want her to run off and find the first available partner, though. So I just told her to deal with it like a big pony, because the alternative was worse.

Regrettably, all thoughts of sexytime between me and Celestia were put on hold for the foreseeable future. Luna was already suspicious of us about something that we kept from her (the relationship going on between us, duh), we didn’t need to add fuel to the fire.

But, as it turns out, we shouldn’t have bothered with trying to hide away again...

“You’re not that hard to track down, little filly,” a voice startled me as I sleepily left the bedroom to start the day, going for the 'bathroom' so I could wash myself for some modicum of hygiene. I let out a shriek in fear, bolting back under the covers of our shared bed, managing to wake up my twin in the process.

“Summer?” she groggily asked, lifting the blanket tiredly up with one of her wings. “What’s going on with you?”

“B-b-b-bur... B-burglar!” I squeaked out, shaking like a leaf. That brought her to full wakefulness very fast, an angry grimace starting to replace her confused expression. Like an avenging angel, Celestia leaped out of bed while some type of offensive spell was already lighting up her horn.

“Begone, foul intruder!” she shouted, almost ripping the door out of its hinges as she went to confront whoever was foolish enough to break into our home. The noise startled my little sister out of her sleep, an alarmed gaze upon her face. She almost fell out of our bed, but she too was out the door a moment later with murder on her expression visible.

I heard the beam attack of my lover splash against what I thought must have been a very powerful shield spell if it could hold up to her assault, judging by the sounds alone.

The sounds of futile attempts to get to the supposed burglar continued on for a little while until one of my sisters must have noticed this wasn’t working as expected, so they stopped their current approach to do something different.

Crackling flames tried to eat away at the magical defense of the stallion within our home next, only for them to get extinguished a moment later.

“Hmm. That's mildly impressive, I have to say," the voice of the elderly stallion commented, not in the slightest bit worried for his safety. "Now that you know you won't get anywhere with this and that I mean you no harm, there's no need to keep on doing this, is there?"

"I'm not done yet!" Celestia snorted angrily and I heard the tell-tale sound of her most powerful spell charging up. "Let's see you block this, old fart. Luna, now!"

Right as Celestia said that, I heard her shoot a highly concentrated laser at the shield in an attempt to break it through power alone and our little sister followed it up with her go-to spell for combat: a salvo of arcane missiles specialized in breaking through shields due to multiple attack vectors seeking out the weakness in the opponent's defense. And yet, from the sound of it, neither spell seemed to work.

"Are we quite done, yet?” the elderly voice asked. "I commend your fighting spirit, but it is completely unnecessary, I assure you."

“Then what do you want from us?!” Celestia asked, snorting skeptically. Seeing that the situation was about to de-escalate, I chanced a peek out further from underneath the covers, trying to see what the intruder looked like. All I could see was the soft glow of a shield and the threatening stance my sister had taken on for intimidation purposes. Slowly, I dared to leave the safe confines of our bed, trudging carefully to the open doorway.

There sat a very old stallion on one of the chairs in our living room, staring back at us as if nothing was wrong with this picture. He had a long white beard and piercing blue eyes, wearing a ridiculous hat with bells and a cape that looked more like a blanket than something a wizard would wear. It was also decorated with little golden bells, giving it a slightly ridiculous look.

...I didn't know ponies could have beards. Huh.

The old stallion cleared his throat while standing up from his seat at the table before he transitioned over to a small bow towards us. “I am here to ask for your help,” he said. His tone was of the wise wizard type of quality one would have heard in a lot of fantasy films back on Earth. He certainly had the aloofness of one, being unconcerned by my sisters' power and hostility. “I’m terribly sorry for startling your sister, dear. I was told I lack... tact. But let's not linger on that, shall we? My name is Starswirl the Bearded, it's a pleasure to make your acquaintance.”

“And what makes you think we would give you our help?” Luna asked, snorting. “All you ponies have ever done was bicker among yourself, letting hatred guide your hooves. It caused our father to die at the hooves of raiders and now you dare come here asking for our help after you took our mother away from us, as well?”

“I... well, yes...” Starswirl coughed awkwardly into his hoof. “I suppose I chose a bad time to visit, didn't I? While it seems unfortunate you have lost so much over the past conflict, and now with these desperate times calling for ponies to lend their magic to a cause that should have been handled by the Mage Order, I ask you to not forsake this world entirely. I am sincerely sorry for my own failings, I wish I could have done more to prevent all of this.”

“And why should we accept your offer of an apology?” Celestia asked, still staring angrily at him. I came over to her and nuzzled the side of her head, giving her a pleading gaze. This was exactly what we always advocated against. Hatred had started this cycle, we shouldn’t continue it. I had also felt my rage flare up at his... nerve... for asking us so casually, but I would never let my feelings get out of hoof because of that. I couldn't allow my wrath to control me. After all, we were better than that.

“Perhaps we should hear him out?” I asked, uncertainly. We could do at least that much, right? If this cycle of hatred and mistrust kept going on like this, nothing would ever change. I knew that much for sure. Somepony has to look past their misgivings first for it to stop and I... I'd like to give him that chance.

I had high hopes that he wouldn't abuse our trust and I was always of the opinion that a little bit of kindness could go a long way. If we continue to hold the death of our parents against these ponies, we would never get over this. I don't want to hold a grudge. Not against ponies that had nothing to do with this.

Not on purpose, that is...

Platinum, though? She could burn in hell for all I care. Knowing me, though? I would offer her a chance, anyway. The only thing she did was to use excessive numbers to force our mother to go with them. She couldn't have known it would lead to her death, not that I think Platinum of all ponies cared about a few casualties here and there.

What she didn't know, though, was that House Luna didn't die with our mother. If that was her goal, she was in for a very rude awakening. We would stand tall with our heads held high, and when she makes a mistake... we would be there to show her how much of a failure she truly was.

“I can’t believe this. You know what these ponies did to our mother, Summer!” Tia snarled, growling in the direction of the old pony standing in the middle of the room. “He is the reason she had to die! Can’t you see that?!”

“Yes, I know...” I said meekly, looking down and away from her. “But I don't think it was his fault, he couldn't have known. At least, I think so. Mom was powerful despite... despite how fragile her heart was."

Starswirl shook his head, a 'dead' look in his tired eyes. He must feel so guilty... "I only heard there had been an accident. I'm sorry, my dear."

"Right," I muttered, thinking. An 'accident', sure. That's what they told him, huh? I guess he truly was in the dark about this. Platinum can't be that heartless to talk about the passing of a pony as an 'accident', could she?

"I'll give you 'accident', you shitty old..!" Tia snarled, about to attack him again. If I had not intervened by holding her back, that is. Luna was giving me an incredulous look, but I ignored her in favor of calming my upset sister down and making sure Tia wouldn't murder a pony in a misguided attempt at revenge. "Let go of me, Summer! I... he's..!"—she snorted wildly in my hug, trying to break free (though I suspect she had long since lost the fight in her because, if she wanted, she could have easily shoved me away)—" He took Mom away from us..."

I smiled sadly at her and nuzzled her tears away. "Hey... it's alright. I'm here for you, it's going to be alright. Shh..." I whispered, stroking her back slowly as she struggled to keep her sobs in. "I know it hurts, Tia. I really do, but we can't take it out on him just because we feel like hitting something in anger. Please, calm down. He came here in good faith seeking out help, shouldn’t we at least show a little bit of kindness in return? Shouldn't we be willing to forgive? He's willing to offer us his condolences and make it up to us in whatever way he can, doesn't that mean anything to you?”

“Summer, you and your fucking bleeding heart! Look at that old geezer and tell me he is truly sorry for what his ineptitude has caused! I don't believe a word he says! He probably wants to use us as mana batteries next,” she shot back with a scowl, sniffing up her tears before she forced me to look at the stallion that seemed to look totally indifferent to what was going on at first glance.

What I saw in his piercing blue eyes wasn’t a coldhearted monster, though. No. It was somepony that tried their very best to keep everything they loved and held dear from shattering into pieces. In him, I saw a pony that desperately sought a solution, a pony willing to sacrifice their own well-being to save the world he loved. And he mourned every loss along the way.

This tiredness in his eyes... the way his slightly slouched posture screamed of resignation, the wrinkles showing through his gray fur, and the exhaustion of holding the weight of the world on his shoulders... he really just wants to help, doesn't he? And then... there was also the pain hidden behind his tired eyes.

“So much pain...” I whispered, tears trickling down my face as I beheld him. He was quite startled as he saw me weep for somepony that was, for all intents and purposes, a total stranger to me. “Why do you take on this heavy burden upon your own shoulders for so long?”

“My dear, somepony has to,” he said, looking down. His voice barely reached above a whisper and... it sounded quite lonely, too. He must have lost somepony close to him in his duty to uphold the order of the world, doesn't he? Somepony he loved. “If not for me, countless more would have already given their lives to this doomed cause. I’ve done my best to take on as much of the burden as I could, but without the rest of my colleagues? I fear we will not have much time before even I can’t continue on with this. I need your help. Please, I implore you... hear me out. I would be forever grateful if you could do at least that much.”

I shifted on my hooves, looking at Tia and Lulu to get a feel for their thoughts. Neither seemed to be willing to trust the stallion. It hurt my heart to see them so bitter and mistrustful. This wasn't them. I don't want to see them become like Mom...

Turning back to Starswirl, I fidgeted with my wings. One of us has to take the first step, and if it has to be me that does so, then so be it. “What do you need us to do?” I asked, wanting to know what we could do that others could not. Although, I might have an idea regarding that...

“I think you know quite well what it is that I want to ask of you. This nation needs ponies like you, not those fools blathering in their seats, talking over each other all day long,” he smiled sadly. “I can't also foalsit a bunch of petty leaders to make sure there is a nation left to be saved. I wouldn’t have come had I not heard the rumors. You truly are magnificent beings, aren’t you?”

I blushed, scuffing the ground with my hoof. “I... that's exaggerating it a little bit, isn't it?" I mumbled, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. "I'm sure there are more ponies like us out there. We don’t really know a lot about our tribe, to be honest. We can't be the only ones, right?”

“As far as I know, you are unique. I suppose we will have to find out in due time,” he said, nodding slightly in thought. “I apologize for asking you so brazenly to help a nation that has caused so much suffering for you, but I don't have many options available to me. All I ask is that you think this over and perhaps accompany me to the capital?”

“And why would we want to do that?” Luna asked warily. “What purpose would that serve us but bring up painful memories?”

“To show you what it is that I keep fighting for, my dear,” Starswirl told us. “And perhaps show you that I do not mean you any harm. Not all ponies are bad, you know. I hope you realize that you three could become a symbol for ponykind. We are in desperate need of unity, something that could unite all three tribes in harmony. And from what observations I have made on your particular tribe of ponies, I assume you are a combination of all three tribes?”

“Well, yes...” I answered. “But wouldn’t ponies fear us? We are different from them, after all. Mother always believed we would be ostracized for what we are...”

“Do you think so, too?” he asked me and I fidgeted uncomfortably, unsure. The other pony tribes haven't given me much confidence to think that it wasn't the case. I knew racism was hard to snuff out, and if they were even remotely conservative enough, it would take a long time before a true change in opinions and views could be observed.

A long time where ponies could resent us for being different than them.

“Well... ponies already find a ton of ways to hate each other for even the slightest differences,” I argued, purely basing my opinion on what I knew from humanity. “And the tribalism that had led to the great winter? We represent all that they fear in others, hatred would be a natural response to that.”

“Now, now. You are quite mistaken, my dear. Do you want to know what I think?” he smiled in his typically wizened old wizard kind of way and I glanced at Tia. My sister still looked skeptical and more like she wanted to tell him flat-out 'no'. She really wasn't liking where this was going, was she? Not that I could blame her, it did start to sound a bit scary. It was a lot of responsibility, wasn't it? “I think ponies would look to you and see somepony representing a part of their tribe in a pony that has all three characteristics. All three tribes, unified by that which is all three of them at the same time. Do you see?”

“You can’t possibly be asking us to lead a nation! We don't know anything about leading a nation, much less about being a symbol of ponykind,” Celestia said, scowling incredulously. Starswirl merely chuckled at her answer, shaking his head slowly.

“No, my dear,” he retorted. “I’m not asking you to do that. I couldn’t even do something like that, to begin with. All I could do would be to try and convince the ponies of this land to accept you as their leaders. A leader is only a leader as long as their followers stand by them, after all.”

“That still doesn’t make us qualified for such a task,” Luna shot back in a deadpan.

“No, I suppose it does not...” he agreed. “But all great leaders have to start out somewhere, right?”

“That might be true, but I still don’t think my sisters and I would be all that good at it,” I said morosely, feeling like it was going to be a massive undertaking to even entertain this ridiculous idea. The responsibility was just too much. Like... “What if we make mistakes and cause a war? What if those ponies in charge resent us because we took their position away from them as their new leaders? What if the current leaders try to get rid of us? And what about everypony else, what would they think of us? They don’t even know us.”

“A great many fears for something that is only a possibility,” he laughed. “Don’t wallow in the ‘What if?’ and instead think of ‘What can we do to make life better?’. Focus on that and I can tell you will make great leaders with a little bit of training in the more mundane tasks that such a position would require.”

“Can we... think about this?” I asked, not sure how to feel about his arguments. I mean... he was kinda right. A leader that doesn’t want to be one would make for the best one, right? We don’t want to be in that position, but maybe we could make this world a bit more bearable to live in if we were.

To guide all the little ponies in this land towards a brighter future... that is what he wanted us to do, and if we can accomplish that in some small way by simply being a symbol, what else could we do for these ponies?

They deserved to have a unified banner to stand behind, a literal embodiment of harmony between all three tribes. Somepony leading them that wouldn’t let the difference between tribes cloud their judgment, like the current ruling body.

And it would allow us to take revenge on Platinum. Since she took our mother away from us, we would take away her position as ruler of this nation in return. Something that our mother had been trained to do in the first place by her own parents, but we wouldn’t have to do it in a violent fashion.

No. All we have to do is to just ask the ponies to follow us instead and they would jump at the opportunity of a pony that represented the very ideal Equestria was founded upon.

Harmony.

Love. Generosity. Kindness... loyalty, honesty... even laughter. Those were all ideals that were important to me and I have no doubt my sisters would think so, too. So... why not think about this over a couple of nights, discuss this among us, and then decide? And in the meantime, we could observe what Starswirl wanted to show us.

It was time we stopped hiding.

Author's Notes:

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Chapter 005 - The Crown...

Author's Notes:

So, here we are. I'll keep the references/crossovers in a spoiler for those of you who don't immediately want to know what might happen in the chapter. For those of you who want to read/watch/whatever the original material first, go and do that, I won't complain ;)

Source material for this chapter: The Journal of the Two Sisters - the first few entries

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

The first thing we noticed as Starswirl led us through the sizable city of Canterlot were the stares the ponies were giving us. They weren’t fearful ones, as we had initially been afraid of for so long.

No, these were the stares of curious ponies trying to figure out what kind of pony we were. Admiring the fact that we had one of the three traits that made their own tribe unique.

I felt naked without having my cloak to hide behind. Tia could shield me from their gaze only so much, I really wished I hadn't agreed to do this now.

Rumors were already starting to go around as we passed by the general populace. Ponies were arguing about whether or not we were a hybrid of pegasus and unicorn or the combination of all three tribes.

Well, it wasn’t that obvious we also had the earthpony trait, but some of them made the point that we had to have it as we also had a more powerful build than regular unicorns and pegasi and they wouldn't be wrong about my twin. She really does show off those powerful legs with her current, slightly threatening behavior.

Strangely enough, Luna was finding all of the attention delightful, but then again, she usually drank that right up. In that regard, she was like a sponge that never got full.

At least one of us was having fun, I thought while trying to hide behind my long mane, uncomfortable with all the stares directed at us, particularly me and my sister. We were a head taller than our little sister, after all.

A lot of those stares were also directed at our blank flanks. It was weird, to say the least. Everywhere I looked I saw ponies murmur in confusion about our lack of Cutie Marks. All of these ponies already had theirs and even the few little foals running around oblivious to what was going on had theirs, too. Most of them, that is. Those still riding on their parents' backs because they were too young didn't have one yet, either. But that was to be expected, considering their age.

I felt my wings flutter anxiously at my side as I began to feel slightly self-conscious about this. Cutie Marks had never been a thing on Earth, so why was I now feeling like it was weird to not have one? Mom always said that they would come with time and we just hadn’t found what we were truly special at. Before today, they simply were pretty pictures that appeared on your flanks and I never gave it much thought beyond that.

That didn’t change my anxiety in the slightest, though. And here I always felt like I didn’t need a butt mark to tell me that I was plenty special enough, already. We were twenty and still had none to grace our flanks, it made me a bit fearful that we would never get one.

The thought of never getting a Cutie Mark frightened me to no end. It was silly, yes, but I felt envious of everypony that had theirs. I wanted to have one of my own now more than ever.

Maybe our race was incapable of getting these? But... that didn’t make any sense. Not that those things ever make sense, but in a magical way? It sure did. Somehow. It was a distinct pony thing, and we were ponies, so we should be able to get one of these for our own flanks.

Or perhaps there was something fundamentally different about our tribe that made us get them super late, or something. Ugh. I don’t know. We had actually started to brainstorm ideas for a name to give to our particular tribe with Starswirl on the way over to Canterlot, but so far we were still stuck on that, at the moment.

While we had a few ideas already, all of them sucked. Especially the one Luna suggested. It was dumb and ridiculous and stupid. Pegacorn, seriously. Sometimes, I think she just wants to joke around about everything.

That certainly reminded me of the sister of my wife, now that I think about it. She also had the stupid habit of making dumb jokes because she thought they were funny. What were the odds that she had also been reincarnated to this world? I was tempted to ask her what she thought about Earth and make it sound like I was talking about dirt but secretly mean the planet.

Knowing Luna (or Rebecca, for that matter) it would fly over her head and end up in a misunderstanding. But that could wait for another time, preferably when we were alone among ourselves. Hopefully, I won't forget to ask.

Then again, maybe I shouldn’t ask. I didn’t want to alienate her with a revelation like that. How would she react if she knew we technically were aliens? Not that I feel particularly alien-y, nor do we actually count as extraterrestrial life.

Tia's human sister probably would make a joke about aliens and eggs, wouldn't she? I kinda miss her, to be honest. While their fights over me were sometimes annoying, she was still my best friend. One that wanted to get into my pants just as much as Tia did, but still. Things just weren't the same without her.

Somehow, the dynamic between me and my wife was different, now that Becky wasn't there to make moves on me. It wasn't like it was suddenly lesser, but it also wasn't as... exciting, I suppose. It felt like a piece was missing from the puzzle.

Ah, well... I guess I'll never find out what it was that was missing (aside from the obvious, that is). As long as I still had my wife, everything would be alright. And Luna, can't forget my sweet little Moon. She was growing up so fast, wasn't she? Before long, that filly that looked up to me so much would be a mare in her own right. One that would turn a lot of heads, I'm sure.

I just have to make sure one of those heads won't be Tia's. Or some unworthy colt that wouldn't treat her like the little Goddess of Cuteness that she was. What can I say? Lulu beat me a long time ago by being the adorable ball of fluff that she was.

Generally speaking, though, I noticed that there weren't as many colts running around as there were fillies. It was a subtle thing to notice, but of those foals, the majority of them that were colts seemed to be in favor of the unicorns. Which, granted, was a given since this was a unicorn city, but still.

It might just be a difference of tribes, but I knew from Earth's horses that the age of the parents had a big part in what sex the foal would have. A younger mare might give birth to a colt more often than a filly, while those that were older usually gave birth to a filly instead of a colt. It certainly would explain why there were more unicorn colts around.

For one thing, there are still a lot of wealthy noble families around from the days of the Kingdom of Unicornia, and with that also came certain expectations among them. It was easier for them to continue on their family line since they had the money and stability, and since having a foal early meant having an heir they could easily marry off with an abundance of mares around, unicorn noble families make a lot of deals involving their own children.

Basically, stallions were nothing more than a trade object to them. I had no love for that kind of mindset and if we really were to become symbols of ponykind, I would do my best to change that. I was still skeptical that my sisters were going to change their minds, but maybe this trip to Canterlot would give them a new perspective.

Speaking of my sisters... while I was more uncomfortable with all of the attention directed our way and Luna was soaking it up like a greedy sponge, not at all caring about the calculating looks from the nobles, Celestia was in her no-nonsense mood. Previously, I would have thought she would have let her inner exhibitionist out to shine because everypony was basically staring at our rear end, but she was putting on a brave face for my sake instead. And to scare off anypony from thinking they might have a chance with us, I guess.

My twin really doesn't like strangers looking at me in that way, huh? It really showed. Her wings were flared threateningly, there was a deep scowl on her muzzle, and her glaring eyes told anypony that was foolish enough to get close to Luna or me that she would act upon even the smallest slight against her feelings and she would not ask for forgiveness if she did something painful to them.

It was sweet in a way. It showed how much she loved me, but... I wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of her being so possessive to the degree she would hurt somepony if they made the wrong move. I wouldn't want anypony to be on the receiving end of her anger because I knew she wouldn't hold back. Not when I was involved.

On the other hoof, though... I really thought it was hot, seeing her rippling muscles tensed up like that, ready to defend me and our little sister... fuck. It was hard for me to keep my tail down, watching her with more than one naughty thought of what we could do together were we alone right now. It didn’t help one bit that our estrus was practically around the corner now. We still haven’t found the time to... ahem, experiment... with 'that' spell. And it showed in the mood of my lovely (and very sexy) twin. She was slightly easier to agitate which didn't help with her protective behavior at all.

As we continued our way through the moderately large mountain city, I couldn’t help but admire how cute their buildings looked. It was like they had been ripped straight out of a fairy tale book. Or ancient history, however one wanted to look at it. On that note, our life was practically a little kid's dream come true, wasn’t it? Pretty little ponies playing around all day long, it certainly seemed like something that could have come out of some old folktale about an enchanted land on Earth.

These ponies just needed the sparkles, fairies, and elves for the picture to be complete. I’m sure my eldest daughter would have loved it here, she was kinda big on the cutesy things. My little Rose was hopelessly swooning over anything remotely romantic. I'm sure she would have shrieked happily for days if she were to see me now, and that was already an understatement of how extreme her reaction might be.

I feared what her reaction to my mane color would be. As a human, my hair had been mostly black, just like my little petal. The little bit of color I had in it was the result of her dyeing it in my sleep and from there it sort of stuck around. I mean, it had looked kind of nice, so much so that she started to imitate her father in that regard, but now? With my hair totally and utterly pink? Things would happen if she were to see me and Tia right now.

It would be for the best to not get so lost in thought over what might happen with my eldest daughter in Equestria, only madness could be found at the end of that road.

Starswirl led us to the biggest building in this budding city and I could already tell that everypony around us seemed to perk up as we were brought to what was essentially their new government. I could hear the rumors already: were we here to take over their nation? Was this a coup? Could it be that they would finally get someone competent to sit on the throne instead of bickering idiots?

I didn’t want them to get their hopes up, my sisters and I were still torn about this idea that we should be leading them into a brighter future (me less so, but still). There's a lot of stuff we need to learn should we decide to go through with this and I have yet to further discuss this with Celestia and Luna.

Running a nation is a lot of hard work, something we were kind of notorious for procrastinating over. Had it not been for our mother, we probably would have never gotten anything done in the past. Now that she was also gone, there was no threat of being denied her delicious cookies to get us properly motivated.

I really missed those cookies, they were the best we ever had. She just knew how to make them so that they would come out super duper extra yummy. While we do have one last jar full of them, warded so much that it could withstand the impact of a bomb (probably) and enchanted in a way to make sure they wouldn’t ever spoil, we all unanimously decided to save them for some very special occasions.

Those were the last ones we would ever get unless we managed to somehow replicate them. Sadly, Mom never taught us how she made them so that we would be dependent on her to get them. It basically gave her the ability to blackmail us with delicious cookies, and considering the behavior of me and my sisters when we were younger (which is still 'somewhat' true to this day), I say she did it for a good reason.

A reason that took the recipe with her to the grave, it seemed. I don’t think she had written down the process of making them anywhere, she was a paranoid mare first and foremost, after all. No doubt would she have thought that if we ever stumbled upon the recipe, we couldn’t bother to behave ourselves anymore.

The cookies of my previous mother had been legendary already, but the ones Mom could bake? They were the stuff of myths. They could make gods cry and demons weep, they were that good.

It was just one more thing on the list of crimes Princess Platinum committed against us. The prospect of taking everything away from her started to sound more and more enticing now. While I was usually above petty revenge and generally wanted to forgive and forget before getting around to taking vengeance on somepony, I thought that for once I could let myself not solve everything with kindness and generosity first.

She just brought out the bad side in me, didn’t she? Platinum was of the arrogant royalty variety humans would have happily dethroned in the past, I was seriously surprised the ponies here hadn’t done so already from the stuff I have heard about her.

She was a spoiled brat that let her goons (aka the royal guard) do the dirty work for her. Not to mention, the ones currently in charge of Equestria were kinda at fault for what happened up north. I was honestly surprised it took Starswirl this long to go around looking for help. But I guess he was very busy, what with raising and lowering the suns and moon while also teaching his apprentice at the same time. And the multitude of other things he must be preoccupied with, like his research into magic and so on.

That was the sole reason we actually agreed to at least look at their situation, wasn’t it? Him being concerned for the wellbeing of the citizens of this land and the government falling to pieces around him brought us finally out of hiding. We couldn’t just sit idly by while the rest of the world suffered, even if we wanted to. Celestia might have disagreed with me on that, but she was always bad at dealing with feelings of grief.

It was the primary reason why she fled to her perverted nature, after all. At least, that was the reason why I thought that she behaved in the way that she did. I never knew her first parents and she never talked about them. The only thing I knew about her first parents was that they died quite early on in her first life, and now? The same thing happened again. While I loved even her pervertedness, I was sometimes concerned about how much she was suffering on the inside.

She never showed her weaknesses outright, though. It was one of her endearing traits I had fallen in love with, but it was a pain in the flank to deal with. It took a lot of effort to get her to open up past her shield of perverted thoughts.

That emotional shield would break at some point, I feared. When that happened, I would be there for her, no matter what. And hopefully, I would be able to prevent her from doing something extremely foolish.

Like ripping the head off of an irritating white unicorn with a gaudy crown on her head that was standing right in front of us with a haughty look.

Did I mention that she was a brat already? Because she had that self-entitled 'I steal ice cream from little foals because I can' vibes going for her. I recognized a petty bully when I saw one, and I knew pretty much instantly she didn't regret a thing. Not that I think she even knew what it was that she did. She seemed like the type that never saw fault with herself and blamed everypony else for the things that went wrong.

A narcissist of the worst kind, oblivious to her own failings as a pony, that's who she was. I doubt she could change on her own, but... I hoped she could redeem her character eventually, seeing that she was no older than we are. If not for her own sake, then for that of everypony else around her.

“Starswirl, you’re back!” a young stallion exclaimed, happily running up to him. He had a yellowish coat, an orange-ish brown mane, and a horn on his noggin. “We were worried you had forgotten what you wanted to do and managed to lose yourself in the forest! Is that them?”

“Yes, Clover,” he chuckled. “While I’m not quite senile yet, I am slightly disappointed in your lack of faith in me, my young student. A wizard does not get lost, they wander.”

“I’m sorry, master!” Clover the Clever apologized, bowing his whole body low to the ground in a reverent fashion. “You are, of course, right. I shouldn’t have doubted your abilities, master.”

“Well, to answer your question, those are indeed the young fillies the rumor talked about,” Starswirl said.

“We are not fillies anymore,” Luna scoffed quietly at my side, pouting. I giggled and embraced her with one wing in consolation.

“We are to somepony as old as Starswirl, sister,” I said. “We should at least respect his age if nothing else.”

“Quite right, my dear,” he let out a jolly laugh, turning to introduce us to his apprentice. “This is Clover the Clever, my student now for almost ten years. He has become a very fine stallion, hasn't he? I still remember the time when he used to carry his teddy bear with him everywhere. Ah. Good times, good times...”

"M-Master!" Clover stammered, blushing brightly in embarrassment.

"What?" Starswirl commented, oblivious to his student's plight. "It's true. You are very handsome, I'm sure these young fillies will be all over you."

"Can you stop it now?" Clover complained, looking like he wanted to be anywhere but here.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Clover,” I said with a giggle, a small smile gracing my muzzle. Their interaction was interesting, to say the least. Almost like the old coot was his actual grandfather. “This bundle of energy is my sister, Luna. And this stoic mare here is my twin sister, Celestia. Don’t mind her, she is still a bit wound up from... losing our only parent. We all still are. You can call me Summer.”

The archmage apprentice shifted on his hooves as his ears turned slightly down. “I'm sorry to hear that,” he said, a saddened tone in his voice. “I hope they passed away in peace?”

“You would have to ask her that,” Celestia glared at Platinum, who turned her snout up in return. Little prissy prick, she had a lot of nerves, hadn’t she? “Seeing that she is responsible for abducting our mother in the first place. It wasn’t enough forcing ponies to go through a ritual that takes away their magic, no... they had to take her by force while we had to watch her get abducted, unable to do anything.”

“That’s quite enough, sister,” I said, holding her back with a hoof before they started to rip out each other’s hair. “We don’t need to cause a scene, now. We’re guests here.”

“Yes, listen to your sister, little blank flank,” Princess Platinum sneered at us and my eye twitched. “I don’t understand why you had to bring them here, Starswirl. They obviously are too immature if they haven’t even found their calling yet. I doubt they are going to be of any use to anypony.”

“Shut your dirty mouth, you sorry excuse for a princess!” Luna roared, about to leap at her with a boost from her wings. “Has your daddy forgotten to teach you manners?!”

I had my work cut out for me, trying to keep my sisters from murdering a delusional cockroach in pony's clothing. Not that I wasn’t tempted to go after her myself, but that would only manage to cause other ponies to fear us for becoming tyrants.

“Why, I never! Rein that little monster in, or I will!” Platinum said towards me and I let out a low growl, eyes narrowed in anger. She really was starting to piss me off. Nopony calls my sweet little Moon a monster. “To think Starswirl considered making you, simple farmers, the new rulers of this land! Don’t make me laugh! You wouldn't even know how to use a fork, hmph!”

“Keep insulting us, worm,” Luna growled, struggling against me as I held her enraged self back from ripping Platinum’s throat out. If that cockroach continued on like that, I might let Luna go, instead... “I’ll show you simple farmers! I’ll freeze you solid and shatter you into pieces!”

“Luna, please! We are better than that. We can’t go around calling for blood, it wouldn’t solve anything.”

“Let me go, Summer!” Luna snorted, glaring at me. “She doesn’t even care that her actions killed Mom!”

“That still doesn’t make it right, Lulu!” I argued back. “Be the better pony and don’t stoop down to her level.”

“Oh, sure,” Luna rolled her eyes as she ceased her struggle in my embrace. For a moment there, I thought she would have broken free of my grasp. “You of all ponies would offer her forgiveness, what a fucking surprise. Are you out of your mind, sister?! These ponies only care about themselves! Haven’t you heard what she said?! They wanted to make us their princesses without even asking!”

“I... but... that can’t be right. Why would Platinum say the opposite of what Starswirl said?” I asked, bewildered. “You insisted that you couldn’t make us the new rulers of this land even if you wanted to, Starswirl.”

“And that is still true, my dear,” Starswirl stated, holding up a calming hoof. “Only the ponies of this land may accept you as their new princesses, after all. They are the ones that are being ruled over here and dare I say, they are starting to see what I see in you.”

“The whole harmony between tribes thing?” Celestia asked, snorting derisively at him. “We don’t want to rule, when is that going through your thick skull, old geezer?”

“Yes, well...” he started, scratching his beard. “That may yet be subject to change. I can already tell that you and your sisters don’t agree with how the current government is run, either. These ponies need somepony that won’t be playing favorites with either of the three tribes... or won't insult everypony around them without a second thought.”

“Can’t we be... more like guardians?” I asked unsurely, feeling like it would be a good compromise. It would be way less responsibility, as well. Well, a different kind of responsibility, at least. Less risk of causing a war through politics, for one thing. “That way everypony could be happy, right? I mean, we don’t have to be princesses... even though it sounds really nice as a title only...”

“You want to keep ponies like these safe, Summer?” Celestia asked me incredulously. “Look at how they behave around us, making decisions about us already before they even brought us here! We can’t trust them!”

“Tia, they are just desperate,” I told her with a gentle tone, fidgeting slightly with my wings as I felt uneasy at the reminder. They... kinda did make a lot of decisions in advance before they even met us (despite what Starswirl told us). It was obvious Starswirl counted on the fact that other ponies would start to see us this way and it wasn’t too hard to assume he made plans based on that possibility already. But... “I can’t just leave them hanging like this. And I’m sure you couldn’t either, were you to look past these few ponies and notice the rest of them. They need us... I have come to accept that, why can’t you?”

“Celestia is right, though. They have done nothing to earn our trust yet, sister,” Luna said, glaring at Platinum as if to prove a point. “All they do is make demands, force others to do what they want, and care nothing for what we feel.”

“That’s... not true,” I shot back weakly. She was holding the actions of a single pony over the rest of them, it's not fair of her. Not all of them were like Platinum. Starswirl, for example, still gave us a choice in the matter. Even Clover seemed to be a nice guy from the looks of it. The prissy princess was the exception to the rule, how could they not see that? And... “They have asked nicely?”

“No, they have invaded our home and taken our mother away for a cause that seems already lost to me, sister,” she retorted, glaring slightly at me. I never saw her so resentful before... it hurt my heart to see her so bitter and hateful. “Stop deluding yourself that you can change them for the better, Summer. Your kindness is wasted on the likes of them.”

“But... but...” I sniffled, wiping the back of my hoof at my eyes. “You’re so mean...”

“One of us has to be to get you to open your eyes,” Luna said bitterly, avoiding my eyes. “It was a mistake coming here.”

“Don’t be so hasty to blame a whole race for the folly of a few, my dear,” Starswirl stated, a disapproving look directed towards Platinum. “Your sister’s words have merit, does her opinion matter so little to you?”

“Don’t you dare accuse us of such a thing!” she retorted angrily. “I love my sister very much, but it is clear to me that you seek to take advantage of her kindness! Don’t think that you could get away with appealing to her forgiving nature in order to force her to help you! I will not stand idly by while you manipulate her like that!”

“Oh, I’m not forcing anypony to do this. Nor am I trying to manipulate you,” he answered sagely. “I have told you so already. And I will continue to tell you so until you actually start to listen. I am not taking your choice away from you. I am merely showing you what is at stake here and the options you have."

“All I hear from your mouth are platitudes,” Celestia shot back. “I’m not letting you take away my sister, not like you took our mother away from us.”

“The hotheadedness of youth...” Starswirl let out a suffering sigh. “Do understand that I’m not the monster here, I’m trying to save this world. A world with countless innocents, something your sister has already realized.”

“Tall words from somepony willing enough to sacrifice ponies left and right,” Luna stated with a sneer on her muzzle. “Your words ring hollow to my ears.”

“Sister, please...” I begged. “Don’t fault them for this. If not for them doing this, everypony else would have died long ago. They couldn't have known...”

“Summer, they took Mom from us,” Luna said, incredulous. “Why are you defending them so much? Has her death affected you so little? Why would you take their side over... over mine?”

“I’m not taking anypony’s side and Mom’s death is not on Starswirl's hooves or the innocent ponies of this land, sister,” I said, tightening our hug a little bit. I think I got a feeling I knew what this was about. She was jealous and afraid. Afraid she would lose me and jealous I wasn't taking 'her side' over theirs. “I’m not defending them, even if it might seem so. I’m... empathizing. And we would be no better if we fall to the same hatred that caused this in the first place. So, please... listen to me. They didn't know and none of them did it with the express purpose of taking her away from us forever.”

“Sister...” Celestia said, joining in on the hug. “You have such a bleeding heart, you know that?”

“I’ve been told,” I giggled, feeling the mood starting to light up. “Can you trust me on this? I feel like we should at least help out somewhat. We don’t have to take all of their responsibilities, right? We don’t need to sacrifice our magic if we don’t want to or are you going to make us do this, too, Starswirl?”

“Yes,” Platinum said before the old pony could open his muzzle. “I’m sure whatever you are you could...”

“That’s enough from you,” a new voice said, deep and stern, and a tall stallion entered the room. “You have let your arrogance cloud your judgment for too long, my daughter. It is best you remain silent. Do not repeat the same mistakes of your foolish mother.”

“King Bullion,” Starswirl said respectfully, bowing deeply. “These are the young mares I wanted to introduce you to.”

“Hmm. They truly are what the rumors state,” the broad stallion’s voice stated gruffly. “I hope you have told them of our situation?”

“Well, yes...” Starswirl answered, coughing awkwardly into his hooves. “But they remain stubborn, besides the one in the middle.”

“A shame,” King Bullion said. “They would have made for great replacements for the throne.”

“Father, you can’t possibly...” Princess Platinum started to say but a glare from her father cut her off from complaining further.

“I do and if they accept, I will,” he stated. “I have seen where hatred can lead to, I will not allow this new land to fall like our old nation. They are the answer to the dilemma we have sought to solve. Those... what are they called?”

“We have no name for their tribe yet, my liege,” Starswirl answered. “They do have all three traits of the pony tribes, though.”

“Then we shall call them... Alicorns,” Bullion said. “A fitting name, no?”

“Yes, of course,” Starswirl agreed. “Alicorn. All in one. How could I have not thought of that word? It is a very old Unicornian word, I have to say. I’m quite rusty in the old tongue.”

“Don’t ruminate so much over it, my friend,” the King said, laughing slightly. “It is, after all, a dead language by now.”

“Uhm... sorry to interrupt, but I think we haven’t been properly introduced to each other yet?” I interjected, going up to him and holding out a hoof in greeting. The stallion stared at my hoof in confusion for a moment and I felt the awkwardness get a bit too heavy in the room. Right, he was a king, how stupid of me.

To my surprise, though, the stallion in front of me kneeled down and placed a kiss on the end of my outstretched limb. I could practically feel the glare my twin sent his way for that. And the one from his daughter, although that one was directed at me.

“King Bullion, ruler of the remnants of the Unicornian Kingdom,” he said politely. “I have to say, you are quite beautiful, my dear.”

“Uhm... thank you?” I asked insecurely. “My name is Summer Sol, it's a pleasure to meet you.”

“Ah, the Summer Sun, named after the red sun in the sky,” Bullion said, nodding approvingly. “And your sibling is named Heavenly Sun, then?”

“Close,” I answered with a giggle. That was a good guess, though. “Her name is Celestia Sol, we are twins.”

“Hard to not notice,” he let out a chuckle. “You two look just the same, after all. So the twin suns, hmm? The Summer Sun and the Heavenly Sun, the red and yellow suns within our sky, a very fitting name for both of you, indeed.”

“I can imagine,” I replied with a small smile. “And last but not least, our little sister, Luna Nocturnis.”

“My, your mother must have loved you dearly,” King Bullion said, smiling slightly. “To be named after the celestial objects themselves, quite an honor.”

“Yes, well...” I sighed as my smile faded, feeling down. “She was taken from us. I’m sure you are already aware of the... decree... your daughter made?”

“Oh...” he sighed. “I’m sorry to hear that my daughter has caused so much grief in your family. I specifically told her if she were to go through with this, that we wouldn’t force ponies to do what needed to be done. It seems to me that she has disobeyed my orders while I was gone.”

Platinum let out a small, nervous laugh as her father turned his head towards her with a frown and a glare, steely eyes boring into her green ones as she twirled her pink mane with a hoof. My glare wasn’t any less potent than his or even the ones my sisters sent her way. Of course, she would do something like that, that little pompous bitch.

“I’ll see to it that this... mistake... is rectified,” King Bullion said, growling slightly in annoyance. “I have no idea where I went wrong with her. She was such a sweet little filly when she was younger. She takes too much after her mother and her 'ideals' now, I fear.”

“I thank you for taking responsibility, at least. Not many would do so,” I said and he nodded at me as he went to drag his misbehaving daughter away from here. I’m sure she would be plenty sorry after he was done with disciplining her.

Judging by the loud booming voice yelling reprimands at her a moment later, making the ground vibrate slightly, I didn’t want to be in her horseshoes...

“Well,” Starswirl spoke up. “With that out of the way, what do you say about accompanying me to where we are going to lower the suns and raise the moon? Perhaps that will show you a bit more of what I'm trying to accomplish.”

I nodded. “Lead the way, then,” I said as my sisters joined me by my side. Starswirl merely turned around and started leading us through the hallways and up a few flights of stairs.

“Are you certain we should trust them?” Celestia asked me. “I’m not entirely convinced this is such a wise idea, sister.”

“Don’t tell me you never wanted to be a pretty pony princess,” I snickered, seeing her face light up in a bright red. I giggled. “Now, who is the Red Nose, hm?”

I didn’t pay too much attention to the suspicious stare Luna shot towards both of us, too occupied with teasing my twin. We might want to be a bit more careful with how affectionate we are with each other while we are around her... she might get the wrong idea. Or the right one, I suppose.

“Shut up,” Celestia said, pouting. “Like you haven’t ever entertained the idea, either. Since Mom told you about her part of the family, you have been a bit more reserved and humble.”

“What can I say? I would make a very pretty pony princess,” I said and blew a raspberry at her with a grin on my muzzle. “Although, I could do without the actual duties that come with such a title. I didn’t lie when I thought we would make better guardians for ponykind than rulers.”

“Where did you even get that idea from?” she asked me, holding the door open for me as we entered a large chamber overlooking the entirety of the capital city. Before us stood a group of ten ponies, all nervous for what was about to happen.

“Well, I thought about what Mom had been trained for and what she trained us for,” I answered. “I thought, if Mom had ever been given the chance, she would have jumped gladly at becoming a guardian of ponykind instead of... you know. Kinda like a silent watcher, making sure nopony comes to harm. A Guardian of Ponykind.”

“And you think we could be something like that?” Celestia inquired, curious. I shrugged a bit helplessly. It's what I thought she would have wanted us to become had we been 'normal', I guess. Upstanding and rightful, that was something I could see her represent.

“Perhaps,” I told her. “If we have to become princesses, would you want to sit on your butt all day long or rather go on awesome adventures? Explore the world, help ponies along the way, and learn from your experiences. That would be something, wouldn’t it?”

“You know what? I think you’re right, Summer,” Luna said and I almost buckled under her weight as she decided to glomp me and have a ride at the same time. “Adventure awaits~!”

“Luna, I don’t think that is how it is going to work,” Celestia told her and I reluctantly nodded along. “If we really are to become princesses, then we have to appear regal and strong, not go around playing make-believe the whole day. While I’m sure there are going to be times where we will have our adventures and whatnot, most of the time we will have to deal with the grievances of our subjects.”

“Subjects? Must we call them that?” Luna gagged. “It sounds like we are above them. We would be no better than the old rulers. No better than Platinum.”

“Well, I’m glad both of you are at least entertaining the idea now. You seemed to be pretty against it not too long ago,” I said, looking over my shoulder at my little sister.

“While the idea of adventures excites me, I still don’t think the regular duties are worth the hassle,” she answered with a grimace. “But I can see your reasoning too, sister. Princess Bitchface is at fault for our mother’s death, not these ponies. I hate to admit it, but... you were right. I was being unfair to them and you.”

“Princess Bitchface?” I asked, hiding an amused snicker behind a hoof. “That’s... oh gosh, that’s priceless!”

“It’s true, isn’t it?” Celestia giggled. “Thanks, Luna. I think we really needed that laugh. The mood has been so somber as of late...”

“If you’re quite done yet, we would be ready to start,” Starswirl interrupted our mirth and we turned to look at the five ponies out of the group of ten that were standing beside him with their horns aglow.

We nodded at him, giving him the go-ahead to continue with what he was going to do. All of them concentrated intensely on their spellwork, supplying power to the ritual while Starswirl guided the energy with his own, shaping it into the right form.

Slowly, the two suns dipped below the horizon as all of the five ponies fell to the ground utterly exhausted, their fur seemed a bit greyer than before. Almost as if they had just aged a decade or so.

Starswirl's own beard lost a lot of its grayish color and transitioned to white. The few rare brown hairs he still had in it were entirely gone by now. He was wheezing quite a bit from the exertion, and at that moment, he looked like he was already with half a hoof in the grave, refusing to let go through sheer willpower alone.

“Are you okay, Starswirl?” Clover asked him, helping the old pony stand on his wobbly hooves.

“I need just a moment,” he answered his apprentice while my sisters and I watched him with deep concern. He wasn’t kidding when he said he wouldn’t be able to continue doing this for much longer. A month or two and he would have to stop for good or risk losing his magic, too. “We still have to raise the moon.”

Clover sighed sadly, coming over to us to give them the space to work with. It was clear for anypony to see that Clover was fearing for the life of his mentor.

“This has been going on for too long now,” Clover said, talking to us as we watched them slowly raise the moon. “Ever since most of the Mage Order was lost to the strife caused by the civil war and the winter that followed it, he had to do this on his own with ponies not trained for the job.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I whispered, staring sadly at the old coot. He really was doing his best for the world, sacrificing so much of himself in the process. The sight of him struggling managed to open the eyes of my sisters, too, judging by the lone tears running down the side of their faces.

To think a pony as powerful as Starswirl was struggling this much with a spell... it was honestly frightening. I knew we had to lessen his burden somehow, and... it is as he said, isn't it? He had no time, nor the energy, to make sure the government was also running smoothly at the same time.

“You don’t have to be,” Clover shook his head. “It has been the duty of the unicorn race to uphold the order of the heavens since history can remember. It has never been this bad, though. Without the training, ponies can’t keep themselves from losing their magic after a few times doing this, and doing it with the bare minimum of assistance... it has taken its toll on him.”

“Why don’t you train new mages, then?” Luna asked, looking over at him. He returned her gaze with a rueful smile.

“What do you think he is doing with me? I’m the only one that has shown any aptitude for magic over the last few years that he had been searching for replacements,” he answered. “And the process of training mages is a lengthy process. And time is a commodity we don’t have right now.”

“He does all this for nothing in return? There must be something he asks for in return, right?” Celestia raised her eyebrow and Clover shook his head.

“No,” he said. “He does this so we can continue to live our lives peacefully. All he ever wanted was a brighter future for the whole of ponykind, not just unicorns.”

“Surely he can’t be that selfless?” Luna asked. “Nopony ever does something so dangerous for so long and expects nothing in return.”

“He does,” I answered, looking at the exhausted elderly stallion. “He truly does... doesn’t he? Starswirl knows there is no greater calling in life than by making the world a better place.”

“Yes,” Clover agreed. “It was great news to hear of you and your sisters, so much so that I could see that spark of hope in his eyes again. Please, if not for Starswirl, do this for the rest of ponykind. I beg you, we need ponies like you to look after this nation.”

“I...” I mumbled, looking into his eyes and seeing the desperate hope in them that we would step up and relieve some of their burdens to keep this nation running. Clover, just like Starswirl, was looking out for the good of ponykind and not just for the unicorns, didn’t he? “What about Platinum? And Puddinghead as well as Hurricane?”

“You don’t have to worry about Chancellor Puddinghead,” Clover snorted with a tiny roll of his eyes, a small smile on his muzzle. “That crazy pony probably prepared ahead for such an event that a new ruler would be crowned and I assure you, my friend Pansy can keep Commander Hurricane in check if she really needs to. The only pony we would have to worry about would be Princess Platinum, but I think her father will manage to rein her in. Now, I have to go take care of my mentor, if you would excuse me.”

We watched as the young stallion went over to the old coot and I felt Celestia drape one wing over my back. Sighing happily, I snuggled up against her, bringing Luna in with me into the embrace. Now they saw what I saw. Starswirl is a pony that can be trusted, after all. He wasn’t the coldhearted monster they thought he was, seeing that he too was a bleeding heart like me.

“I think we should take them up on the offer of becoming their princesses,” Celestia finally said, having stayed silent for so long in our little hugging session.

“Oh?” I hummed interested. “What brought this on now?”

She had a thoughtful frown on her muzzle as she gave me a look from the corner of her eyes. “I want to do something. Something to lessen their burden, at least a little bit. If they don’t have to worry about ruling the nation on top of this, they might find more time to think of a better solution,” she answered, her voice getting slightly more passionate with each word that she spoke, a look of determination entering her pale magenta eyes. “You wouldn’t have let us walk away from here, never to look back, anyway. This right here? What they are doing for the rest of the world? It changed the way I thought about them. They aren’t as selfish as I thought, so there you have it. You were right, sister.”

“Wow, I never thought I would hear you say that, Tia,” I smiled, nuzzling her.

“If both of you will do this, then so will I!” Luna agreed with a bright smile. “They will never forget the day we became their new guardians. Even if we have to be pretty princesses dealing with boring, mind-numbingly, tedious, and boring work.”

“You said boring twice in there, Luna,” I giggled.

“Nay, I’m merely stating how excessively boring this task will be! Hmph!" she retorted, turning her muzzle up at us, causing both my twin and myself to erupt into a fit of childish giggles. Luna soon joined us in our mirth, happy that she managed to make us happy.

And so, a few days passed as we continued to stay here with Starswirl, Clover, and his friends. The apprentice of Starswirl the Bearded was actually the one to bring about an end to the endless winter together with Smart Cookie, a beige earthpony mare that was the current aide to Chancellor Puddinghead, and Private Pansy (I still felt sorry for her name), a demure light orange pegasus mare with a bright orange-red mane.

The three were way better company than the ponies they answered to. The first time we met Commander Hurricane, Private Pansy managed to avoid getting him mauled by Luna for insulting her by offering profuse apologies on behalf of the idiotic stallion.

Note to myself: never call my sister tiny.

Chancellor Puddinghead, on the other hoof, was totally off his rockers, spouting complete nonsense every few minutes about some crazy conspiracy or another that only Smart Cookie seemed to understand (and just barely at that). I wouldn’t let him go anywhere near small and impressionable foals, that’s for certain.

Our coronation was announced to be in just a few days, so together with Celestia, I decided to buy us a journal so we could record our feelings and thoughts on the topics we would soon be confronted with.

I had to get Tia to promise me not to write anything naughty in it just for the giggles that would cause. On the topic of naughtiness, our estrus still managed to elude us. We had come up with the theory that the emotional trauma might have caused us to skip it this time around or delay it.

Celestia was firmly of the opinion that it was just delayed (if that was even something that could happen). She didn’t want to miss out on extra sexy times with me but I just wasn’t in the mood for it at the moment, what with everything currently going on.

She was pouty because of that, which wasn’t really surprising to me. I could tell that she had a lot of pent-up energy in her, so I at least promised her that, as soon as I felt even remotely ready for sex, we would have a go at it when we got some modicum of privacy.

Sometimes, I swear. She was still as horny as the first time we did it in this world and the prospect of using the finished spell got her even more excited. I just wish she had a little bit more patience at times. Or restraint.

The big day of our coronation arrived sooner than what we were comfortable with. The whole thing was a massive event and ponies from all over Equestria and even beyond came to see the spectacle (I heard that even the ruler of the Crystal Empire was here to attend). This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that not many of them could pass up.

Sadly, most of the nobility were also there, souring our mood to a degree. As soon as they had learned we would be put in charge of this nation they began to grovel at our hooves like the suck-up slimeballs they were. It was annoying to deal with and I’m sure we would have to continue to deal with their stupid schemes and whatnot for a very long time, indeed.

Along with the coronation came also a crown. We insisted on something a bit less gaudy, sticking with the image of a kind and innocent princess with a tiara. Naturally, the tiaras for Celestia and me were made out of gold (not at all gaudy, I know...), while Luna insisted on hers being made from a deep black obsidian, instead.

The craftsponies that made them for us wanted to add an exorbitant amount of jewels on all of them, something that Luna was entirely against. Celestia and I made a compromise with them of one gemstone each, so we decided what color we wanted them to be.

I went with a brilliant red ruby for mine, paying homage to my namesake in the sky (and, admittedly, a little bit to my past). Celestia, on the other hoof, decided to be totally cheesy about it and went with a deep violet amethyst because she wanted to be reminded of my eyes every time she put the damn thing on.

Then, the craftsponies went a bit overboard because they had a lot more material to work with than what they needed in the first place and crafted us some shoes and an ornament that went over our chest and around our necks, basically looking like a heavy necklace... or like horse barding for the ultra-rich, I guess. Not that gold was exactly short in supply (seriously, even a regular penny was made out of the stuff).

Because those ponies thought it was a good idea to put gemstones on everything, whether it looked good or not, they put more of those rubies on mine and would have done the same for Celestia’s had she not caught them trying to also put a few gems on her shoes.

I really looked ridiculous in them, now. While there was only one on each piece, the overall image was still too gaudy for my tastes. Celestia loved it, though. So, like the good wife that I am, I listened to her and didn’t rip them from my shoes to appease her.

While mine had too many sparkling gemstones on them, they engraved the ones Tia had with fanciful lines to make hers stand out just as much as mine did. I actually thought they made her look more mature but decided to not go the same route with mine because that would make mine look... too crowded, I guess? Too many things on something was rather detrimental to the overall look, in my opinion.

Celestia at least was happy that I liked how they looked on her and I could tell she was turned on by me wearing mine. I guess we could add a princess fetish to the growing list of things that gets her drive going.

Luna stayed with her overly simple design choice of a smooth obsidian for her regalia and blueish silver for her slippers, stating that she rather liked it like that. Well, as long as we were comfortable with wearing those things, I guess she could do whatever she wanted with them.

And that was how we looked as we stood before the former rulers and Starswirl, a massive crowd seated behind us as they set the tiaras down on our heads and declared us Princesses of Equestria, the rightful rulers of ponykind until the day we die.

The crowd went wild with their applause, cheering for us as we put on the most regal postures that we could muster (Luna looked really cute even while she soaked up the attention with her head held high and chest proudly puffed out). Celestia and I waved respectfully, thanking them for standing behind us and supporting us with such enthusiasm.

Then, the nobles of this land swore their fealty to us, promising to stay loyal to this country and do everything in their power to make it prosper in the coming years. We, in turn, accepted their oaths and gave them ones in return, stating that we would not take advantage of their help to further our own goals.

Princess Platinum was also one of the ponies that had to swear her loyalty to us, much to her displeasure and our amusement. I guess we really did take everything away from her, in the end.

Her father didn’t trust her anymore, she had no right to the throne anymore, and she held no sway in the government any longer. She was a princess in name only now.

Lastly, King Bullion gave us a very special gift in the form of a heavily enchanted blade for each of us. The swords were of the highest craftsponyship I have ever seen. The edges were sharper than even a razor, easily slicing through any material presented to it with next to no resistance. The enchantments on them were simply astonishing, applied by a true master of their craft.

The sword my little sister held was an icy silver with a grip wrapped in red cloth and the crossguard was a very simple design while the pommel looked like a crescent moon. Set within the crossguard was something that I had never seen before with my own eyes, only having read about them in books: a mana gem. It was colored in blue and the energy contained in it got channeled out towards the fuller running down the middle of the blade.

Celestia’s sword was broader than mine, but both of them looked very alike. The main difference was the color of the mana gem set in the crossguard. Hers was purple like the gemstones on her regalia, while the color of my mana gem was red of course. While the pommel of her sword was in a simple round shape, engraved with the image of a sun, mine also held another (regular) gem in it. The energy from my mana gem traveled through the core of my blade, lighting it up from within, instead. Celestia’s mana gem provided its power in the same way that the sword of our little sister did, running through the fuller in the middle of the blade.

King Bullion told us that once we attuned our magic to those blades, and subsequently filled the mana gems with our own personal arcane power, we would never lose them as we could summon them to our side in the blink of an eye (even if they weren’t in our hammerspace). There was also no way anypony but my sisters and I would be able to wield them if we didn’t expressly wish for somepony else to hold these blades.

While these would have been no match for a mageblade, the enchantments on them made these weapons stand out on an entirely different level. A mageblade is typically only the bladed part of a sword here in Equestria, wielded within a telekinetic grip. They could cause quite a bit of devastation if wielded by somepony trained in them. Our blades, on the other hoof, could withstand the force of an impact of something falling from the orbit of this world.

Essentially, if we would drop the moon on them for whatever reason, they would stay in one piece with nary a scratch.

Additionally, they could withstand the heat of the molten core of this planet. These weapons were meant to be able to deal with anything threatening the wielder. They would absorb the force of any attack thrown at them and store the excess energy within the gemstones, as long as that attack wouldn’t exceed their holding capacity. Magic could truly do some wonders, I marveled fascinatedly.

I wept for the fool that decided it was a good idea to harm our subjects, for they would meet their maker as soon as they did so. Clearly, these weapons were not meant to be fancy ceremonial displays of wealth, but tools to keep our ponies safe from any and all threats and be a symbol of hope.

Celestia was extremely giddy to have such an overpowered weapon at her disposal and I’m sure she and Luna would love to have a spar with them. As long as they kept it friendly and didn’t try to kill each other, I would let them have their fun.

And so began our new life as the newly crowned Princesses of Equestria. The first order of business was establishing our own seat of power. Luna really wanted us to build our own castle, so that was what we decided to do (much to the chagrin of everypony else involved).

Although, the question of where we are going to build it wasn't exactly the easiest one to answer. There were so many places to choose from, we were already well in over our heads before we even started planning the overall structure. The bickering between my sisters didn’t help us in choosing a suitable place in the slightest, either.

They were already planning out how the castle should look like and Luna wanted to put all kinds of weird traps and secrets in it to make living there at least somewhat interesting. Tia, on the other hoof, felt like the castle should be simple and traditional, wanting to keep to the very image of what medieval castles were like back on Earth.

As we traveled and visited many different parts of Equestria, all of the ponies we encountered tried to convince us that their corner of the world was perfect for a mighty castle. I didn’t doubt them, they all had convincing arguments and such, but everywhere we went, as idyllic and peaceful as it looked, failed to make us feel at home.

There was just something missing, something we had with our parents. Sure, our parents were one thing that was obviously missing, but that wasn’t what I meant when I thought about it. Tia and Lulu agreed with me as we traveled from one end of Equestria to the other.

Eventually, both of them at least agreed on incorporating both of their ideas for the castle. The only things I really wanted for it were nice and tall windows, flowing carpets, and finely woven tapestries hanging from the walls so the castle looked less... empty and cold, I suppose. Perhaps a few flowers here and there, too. Oh, and a tower for the view, of course.

Perhaps I should put my bed in there? That would have the slight disadvantage of me having to climb the stairs every day, though. A balcony might be the answer to that, allowing easy access by flight...

Eh, I will worry about that when we actually begin with the construction of our new home. Nothing was final as of yet, so I had plenty of time to think about it.

Sadly, we just weren’t able to find the right spot for it anywhere. We felt that it should be remote to at least have some modicum of privacy, so we ultimately decided to return back to Starswirl to ask him for his help.

“A remote place, you say?” he hummed, stroking his long beard thoughtfully. “You say you visited every place in Equestria already? Are you sure?”

“Yes, and nothing we saw picked our interest,” Celestia explained, exasperated. “There was just this sense of it lacking... I don't know... something. It didn’t feel like home and all the ponies we met had nice arguments for their community, but we also feel that we need our privacy from time to time. Being constantly surrounded by other ponies feels... awkward, to say the least. We were on our own for the most part of our lives, it's kinda hard to suddenly deal with everypony during all times of the day. Do you understand where I am going with this?”

“Yes, yes...” he nodded, going over to one of his drawers and rummaging around in them. He returned to the table with a map of our nation. It still felt weird calling it ours, to be honest. “Hmm...”

“What about a mountain, Princess?” Clover asked, pointing out to one in the middle of the map. “Mount Canterhorn has enough space for a castle and you would have a whole city right beside it. I’m sure the ponies of Canterlot would be happy to accommodate you here. It also has a nice view of the surrounding area. You could build it further up if it is the traffic you dislike so much.”

“I don’t think we want to live near a big city, just yet,” I commented, feeling nauseous at the idea. “And really? Princess? I thought we told you to not call us that...”

“Very well, Your Highness,” Clover grinned with amusement and I groaned, hitting my head against the table in annoyance. Might as well get used to this nonsense, right? I should have taken the side of my siblings and not agreed to... this.

“You have lived your whole life surrounded by a forest on a farm, haven’t you?” Starswirl mused and I watched as his eyes traveled towards a particular spot on the map. “There is this forest here that would give you an isolated place and I know of a ravine that could provide some natural barriers for you, Your Highnesses.”

“That sounds perfect!” Luna exclaimed, bouncing up and down in her chair. I couldn’t fathom how she could be so... upbeat even with them using our titles. “Where is it?”

“Here...” he said, his hoof landing on a spot that wasn’t even that far away from Mount Canterhorn. “The Everfree Forest. It has some exotic beasts in there, but I’m sure they won’t cause you any trouble. They generally tend to stay away from too large crowds of ponies or buildings.”

“Truly?” I asked, perking up. My interest has officially been picked, do not disappoint me you old coot. “What kinds of animals?”

This was my forte, ever since I found out I had this special bond with animals. Maybe I could even make some friends among them. As long as they weren’t big enough to swallow me whole... or bigger than a house in general, that is. I don’t think I would have the courage to go talk and make friends with something like that.

There's just this sense of fear next to a fearsome dragon when you know you are a prey animal and they a predator not even humans would have stood a chance against without heavy artillery. And, well... they can spew fire that makes napalm look tame in comparison.

“What I have observed so far would be timberwolves, hydras, and manticores,” Starswirl stated, not at all assuaging my fears. “Those are the more common beasts, though I don't think you will run into a hydra within that part of the forest. They tend to stay in the bog area, just like most of the cragadiles and giant toads. I also don’t think you would have to worry about coming across lumber bears, they mostly tend to stay in the northern regions of Equestria. You might still find one or two of those in that forest, though, so I would recommend being careful when you find one. They are very territorial.”

“Okay, that sounds very dangerous,” I said, fidgeting on the cushion I sat on. “And I don’t even know what some of these are...”

If those lumber bears are what I think they are, I definitely don’t want to run into one of them after having had a bad experience with timberwolves already. I suppose those cragadiles must be some sort of crocodile then, something I would rather avoid, too.

“Oh, you wouldn’t have to worry about those, they are quite easy to deal with,” Starswirl reassured me. I was rather skeptical if they were truly as easy to deal with as he made it sound... “Even a small flame should be enough to make them think twice before attacking. What you should be wary of, are the rarer beasts. Those are the ones you should stay far away from, lest you risk ending up as their meal.”

“And what kind of beasts would those be?” Celestia asked, narrowing her eyes at him. “If this is some ploy to get rid of us already...”

“No such thing, my dear Princess,” he laughed heartily, a small smile on his muzzle. I nudged my twin with a hoof, giving her a look that told her to not go around accusing ponies willy-nilly again. “I doubt you will run across one of them, but it is better to go in prepared than to lack crucial information. The first beast you shouldn’t ever get fooled by is the insidious cockatrice, its gaze alone has the ability to turn you to stone and no amount of magic will save you from that fate. If you ever see the head of a chicken in there, be very wary.”

“And the other beasts?”

“A dragon, for example, but for you to come across one in the Everfree Forest, you would have to go looking for them on purpose. The last one I have only heard rumors of, so take this with a grain of salt,” Starswil said, leaning forward towards us with an ominous look. “There exists a cave that is said to house a beast made out of the very essence of the night sky. A star beast, to be exact. Pray you never come across one, even only a baby.”

“Why?” Luna asked skeptically. “They can’t be as deadly as you portray them to be, can they?”

“Oh, my dear Princess Luna,” he chuckled as he levitated a monster compendium from one of the shelves over to us. “This... is a star beast.”

On the page that he had opened was a reference picture of several different kinds of animals that I wouldn’t have thought to give a second glance to, were it not for the scale of a large building as a comparison next to them.

They entirely dwarfed anything made by a pony. They were so enormously big that I doubted any ordinary cave could house them. I could probably stand on my hind legs within one of their nostrils and try to reach up to the top of it with my forelegs and I wouldn’t even come close to touching it.

“Are you sure this forest is safe?” I asked, uncertainly.

“There is a reason why I recommended the location near the cliff,” Starswirl said, eyes twinkling with a cryptic shine. “There is a small cave there that holds something quite... extraordinary. You will be safe there.”

“Well, if you say so,” I said, shifting out of my chair and levitating the map off the table. “Could we take this with us?”

“Go on, I don’t need that one, anymore,” he nodded, motioning with his hoof in a shoo-shoo notion. “Let me know if you want to build there and I will let the craftsponies know you’re ready to begin.”

“Okay, thanks,” we said, leaving his study to go look at this forest. The flight over there was a short one, not surprising seeing that we were practically a stone’s throw away from it.

We had no trouble navigating the map towards the spot where Starswirl told us to go. It helped that we had the power of flight on our side. This would have been a major pain in the flank if we had to trek our way through the forest on hoof. Seeing it from above made the ravine look kinda small, but up close we learned just how massive it was.

There was a slope traveling down to the bottom of it and not far away from that was the entrance to a small cave that had a strange glow coming from it. So, we decided to investigate a bit further and landed just at the opening with a small clop sound as we touched down.

“This is so exciting!” Luna giggled, already galloping ahead of us like the impatient filly that she was. We called out to her to wait up for us and followed after her.

“You really should be... more... careful...” I began to say but my breath got stolen away by the sight before us. There, at the very back of the cave stood a massive, shimmering, and sparkling tree out of some kind of crystal. It emitted a soft blue glow from the very core beneath its bark.

“What manner of tree is this?” Celestia asked, just as much in awe and wonder as I felt. Luna trotted slowly over to the thing, slipping one of her hooves out of her shoe in the process. Hesitantly, she reached out to touch the tree with her bare hoof.

“It’s warm,” she noted, smiling back at us, coaxing us to come over to her. “There is no doubt, it is alive.”

“A crystalline tree? And it is alive?” I asked, astonished. “This is unlike anything I have ever heard of. How do you think it ended up here?”

“No idea,” Luna answered and Celestia also shook her head in puzzlement. “What do you think those mean?”

What she pointed at was even stranger than the fascinating nature of the composition of the tree. There, along the trunk, were stylized depictions of the suns, the moon, and one big star. They looked like they had been naturally grown with the tree and not just carved in after it was big enough.

“I have no idea,” Celestia said, flying up to them to take a closer look. “Do you think this tree could somehow help Starswirl with the ritual to move the heavens? He said it's the reason why this part of the forest is safe...”

“I’m not sure,” I retorted. “I don’t think we could move it away from here. And Starswirl was already here, judging by the way he mentioned this cave having ‘something extraordinary’ in it.”

“Hmm...” she let out a thoughtful hum. “What about those crystals on the branches? What do you think they could be?”

“I would say fruit, but I don’t think they are meant to be eaten,” Luna joked. “They could be some kind of artifact?”

“An artifact? But what would their purpose be, then?” I asked, intrigued.

“Maybe Starswirl knows?” she shrugged. “Perhaps they are able to be used as some kind of defense?”

“What? Like an invisible force keeping the big bad boogeymare away?” Celestia snickered. “Oh no! Stay away from me you big mean monster, I have little crystals! Eek!”

“Haha, sister,” Luna deadpanned. “Obviously they are magical in nature, so it stands to reason one could use them somehow in some way.”

“It was funny,” Celestia pouted cutely. “Right, Summer?”

“Sure...” I laughed awkwardly. “Very funny, sister.”

“You’re mean to me again, aren’t you?” she snorted, her ears hanging back. “I can be funny. You just don’t appreciate my humor.”

“At least Mom managed to make you stop with those atrocious puns,” I muttered silently, making Luna snicker to herself. “Those were the absolute worst ones to ever be uttered by a pony...”

“They weren’t that bad,” Celestia pouted and Luna and I sent her a glare that told her that they were that bad. “Why does nopony appreciate a good pun anymore these days...”

“Regardless, let us get out of here and look at the clearing up above,” Luna stated. “Then we can go ask Starswirl about this tree and hopefully get a non-cryptic answer from him.”

“You know just as well as I that that is a foolish thing to hope for with the old geezer, sister,” Celestia shot back, following Lulu back out of the cave with me at her side.

“Maybe we will get lucky?” I mused. “Although, he does seem to love his cryptic answers a lot.”

“We will see,” Celestia merely said and we continued on with our original task. The clearing up above was quite large, but for the maximum amount of space, we would have to cut down a few trees. That wasn’t really the problem, though. The transport of tools and resources was. It would be a difficult undertaking to get the stone from a quarry all the way through the forest to this spot.

It would probably be easier to take the resources we needed directly out of the forest. Then again, it would be a lot more dangerous, too. A road we could keep safe, but scavenging for places to get things like stone and wood from while not entirely destroying the forest in the process would prove to be a very big problem.

Either we go with option one or two, both would prove to have advantages and disadvantages. Luna and Celestia were for the safe option, and I wasn’t inclined to disagree with them. It would take us longer to finish, but at least we wouldn’t needlessly endanger the lives of our subjects.

“I like this place,” I said, once we all agreed on what course of action we should take with getting the resources here. “I say we build here, no need to search for any other place.”

“Indeed, it almost seems too perfect,” Tia said, smiling as we settled down on a cloud. Luna was writing in our journal while my wife and I imagined what our castle would look like from our vantage point. The thought of living within a fancy castle was starting to excite me more and more.

We decided to sleep on the cloud that night before we went back to Starswirl. While it was a bit chilly, we stayed close together sharing our body heat with each other. Luna squeezed herself happily in between me and my wife, preventing us from cuddling.

Sometimes, I think she did this on purpose. At least she wasn’t glomping down and chewing on my ear in her sleep. I don’t think I would find it even remotely enjoyable, not like I would if Tia were to do it. My twin would probably enjoy it, though. She kinda was into everything and if she got the chance to start a harem, she would.

That wasn’t something I wanted to entertain the idea of, especially not with my baby sister. The thing is, I’m pretty sure we could make a law that would make it legal, too. A harem, that is. Or polygamy... no, polyamory was the thing I was thinking about, wasn't it? A harem was one-sided in favor of the... stallion, I guess. A polyamorous relationship was mutual between all ponies involved, right?

I mean, if the stallion-to-mare ratio is as skewed as I perceived it to be from my observations so far, then it would make sense to make it the primary type of marriage by law, wouldn't it? I’m not sure if ponies would appreciate us making incest of all things legal, though.

Not that I would appreciate Tia doing that, either. She would get an earful from me if she ever let her desires get before the wellbeing of our subjects. There was a good reason why that was forbidden in the first place (other than the obvious reason of it being immoral to force your sibling into it). We had responsibilities now and I would be damned to let this position corrupt us.

At least we could keep each other in check, each one of us held the same amount of authority in Equestria. There was no way that we would allow one of us to let this power go over our heads. Luna would keep Tia and me in check and Tia and I would hopefully make sure Luna didn’t do anything stupid, either.

We couldn’t just do whatever we want without good reasons. At least, we couldn’t do anything like that without expecting our ponies to start calling for our heads, instead. Making incest legal is one of the things I would never do, even if it would mean I could show my affection for Tia openly.

The position of princess means that we have to act with responsibility and with the wellbeing of our ponies in mind. Incest is the farthest thing from that and even if Tia thinks it would be okay, I would threaten her with another tickle apocalypse. Maybe something even worse. There is no way I would allow my wife to become a selfish ruler if I had a say in it.

I can’t risk losing her to such... desires. I’m not the most assertive pony, but if it concerned my family I would screw up the little bit of courage I had. We had lost so much already, we didn’t need to lose each other, too.

I don't know too much about genetics, but even one generation of incest is too much of a risk for me to even consider it. I'd rather be on the safe side and minimize the effect it could have if it got out of hoof.

We went back to Starswirl early the next morning, so I put those thoughts away and focused on the here and now. Besides, I’m sure we wouldn’t have to worry about one of us doing something stupid like that. We were better than that, I hoped.

Tia, Lulu, and I explained what we had come up with over a cup of tea for what we wanted to do with our castle, and Luna drew up a few sketches in our diary for the few things she wanted to incorporate into our castle.

I had no idea why she wanted to make a hallway full of dismembered hooves holding torches, it seriously creeped me out. I mean, the secret passages were kind of neat, not gonna lie, and the hidden escape behind our thrones would definitively become useful at some point. But the dismembered hooves? That was icky.

Then, we asked Starswirl about the tree that was in the cave below.

“That, Your Highnesses,” he started with a secretive smile. “Is the Tree of Harmony. It will lend you strength and keep you safe.”

“The Tree of Harmony?” Celestia asked giddily and I looked at her in confusion. How did she know about this? Who am I kidding, she probably read about it from one of those dusty tomes she couldn’t get enough of. Sometimes, I swear, she married her books instead of me. “You mean to tell me that that is the actual legendary tree?”

“That it is,” Starswirl nodded. “The exact location has been kept secret from the general populace, for obvious reasons. It is a very powerful magical tree and if it were to fall into the wrong hooves, I fear what they would do with it.”

“We will keep it safe,” I said, smiling reassuringly. “Don’t worry, we will literally be just around the corner, nopony could sneak up on it while we are watching over it.”

“I’m glad to hear that, dear,” he said. “Now, let’s get your little project started, hmm?”

We nodded at him and together we started to make preparations. He introduced us to a lot of ponies that would be helping us make our plans for the castle become a reality. While the forepony was admittedly surprised at all the ideas Luna, Celestia, and I had cooked up, he just shrugged and let us have our fun with it.

The forepony was a polite middle-aged stallion and was all too happy to assist us with any questions we had. He also told us what was possible and what wasn’t. He wasn’t entirely sure Luna could make the 'Organ to the Outside' work in the way that she wanted it to, but he was up for the challenge.

Tia was happy that she would get her secret reading room in the library and I was sure she would stuff it full with porn. I wasn’t opposed to the idea of the room, though. It would surely become a nice retreat for both of us when we wanted to be alone. Not the sexy time ‘alone alone’, but the cuddle-while-reading ‘alone alone’.

I also got them to plan in a small hidden garden that could only be accessed through a hidden switch while an illusion would hide it from the outside. It would no doubt become my own little sanctuary away from everypony else. Even from Tia. There were times I actually wanted to have a little space away from her.

It was a normal thing for a healthy relationship, I think. If we were to be constantly around each other, we would eventually drive each other crazy. And with our duties starting as soon as we actually got our place done, a place to retreat and relax would surely be invaluable.

Luna insisted on having her own observatory, which would also act as an atelier. She was actually very talented with art and I would have thought she would have gotten her Cutie Mark for it by now.

Strangely, those kept eluding us for some reason. Well, I’m sure we will get them at some point and if not, it's just going to be like that. Starswirl wasn’t concerned about us not having one of those, either. So why should we be?

Let’s just hope nothing bad happens to the ponies working with us over the coming weeks. I wasn't entirely comfortable with the monsters living close by in that forest...

Chapter 006 - The Castle...

Author's Notes:

Source material for this chapter: The Journal of the Two Sisters - the next few entries (regarding the castle, duh)

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

We decided that it would be for the best to clear out a road first before starting with anything, it would make transporting all of the stones easier (duh). The helping ponies were very enthusiastic about assisting us with our project. When we asked them, they always said to us that it was an honor to help us build our own castle, which made it kinda cute in my eyes.

They were like little eager kids trying to please their parents. Just that we were their rulers, instead. I really hoped they would never start to think we would be offended by anything they were doing or think that the slightest mistake would result in punishment. We were ponies like them, there was no need to put us on a pedestal.

Something told me I wouldn’t be so lucky with that. I hoped I could at least make them see that such behavior was unnecessary.

The process of clearing out the trees for the path through the forest was a quick affair. Ponies were hard workers if nothing else. They sure knew how to keep themselves motivated to do the required work with great efficiency.

It wasn’t long after that that we began to get the first few shipments of building materials. My sisters and I made sure that everypony was safe while we traveled through the forest towards the ravine. Thankfully, nothing happened. Starswirl was right, most of the wildlife never came close enough to our group. It must have been too much of a hassle for them to try anything and if they did, my sisters and I would have been there to deal with the animals.

The first order of business after that was constructing a bridge towards the clearing on the other side of the chasm. While it wasn’t a particularly fancy bridge, it served its purpose quite dutifully. As long as it held the weight of the carts loaded with the materials we had no reason to cry about the way it looked (not that it looked ugly, but art it was not).

After the first week passed, we had the foundation finally done. The basement where the Organ to the Outside would find its place was completed, too. The next few weeks blended together with working from dawn to nightfall. All the work the earthponies, pegasi, and unicorns were doing was a great help to us, and progress was at an all-time high.

But not all things could go as perfectly as we had planned out. Our workers had actually managed to convince us to also get some materials out of the Everfree after our supply shipment ran late due to an error in planning. So we decided to let them do what they wanted as long as they promised us that they would stick together in a group with a few guards.

As long as they were happy about it and played it safe, why shouldn't we give them a bit of freedom with how they procured the building materials? It's not like they will do something incredibly dumb, right?

Well... as it turns out, that decision quickly came to bite us in the flank (who would've guessed). Their plan worked for as long as one meager week because by then, we learned of the first missing team. Luna wanted to immediately go out and search for them because she felt guilty. She was the first one to agree to their proposal, although that didn’t mean it was her fault that they were missing now.

Celestia stopped her before she could run off on her own (thank the suns), stating that going in without a plan was not a wise decision for her to make. Luna argued fiercely with her that it was her responsibility and that she would go search for them whether or not she wanted her to do so.

So, because Lulu and I had been spending some quality time exploring the forest in our free time (only the areas we deemed to be safe enough...ish), we decided that I should accompany her while Tia remained with the crew to keep them safe. I mainly came along in case we ran into any wildlife that would hinder us from finding our missing ponies.

It was easy enough to find a few clues as to what must have happened as we saw the tracks they made when they went off the beaten path and into the wilder parts of the Everfree Forest (you know... like we told them not to do). Luna and I landed to follow their trail on hoof, keeping branches away with our magic on our way through the thicket.

Luckily for us, the group that went through here left enough signs of their passage for us to easily follow after them. They must have somehow found their way to a large rocky hill to get new stones for the caste. Our search for them led us past where they had been collecting resources towards a smallish cave that had been blocked off with an excessive amount of brambles.

Whoever thought it was a good idea to go after our ponies would soon learn their lesson. As soon as we saw what must have been somepony’s attempt to get rid of our workers we ran up to it, trying to see past the dense foliage and free them.

“Hello?!” we shouted just shy from deafening, seeking a reply from one of them in the hopes that they were still alive. “Are you okay?!”

Just as we were about to reach it, though, a massive beast leaped down from the ledge above us, cutting us off from coming to their aid. The manticore that stood before us let out a rattling roar that shook us to our very bones. A moment later, it was already charging towards us and we took to the sky with our wings in order to avoid it.

Not that that helped us any as it also possessed the ability to fly...

“Summer, can’t you calm it down?!” Luna asked me, avoiding a strike from one of its paws as I tried to catch it with a magical binding. The manticore kept dodging my hasty attempts, though.

Before I could say anything to it, I felt the flat non-pointy end of its tail impact the side of my head as the beast turned suddenly on the spot. I was unable to dodge in time and was sent spiraling to the ground, unable to right myself. Luna tried to catch me in her hooves before I would have crashed into the dirt, but she was sadly not fast enough.

Too bad that she forgot she had magic at her disposal. I felt stars dance through my vision as my regalia absorbed most of the impact. I was thankful that my wife had the foresight to put an exorbitant amount of defensive enchantments on it, lessening the damage I could have taken. It was a good thing she had thought ahead for such an occasion so that we at least had some modicum of protection in case we needed to fight. I don’t know what would have happened otherwise.

Luna landed slightly panicked beside me, inspecting me for any serious injuries. Aside from a small scratch wound on my head that was bleeding, I was fine. The worst thing I would have to deal with would be a concussion at the most.

I saw my little sister stand in front of me as I tried to get my vision to clear up, noticing that she had drawn her sword and was holding it between her and the manticore. I couldn’t see her expression, but her posture told me enough that she was about to go full avenging angel on the animal that was pawing the ground in front of it, snorting through its nostrils like a mad bull.

I tackled my own sister to the ground before she could end the life of an animal that was just defending its territory. It was clear to me that our ponies stumbled upon its nest and that it was trying to stop them from destroying it completely.

“Stop, don’t hurt him!” I cried out, pinning her underneath me while I erected a barrier in between us and the manticore. “He hasn’t hurt anypony, not yet!”

“What are you doing, sister?!” Luna grunted, bucking against me trying to break free. “This beast almost smashed your head in!”

“I’m sure it didn’t mean to,” I told her, holding her at bay as I tried to calm her down. It was a bit difficult as my vision continued to drift slightly. “He was just defending his home, right?”

The manticore let out a small growl and to my surprise, I perfectly understood what he said. But before I could relay what he had said to my sister, my twin arrived with Starswirl in tow. Both of them threw out magical bindings, trying to subdue an animal that appeared to them as if it was threatening us.

“Stop!” I called out, fluttering over to the manticore and standing in front of him. Both Tia and Starswirl gave me an incredulous look, although they complied with my demands to stand down. “He said he was trying to chase us off, he didn’t mean to hurt me.”

“You can understand it?” Starswirl asked me awestruck and I gave him a small nod. I shivered as I felt the manticore lick the side of my head. I looked towards the animal in a questioning way and after he gave off a small purring meowl, I understood why he did it. Apparently, the saliva of a manticore can accelerate the recovery speed of the body and cause small wounds to close within a few seconds.

It was a bit disgusting, though. The smell wasn’t nice, either...

“Have you found the missing ponies? We heard fighting and came to investigate,” Tia asked, walking over to me and giving me a small nuzzle where I wasn’t currently covered in saliva.

Figures she wouldn’t trust us enough to get this done by ourselves, having to make sure we were okay. It was cute and sweet of her, so I wouldn’t complain about it. At least, not overly much...

“Yes, they aren’t too far from here,” I answered, enjoying the feeling of my sister so close to me. My heart gave out a small quiver and I immediately understood what was going on with me. Of fucking course, my estrus was about to start within the next few days. Perfect timing, body. Perfect timing. “Melvin... that’s his name, by the way... said that our ponies were wrecking his home as they were collecting stones nearby. So he just kept them locked away.”

“Can you ask him to let them out for us if we fix his home in return?” she inquired, looking over to the manticore uneasily. I could tell she wasn’t entirely too trusting of him, yet. Melvin let out another few meowling sounds and I giggled.

“He can understand you just fine, sister,” I told her once I saw her give me a confused stare. “Melvin will do as you have asked of him and he even offered to help us with finding new spots for resources.”

“Well, thanks, Sir Melvin?” she said unsurely and said manticore just gave us a small nod. He broke the brambles with a single swift swipe of his paw, lethal-looking claws outstretched and I turned a bit pale.

I'm suddenly glad he didn't go all out...

After we got the small crew out of the cave they apologized for the misunderstanding and for wrecking Melvin’s home. I was glad that he didn’t hold a grudge against them, so we did as promised and fixed up his nest with our magic. It was quickly restored to what it formerly was, much to his happiness.

And much to our surprise, Melvin offered to help us build our castle as he saw what we were using this much stone and wood for. Together with his help in finding ideal locations for resources, him lending a paw at the construction site, and the ponies working throughout the day, we were back to our former speed and ahead of schedule.

I was immensely glad for that because we now had a few rooms that were estrus safe for the strength my sisters and I could muster up. Celestia had also noticed by now that that time of the year was finally around the corner for us and was glad that we had at least that much done for our new home.

Although, before that started for me and my twin sister, Melvin also helped me convince a few nocturnal animals to help with building our castle so we could have it being worked on around the clock. That alone boosted our efficiency so much that we should be done within a few weeks from now.

Starswirl also gave us the news that the ritual was currently working smoothly as a traveling unicorn had shown up one day that was almost at the level he was at. He said something about her having a blue-ish mane and having an old family name that dated back to the early Unicornian days. I didn’t remember the first name, but the last part stuck with me because it reminded me of my little sister. Her last name was Lulamoon. I quite liked it and I wanted to meet this traveler at some point if we got the chance.

Due to that, I was pretty optimistic that Starswirl wouldn’t have to lose his magic for at least another two or three months at a minimum. The little breather this traveling unicorn granted him did wonders for him, letting him relax for at least a little bit.

Then, one particular morning, I woke up to find out that I had the primal urge to mate with my wife right at that moment, making me groan in annoyance. I squirmed under the covers of my sleeping bag, trying to suppress the feeling of fire spreading within my nether region.

“Tia,” I grumbled, reaching a hoof out of the confines of my sleeping arrangements. While we had completed a lot of rooms within the castle already, it wasn’t entirely safe to sleep in it yet while it was being worked on around the clock. I suppose that would have to change now...

The sleeping figure in front of me let out a moan and I saw what looked suspiciously like her squirming her hindlegs together within the confines of her own sleeping bag. She continued to sleep, though. Nudging her a bit harder this time, I called out to her again hoping to wake her up from whatever dream she must have been enjoying.

She could fucking enjoy having me to herself and not continue to be a prick and stay asleep, damnit. Here I was, willing to make one of our mutual fetishes come true for her and she ignored the pleading call of her wife.

Instead of continuing to try futilely at attempting to rouse her, I conjured one of the water buckets I kept in my hammerspace (after the surprise with Starswirl, I’d rather not risk a repeat of stumbling sleepily into somepony as they broke into my home).

Grinning deviously, I emptied the bucket out completely in one go over her head. My wife practically asked for it and I am not sorry for doing this to her. I wanted her so badly and I wouldn’t stand for her not ravishing me this instant.

Tia let out a little shriek, thrashing around in her sleeping bag in our tent in a blind panic. I snickered as she sputtered and coughed, trying to spit out a few strands of hair from her mane that had managed to find their way into her mouth during the night.

My twin whipped around with a furious scowl on her muzzle, looking for the perpetrator of this prank. As she saw me trying to keep my laughter in, she let out an irritated huff.

“Why did you do that?! I had such a good dream, too...” Tia asked me, pouting madly. Instead of answering her angry demand for an explanation, I slipped out of my sleeping bag into the crisp air of the tent and went over to her. I placed a long and deep kiss right on her muzzle, getting her to coo slightly at the sudden attention.

“Castle, room, now,” I growled slightly, biting her lip gently. Celestia nodded rapidly and powered up her teleport spell, taking me with her just outside one of the rooms that we had warded up to the high heavens. She locked one additional room for the sake of appearances, stuck a note on it saying we had gone into heat, and then dragged me with her into the room we would be staying in.

As the door clicked shut behind us, my sister picked me up in her magic and threw me playfully towards the cloud bed in the middle of the room. I shrieked out, surprised by her sudden act of roughness, feeling the mattress give slightly as she leaped on it after me.

A moment later I let out a pleased hum as she locked herself with me in a tongue battle, giggling into the kiss as she groped my flanks with her hooves. I snaked my forelegs around her barrel lovingly, giving in to her superior skill with the tongue.

We came up for a breath as Tia disengaged my mouth with a smack of her lips, her muzzle moving to my neck as she gave me a few small nicks with her teeth, causing me to giggle-moan at the feeling. She giggled in return, moving further down towards my chest as I loosened my grip on her. Instead, I reached my hooves out to just above her wing joints.

Her wings flared out as I had the pleasure of managing to force her to nicker, the sound music to my ears. I felt my lower region get even wetter because of that as I watched my wife sensually lick the fur on my barrel, making me bite my lower lip as she began to tease me with a grin on her muzzle.

And as she had learned quite thoroughly, I was at her mercy as she slowly stroked the insides of my flared-out wings with her own primary feathers. I let out a whimper as she held me at bay from returning the favor to her.

“Just stay still, dear,” she told me quietly. “This is for you, after all.”

“But I can’t just...” I started and she placed a hoof on my muzzle to stop me from complaining about not letting her get any relief in return.

“Shh...” she shushed me, placing a soft kiss on each of my own wing joints. I moaned against the hoof still forcing me to stay silent as she began to run the tip of her tongue over my feathers, setting them into order one after another. Tia was incredibly careful and gentle as she started to preen my wings, taking out the feathers that actually needed to come out before they could cause me more discomfort in the future.

Each tug, while accompanied by a small prick of pain, left me with a warm feeling afterward. I delighted in the thought of my twin being so tender with this intimate task, her loving care causing my stomach to do a few flips within my excited body.

“Feels nice, doesn’t it? Being pampered?” Celestia asked me with a knowing smile, taking her hoof away from my muzzle. “Can’t give you a foot massage like you had done so many times on Earth, but this is even better, isn’t it?”

“Y-yes... Please, don’t stop,” I breathed out.

“As you wish,” she giggled, returning to her task and she actually let me stroke her mane as I watched her with affection in my eyes.

“Would you ever go back to Earth, Tia? If there was an option for it,” I asked her, voicing a random thought out to her.

“Hmm?” she hummed, spitting out a discarded feather from her mouth. “What brought this on? You’re normally not one for pillow talk before or after sex.”

“Isn’t pillow talk only after sex?” I asked her confused and she rolled her eyes at me.

“It’s pillow talk if I say it’s pillow talk, now stop distracting yourself from my question,” Tia told me, going back to my left wing to finish it up.

“I guess I have been wondering a lot about Earth, lately,” I said slowly, trying to get my thoughts ordered on the topic. “It has been over twenty years now since we have been reborn here. I wonder what our kids are doing right now...”

“Tabetha is probably nerding out in a big ass library and Rose is most likely trying to play match-maker,” she retorted with a roll of her eyes. “What do you think they would have done?”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” I agreed. “Still, I miss them. My little petal must be so devastated... Not to mention what my little star would think...”

“Dear, they are probably over us by now,” she told me, starting on the right wing. “While I also miss them dearly, they can take care of themselves. They aren't little children anymore, you know.”

“Even so, ever wonder if there is a spell that would allow a pony to travel between worlds? Go for a visit, if nothing else?” I mused out loud.

“Sure, that would be nice,” Celestia answered with a hum, wiggling around on my chest to get into a more comfortable position for us to talk in. “Going to some movies or just driving around in a car again would be wonderful, but I don’t think we’re just going to stumble upon a spell that would allow us to go over there. Aside from the obvious of us still being ponies, you would probably waste all of the bits in the royal treasury on video games.”

“I would not! Probably...” I muttered indignantly, sighing contentedly as I felt a particularly annoying feather come out. “But... I guess you’re right. There are probably going to be a lot of problems if we went back looking like this... although, I just know Starswirl would jump at the chance of making some kind of portal to another world were it not for the whole ritual thing that he has to oversee.”

“That old geezer would get excited over any chance of experimenting with magic,” my wife snorted. “Clover had to literally drag him out of his study the last time he had lost track of time trying to figure out a spell.”

“He had green hair for, like, a week,” I giggled, thinking back on seeing him after he had botched up his attempt at making his beard grow even longer.

“It was kinda funny,” Celestia giggled with me. “Luna couldn’t stop laughing for an entire hour.”

“Yeah... about that...” I hesitantly spoke up, getting her to look interestedly at me. “Do you think she could also be somepony that was reincarnated from Earth?”

“Why do you think so?” she asked me in return, confused. “I haven’t noticed anything that indicated something like that. At least, not outright...”

“Well...” I started, awkwardly rubbing the side of my neck with a hoof. “Sometimes I just get this feeling like I know her from Earth. She does seem to remind me of your sister, especially during her younger years when everything was a lot simpler...”

“Huh. Now that you mention it...” Celestia mused, furrowing her brow in thought. “She does have her brutal honesty and their taste in humor are practically identical.”

“She can’t be your sister, right?” I asked her unsurely.

“Summer, Luna is our sister,” she rolled her eyes. “But if you mean in the sense of Rebecca being Luna? I don’t know. If she truly is Becky, she isn’t showing it in an overt way. We would have to observe her more carefully, maybe bait her into revealing herself?”

“Oh yeah, and in the process weird out our sister if she is not your human sister,” I shot back with a snide tone. “Imagine what she would think of us if that were the case. 'Oh no! Summer and Tia have been body-snatched by aliens! The horror, the horror!'”

Tia snorted. “Not by being obvious, you idiot,” she reprimanded me. “I’m not stupid, I know what I’m doing.”

I sighed, fidgeting slightly. “I think we should just... not do anything about it. I don’t want to risk it,” I said, nervous. “Besides, she can’t be Rebecca, right? She would have said something to us already if she knew who we were... I mean, she should have noticed that you were her human sister and I was your... well, husband then.”

“We aren’t making it that obvious to her, either,” Celestia argued and I wilted slightly, seeing the truth in her statement. “And I know Rebecca wasn’t this stupid to not notice that I’m her big sister. Except if she is denying it to herself, but why would she do something like that?”

Yes... why, indeed? Perhaps she doesn’t remember? Or our behavior was truly so different that she got confused, instead. My behavior had changed quite a lot since my rebirth, I was... sort of a doormat at times? I wasn’t the most confident pony anymore (or was it courageous I meant?). Tia was way more... aggressive, I suppose? And a lot more stubborn, too. While I had a few moments here and there where my temper flared out of control, Tia let it show more often.

Although, at the same time, Tia was far more loyal in her approach to things. Like coming to the defense of one of us, even if it meant getting hurt in the process. If she had her way, she would have ripped the guards that took Mom away to shreds and if I weren’t here to keep her away from murdering Platinum, she would have done so already. We were sort of more vengeful if our temper spiraled out of control. I always try to rein myself in, though, before I could lash out in anger (more or less successfully at that). I’d rather forgive and forget if I have the option to do so.

I wasn’t proud of the rare moments where I did lose myself to my temper and lashed out, as much as I tried to pretend those moments never existed in the first place. I could be quite vicious with my punishments if Tia and Lulu were naughty, tickling them until they were barely able to breathe (sometimes even continuing on long past that point if I thought they weren’t genuine with their apologies to each other). Staying kind and generous was the imperative I stuck to, those few rare moments where I lost my temper wouldn’t ever change that.

I might have even become obsessively kind, now that I think about it. Almost a bit zealous in my approach, even. I don’t think Rebecca would have ever associated me with Rudolph were she to see me now, acting like the gentle big sister that I now was.

“I feel like it would be too much of a risk with Lulu,” I sighed, worrying my lip slightly. “I’d rather not take the chance of alienating her...”

Tia shrugged carelessly. “It’s your call,” she said. “I don’t care either way, as long as she doesn’t steal you from me.”

I snorted, smiling faintly. “You don’t have to worry about that,” I remarked, amused. “Although I would have thought you would have jumped at the chance of making a harem out of the three of us, you pervert. That's a thing in one of your isekai novels, isn't it?”

“My my, is that desire I hear in your voice?” she grinned back at me. “I don’t think you meant me there, gorgeous.”

“What? No! I’m not that depraved,” I said while recoiling a bit, aghast. “I’ve already told you that would be inappropriate. She's like six years younger!”

“And yet, here you are, bringing it up again,” Celestia pointed out with a snort, her grin turning smug. “You can admit it to me, I won’t think any less of you. It might, in fact, make me love you even more~.”

“Oh. My. God. Why are you so perverted?!” I groaned, throwing my head into the mattress.

“Are you asking God if he is perverted, or me?” she grinned and I swatted a hoof at her, trying to shut her up.

“That’s not even funny,” I told her. “Luna was right, you’re abysmally bad at this.”

“I am funny,” she said with a sniff, turning her muzzle up at me.

“Yeah, when you don’t want to be or when you embarrass yourself,” I smiled back at her, sticking the tip of my tongue out at her.

“If you continue with this, I won’t continue with this,” Celestia grumbled, pointing at my unfinished wing. I pouted and acquiesced to her demands, feeling like I just got blackmailed.

Damn sexy sister...

“Now, that’s better,” she whispered around another feather as she pulled it gently out. I let out a small moan as a shudder raced through my wing and up my spine. “See, if you behave like a good little filly, you get rewarded~.”

“Don’t give me that routine,” I mumbled. “I’m not in the mood of playing mistress and slave right now.”

“Do be a sourpuss, why don’t you?” she groused.

“I’d rather be your little mare being bred by her big strong wife,” I shot back huskily, smirking as her wings popped up with quite a bit of force, causing a small gust from the movement.

“Oh, you wanna do it that way, huh?” she asked me gruffly, finishing up my wing in a hurry. I winced slightly as I felt a practically fine feather get ripped out in her haste, but it just managed to turn me on more.

“Yes, make me your mare,” I replied, my breath starting to come out in hitched pants. “Fill me up and don’t stop. Put a foal in me~.”

With a little bit of concentration, my horn lit up and enveloped my wife in the golden aura we shared. A moment later I felt her body accept my transformation spell and I gulped at seeing her already at full mast, her own mare juices dripping slowly down from her vagina over to it as she stood over me.

I just gave my wife a penis (one that wouldn’t ever be able to impregnate me, but my body didn’t need to know that), and it looked so delicate as I stared at its tip with an apprehensive gulp. If a penis could ever look feminine, my wife managed to pull it off.

And my marehood clenched fearfully in anticipation, but first, I would show her what it felt like to have one before letting her anywhere near my nethers with it. For the first time, our roles were reversed since Earth. While she had pleasured me countless times like this as a human male, now it was my turn.

I pushed her on her back with a half-lidded gaze and she wiggled herself into a comfortable position. I had no idea what a stallionhood was supposed to look like (I don't go looking at other ponies' junk, certainly not my father's and definitely not Starswirl's), so I just went with a slightly longer version of a human shaft. It seemed like she didn’t care about that, either. I’m sure my wife knew what they were supposed to look like in more detail than I cared to find out, but that didn’t matter to me right now.

I smiled slightly as I trailed my tongue up its length very slowly, seeing her watch me impatiently. Normally she was the one that endlessly teased me, so I thought it would be good payback to make her squirm under my ministrations. Because I knew that the tip was basically the only sensitive spot that would get her over the turning point any time soon, I stopped right before licking that part.

My wife grunted in despair as I moved my muzzle back to where I started and I couldn’t help myself from giggling like a little filly. She was so cute like this, wanting me to only concentrate on the part that would bring her to an orgasm as soon as possible. The thing was, I was in no particular hurry to get this over with so soon.

Wrapping my tongue around the base, I ran it back up to the point where I just barely touched her tip getting her to twitch her erection beautifully. I prevented her from reaching a hoof out towards the back of my head to force me to lick it fully with my magic, holding it to her barrel so she wouldn’t start to get any ideas. I did the same with her other hoof, just in case.

She was at my mercy now and I wanted her to know it. Starting the whole spiel again, I smiled around her shaft with glee. This was even better than I had previously imagined it, making her squirm so much. It was beautiful in its own right.

Celestia let out a pathetic whine as I stopped almost shy of licking the tip, making a tiny jolt run through her again. I continued avoiding the tip for my own sick amusement, her eyes begging me to stop teasing her. She had done this so often to me that I wanted to show her just how agitating it really was.

Stopping with the teasing licking, for now, I breathed lightly on her saliva-covered dick with a triumphant smile on my muzzle. I heard her let out a puff of hot air through her nostrils as I did so, noticing how it caused her to thump her head into the cloud mattress in frustration and arousal.

Well, well, well, she was mad at me for this, wasn’t she? I could continue with this all day long and she wouldn’t be able to stop me, even if she tried. Letting out a small breath again, I licked the part I blew air on right after I did so, seeing her try to buck out against my muzzle with an unpracticed motion.

She wouldn’t get to enjoy this until I gave her permission, so her attempt was, while extremely funny, futile in getting anywhere near her desired objective. Tia never had an appendage like this, so she wouldn’t immediately know how she would have to move to get what she wanted. She thought like a mare and was wholly unprepared to change her perspective from trying to get her nethers closer to me.

And I took advantage of that (I know, I know, I'm evil). Slowly, I trailed up a few light kisses on her throbbing length, provoking her to let out a growl at my taunting. I held her shaft still with my magic and my hooves prevented her rear from moving as I decided to give her just a little reward for putting up with me by placing a delicate kiss at the very tip.

As I had already predicted previously, she tried her best to force her new appendage into my mouth with a little thrashing on her part to get me to release her lower body from my grasp. I wasn’t stupid, though. There was a reason why I had prepared myself for this action and she wouldn’t be able to make me do anything before I decided I wanted to do it.

Of course, that left her to grumble unhappily at me, but I didn’t let that deter me. I had a plan with this teasing, and maybe, just maybe, I would get to see it come to fruition.

So, once more I began to tease her with my tongue, starting from the base and barely touching her glans as I went back to the base again. It was driving her wild and I delighted at every noise she made at me.

With every twitch of her tip, I knew I was getting closer to my goal. I grinned in anticipation as I started to pick up my pace a bit, making her hum in approval. Then, I sprung my trap as I saw her approach her peak.

I gave her tip a sharp lick and watched with a giggle as she let out a shuddering moan as her penis gave a mighty twitch, beginning to spray her spunk all over herself. It made me laugh and giggle so hard as I saw her so out of it that she didn’t even notice what she had just done to herself.

“How did that feel, hmm?” I asked her, starting to lick the sticky substance away, going from her abdomen to her chest and from there to the tip of her muzzle. She stood next to no chance to stop herself from expelling her fluids from her new body part, covering herself all over with it and I hummed in pleasure as I tasted the slightly salty, spicy-sweet cum from her (something that I was sure wasn’t supposed to taste this good). Tia happily returned the kiss I gave her as she began to calm down from her first orgasm with a penis.

“Wonderful. Not the same as what I’m used to, but it was still pleasant,” she replied dreamily, giving me a nuzzle which I cheerfully returned. “I think I still prefer getting off as a mare compared to this, though.”

“I do, too, honey,” I giggled. “I really didn’t know what I missed out on all those forty years on Earth.”

“It’s superior in every way, isn’t it?” Celestia asked me with a pleasant hum in her tone and I nodded in agreement. “Now then, how about you do this properly? Believe me, teasing is all nice and such, but what I really want to see is you sucking it until I shoot my load again. Mhh, it would look so hot, Summer...”

“Let’s give you a few minutes to recover first. Believe me, you don’t want to go immediately again with no practice at all. Even if you had that, I would advise you to still not do it,” I told her. “You could hurt yourself and I don’t want that, dear. I know you like to pretend to be a porn actress, but this is literally uncharted territory for you.”

“You’re a meanie,” she pouted but relented to my demands. Instead, we engaged in a deep kiss until I saw her get fully ready again, her penis twitching alluringly back at me.

“You want to return the favor?” I asked her, wiggling my flank suggestively and all she did was to give me a nod with a shuddering intake of air. Smiling, I got us in position and felt her immediately lap her tongue around the outside of my marehood, collecting all of the leaking fluid with noisy slurps.

Not wanting to be outdone, I took the tip of her rod into my mouth with only the slightest bit of hesitation. Shrugging, I didn’t care that this was technically a male genital in my mouth now. It was attached to my wife so I found myself still being attracted to it, even though I was more into her mare parts.

I started to slowly bob my head up and down on the upper part of it, not trusting myself to go any lower and let it go down my throat. Didn’t want to have my gag reflex make me puke all over her, after all.

My wife let out a satisfied purr as I didn’t let up on my pace. Her hindlegs kicked out cutely beside my head as I felt her twitching tip in my mouth and her tongue inside my marehood. She really was enjoying this as much as I was, which furthered my happiness all the more.

A moan escaped my muzzle as I felt her wiggling tongue brush against a particularly sensitive spot inside of me, causing her to giggle-moan in return as the vibrations from my moan massaged the shaft inside my mouth.

With a loud slurping noise, I took her dick out of my mouth for a second or two to try and fill my lungs back up with air as all the panting from the pleasure has left me a bit short of breath. My wife tried to buck the tip of her cock back into my muzzle as the air began to tickle her wet appendage in front of me. Not wanting to leave her hanging, I went back to work on it at a slightly faster pace.

As I neared my peak from her ministrations, I was quickly overtaken by surprise as her load suddenly shot into my mouth while her hindlegs clamped themselves together around my head. To make matters worse, I felt her try to shove her dick further into me. Trying not to panic, I began to gulp down cum shot after cum shot, breathing in through my nostrils in quick bursts.

Fuck, she really was eager to pump me full, I didn’t know somepony could offload so much in one go. All the while Celestia was groaning with pleasure as her orgasm rocked her whole body and I tried to get her to bring me over the edge, too, with a wiggle of my flanks.

Tia continued to tongue fuck me a little bit hazily as she rode off her orgasm and I felt her load peter out just as I thought it would have never stopped from coming. A moment later I felt my own high wreak havoc on my body as I cried out around her shaft, warmth spreading through all parts of me while my eyes rolled around in my head.

We were left a panting, twitchy mess for a few moments as we tried to gather our bearings. I rolled off of Tia as her deflating dick left my muzzle and I snuggled into the side of her flank with a happy smile. The afterglow was just amazing, I didn’t want this moment to end.

Tia and I cuddled for a little bit as she turned my body around with her magic so that I was facing her. She giggled at my expression, delighting in the fact that she managed to get me out of it so much.

“Fuck, that was good,” Celestia mumbled and I felt her latch onto my ear, sucking and nibbling on it. I let out a happy coo at her, enjoying the feeling of her slowly kneading the delicate flesh with her teeth and the small licks she gave. “You’re practically glowing right now, Red Nose.”

“Stop talking and lick my damn ears,” I mumbled, not wanting her to leave them unattended for even a second. Celestia shook her head in amusement and did what I told her to do. I can’t believe she managed to get me to like this so much, but it just felt so addicting now! Happily humming, I played with the soft tuft of fur on her barrel.

Her regalia sadly managed to squish it beneath it but I had it back to its former fluffy glory in no time. I seriously considered banning her from ever wearing it again so I could enjoy the sight of her fluffy fur all the time, but she also managed to make her chest piece look sexy, too, when she wore it.

It was debatable which of the two options was superior, but at the moment, my opinion leaned more towards the regalia. I lamented the fact I hadn’t gotten to take the thing off of her during our foreplay, it would have been a very alluring thing to do.

“Are you ready for the main event?” Celestia whispered into my ear and I squirmed around a bit against her side, a queasy feeling welling up in my heart and stomach.

“I’m kind of a bit fearful of how it would feel, can we stay like this for a few more minutes?” I told her, looking up at her in uncertainty.

“We don’t have to do it today if that is the case, Sunshine,” Tia answered me, concern etched on her face.

“No, I do want to, it’s just...” I started, trailing off as I was unsure how to relay my feelings to her.

“Just the initial fear, right?” she asked me and I nodded. It was practically spot on, I guess. “Don’t worry, I will be gentle, okay?”

“Okay...” I said, placing a small kiss on her lips. Tia gave me a small reassuring smile. “Umm... h-how are we going to do this?”

“Well...” Celestia began, thinking slightly. “I don’t think we can do it like we had done it on Earth, ponies don’t really have the physique for that. We could try if you really want to, but let’s leave the experimentation for later.”

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a good idea for now, either.”

“Well, there is the option of me mounting you while you lie with your upper body on the mattress,” she offered and my face brightened considerably at the image, so I gave her a meek nod. “You wouldn’t have to do anything, in that case. And perhaps we can still kiss while we do it, just like we had on Earth. Pony necks are more flexible, after all.”

“I’d like that,” I told her in a whisper as a small smile grew on my muzzle, glad that she had thought about this.

“I knew you would, my sweet Sunshine,” Celestia giggled. She hopped off the bed after that, stretching her limbs out like a cat. “Now get that cute flank of yours off that cloud.”

“Cute? Not sexy?” I pouted and she grinned at me.

“Sorry, but you need a bit more padding on them for that, my gorgeous wife,” she told me, and my heart skipped a beat as she called me her wife. As she wiggled her own flanks demonstratively, I stared at them as they bounced and gave my own a curious look. Mirroring her, I gave them a slight shake, and unlike hers, they bounced far less. I frowned. “It’s your own fault for eating less than what Luna or I do. If it is any consolation, I like the slim look you have, dear.”

“Are you sure? I’m not too thin, am I?” I asked her, feeling slightly self-conscious.

“Summer, I’m sure,” she reassured me. “You look better as a small, delicate little mare. Not everything has to be about wide birthing hips, you know? Now, how about you let me give you a good time, huh?”

“As long as I’m your mare,” I told her with a flutter in my heart. I slowly wiggled my butt off the cloud, anticipation building in my chest and nethers. And a whole lot of fear, but I tried to ignore that. “Don’t press in too fast, okay?”

“No need to worry, I will be gentle like I said,” Tia said, lowering her muzzle as her magic brushed the pink hair of my tail away so she could place a tender kiss on my folds. I felt a bit of wetness in my nethers start to build up, so I just rested my head on my forelegs as she did her best to get me as aroused as I possibly could be.

“Mhmm,” I hummed as my tail started to stand up on its own. Tia stopped her nuzzling and kisses and stood up, looking at me with a caring smile.

“Ready?” she asked and I gave her the go-ahead as my heart picked up speed in excitement and nervousness. Celestia reared up on her hind legs and not a moment later I felt her forehooves touching down on my back near my flanks to keep herself steady. “I’m just going to place the tip in, so don’t be startled, okay?”

“Okay,” I murmured softly, fidgeting slightly on my hooves to find a better stance on them with the added weight. Slowly, I felt her entering my entrance and I breathed in sharply in fear.

No, no, no. No. This was an entirely different feeling from when she went in with her tongue, her tip was a lot broader and firmer in contrast. It felt weird and... and... weird.

“What did I tell you about being startled?” Celestia grunted, my marehood squeezing shut due to my anxiety. I breathed in and out, trying to calm down this irrational fear of being penetrated. “C'mon, Summy. Relax.”

“Summy?” I squeaked out.

“What? I want to see you try and come up with a nickname based on your name,” she shot back with a grumble. Thankfully, the distraction managed to make me loosen up. At least somewhat. “Mom only ever called us Sunshine, we have a nickname for Lulu, and you call me Tia. Summy was the only option I could think of.”

“I think I like Red Nose more than that,” I said. “Summy sounds so... awkward, I don’t know.”

“Yeah, but Red Nose doesn’t have your name in it,” she called back, pushing further in slightly. I tried to avoid clamping down on her again, but I couldn’t help it as my marehood was spread further open by her. “Do I have to distract you the whole time? Maybe we should stop, I don’t want to hurt you.”

“No!” I shouted in panic while I gave her a pleading look. “I don’t want to stop now! I put so much effort into this spell and I really do like the idea of a mare with both parts. This is just... something I have to get used to.”

“Summer, don’t force yourself on this 'idea' of a fetish, please,” Celestia told me gently, already going back to move out. I followed her steps stubbornly, not allowing her to ruin this for me. I felt like I wanted to snarl at her, telling her in no uncertain terms to not stop our first attempt at sex like this. “Summer, please! What is wrong with you?!”

“Tia, either you do this with me now or I will never get over this,” I growled, forcing her to step back towards the bed with me by using my magic. “I want this, okay?!”

“Summer...” she sighed desperately. “Why?”

“Because I want to... feel like I’ve made you feel,” I muttered, tears pricking against the corners of my vision. “I want to experience this, too. I want to learn what it feels like to be in this position. Is that so wrong of me?!”

“No...” she mumbled back. “But we can still continue this at a later time, why do you insist on doing this right now?”

“I don’t want to back down the next time, or the time after that,” I answered. “I want to get this over with so we can enjoy it more the next time we do this, so please... do it for me?”

“Using my own words against me now, huh?” Tia muttered defeatedly. “Alright, if this is what you truly want, then I won’t say no. Even if I want to so badly.”

“Thank you,” I said and I felt myself start to loosen up again.

“You’re welcome, I guess,” she shot back half-heartedly. I pushed my rear against her but she didn’t move one bit in her uncertainty. Breathing in and out, I calmed myself each time as we pushed into each other until my wife hilted herself fully into my fearfully clenching canal at last.

“There,” I said, my tone quivering a little bit from the strange and alien feeling. “It’s in... it’s in, h-holy fuck...”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” Celestia asked me and I nodded, giving her a nuzzle as her head was now close enough for me to place a kiss on the corner of her lips. “I swear, you’re way too stubborn when you want to be.”

“I love you, too,” I told her, a slight laugh escaping me while I got used to the feeling of having her all the way in me. “I really hope I get used to this before our heat starts to drive us nuts.”

“We can always just go back to what we’re used to,” she tried to convince me again, but I shook my head at that. “Ugh, you really are an idiot. And also too tight. Loosen up, already.”

“Oh, yeah, because I can tell my snatch what to do now, can I?” I shot back, locking her in a tongue fight to shut her up. We both moaned into each other's mouths and I finally felt my nethers start to comply with my desires, somewhat. At least now Tia wasn’t being squeezed to death by my vagina, anymore.

Slowly, I began to lean forward, pulling her dick out of me at a steady pace before I leaned back to slowly start up a rhythm that I was comfortable with. Tia worked with me, not stopping our make-out session while we started to make love to each other.

And as we continued at what was basically a snail’s pace, I got gradually wetter in my nethers, helping us along and allowing us to increase the pace a bit. The fearful clenching of my vagina lessened each time I managed to get her to hilt herself within me.

Before long, I started to moan more heavily from the sensation of her dick filling me, my breathing coming out in gasps and pants. More and more I started to enjoy the feeling of her sliding within me, hitting spots I hadn’t known I had. As my fear dissipated at long last, I wondered why I had feared having her penis penetrate me in the first place.

As Tia began to thrust in with a buck of her rear, I cried out her name telling her to continue with what she was doing. And with each thrust, I felt stars enter my vision as I screamed in pleasure.

I had to constantly adjust my stance with my hindlegs in order for them to not give out underneath her as we rocked back and forth, my slick walls allowing her to increase her pace to an even faster one.

And I loved the feeling of her fucking me with all she got. I started to feel silly for ever having been afraid of having something shoved up so deep in my marehood that I had to cry out with pleasure. Once or twice, I had to reprimand her to be a bit more gentle with me as she went back in with force, touching the entrance to my womb more than once with her tip, her shaft sliding in and out smoothly now.

It didn't hurt, but the feeling of something touching against it reminded me too much of my body's insistence to get impregnated and bear a foal to term. Something I wasn't ready for, at all. Not with us just starting to come into our roles of being Equestria's princesses. Becoming a mother all over again would be seriously inconvenient at a time like this.

Not that my body minded it all that much, trying to drown me out with nothing but pure pleasure. My wife stimulated all my spots at once as if she already knew how to work her dick to the best effect in order to draw out the most moans and screams of bliss from me.

Tia wasn’t better off in the pleasure department, grunting and panting as her thrusting pace began to transition into a steady hammering of my pussy. She had bit down on my ear at my insistence, tugging my head back with it. It just furthered my arousal and made this experience all the more memorable for us.

“Breed me, Tia!” I cried out, my mind in a frenzy. “Fuck me so hard I won’t be able to walk, give me a foal!”

“You d-did,” she began as she grunted out, “cast the”—she let out another pant—“correct spell, r-right?!”

“Yes!” I gasped, warmth starting to spread from my nethers over to my whole body. “Yes, I did! Now let me keep pretending, f-fuck!”

“In t-that case,” she chuckled, thrusting in fully and holding herself right at the entrance to my womb with a shuddering cry. “I’ll fill you up so full that you will leak cum for the next week!”

I let out a wordless scream as my vision went white from the sudden harsh thrust and my walls started to milk my wife dry, wringing out every last drop from her heavily twitching mare shaft. With every vibration running up her rod came a new load of her spunk, shooting everything she got right into the cervix, painting my inner sanctuary white as the fluid kept coming for even longer than the time I had sucked her off.

Tia’s strong forelegs kept me against her as her dick continued to pump me full, making sure nothing missed its mark. A whole new kind of warmth filled me from the inside up and my hazy mind embraced it with open arms.

Even if I had screwed up the spell (which I thankfully did not), I was feeling far too good to care about the consequences right now. A small part of me even felt disappointed that I couldn't become pregnant from her cum. I shut out that part of myself and told it to grow up first before thinking of raising a foal again. And then think again about having a foal with my sister.

My brain really was only thinking with my nethers while I was in heat, wasn't it? Ugh, this is so bothersome...

Anyway, at some point, I felt my marehood let go of my wife and she slowly retreated from my depths. I just continued to lie there half on the bed and half in a slowly growing puddle of cum. Tia levitated my half-conscious self up on the bed with her and I absentmindedly noticed her rubbing herself off again.

“Still not finished?” I asked dreamily, crawling over to her still-needy sex. I nuzzled her hoof away, thinking that it mustn’t feel all that great to masturbate with it, and plopped her length into my mouth, suckling on it much to the pleasure of my wife.

“N-no,” she answered me, squirming under my quickly moving tongue. “I don’t think your spell considered how much to, y-you know, produce.”

“That might explain that, then...” I mumbled taking her dick out of my mouth to lick the rest of it clean from our mixed juices before returning to the tip so I could bring her over her peak again.

“I’m c-close, Summy,” she whispered, biting her lip while she screwed her eyes shut. “P-please, j-just get me off.”

“Oh, with pleasure, Tia,” I giggled, licking her with a renewed vigor. And not long after that, another few shots were expelled from her as I heard her sigh happily.

“That’s so much better,” she mumbled, one last spray flying out of her just as I thought she was done. My sister giggled as I tried to get her cum away from my eyelid with a grumble. “Here, let me help you.”

She met my face with her tongue and slobbered all over me, not stopping even after I was technically clean from her spunk.

“You pervert,” I giggled, playfully trying to get away from her muzzle.

“Well, you know me,” she chuckled at me. “Although, did you do that on purpose?”

“What if I did?” I smiled mischievously and she engaged me in a rough kiss, arousal clouding her eyes heavily. “I have to somehow sate your perverted hunger...”

“I love you so fucking much,” Tia murmured, happily. “So... how does it feel to be my perfect little mare, hmm?”

“Good,” I said, leaning into the kiss she gave me. “Positively nice, sister. I look forward to the next few days, even though we will go into a frenzy by then.”

“What time do you think it is right now?” she asked me, letting out a yawn.

“Time for sleep?” I shrugged, her yawn caused me to let out one, too. She ensnared me in her forehooves after I said that and together, we slowly drifted off to sleep.

I must say, this day was even better than I ever hoped it could have been. While I had to literally force myself to let her stay in me, it turned out to be one of the best things I have ever experienced.

Tia was, while a bit awkward in her movements, amazing in bed. The feeling of her holding me against her while she pumped me full of her fluids was exhilarating to me and I loved every moment of it. I felt her immense love for me as she held me in her strong embrace and I could just lose myself in that feeling all day long. It was utterly amazing.

Thankfully, as I felt myself awaken from the blissful depths of slumber, I saw that my wife still had her transformation active. The spell would probably run out of power in a few hours, but until then, I could give her a very nice awakening.

Wiggling out of her tight grip was a bit difficult and I almost feared I had woken her up too soon but she continued to blissfully snore away in a cute way. Feeling a bit giddy about what I was going to do for her, I nudged her penis a little bit, trying to get it to go fully erect.

I heard Tia mumble out in her sleep and I stayed still for a moment. It became quickly apparent that she was starting to have a wet dream from all of my prodding.

“Oh, this is even better,” I giggled quietly to myself, stroking her to full mast and then taking her member into my eager mouth. I let out a few hums and giggles while bobbing up and down on it, letting the vibrations of my voice make her even harder.

My ears perked up as I heard her groan out my name and for a moment I feared she was already awake. She continued to mumble sweetly into the bed as I saw her already biting her lower lip from whatever she was seeing in her dream that made her so horny. Good, she was still asleep, wouldn’t want to wake her up too early, now.

Suckling on the tip noisily as I started to get a feel for how close she was to finishing, I giggled when she blearily opened her eyes. She took in the sight of me with her cock in my mouth for a few moments, not yet awake enough to comprehend what was going on. Then she let out a small moan as I felt her penis give a twitch in my mouth and I knew I was getting her ever closer to the finish line.

Celestia finally smiled down at me approvingly, her groggy mind getting clear of the cobwebs and I managed to bring her to an orgasm first thing in the morning. Greedily gulping down the salty-sweet treat of her cum that was being expelled from her cock, I grinned back at Tia as she gave me a look that basically told me that she found it sexy beyond belief.

“Morning, Sleeping Beauty,” I whispered after she was done with her load. I came up to her muzzle for a tender kiss, having her hum a reply at me in return.

“You’re certainly eager this morning,” she told me with a few kisses. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“I would have thought you would have remembered what day it is,” I answered back, raising a brow at her only half disappointed. “You know, this is a nice birthday despite us entering heat.”

“Ugh. How could I have forgotten?” Celestia asked, facehoofing at her stupidity. “All those thoughts about estrus must have pushed it out of my mind.”

“Well, now you know, dummy,” I giggled. “Happy Birthday, sister.”

“Happy Birthday,” she mumbled in return, getting back to eating my face sloppily. I eagerly reciprocated her affections with my own. We stayed like this for a while, enjoying each other’s company.

“So,” Tia began. “What do you wanna do today?”

“How about a repeat of yesterday?” I eagerly asked back, feeling my marehood get excited already.

“You really are eager today, aren’t you?” she giggled. “Well, then. Let us get to it, shall we?”

“Yes,” I answered, presenting her already with my sex before she could even stand up from the bed. “I’m yours to abuse, Mistress.”

My sister raised a brow at me in interest. “Is this how we are going to do this, then?” she asked, a small smirk appearing on her muzzle. “Have you been good, my little Sunshine?”

“No, Mistress,” I whispered breathily, wiggling my flank at her. “I've been dripping all over the floor. I’m so sorry, Mistress.”

“Well, why don’t you get down on the ground and clean it up?” she asked with a demanding tone.

A flutter raced through my heart and I put on a meek and apologetic mask. “Because I would make it even dirtier, Mistress,” I answered, biting my lip with eager anticipation. “I think something is causing me to leak, I need to be checked out.”

“I can see that,” she grunted in mock annoyance, getting close to my nethers with her muzzle. “Let me see if I can find out what is causing this...”

As she told me that, I felt her begin to lick my dripping fluids up. Tia smacked her lips thoughtfully, running a hoof over my overly excited entrance and I leaned into her touch with a quiver. She chuckled slightly at that, seeing how wet and needy I was. I was already back to dripping my fluids over the floor again.

“I see...” she said. “It seems to me that you are in need of being filled up to stop the leaking, my delicate breeding mare.”

“Y-yes!” I squeaked out, holding my vagina right in her face and smearing my fluids all over her. “I need to be bred! Make me your mare a-again, M-Mistress! Fill me up with your seed!”

My mistress sputtered, shoving me away from her face. “Ngh! Look at what you have done!” she shouted at me, her gaze furious. Although I could see the playful glint in her eyes, so I played along by letting out a fearful squeak.

“I’m so sorry, Mistress!” I cried out, pretending to be afraid. “I don’t know what must have come over me, please forgive me?”

“Oh, we will see about that,” my mistress told me with a sneer. “First, you need to clean me up, do you understand?”

“O-of course, Mistress,” I answered, turning around to do what she had asked of me. My mistress stood still while I eagerly licked off my juices from her face. “Am I forgiven now?”

“Not just yet, my clumsy little pet,” she shot back. “I think you are in severe need of punishment for your transgressions, are you not?”

“R-right,” I breathed out, my nethers even wetter now. “What should I be punished with, Mistress?”

She let out a thoughtful hum, rubbing her chin with a hoof. Then I saw her smirk at me, and in the next moment, I felt her tug at my mane painfully while she placed a rough bite on my lower lip.

“I think a bit of pain should suffice,” my mistress answered, chuckling evilly back at me. “Now present me your bare flanks so I can spank them, you naughty mare, you.”

“Y-yes~,” I moaned delightedly, already excited about what she would do to me. “P-punish t-this clumsy maiden, Mistress~!”

She snorted. “Don’t be so eager about that,” she said and one clap after another rang out as I let out a cry followed by a moan, relishing the sharp sting of pain. “Now, if I feel you resist my entry, there will be more of that!”

“I w-won’t disappoint you, Mistress,” I told her, lowering my front half back to the ground again while presenting her my marehood with my tail standing painfully up and away from it.

In one swift motion, my mistress was on top of me. She aligned her tip with my entrance and in a single thrust, she was fully hilted within me. I let out a shrieking moan from the stimulus of her filling me up without warning, the 'weirdness' of having something shoved into my vagina disappearing within seconds.

“My, you are sopping wet, my sweet little mare,” she chuckled, her dick twitching approvingly within me. “I don’t think I can fix that. It seems to me you will have to leak all over the floor for the rest of your days~.”

“W-won’t that be a p-problem for you, M-Mistress?” I asked, another moan coming out of me as she withdrew from my depths only to thunder back in.

“N-no,” my mistress grunted, taking the hair on the back of my neck in her mouth. “I shust will hash to keep pluggin’ you up, shen.”

“M-Mistress!” I cried out, pleasure rocking my body as she started to pump in and out like a piston running wild. “I-I, ahnn~, I d-don’t deserve s-such an honor! Ngh! F-fuck, yes! Harder! Ahn~!”

“Uhuh,” she growled as she granted me my wish, plowing even harder into me. Her wild movements caused me to skid forward on the ground a bit and I was quickly reduced into a quivering mess of pleasure by her movements. Then, she spat my hair out as a moan escaped both of our throats. It was almost like our lust had synchronized itself to our frantic love-making. “You will b-be reduced t-to a mere toy, m-my little m-mare!”

“Y-yes! If that is what my mistress wishes, then I will be your toy for eternity!” I answered happily. My mistress drilled into me with her shaft in a sudden jerking motion and I felt her go even deeper into me as I was pressed to the ground harder in turn. I cried out her name as she started to try and get further in as her dick shot the creamy substance of her load into the deepest parts of me.

“F-fuck!” she growled out. “Take my load! Take it and give me a foal!”

“Y-yes, breed me! F-fill me u-up!” I shouted back in ecstasy. “I will carry your young, Mistress!”

“Good,” she chuckled in satisfaction, slapping me on my flank roughly. “I’ll be unhappy to see you not bloat up with a big fat pregnant belly!”

“Mhmm,” I giggled. “Anything for you, Mistress~.”

She slowly withdrew from my marehood with her slick dick hanging in front of me not a moment later. I licked my lips in heavy anticipation as I heard her demand for me to clean her up, our combined fluids slowly dripping down from it. Eagerly, I followed her order without complaint, slurping noisily all over her shaft, much to her amusement and delight.

“Was I too rough?” Celestia asked me as I finished up with her. I gave her a shake of my head, nuzzling her neck lovingly.

“No, just the right amount, sister,” I answered her as she brought me over to the bed. “I liked you biting down on my mane...”

She let out a relieved sigh. “I’m glad to hear that,” she said, snuggling me tightly against her barrel. “What do you say to some pillow talk? I’m kinda really exhausted here.”

“Yeah, pillow talk sounds nice right about now,” I nodded. “I don’t think I can take any more of that for a little bit, anyway.”

“Wow,” my sister chuckled. “And here I thought you wouldn’t want to stop.”

“Nah, we will have more of that over the next few days,” I told her, gazing into her beautiful pale magenta eyes with love. “I’d rather be able to walk after we are through with this estrus cycle, I don’t want to make Lulu suspicious of us.”

Celestia nodded reluctantly as she breathed in deeply from my mane before letting out a sigh. “Very well,” I heard her say. “She would probably do something stupid if she were to find out what we have been up to.”

I snorted. “Like going around and telling everypony as soon as they ask her? You know she would because she is terrible at keeping secrets. It would only be a matter of time until somepony noticed her acting strange.”

“We would have to lock her away forever,” she snickered. I also let out a snort as I pictured us standing before her locked door while she tried to escape in order to tell the whole world what depraved ponies we were.

“So, what do you think we will have to do as princesses once our castle is done?” I asked, playing with the soft tuft of fur on her chest again.

“Probably boring paperwork all day long,” Tia mused, a frown evident in her voice. “Go on boring meetings with the ‘important’ ponies or other rulers of foreign nations, pass bills for snotty nobles thinking they could get away with everything, and so on and so forth...”

“I’m sure it won’t be all that bad,” I said. “We might even get petitioners, so we could hold court for a good part of the day.”

“Instead of boring paperwork, we get to listen to nobles whine about everything?” she snorted. “That’s even worse.”

“They don’t have to be nobles every time, Tia,” I said, giving her a disapproving look. “We could help the peasants with important things, for example. We can make their lives better.”

“Oh, it’s the peasants now, huh?” Celestia rolled her eyes. “What’s next, are you going to call the castle staff your servants?”

“That's not what I meant,” I mumbled meekly. “This world’s vernacular is getting to me...”

Tia let out a sympathetic sigh. “I guess that’s true...” she said, non too happy about it. “It would look weird to the nobles if we behaved like the ‘peasants’ would. We probably should get used to the idea of acting like royalty. Just not the bad kind of royalty.”

“Maybe you’re right,” I agreed hesitantly. “Others would see that as a sign of weakness, I’m sure. As long as we stand true to our ideals though, we should be fine.”

My sister smiled reminiscently to herself. “Stay loyal to our subjects, be honest with yourself, show kindness and generosity to those in need, and keep the happiness of the ponies of Equestria at the forefront of your thoughts...” she said, quoting something Starswirl had told us on the day of our coronation. “I guess there are worse ideals than that. We should have no problem upholding these.”

“Yes, especially kindness,” I said with a smile. “So, get used to having a bleeding heart, sister.”

“I don’t think I would show kindness to just anypony, sister.”

“Everypony deserves it, even if it may be hard to give at times,” I told her. “Take Starswirl for example. He doesn’t care whether you’re young or old, a pegasus, a unicorn, or an earthpony. Anypony deserves a chance.”

“Forgive and forget, huh?” Tia whispered. “Like Platinum?”

“I..."—I hesitated—" I want to say yes, but even I don’t know if she has any redeemable characteristics,” I murmured, looking away from her in thought. “She certainly doesn’t want to change in her ways, even after her father talked with her.”

“You mean shouted,” she giggled and I smiled slightly. “She deserved every second of it. That stallion packs a serious pair of lungs.”

“I kinda felt bad for her...” I sighed. “If that had been Mom shouting at you or Lulu, I would have thought she went overboard.”

“That doesn’t change the fact that King Bullion was right with every word he said to her. So I’m not nearly as sorry for her as you are. Not even the slightest bit, she is a bitch,” she said. “On another note, what do you think we should do about Starswirl and the ritual?”

“I don’t know, he told us not to worry about it,” I answered with a shrug. “At the moment we can’t really do anything but hope that he finds a more permanent solution. I don’t think even we are strong enough to do this ritual for any length of time.”

“For all we know...” Celestia muttered. “I wish he didn’t tell us not to worry about it. We are the princesses now, aren’t we? We are supposed to be concerned and all he tells us to do is to concentrate on learning how to govern Equestria. The old geezer has a lot of nerve...”

“Well, I get where he is coming from,” I said, stroking the tuft of fur on her chest a bit in thought. “If we were to lose our magic, Equestria would lose three of their defenders. It would severely weaken our ability to lead our little ponies.”

“It fucking sucks, that’s what it does,” Tia growled angrily. “He continues to look at us like we are little kids that don’t know any better. We are a lot closer to his mental age than we appear, for fuck’s sake.”

“Don’t get so angry about that, dear,” I giggled. “He does have a lot more experience than us, that’s for sure.”

“He is still an ass,” she pouted at me.

“And you need to stop swearing so much. We are princesses now, it would reflect poorly on us if you were to let out such foul language in the presence of other ponies,” I scolded her, smiling playfully. “Even though I don’t mind as much. You could swear all day long and all it would do would be to arouse me.”

“Oh?” she smirked. “I think that’s fucking worth it to me.”

“Please, don’t,” I said. “I really meant it when I said it would reflect poorly on us as rulers.”

“Fine, you win,” she huffed grumpily. “Why do you have to be so cute?”

“Why do you have to be a pervert?”

“Touché, Summer. Touché.”

We continued to talk about this and that, just enjoying the day for what it was. All in all, it wasn’t such a bad Birthday. Tia and I had our urges mostly under control and I was glad that our estrus didn’t manage to ruin this day for us. The same couldn’t be said for the following days, though.

Despite going at it like rabid animals, Tia at least tried not to leave me as an utter mess once we were done and she felt finally spent enough that she couldn’t continue on pumping me full of cum. I had to say though, the spell I had created was doing its job beautifully.

While Tia was only the slightest bit saddened that I couldn’t work out how to cast the spell on myself without it failing on me, she was understanding enough to not complain about it. It helped that she was also the dominant one in our relationship, so she wasn’t all that sad about it after our heat ended.

Once we were able to think clearly again, we were able to leave the room. Thankfully the wards could recognize what state our bodies were in so that we couldn’t open them from the inside and only kept the room under lockdown while we were still in heat. Luna had asked the animals to bring us our food while she was busy overseeing the construction of our castle, so she didn’t notice that the critters left all the food in our room.

The animals at least didn’t care what we were doing and I was glad nopony could understand them or the secret would have come out a long time ago. I felt like hitting myself for this 'slight' oversight but was glad that we got lucky this time around. We would have to come up with a solution to that problem in the future.

Thankfully, the massive bath chamber had been completed as we were... ahem, 'laid up'. My sister and I gave ourselves a thorough cleansing, trying to get the heavy smell of sex off of us. It felt nice being squeaky clean again as we scrubbed each other's backs and I was happy to see that we had a few natural sponges gifted to us by some nice ponies.

Seriously, natural sponges were awesome and extremely fluffy. Tia was just as happy about them as I was because using hooves to clean ourselves wasn’t exactly the nicest thing. Thankfully, ponies already knew how to make soap and we had quite a collection of different scents to choose from.

After our well-deserved bath, we continued to go around the castle as we were pleasantly surprised by how much progress had been made. Ponies and animals alike were already almost done with the finishing touches.

As I had requested, we saw some of the most high-quality decorations I’ve ever seen being put up by a few ponies, all of them bowing happily as we passed them by on our walk. We asked a few guards standing watch where we would be able to find our sister and were promptly directed to the basement.

Luna was tinkering with the massive organ that would eventually become the central control unit for all the traps and hidden passages. She was so focused on her task that she didn’t notice Tia sneak up on her with her feathers at the ready. I smiled fondly as they were rolling around on the ground a moment later.

“Don’t scare me so!” Luna grumbled annoyed as she pinned my twin under her. “I’m glad that you’re back, but must you be so...”

“Childish? What? Can’t you have a bit of fun?” Celestia grinned slightly as Luna helped her back on her hooves. I came over to them, leaning down a bit to give my baby sister a gentle nuzzle. “How far along is the castle, by the way?”

“A few more days and we should be completely done. I’ve had a bit of trouble with the Organ to the Outside, to be honest. Your animal friends have been a great help, Summer,” Luna told us, going back to tinkering with the mechanics behind the triggers that were within the giant musical instrument.

“I’m glad to hear that, Lulu,” I said, trying to see what she was doing. It looked really complex and I’m sure only my little sister had the exact knowledge of what did what.

She let out an annoyed huff a moment later, cursing under her breath as she let her frustration show with a little growl, trying to get a moving part into the right spot. I had no idea what it was for, but I could guess that it was probably an important part. “You know what? I could take a break from this, actually. What do you say to a round of hide and seek in the throne room? Oh, you’re going to love what we have done with it!”

“Sure, I could go for a bit of light-hearted fun,” I said smiling. “What about you, Tia?”

“It certainly would keep my mind off of the thought of having to start our duties soon,” she shrugged. “Why not indulge in a bit of childishness for a little while?”

Lulu was happily skipping ahead of us, a cute little spring in her steps as she told us to keep up with her. And while the Hall of Hooves was definitely the most creepy thing within our castle, I had to say it added to the atmosphere a lot. As we entered the throne room, I had to admire the tapestries hanging above the golden and midnight blue thrones.

My throne was more of a reddish-gold while Tia’s leaned more towards a light yellow. Up above, woven into the tapestries, were the depictions of the heavenly objects we were named after. Luna's depicted not only the moon but also a starry sky with a shining pearl representing the Argent Star. I felt a happy tear leave me as I squeezed the living daylights out of my little sister, babbling my endless thanks to her for getting some of the artists to make them as a tribute to our parents and us.

Because Luna kinda had the advantage over us with knowing more about the layout of the castle, we made her promise to give us plenty of time to hide before she started to seek us. It was a nice way to have us familiarize ourselves with the castle and we had a lot of fun while we kept on playing throughout the whole day.

It was a welcome distraction for the workers, too. They saw us behave a bit childishly, sure, but they didn’t seem to mind it much. If anything, it proved to them that we weren’t some snobbish ponies that would take advantage of them. We even had a few of them join us while they were on their breaks, making the whole experience even more entertaining.

Soon, as the days continued to pass, we had our castle finally finished and polished up nicely. Starswirl came over along with King Bullion and (much to our dismay) his daughter. We were gracious enough to host his presence while showing him around in our new home, all the while Platinum continued to give us glares.

It got so bad that, as we entered our throne room, she and Luna ended up in a shouting match...

“You dare come here into our own home and behave like you own it?!” Luna growled. Platinum huffed and was about to open her mouth again to give us one of her generic ‘I am better than thou’ insults, but Luna beat her to the punch. It was... I have no idea. I felt strangely proud that my little sister was being mean to her. “You are no princess, you prissy foal! A princess conducts herself with respect and earns it with her actions, not with her empty words and promises! You know nothing of how a princess should behave and you dare call yourself a royal?”

“I am a unicorn!” Platinum glowered back. “We deserve to stand above everypony! Even you and your mongrel sisters. You are nothing more than abominations and that ponies would follow you instead of me... it sickens me.”

“Platinum...” her father said, a warning tone in his voice. Instead of listening to him, though, Platinum let out a snort as she sent a baleful glare towards him.

“I can’t believe you would side with these... these farmers over me, Father!” Platinum shrieked with her incredibly annoying voice. “These simpletons don’t deserve their place as princesses!”

Luna laughed hollowly before it started to pick up in volume as she couldn’t stop herself from laughing hysterically. “Deserve? You know nothing of what we deserve! You take everything for granted, thinking yourself privileged to anything and everything only because you have been born as royalty!

“Clearly, you don’t realize what your arrogance has led to! You ruin lives and don’t even bat an eyelash, never having had to live with the consequences of your actions because you thought yourself safe from punishment! No more! Keep insulting us, your rulers, and see where it leads you, worm. Remember who you have sworn your loyalty to, Princess Bitchface.”

“You little brat!” Platinum cried out, enraged. “Know your place, peasant. That throne should have been mine! You aren’t even worthy of your position, blank flank!”

“Oh?” Luna smirked. “It should have been yours? Very well, then. If you think yourself better than us, then sit on it and we will see if you are worthy of it. A Cutie Mark does not make the mare, as you so perfectly serve as an example of. Show me that that crown on your flanks means you should rule, you little immature bitch.”

We got a quiet laugh out of Platinum as Luna tricked her into sitting on her throne while she gave me a look and I reluctantly asked Melvin to trigger the secret slide behind it, causing the throne to turn around to throw her into the ‘escape’ plan that Luna insisted on that we have.

Platinum came back covered in tears looking quite ruffled, ‘apologizing’ for her misbehavior. I could tell that she was still holding on to her grudge against us and that she wasn’t very genuine with her apology, but as long as we had this truce between us now, I felt like we could somewhat tolerate each other. Probably.

...maybe?

King Bullion apologized for the way his daughter continued to behave and assured us that he would try to keep her away from us as much as he could. We were quite thankful for that, I don’t think we could stand her toxic behavior all that much even with this truce between us.

At least my sweet Moon got to call her an immature bitch for thinking we were the ones that needed to grow up because we haven’t gotten our Cutie Marks yet. Luna was also quite happy that her Organ to the Outside worked exactly like she wanted it to. I guess I have to give her credit where it was due, the thing was quite useful for having fun and moving around the castle (despite the multitude of other things that creeped me out).

We also discovered we could infuse our magic into our voices, due to her thorough tongue-lashing. Luna was extremely giddy with using it to annoy us and the servants in the castle, playing alarm clock first thing in the morning with glee.

Waking up at the crack of dawn started to become a regular thing after that and she managed to get us to always wake up at the same time now (even when she wasn’t screaming her head off). Well, I guess the advantage of that was that we had a bit more time to get ready for work each day, so it was at least 'somewhat' useful.

And how tedious that quickly became, having to go over documents and such while Starswirl, Clover the Clever, and his friends taught us all about how to govern a nation. Luna tried to get out of our lessons by pretending to be sick for a while, but that quickly turned on her as we found her playing the Organ to the Outside to mess with my twin (and everypony else, but mostly with my twin).

She was grounded after that, having to endure extended lessons from Clover as punishment. I wanted to say she asked for it with her pranking, but I kinda felt bad about seeing her be so pouty. Luna just wanted to have a little bit of fun, after all.

Still, she needed those lessons just as much as my twin and I did. She didn’t try to weasel her way out of them afterward, the hassle apparently not worth the outcome. Her high jinks, at least, managed to get our new friends to laugh for a while. Small miracles, that.

Aside from Luna having had her fun at our expense, Clover, Pansy, and Smart Cookie told us some rather good news regarding the state of our nation.

Chancellor Puddinghead had a few rare moments where he let his inner brilliance shine by getting the earthponies to farm more effectively, leading to an overabundance of food. I was glad that we didn’t have to worry about that so much anymore, things like that make me feel really antsy.

Commander Hurricane, on the other hoof, established the first official weather team, organizing our weather for the whole of Equestria. His team of pegasi were doing their jobs with an admirable enthusiasm.

But most importantly, Clover told me that the unicorns were making good progress with developing a safer way to raise and lower the heavenly objects. While they weren’t entirely there yet, they hoped to finish the new spellwork before Starswirl and Miss Lulamoon couldn’t continue on anymore.

Our friends were quite grateful for us having taken on the mantle of princesses, as our presence alone had inspired ponies to look past their differences and work together in harmony. If only that was true for Platinum, but I suppose there was no changing her.

Smart Cookie and my wife had a little bit of trouble with reining in Chancellor Puddinghead as the wacky stallion decided to spontaneously visit us one day. To make matters worse, Luna and Puddinghead decided to have a little wager as to who was better at hide and seek, causing a whole lot of chaos in the process.

I was quite surprised to find myself suddenly thrown off my throne in the middle of holding court while I was trying to help a pair of ponies out on a dispute over land. At first, I thought Luna was playing pranks on ponies again, but I later found out that Puddinghead had beaten my sister at her own game.

I won’t ever understand that stallion, honestly. He did things and knew stuff that should have been impossible. Luna and Puddinghead were a terrifying combination for pranks from that day onward, causing me plenty of headaches.

When we weren’t busy with our duty as princesses, I continued to work on my own personal garden with tender care. My little animal friends were happy to assist me with anything and I was glad that they loved this place as much as I did. In the middle of the garden, I had a nice wide cherry blossom tree enchanted to stay in bloom for the whole year (aside from winter, obviously). It was my whole pride and joy. I often found Tia napping underneath it when she wasn’t busy with work, either.

It was a very cute sight to behold and I couldn't help but mourn the fact that I did not have a camera at hoof to take pictures with. It would have been such a good one, too, of her sleeping blissfully underneath its vibrant leaves. She just looked so peaceful whenever I found her there.

Then, for one particular lesson by Starswirl, he invited us over to his personal library and my twin totally geeked out over the massive collection of dusty old tomes, reminding me of where our daughter had gotten that particular trait from. Not a thing had changed from Celestia being a massive nerd when it came down to books and magic (and cars, but those don’t exist in Equestria... and hopefully never will).

Starswirl had us on a few research assignments, trying to teach us how to find our way around in a library if we ever felt the need to in the future. The old stallion assured us that it was a necessary skill to have in order to rule more effectively, seeing that it would not only help us keep organized but also on task.

My twin was obviously the better pony at it than either Luna or myself were. She always finished her assignments with time to spare, so she helped us out by teaching us her methods. Not that it helped us all that much, Tia just was a natural with this type of work (just like she was with everything else).

Starswirl also told us that we were free to browse through his collection whenever we wanted to and Celestia was giddy at the prospect of learning all that she could from his magic tomes. It was really adorable how her eyes continued to sparkle brightly for days afterward because of it, her mood having been uplifted so much I thought she would have floated into the sky because of it.

Of course, Luna made fun of her enthusiasm in our diary, so I left an entry telling her to stop antagonizing her (I was reasonably sure she would see my words, she never knew how to keep her hooves to herself). I also wrote about all the great times I had together with Pansy as I showed her my private garden. She was such a gentle pegasus, she took after my own heart.

Aside from that, Starswirl was also working on a multitude of spells, some of which he even asked us for our input on. There was one about Cutie Marks that went well over our heads because we had next to no reference to it due to the lack of our own. But that's the boring stuff, anyway. What was more interesting were the spells involving time travel!

It was quite funny to see Tia try the spell out, despite Starswirl's warnings that the spell could only be cast by the pony using it once. There was something that the future Tia did that surprised me, though.

She made out with herself because, apparently, it was the perfect opportunity to test out what it would feel like to have yourself eat your own face from both perspectives. We were thankfully alone at the time in her private reading room, so Luna and Starswirl were none the wiser.

A week later as Tia was back in Starswirl's library, she found where Starswirl had kept that spell hidden and immediately used it, much to his grumbling protests. As she returned from the past, and I knew full well what she had just done, Starswirl gave her a thorough scolding for being so foolish to cast something without any kind of preparation first. Or consideration for possible consequences, for that matter.

That led to him giving us a refresher in the proper safeties of spellcasting, much to the chagrin of my younger sister and I. Celestia wasn’t even remotely apologetic about it, still high on making out with herself... again. Sometimes, she really was too perverted for her own good.

At least Starswirl had his fun lecturing us, the old coot needed all the distractions he could get. I fear that time was starting to take its toll on him...

Chapter 007 - ...and the Cutie Mark.

Author's Notes:

Warning: Celestia kinda takes her liberty teasing Summer a bit too much in the new scene. Be wary as soon as they go to "sleep". Toxic relationship stuff. You've been warned.

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Melvin was a great source of information about everything within and around the Everfree Forest. He knew practically every corner of it. Luna wanted me to ask him why he avoided one area in particular, though. The manticore merely stated that it was forbidden to go beyond it and I think I understood why that was. Most of the predators that tried to do so never come back and the few peaceful animals living within this forest said that all they knew was that the predators were hunted down if they couldn’t be driven off.

A thing that most predators in the Everfree were notorious for not doing, it seemed. Luna wanted to go explore the land beyond the Everfree Forest under all circumstances and wasn’t deterred by the warning I relayed to her from Melvin.

So, because I didn’t want to let her go on her own, I accompanied her so I could at least act as a decoy should things get dicey and we needed to flee. Celestia was against it at first, but Luna managed to drive her crazy with her continuous begging until she finally got fed up with it and relented.

Naturally, my twin wanted to go instead of me, but I told her that I didn’t want to have them bicker all the way on their journey and promised her we would be careful. That didn’t change her opinion one bit, but then Luna started to complain and whine about Tia being too protective of me and hogging me all to herself.

So, my twin gave up and Luna and I started to make our way through the forest where Melvin told us these things were happening. I wanted to make sure all my animal friends were safe and if it meant investigating this curious cause, then I would do so.

And what a cause it was. After we managed to break through the dense thicket and came across what appeared to be a savannah, we found something I never expected to find so close to our home. We had to take to the air just to look over the tall grass and there, in the near distance, was a small village of huts with very unique inhabitants.

The inhabitants were unlike any normal ponies because quite frankly, they were no ponies. What we found was a group of zebras looking fearful of us and their manner of speech was... different. It wasn’t like they spoke a completely different language, they just... rhymed whenever they talked.

Oh, and they also thought we were manticores just because we had wings. Talk about generalizing. They were quite... isolated, weren’t they? I could tell Luna wanted to laugh her flanks off as I tried to get them to understand that we weren’t there to harm them.

I got to understand just how isolated these zebras had been living after they put down their weapons so we could talk in a slightly more friendly setting. They had never seen anything in the form of a horse (or pony, as the case may be) but a zebra. It was a little weird, to say the least. They got so fascinated with our horns and wings as if they were entirely alien concepts to them.

So, to show them that there was nothing to fear about our appendages, I let them inspect them from up close. And by that, I meant that I let them 'touch' me, much to the amusement of my sister (and my quiet suffering as they just so happened to find all the sensitive spots).

When I asked them why they were hurting my animal friends when they left the forest, they told me that they did it in self-defense. It wasn’t that much of a surprise, considering what predators normally do. They also explained that they used their unique shamanistic magic and the potions they brewed to ward off their land.

Then, they also told us that they had a small manticore population problem in the past, which led to them hunting them down in the first place. Melvin was apparently too young to have known about that little tidbit of manticore history and I wasn’t particularly keen on explaining it to him when we returned home.

The zebra tribe was gracious enough to host us with a small feast of their delicacies from their homeland and we got to witness them do a little rain dance to show us how their magic worked (at least, I think it was a rain dance since it did start to rain in a light drizzle after that). It had a lot to do with movements and rhyming, it was a little bit cute to watch in my opinion.

We told the zebras that if they were to ever venture through the forest they would be welcome to stay in Equestria as we prepared to leave the next day. They promised to come and visit us in our home should they decide to take us up on our offer, and so we said our goodbyes to the first foreigners we had come across, glad to call them our friends from now on.

Tia was glad nothing happened to us and got slightly excited about having zebras living so close to our doorstep. I could tell that she had been fretting over us while we were gone, though. It warmed my heart to see her worry so much over the well-being of Luna and myself.

We returned to our duties without much hassle, although I had to literally force Luna to do her paperwork at times. She couldn’t just pile her stuff on to us while only doing the things that were entertaining to her. Celestia was more fed up with her carefree nature than I was, though. We had all agreed to rule equally and Luna was already shoving her work onto us when she felt like not doing it.

That was something I would have honestly expected to happen with Tia, instead. I suppose our duties to the ponies of Equestria finally managed to motivate not only her but also me to procrastinate less.

The paperwork was still boring, though...

Starswirl had us come over to his library again one day, telling us that he had some exciting news to share with us. And as we got there, we saw what he meant when he came tumbling out of a small vortex of a very complex-looking spell, golden sand-like particles trailing after him before they faded away.

He had just successfully traveled in time and he could control where (or I suppose, when) he wanted to go! Celestia’s inner child was getting all giddy over him finally succeeding in his quest for more knowledge and I wasn’t that much different from her with my reaction, either. I wondered what he saw while he was gone, but the old coot never told us. He had a strange gleam in his eyes, though.

The thing about that new time travel spell, though, was that it didn’t leave him entirely unaffected. We tried telling him gently that, while he obviously could use the spell to travel through time, it also left a very obvious mark on him. Luna got so fed up that he didn’t notice what he had done to himself that she levitated a mirror directly into his face, stating that the spell was too dangerous to cast while still incomplete.

Starswirl had stared completely baffled into the reflection in the mirror. A reflection of his obviously younger self. The spell had de-aged him at the same time, so while it was a time travel spell, it was also an age travel spell. Something that we all unanimously agreed on shouldn’t ever be made public, it would lead to too many problems down the line. You could basically live forever with this spell alone, something that would come with a heavy cost.

Agelessness wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be, in my opinion. It only led to grief and heartache once you started to outlive your loved ones, one by one. While Luna, Tia, and I could probably cast the spell at some point, we wouldn’t ever want to. Not only because we would leave behind all our friends that couldn’t cast the spell, but also because the spell took one back by a lot of years. Starswirl was now in his late fifties and not at the old age of eighty(-ish) anymore.

He had been one of the oldest ponies in Equestria alive before this, now he would continue to get even older than that. Starswirl didn’t really see a problem with that, but I feared what other effects it would have on him, given time. I just hope he won’t go senile by using this spell over and over again, trying to escape death. Some would even argue it was a fate worse than any other and I wasn't inclined to disagree. Losing parts of yourself is pretty scary...

Ah, well... it was quite funny to see him with a small brown goatee, though. Luna couldn't help herself but flip it teasingly with a snicker while our teacher tried to shoo her away from himself, frowning disapprovingly at her childish behavior (and at Tia's and my amusement, egging Luna on). To be honest, he had the face to pull it off, though. His muzzle wasn't nearly so wrinkly anymore and he had a pretty gaunt face, to begin with. The fact that he felt even stronger with his magic took a load off my mind.

The not-so-old coot also wanted to begin teaching us how he and the unicorns raised the moon and the suns, having that strange cryptic gleam in his eyes, so that was a lesson that would probably take us some time to learn. Now that he had quite literally all the time in the world to do so, I hoped he would at least go easy on us.

It was something that I had thought we would never have to learn, but just because we were the rulers now, didn’t mean it wouldn’t become useful knowledge in the future. Even if we only ever used it during our training sessions with him and never again after that, it would be good to know should something happen to him and we need to teach it to the next generation of mages (a precaution the old Mage Order neglected to do).

He assured us that with him being renewed to his prime, it should never come to us needing to step in. At the same time, though, he wanted to prepare us to the best of his ability so we could cast it in our sleep (and not instantly lose all of our magic at the same time). He also made us promise to not cast it on our lonesome without a serious emergency being the reason for us to do so. If worse comes to worst, we would have to step up to the task until a solution to the problem could be found. It was our duty as princesses to look out for the good of everypony, after all.

If it means saving the rest of the world, I suppose losing my magic would be a minor thing to sacrifice. I imagine Starswirl thought along those lines, too, seeing that he shouldered the burden alone for so long. Well, not alone alone, but alone in the sense that he was the only one that knew what he was doing. Clover and Miss Lulamoon were extraordinary mages in their own right, but even they didn't hold a candle to the true might of an archmage.

I hope Starswirl was right with his confidence. While it wouldn’t probably come to that, I was prepared to do what was necessary should he not be able to cast the spell anymore. It was by far the preferable option, wasn’t it? I’d rather lose my magic than live in a... dead world. A dying world was already a doomed place, so I guess the description fit. But that's enough of that, I'd rather not get depressed over mere possibilities.

When we weren’t busy learning about our new duties, we had fun with the rest of our friends. One day Commander Hurricane came over and he taught us quite a lot about the weather. We even had a nice little competition of who could fly faster than the others. While I wasn’t that particularly good at it, my sisters were having a lot more fun with it, trying to leave Commander Hurricane in the dust.

Tia and Lulu were able to go quite fast with their wings if they wanted to, but Hurricane put up quite a challenge for them. He was the fastest pegasus alive, after all.

While I watched them from a cloud after having given up on catching up to them, my heart plummeted as I saw Tia get tackled out of the air by a swooping griffon, falling to the ground below while unable to right herself in time.

I was glad that Hurricane was here with us or I fear I would have lost my wife that day. He was able to catch up to her with no problem and I touched down beside them as Hurricane set her gently down on the ground. Luckily, while she had taken quite a nasty hit from that griffon, she was none the worse for wear.

I didn’t let her out of my hooves for a whole hour afterward (I only reluctantly let go of her as she started to get fidgety with me). I was afraid the griffon would return to finish the job, fearing that someone was already trying to assassinate us for taking to the throne. Though I had no idea why the griffons of all beings would be involved in this.

As it turns out, there was quite a bit of history between pegasi and griffons. Hurricane explained to me and my sisters that there has been an extensive and complicated rivalry between the two species for as long as they could remember and that neither side seemed to be inclined to offer a hoof (or claw) in friendship. It often resulted in bloody skirmishes (and the odd few wars) between them, which only fueled the conflict between ponies and griffons more and more.

While there was a 'somewhat' friendly truce between pegasi and griffons in the past, it seemed to me that with me and my sisters in power now, they saw an opportunity to challenge us for territory again.

Hurricane wasn’t all that certain about visiting their lands to negotiate with them, he was rather reluctant to believe that this was a good idea on my part. He was of the opinion to prepare a retaliatory attack instead and teach them a lesson that we were not to be trifled with. Even Luna and Celestia were hesitant in that regard, but as I gave them my reasoning, they understood it was (probably) for the best. If we could come to a peaceful solution by talking, I would try that before resorting to military might.

Even though the bastards just tried to kill my wife, I was willing to look past that if they gave us an apology, though. It wouldn’t do to hold a grudge over the actions of a single griffon, after all. I wouldn’t be able to look myself in the eye if I were to condemn the rest of their race for what one idiot did.

Then again... I was sorely tempted to eradicate their entire race for daring to lay their dirty claws on my wife, the primal urge to burn them to a blackened crisp rearing its ugly head within me. But that was the rage in me speaking, something that I wouldn’t ever follow up on. I couldn’t let myself get consumed by these dark thoughts because of what might only be a misunderstanding here. For all we know, that griffon could have acted on his own without any incentive from their king or queen, after all.

If only I was right with that little train of thought...

The thing about their king, I sadly had to find out, was that he was a total asshole. And I don’t say this lightly, but I was starting to consider going to war with them just to get that dickhead off the throne. He was just skirting around the definition of being a selfish dictator with the way he ruled his nation.

He was a jerk, a misogynist, he beat his wife for speaking out while he gave us an audience, and he treated his servants like slaves. Even worse, he ate raw meat in front of us like he meant it as an insult. I didn't even want to find out where that meat came from. I’m pretty sure I wouldn't like the answer to that question.

Still, I wasn't deterred from finding a peaceful solution to the brewing conflict, but it wasn't easy to keep my composure. It got even worse as I found out the reason behind this sudden aggression.

Apparently, the attack only happened because of one little technicality in the wording of the previous peace treaty. Seeing that Equestria wasn’t entirely comprised of pegasus territory anymore, King Gregor (the Rude) thought it would be okay to think the treaty was null and void. We tried to get him to accept our proposal of changing the wording from 'Pegasus Pony' to 'Equestrian' or 'Equine' in general, but he continued to be stubborn.

The bastard really was out for war and he even told us that if we wanted our airspace back, we would have to fight for it. He sent us on our way back home with not-so-kind words and I could tell that he was just waiting for the chance to invade our home.

Feeling a bit snide, I told him he was welcome to try. I’ve had enough of his attitude and if he didn’t want to do it the peaceful way, then he would have to learn it the hard way that we were no pushovers. I’m sure my animal friends would be happy to lend us their aid, too.

If he wanted his head decapitated so badly, let him come...

So, while we prepared our own forces over the following weeks after that, repelling the prodding advances from the griffons (for now), Melvin and I had a talk about the chickens pretending to be lions. It turns out that my manticore friend knew quite a bit of interesting facts about the race that he shared a common ancestor with. While both of their species were known to have inherited the temper of lions, the griffons had something else that they were known for.

Melvin told me that they had a massive sweet tooth. And as he told me this, a devious plan began to form in my mind. I would make the griffons rue the day they threatened my kingdom and my lover. That I swore with a vengeance. And it had the upside of not having to shed a single drop of blood over this stupid conflict, so that was a plus in my book.

My plan was a very simple one, as the simplest of plans always worked best. I would get the griffons addicted to the confections our subjects could whip up and I would hold the recipe under their little beaks once they were and threaten them to never mess with ponies again.

I wonder if catnip works on griffons, too...

Celestia found my plan to be ingenious and together with Melvin, we learned the favorite dessert of King Gregor: éclairs. I think I might have gone overboard with this plan by enlisting Starswirl’s aid on top of my sinister ideas of lacing them with every cat's weakness. In hindsight, it kinda bordered on brainwashing as we offered the damn birds a batch of éclairs that made your mouth water just by looking at them through a subtle mental suggestion from a spell Starswirl put on them.

I sorta felt bad about it? I... I don’t know. I mean, it got the job done at the cost of their blood sugar levels skyrocketing through the roof, but... was it worth it? On the one hoof, they kinda, maybe, sorta, possibly deserved it? On the other hoof, it felt like I went a little bit too far with my (admittedly insidious) plan. It wasn’t my proudest moment in the history of my (still relatively short) reign and I vowed to never resort to such underhoofed methods again.

As long as they don’t try to kill my wife again, that is. My ability to forgive and forget ends with my sister being involved in their crimes against ponykind. There’s no forgiveness for those that hurt my twin or my precious Moon.

At least we got them to sign the new peace treaty in return for the... ahem, ‘recipe’... of the éclairs. We told them they would have to ask Starswirl for a new batch, I wasn’t particularly in the mood to tell them we had just brainwashed them into stopping their attempt at an invasion.

Who knew you could avoid a war by appealing to the stomach of your (admittedly shitty) neighbor with enchanted confections? I’m glad that there hadn’t been any casualties, at least. Would that have been the case, I don’t think I would have been as kind as I was towards them. Brainwashing would have been the least of their problems in that case. Taking the head off that idiotic king for trying to hurt Tia still sounded very tempting...

Equestrian morality was really weird, considering that taking away the freedom of thought was the most heinous crime a human could come up with. I got over it, though. Sure, I might have made a massive mistake that would probably still continue to haunt me every once in a while, but I think I can learn to live with it.

Slowly but surely, multiple months passed by with nothing really worthwhile happening aside from Luna turning sixteen and finding out she could suddenly dream lucid dreams on command. It seemed to me it was no coincidence at all that we developed these unique abilities and Starswirl started to attribute it as a trait of our kind in general. Alicorns were apparently extra special in contrast to normal ponies.

I was glad Luna couldn’t enter the dreams of anypony without their permission (yet). Otherwise, she would have surely seen some of the naughty things my sister and I dreamt about.

But that wasn't all Luna could do. No, my sister had the very ability to put ponies to sleep even under circumstances less ideal for that. She often went out of her way to help the healers with some of their patients when they were unable to ease their pain. It was almost like she was putting the ponies she used this ability on under narcosis with a single word.

It wasn’t just other ponies she could use it on, though. Luna could also tell herself to go to sleep and she would. She tried getting out of her work by constantly causing herself to fall asleep once she figured that out. It got so annoying that we had to ask Starswirl for a spell that would wake a pony up from slumber.

Luna was grumpy that she was denied her ‘beauty sleep’ because of that. Sometimes she just couldn’t stop acting like an immature filly, I swear. Celestia and I were working our flanks off while she thought this was a game.

She could act her age, she simply didn’t want to and it kinda drove my twin up the walls of our castle. I mean... sometimes Tia and I had the tendency to goof around as much as Luna, but we didn’t let that come in between our duties as princesses. I suppose our reincarnation was one of those things that gave us that child-like wonder back that Earth had taken from us as we grew older (not that we had been the most mature bunch, to begin with).

Equestria was our home now and I wouldn’t ever want to leave this magical place behind me. I wanted to see it grow into a beautiful nation that was the envy of every other race on this planet, see it prosper into a land that was almost utopian from an outsider's perspective. That would be something, wouldn’t it?

Something told me that making such a goal become a reality was going to be a grueling task for me and my sisters and that we would go through many hardships to reach it. We might not even see the hard-earned result of our efforts during our lifetime, my thoughts whispered treacherously to me as a little bit of self-doubt crept up within me.

After all, Kings and Queens on Earth were few and far between that could claim to have brought a golden age to their nation. Most of that was built on things I would never resort to, though. Blood, slavery, exploitation... conquest... those were common themes throughout the history of humanity, a past I’d rather distance myself from if I was honest with myself.

I don’t know... every time I thought back on the time before my reincarnation, hatred flared up within me like an ugly disease. The thought of me having shared a race with such despicable monsters that used any means imaginable to further their selfish goals left me with a queasy feeling.

I was glad that humanity had (mostly) learned from those times and tried to be better, but there always were those few black sheep that had me doubt my faith in humanity. The last Great War was perhaps the darkest time humanity had borne witness to, erasing almost a third of the human population over something that was unbelievably petty.

Freedom to express yourself. The right to love. Creativity. All of that had almost been taken from humanity and I vowed to never let the same happen to the ponies of Equestria. The First World War had looked almost tame in comparison to the Great War (nothing about it was great, as the people quickly found out). Not a single nation on Earth was exempt from the conflict and it showed in the final death toll. A conflict that would surely traumatize the ponies under our guidance if they were to ever learn of such horrors.

Heck, even war veterans from the First World War had been traumatized by the sheer cruelty of the Great War. I shudder to think what would have happened had humanity not stopped when they did. Humanity had come extremely close to the point of no return. Thankfully, that red line had never been crossed and humanity slowly recovered from the horrors of war.

I feared my parents would have been forced to fight for their rights if the war hadn’t ended at that point and it might have gone on long enough that I would have grown up in a time of war... if my parents survived long enough to get children, that is.

I might have never had children with my beloved if the Great War raged on for even longer. The Great War brought out the worst in humanity... but also the best. Shining examples that, in the end, brought about an era of lasting peace. Shining examples that I wanted to emulate with my reign over Equestria together with Tia and Lulu.

Aside from Luna developing her own gift, Celestia started to have... 'weird' dreams as we turned twenty-two. She constantly saw the Tree of Harmony in her dreams and both Luna and I started to think it was some kind of premonition. What it meant though, was anypony’s guess.

I, on the other hoof, could somehow turn my gaze into something that would get any creature to freeze up in fear. I don’t know why I got something that was normally so against my very nature while Tia’s ability expanded upon itself. It was quite useful to get Luna to do her work, though.

Starswirl told us to not worry about Celestia’s visions of the tree, not at all concerned about them. The not-so-old-anymore archmage with the short beard was using his time travel spell again (he had apparently managed to ‘perfect’ it now) and whenever he returned, he had this weird knowing look in his eyes when we asked him about it.

We had little time to worry about what these visions meant. While Starswirl was his usual cryptic self, annoying us to the high heavens, we received a missive from a nation up north that had settled in the frozen wastes for whatever reason.

The message was a short one and merely stated that the Crystal Empire and their princess were in danger due to the theft of something very important to them. We had only seen Princess Amore briefly during our own coronation, so we were quite surprised that they were asking us for help in retrieving the Crystal Heart back from the thief.

Without the Crystal Heart, their barrier against the cold would be gone and the city-state would slowly start to freeze over. The ponies living there had a clock on their lives now and we were happy to come to their aid. I remember Amore to be quite the nice pony, so I looked forward to properly meeting her.

“C'mon, sister. Hurry up!” I said, bouncing up and down as I saw the gleaming tower of the centerpiece within the Crystal Empire come into view in the distance. We were traveling with a detail of some of our best guards and I was already giddy to get over there and meet Princess Amore, the unicorn that was said to be able to power the mystical artifact with her love on her own.

“Summer, we’re almost there, get a grip on yourself,” Celestia retorted with a roll of her eyes. “You’re behaving like a little filly entering a candy store for the first time.”

“Can you fault me for that? I can’t wait to meet Amore!” I giggled, trotting happily in front of her. “She is the ideal example of what a princess should aspire to be! She rules with kindness, with compassion, and with generosity! She takes after my own heart, sister! Eee!”

“Oh, what a joy... another bleeding heart,” Luna muttered. “Are you sure Summer isn’t Amore’s twin, Tia?”

“I don’t know... are you, Summer?” Tia asked me, a jealous tone in her voice. I stopped bouncing up and down so much as my ears splayed back, a feeling of shame overcoming me as I realized how I made my wife feel.

“I’m sorry, I just...” I mumbled apologetically. “She is like the perfect role model, you know?”

“It’s fine,” Celestia said looking down and away from me. “Just... don’t go all googly-eyed on her, weirding her out with your fangasm, okay?”

“Okay, I’ll try to keep myself from... 'weirding her out', sister,” I said with a nod, rubbing my neck awkwardly with a hoof as she still avoided eye contact with me. It was... sort of sweet that she was envious of a mare we hadn’t actually met with yet. Not properly, that is.

As we entered the city, we saw all kinds of buildings made from crystals and the ponies themselves shimmered like diamonds. Their fur had this otherworldly beauty to it that I had never seen before, I was quite jealous of it. It looked so elegant and beautiful!

...I'm a diamond kinda gal, aren't I? Haah. I can't help but admire their shininess...

Princess Amore had a truly great Empire here, I was glad she had asked us for help instead of somepony else. The adorable sparkling ponies bowed to us as we passed them by on our way to the castle and I couldn’t help myself from happily giggling at their cuteness, I just wanted to hug them all day!

And rip the head off of the thief that dared threaten these cute and adorable and pretty ponies. Hmm... maybe I should burn their brain out with magefire, instead? I... I shook my head, clearing out these fiendish thoughts. I might be getting a bit too overprotective of my ponies (even if they aren't technically mine).

Princess Amore was waiting for us by the large plaza under the palace that eerily reminded me of the Eiffel Tower. I shook the snowflakes out of the white cloak I wore that had managed to stick to me without melting while walking through the light snowfall in the city (it was the one Mom had made for us while we still hid who we were and Tia enchanted it to always appear when it started to rain or snow... mine had a really nice inner red lining while Lulu's was black with silver lining and Tia's a light yellow).

Normally, the north was surrounded by a perpetual snowstorm, but Princess Amore’s unique magic was able to hold it at bay for now. She could literally keep the entire city within her barrier. She must be seriously powerful (and a bit mad for living here of all places).

“Welcome to the Crystal Empire, Princesses of Equestria,” she greeted us and I happily gave the pink-haired mare a big massive hug (despite her being larger than us by quite the margin), much to the chagrin of my sisters. Amore didn’t seem to mind, though. She giggled at my enthusiasm, returning the hug gently. “My, how very affectionate you are!”

“Sorry!” I said, quickly letting go of her in embarrassment. “Sorry, I... uhm... I promised to not go all over the top to my sisters and here I am, doing exactly that... I’m so sorry.”

“You don’t have to be,” she giggled and began to lead us into her castle (or palace, I guess). It was a very fancy place, even fancier than our own home. Once we were in her throne room, we saw her tiredly take a seat on her throne with a sigh. “Now then, let me tell you the reason why I asked for your help. Without the Crystal Heart where it belongs, I fear my little ponies will continue to fall into depression, a few already have. Their coat doesn’t shine quite as healthily anymore and I fear for their wellbeing.

“Without the Crystal Heart magnifying my love magic, I’m hard-pressed at keeping my subjects safe from harm and my powers continue to dwindle with each day that it is gone. Even worse, the one who stole the artifact is a dragon. It lives high up within a cave in the Crystalline Mountains that used to be a place where my ponies mined for crystals.

“It is from there that the Crystal Heart originates and we desperately need it back. I am loath to say that I can’t give you more information on this, as we ourselves have little information on the Crystal Heart. We found it in the mountains and it allowed me to create a barrier that kept the weather in a constant spring-like environment.

“I wouldn’t ask this of you if it weren’t for my weakened state, but we need your help. Could you return the Crystal Heart to us and save this Empire? I would be forever grateful and in your debt.”

My sisters and I looked at each other for just a moment and came to an instant understanding between us. Together, we gave Princess Amore a determined nod.

Princess Amore let out a relieved sigh at our answer and we saw her let down her strong princess façade, seeing just how exhausted she was for the first time. It seemed like she could barely keep herself awake, her eyes looked sunken. She almost looked like she would fall asleep any moment now as she leaned herself tiredly against the back of her throne. It made my heart quiver anxiously for a moment. Just how much of herself had she already sacrificed to keep the weather at bay so that her subjects were safe? How much longer could she keep this up if we failed to retrieve the Crystal Heart?

“I thank you from the deepest parts of my heart,” she told us with a shaky smile. “I’m glad that you came to our side so fast. Please, feel free to stay for as long as you need to. I’m sure you will need to rest from your journey here, I wouldn’t want you to be at anything less than your best when you confront that dragon.”

Celestia nodded with a respectful bow of her head. “We thank you for your hospitality, we won’t let you down,” she said, determined. “I’m sure that if we explain the situation to the dragon, he will see reason. But just in case he does become hostile, we will take a platoon of our guards with us.”

“And if it comes down to a fight, Starswirl taught us many spells to subdue a creature of that size!” Luna nodded, stomping her hoof down. “He won’t stand a chance.”

“Yes, and if all else fails, I think I can... convince him with my stare,” I said, rubbing my hoof against the back of my neck. “I’d prefer a more peaceful solution, though.”

Amore smiled relieved. “I’m glad that you have put so much thought into this already. May you return with the Crystal Heart victorious,” she said, motioning for the palace staff to come over. We gave her a nod and a butler led us toward our chambers, telling us to not hesitate to ring the bell if we needed anything. He then led our guards to their own room in the servant quarters where they would be staying in.

The rooms we were staying in were as luxurious as the rest of the Empire appeared to be and I had to say that the soaps within the bath chambers were simply divine. I enjoyed a nice long soak during the evening and my sisters joined me in relaxing before the big day.

Sleep came easily to us thanks to Luna, but that didn’t stop us from feeling nervous. I woke up multiple times during the night as my anxiety kept me from a full night’s rest. So I sneaked my way into my twin’s bed and after I snuggled myself into her embrace, I was finally able to succumb to a peaceful slumber.

Celestia roused me from my sleep the next morning with a pleasant wake-up call by nibbling on my ears. I giggled into her chest as she mumbled out her good morning to me.

“Morning, Tia,” I replied with warmth in my tone. “I couldn’t sleep, so I invited myself in. I’ve missed sleeping with you in the same bed.”

“Maybe we should combine our chambers back in the castle...” she whispered into my ear, placing a tender kiss on the top of my head. “I don’t care what Luna or anypony else would think of that, we’re allowed to share our rooms if we want to.”

“I don't know... I don't think that would be a good idea, sister,” I told her, a bit downtrodden. “Luna would get the wrong idea, I’m sure.”

“It’s not like we haven’t shared a bed when we were fillies,” Celestia rolled her eyes. “Why would she get the wrong idea now?”

Because we're adults now, I wanted to say but caught myself. “If you’re sure...” I said instead. She was kinda right, after all. Until just before we became princesses, we had to share our bedroom because we could only take one bed with us to the little shack we built in the forest, so maybe Luna will just roll her eyes at me and think I was unable to sleep without somepony else at my side. I could also just say it was a twin thing.

“Now, let’s go and get breakfast,” Tia said and my tummy made a noise in agreement to her proposition. “You need to eat your veggies and become big and strong like your sister, after all.”

“Haha, very funny,” I retorted unamused. “I thought you liked me with a slim figure?”

“Learn to take a joke, sister,” she shot back. “And I do, but a little padding would also look cute on you.”

“Learn to be funny, sister,” I taunted, blowing a raspberry at her.

“I am...” she pouted. “Nopony appreciates good humor anymore these days, I swear.”

“Your sense of humor wouldn’t even get the crickets to chirp.”

Celestia grumbled at me, saying that I was being mean to her again. I found it adorable and judging by the small giggles from Princess Amore as we entered the dining hall, so did she.

“You know... normally I don’t condone relationships like yours, but you do make for a cute couple,” Amore whispered over to me as I sat myself down beside her. Luna was across the table from us, snoring into her pancake while she also nibbled on it in her sleep. Once more I cursed myself for not having a camera, we really needed them just for moments like these.

“How... how did you know?” I asked, my heart beating fearfully in my chest.

“Dear, I rule the Empire that runs on love magic, what did you expect?” Amore giggled. “I can see your love for your twin from a mile away. It is different from the bond you share with your younger sister.”

“Please, don’t tell anypony,” I begged her quietly, shifting uncomfortably in my seat as a server came with our own breakfast. Celestia was oblivious to our conversation, trying to get Luna into a properly awake state. I couldn’t help but snort as she propped Lulu up only for her to fall back on her pancake, continuing to nibble on it in her sleep. “Nopony would understand...”

“My lips are sealed, fret not,” Amore reassured me, giggling as Tia grumbled while she shook Luna until she finally managed to startle our little sister awake, the pancake hanging out of her mouth in a very cute manner as Lulu blinked wearily at what was going on around her. “Although, I’m curious how it came to be?”

“It’s a long story...” I answered, cutting my pancake into small bite-sized chunks. I was so happy that ponies had these fluffy delights despite being practically in the middle ages. I had no idea when humans had invented them, so I was glad that ponies had done so already.

“I see,” she said, nodding understandingly. “If you don’t want to tell me, then that’s okay.”

“No! I guess I could, just... not now?” I told her before popping another piece of sweet goodness into my mouth. “Certainly not with Lulu present where she could overhear. She is really bad at keeping secrets.”

“You have not told her?” Amore inquired with surprise and I shook my head. “Keeping such things away from her will only lead to resentment.”

“I know, but telling her would also do that,” I said, my ears splaying back on my head. “I don’t think she would understand.”

“Sometimes family manages to surprise one,” Amore sagely said. “But it is your decision. You’re welcome to come visit any time and talk with me about this if you want.”

“Thank you,” I said with a grateful smile. “I never thought I would meet somepony as understanding as you.”

“I try my best,” she smiled back, her tone jubilant. “Would one of you have been a stallion, though, I would have given you a few choice words. It sets a bad example as ruler of your nation.”

“I, uh,” I laughed awkwardly. “I don’t think we would have risked that, either. I mean, I have a spell, well... for that, but it’s completely safe. It's not like we're going around telling everypony we meet.”

“Oh? I have not heard of such a transformation spell. How does it work and how did you come by it?”

“It’s of my own making,” I told her with a red face. I noticed Celestia and Luna were giving us a confused stare, although Tia looked a bit too suspicious of us. I mouthed a ‘later’ towards her, promising to explain what we were talking about before I returned my attention to Princess Amore. “It works somewhat like this, I’m not sure you will get my meaning here, but bear with me. I usually rely more on my instincts and emotions for spells, so I use desire for the outcome, lust for the act, love for the sensation, and determination for functionality purposes. That and... uhm... my imagination for how my sister would look with a..."—I blushed and fumbled with my words for a moment, unable to say it in front of a stranger—" you know, ‘that’. It doesn’t work on the caster, sadly.”

“My, my, how very interesting. And you came up with this on your own?” she asked me, intrigued. I gave her a nod, explaining my trial-and-error approach on a brave mouse. “That I have never thought of this myself, it boggles the mind.”

“It took me quite some time to figure out,” I told her, fidgeting awkwardly on my haunches. I can't believe I'm talking sex with another princess (that wasn't my wife). By the suns, this is so embarrassing! “It’s nothing special...”

“Oh, on the contrary!” she said, perhaps a bit too loud as my sisters looked over at us again. I shrunk into myself, startled by her enthusiasm. “I myself use emotions for spells and that particular mix is quite similar to each other that it would be easy to tangle the spell up.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I laughed uncomfortably, not sure if this was really that noteworthy. “My sister is still trying to figure out how to use her emotions for spells like that, she is more of the methodical spell caster.”

“Hmm. So similar, yet so different. You are very interesting twins, my dear. Your parents must be proud of you,” Amore told me with a smile and I gave her a confused look. I'm not sure, but something felt off about the way she said that. “I'm sorry about your loss, dear. I’m sure that they still are in whatever afterlife they have found themselves in.”

“Perhaps...” I said, unsure. “Or they are rolling in their graves seeing what I do with my twin.”

“I’m sure they would still love you despite that,” Amore said, placing a hoof gently over mine. “Parents are a lot more understanding than one might think.”

“If you say so...”

Our conversation petered out after that and we got ourselves ready to make the journey towards the Crystalline Mountain. The guards wanted to go in first and make sure that the dragon wasn’t there to ambush us, but I told them that we could handle ourselves if that were to happen. They were merely there for backup should we fail.

As we flew up towards where we saw the opening in the rocky terrain, we could already see a few hooves in. No sign of a ferocious dragon lying in wait, thankfully. I don’t think I really wanted to be here, but my duty demanded of me to stay strong for my sisters.

I needed a confidence boost if this was already wreaking havoc on my nerves. I don’t think I have ever been so antsy while I was Rudolph back on Earth, so what changed? Wasn’t I a grown-up mare already? It certainly didn’t feel like I behaved like that at times. I was more of a scared little child, afraid of her own shadow.

Then again, I had a different body compared to the one I had as a human. Celestia certainly was just as confident as she was on Earth, so there must be a notable difference between my old body and my current one. The difference in hormones has most likely caused me to behave a lot more... cautiously? Reserved? Angsty and afraid? It was hard to tell.

Now that I think about it, I don’t think it was confidence that I lacked, but more of my true self shining through. It just wasn’t in my nature to be as brave as my wife (or my little sister). I would still stand by their side, I wasn’t a complete coward. I am still as protective as ever (way more than what I was like as a human), so I think it is okay for me if I wasn't as assertive ‘most’ of the time. If I can screw up enough confidence when it really matters, everything is going to be just fine, right?

Alright, Summer... time to do this. There's no need to worry, everything is going smoothly so far.

Luna pointed out that the Crystal Heart was just 'conveniently' discarded on the ground right there within the entrance to the cave as we came in for a landing. Either this was an elaborate trap set out for somepony foolish enough to try and steal from the dragon’s hoard, or the dragon just... dumped it like a useless trinket.

Both of these options were bothering me a great deal. If the dragon wanted to spring a trap on us, then we would show him why that wasn’t a good idea (or Tia would, I don't want to fight against a big-ass dragon). And if the dragon treated the Crystal Heart as a mere toy, I would give him a few choice words about endangering the lives of my cute crystal pony friends (that much I could do without locking up in fear... I hope).

“Let me do the talking,” Celestia said, her voice offering no room for argument, and without even giving us time to respond, she went up to the entrance, calling for an audience with the dragon. I wanted to tell her to shut the hell up before she actually managed to rouse the dragon from its slumber, as did Luna because the Crystal Heart was right there, but Tia was of the opinion that asking first was the 'polite' thing to do (and she also wanted to make sure there would be no repeat performance by the dragon, so there was that).

I wanted to groan at her reasoning. Now of all times did she want to be the polite one? Normally it was I that had to convince them of that, and I definitively didn’t want to have a talk with a massive, fire-breathing dragon. One that has incredibly sharp teeth and a maw big enough that could swallow us whole.

Now that I think about it, maybe it was this world that was making me this anxious? I mean, with monsters like dragons and star beasts, who wouldn’t be afraid to be here?

“Who dares enter my lair?” a deep voice boomed and had I blinked, I would have missed the surprisingly swift entrance of the massive beast with sky-blue scales. His eyes glared balefully down at my twin as she stood calmly before him. I’m surprised neither of us had fainted from his appearance (his teeth looked extraordinarily ferocious) or that Tia was putting on such a serene façade.

My wife has a death wish, doesn't she? By the twin suns, we're so screwed...

“We have come here to talk about an artifact you have taken from the nearby city. My name is Celestia Sol and these are my sisters, Summer Sol, and Luna Nocturnis,” she said, pointing us out to him. “We are the Princesses of Equestria and are here on behalf of the Crystal Empire, from which you have stolen the only defense it has, the Crystal Heart.”

The massive being before us turned to look at the discarded crystal in the shape of a heart, picking it up between his claws. “You mean this thing here?”

“Yes,” Tia nodded with a smile, oblivious to the nasty look the dragon gave her. “If you could return it to us, we would be on our way and you can have your peace back.”

“Hmm...” the dragon rumbled. “I have to give it to you namby-pamby princesses, you have a lot of nerve demanding something from a dragon. Something that was originally stolen from me by these crystal ponies.”

I wilted slightly at that, knowing that he was technically telling us the truth. I mean... I wouldn’t call it stealing, per se. As far as I was aware, the crystal ponies had found the heart while mining in the mountains, and judging by how this dragon took care of his hoard? I wasn’t sure if the Crystal Heart had been in his possession in the first place and he just claimed it because it came from his so-called ‘territory’. Then again, what need did he have for it, anyway? He could be so kind as to give it to us if it meant lives would be saved by it.

“Are these ponies behind you here to battle me if I say no?” the dragon chuckled, a menacing grin spreading on his face as he started to toss the Crystal Heart tauntingly up with his claws. I cringed as he almost let it fall to the ground and make it shatter in the process, giving us a mockingly apologetic gaze, not at all sorry for it. “It’s pathetic, really. Come back with more if you are serious about this, pony.”

My eye twitched a bit at the way he pronounced the word 'pony' as if we were lesser creatures. Lulu looked like she was ready to draw her sword and I had to admit that I was tempted to do so, too.

Fighting against a dragon was still scary, but all I saw right then and there was a bully. Size and strength don't automatically make you better. It only made you a coward and a petty asshole.

“I guess I could give it to you... it looks tacky, anyway. And I suppose I have enough treasures, already,” he said. Then he grinned cruelly at us again. “That is if I wanted to, pony. I don’t care what happens to those crystal ponies of yours, they are of no concern to me.”

“So, I guess asking politely won’t be enough?” I spoke up, glaring up at him for his inconsiderate comment.

“Pfft,” he laughed, wiping a tear away from his eye. “Dragons don’t share, pony. And certainly not to some little bitch of a princess thinking they can get whatever they want.”

“How dare thou!” Celestia shouted angrily, stomping a hoof down as she resorted to what we had dubbed the 'Royal Canterlot Voice'. It was Luna’s idea, she had been practicing with it a lot lately in the valley on Mount Canterhorn (much to the chagrin of the ponies living in the city of Canterlot). I felt my nethers heat up slightly as she used the archaic tongue.

That was a lesson that I hadn’t ever seen a particular need for, but Starswirl insisted that we should learn how to properly address the nobles and peasants and King Bullion agreed with him on that. That didn’t mean that I used it all that much, though. Perhaps when some of the ponies got a bit too rowdy while in court, but that was all.

Celestia mainly used it in her court because she found it sexy and I had to agree with her on that. It truly was breathtaking watching her lay into the dragon with such a deafening voice. There was also a seriously furious scowl on her face, too.

“Thou art a blight upon this land, endangering innocent lives for thy mere amusement! We shall not stand for thine asinine behavior like this, we demand of thee to return to us what is not thine to hold onto! The ponies of this land are under our protection and we will see them safe! It matters not that the Crystal Heart had once been in thy ‘possession’, thou dost not need it!”

The dragon didn’t seem all that impressed. Surprised, sure. But impressed? Not so much. As Tia finished her speech, I saw the dragon take in a massive breath. And then, my ears felt like they would never stop ringing from the roar that he let out directly in her face, the force knocking her off her hooves.

After he dared to do that, I saw red. He did not just do that. Not while I was here and not to my wife. The blue flames of my magefire turned into a yellowish red as they raged around me, charring the ground I walked on as my temper flared completely out of control and the only thing on my mind was retribution. The dirty, despicable thing calling itself a dragon was but a lowly iguana with no sense of respect and compassion. He would pay for hurting my wife...

Nothing hurts my wife. Nothing.

The moment following that, I was in his face, my active stare paralyzing him in fear. I snorted out a puff of flames as I stalked closer to him as he took a step back with each I made forward.

“Apologize,” I growled out with the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Right. This. Instant.”

“I’m sorry! Take it! Just leave me alone!” he cried out, tears streaming down his face. “I promise I won’t steal it again, you can have it!”

“Good,” I snarled. “If I hear from you again, I won’t be so kind. Do you understand me?”

“Yes!” he whimpered, scampering back into his cave with his tail tucked in between his legs. Celestia came up beside me, putting a calming hoof on my side. I let out a shuddering breath as I felt the flames disappear and I shook like a leaf from having had to be so mean that I managed to scare myself.

“Let’s go back to Amore,” my sister said while nuzzling my cheek comfortingly. I gave her a nod, still terrified of what I just did, and levitated the Crystal Heart into her saddlebags. I just wanted to forget this day ever happened. Luna looked at me in concern, so I gave her a small shaky smile with a shake of my head, unable to trust my voice right now.

Fuck... I was this close to ripping his throat out and I felt scared that I thought he deserved it. What’s wrong with me? This... this can’t possibly be simple overprotectiveness on my part, can it? These thoughts weren’t like me... they weren’t what I strived to be...

The flight back was a fast one, mainly because we could just glide on the winds and they took us where we wanted to go. Princess Amore was relieved to see us return, all of us alive and (relatively) well. She could tell that we had gone through a tough emotional ordeal, though.

As we gave her the Crystal Heart, her magic seemed to be rejuvenated by its mere presence. She had focused all her positive emotions on the spell to cast the weather barrier, and, as if a miracle just happened, the whole city lit up with a mystic light. The light traveled back up into the Crystal Heart and then it shot out through the spire in a beautiful display of an aurora borealis.

It was like a switch had been turned. The snow around the city disappeared and a warm breeze caressed my muzzle as the temperature returned to a spring-like state. The power from the artifact floating serenely under the castle turned the fur and mane of me and my sisters into a sparkling resemblance to the naturally born crystal ponies.

That managed to cheer my mood up like nothing else could while I giddily skipped around, trying to look at every part of my body in this facsimile of the native ponies. Amore giggled at my childish behavior as Tia and Lulu rolled their eyes with playful smiles on their muzzles.

“Hmm?” Princess Amore let out a hum as one of her guards whispered something to her. She raised a brow intrigued and then turned back towards us. “How would you like to be the guests of honor at a faire here in the Empire?”

“A faire?” Luna asked, a large smile spreading on her face.

“Yes, I guess we could even make it a yearly event. A Crystal Faire, if you will,” Amore told her. “My ponies would very much like to invite you to celebrate with us, you have just returned the Crystal Heart, after all. A fitting tribute to the Heroes of the Crystal Empire.”

“We would be delighted to attend,” Celestia said. Luna and I were giddily skipping ahead as we saw ponies set up all manners of attractions.

Celestia and I tried out some of the interesting crystal food items they had to offer, they had a distinctly cool and fresh flavor to them. Especially the berries, they just seemed to melt on the tongue with an incredibly fruity taste.

My twin and I watched our little sister win the main prize in the ring toss game on the first try, not even using her magic to cheat her way through the game. I shook my head as she gave me the life-sized plushie of Princess Amore she won and giggled as my wife gave it a baleful stare in jealousy while Luna smiled happily as I hugged her in appreciation for the plushie.

Princess Amore looked on in amusement as I levitated it after me everywhere we went. Luna and I tried to beat each other in every game that the crystal ponies offered us to play, and while we did that, Celestia continued to grumble about us ‘wasting’ our time with this competition. I think my wife was just pouty because she wasn’t that good with most of them.

And she was grumpy because of the plushie, but I couldn’t bring myself to care~. I was just too happy to indulge in my obsession with games, even if they weren’t of the virtual kind.

While the majority of the stalls with their games didn't interest my wife, there was something that was right up her alley. Celestia and Luna had a great time facing off at the jousting tournament the crystal ponies set up in a large arena with a ton of spectating ponies cheering for both of them.

Luna was a bit sour as Tia beat her in the final round, which wasn’t really too surprising to me. It was a great duel, though. Celestia just had the superior strength over her, so I told her to not feel bad about it. I would have lost, too.

Around the time evening rolled around, we participated in the largest feast I had ever seen and some of the ponies in the crowd even decided to have a little singing contest. Ponies seemed to be very good with their singing voices, in general. It was a nice thing to round out the day, listening to their heavenly voices. Amore was kind enough to let us stay for another night at her palace before we needed to travel back to Equestria.

This time it was Tia that snuck her way into my room during the night and I was very happy to cuddle with her. She was extra cuddly with me even, most likely because of the massive plushie sitting in a chair in the corner of the room. It was adorable how jealous she could get over me.

The cuddles were nice and all, but I enjoyed the small nibbling on my ear even more, one of her hooves slowly found its way between my legs. I was about to tell her to stop, unsure how thick the walls were with Luna sleeping in the room next to ours, but my wife kept my muzzle closed with the other hoof while I felt her lips pull into a smirk.

I let out a muffled moan as she teasingly flicked my nub, her hoof already soaked with my juices. My tail twitched up against her and I felt it get soggy from her own fluids.

"Don't make a noise," she told me hushedly, letting go of my ear so that she could look down into my pleading eyes. "There's a guard standing right outside our door at my request."

At her request? Why would Tia do something like that and then start rubbing my quickly excited vulva with her hoof..? Before I could reach up to the leg holding my mouth shut, Tia rubbed her rear against my tailbone while increasing the pressure of her hoof on my marehood.

A loud moan escaped my throat and my heart raced in a fearful beat, afraid the guard would come in to check on us. Tia continued on undisturbed, though. She even grinned at me and I realized what she was doing.

My sister is evil. Pure evil and nothing less. A temptress that got off of the idea of being caught in the act and I... I felt myself get even wetter at the danger of being found out, as well.

"Mhh, Summy~," Tia whispered with a low moan, riding my tail and smearing her mare juices all over my painfully hard appendage. My butt was drenched in her fluids and it made my pussy tingle even more with excitement and arousal.

My sister continued to rub and massage my needy sex in a way she knew would get me to be more vocal with her. At the same time, though, she kept me from reaching my climax, always letting it peter out in order to continue teasing me further. Multiple times, I heard somepony mutter outside our door, holding a conversation with the guard standing in front of Luna's door. And with each time, I feared they would notice the quiet squelching sound coming from me as Tia abused my pussy to her heart's content. Not only that but also all the naughty words she kept whispering into my ear as she told me exactly what she was going to do with me.

Naturally, my wife cheated her pretty flanks off and used her magic to coax out a muffled scream from me as she pulled and twisted my throbbing clitoris. I tried my best, but soon enough I lost all my will to fight back as the continuous ebb and flow of pleasure drowned out all my thoughts of being quiet. When I started to moan into her hoof in earnest, Tia pressed her hoof tighter against my muzzle to keep the sounds from coming out even louder.

My sister was the first to orgasm as she bucked her rear against my tail and she kept herself quiet by biting down on my ear. The small bit of pain made me beg and whine for her to finish me off as well, but she remained stubborn.

Celestia pulled out what appeared to be a dildo at first glance before I noticed the color and texture of it within her magic and knew it to be a cucumber. She must have pilfered it from the kitchen when nopony noticed and I shook my head at her. I would start to scream my lungs out if she also started to stimulate my slick tunnel with the green fruit.

The cucumber slowly floated closer and closer to my marehood as my sister trailed it sensually over my fur and I was almost reduced to tears as she played around with it instead of using it. I desperately wanted her to stick it into my eager love canal, but she had other plans for me in mind.

"Oh, Summer, Summer, Summer..." she whispered while she teased the sensitive flesh of my inner thigh with the cucumber before she let out a chuckle as I gave a buck in the hopes of reaching it with my needy vagina, my mind hazy with lust. "So desperate..."

"Mmph..!" I complained, feeling like I was losing my mind as she kept me from my orgasm. Not that that changed her mind in any way. Oh, no… she took delight in my suffering, turning me on even more.

Despite my misgivings, I can't deny how effective her teasing methods were. Frustration only led to more pleasure in the long run. It was a wicked feeling, being denied release for so long.

I felt my sister's breath on the back of my neck as she breathed in deeply from the scent of sweat and sex clinging onto me. A degenerate shudder went through her and she got a bit rough with me as she pulled my head back a bit forcefully. "You want me to fuck you, don't you? You want them to hear you and think you are a whore getting fucked by a plant. You want them to see you as I have my way with you. Nod if I am right."

I hesitated and let out another muffled complaint, hoping beyond hope she wouldn't do what I thought she was about to do. My breathing was coming out in hitched pants, both from my panic and my arousal as she was right with her words.

It was a thrill to be dominated by her so thoroughly, I was unable to resist her. And yet, my sister stopped what she was doing and snuggled herself against my back, letting out a yawn. "I guess it's too bad you don't want it. Goodnight, sister~."

"What..?" I mumbled, squirming in her tight embrace, confused. "But… I…"

Tia let out a fake snore and I whimpered, bumping my rear against her insistently. She merely shifted slightly against me to keep me from using my tail on her. She didn't even let me use my magic to snatch away the cucumber or masturbate, disrupting my efforts by blocking my magic with hers.

With no other option left, I tried rubbing my legs together in the hopes that the movement would stimulate my marehood enough to edge out my orgasm.

Celestia let out a 'tsk' and held my hindlegs still as well. "I thought you didn't want to cum, Summer," she whispered, her voice laced with amusement. "Is my sister being dishonest with me? How shall I trust you ever again?"

"Please, Tia…" I begged her, trying to keep the tears at bay. I couldn't keep on going for much longer at this rate, I was this close to turning my frustration into anger and letting her feel it.

Tia noticed how my mood was shifting and hummed consolingly. "Do you want them to hear you, then?"

"...no?" I answered.

"You don't sound so sure of yourself," she pointed out and I frowned.

"Tia…" I warned her. "You know they can't hear us or everypony will know."

"I know," she told me, kissing my neck despite that. Her hooves wandered over to my wing joints and I bit my lip, screwing my eyes shut as a bolt of pleasure shot through me.

"Tia…"

"Hm?" she hummed, stroking my feathers as I shivered and twitched, muffling my noises with a pillow. "I can do this all night long, Summer. Tell me what it is you want."

"I want to cum," I said, admitting it to her. Her ministrations slowed down for a moment before they resumed at their previous pace.

"And..?" she prodded me, nibbling and kissing my neck further down.

"I…"

"Are you ready to admit that the thought excites you?" Celestia asked me, delighted at my misfortune. "Or will you deny being turned on by a cucumber fucking you senseless for all to hear?"

I bit my lip, shrinking in on myself. "..." I stayed silent, too afraid to say anything. If I did, I feared I would give in to her demands and do something I wouldn’t be comfortable with.

My sister chuckled to herself. "I'll turn you into an exhibitionist, just you wait and see," my sister whispered, a smirk evident in her voice. "You will scream my name and cum at the thought of being seen by a stranger, caught in the act…"

Before I could protest, I felt the pointy tip of the phallic-shaped plant thrust into me. My pillow was barely enough to contain my moan and I swear my heart couldn't decide whether to beat double-time in pure bliss or stop outright in nothing but fear.

One of her hooves went back to massaging my entrance, and this time, Tia didn't stop until I was thrusting myself against her. Of course, she had no mercy as she fucked me relentlessly without giving me time to catch my breath. It was no wonder then that I was unable to keep myself quiet even with the pillow shoved into my face.

"Tia~a! Ahn~! P-please! Ngh! Don't..!" I cried out, praying to whatever deity would listen to me that she would go slower and faster on me at the same time. My insides were quivering with anxiety and the urge to finally reach my climax, uncaring of the consequences.

"You like that, don't you?" she whispered hotly into my ear as she shoved the abused cucumber into me hard and my eyes bugged out, a silent scream frozen on my face. "You're my princess to fuck. Whenever I want, wherever I want. Including a stranger's home, do you hear me? Amore could only dream about having what we have with each other. I won’t let anypony else molest you without my say-so."

Before I could even say something about how she was wrong to be jealous of Amore, my sister thrust the pale imitation of a dick once more into my abused pussy and I saw stars enter my vision. If she did this one more time, the guards would for sure notice us doing it.

The cucumber rammed one last time into me and I succumbed to a veritable tsunami of pleasure, my walls gripping the poor plant with a vice-like grip as I shuddered and spasmed from my orgasm. When it was over, I expected to see a stranger looking in on us with a disgusted face, but none of that happened. The room was still bathed in darkness, the only sources of light being the moonlight through the window, the light spilling in from the hallway through the small gap below the door, and Tia's magic as she lazily pushed the abused cucumber in and out of my pussy.

"You didn't think I would actually let them hear you, did you?" Celestia asked me and I blinked, confused. "All this time, I've been using a spell to keep the sounds we make contained to this room, Summer. I'm not an idiot."

"But…" I mumbled, feeling thoroughly lost for words. And slightly disappointed, though I would never admit that. My sister really is evil, isn't she? Playing around with me like that…

Celestia leaned in to kiss me on my cheek with a smirk. "Aww, are you disappointed?" she hummed, a seductive purr in her voice. "You did like the thought of being exposed as a degenerate, submissive siscon~. I'm so proud of you."

"You're such a meanie," I huffed, pouting. "Not only did you fuck me with a cucumber of all things, but you also made me think I was going to ruin everything by being too loud, you ass."

"And yet, you begged me for it~," she pointed out. "You could have just cast the spell on me."

I snorted. "And risk both of us being loud enough for the whole Empire to hear? Not to mention, everypony finding out that you sometimes have a dick?"

"I'm sure you could come up with a counterspell," Tia shrugged. "It's not like we couldn't figure something out on the fly, you know? I'm an expert mage assassin princess, after all."

"You're silly, that's what you are," I giggled before conceding the point to her. There was no point in fighting against it when she was already convinced of being right. "It was mind-blowing, though. That much is true, I can't deny that."

"See?" she smirked. "I'm always right, after all."

I snorted with a smile before I stuck my tongue out at her, feeling mischievous. "And insufferable," I said, poking fun at her. It's not like she didn't deserve it. Stupid sexy sister and her crazy schemes in bed. Arousing schemes but crazy ones, nonetheless.

"Hush, you," Tia pouted. "I'll make it up to you, okay? How does a massage and preening sound?"

"Maybe just the preening?" I proposed, yawning. "I'm kinda really tired from all of this. I don't know where you get all that energy from…"

"A healthy diet, of course," she said and casually bit off a piece from the cucumber she had been using on me. I sighed, not even in the mood to say anything about her pervertedness.

She won't ever change, will she? I can't help but love her even more for it (even though I felt slightly disgusted she would eat that with a straight face).

Tia slowed in her chewing as I shot her a look before she put the cucumber away. She shifted slightly around on the bed to better face me and told me to relax. As she started to preen my wings, I closed my eyes and simply enjoyed the sensation of my sister taking care of me. Slowly, I drifted off into a dreamless slumber, happy and content.

I dearly hope she won't continue to play these mind games with me, they were honestly exhausting. As much as this had turned me on, my poor heart couldn't take this kind of emotional rollercoaster on a daily basis. Not to mention, it was kinda manipulative (and mean) of her to do this to me. Nothing I couldn't forgive with a nice preening and breakfast in bed, though.

That's what she brought to me the next morning, feeling like I didn't need to be roused from my 'beauty sleep'. She made me breakfast without even telling me what she was up to, much to my surprise.

Normally, she didn’t do this all that often (or at all ever since the castle staff took over most of these things for us). Usually, it was me who brought her a tray of food to our bed while we were on Earth. It was quite nice being on the receiving end of such a thoughtful gesture, every once in a while.

I enjoyed the variety of food items that we had gotten to sample yesterday at the faire and I definitely wanted to set up a trade deal to get more of the crystal berries. I couldn’t live without them anymore, they were just so... yummy. The crystal berries weren’t the only thing that was yummy, though~... Celestia was really adorable feeding them to me with her levitation as we shared a few kisses here and there. Small ones, but ones filled with love. Sometimes those were the best ones, I thought while happily humming, my mood significantly improved from the 'cucumber incident' of last night.

Seeing that my twin had the completely wrong idea about Amore, I told her about the things I had discussed with her the day before. Tia was relieved to hear that the Princess of the Crystal Empire wouldn’t go around spreading our secret (oh, the irony, she was such a hypocrite), and even surprised when she heard me retell what Amore had to say about the spell I had invented.

Once we were finished with our breakfast, we met Luna and our guards in the throne room of the Crystal Palace. Amore was giving out her thanks to us again, giving each one of us a gift in the form of a small, delicate crystal flower (a rose, to be exact).

They had a small glow coming from within their blossom and smelled like a rose would have. It reminded me of my (old) mother and my daughter and I would forever treasure this gift with all the reverence it deserved.

Luna had a noticeable blush on her face as she accepted hers and I couldn't help but find it cute. Amore was a bit too old for her in my opinion, but a small crush like this should be fine, right? My little sister is a grown-up mare now, I shouldn't be surprised she started to get these kinds of feelings for other ponies now. It was her decision whom she fell in love with, I wouldn't dare to come in between her happiness (as long as I knew they would treat her right, that is…).

Celestia didn't seem to be very pleased with how Amore gave our little sister such a beautiful gift, though. My sister could be a bit too overprotective at times, I guess. As long as Tia and Lulu didn't start fighting with each other over whom she could and couldn't date, I wouldn't get myself involved in this. I only hope my little sister could live with the rejection when she inevitably asks Amore if they could be more with each other.

Before we were about to leave, I asked Princess Amore about the trade deal and she assured me that she would have a draft ready by the time of my next visit. She saw us off as we began the journey back home with a wave, one we returned until we were out of sight from her.

The trip back was just as uneventful as the one to the Crystal Empire. We didn’t stop for much aside from giving our wings a pause every few hours or so to relax. The guards took the pace stoically and without complaint (even their squires). It's not like I have ever seen them make a different expression, anyway. At least not while they were on duty. I think.

They might have snickered during one or two pranks from Luna, now that I thought about it. There was no way to tell if there were some of the ones here with us that didn’t have sticks shoved up their butts since they all looked the same under the enchanted armor, but Lulu made it into a game to guess their name, anyway. It was kinda hilarious to hear her come up with one ridiculous name after another, her sarcasm coming out in full force.

So, now we were in the company of Mister Frog Wart, Sir Shiny Teeth, the gallant hero Dragon Bait, the great Cup Bard, and Tiny Squire the squire. I'm sure she would find even more humiliating names for the rest of our retinue given time, but I put a stop to it once we were close enough to the Everfree Forest. It wouldn't do to be distracted, even on the relatively safe road to our castle.

I was glad to finally be back in my own bed once we arrived home (after I took a well-deserved bath, that is). Celestia did as she promised she would by sharing a bed with me again despite the risk of Luna finding out we were doing so. It was nice having my twin be at my side during the nights, gently nibbling on my ears and giving them loving licks (I was just glad she was keeping it to that, not risking anything more frisky in case somepony does decide to 'wake us up' with the Royal Canterlot Voice). The small reminder that my wife was sleeping next to me considerably improved my mood over the following days.

Starswirl was gone a lot over those days, traveling to who knows where. Tia and I had a few talks here and there with him while he practiced his time travel spell and we secretly planted the idea of other worlds into his mind as a ploy for him to help us find one thing in particular.

We desperately wanted to see how our daughters were doing, back on Earth. Starswirl, while we never mentioned the existence of other worlds directly to him, was intrigued with the idea of exploring the multiverse. He was already thinking of possible ways to create a device that would allow us to do just that. Travel to other realities. He had a few ideas on how he could ensure he would always find his way back to our Equestria with so-called 'dimensional anchors'. I was relieved he was thinking about things even Tia and I had (admittedly) overseen.

The multiverse was a vast place and it wouldn’t do to get lost in it, after all.

When we weren’t bugging Starswirl with complex magical theories about moving through the Void in Between, we were busy dealing with a few ponies that thought the idea of trying to tame one of the magical beasts within the Everfree as their pet was somehow a good idea.

To make matters worse, the animal they wanted to tame was a cragadile, a type of crocodile that had rocks as part of its thick hide. It is also an extremely territorial and hostile creature at the best of times. I told them quite thoroughly that I wouldn’t be using my gift to help them with their absurd goal and I expressly forbade them from even trying. Cragadiles were extremely temperamental and even I had trouble communicating with them.

They didn’t even tell us why they wanted to tame one in the first place. I could make a fairly accurate guess, though, and it made me very wary of their little group. Cragadiles were highly magical creatures, partially animal and partially elemental. There were a few rituals that I knew of that used reagents from such beings and I wasn’t inclined to let them hurt an innocent animal just so they could get more easily at those.

Amore and I at least had a nice chat over tea a few days after I was finished dealing with those… ugh… idiots. Besides complaining about how stupid some of our ponies could get, I told her a heavily censored version of the dream I had of ‘Celestia’ and my subsequent confused feelings for my sister. She listened patiently as I recounted the forbidden love story between my twin and me, not judging me for anything that I told her.

I didn’t tell her anything about Earth obviously, as that would have just made her even more confused (not to mention, the change in species and all that entailed). Instead, I told her what had happened after I teleported out on my twin as I went into the middle of the forest. She was a very understanding pony as I told her what I had to struggle with as I came to grips with my feelings for Celestia.

Then again, she raised her eyebrow in disbelief at how Tia just seemingly accepted my incestuous feelings for her because I left out the part about her being my reincarnated wife. Either way, I told her how my twin made me feel safe in her embrace and the thing about her playing constantly with my ears. She giggled in a sort of matronly way at that part, finding it quite cute that Tia had done this since I can remember (at least, in this world).

We also got the trade treaty done while we were at it. But there was one other thing that she wanted me to look into. Her guards had found an abandoned young colt of about twelve or thirteen years of age out in the cold and brought him back into the Crystal Empire. He was currently in the orphanage as nopony knew who his parents were and she asked me for my aid in finding little Sombra’s parents, just in case they were from Equestria.

I was feeling bad for the poor colt, so I readily agreed to do what I could once I returned back to continue my duties in Equestria. Sadly, besides his general description, there were no unique details that could be put on a flyer aside from that he wasn’t the normally brightly colored variant of ponies that I was used to. While it wasn’t unheard of, it was quite odd to have a grey coat of fur.

Back home, things were as smooth as ever. Luna tried to get out of her duties a few more times to instead do whatever else she wanted to do, but that was easily dealt with.

I bribed her with cookies, obviously. I had gotten quite good at making them if I do say so myself. Not anywhere near the level that Mom’s cookies had been, but mine were still extremely delicious. It helped that my human mother had also been a big enthusiast of all things cookies, so I already had a solid base to work on in my quest to perfect them. One day in the future they will be the most perfect... nay, the most divine cookies to have ever been baked! So says I, Mistress of Cuteness, Tickles, and Cookies!

Ahem! Celestia was more of a cake kinda gal while Luna was happy with anything as long as chocolate was involved. I swear, the castle staff was one step away from actually going through with Tia's fantasies and switching our diet to pastries and confections exclusively were it not for the only few sensible ones not falling for her promises to not overindulge in them.

At this rate, I fear my sister will get fat if she continues to eat so much cake. Well… I wasn’t entirely guilt-free of stuffing my face with sweets, to be honest. What can I say? I just loved the chocolate-covered crystal berries our kitchen staff could whip up. I really couldn’t get enough of those and I'm not afraid to admit that. The trade deal was, hooves down, the best thing that ever happened between the Crystal Empire and Equestria.

To think Amore only wanted a few plants of the non-crystal variety to 'liven up' the place… it boggles the mind. It was almost like she was giving us… I don't know… preferential treatment or something. Like an aunt spoiling their nieces with gifts. The thought kind of made me wish that were the case, she would be the greatest aunt a pony could wish for.

And just as we thought the world was finally peaceful enough after settling into a (more or less) daily routine, the universe decided to stick us the middle finger. Or would it be a middle primary feather? I wasn’t entirely sure if that could be done in the way I envisioned, although our wings were quite flexible. It gave me cramps trying to figure out how to do that, so I just stopped trying. It wasn’t that important, anyway. And quite unbecoming of a princess, for that matter.

So, as the world threw us our next curve ball, we were wondering what the ever flying penguin happened to the day cycle as the moon was still hanging up above in an inky black vastness of empty space.

Clover came to us in a panicked frenzy just as we were about to go out to investigate what must have happened to Starswirl and his merry band of unicorns.

“Starswirl collapsed after he tried to complete the ritual on his own,” Clover told us as we galloped after him. “The unicorns trying to help us had just run out of magic before they could finish helping Starswirl, so he decided to take matters into his own hooves.”

“Why would he do that?! Aren’t there any other unicorns available to help out?” Celestia asked him incredulously. “Couldn’t he have reached out to us? I mean he had been teaching us the spell, for pony’s sake!”

“I can’t tell you what he was thinking,” Clover answered, frowning darkly to himself. We had just left the forest behind us and hopefully, the rest of the way wouldn’t take us much longer, either. “He had been a bit more scatterbrained than he usually is as of late.”

“We might have had something to do with that,” I grimaced, thinking back on giving him the idea of a portal to other dimensions. “Does he still have his magic?”

“I’m not sure, his beard turned entirely white again and it is back to its original length. It's as if he aged rapidly right in front of our eyes,” Clover said, panting heavily. The poor stallion was entirely unused to galloping as fast as his hooves could take him. Celestia took the stallion in her magic as we took to the skies to speed things up a bit (and give him a much-needed breather). Time was of the essence, so Clover had to suck up his fear of heights as we thundered through the sky on our wings. “E-even then,"—he gulped a shaky breath down as he made the mistake of looking down, screwing his eyes shut as his tail tucked itself in between his legs fearfully—" ugh… d-don't l-look, Clover… don't look. Oh, boy…"—he took a moment to gather his bearings before continuing—" I fear he won’t be of any use for the ritual for the foreseeable future. He didn’t look that good as I left to come get you.”

“Perfect,” Celestia groused, grumbling to herself. “Why does he have to be like you, Summer? You and your bleeding hearts, damnit. Doing stupid things is a specialty of both of you.”

I didn’t bother to argue against that with her, seeing that she was somewhat right with that statement (even though I felt like she was exaggerating a little bit). I mean, I did do some... ahem, questionable… things every now and then to help a poor animal out. Besides, she probably didn’t mean it in a degrading way, our emotions were kinda running wild right now. She would never purposefully hurt me like that.

As we arrived in the city of Canterlot, I couldn't help but wince at what I saw. The state the city was in wasn’t entirely reassuring. Ponies were panicking left and right. Tia grimaced as we saw one stallion run headfirst into another pony in their panicked state and my sympathy went out to them, but we couldn’t stop right now to help them because there was something much more important that we had to take care of. The longer this continued on, the worse it would get.

“Let’s just get to Starswirl and see what he thinks we should do,” I told my wife, blasting the doors open to the building we were headed for. It was the same one we had first been brought to before we were crowned as Equestria's princesses. Can’t believe so much time has already passed between then and now… time really does pass by faster when you aren't paying attention to it.

“This way,” Clover said, scrambling through the hallways and up the stairs as fast as he could. He led us back up to the chamber where we had first witnessed the ritual, and there, on the ground, we saw a severely weakened Starswirl. He really did look as if he was back to his original age. Even his fur looked paler than it ever did, the gray fading to white.

“You stupid old geezer, what have you done to yourself?!” Celestia mumbled angrily as he tried to wave her away from worrying over him so much. It was nice to see her be so concerned for the old coot, considering how suspicious she had been of him at first.

Starswirl coughed, wheezing a bit as he tried to catch his breath. He wiped his muzzle with the back of his hoof, only for it to come back stained with blood. “There were no unicorns available, somepony had to do it,” he said, frowning as he used his cloak to clean his hoof. He almost seemed more annoyed with that than his sorry state of health, to be honest. He couldn't be that indifferent to what he did to himself, could he? This isn’t good at all...

“We were available, you idiot...” Luna said, looking sadly at him. “Why did you not come to us?”

“You’re more important where you are, but you’re welcome to try raising and lowering the moon and the suns,” he told us, a gleam in his cold eyes. “I have taught you as much as I could, I’m sure you can do what I have failed to do. You have my permission to…"—he coughed again, a pained grimace on his muzzle as he held his chest close to where his lungs were, groaning for a moment—”...just do it, will you? I'm not going to die this easily, but… I fear I might be long overdue for a break, don't you think? I can't keep doing this."

“But… what if the same thing happens to us? What if we lose our magic, huh?” Luna shot back, a frown directed at him. “What then?”

“Spoilers...” Starswirl said and let out a small chuckle like he just made the best joke in the entirety of history. That made him cough violently again, though.

“Just rest for now and take it easy, Starswirl. We will try, okay?” I said to him, stopping him from getting up on his hooves like the stubborn old stallion that he was. “Just... don’t be disappointed in us if we fail, too...”

“My dear Princess, I won’t ever be disappointed with you and your sisters,” he said, stopping his attempt to get back on his hooves at my insistence. “Remember what I taught you and everything will be just fine.”

“If you say so...” I said unsurely, rubbing my leg nervously. “This isn’t something you have seen in the future, is it?”

“No,” he chuckled. “This, what is happening right now, isn’t something I have seen before, Your Highness.”

“What is it that you aren't telling us?” Luna narrowed her eyes at him.

“Ah... yes, that...” he said with a cryptic smile. Although, before he could say anything further on the matter, his heavy eyelids drifted shut and he was fast asleep, just like that. For a moment, I considered waking him up to find out what he was about to say but decided ultimately against it. He needed his rest and I’m sure the healers will see to it that he recovers from his foolish attempt to do this on his own. Hopefully.

The old coot really has grown on me, I didn't want to imagine what it would be like without our mentor there to teach us magic and politics. With Mom and Dad gone, he was the closest thing we had to family. Him and Clover.

Tia cracked her neck next to me and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before extending her wings with a determined frown. “Alright, let’s do this and hope this doesn’t fry our magic,” she said, ready to fulfill the task Starswirl had passed onto us. “Are you two ready?”

Luna shook her head before sighing. “As much as we are going to be, I guess,” she answered and I nodded in confirmation. I can't say I felt entirely prepared for this, but it will have to do.

"Okay, then," Tia said as we got into place, standing across from each other. "Just like we practiced. Draw your mana inward and reach for the stars."

"Is this really the time to be cheesy about it?" I asked, getting her to snort and Luna to smile faintly.

"What?" my wife shrugged. "It's basically what we're doing, right? No more stalling, Summy. On the count of three…"

I wasn't stalling… at least not that much. I left my complaint unsaid and pulled as much mana as I could into my core, the arcane energy mixing with the fiery tempest contained within. I felt the heat rising in my chest, but I held on and waited for the signal from my sister. We had to get this right, the entire world depended on us.

Celestia counted down from three, and together, our horns lit up with massive amounts of magic. It was even more magic that was coursing through me now than the time I had the mana surge as a foal. As I called on the core of my magic to provide even more power for the spell, I felt the comparably 'tame' tempest within me heat up into a roaring inferno. The long-forgotten feeling of magma in my veins returned far stronger than ever before, surging through me for a moment, and then... everything was seemingly gone from my sight.

At first, I thought I finally managed to use so much magic that I burned my very existence out of reality, but that was thankfully not the case. I felt strange, though. My mana had suddenly flared much stronger than the surge I had as a filly, and this time, it didn’t feel like my blood vessels had been turned into magma. Instead, it felt more akin to a star exploding into existence within me.

It did feel warm, incredibly so, but more in the sense of a comforting warmth, not an agonizing heat. It almost felt like it was meant to be used like that. Like a comforting blanket, even. Previously, I only tapped into the surface of this raw and untamed power, hurting myself in the process. It was either all or nothing, no in-between. It wanted to be used as a whole, just like a sun burned in its entirety.

And, as my sight came back to me, I stared at what was in front of me with awe. Instead of the chamber my sisters and I had been in not a second ago, there was now a path of twinkling lights. All around me, I could see little bubbles floating around with images and scenes playing out within them as if they had been taken straight out of my mind. Each time I tried to reach out with a hoof in order to touch them, they began to float out of reach and away from the path I stood on.

Confused, I walked slowly along the small lights, not actually seeing or feeling a physical floor beneath my hooves. My mind tried to come up with theories about what this place could be that I had suddenly found myself in, but I only came up with blanks. This was unlike anything I had ever seen before in my life. The Tree of Harmony didn’t even compare to the beauty of this place and that was something I had thought to be impossible, honestly.

Starswirl never mentioned a place like this before and I doubted he actually knew anything about it.

A bubble with a scene from Earth floated past me, the last memory I could remember happening on my old planet. But this time, there was something different about it. Right in front of my past self was a floating ball of light, not unlike the ones I was now treading carefully upon.

“I don’t remember this...” I said with a baffled tone of voice. I’m pretty sure I would remember being killed by a friggin’ light of all things. One couldn’t possibly oversee such an obvious thing, floating directly in front of yourself. Either I was majorly blind to not notice such a thing or something fishy was going on.

“That’s because you had no connection to magic at the time,” a voice answered. Startled, I turned my head around to look at myself. Well, more like a past version of myself, as my male human form stood just a wings length away from me.

He looked exactly like I remember... well, myself to have looked. The cleanly shaven face showing just the slightest bit of irritation from the crappy razor I never bothered to replace, the black pants that showed the tiniest hint of wear and tear, the nerdy T-Shirt with a picture of Pac-Man chasing Inky, Blinky, Pinky, and Clyde on it, and the necklace around his neck with the depiction of a rosebud hanging off of it. His grey eyes stared into my pale magenta orbs with disinterest, slightly unnerving me by how... dead they looked.

“Who are you?” I asked, warily stepping away from them. “And where are we?”

“In the Hallway of Memories within the Domain of Harmony itself, the Realm of Ascension,” 'he' told me and as I looked up at him, I noticed that his eyes had the faintest hint of a glow to them. Was he even a 'he'? I'd hate to assume. “I am one of the keepers of this realm. I am Magic.”

“That’s not pretentious at all...” I mumbled and Magic-Rudolph let out a disinterested hum. “So, why am I here?”

“I brought you and your sisters here from Earth because you are needed,” he explained in a matter-of-fact tone and expected me to understand his vague declaration as if it was obvious. I had a feeling that this ‘Magic-Person’ had next to no actual social interaction for quite some time now.

“For what?” I asked with a raised brow. “And what do you mean, sisters? Is Tia somewhere around here in this place? Wait, wait, wait... hold on a moment! What do you mean from Earth?! Are you telling me Luna is also from Earth?”

“She is,” he said, giving me a look as if it was obvious. “One Rebecca Raven, if I’m not mistaken.”

“So she is the sister of my wife!” I muttered, stomping my hoof down on nothingness. “I was right about my gut feeling.”

“As you often are,” he answered with a slight shrug. “Both you and your twin are notorious for knowing these things, it seems.”

“Where are they?” I asked worriedly. “Are they okay?”

“Yes, but they are in a different hallway right now,” Magic-Rudolph stated. “I can be here and at their sides at the same time. Magic is everywhere in this place, so I see everything here.”

“So you’re basically like a god?”

“No.”

“What are you then?” I asked, confused.

“As I said, Magic,” he simply said, his expression never changing from a bored one. He began walking down the path without waiting for me and I decided to follow him, not having anything better to do than trying to figure out what the flying penguin was going on.

Was I dead, again? I didn’t feel like I was dead, so this must either be a really weird dream or I actually did manage to somehow find a way to get into this weird Harmony Realm thingy. Might as well just go along with it for now.

The pictures around us seemed endless and I even saw memories I had thought to have forgotten. Like my first time as a baby. Or that time I broke a bone from trying to climb a tree to save a little kitten while I was barely old enough to take care of myself for the first time without needing supervision (not like that backfired, I suppose).

Another bubble showed me the first time I met my wife and her sister, trying to get them to talk with me while Catherine was extremely skittish around me, holding onto the little form of Rebecca in her arms. One could hardly believe they were sisters at all, seeing that they looked so different from each other.

It always was strange to me, their stark contrast to each other. Cath had a slight tan that never seemed to disappear even in winter while Becky was almost pale to the degree that her skin appeared to be snow white. Even their hair colors differed so strongly, it was like night and day. Becky’s red eyes sought comfort in the deep blue ones of Catherine, shying away from mine whenever I looked at her, trying to hide behind her thick black locks of hair. Cath had been very protective of her sister and always kept herself between her sister and every other person that tried to get close to them.

It was honestly a miracle I managed to get them to talk with me, eventually. Heck, I remember one green-haired girl Cath had hospitalized after she had bullied them for being orphans. No one had tried to talk with them in a friendly manner in our school besides me and I never gave up on trying to become their friend. After I managed to get them to open up to me, we became the best of friends, almost inseparable even. And from there, everything else was history.

I smiled fondly as I saw the next memory floating by, seeing Cath start to be the awesome girl I knew her to be while I tried to keep up with her on the bicycle. She was, of course, showing off all the tricks she had learned on a bike, not that I ever dared to imitate her. I'd rather take the safe way around a flight of stairs, thank you very much.

The thrill of danger made her feel alive, and even when she hurt herself, she got back up and tried again until she could do it with her eyes closed. Same thing with everything, really. Even here in Equestria, now that she could fly with her own wings and use magic to spar with Luna. Or Rebecca, as I found out. That's going to be an awkward conversation, isn't it?

I could already feel the yelling match incoming from a mile away. It would bring up a lot of hurt feelings and possibly the same jealousy she held for my wife a lifetime ago. I just hope everything will turn out alright between all of us. Especially between her and Tia.

My wife could get along with her just fine. Things only ever really got dicey when I was involved and, well… my wife liked to brag with me in front of her.

It wasn't like she was doing it out of malicious intentions. Heck, she probably riled Becky up so much because she wanted her to have a crush on me, too. I was just the idiot stuck in the middle of it with no idea what to do. I couldn't make both of them happy and it caused more than one fight between them. Which in turn led to Rebecca ignoring both of us for a while until I could patch up the rift between them, only for it to inevitably happen again.

Catherine was just trying to… I don't know. I don't even have an idea of what she was trying to do with all that teasing, showing off in front of her sister like that.

Of course, she always found a way to be a pervert about things even as a child. I am a hundred percent certain she groped me on purpose when I did something wrong or hurt myself after some of the more riskier things she managed to convince me into doing with her. Not that I minded it that much, having a hot girl touch me everywhere. It was kind of awkward from time to time, though. Especially when her sister was there, getting jealous over it.

There's no way Lulu isn't going to be mad when she figures out Tia and I have been sharing a room for a completely different reason than she first assumed, huh? Not to mention, all of the accusations of us doing it with each other while in heat, leaving her completely alone to deal with it. And the numerous other accusations she could make of Tia hogging me all to herself and whatnot.

Ugh, I don't want to think about it. That's Future-Summer's problem.

“The reason I brought you here is because this world needs someone to uphold order,” Magic spoke up after a few minutes of silence as we traveled along the pathway to who knows where. “Forces are starting to move that seek the destruction of this and I plugged you from your world for that purpose. You and your sisters were compatible.”

“Compatible? What does that even mean?”

“Compatible.”

“Fine, don’t tell me...” I grumbled, annoyed. He returned his gaze forward as we strolled through this place. Leave me to stew in my own thoughts, why don't you? Ass.

I looked to the nearest bubble to distract myself from the inevitable chaos the conversation with my sisters will bring, only to immediately look away as I felt heat rushing to my face and… uh… 'other' regions. My muzzle turned a bright red as I heard the sounds of my first estrus lingering behind us. At least Mr. Magic-Ass didn't seem to pay it any heed. Small miracles, that. “Uhm. W-where are we going?”

“To your Destiny.”

“Like... what? I don’t understand,” I said looking at him. He merely looked at me from the corner of his eyes, not elaborating. I was starting to get the feeling that I wouldn’t get any concrete answers about anything from him. Magic-Me was even more cryptic than Starswirl, a thing I previously thought to not be possible. At all.

“Do not be afraid of what happens next. Or be afraid, I don’t really care,” he suddenly said and I turned to give him a questioning stare, only for me to realize he was gone.

“Great...” I muttered, trying to look at where it was that he had led me to. Around me was what seemed to appear like a stream of golden light not unlike my own magic.

Slowly, I saw it begin to reach out a few tendrils toward me. I stepped back in surprise, trying to find a way out of here before it could do anything to me. Whatever this was and what this 'Magic' entity said, I didn’t trust it.

As if reacting to my distress, the tendrils quickly struck out at me, ensnaring me within them and I let out a scream. They seemed to flow into me everywhere they touched me and my vision faded away from the tendrils to... somewhere else.

In every direction I looked towards, this strange new place I found myself in, I could only see a desolate rock empty of all life. It looked... almost scorched? Burnt in some sort of way, but I couldn’t put my hoof on how something like that could have happened. Or what could burn an entire planet to such a degree (I’m pretty sure this was the planet and not the moon)...

And whatever this place was, it only invoked a feeling of horror and... desire? My feelings felt jumbled and murky, so I couldn’t tell for certain. It couldn’t be desire, it made no sense to me. Whyever would I feel the desire to live in a desolate wasteland of all places?

I only got a short glimpse of this... destroyed world before the scenery changed once more to an out-of-body view of the sun I was named after.

Feeling a bit calmer from its mere presence alone, I felt its desire to move around the orbit of our planet, weirdly enough. Not knowing what to do I sort of tried to reach out to it.

The feeling of warmth, not unlike the roaring inferno I had felt as I had my magic flare just moments before I ended up in this weird plane of existence, spread through me again and this time it felt like I didn’t want it to ever go away. It felt like a part of me that, if it were to be gone now, would make me incredibly sad. It was something that I couldn’t live without anymore.

This feeling... it was like a gentle caress of my mother to me, a feeling I wished wouldn’t ever leave me. It was like the sun before me was somehow communicating with me in a way that I was comfortable with.

And it responded to what I tried to do as it slowly began to move. I felt an exorbitant amount of happiness and love emanating from the burning ball in front of me, so much of it even that I was suddenly overwhelmed by the foreign emotions. Concern flooded me afterward, then an apologetic feeling, and then peace. It was a jarring experience.

Not only was the sun a magical one, but it was also somewhat semi-aware as it seemed. Another feeling entered me, one of annoyance and then a series of other feelings I was too confused to interpret correctly.

I think it was mad at me for the thing I had just thought about, and if that’s the case, I’m sorry? It wasn’t meant in a degrading way if it is any consolation.

The sun responded with indifference.

Wow, talk about being petulant. I’m sorry, okay? I really didn’t mean it like that and if you want me to, I’ll call you a self-aware sun? A very intelligent one?

The sun sent me back feelings of happiness, so I felt glad that we were on the same page again.

After I finished setting it on its course, I found myself back in my own body. The transition from out-of-body to back in it was a little bit confusing, but I managed to not lose my bearings... too much. I mean, my body felt slightly weird, so there was that...

A body that wasn’t quite like I remembered it had been like. There was something… different… about me now. Something that was slightly ticklish, if anything.

“Sister, why is your hair floating?” the voice of my twin reached me and I turned my head, seeing Celestia there. She looked different now. “And why is it red?”

I blinked, craning my neck around to check. And, like she had pointed out, my mane and tail were a deep red now, moving sort of like it was underwater and in a slight breeze at the same time. “I could ask you the same thing,” I answered back, turning around to stare at her multi-colored hair. “It’s light blue, green, pink, and a... deeper blue? Almost a blue-ish purple, I think.”

“It is?” Tia asked as she turned her own head around to look at the part that was flowing back from her in an 'ethereal' wind. “Hey, Summer? Have you had a... 'weird' conversation with your past self claiming to be Magic itself?”

“Yeah...” I whispered back, noticing what looked like a solar flare moving through my hair, causing a small rippling effect in my mane as it moved in the 'not wind'. That’s the best description I could come up with, anyway.

Our conversation was cut short by the bellowing roar of Luna as she saw us and I turned my head to see the furious gaze of my little reincarnated sister that was the sister of my sister in another life. Really smooth explanation there, Summer. Really smooth.

“I can’t believe you wouldn’t tell me that you were Catherine! Did you think I loved you and Rudolph so little?!” Luna snarled. “I had to bury your bodies, you assholes!”

“You did?” I asked, wincing. “I... oh god, Luna, I’m so sorry...”

“You better be!” she growled, poking a now midnight blue hoof angrily at me. “You have a lot of explaining to do. And you! You and sister? Seriously?!”

“What? She is my wife,” Celestia shrugged. “What should I have done in your opinion, huh? Break up with her?”

Luna snorted, one of her eyelids twitching. “And here I thought you would have asked me to join your little herd,” Luna said, sarcasm dripping heavily from her voice as she rolled her eyes. “Or are you not as sexually deprived anymore?”

“Do you want to?”

“Wait, what?! Are you out of your mind?!” Luna shouted, rearing up in surprise. “You can’t be serious. You are a lunatic, that's what you are. How Summer ever loved you instead of me is beyond me.”

Tia shrugged. "I asked her first."

"Because you knew I wrote her a love letter, you bitch!" she snarled back. "You're a selfish narcissist! You never deserved her! I don’t even know why she’s giving you the time of day!"

"That's your opinion, Luna," my wife glared at her and I shrunk slightly into myself as I stood uselessly around like I always did when they got like that. "Don't tell me I don't deserve her when you are so pathetic to hold it over me."

"Pathetic?!" Luna exclaimed, indignant. "I'm the pathetic one? You're the one that's constantly bragging about it like a little foal! I'm your sister, damnit! How could you do that to me?!"

"I'm not bragging," Tia denied, crossing her forelegs over her chest in a pout. "I'm letting you be a part of this."

"In what way?! To make me realize I can't ever have what you have?!" Luna pointed out, stomping her hoof down angrily. "Because that's what you have always done! Lording it over me like a carrot on a stick! I'm sick of it!"

"I'm not trying to 'lord it over you', Luna," Celestia said, scowling at her.

"Uhm…" I tried to say as I raised my hoof slightly, only for them to ignore me. Or they didn't hear me, I'm not too sure about that. I lost my confidence to speak up, letting my hoof sag back to the ground. Great. Useless as always, Summer…

"I want to include you, Lulu," my wife mentioned, a pleading sound in her voice. "I always did. You're my sister, I love you."

"Funny way of showing it," Luna argued and her wings twitched in frustration.

"You're one to talk," Celestia grumbled, poking Luna in her chest with an accusatory hoof. "Instead of just asking, you tried to break us up!"

"Because that's the thing about relationships, you dolt! You only have one partner!" my little sister shot back, poking Tia rather forcefully in turn. At least they weren't hitting each other outright. That's something, right?

Oh, Summer. You’re a pathetic coward. Can’t you just do something for once in your damn life?! How hard could it be to stand up for yourself, huh?

"And who told you that crap, huh? The church?" Tia sneered. "You know that's bullshit!"

"The law, Tia," she said, glaring up at my twin. "It was against the law to marry more than one pony, you idiot!"

"There's no such law here, though," Celestia pointed out with a triumphant grin. "What's your excuse now? Ponies have herds, I've read about them in my books~."

Luna stepped back from her, her face contorting into a rage. “You… you read about it in books?! Is your whole life a narrative in somepony’s fantasy, sister?!” my sister shouted as her eyelid twitched madly and I was unsure whether or not I should try to say something again, considering how emotional she was right now. “And I’m your fucking sister, that’s what's wrong about it!”

“Summer is my sister now and we still have sex, so what?” Celestia shot back. She really didn't care about the social taboo, did she?

“You fucking perverted…" Luna snorted, visibly searching for the best word to convey her feelings before just blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "Stupid-head!”

Celestia pouted. "And there it is; the name-calling. How creative."

Luna growled. “Shut your damn mouth, sister. I'll call you whatever I want, you empty-brained harlot. You always do this to me, I'm done playing to your tune. Summer, I can understand, but now me, too?! She was your husband before this. Your husband! And while I think this is highly inappropriate and depraved and... and disgusting, I can at least somewhat tolerate this. But don't drag me into your depravity, sister.”

“Why not?” Tia shrugged and I facehoofed. Leave it to my sisters to get worked up about this in a weird floaty magic space. “The offer still stands, by the way.”

Luna blinked. “I... are you really serious?! Tia, what the fuck went wrong in your foalhood?!” she asked, exasperated. “Gah! You were bad before this whole reincarnation business, but this? This is madness!”

“Summer would also have you in our relationship, even if she won’t admit it out loud. I’m not mad because I love you,” Celestia said and rolled her eyes. “Believe me when I say nopony will ever find out and you do look extremely sexy with your starry mane and midnight coat. Why not give it a try?”

“Ugh, I can’t believe this…" Luna grumbled, turning to face me with desperate eyes now. "Summer, please, for the love of the moon, say something to your idiotic sister. Wife. Whatever. I don't care anymore.”

"I… uhm…" I tried to say, only to look shamefully away from her as I bit my lip. Celestia’s words were kinda... true. She did look fucking sexy like this.

My sister facehoofed. “Not you, too. Am I the only sane one here?!”

I rubbed my neck awkwardly, a nervous smile on my muzzle. “I'm sorry?”

Luna gave me a miffed look as she started to pace back and forth in front of me. “I can’t believe this is happening...” she muttered. “Both of my sisters are depraved morons. Why, oh, why, did I have to be reincarnated here with you?! Couldn’t I have enjoyed a peaceful afterlife as fucking Magic decided to kill us off? What’s wrong with this world?!”

Right as she passed me by, though, I noticed a black splotch on her flanks, and my eyes were immediately drawn to it (I totally wasn't checking out my sister… nopes). I couldn't help but stare as the depiction of a crescent moon within it moved alluringly back and forth right in front of me.

…so dark and seductive, my mind commented treacherously. She was pure temptation given form. Oh, how I wish she would still see me as the person she fell in love with. I never knew about that love letter.

I shook my head, clearing my head from those inappropriate thoughts. I shouldn't stress her out even more than she already was. Nor did it sit entirely right with me what Tia was doing right now. It was her choice and not ours to make. Not that I wanted to give her that choice in the first place. A herd did sound kind of… a bit much.

“Uhm... sister?” I asked meekly and she gave me a raised eyebrow. I pointed at her flanks, suppressing the shudder that wanted to go through me as her angry glare just looked sexy to me instead of having the intended effect. Why must she be so damn… sexy, damnit?! “You have your Cutie Mark.”

“So do you, Summer,” Tia interjected and I turned my head to look at a stylized orange-red sun on both of my flanks. My heart fluttered as I saw it and joy flooded my being. It... it looked so beautiful. Like a perfect representation of my name. “And I have one, too, apparently. Huh, would you look at that? Twinsies for life!”

I looked over to my twin and saw her with the same symbol, just with the minor difference that it had lighter yellowish-orange colors. My muzzle turned up into a bright smile as I felt even more happiness at us sharing something in common.

“Okay, that aside, do either of you know how to get out of here?” Luna said after we all had time to admire our buttmarks. “And don’t even think I have forgotten the conversation from earlier, sister!”

“Well, I don’t know how we got here in the first place besides Magic foalnapping us,” I answered. “And I can’t believe I’m actually going to say this, but… why are you against me and Tia so much?”

“You didn’t just ask that, did you?” Luna snorted. “How about you being my sisters? Have you ever thought about that?! I would have thought you of all ponies to be better than this... depravity.”

“Didn’t you love me while I was still a human?” I shot back with a raised brow. “I seem to remember you being jealous of your sister.”

“That was then, this is now! This is incest you’re talking about!” Luna snapped back at me. “This isn’t something that is normal! Ponies are going to find out, and when they do, I don't want to have anything to do with it. They will ostracize you, do you not care about that? I don't want you to get hurt because of this, Summer. It's wrong. You should know that.”

“Eh, debatable,” Celestia said with a shrug. “Depends on your view on it. Is it wrong for two sisters to love each other? I don’t think so. Summer and I are twins, so it’s kinda like masturbating.”

“What?! But...” Luna turned towards her. “We’re still siblings, what do you not get about this?! Just because you two are twins doesn’t make this okay! Besides, what about me, huh?! I’m not your twin! What other depraved reason could you possibly have to justify asking me out?!”

“None of you are stallions, so what’s the worst that can happen?” Celestia asked. “Worst case scenario is our subjects finding out about this, but what can they do about that? It’s our own private life. Besides, we’re the princesses, right? We can... you know... just make incest legal.”

“No!” I growled, sending her a glare and she pouted back at me. “Don’t you dare, Tia! I will kick you out of the castle and forget I ever loved you if you do something stupid like that!”

“Fine...” Tia mumbled. “Still, even if nopony else knows about this and we have to keep our relationship a secret,”—under her breath she muttered something that sounded suspiciously like ‘stupid Summer, having no sense of fun’—” what is it that is so wrong about loving your sisters, Luna? Don’t tell me you don’t find Summer at least still attractive. Be honest with yourself, Lulu, you loved her in your previous life. Where is that love now? She is still the same pony, is she not? Summer wouldn’t mind, so why do you not allow yourself to feel like that again? It’s so easy to just... look past this little thing called 'incest' and allow yourself to feel good. You want to, right? Admit it, little sister. All it takes are a few words and your whole world would be so much better~.”

“I... well...” Luna stuttered, looking back and forth between me and my twin. “No! Stop with this nonsense, I won’t be swayed by your honeyed words, sister! This is still wrong!”

“Amore approves,” I mumbled weakly.

“You’re kidding,” Luna gave me a look. “You’re kidding, right?”

“Oh, she is telling the truth, sister dearest,” Celestia grinned, coming up beside her, her wing outstretched. She trailed a primary feather along her side and I giggled as Luna’s midnight blue wings popped open, a scarlet blush on her muzzle. I shouldn't be amused by this, but… it looked so cute! “I know you have entertained the idea, don’t think I haven’t noticed you trying to win Summer’s heart here and there. I know you still love her. I wouldn’t mind sharing her with you... not when I get to have you, too...”

“N-n-no! It's… it’s not like t-that, I swear!” Luna stammered, trying to get away from my twin and ending up bumping into me. I was... kind of confused here. Luna tried to do what now? I... I didn’t notice, to be honest. I always thought it was a sibling rivalry between them or something else along those lines, nothing more. “I don’t love Summer like that. No. Nuh-uh. Shut up, Tia!”

“All I hear are lies~,” Celestia sing-songed, giggling. “Admit it, you have been checking her out, Lulu. I know you want it, give in and everything will be so much better. Go on, turn around, and tell her how much you love her, Lulu~. Look into those big, beautiful eyes of hers and tell me honestly that you don’t want to shove your tongue down her throat...”

“Don’t you dare put words in my mouth now, Tia!” Luna shot back. “You won’t manipulate me to sate your depraved fetishes! I won't let you force me into this.”

“You know, this has been fun to watch, but you are overstaying your welcome,” Magic-Whoever said, appearing in the form of our mother this time. “Can you just get out? I want my quiet back. You have done what you came here for, so why are you still here?”

“You!” Luna snarled. “This is your fault, you piece of shit!”

I held Luna back before she could try to beat the god-like entity to a pulp. She struggled against me while flailing her limbs and I feared she would break free. Why did she have to be so strong?!

“Uh-huh,” Magic-Mom said. “And I care, why?”

“Fucking die in a hole!” Luna growled.

“Like you? No thanks. Now get out.”

“Don’t you dare antagonize my little sister! That’s my job,” Celestia snarled, glaring at the entity wearing the face of our mother. “And if you want us to leave, we wouldn’t even know how to! How do you propose we do this? Snap our non-existent fingers?!”

“You mortals and your feelings, I’ll look forward to how you react when you find out that your bodies are very different from normal ponies,” she said in a bored tone. “And how do you not know how you entered this place? You have cast the spell, didn’t you?”

“So we just cast it again?” I asked, my glare no less baleful towards the entity that called itself 'Magic'. “That’s it? How do we raise the sun and moon then?”

“You cast the spell with the core of your alicorn magic, achieving your full potential,” she told us. “Cast it again and get out. If you want to get back here, for whatever reason, just reach out to your core and then will yourself into this plane, instead. Does that answer your question?”

“That’s so much bullshit right there, it’s not even funny,” Luna mumbled. “What spell works differently for alicorns? This is ridiculous.”

“If you hadn’t reached your full potential, it wouldn’t have done anything differently from normal unicorn magic, but you tapped into your font of power directly, drawing forth the most potent form of magic a pony like you has.”

“Okay, then...” I said. “Goodbye. And, uhm... have a nice day? Or whatever this is here. I can’t really say it has been a pleasure getting to know you.”

“Uh-huh,” Magic shrugged. “Can’t say that either. But you were the first available ponies I could get ahold of. I have to work with the things I get, so… I don’t care either way. Get lost.”

“That’s... a really bleak outlook to have...” I whispered sadly. “I’m sorry for what must have made you this way.”

“Understanding the futility of life and still trying to save it,” Magic answered monotonously and shrugged. “And I’m sorry for killing you if that is worth anything to you. I guess you are not so bad after all. For naïve little ponies.”

“We’ll be going then, I guess,” I replied awkwardly, reaching inwardly to the same feeling that this being has told us was alicorn magic. A moment later, I willed myself back into reality and noticed all the stares directed at us. I fidgeted slightly with my wings, noticing that Celestia and Luna were also opening their eyes.

We were still in the same spots that we had been standing in as we started trying to lower the moon and raise the suns. A slow clapping noise startled me out of my thoughts and I saw Starswirl continue to do so as the other ponies started to follow his example.

“Bravo!” he said. On his muzzle was a proud smile. “Just like I knew you could! How did it feel, Your Highnesses?”

“Uhm... magical?” I said, trying to think back to when I guided the sun across the heavens. “Fulfilling? Like a part of me being completed?”

“Yes, that I can see,” Starswirl chuckled. “I didn’t know how it would happen, but here you are with your Cutie Marks! Ah, to see you little moody teenagers grow up so fast, it warms my heart.”

Moody teenagers?! I’ll give him moody teenagers... Damn crazy old coot, he was one to talk, doing the ritual on his own.

“You knew we would get them?” Celestia asked as she stood beside me and I stared at her mane again, unused to its new color. I couldn't quite put my hoof on what exactly it was, but it made her look more... Celestia-ish. I don’t know. It suited her.

“Yes,” he nodded. “I have seen you raise them in the future, all by yourselves. A breathtaking view, I have to say.”

“I guess you won’t tell us more than that, will you?” I said, pretty sure I knew he would be nodding his head to that, too. And as I expected of him already, he did give me another nod in confirmation. “So, what now?”

“How about you becoming the new stewards of the moon and the twin suns?” Starswirl told us. “It is your destiny, is it not?”

“I... Yes,” I whispered, looking back at my Cutie Mark with pride. “Yes, it is.”

“Let us go home, Summer,” Celestia said. “Lulu already left, it seems.”

“She did? Why?” I asked, feeling a bit of sadness well up inside me. Tia started walking out of the building, taking to the skies afterward and I followed after her. “Do you think she is still mad at us?”

“Probably,” Tia answered. “She will get over it, I’m sure.”

“If you say so...” I muttered, uncertainly. I already regretted not putting a stop to it, but… every time they fight like that about me, I just get so… timid. As if interfering would make it even worse, somehow. “I don’t want her to hate us. You kinda went a little bit overboard there for a moment.”

“I just hate that she continues lying to herself,” she stated, frowning with displeasure. “You have seen how she reacted to that, there is no doubt about it. And the way she tried to deny it was the falsest thing I have ever heard leave her mouth. You know how terrible of a liar she is.”

“Still, I don’t think you should pressure her so much,” I said. Tia let out a sigh but relented. “Let’s just give her some space and let her come to grips with her own feelings. Even if it has to take a few years, she should feel comfortable with such a decision, whether or not it ends up being the one you want.”

“You’re right...” Celestia sighed, chastised. Her emotions were all over the place, I could see it on her face. “I don’t know what went over me. I just… got a bit too excited about having her with us. I do love her, you know? Taboo be damned, I would have married her if I never met you. She's everything to me…”

“Tia,” I whispered gently. “Don’t beat yourself up over this, okay?”

She took in a deep breath and let it slowly back out before nodding. “I think I can do that...” she said, her mood still clearly in the dumps, but it helped for now. “Thanks for being with me, Summer.”

“I won’t leave you, you know that. As long as you don’t make incest legal, that is. And if Lulu decides to take you up on the offer, I won’t be leaving either of you,” I told her, a small smile gracing my lips. “I guess you were right about me, loath as I am to admit it out loud.”

“You being a pervert?” Tia giggled. “Or you loving your sisters in a romantic way?”

“Isn’t that the same question as the first one?” I giggled back. “Yes. To both of those.”

“See? It wasn’t that hard to admit, right?” Celestia laughed and I pouted at her. “Don’t give me that look now, you know I’m right. It was nice giving in to your inner pervert, I can see it in your eyes~.”

“Shut up, Tia,” I shot back, a tiny glare directed her way. “Sometimes, you just don’t know when to quit, do you?”

“Where would I be if I did?” she quipped back and I snorted. Truly, my wife was incorrigible.

“You know, these marks seem so familiar to me, it feels like I have seen them somewhere else before,” I said, changing the topic to the marks adorning our flanks. “Like some sort of déjà vu...”

“Now that you mention it...” Tia mused, looking at my butt with undisguised lust. “They do remind me of the markings on the Tree of Harmony. You think Starswirl knows something about that?”

I laughed humorlessly to myself, knowing Starswirl. “Oh, he definitely knows something,” I muttered. “What are the chances of us getting the answers out of him, though?”

“Next to none, I would wager,” Celestia said, just as unhappy as I was that he continued to have secrets from us. “We will have to find the answer to that on our own, then.”

“Do you think it could have something to do with those crystals on the branches of the tree?”

“Most likely.”

Once we were back in the castle, Celestia and I went searching for our little sister and found her soundly asleep on her bed. I sighed at the obvious sign that she had put herself to sleep in order to avoid us, not even closing the door of her bedroom before throwing herself on her bed (she rarely ever closed her bedroom door, anyway), so I let her have her way and we gave her her space. Perhaps she would talk about this with us at some point, but I didn’t feel like getting my hopes up. She was hurt and confused right now, the best thing we could do right now was to let her sort it out on her own and hope for the best.

As Tia and I went to my room, I absentmindedly opened the door with my magic and Celestia tackled me to the floor while throwing up a shield with her magic right as the door got ripped out of the wall in several pieces, scattering every which way with such a force that it would have probably caved my head in had my twin not saved me from them. Her shield was obviously a lot stronger than it used to be, fortunately for us.

I'm never going to open a door with my magic ever again, holy flying penguin…

We found out what the cause of that little problem was relatively fast. After our visit to that harmony magic thingy place, our magic had gotten a significant boost in strength. So much so, that just the slightest nudge sent things flying at mach one.

I already had my suspicions with the surge from my core as we earned our Cutie Marks, but this confirmed it to me. The mana we could draw on was permanently boosted by our alicorn magic and it felt nigh limitless to boot.

That also meant we would have to learn control all over again. It was like everything was made out of paper and it annoyed me to no end. Celestia wasn’t faring better with her magic. We both set things randomly on fire as we passed them by and we had to order our servants and guards to keep their distance from us until we were able to rein our magic in.

This passive aura of heat had the slight advantage that we were now completely immune to ridiculously high temperatures and even the cold of below-freezing temperatures didn’t manage to bother us that much.

Luna, on the other hoof, had a perpetual coldness around her that managed to give Tia and me pleasant shivers whenever we encountered her in the dining room or in the hallways. It was clear to see that she was avoiding us, though.

I just wished we could go back to how it was before, it was breaking my heart.

I'm sorry, Luna. I wish I could still see you as nothing more than that sweet little filly I grew up with. But… to be honest? Had Tia not been the first one to ask me out, I could have seen us become something more. It was one of the reasons why I could never get in between your fights with her, why I always stood around uselessly as your jealousy got out of hoof. I was too much of a coward to admit I loved you both, and with each day, with each year that passed, it slipped further and further away from me.

I'm sorry, Luna. To me, you are still that raven-haired beauty that let me know I was loved even if I was in love with someone else.

I don't want us to drift apart…

Chapter 008 - Trouble in Paradise.

Author's Notes:

Reference: Fiendship is Magic - Sombra

WARNING: This chapter will get darker than usual and there is (consensual?) rape. Read with caution! I expect you to take this warning seriously, there won't be any indicators in the chapter itself. As soon as Summer sees her twin after a certain scene, be wary. Blame Tia. Or me. Frankly, I'm disgusted at myself for having written that part.

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

“Have you spoken with Luna recently?” Celestia asked me as she plopped herself down on the throne beside mine (hers was in the middle, depicting the order in which the suns rise over the horizon).

“No, she has been eating in her room again, sister,” I answered her, my mood instantly soured.

“She is starting to worry me, isolating herself like that...” Celestia muttered. I grunted, rubbing my eyes while letting out a tired yawn. We had just raised the suns and she was already talking about things I’d rather be more awake for. “It’s been ten years, Summer. Ten. Years. And she still thinks like a human.”

I sighed through my nose, vexed. “You can’t make her change her views and opinions like that, that’s not how it works,” I said to her. She was still going on about how herds were completely 'normal' for ponies. Back when they were still grazing on grass, that is. Only the earthponies were as open with that nowadays. Not like that wasn't already falling out of favor, now that lasting peace was a thing and they weren't forced to breed like crazy while in slavery. The era before the wendigos wasn't a happy one, I could tell. It was barbaric, and even that couldn't truly begin to describe it. “And what do you think ponies think about this topic, huh? They are no better than the naked apes.”

“Oh, now they are naked apes, huh?” she snickered and despite my mood, I smiled slightly. “What are you going to do next to further distance yourself from the idea that you were a human once, sister?”

“Shut up, that’s not what I’m doing and you know it,” I told her with a roll of my eyes. “I just want to embrace my pony life as a pretty pony princess, not constantly think about the family we left behind on Earth. They had to bury us, Tia. Our own children and your sister. Imagine what that must have been like for them.”

“Luna certainly hates our guts for it,” she muttered.

My smile turned into a frown at that. “She doesn’t hate us,” I said, though it felt more like I was in denial than anything else. “She just... doesn’t know how to cope with it. For six years we were dead for her on Earth and then we continued to lie to her for sixteen more by not telling her. I should've trusted my gut feeling…”

“Holding a grudge for ten years isn’t my definition of not knowing how to cope with it, Summy,” Celestia returned disgruntledly. “I don’t know what to tell her besides that I’m sorry for it and that I can’t help myself that I love her.”

“I guess that’s all we can tell her...” I whispered sadly. “How was your visit to Starswirl?”

“Too short,” she snorted. “I wish I could have stayed longer to help him with the mirror. Perhaps we get to test it out next month or so.”

“Any idea where to go first for the test?” I asked her. “There’s like... an unending amount of possible realities to choose from.”

“If we can choose where to go, that is. The jury is still out on that, dear,” Tia said. “I just hope we won’t run into danger.”

“Tia, danger follows Starswirl around,” I giggled. “It’s like every other Saturday that something happens with him around.”

“Well, he has a lot more time on his hooves now. I would do the same if we didn’t have to hold court and do paperwork and so on. An adventure is just the thing I need right now. Anything to get the adrenaline rushing through my veins again.”

“Please, just be careful?” I implored her. “I don’t want to lose you to some monster while you test out the mirror with him. It was bad enough already that Starswirl asked me to get a hydra up into his secret lair in Mount Canterhorn. Why did you have to give him that idea, again?”

“I thought it would be funny,” she pouted. “Nopony would dare to steal from him with the hydra keeping his knowledge safe. We don’t want this research getting in the wrong hooves, after all.”

“It’s still a stupid idea,” I grumbled. “Manfred almost ate me before I could ask him nicely.”

“Manfred? I thought his name was Siegfried?” Tia asked me, confused.

“They have multiple personalities, dear,” I told her. “Four heads, four brains.”

“Makes... weirdly sense, now that you mention it,” she said with a hum. “Anyway, how was your trip to the Empire? I would have gladly come with you, had you asked.”

To stare daggers at Amore, no doubt. I don't know why, but Tia got strangely jealous of the mare. She also told her in no uncertain terms to stay away from Luna, so there was that.

“It was nice, we had a chat over tea,” I said, giving her a sideways glance. “I think we might also have the modified version of that spell complete before long. Amore really took a liking to the idea. Something about an old friend of hers got her excited. I know you have been very patient with me on this, but I can tell that only using my tongue isn’t enough for you.”

Celestia snorted, already lost in her fantasies from the looks of it. “Don’t start to get me excited before court, sister. All I will be able to think of is cock for the rest of the day now,” she mumbled, already biting her lower lip while she fidgeted on her throne's cushion. “And now I can’t get the image of you with one out of my head, great...”

“Already horny first thing in the morning,” I giggled. “I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you will have to wait a few more months for this to become a reality, sister.”

Maybe even longer. I... I didn’t want to cast the spell on myself, but I couldn't just disappoint Tia. Something in me screamed in fear at the thought of having a penis again...

“Summer, why do you have to do this to me?” she whined. “You’re just going to make me count down the days now...”

I smiled apologetically. “Sorry, Tia. I guess Santa Claus can’t work miracles,” I told her, feeling slightly guilty that I was essentially leading her on with this. Even the thought alone made bile rise up my throat. “We totally should make an equivalent to Christmas, by the way.”

“Well, I suppose there is the founding day of Equestria that is pretty close to that day. We could celebrate it together with Christmas. I would rather call it a different name, though. I'm not a fan of… you know. The book that shall not be named. What should we call the holiday?” Celestia told me, a thoughtful look entering her eyes.

“Something cute?” I smiled. “I mean, practically everything named by ponies sounds cute, so it has to be.”

“Of course,” she rolled her eyes with an endearing smile. Then she got snarky with me. “How about ‘The Day Equestria was founded by Idiots’?”

“Cute, sister. Not degrading,” I scolded her. “Just because Platinum was there doesn’t mean you have to drag it through the mud.”

“Fine...” Tia grumbled, shifting around in her throne. “Clover and his friends basically saved the day by accepting friendship into their hearts, so how about Friendship Day?”

“I don’t know...” I said, rolling the name over my tongue a few times to test it out. “It sounds nice... but not cute enough. How about... Hearts... something. Help me out here, sister.”

“Well, they said they lit a fire in their hearts, right? Since we’re blatantly stealing all of the good traditions from Christmas, including the tree and chimney... what about Hearth’s Warming, then? Close enough, right?” she offered.

I gasped, a wide smile spreading on my muzzle. “That’s it! It sounds cute, it has a nice ring to it, and it can easily be celebrated by the whole family like Christmas,” I said, clapping my hooves together gleefully. “Eee! Hearth’s Warming Eve and Day, just like on Earth! Now we totally need a fireplace with stockings and a tree! We can bake cookies, sing a few carols, play in the snow...”

My wife snorted good-naturedly. “Don’t get too excited over this, we still have to make it official,” Celestia said while rolling her eyes with a small, fond smile on her muzzle. “I’ll make you do the paperwork and announcement for that, it was your idea.”

“I don’t care!” I proclaimed, laughing giddily. The work would be well worth it, I could tell. Ponies really do need more reasons to have a few celebrations every once in a while, so I was glad to provide something like that to our subjects. “This is going to be perfect! Oh, I can’t wait for winter to come around, now! I need to make a checklist, this is going to be so much fun!”

“Only you can be excited about making a checklist of all things. Can that wait after we are done with court, sister? And where is Luna? It’s almost time,” she told me. As she mentioned Luna though, I let out a sad sigh. “Don’t tell me she stayed up all night again, Summer. If she continues like this, she can hold court at night, instead.”

“I’m afraid she did, Tia,” I answered dejectedly. “She says it’s easier for her to access the dream realm like this, but both you and I know that’s just an excuse for her.”

“Alright, then. I don’t care. Let her do what she wants if it makes her happy. I’m not going to shirk my duties,” she groused bitterly while she ruffled up her wings angrily. “It’s not like we have a fucking nation to run. No, this is just a game, it’s not like ponies depend on us. There is nothing that could possibly go wrong, right? Why do your duties when you can have fun instead...”

“Don’t be so negative about it,” I sighed, admonishing her. “She is still doing her work... just at night. Let her have this, Tia. Hopefully, she will come around and see that we are here for her if she needs us.”

“What? By letting her further isolate herself from us?!” Celestia snorted as her anger spiraled further out of control. “Sure, that will work. You know what? Your plan to let her work it out on her own was stupid.”

“Can we just stop talking about this?” I grumbled. “You aren’t making this any better, either. When was the last time you spoke to her?”

“I don’t remember,” she answered half-heartedly. “Because you know... she leaves the room when I enter it.”

“Really? But I thought...” I muttered surprised.

“Summer, you’re the only one she talks to anymore,” Tia told me with a glare, clearly jealous of me. “She has started to snap at the servants and guards, she's constantly in a sour mood! I don’t know what to do…"

Tears welled up in her eyes and I felt bad for her. “I’ll see if I can talk to her,” I said, trying to comfort her to the best of my ability. “This can’t continue on like this.”

“We’re going around in circles now, Summy. Tell me something I don’t know already,” Celestia said with a huff, disgruntled and upset. “We can talk about this all day long, it won’t change anything if she doesn’t want to listen to us.”

I gave my sister a sympathetic look and offered her a hoofkerchief so that she could make herself look presentable again. This was just painful to watch. I have to get them back on friendly terms, it was tearing not only her apart, but me too. Not to mention how Luna must be feeling. “As I said, I will talk to her. Now, let’s start holding court, we can't keep everypony waiting.”

Celestia nodded, wiping her eyes with a heavy and shaky sigh before she opened the large doors at the end of the throne room with her golden magic. We still had a bit of difficulty with reining in our increased power at times (especially during emotional duress), but mundane things like levitation were mostly back to manageable levels.

We had also figured out how to keep our fiery aura around ourselves in check (ironically, thinking about Luna helped me, in that regard). Now, it was more like we were exuding a cozy warmth around us (which was nice in the winter for everypony else, but not so much in the summer months). Tia and I could also make it hotter if we really wanted to. Like melting stone hot.

That was something I would never forget. My own sister sunken halfway in a pool of molten rock as we were still experimenting with our newfound power. She had grumbled angry words at me for a few months after I couldn't help myself but giggle my flanks off while she tried to get the molten rock out of her coat.

Celestia and Starswirl also found out that our feathers were (more or less) magic conductive now. While we could absorb an attack of the magical variety with them for a few seconds (they do have their limits), they couldn't keep us safe from physical attacks. Not without some highly risky transfiguration tricks involved, that is.

It wasn’t like they were the perfect defense all of a sudden, but if we ever had to go fight against a rogue wizard, we would have a better chance to come out on top. If we don’t just overwhelm them with the might of the suns like the overpowered cheats that we are. Those were obviously the sources of our newfound power, as anypony would easily find out even if they were blind. They were quite literally pumping their magic into us, increasing the mana pool we could draw from to an almost unlimited amount.

My core was already incredibly powerful before this, now it was on an entirely different level. Where before it was 'only' on a cataclysmic scale, it could now usher in the apocalypse as we know it. Hence, the vision I had in the otherworldly plane of existence.

With great power does come great potential to screw things up. Not that I intended to ever let it come to that. Ponies were too cute to let them burn in the apocalypse, after all.

Anyway! As the first ponies started to trickle in, my mind wandered back to Luna. Why was she behaving so anti-social? Was it really so bad that Celestia wanted to form a herd with her and me? I mean, I have seen a couple of herds and they all seemed so happy and content. Sure, they were rare nowadays, but still. It was actually possible to make it work, especially when everypony involved loved each other very much.

It felt like it could bring us closer together, yet this dilemma had only managed to drive us further apart. The few talks I had about this with Amore didn’t help much, either. Amore wasn’t entirely surprised to find out that Celestia and I had these feelings for Lulu, but her advice wasn’t very helpful beyond telling us that we had to let Luna decide what to do. Forcing her into this was an incredibly bad idea.

I really wanted to heed those words. I do. However... ten years like this and I was already starting to waver in my conviction of letting her sort her feelings out by herself. I still thought that giving Luna her space was for the best, but that didn’t mean that I didn’t want to give in to my temptations of confronting her about this. Even if she gave me a rejection, I just wanted us to be sisters again.

Celestia had to nudge me out of my thoughts a few times during court and I could tell she wasn’t entirely happy with me being so lost in them. I just... couldn’t really concentrate on the problems our ponies brought to our attention. That also continued over the next few weeks as more and more things started to worry my mind.

Luna had mostly stopped talking with me, too, after I confronted her about her lack of communication with Tia. I had a hard time getting her to at least talk with us during work. She kept everything we said to each other to purely work-related things, not even letting us know how she slept or how she was doing. Usually, she would have been happy to talk about her hobbies, but even that she kept to herself nowadays.

It was frustrating seeing her lose herself to a workaholic nature, trying to keep her mind away from... more personal feelings. Sometimes we saw her with us holding court in a silent manner, other times she decided to do what Celestia had snarkily mentioned to her and began to hold court at night.

After that, she slowly started to hold court over the night more and more, feeling like that was the better alternative to sitting beside us for half the day and being reminded of what we felt about her.

Whenever I managed to get her to attend court with us, she kept her gaze away from us. It hurt my feelings a lot, but it wasn't like I could do something about it. Not without risking her stopping interacting with us entirely. There was also another thing that she started to do that I felt conflicted about how I should feel about it. She lost herself in the archaic tongue, likely thinking it would alienate us from her or something similar to that. That was perhaps the most frustrating thing about her behavior. I couldn’t help but find it arousing, but at the same time, it was sad that she basically treated us like strangers.

It wasn’t just Luna that was keeping my mind occupied these days, though. The thought of the foal Amore had brought to my attention so long ago was also weighing heavily on my mind. Little Sombra had grown up into a young stallion by now and we still haven’t figured out where he came from.

And then there was the fact that he was still lacking his Cutie Mark, a very odd thing for a unicorn his age. I mean, sure, my sisters and I hadn’t gotten ours until we were adults ourselves, but that was probably more due to us being unique in the way that our race presumably didn’t get theirs until very special conditions were met.

Like raising a (very bubbly) sun, for example. Or Luna with her sleepy moon (it was apparently very lethargic, according to my sister's first description of the floating rock). Celestia's sun was… rather snooty and arrogant, having a similar temper to my twin when offended. Her sun barely tolerated me as a temporary guardian when Tia felt like 'sleeping in', it had utterly despised the unicorns for touching it with their magic.

Something told me that Sombra also had a special destiny set out for him by this world's magic, too. Whether that was good or bad remained to be seen, though.

From what Amore has told me, the power of the Crystal Heart seems to cause him massive discomfort. And it wasn’t just that. There was one conversation that stood out to me very much, and that was when Sombra and his foalhood friend had seen the reflection of the Crystal Heart a few years ago. It was apparently a timey wimey, gimmicky magic crystal ball capable of foretelling your destiny.

What he saw, though, caused me quite a bit of worry. Amore assured me that she would be able to handle the 'destiny' that awaited Sombra, stating that nothing was truly set in stone. But still, such a fate was… horrifying, to say the least.

He saw himself enveloped in shadows, dark magic shining forth from his eyes as he was utterly corrupted by the lure of power. Amore was hopeful that she could make him see that this possible future didn’t have to come to pass, and yet, I was a bit doubtful she could change the 'Threads of Fate' as she hoped to.

I wanted him to be this 'stalwart stallion' Amore kept pretending he could be, hoping he could live up to her expectations, but... I feared it was nothing but a hopeful dream on her part.

I thought back to the letter Celestia and I had sent over to the friend of Sombra with the proposal for her to come study here in Equestria under our guidance. She had shown quite the promise with her magical abilities and I was ashamed to say that I... well… I wanted to get her away from Sombra.

Something in me screamed at me that Sombra wasn’t what he appeared to be and that he was to be regarded as a threat to the safety of all ponykind and I hated myself for feeling like this.

Celestia, of course, was all too happy to get Radiant Hope to come here to Equestria if it meant I could sleep more easily if I knew she was safe from Sombra. That was also something that she herself felt needed to be done as she had had a vision of Radiant Hope crying her eyes out recently. A dream foretelling the events of nothing but despair.

One day at court, both of my sisters were there with me on that day for once, the young mare appeared before us, but not because she was here to tell us that she was going to accept our offer to learn from us and that was it. No, the news that she had come to us with was of a more… sinister… nature.

“It’s Sombra!” Radiant Hope told us, looking up from where she was bowing to us, heavy droplets running down both sides of her head and her eyes had lost the spark of love that was so commonly seen in crystal ponies. While her coat still shined and sparkled, its luster wasn’t entirely there anymore. It was dulled and the colors of her coat, mane, and tail were less vibrant, less lively. “He... h-he killed Princess Amore!”

My heart plummeted at her words. “What?!” I exclaimed, a numb feeling spreading within me. I was in disbelief, a horrified expression on my muzzle. Amore was dead? Just like that? W-why? Why would Sombra do such a despicable thing? A gold-clad hoof came to rest on my withers and I noticed the shimmer in the air from my fiery aura as it picked up significantly, responding to the seething hatred roaring to life within me. My best friend was dead... and I wasn’t there to aid her. Celestia gave me a comforting look and I did my best to rein in my temper. It wasn't easy and I wasn't sure if I even wanted to do so, unable to forgive the murder of my best friend. “Tell me, Radiant Hope, what did he do to her? How did she meet her end?!”

“He... h-he turned her into a crystal, Princess Summer,” she explained as she looked up at me, a sob escaping her lips. “...and then he shattered her, right in front of my eyes.”

“I’ll kill him...” I growled silently to myself, fury radiating off of me. It was one thing to unknowingly cause the death of somepony with your own actions and another entirely to do it on purpose for the sake of murder and nothing more. Platinum was disgusting in her own right, but Sombra… he was a monster. “We knew he couldn’t have been trusted! Amore... why didst thou have to make us promise to let thee handle it?”

“Sister, please,” Tia whispered gently. “Calm thyself.”

“You have to help him, he isn’t like that!” Radiant Hope wailed as she begged me, denial clear in her voice. “He is my best friend! Something must be influencing him! Please! You have to believe me! Don’t… don't kill him, I beg you. Sombra would never enslave the ponies within the Empire, this isn’t him! Please… I just want my friend back.”

“Thy words matter not,” I growled, glaring down at her for daring to defend this monster. Vengeance was due and I intended to deliver it. Nopony hurts my family and friends and gets away with it… nopony. “We shall slay this foul villain and avenge Amore if it is the last thing we shall do.”

“Don’t take our sister’s words at face value, she does not know what wrathful words she is spouting in her grief,” Celestia spoke up while giving me a disappointed look. “We shall have words with thee later, Summer.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to be the merciful one in this, Celestia,” I whispered to her, an angry snort escaping my nostrils. “You know as well as I that what he did is treason against the crown and he continues to enslave her ponies! I will not stand idly by, not with him still alive and breathing. I will be taking his head! He is a cold-hearted murderer, sister! He deserves to be brought to justice for his crimes against ponykind!”

“I know, dear. But you are scaring poor Hope. Look at her,” she told me and I looked at the quivering mare, terror in her eyes. As we met gazes, the young mare flinched back as if she expected me to lash out at her again. My ears splayed back and I muttered my apologies to her for scaring her so horribly.

“Rest assured, Radiant Hope, we shall encroach on Sombra’s territory and right this wrong,” Luna said, something that rarely happened during court nowadays. “We shall see what we can do to bring Sombra back to sanity. Should we fail to do so, thou hast our condolences in advance.”

“I…"—Radiant Hope hesitated before nodding her head demurely, grateful for the promise—"Thank you, Your Highnesses,” she mumbled with a sniffle. She wiped away her tears with an embroidered hoofkerchief my sister offered to her before trying to give it back to her (my sister let her keep it, though). “That is all I can ask of you, I suppose.”

“Then let us depart immediately in that case,” Celestia said and she called for the captain of the guard to meet us in the courtyard. “Thou art welcome to stay here or come with us, Hope. We won’t keep thee from trying to help thy friend.”

“I think I will come with you, Princess Celestia,” Hope said, scuffing her hoof on the ground nervously. Her eyes held a haunted but resolved quality in them. “Even if I only feel like watching you confront him from a distance, at most. I don’t think I can face him on my own. At least… not while he is like this. I've never seen him so hateful, it's like he is a completely different pony.”

“Very well,” my twin said, a stony look in her eyes, and together, we left our thrones to ready our soldiers for battle.

Shield Wall, our captain of the guard, was already present and ready to mobilize our elite troops within the hour. We were taking quite a sizeable number of ponies with us. Not for the sake of fighting Sombra himself, but to deal with the obstacles in the way. I had no doubt things would end up being more complex and harder than we anticipated, requiring us to be extra cautious. Thankfully, Shield Wall was the perfect pony for the job.

The stoic stallion was screaming at the soldiers to move faster so we could get moving, his golden eyes demanded nothing less than absolute compliance. He had a naturally white coat that let him blend in with the rest of the soldiers in their enchanted armor. His own armor looked a bit more fanciful than the standard one to denote his rank. Despite protocol demanding to always be fully suited up, he wasn’t wearing his helmet at the moment, so his deep blue hair was free to wave in the breeze.

He had earned his position through skill alone, not because of his noble heritage. Something he was quite proud of (and he didn’t let that cloud his judgment in the slightest, he was a true paragon of ponykind). I was glad that he would be leading the force that would go and liberate the slaves from Sombra’s grasp, his shields were some of the hardest in the world to break through (even with our alicorn powers, my sisters and I would have major troubles trying to break through them without also annihilating everything past it).

Shield Wall did one last round of inspecting the carriages, as well as the supplies, before giving us the go-ahead that everything was ready and accounted for.

The pegasi-drawn carriages were specialized for getting deployed in zones of conflict and would no doubt come in handy liberating Amore's ponies from that tyrant. Those and the emergency rations our medics packed, as well. It was inevitable that some of them would need medical attention and a good, warm meal. The only thing we sorely lacked was a psychologist to help them with their trauma.

Meanwhile, my sisters and I would be the ones that were going to dethrone a tyrant. The thought of what Sombra did was making the roaring flame of my alicorn magic flare up again, the righteous fury demanding blood and nothing less. If Celestia had not been there with me, I’m sure I would have already taken off on my wings to confront the bastard on my own. Without her comforting wing holding me back, I would be hard-pressed at keeping the raging emotions within me in check.

This was a darkness that I desperately tried not to give in to, but then there was the smallest part within me that wanted to just let it in until there weren’t even ashes left of the stallion that had dared to take my best friend away from me. I couldn't forgive the cold-hearted murder of a pony that was a shining beacon of love and kindness around the world, I just couldn't. Without Amore, the Empire would never be the same again.

Who would take care of the crystal ponies, now that Amore was gone? My sisters and I had our hooves full with Equestria as it was. After we liberated the Crystal Empire (and we will liberate them, there was no questioning that), there would be nopony suited for the task. Radiant Hope might have been an option, but as it stood right now, she was in no position to focus on what was truly important while she was such an emotional mess. And I didn't make it better for her with my own attitude, consumed by rage as I was.

If it weren't for my sister, I… I don't know what I might be capable of doing. Celestia was my rock, keeping me steady and true to my ideals of kindness and generosity, even though it was so very hard. Selfishness and hatred wanted to take their dark roots within me, corrupting me into a mockery of what I stood for. My wife was the sole reason that that didn’t happen to me. She kept me true to myself. Without Tia… who would I be?

All my life, I clung to my twin to keep myself from breaking down, and now I couldn't exist without her by my side. Both Tia and Luna, my sweet little Moon. They were my strength and weakness, for better or for worse.

As much as I hated myself for it, these feelings were a part of myself. I only needed to acknowledge them, though. They do not define me and I would never let them guide my hoof.

One thing was for sure, though, and that was the fact that we would bring down Sombra and make him face justice for his crimes. The only thing remaining was the question of how he could ever repent sufficiently enough for his evil deeds. What kind of punishment was right and just for somepony that cruelly turned an innocent pony into a crystal statue and shattered her?

My sisters and I flew ahead of our guards, leading them as rulers should. Every one of our ponies looked to us for guidance in the coming conflict and we would stand tall, showing them that we were worthy of their loyalty. Something that Celestia valued above everything else, of that, I had no doubt.

She took to the idea of loyalty the most in Starswirl’s teachings on how to rule a nation. For her, it was abhorrent to even think of betraying our ponies and it was most likely the reason why she wanted to bring Sombra to justice for having betrayed the trust Amore had placed in him.

I just wanted him to suffer for eternity, but that was the dark side of me speaking out in grief. Banishment or imprisonment was the (somewhat) merciful option here, I knew that very much. And while I wanted to let my emotions decide what his punishment would be, I would probably... stay true to my damn bleeding heart and offer him a chance at redemption despite my misgivings.

Everypony deserved a second chance, after all. Even a murderer, as loath as I was to admit such a thing to myself. Radiant Hope and Amore must have seen something in him that explained why they believed he could be saved from himself and it was that thought that made me want to try and do what Amore failed to do.

Somewhere within that black heart of his is a little light trying to reach out in the hopes of salvation, a light that told me that Sombra could be redeemed, a little light that desperately struggled to be seen. Nopony was born a monster, something must have triggered this change. Something evil and sinister, that much I was certain of.

It was that force, this evil, that my fury was directed at. Magic had told us that it brought us here for a reason. Dark forces were rising, that was what it said, wasn’t it? Forces that wanted to plunge this world into darkness and trap it into a nightmarish facsimile of what it was right now. This world should be a place of happiness and love, not one where it gets swallowed up by hatred and war.

Not like Earth. I swore to myself I would not let it end up like Earth, where the only thing keeping the peace was the threat of mutual extinction. Even then, Earth was plagued with conflict, and people thought they could exploit their fellow humans even after the war. That is a prime reason why I wanted to distance myself from the idea of ever having been a ‘naked ape’ in the first place, despite what I had told Tia.

She was right, of course. She always was, she just knew me too well. Ponies were so much more than what I ever was on Earth and I wanted to live by their example.

But every race has its bad apples, it seems. Sombra was one of those, sadly. As long as the chance was there of bringing him back from the brink of the dark abyss in his heart, I would take it. I couldn’t let my thinking as a human stop me from doing what was right. I had to think like a pony, something I was all too happy to embrace. I can’t let him turn out like those monsters that instigated the Great War.

The Bloody Empress of the East, hell-bent on subjugating the people of her nation, taking their every right to think for themselves. She came dangerously close to conquering the entirety of the Asian continent in her mad attempt to bring about an Empire of loyal puppets. Everyone that resisted her was swiftly dealt with, earning her the name of the Bloody Empress.

The Greedy Baron. One of the most despicable men to have ever lived that threw the American Dream in the dirt and trampled all over it. As long as he could make a profit, he would side with anyone. He was the ticket to the West for the Bloody Empress and together they wrecked unimaginable horror on the world.

The Ice Queen of Europe. Her quest to destroy creativity in its entirety almost cost humanity every bit of culture from bygone ages. Her hatred for art was perhaps the worst thing that was born from the Great War. Not only did she bring death and despair wherever she went, but she also destroyed everything that made the world a brighter place to live in.

And lastly, the Warlord of the South. His only goal was to end as many lives as he could and the Bloody Empress was all too happy to help him in his damned cause. He was the one that was responsible for the highest death toll during the Great War. He was also the one that was the first to fall, thankfully. Had he been left to his devices for even longer, I shudder to think what would have been left of the world. Of humanity.

But the greatest tragedy that humanity had to witness during that time? It was the petty way each one of them ‘abandoned ship’ once they realized that humanity wasn’t so easily broken and subjugated.

They launched nuclear warheads on their own capitals. They, the worst examples that humanity has ever borne witness to, were despicable monsters through and through. A last cry of defiance from their misguided beliefs because they failed to bring humanity to its knees.

I couldn’t let Sombra turn out like those four. We needed to deal with him and if that meant resorting to less favorable methods..? I would do so. I have to do so.

Even with the questionable morality of brainwashing being good if it meant saving the rest of ponykind. Hopefully, there is a way to make Sombra see that what he was doing was wrong without resorting to such methods. And if there was no way to make that happen, it would be a kindness to... change a few memories here and there to bring him back into the light.

Was it abhorrent that I thought this was okay? Resorting to using the manipulation of the mind was a thing that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Or even be considered in the first place, but so was resorting to murder. This was kinder to everypony involved, as much as it made me hate myself.

I... I think I might be turning into a dictator. Forcefully taking away the freedom of ponies for the sake of kindness... it was dangerously close to being a dictator, wasn’t it? A benevolent dictator, that's what I was. And... somehow it felt like it was what I should be.

That was a weird thing, I thought queasily. The thought of being a benevolent dictator or tyrant, forcing my ideals on others for the sake of the good in their souls that I knew existed somewhere. It should bother me more, but my heart was of a different opinion than my brain.

And my brain was losing the battle against my heart thinking this wasn’t a bad thing. Being a benevolent dictator was better than the alternative of letting me become a murderer in turn. And... it wasn’t like I was going to end up like the Bloody Empress, right? I would never leave somepony a mere puppet so that I could toy with them as if they weren’t living beings. Forcing somepony into a future that was good for them wasn’t bad... right? I shook my head, telling myself I was doing the right thing because sometimes, a pony just needs to be forcefully given kindness. Besides, trying to save Sombra with mind magic was better than... killing him, or something equally as bad.

Was I... perhaps overzealous with this? I... I might become just as bad as the Bloody Empress just for different reasons. She represented the absolute worst darkness that had plagued Earth. Me, on the other hoof? I might fall into the trap of thinking the side of the light could possibly do no wrong.

A pure light. It was just as bad as pure darkness, wasn’t it? I... I couldn’t allow myself to be either. I needed to find a balance. A harmony between both sides. Neither too good, as much as it pains me to think like that, and not too bad, as much as I thought Sombra deserved eternal torment.

Being a benevolent dictator was perhaps the best middle ground I could find to achieve this balance, this harmony between light and dark.

Yes... that’s the perfect solution, wasn’t it? Nothing could go wrong with that. I just had to believe in that and hope that it would be the best choice to take. Like the choice of... meddling with the memories of Sombra in order to save him from himself. It was the best choice. I couldn’t doubt that, lest I start to entertain the thought of resorting to the same methods that those four monsters on Earth had used.

Although, there was a teeny tiny problem with me... not knowing any spell that would allow me to alter his persona back to the state where he hadn’t decided to turn to the darkness. That was more Luna’s forte with her dream walking abilities.

I needed a plan and I knew which pony would enact it. If Luna could help me by forcing Sombra’s mind open for us, we could rewrite parts of his memories in order to make him see that he was on the wrong side.

We would have to somehow subdue him for a short period of time, preferably without killing him in the process. Should Luna’s unique gift of putting ponies to sleep be effective on him, it should give us that opportunity.

Then, we would need to find the cause of this corruption within him and purge it from him. It all depends on us being able to do so, though. If this was of a magical nature, I’m not so sure even Tia would know what to do.

Only after we failed with trying to save him from himself would I consider taking more drastic measures. And those options were perhaps crueler than erasing parts of himself or rewriting them, even killing him would be more merciful. Isolation within imprisonment would perhaps prove to drive him even madder than he already was now.

Forever damned to be alone, that’s not something I would wish on my worst enemies. Never seeing a living soul again, only having your thoughts there with you to try and keep your sanity together. For however long the rest of your life was going to be, it would be spent with no social contact at all.

That is what I would resort to before putting him out of his misery. I was against having to kill another living soul capable of higher thoughts (griffons are an exception to that rule, though. Fuck griffons, they tried to kill my wife), but this option was dangerously close to killing a pony without actually killing them. One could already be considered practically dead as soon as the sentence started.

And I would make sure he wouldn’t be able to escape from his sentence, should it come down to us needing to do this. Anything less would be a cruelty to the ponies he enslaved and killed. Anything less would be a disservice to her memory.

Sombra refused the kindness of Amore, and I would only give him that one chance to take my reluctant show of mercy.

I exchanged my plan with my sisters as we neared the Crystal Empire, telling them what I wanted them to do and accepting Celestia’s proposal of letting her fight with Luna if it came to it. While I wanted to help them and was perfectly capable of keeping myself from getting killed in the heat of battle, her main concern was more about the question if I could keep myself from taking revenge on him, instead.

Perhaps that was a wise decision as we finally saw just what Sombra had done to the once-vibrant city-state. Tall spires of darkened crystals stood tall while the once lush crystal shine of the ponies we saw in heavy chains was dull and faded.

It was like he had sapped the happiness and love out of them. Everywhere I looked, they continued to do some kind of work that we didn’t know the purpose of. Whatever they were digging for, it couldn’t be anything good and we needed to keep Sombra from reaching it.

One reason for their crushed spirits was the obvious theft of the Crystal Heart. The weather barrier was absent and were it not for the sickly flames dotting the landscape in a looming sinister presence, the Empire would have surely frozen over already.

But perhaps the most crushing reason for their suffocating despair wasn’t the absence of the Crystal Heart or the oppressive pillars of dark gleaming crystals towering over the city-state like grim reminders that the pony behind all this was constantly watching for any disobedience whatsoever.

The ponies working without rest had to do so next to those that had already succumbed to fatigue and couldn’t continue on. That also sadly meant that those unfortunate souls had to watch as their friends and family died around them and were simply left to rot next to them while they were forced to continue to work by the few enforcers that ensured they did their work without pause.

I had no idea how Sombra could have convinced those crystal ponies to work for him, instead. The armor they wore looked cruel and one couldn’t even see their faces underneath their helmets, turning them into eerie marionette-like ponies that watched on with glowing eyes that never blinked. They could have come straight out of a horror movie for all I knew.

Whatever the outcome of this conflict with that... that despicable monster... would be, I would ensure the ponies of the Crystal Empire recovered from this. Somehow. Could a pony recover from the sheer horror they had to live through here? The trauma of this experience might prove to be too much for the next few generations and it only further managed to stoke the raging flames of my alicorn magic, trying to lash out as I desperately tried to keep a leash on it.

If I let go of my control... would anything be left by the end of it?

Celestia told Shield Wall to take his soldiers with him to liberate the poor crystal ponies from their bindings once we gave the signal. We would be luring Sombra out and away from the civilians for them to get them to safety, instead. My sisters and I would take no chances of them getting hurt while we tried to enact our plan with Sombra.

“Are you ready, Luna?” Celestia asked, turning to look at our little sister. Luna merely nodded in a solemn mood, her sword at her side. She looked... sort of conflicted with what we saw. “And you, Summer?”

“As I’ll ever be,” I answered while breathing out a last shaky breath before steeling myself. This was it, no turning back. This either ended with us victorious or with us rotting in the cold icy wastes. No mistakes could be made on our part. Should we fail, the rest of the world would be paying the hefty price.

I just know Starswirl is going to reprimand us for not even telling him we went after Sombra. The old coot never took us with him to the more dangerous missions we knew he went on, despite him trying to hide it from our curious selves. He... probably did it for a good reason, too. Surely he wouldn’t be struggling so much with his emotions...

“Remember what we agreed on, Summer,” she told me sternly and I nodded with a roll of my eyes. We went over this a dozen times already on the way over here. “Only if Luna fails to put him to sleep for her to guide you into his mind will we resort to banishing him with the spell to seal him away in the ice. And you won’t kill him.”

“Yes, yes. Luna and I will combine our magic with yours while you work your spellcraft,” I mumbled for the nth time within the past hour or so. “Can we get started now? Shield Wall and the guards already look like they are wondering why we are taking so long.”

“Let me talk to him first,” Celestia pleaded with me. “Have him try to defend himself before we decide to do anything. There could be something we are missing, something that would give us the bigger picture.”

“He killed Amore, there is little for him that would make his reasoning justified, sister,” I growled. “If she wasn’t trying to kill him first, there is nothing he could say that would prove him innocent in this. And look at what he has done with the Empire already, this does not scream innocent to me!”

“Be that as it may, we should still hear him out just to get his side of the story first, Summer,” Luna said, looking sadly at me. “It would have been something I would have appreciated from you and Tia for those sixteen years you left me in the dark.”

“We can talk about this after we’re done here,” Celestia sighed. “I’m glad you’re at least speaking to us again, Lulu.”

“Yes, well...” Luna mumbled, looking forlornly down as her voice was filled with shame. “I think this has opened my eyes about keeping a grudge. And from lying to myself...”

“You mean..?” I whispered, a hopeful flutter in my chest.

My sister looked to the side, scuffing a hoof over the ground as she struggled with herself. “I’d… rather not talk about this here, Summer,” Luna said, evading my question for now. It wasn't an outright evasion, though. Her words did imply she wanted to reach out to us and mend the broken bridge between us. “Let’s get this done first, as Tia has said.”

“Okay...” I said, not really knowing how to respond to her seemingly confessing her feelings to us. I mean, that was what she meant by 'lying to herself', right? Please, let it be so, I want this so badly… I want my sister back. I want to see where this would lead. I want to know what I missed out on by never reciprocating her feelings like that in our past life. But that was for another time. Right now, I better make sure we come out on top to have that conversation, in the first place.

Together we gave the signal to our soldiers to start with their assigned mission while we headed for the oppressive monolith in the center of the city. And, as we neared the mockery of this once beautiful place that this Empire was, we saw Sombra leave his position on the balcony facing the main road.

The stallion looked... unlike anything of what a pony should look like. His deep black mane waved around in the ethereal breeze in a way that reminded me of a flame. The armor he wore looked sharp and cruel, as did his horn. That was perhaps the most striking thing on him besides the eerie glow from his eyes. The thing curved upwards into a very sharp point, fading from smoky black at the base to sinister red at the tip. The thing about it, though, was that it lacked the usual spiral of a unicorn’s horn, making it... unnaturally smooth. I only caught a glimpse of his eyes, but what I saw made a shiver run through my spine.

Hate... Pure. Unrestrained. Hate. The sickly green sclera of his eyes told a thousand words about his state of mind, spoke of an unending hunger for power, and gave us a small insight into the corruption plaguing him so thoroughly. The red iris and purple mist floating away from the corner of his vision further proved to us that he might be too far gone.

This was the result of the dark allure of forbidden magic. It had ensnared him completely in his grasp like a vice, whispering shady truths or half-truths into his mind. The corrupting effect of dark magic was something no mortal could ever withstand, once you were in its trap it wouldn’t so easily let you go.

What could have made him resort to this kind of foul magic, I wonder? Was the pain from the Crystal Heart really enough to drive him so mad that he sought to destroy all light in the world for the rest of eternity? He could have just left the Empire if it caused him such discomfort, he didn’t have to resort to this.

He didn’t have to become this mockery of a pony. He didn’t have to kill Amore. This was the choice of a coward, taking the path of darkness over the path to salvation.

My sisters and I found him in the throne room, and even this place wasn’t spared from the bitterness in his heart. The throne itself upon which he sat was throwing its dark and vicious shadows over the rest of the room, changing this place that was once filled with happiness and love into a wicked display of hatred and fear.

I stared at the impossible hole in the middle of the throne room, descending further than what should have been physically possible. Stairs ran along the edges of it, spiraling down into an inky darkness. If I had to guess, whatever was at the bottom of this staircase would lead to the thing he wanted to hide most from everypony while at the same time always having it within his sight as he sat on his stolen throne. I would also bet all my money on it being the hiding place of the Crystal Heart.

“The oh so glorious Princesses of Equestria come to dethrone me, how predictable. Here to vanquish the King of Monsters, the true Heir of the Umbrum? That’s what you do best, is it not? Get rid of all the monsters threatening your ponies? I can’t say that this is a surprise,” Sombra’s deep and spiteful voice rang out mockingly in a whisper of malicious intent. “Do you like what I have done with this place? I think it suits this Empire more than the painful glare of bright colors you so enjoy. You have no idea what dirty little secrets I have uncovered within that dark pit.”

“We have come to liberate the crystal ponies under your tyranny, Sombra. What has possibly made you think that this is what is right?” Celestia told him, stomping down on the ground as she glared at him. “Have you been driven so mad that you can’t see your own cruelty?”

“Oh, I’m perfectly sane, ‘Princess’,” he said with a sneer, chuckling sinisterly. “My eyes have been opened by the ones that have brought me into this world. Amore was the true monster here and I will cleanse this realm of her stain and free my imprisoned kin. You won’t stop me.”

“We will see about that,” my sister snorted. “I see you won’t accept a peaceful solution then, but that doesn’t mean we won’t stop trying to make you see reason. Luna, now!”

Luna’s eyes blazed brightly as she called forth her alicorn power, gleaming white tendrils of moonlight spiraling up her horn as she said a single word. Sleep. And the stallion before us was powerless to stop her as he tried to reach us before she could do anything to him. Sombra fell to the ground in a heap, fast asleep and unable to fight back against what was about to follow.

Celestia used her magic to transport all of us out in a brilliant flash of light and we reappeared in the snow-covered wastes close to the Crystalline Mountains, far away so that he couldn’t cause any trouble for our soldiers if he were to wake up.

“Place your horn on his forehead, sister,” Luna told me and I nodded. “Celestia will keep us from harm’s way should he awaken before we can accomplish our task while I will keep you safe within his mind.”

“Okay,” I said, my heart thumping wildly in my chest. I filled my lungs with a deep breath in anxiety and placed the tip of my spiraling horn on his head. My little sister stepped up beside me and placed hers next to mine as it brightened considerably.

Then, not a moment later, I stood underneath a dark stormy cloud as biting winds tore through the frigid air around me. I shivered, absentmindedly noting the alien feeling of coldness as my fiery aura was absent within this place. Luna appeared right next to me, her own icy aura not there to protect her against the low temperatures.

A dark and obviously evil voice spoke up in the distance and both Luna and I turned to see the source of the vicious tone. We could already tell from the distance that an uncorrupted Sombra stood in front of a deep red crystal jutting out of the snow, appearing to talk to somepony not physically present.

Deciding to get a bit closer, we listened as the being trapped behind the crystal told him what he was. An umbrum. A shadow pony, a creature of malevolence and smoke. The antithesis to the crystal ponies and their love-filled hearts. He was the complete opposite of what a pony was, a dark creature of contempt and death.

Sombra tried to deny the words of what we learned was his so-called ‘mother’, something I seriously doubted was entirely true. They didn’t share a bond of kinship just because she brought him into this world, this was a manipulative being out to bring eternal darkness upon everything I held dear.

We saw what happened to make Sombra into the stallion that we confronted in the throne room. A bolt of sickly purple magic struck him and infected his very magic, unlocking a part that had been sealed away since he was found out in the blizzard all those years ago.

“This is the moment we need to alter, sister,” I said, looking on in horror as Sombra embraced his new self as he turned into a shadowy creature of nightmares and fear. “This is exactly what we need to change.”

“I will do my best,” Luna said, just as disturbed as I was at the sight. “I will need your assistance, though.”

“Alright, what should I do?” I asked her. My sister explained to me that she would use her magic while I would be the one to provide new images to replace the ones we had seen.

As Luna started to power up her horn, something different happened, though. We were thrown out of the memory entirely while a cruel laugh rang out all around us.

“Did you think I would not notice your intrusion?” Sombra asked, amused. “Did you think I would be defenseless like this?!”

“Show yourself!” I cried out, searching the dark expanse around me for any sign of movement. Luna was in a heap, the backlash from being interrupted in her spellcasting too much for her. “Come on, Luna! We have to get out of here, snap out of it! I need your help, sister!”

Sombra merely continued to laugh and I was at a complete loss as to what I should do. Dream magic wasn’t my forte and this kind of dream came with risks I did not dare to imagine. If we weren’t careful, we could be hurt here and our bodies out in the waking world would pay the price.

Magic like this was dangerous in more ways than one. We literally risked brain damage by doing this and we underestimated our opponent. Starswirl was right. We weren't ready for these kinds of tasks.

“A door once opened...” Sombra cackled wickedly and in the next moment, I was on my own.

I looked around in confusion, standing in the throne room back in our castle.

“What are you doing here?” Celestia called out and I spotted her entering the room behind me. On her face was a glare, a furious gaze I had never been on the receiving end of her. My ears splayed back on my head.

“What do you mean?” I asked, wondering what was going on. “I don’t even remember why I am here in the first place. W-what is going on?”

“You have a lot of nerve, returning here after everything you did!” Tia screamed, a snarl showing on her lips. “I told you I didn’t want to ever see you again! You are no sister of mine, monster.”

“What?!” I cried out, not comprehending the sudden and weird change in the behavior of my twin and lover. “What did I do?!”

“You...” Celestia growled hatefully. “You dare mock me like this?!"

Fearfully, I shuffled back from her approaching figure. "I don't understand! I'm not trying to mock you, sister!"

Celestia scoffed as heat shimmered through the air surrounding her. "You know perfectly well what it is that you did, traitor! Stop pretending you don’t know anything about what you have done to Luna!”

“Luna?" I whispered fearfully, a pit forming in my stomach. I don't like where this was going. “What happened to her? Is she alright?”

Celestia flew into a rage as her mane and coat burst into flames with the power of the sun, and she was perfectly willing to attack me with her full might. Not knowing what I should do, I dodged to the side with a squeak as I scrambled away from the furious strikes my sister sent my way.

I tried to get her to tell me what was wrong, why she was so mad at me, but Tia only got even more enraged at me for 'daring to fake ignorance'. What was it that I have forgotten? Something that Luna must have been involved in, clearly.

There was only one answer that came to me, but I didn’t want to acknowledge that possibility. In no way could my own sister be... I couldn’t even think of it. Thinking it might make it real. I feared that damnable thought, I tried to distract myself with anything but the horrible thing I wanted to avoid thinking about so much.

Avoiding the blows from my wife, I wondered why she wasn’t using her magic to get to me. It didn’t make any sense. Celestia relied on her magic for everything, there was no way she wouldn’t be using it.

I squeaked out a pained shriek as her wing grazed my ear, cutting slightly into it. I whimpered as I felt the wound immediately get cauterized at the same time. My Celestia wouldn’t ever do this to me. Why couldn’t I remember what happened between us?! Where was Luna when I really needed her?

“You killed her!”

Her words hammered into my skull like a sledgehammer. That couldn’t be true, I refuse to believe it.

“You let Sombra rip her mind to shreds!”

I let out a cry of denial, trying to shake away her words.

“You left her to fend for herself like the stupid coward that you are!”

I let out a sob. Was it true? Did I really abandon my own baby sister?

“It's all your fault!”

It was my fault. Mine. All mine. I wasn’t there to help her. Luna was dead because I abandoned her. I was the one responsible for her death. My fault. Mine.

All my fault.

I was a monster, abandoning my own baby sister.

She was dead because of me. Luna died while I was too much of a coward to help her. Celestia was right. She always was. She was right. It’s my fault.

I let Sombra kill my sister because I wasn’t strong enough. I was the one that abandoned her. It was my fault. Mine. Sombra killed her, but it was my fault. I wasn’t there to help her.

I wasn’t there to defend my sweet little sister. It was my fault. Mine.

Mine. Mine. Mine.

MY FAULT! MINE!

I let out a crazed laugh, rolling on the ground in tears. I felt Tia cut into me and I relished in the punishment because I deserved it. I deserved every last bit of it. I cried and laughed, hysterical sobs escaping me as I couldn’t deny the truth anymore. I was responsible for Luna's death and I needed to atone for my terrible sins.

Luna’s memory deserved nothing less.

I needed to accept that I was a bad pony. I was a very bad pony. I was perhaps the worst one to have ever lived. Abandoning my own baby sister in her greatest time of need… I deserved to suffer for eternity.

A small part of my mind wondered why I wasn’t dead yet. Celestia should have killed me already, there was no way she would be so cruel as to torture me for longer than what was necessary. She should have already been done with me. She wouldn’t toy around with me like this, right?

I laughed and cried. Laughed and cried.

A midnight blue hoof slapped me across my muzzle and I looked at the appendage, puzzled at the color. It was wrong. Celestia’s hoof wasn’t midnight blue. Since when was Tia’s hoof midnight blue?

My eyes trailed up slowly in confusion. Why had Celestia stopped torturing me? I was a bad filly, I needed to be punished. Mine. My fault. Mine. I was a monster. Sombra killed Luna and I let him. Her blood was on my hooves. Mine.

Kind turquoise eyes stared at me, tears in them. That's weird. It's all wrong. Celestia had pale magenta eyes. Why were her eyes turquoise now? It's my fault. I killed Luna. All my fault. Mine alone.

A mad bout of laughter escaped my lips as Celestia’s voice sounded like Luna’s. I was seeing and hearing things, I had to. My sister was dead, after all. And it was my fault. Mine. I was a monster. A traitorous piece of scum.

And my mind broke. It totally and utterly broke into thousands of pieces, my maddened laughter was all that was left of me. Nothing was more important now. Nothing but laughter and tears.

This was my punishment, for whatever crime I had committed. I’m sure I deserved it, though. It was my fault. Mine. Mine! All mine! Mine alone!

Laugh, little mare! Laugh! Laugh and laugh and laugh! Cry... let your tears flow. Cry, and cry, and cry. Cry, you piece of garbage! Let those tears burn you as you laugh, you despicable traitor! Cry until there won't be more tears to shed! Laugh until your sides hurt and you can breathe no more! It was all I knew how to do, so I did. And why shouldn’t I? Laugh… laugh! It was all my fault! Cry… cry! The fault was all mine, ah hah ha ha!

I felt like there was... something wrong with this hysteric need to cry and laugh, but… it felt so good to laugh and cry and laugh while crying. The fault was mine, after all. Whatever I did, I was responsible for it. It was my fault alone and I needed to be punished for it. Yes. Yes~! I needed to be punished~!

“Snap out of it!” the mare in front of me shouted at me and like a fog being lifted, my mind was clear again. I saw the truth. My eyes had been opened. Sombra. He did this to me. It was his fault, not mine. And I would deliver his sentence. There was nowhere he could hide from me.

Fury rose within me and my coat turned from white to yellow and then to a light orange. It glowed with righteous anger and my mane and tail ignited with hatred for the stallion at the root of all evil.

I gnashed my sharp teeth together as the need to destroy burned within me. A flame escaped my nostrils as I snorted out a hot breath of air. The mare in front of me looked on in horror as I grinned toothily like a shark. Oh, yes. Punishment was due, indeed~. I let out an enraged whinny, rearing up with one swift movement and stomping my hooves on the false ground equally as fast. As my hooves connected with a titanic might, I shattered it.

“Sombra, you coward!" I bellowed out in fury. My breath came out in ragged grunts, my vision clouded in red. I saw the bastard try to flee from me as he sped away in the dark mist-like form of his true self.

Nopony escapes my wrath...

With a snarl on my muzzle, I took to the air with a mighty flap of my wings, not even noticing the shockwave I caused with the sudden movement. He won't find a hiding place on this planet that I couldn't find, that I swore to myself.

After all, what was a shadow to the blazing sun? I would show him the folly of his judgment, a vicious laugh escaping me as I ensnared him in blistering tendrils of solar magic, cooking his flesh as he thrashed around, screaming in agony. And I couldn’t get enough of his screams, they were oh-so delightful to hear~.

He wanted to rip my mind apart, and he managed to do it. What he didn’t count on though, was that I would do something even worse to him. I cackled wickedly as his fur was almost completely burned away, charring the skin a crispy black. In some spots, I could already see the sizzling muscles, and the smell made my mouth water with anticipation.

I absentmindedly noticed we weren’t in the dream realm anymore, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. He needed to be punished. Sombra was too much of a threat to be kept alive.

The rat needed to die and I was ready to do what was necessary. I would deliver the ultimate punishment a pony like him deserved.

He has to die. And I am going to cackle all the way until I am sure he was so thoroughly dead, even his soul was torn into pieces. There won’t be anything left of him once I was done with him.

A figure tackled me, ripping me out of the sky and causing us to fall to the ice below. The snow melted away in no time and the water around us began to bubble as it began to boil, melting even more ice in the process.

“Stop this, sister! What madness is this?! Look at yourself!” the pony before myself cried out, but I just cackled more in my delusional state. He wasn’t dead yet, I wouldn’t stop just because this foolish mare thought she could stand in my way.

I was a monster. And a monster hunts for prey. Nothing would keep me from it. Not even this nuisance of a distraction. What did she even think she would accomplish by doing this, huh? Make me see reason? Please, don't make me laugh.

I had but one purpose now, and that was the end of all wickedness. I needed to rip, tear, and rend the flesh off of Sombra’s bones. It was my purpose, my destiny. I was the Fallen Star, Bringer of Destruction, punisher of all evil. And I relished the feeling of this overwhelming power. Then, after he was but a stain on the ground, I would devour what was left of his soul and ensure he would never return.

The thought excited me and I couldn’t wait to do so. I wondered what a soul would taste like and I cackled once more gleefully in anticipation. I’m sure it would be unlike anything I could ever imagine.

“Sister, please! Summer, come back to me! This isn’t you!” she wept, the water around us evaporating away as we reached the ground beneath the layer of ice. “SUMMER, STOP!”

“...Summer?” I asked, snorting in confusion. This mare was getting on my nerves, standing in my way like this. Who does she think she is? “I don't know who the fuck you are talking about, but you need to get out of my way. Now. Before you will regret it”

“What?” she whispered out in horror. “Summer, don’t joke like this.”

“Stop calling me that,” I snorted with a snarl, struggling to push her away from me. She was surprisingly strong, I have to give it to her. “Let go of me now or I will make you. I have a pony to kill. I won't rest until I devour his wretched soul and make sure he won’t ever be able to return.”

“Please,” this stupid mare cried out. “Remember your promise?”

A sharp tone pierced my skull as she said that and I winced. “What? A promise? I... there was a promise... I had one with somepony... important. I need to… keep it… for some reason. It was… it was… Urgh…” I mumbled out confused, a painful twinge piercing my insides. I shook my head, trying to make the pain go away, but the tinnitus got even worse. I snarled in anger as my thoughts felt sluggish. “What was it? I can’t remember...”

“You promised me that you wouldn’t let your grief and rage cloud your judgment, Summer. My sweet Sunshine. Please, remember. For me.”

My heart stopped as she called me that damnable name again, that last phrase sending a lance of pure agony through my insides. Why does she keep calling me like that?! Why does she seem so familiar to me?

I was overtaken by surprise as a tender kiss was placed on my lips. Her muzzle felt so soft and tender, and before I knew it, a moan escaped me as funny things started happening to my body. What the hell was she doing to me?! I needed to… punish the wickedness… out of… Sombra…

Another moan left my muzzle as her tongue prodded me and I felt an entirely different kind of heat blossoming within me, traveling towards my stomach and further down below. Blood rushed to one point only and the sensation distracted me from the pain I felt previously. I had no idea how to feel about this as this mare evoked all these strange feelings inside of me, and then she dared to press her tongue past my lips. For some strange reason, though, I allowed her entrance into my maw as my breaths became more shallow.

This was confusing. There was a feeling inside me for this mare, something my blackened heart tried so desperately to figure out what it was. It felt warm. Not as warm as my sun, but more comforting. The feeling felt... good. Addicting, even. Heavenly.

Her tongue went over my sharp teeth as if she had never felt something akin to them before. I growled into the kiss, throwing her underneath me in the molten pool of stone as I ravenously explored her own mouth with my slender tongue. Her saliva tasted like sweet sugary nectar to me and I wanted more.

I needed more. The taste was simply divine to my tongue...

My burning mane caressed her cheek in a light touch, not even managing to burn away her fur. I would make her mine, I decided. No other pony beside me had a claim to her.

The fiery orange aura of my celestial magic reached out to my nethers and I felt the transformation take place. I had no idea where I got the spell from, but I would make good use of it. My body demanded it of me.

This mare would cry out in ecstasy as I forced myself on her and she would like every minute of it. She made me feel this strange urge and she would take care of my needs until I could think clearly again. Otherwise, I would have to punish her for her defiance and the audacity to stand in my way. And I was rather reluctant to mar her pretty little head with my hooves. I have rather taken a liking to her divine beauty.

The mare underneath me cried out a moan as I plunged my shaft into her sopping wet snatch without so much as a warning, retreating not a moment later. I nipped her lip as I thrust in and back out, ramming my rod right back into her with a needy growl from my throat. She was tight, but it felt so good around my shaft that I didn’t really care. All I cared about was sating this hunger she inflicted upon me.

I would ravish her until she was a blubbering mess. All thoughts of killing the stallion lying a small distance away from us were forgotten as I had a new purpose now. My heart fluttered in my chest, this confusing feeling returning as I plowed my dick back into the quivering mare underneath me. I had no idea what I was doing, but it seemed to be working. The feeling of need built up more and more, and I knew it would reach a crescendo soon, releasing something from within me to calm me back down in a single flood of pleasure. And then, I could go back to whatever it was I was previously doing.

I groaned as I increased the pace of my thrusts, her walls clenching around me beautifully. I felt pride as she cried out against me with every hammering push I subjected her to. I grinned wickedly as I saw her half-lidded eyes beg me to finish her off and grant her a sweet orgasm of relief.

Lightly nipping her on one of her ears, I pushed in even deeper into her marehood. I let out a self-satisfied laugh as she was left a panting mess and I continued to drive my rod deeper into her while my tip touched the entrance to her inner sanctum lightly, causing her to scream out.

I wasn’t done yet, though. A few more pushes and I would be free of this 'need', I knew it. I retreated all the way back out and then I shoved my dick back in with a titanic thrust. Just as fast as I went in, I brought it back out again. A few more. Only… a few… more! I went back in again, the feeling of sliding within her caused me to shudder more and more. My peak was approaching and I was going to finish no matter what. I needed this to end, and if she dared to rebel against me again, I would make her rue the day she decided to do so.

But before I could continue on further, the other pony tackled me away from her. Snarling, I threw my hooves against the one that took away my conquest. I was so close to finishing what she started, and now the other one kept me from my desired relief?! How dare she.

Fine, then. If I cannot sate this need with the white beauty, then this one will have to do.

The midnight blue mare evaded one blow after another and continued to evade me just as quickly, much to my displeasure. Even the tendrils of solar magic couldn’t reach her, managing to drive me slowly into a frenzy in my attempt to ensnare her.

If she wanted to take me away from my conquest so much, I would force her to satisfy me, instead. I would leave her a blubbering mess so I could finish what I started. I still had a wicked soul to punish. Nothing would keep me away from that. Not this mare. Not the other one. And certainly not this damnable need for relief.

“Return to your senses at once, Summer!” she demanded and I snorted out a puff of flames again as I glared back at her. She just took me away from making the white one mine and she would pay for it. I would ravish her for so long that she would start to bleed. And then… who knows, I might keep her and the other one after I was through with Sombra. “Come on, you idiot! I know you’re in there!”

“You just made the biggest mistake in your life, little mare,” I growled, firing a beam of superheated flames at her. Only for her to throw back a beam of her own, one that canceled out mine with a frigid void.

“I won’t let you fall prey to this madness, sister,” she told me. Her eyes lit up and I watched on curiously, intrigued. “And certainly not impregnate your wife, not like this. This ends now, Summer. You will go to sleep.”

As she said the word sleep, my whole body suddenly lost all of its strength. I fell down to the ground, my eyes closing without my permission as I struggled against her command. What magic was this?! How dare she stand against me?

Before I knew it, my eyelids fell shut and I found myself floating in an empty space of nothingness, left to stew in my rage and the tiny feeling of indignity all by myself. Well, it wasn’t entirely empty. There was a shattered light in the distance and I wondered what it could possibly be. I wanted to reach out to it but ultimately decided against it. Something felt wrong about it and I started to feel afraid for the first time in my life.

A deep, existential terror gripped my heart as I thought about this seemingly innocent bit of light that lay shattered before me. Something told me I wouldn’t like what would happen to me if I were to touch it. A primal feeling of fear over the unknown urged me to get as far away from it as I could.

The darkness was my friend, I decided. I would stay here where it couldn’t reach me. In no way would I trust this thing floating there in front of me.

Too bad I didn’t get to decide that for myself.

The mare that brought me here appeared beside me in a flash of light and before I could let out a raging snarl, images flashed before my eyes as she brought the light from the distance closer to us. Or us closer to it, I couldn’t entirely say for certain.

“Stop hiding in the dark and embrace your true self, Summer,” she told me and slowly I started to recognize her. My fractured mind started to slowly piece itself together and I wanted to empty my gut out as I remembered what I had almost done.

I let myself get consumed by hatred, something I swore I would never let happen to myself.

I had raped my own wife, even though she let me do it. Celestia had initiated the make-out session but I had taken it too far. Had it not been for Luna... there could have been serious consequences. Consequences that could have caused a newborn to live in misery, shunned and alone in a world that would not accept them.

This wasn’t how I wanted to have sex with my wife, not like that. My eyes had viewed her as a mere object to be conquered as I had my way with her. I felt ashamed that I had degraded her so much in my addled state.

Not to mention the thoughts I had held for Luna...

My sister smiled in relief as my coat returned to normal and my mane lost its burning flames. The sharp teeth went back to the flat ones I felt a lot more comfortable with. And with this transformation back into my true self also came the sorrow.

I wept into the arms of my little sister as I felt like I had betrayed myself, her, and Tia. The promise of keeping my raging emotions in check had been broken because I was too weak to see that Sombra had manipulated me.

The feeling of having been used by him made my fur crawl. It might have backfired on his part, but it still felt like he had stained a very part of my soul in the process. I had almost murdered him with a gleeful smile on my muzzle and even considered devouring his flesh and soul. And perhaps worst of all, I had given in to the feelings of possessiveness over Celestia, reducing her to a mere object to be fucked.

I had acted with cruelty and greed, instead of staying true to my ideals of kindness and generosity. The darkness within me had almost desecrated the holy sacredness of life itself. Destroying a soul… it was a perversion of everything I stood for.

My sister comforted me even after she brought me out of my mind into the waking world. Celestia was also there and she didn’t hold anything against me for what I had done to her while I thought of myself as the Fallen Star.

The compassion both of them showed to me was heart-wrenching to me. They showered me with comforting words and hugs, something that I felt I didn’t deserve in a million years. Both of them assured me that it wasn’t my fault, though. I wish I could have believed them, but all I felt was a profound feeling of dirtiness.

Celestia and Luna, my dearest sisters, what would I do without you? If you hadn’t been here to snap me out of it, to what lengths would I have been willing to go to? And at what would I have stopped?

The thought of purging this world of all evil like Sombra flashed before me in my mind. Fallen Star would have claimed this world as impure during our madness, wouldn’t she? She would have gone to erase anything that didn’t fit her vision of a perfect world, I just knew it. And I would have forced my sisters to be mere toys to entertain myself with, wouldn’t I?

She was me, just the darker part. We were two sides of one coin, that much I couldn’t deny. I... I felt scared. Absolutely terrified, even. But at the same time, a traitorous thought popped up within the confines of my mind. I felt disappointed that I didn’t succeed in annihilating Sombra. I still wanted him to suffer for eternity. Afraid and horrified by my own thoughts, I voiced out my concerns to my sisters and they assured me that they wouldn’t let me fall like that again. I wasn't very much inclined to believe them, unable to trust myself ever again. At the same time, though, there was a part of me that felt... sorry for Fallen Star.

She was a product of my rage and grief, born out of hate for something that Sombra did. I wanted to show her that she didn’t have to live with these dark feelings, that there was a better way than that. We didn't have to be this vengeful 'punisher' hunting for the wicked because they deserved to be shown no mercy. We could still do right and be just. Not every criminal was beyond redemption. Sombra, or even Platinum, could have a change of heart later down the line. Who was I to deny them that opportunity to change for the better? I suppose I wanted to prove that to myself first and foremost.

Perhaps, if I ever got the chance, I would set things right. I would embrace Fallen Star as she deserved and show her the right way. Show myself the right way, I guess. It was a little bit confusing explaining this to my sisters, seeing that Fallen Star was literally a part of myself. She was me lost within my own darkness. It was also not helped by the fact that we were suffering through a particularly vicious bout of madness at the same time. Perhaps if I tried turning into her again, things might be different now that I could remember who I was, but… I was afraid. Afraid I would start to rampage all over again.

Both of my sisters were understanding of me with my struggle, much to my surprise. I couldn't fathom how they could possibly empathize with me on this, but I was glad they made the effort to do so. They weren’t the least bit disgusted with me for having wanted to devour his soul. This whole ordeal felt like it somehow brought us closer together as a family, even if I felt like I was a ticking time bomb at the moment.

After they reassured me I wasn't a monster, there was one final question we needed to ask ourselves. Could we really subject Sombra to an icy prison beneath the glaciers? We had no idea if the spell would put him in an actual suspended animation for however long we felt should be necessary.

The answer came surprisingly easy to me. Yes, we could. But even still… “We should still kill him,” the raunchy voice of my darkest feelings spoke out as a little bit of hatred flared up within me, speaking with the voice of my alter-ego. My sisters looked at me aghast and in confusion.

“Sister?” Celestia asked me and I turned my eyes to her. She let out a gasp as she saw my gaze. “Your eyes... they’re like hers.”

“What?” I asked in a whisper, suddenly even more afraid than I was before. The feeling of my inner hatred retreated back from where it came and I shivered, shrinking in on myself. Was I losing my mind? Were Fallen Star and I not so different, after all? I think I might have a problem here...

“Your pupils, they were vertical not a moment ago,” Luna told me. “We should have you looked at when we are back home, Summer. Just to make sure there aren’t any adverse effects from your... little bout of insanity.”

“That’s probably a good idea, I feel like I’m constantly losing my grasp over my own feelings,” I muttered exhaustedly. Although, as I looked down on Sombra, a sneer came to my lips once more as I beheld the damage I inflicted upon him. Hatred and the need to destroy his pathetic existence reared their ugly head from within me, replacing my frazzled emotions with hers again. “He deserves to die, though.”

“Oh, we're definitely going to have a look at you later, sister,” Luna sighed, pity in her eyes as she looked at me. “If this continues on, we need to find a more permanent solution to your condition. This can't go on.”

“I’m sorry, I...” I said, rubbing my eyes as I began to feel the first signs of a headache forming. A growl escaped me unbidden and I tried to desperately keep my emotions in check before I could say anything. Too bad that I had a bad habit of lashing out when I didn’t want to. “It’s not a condition, okay?!”

“Sister...” Celestia chastised me and I wilted slightly at the admonishment, my rage fading as quickly as it came.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to say that in such a... I didn’t mean to...” I whispered, shaking slightly as I felt like screaming again. The burning rage within my chest threatened to spill out again and this time I managed to shove it away. “It’s… ugh… it's hard trying to rein myself in with him directly in front of me.”

“I understand, Summer,” Celestia told me, nuzzling the side of my head gently. Despite her gesture being comforting, all I felt was shame and disgust at myself. “Luna and I can take care of this if you’re not feeling up to this.”

“No! I... I need to see this through. F-for Amore,” I shot back, almost saying something to her that wasn’t entirely nice and kind. I had to breathe in deeply to calm myself, lest I lash out in frustration again. Come on, Summer. Focus. You can do this. “Let’s make sure he never returns to torment the crystal ponies like he did.”

“Very well,” Celestia sighed and I got the impression she was sad and disappointed in me. Almost like she hoped I would take it easy and return home before I lost it entirely. She… didn't trust me anymore, did she? No, not me. She didn't trust Fallen Star. “If you will, please lend me your magic so I can cast the spell.”

Hesitantly, I nodded, and together with Luna by my side, we poured our celestial magic into our sister, our horns all touching each other. As my twin sent out the multicolored burst of magic towards Sombra, though, we saw him wake up due to the veritable vortex of arcane might whirling around him.

And I wished he had stayed unconscious as he yelled out his last desperate cry of hatred while he was being dragged into a fissure in the glacier we took him to. Sombra’s last curse wrapped around the Crystal Empire, forcing it to disappear as he was enclosed within the deepest depths of ice we could banish him to.

I wept for the guards and ponies we had left behind in the city. Sombra took away thousands of ponies out of spite. I sat there numbly, staring at the spot where the once-great city stood in disbelief. My sisters weren’t better off, I noticed.

The stallion was a despicable monster, dooming an entire Empire because he failed to stay in power. Not even one crystal remained to tell that there had ever been an Empire in the first place. We had only a few things left of Amore and the Empire, chief among them were the flowers she gifted us with as we first met her.

My darker side wanted to break Sombra out of his prison and run my horn through his skull in revenge. I forced myself to calm down, though, taking solace in the fact that I knew Sombra would stay awake during his sentence, trapped in loneliness.

We returned to our castle in the Everfree Forest, feeling like we lost despite our best efforts. Tia, Lulu, and I had searched for Radiant Hope for three hours straight, flying every which way in the hopes of spotting her from the air, but we sadly came up empty-hooved. Wherever she went, she didn’t want to be found and I couldn’t fault her for that. We had failed to save Sombra from himself, and now, her home was gone, too.

Such a failure this mission turned out to be. Not only had we nothing to show for our success, but we also lost good ponies while we were at it. Ponies we swore to protect with our lives should it come down to it.

It taught us a valuable lesson in defeat. Despite everything we might try, we could still fail. We were not infallible to failure just because we had the power of the celestial objects on our side. Despite being so powerful, we would come across problems like these, too. Problems that couldn’t be solved by waving our horns at them and hoping those standing against us would go away.

That lesson was perhaps the cruelest but most needed one that we had ever been taught. Starswirl wasn’t entirely surprised to see us return in such a somber fashion.

To say that he wasn’t pleased with us was understating it so massively, a dust speck would have dwarfed the twin suns, instead. We had to sit through lecture after lecture about not underestimating our foes, not rushing in without a proper plan (and without telling somepony where we went off to), not taking precautions while using mind magic, and so on and so forth.

It took us some time before he even started to consider accepting our apologies for having been ‘dumb, moody teenagers that didn’t know any better’, giving us cartloads full of homework as punishment. After he gave us our punishment and enough lectures to last us a lifetime, we touched upon the more... delicate matters.

It wasn’t entirely tactful of him to try and study me as soon as we recounted the part where I gave in to the darkness in my heart and turned into Fallen Star. I was this close to unleashing my dark half on him just to get away from his mad-scientist schemes, were it not for my sisters.

Sometimes Starswirl could be really insensitive, I swear. I was glad I didn’t turn into Fallen Star just to get rid of the old coot, though. Despite his antics, I do like him very much.

While I was glad that we managed to give the old coot the slip at some point (seriously, he never knew when to stop with some of the things he did...), it didn’t mean that I wouldn’t have to confront my dark side again, though.

“Are you sure this is a wise idea?” I asked my sisters as we settled on the massive bed in Celestia’s chambers. Luna nodded while Tia let out a sigh.

“We need to, Summer,” she told me and I could practically feel the pity she held for me. They were treating me like porcelain again and… I couldn't really fault them for that. “We have to find out the full extent of what this darkness is capable of within you. And perhaps figure out if we could be similarly affected. I… I know I have felt something similar before, to be honest…”

“Okay...” I whispered, taking a deep breath in anxiety. That doesn't exactly fill me with confidence, but better now than never, right? "Okay... yeah. Yeah, that... yeah. I, uh... I can do this, no biggie. Nothing bad is gonna happen. Everything is going to be fine. It’s just... a friendly visit, no need to worry. Okay, I… I think I’m ready…"—I let out another breath before fidgeting nervously—" But what if I’m not? Anything can happen! I can’t... I... No! No, I am ready. I won’t chicken out. What's the worst that can happen?”

My sister rolled her eyes exasperatedly as I laughed awkwardly to myself before her horn lit up with moonlight. A moment later, Luna brought us into a shared dreamscape, and we found ourselves in a large, ornate chamber with a... 'special' mirror in the middle. My wife enveloped me in her wings and gave me a reassuring nuzzle, calming me down to the best of her ability and I started to feel a little less nervous just from her presence alone. With her at my side, there was no way anything bad would happen to me.

Still, the presence of that mirror and what it would show felt like it exuded a heavy, oppressive feeling in the chamber around us, and I couldn’t help but tremble a little bit at the prospect of standing in front of it. I wanted to do anything but stand in front of that mental construct my little sister crafted with her dream magic, fearing the existence of it only because I feared what my reflection in it would say. Of what it would do if I was wrong about my gut feeling.

A few reassuring murmurs from my twin chased away those thoughts from where they had come from and I felt my wife give me a tiny nudge, silently telling me that everything was going to be fine and that she wouldn’t go anywhere. It was almost as if Tia took away all of my insecurities and I felt a pleasant warmth spread through me at having her there with me. Both her and Lulu.

Haah. Okay… okay, okay. I could do this. No. I can do this, not could, I corrected myself and with a little bit of trepidation, I started to chant a little mantra to get rid of all my doubts. I can do this, I can do this, I can do this.

Gulping, I approached the reflecting side of it, fearing what I would see. I was completely unprepared to stare into the burning golden eyes of my alter-ego, both of them with slit pupils. They looked cruel by default and I shivered in fear, despite knowing that those eyes would never hurt me.

I wasn’t so certain the same could be said for anypony else, though...

“Hello, Summer~,” my reflection spoke up and I let out a fearful squeak, screwing my eyes shut. I tried not to think of anything even remotely sexy as her voice did wonders to my nethers. The raunchy quality of it made her seem like one hell of a seductress and I was hopeless to resist. “Mhh. I see you brought the sexy one with you~.”

“Yes, well,” Celestia coughed awkwardly and I chanced a look at my other half again. The way she looked at my twin made me feel slightly jealous, and from the looks of it, she knew perfectly well how I felt. “We came here to ascertain whether or not you’re going to be a threat to my lover.”

“Dear, I am literally her,” Fallen Star smirked, showing her sharp teeth off. Her behavior was almost predatory in nature. And yet, I couldn't help but feel like it was just for show. “I’m sure she has already told you so. Or I suppose I told you, but let’s just pretend for now we are two completely separate entities. Fewer headaches that way.”

“You... aren’t a split personality?” I asked, uncertainly. Her smoldering gaze turned back to me with a raised brow.

Fallen Star sneered. “No, you’re talking to yourself, you idiot,” she shot back, a wickedly sharp fang showing past her... or was it my lips? I’m just going to say ‘her’ as long as we are talking to each other with the soul mirror between us. “We are one and the same pony. I am you when you give in to the darkness. Conversely, if I give in to the light, I turn back into you.”

“So we can’t be... both?” I asked, confused. “If I’m talking to my darkness right now, is there not a middle ground?”

“Hmmm... I believe it once looked like this?” Star said and conjured up an image of my human self. “Humans do love to represent both sides of the coin, do they not?”

“That’s... messed up. I was never so cruel while I was Rudolph,” I told her. She shrugged back at me.

“But you weren’t the paragon of kindness, either. Sure, you tried to live by that example, but you never were as forgiving as you are as a pony. Don’t even try to pretend otherwise, you know I’m right~,” she said and I had to give it to her, she was kinda right? I didn't like it one bit, though. “Anyway, back to the question at hoof whether or not 'I' am a threat... what do you think, Summer?”

“I...” I mumbled, fidgeting on my flanks slightly. “I want to give you the benefit of the doubt. Anypony deserves a chance, after all. And... we are both the same pony, right? If you are a threat, then so am I. This is really confusing... I don’t want to condemn you for thinking the way you do...”

“Oh, how I love your bleeding heart,” Fallen Star cackled. “It has taught me many things already, my dear. Our little bout of insanity was an... 'eye-opener', to say the least. I’m glad dear Lulu managed to piece us back together,”—she licked her lips slowly, slightly mockingly—” I can tell this is going to be one very interesting relationship between us.”

“Don’t mock her,” Luna snorted. “Only Tia and I are allowed to mock her bleeding heart.”

“Oh, the blue one is also here, what joy...” Star sighed and I felt her (my?) annoyance spike up. “You took my fun away from me.”

“No, I made you see reason, something I’m sure you’re more than glad for,” Luna shot back with a sharp glare. Fallen Star grumbled grumpily with a pout, not at all willing to admit that my little sister was even remotely right with that. I could feel what she was feeling, they were my emotions after all. This still had me incredibly confused, much to my chagrin.

“Fine, fine,” Fallen Star grumbled. “You win, dear sister of mine. I will only do what my 'good' half sees fit should be done, happy?”

“Very,” Luna nodded with a smile.

“Hmph. If you weren’t able to tell if I am honest with you or not, I would go so far as to say you’re a gullible fool,” she snorted, looking down at my sister with a frown. “But I will stick to my words as long as we are not in mortal danger. Only then will I bring our foe a swift death. No need to be needlessly cruel with it. Besides, my good side would feel bad and I hate feeling like that.”

My twin gave her a small smile, still a bit skeptical, but she was starting to warm up to my other half. “I’m glad you are willing to show some modicum of kindness, at least. It is going to take some time getting used to…"—Tia motioned at Fallen Star's general appearance with a hoof—" that, but I know you're still the same pony deep down,” she said. “Now, I think it’s time we find out if my sister and I have this... 'darkness'... within us as well or not.”

“Oh, I am very curious to see where that question leads to,” Fallen Star grinned wickedly. “Make room for our twin, Summer! This, I got to see!”

I rolled my eyes as I basically just told myself to shove it and stepped aside from the mirror to give my wife the center spot to look into the soul mirror. And as she did so, her reflection changed to one quite similar (but at the same time very different) to what mine was like.

The sclera of the pony in front of my wife was pitch black, almost demonic in appearance, making her eyes stand out a lot. And while her coat didn’t change colors that much in contrast to my alter-ego, it did gain a more orange tint to it when compared to her usual pearly white fur. Her mane was just as fiery as my own when I was Fallen Star. Perhaps it was a bit brighter with a lighter tone of color, now that I had a better comparison. The yellow sun, indeed.

“Ahh, what a delightful surprise~,” Evil-Twin said as my sisters and I stared at her smug grin. “I do enjoy seeing this... weak version of myself. It just goes to show how superior I am to you. No wonder, I am magnificent, it would be impossible to mimic my majestic look.”

“And what do you call yourself, hm?” Luna snorted and the pony in the mirror gave her a condescending look.

“Watch your tongue, girl,” she snarled. “It would be such a shame to lose it, wouldn’t it? I would hate to disfigure such a pretty face. Oh, just thinking about all the things I could do with you gets me excited, gorgeous~.”

My sister facehoofed. “Great, she is a pervert, too,” Luna muttered and I giggled. Well, they are the same pony, it shouldn’t come to her as such a surprise.

“If you must know... I am Daybreaker, the Eternal Sun, the one and only true regent,” Daybreaker introduced herself. “And if dear me should get her mildly less majestic flanks in gear to become me, there won’t be anything stopping me from forcing my tongue down your throat, my gorgeous little sister. You would be at my mercy alone and I wouldn’t ever let you go. Mhhn, yes~.”

Luna blushed and sputtered, her eyelid twitching as she turned her gaze away from her, avoiding ours in the process at the same time as well. Oh, I see where this is going... she had those kinds of fantasies, hadn’t she?

Daybreaker let out a cackle as she saw our little sister squirm on the spot while Luna threw small glances back every once in a while. I had to giggle as the picture looked absolutely adorable.

The scene was interrupted as Celestia tapped her hoof against the mirror's surface, drawing the attention back to her. “What I want to know, though,” my twin interjected, making Daybreaker raise a brow at her. “Are you a threat to us and our ponies?”

“My, my,” her alter-ego chuckled, grinning maliciously. “Isn’t that the question worth asking? Why do you think I would be, hm?”

“Have you looked into a mirror recently?” Celestia snorted, raising a brow at her. "You don't exactly come across as fair and forgiving."

“Eh, I guess you have a point there,” Daybreaker shrugged, not at all offended. She then licked her lips, eying both Luna and me with a look that basically screamed she was thinking naughty things right now. “I suppose those two will have to be enough for me. I do enjoy the look of their... flanks. Oh, the things I want to do to you right now. Mhnn~.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Can you give us a serious answer for once?” my sister asked, put off by her perverted behavior. “Preferably one not filled with your baser instincts?”

Daybreaker snorted derisively to herself, crossing her arms over her chest in a pout. “Ruin my fun, why don’t you?” she muttered with a scowl on her muzzle. “Now, while I have not lied about you lovely ladies, there is little that interests me in hurting the ponies you rule over, Celestia. There needs to be a nation to rule over in the first place, after all. Can’t make their lives miserable for the sake of sating my... mhnn... darker desires, or I won’t have anything left to play with~.”

“I suppose that's the best we can ask for,” I sighed. “At least we know where your priorities lie.”

“Oh, dearest sister of mine,” the mare within the mirror sent me bedroom eyes, her tongue licking one of her sharp fangs. “You should know better by now, shouldn’t you? This is one thing Celestia and I can readily agree on, we are the same pony after all, are we not? You, my sweet Sunshine, are my favorite plaything.”

Celestia blushed brightly as her darker self pressed herself against the glass of the mirror, licking it from her side. Luna and I began to blush, too, as Daybreaker let out an exaggerated moan, seemingly getting off on the thought of 'playing' with me.

“How I wish I could just come over there to ravish you all,” she whined, managing to make even that sound sexy. “Fallen Star hit all the right spots, dear. Just thinking about it makes my body all hot and bothered again~. Mhmm, if I concentrate, I can still feel it push into me... filling me to my core. Oh, yes! What a delight that was. And we were so close, too. I was so disappointed when Luna ruined our fun together.”

“You...” Luna sputtered incredulously at her recount of the events and her shamelessness. “You really are a depraved pony, can’t you see what almost happened?”

“Oh, don’t get your panties in a twist, Moonbutt,” Daybreaker rolled her eyes. “Nothing would have happened, we aren’t in season for that to happen to begin with. Mhh… she could have come gallons of virile seed directly in our womb and nothing would have come from it. At least, I think that’s how it works... You know, our dear mother should have given us a bit more of a sex education than ‘Don’t leave the fucking room, you morons’...”

“Those weren’t her words...” I corrected her indignantly. “Although… I guess it basically boils down to that. I think Mom was trying to avoid giving us the talk, to be honest.”

“Well, it’s been fun, little Sunshine,” Daybreaker said, polishing the red metal of her shoes on her chest, checking her own reflection in them afterward. She really was a vain pony, even more so than my wife already was. “I’m sure you are all raring to find out what little Lulu’s dark side looks like, as am I. So, shoo~ shoo~, Tia, get your cake flanks away from the mirror.”

My twin rolled her eyes as she also basically told herself to fuck off, something that would have been quite funny if the purpose of our visit here wasn’t quite as mentally exhausting as it was. Seeing the bad versions of yourselves was a bit more eye-opening than I thought. Although, I had to say that they weren’t... entirely irredeemable, just misguided. And/or perverted (as well as highly irresponsible).

This, whatever this was, had to be something unique to the alicorn race. In no way would a normal pony have such a powerful dark side to them, at least not one that could back that claim up with overpowered celestial powers. Perhaps alicorns were more prone to embody all aspects of harmony, good and bad.

Harmony wasn’t just the peaceful image most ponies would think of. While it could mean something like that, the most basic example of harmony is of opposites existing in a balanced co-existence. That also included dark and light. A thing that we seemingly represented to the highest degree.

Luna hesitated for a moment before stepping in front of the mirror with a gulp. I could tell that she wasn’t particularly keen on standing in front of it, probably because of the last ten years she had spent shunning us. She did say she has felt something similar before, didn't she? Oh, Lulu…

Inky blackness greeted us as the very light in the room seemed to get sucked into the mirror suddenly. A malicious laugh began to fill our surroundings and a pair of icy cold blue eyes opened within the darkness of the mirrored chamber. As has been the case with Celestia’s and my dark side, the pupils of the pony in front of us were vertical slits that practically drilled themselves into our souls. Her mane, while still a starry depiction of the night sky, was more cloudy and miasma-like than Luna’s regular mane.

“Ah, the pony I have been waiting for to admit I am a part of her for such a long time,” the pitch-black mare sneered. “Have you come to accept me now? You know we could rule over this world on our own, dear Luna. Give in and I promise you none shall stand against us, certainly not those two... sun cretins.”

Sun cretins? How very imaginative, sister. “Wow, that hurt,” I rolled my eyes, my voice as close to a monotone as I could make it. “My poor heart. What am I going to do in order to ever cope with this?”

“Silence, worm!” she growled in a bellowing tone, wings flared out in anger. “Nopony gave you permission to speak! Luna and I are talking to each other, stay out of this!”

“Leave Summer alone,” Luna snorted, poking a hoof against the glass surface with a glare. “And I will never give in to you if this is how you think a ruler should behave.”

“We could make the night last eternally, poor Luna,” her dark side mockingly said, grinning maliciously all the while. “We can make these ponies see the beauty of the night that you so tirelessly craft each and every night, only for them to ignore it! You want to be appreciated for it, do you not? I can help you with that. All you have to do is give me permission to take over.”

Luna snorted. “I am not such a fool to fall for your honeyed words, who do you take me for? Nighttime eternal would eradicate all life on this planet, and for what? For a foolish notion of making the rest of ponykind see us from within the shadow of Celestia? It won’t last long, that I can tell you with absolute certainty,” my sister explained harshly. “Don’t think my sisters would stand idly by while I let you do this, either. I can count on them to put a stop to this madness you propose.”

“Oh, yes... you can count on the pervert to force her love on you,” the black mare responded with a roll of her eyes. “Don’t you see their devious little plot to control you through these false promises of companionship? You can hide your disgusting feelings from them and yourself all you want, this is wrong and you know it.”

“No...” Luna muttered. “They wouldn’t ever use me like that, they are better than that. You might be right that I have avoided them mainly because I didn’t want to make these feelings come true, but that doesn’t mean that they do not exist.”

“Luna, are you...” I whispered, ignoring the snarl from the mare in the mirror.

“Yes, I guess I am, sister,” Luna smiled shyly. “It’s no use running away from my feelings and keep pretending they don’t exist, it only leads to more misery in the end. Something this idiot is keen on making me feel. What I am keen to make myself feel, I suppose.”

Together with my sister, I hugged Luna with a happy sniffle. Oh, how I've waited for this day. We were finally back together, and from now on, even more than ever.

Then, after the moment was over, my wife turned her head towards the reflection in the mirror with a frown on her muzzle. “Tell me, what is your name?” she asked with thinly disguised contempt. “Surely Her Glorious Snootiness has a name?”

“Nightmare Moon, you pathetic excuse for a pony,” the reflection growled, glaring balefully at my twin. “I am jealousy incarnate, the nightmare feasting on your fears, the moon that will rise for eternity... ~boo.”

I giggled, a small smile coming to my face. “You’re not that scary,” I said, feeling kind of giddy. “Kinda cute, actually. Look at me, I’m so emo! Woe is me! I am constantly sad that nopony understands me! My sisters don’t appreciate me, I have to lash out, bla bla bla. You’re like a cliché cartoon villain, Moony.”

Nightmare sneered balefully at me before turning to my sister. Or rather, her good half, I guess. “Do you see now, Luna? These are the ponies in charge of Equestria while you remain in their shadows,” she said, stomping her hoof angrily. “They mock us! The one and only true princess in this room! How can you just stand there and do nothing?! Let us get rid of them right now!”

“No,” Luna mumbled, smiling back at her reflection ruefully. “They mock you, my deepest fears and anxieties, Nightmare. All so that I can face them and accept them more easily.”

“What?!” Nightmare cried out in confusion and rage, rearing up on her hind legs with a flap of her midnight black wings, unable to comprehend how she could take our side instead of hers. “That is what you take away from this?! Have they finally corrupted you, Luna?!”

“No, Nightmare. They have made us fall in love with them,” Luna smiled gently and Nightmare's face reflected a shocked expression. “We are one, are we not? Perhaps it was you who held me back from realizing this, but I do love them. From the depths of my heart. And that includes you, as much as you try to deny it for the both of us.”

“Aww,” I whispered, hugging her again with my twin. “Lulu... you’re so sweet.”

“Indeed, sister,” Celestia giggled. “Maybe we should have done this a lot sooner if this is the outcome.”

“Yes, well…” Luna smiled a bit nervously. “Had I not let my fears control me for so long, we wouldn’t have drifted apart so much, to begin with. I’m sorry, Tia, Summer.”

“Oh, how heart-wrenchingly warm this all is,” Nightmare growled in disgust. “At last you acknowledge a part of us that you have run from for so long, dear Luna. Don’t make me throw up. Are we going to stay forever in their shadows, then? I see I can’t appeal to your senses anymore. How disappointing.”

“She has never been in our shadows,” I shot back, nuzzling my sister affectionately. “Lulu, why haven’t you ever told us that you felt like this? We would have been there for you.”

“I guess seeing Tia be adored so much has made me feel… kind of left out. It has been my fault, though. I was the one that isolated herself, it wasn’t your fault that these feelings started to appear. Nightmare is right, ponies don’t appreciate me as much as you, but I know you would never do this to me on purpose. My darker side is perhaps a bit too blind to notice this,” Luna answered and Celestia embraced our sister in her wings, as did I.

“You are our sister, Lulu,” Celestia said, happily enjoying the show of trust and love as Luna rested her head on her chest. “We are meant to rule together, and if ponies don’t appreciate you as much as we do, they don’t deserve you. If you want them to enjoy your nights, then we just have to make sure that they see the things worth staying up for. What do you say to working on that when we wake up?”

“I’d like that, Tia,” Luna whispered back, looking up at her and I couldn't help but squee in glee as she initiated a small kiss between them. It was hesitant and so very skittish, but. Oh. My. Gosh. They looked so cute together like that! I really wish I had a camera for moments like these. “I can’t thank you enough, both of you.”

“We’re glad to be here for you, Lulu,” I smiled. “Perhaps we could start a moon festival or announce a night where ponies can stay up and watch a meteor shower pass by. I think that would get plenty of ponies to watch the night sky.”

“That is an excellent idea, Summer,” Celestia said, an approving smile on her muzzle. “We could make it happen every few months, or make it a national holiday like the Crystal Faire.”

“Ugh. All this happiness is making me gag,” Nightmare Moon commented sourly and we rolled our eyes at her.

“She really is your opposite,” I snorted, snorting out a laugh as Nightmare pouted at us. “Aww, you can be cute!”

“Shut up, daypony,” Nightmare muttered indignantly.

“Aww, you can’t deny it~,” I sing-songed, smiling fondly as Luna’s other half just continued to grumble with her forelegs crossed over her chest. Once you got past her little emotional shield, she wasn’t that bad deep down. I mean sure, she wanted to plunge Equestria into eternal darkness, but that was only because she felt like Luna’s night was underappreciated. Something that was easily rectified with a little bit of effort.

“So, Nightmare...” Luna spoke up slowly, sitting down right in front of the mirror. “Are you going to be a threat to this world or will you accept that there is something more worthwhile than eternal night?”

“I hate to say this,” Nightmare started with a grimace on her muzzle, fidgeting on the spot as she struggled to get the words out. “But... I think you’re right. Somewhat, at least. The jury is still out about those two. I can see that night eternal wouldn’t make our ponies love us more... probably... and Celestia is... ugh… right. They don’t deserve us if they continue to treat us like we are not even there.”

“So, is that a yes for ‘I won’t hurt our subjects’?” Luna asked, laying her hoof on the surface of the mirror with a hopeful expression. Nightmare hesitantly reached a hoof of her own out and placed it against hers. She sighed and gave her a nod.

“I will acquiesce to your judgment, Luna. Don’t make me regret this.”

“The only way for that to happen would be for me to regret it,” Luna smiled. “What do you say, partners?”

“Partners,” Nightmare said and gave her a subdued smile. “You’re not half bad for a small and weak version of myself.”

“Both of us have our strengths and weaknesses, Nightmare. Don’t pretend to be so superior to me, I can feel what you feel. You don’t have to be so insecure about everything, you know?”

“Ugh, emotions are such a hassle to deal with,” Nightmare groaned, looking away to the side. She chewed on her lips for a moment, struggling with herself. Luna gave her a puppy dog look, making her darker half sigh at her. “Fine! Have it your way, then. I’ll try to be better, whatever. Just stop giving me that look!”

“Thank you,” Luna said with a happy smile, relieved that they had come to an understanding at last. It really was cute, no matter how you looked at it. “Now, I think we are done here for the moment, let’s enjoy the rest of the night.”

“Do feel free to come back and visit,” Nightmare said, scuffing her hoof on the ground. “Despite everything, I do enjoy your company...”

“Aww, she does love us,” I giggled, getting her to grumble angrily again.

“Don’t bring that one back, she annoys me,” Nightmare said, blowing a raspberry at me. Luna snorted at that and let out a laugh as I was the one pouting now.

Why were my sisters so mean to me?

“You are just saying that, Nightmare. I know you enjoy having her shower you with affection,” my sister shot back with a knowing smirk on her muzzle. Nightmare looked especially cute as she tried to deny what Luna just said, but she ultimately gave in with a small, reluctant nod. Her dark muzzle lit up with a blush and I felt a little bit mischievous as I gave Luna’s ear a small lick, seeing both Luna’s and Nightmare’s wings flare out at the same time.

Celestia and I giggled together as both of them tried to calm their racing hearts down. Luna might have accepted her feelings for us, but I could tell that she would need some time to get entirely comfortable with this.

I don’t really blame her for that, it was hard for me to get comfortable with the idea of loving my twin before I knew for a hundred percent that she was my wife from a past life.

Luna didn't even have that. We weren't a thing back then and now even her sister had the hots for her. I at least knew she loved me since we were teens on Earth, but Tia never really made it obvious how she loved her even back then. It must be awkward for her, to have Celestia look at her in that way. It probably wasn't helped by me looking so much like her, it was hard to tell us apart without the difference in our manes and attitude.

Whenever she looked at me, I could see that same longing I had seen in her on Earth. And now that Tia and I share the same face, I can't imagine what that must be like.

Does she see Tia in me or does she see me in Tia? What about both? I know I sometimes saw my wife looking back at me in the mirror. Perhaps that would ease her into the idea of being in a herd with us, or it would make everything more complicated than it needed to be. At least it got easier to tell us apart since we got our Cutie Marks. I don't want to know what kinds of chaos and mischief Tia could have gotten into if she pretended to be me in order to seduce our sister.

Something told me that would have burned all bridges with our sister and I was glad Tia couldn't get the idea anymore. Thankfully, I won't have to worry about that with our sister finally opening up to us after all this time.

For once, I was genuinely happy again and once the time of dawn neared the next morning, we woke up in a big pile of cuddles and feathers. I wish I could have slept in for once, though.

“Summer... we need to get up and lower the moon and raise the suns,” Luna grumbled as I held her close to me, not letting go of her with my hooves.

“Do we have to?” I mumbled, still sleepy and very reluctant to start the day with our usual boring routine of governing Equestria. Now that I think about it… “I liked Nightmare’s idea of an eternal night. It means I wouldn’t ever have to get out of bed and I could cuddle you for eternity. The cuddles shall last forever~!”

“Hah. Hah. Very funny, sister,” Luna whispered and I knew she had just rolled her eyes at me. “But as much as I admittedly enjoy having you hold me this close to you, we still have a duty to fulfill.”

“Damn this world with its screwed-up solar system,” I said grumpily, letting go of my adorable little sister. "Just once. I want to sleep in again just once."

It was for naught. Luna pushed me out of bed and hopped down after me. Celestia was already standing on the balcony, waiting for us. I glared at the damn smile on her muzzle as she watched us get up. Stupid morning, taking my cuddle opportunity away from me.

“While it would be enjoyable to be able to sleep in again, I don’t think ponies would appreciate us changing such things on a whim,” Celestia told me and we shared a small nuzzle. It considerably brightened up my mood (not that I have given up entirely on my plan to cuddle all day long with Luna and Tia). “Now, let’s get this done, afterward we can talk more about our relationship before court starts.”

“Yes, that...” Luna said, shifting on her hooves. “This is still weird for me, you know?”

Celestia smiled reassuringly down at Luna, putting a wing over her back. Together, we reached out to our respective celestial bodies in the sky and brought about a new dawn for Equestria. I had to fight against the overwhelming feelings from my sun as she flooded me with joy again.

That red sun in the sky was such a child at times, I had no idea how I could put up with these antics every day. Well, I mean it was really cute, so there was that... I just couldn’t resist the charm of my adorable sun.

I told Celestia and Luna that I would be back within a few minutes and teleported myself to the kitchens, surprising a few ponies with my sudden entrance. Not wanting to waste time, I quickly started to make breakfast for me and my sisters and gathered a few plates and a tray to bring everything back to our room. With a spring in my step, I also got some cups to pour tea into while I boiled the water in the teapot with my magic, preparing a calming lavender-scented tea. Hopefully, it would taste as good as it smelled.

Having everything together nice and tidy, I brought our breakfast back to our room. Luna and Celestia eyed the cookies I made with hungry eyes, but I told them they would have to eat their pancakes first. Both of them pouted at me, although they did as I asked of them.

It warmed my heart to see them enjoy my cooking so much, even though it was nowhere near the level of what the kitchen staff could have whipped up. The breakfast I made was more personal, in my opinion.

“If you want, we can start off slow with you, Lulu,” Celestia said, happily munching on a chocolate chip cookie and drinking from the tea I made as we all rested against each other.

“I...” Luna whispered, looking at both of our gentle eyes. “I’d like that, Tia. Let me get used to being with you in that way first. With you and Summer, I guess. I can’t believe ponies actually have herds here in Equestria...”

“As far as I have noticed, there are more mares than stallions,” I explained, humming thoughtfully. “It wouldn’t be too far-fetched to assume that monogamy wouldn’t work out all that well with a four-to-one gender ratio. But you try telling that to the unicorns. We would have to look into this to get a more accurate gender ratio. Everypony deserves a chance at love if they seek it.”

“Summer is right,” Celestia nodded, finishing off her drink with a satisfied sigh. “I would have loved to have something like this on Earth. It would have made things so much better. Those silly humans and their restrictions on love.”

“Ah, so I’m not the only one distancing myself from our past life, huh?” I giggled, looking at my wife past Luna's head with a smug look. Celestia rolled her eyes back at me, an amused smile on her muzzle. “I’m not surprised that you are all for the idea of a harem, whatever form it takes.”

My wife's smile turned into a smirk. “You know me too well, Sunshine,” she said. “Although, the allure for me is more in the fact that I have my own sisters in my herd than some random ponies.”

“Why am I not surprised,” Luna said with a raised brow, chewing on the last remaining pieces of her cookie. “I guess your perverted nature is kind of... endearing, to be honest.”

Celestia grinned and let out a silly fake villainous laugh. “Yes~! Join the dark side, Luna! I will have you living out your deepest desires in no time! Mwahaha!”

Unbidden, I snorted as I drank from my tea, coughing as I made a small mess while my wife continued to make a fool out of herself with a bright smile. She looked way too smug about it, too. Luna couldn’t keep herself from laughing because of what Tia made me do. And, as I cleaned myself up, I also had to crack up at the situation. It was kind of funny, I will admit that.

“Oh, I have an idea of what Luna likes, already,” I giggled, getting my little sister to stop her wheezing laughter abruptly. “Daybreaker gave me an idea about it, I’m sure you know what I’m talking about, Tia.”

“I like where you are going with this, Summy,” Celestia grinned. “Could it be little Lulu likes to have somepony force themself on her?”

“N-no!” Luna stammered, her face blazing. “Don’t read into things that a-aren’t there, sister!”

“Oh, you definitely do!” I chuckled with mirth, feeling satisfaction in the fact that she was so embarrassed about it after she had laughed at me as I snorted up my tea through my nostrils. “There is nothing to be ashamed about wanting to be the submissive one, Lulu.”

That made my wife smile with glee. “Indeed. Summer is an expert in being submissive,” she commented. “I just wish she would let me put her in restraints, that’s the only thing I can’t get her to try out.”

Luna blushed even more heavily as I fidgeted on the spot. Oh, how the tables have turned...

“Can we not talk about this?!” I whispered with my ears splayed black against my head. Something about being completely unable to move always made me shiver in fear. “We shouldn’t even be talking about having sex so soon while Luna is still adjusting to being in a relationship with us.”

“Fine,” Tia mumbled sourly. “I still don’t understand it, though. You’re perfectly fine with me telling you to stay still, but when I merely mention bindings you start to panic.”

“I’m sorry, but you know I don’t like that,” I mumbled. “It’s hard to put it into words...”

“I’d like that...” Luna whispered almost inaudibly. Tia and I blinked, barely understanding what she had said as we were completely unprepared for her confession.

“What?” Celestia asked, not sure if she had misheard our little sister. “Did you just...”

“I’m not saying I want to do this now,” Luna interjected, shaking her head frantically in denial. “But... I like being unable to do anything while somepony can do whatever they want with me...”

“Luna, I think you just made me love you even more,” Celestia whispered happily, embracing Lulu in her hooves and squeezing the living daylights out of her. “Whenever you feel like you’re ready for that, I’m sure you will love it.”

“Thanks... I guess?” Luna answered unsurely. “I think I... I want to stick with, uhm..."—she gulped, blushing furiously—" kisses for now, though.”

“No need to be embarrassed about wanting to share a kiss here and there with us, Lulu,” I smiled gently, heart melting at the sight. Luna nodded cutely as she placed her head against Celestia’s chest and my twin placed her own lovingly on top of hers while being mindful of Luna’s horn. I joined in on their embrace, enveloping them both with my wings.

Oh, how long I have longed for this day. This day was just perfect...

“I really do love you,” Luna whispered to us, letting out a small sigh. “No need to hide that from you anymore... I shouldn’t have tried so hard to change your feelings for me through my icy behavior.”

Tia hummed while I took Luna's hoof in mine. “You don’t need to apologize,” Celestia told her and I agreed with her on this. “How many times have we already told you that, huh? And we will continue to do so until you finally get it, sister. If anything, it should be us apologizing to you.”

“I still feel like I should explain myself about this, make you understand what I was feeling,” Luna said with a sad huff. “I thought that if I stayed away from you, I would stop feeling these feelings altogether. That only managed to make me feel more jealous, though.”

“In which way? Nightmare said you felt underappreciated for your night,” I asked, thinking back on our dream. “For what other reason would you be jealous of us?”

“For being so happy together!” Luna cried out, lightly hitting the covers of our bed with a hoof as she screwed her eyes shut. “I wanted what you had for so long, Tia! You had the perfect husband on Earth, even though he constantly made a fool out of himself trying to impress you with the things you liked! I know you knew I was jealous of you then, I’m not blind...

“It was hard, seeing you start a family and live happily together with your kids. I never had that and when you died, everything fell apart for me on Earth. I was alone with your family, feeling like I had lost the last light in my life. Your parents tried to help me, Summer, but they couldn’t offer what I really craved. They weren’t able to replace you and Tia.

“And then, when I was reborn, I started to feel happy again. I had such cool sisters and an awesome mother, nothing from Earth seemed to matter anymore. It was like I got that spark of light back, the same feeling I had for you back on Earth, Summer. And I started to try to take you away from Tia because I didn’t want to lose your affection, even though I only saw you as my big sister with an equally big heart.

“But... then I learned you were Rudolph, and all I felt was like I had been betrayed. It felt like you didn’t trust me to know and then I made the connection of you and Celestia being together... because, of course, my dolt of a sister is your fucking twin. I wished Magic hadn’t told me who you were. It was like a slap to the muzzle, a wake-up call that I didn’t want to have.

“And then Celestia had to make her advances on me because she just couldn’t resist the idea of a harem, evoking all of those confusing feelings in me. I mean, you are my friggin’ sister, Tia! What was I supposed to feel?! This isn’t some normal thing ponies, or even humans, do. They don’t just go around asking their fucking siblings out!

“Besides, Summer is my sister now, too. You have no idea how much that made me want to hate myself for starting to feel like I did while you were still male, Summer! You were my sister for almost as long as you had been married to Catherine, for fuck’s sake! And you just had to feel the same way about me as Tia did...

“I tried to stay away from you out of fear. This wasn’t how I ever imagined it to feel like, it still feels surreal to me even. But then I got jealous that you practically didn’t even care that this was wrong. Sure, you were married before this, I understand that, but you are twins now! I would have thought that you at least would have had second thoughts about this, Summer!

“But even you felt attracted to me now, and I didn’t know what to do about it… so I just tried to avoid both of you as much as possible. Tia more than you, Summer, because you at least never brought your feelings up again. I knew that Tia wouldn’t be able to hold her tongue for long if I made an effort to talk to her. Sometimes I wonder how she even gets anything done here without constantly having her mind in the gutter.

“All of this continued on for ten years because I was too much of a coward to admit to myself that I wanted to accept your offer, even if it was wrong of me. As time continued on and I tried my best to alienate you with the royal we and my icy behavior, things didn’t work out as I had imagined they would. Both of you weren’t fooled by my act and I started to resent you for it.

“Of course, then Radiant Hope came to us and the whole Sombra thing happened, opening my eyes to another pony that let themselves get consumed by their dark feelings because they were too much of a coward to acknowledge the way they felt about the pony they loved. I could tell that he had a thing for her and I didn’t want to end up like he did. So I tried to look past how wrong this was and accepted that I am indeed in love with you, both of you.

“Lastly, there was your little episode of madness, Summer. I feared I had lost you forever as you turned into Fallen Star right in front of my eyes, hell-bent on turning Sombra to ash because I wasn’t there to dispel the nightmarish vision he subjected you to. I don’t ever want to regret not taking this leap and allow myself to feel happy with both of you, even if you are my sisters.

“We’re all that we have left of our family... I feel like I need to appreciate that more. It feels like a massive mistake, not allowing myself to love you. I’ve realized that now and I can’t…"—she let out a shuddering breath, tears flowing freely—" I can’t ignore my feelings any longer. So please, whatever may happen in the future, promise me that we will stay together. Always. I don’t want to lose you ever again...”

My twin and I listened closely with mixed feelings. On one hoof, I was happy that she was acknowledging these feelings, but on the other... there was a pit forming in my stomach that managed to make me feel incredibly uncomfortable at the same time. I rubbed my hoof over her back throughout her explanation to keep her calm, not wanting to see any more tears fall from her eyes. My heart quivered in my chest as she told us what she thought and I was unable to keep my own tears at bay.

I felt ashamed of myself that I jumped so easily on board with Tia's idea of courting our own sister. I should have given this more thought than I did. Especially with how I, too, had struggled with acknowledging these feelings at first before I even knew my twin was Catherine. I had clung to that bit of information to justify still being with her, the relief of having my wife with me having clouded my judgment to such a degree that I got slowly more comfortable with the fact that she was technically my sister now. And that made it easier for me to view Luna in the same light, I had to admit. I clung to the idea that she was Rebecca in her previous life and ignored that she was Luna now. My sweet little sister, my precious Moon.

Celestia wasn’t better off in that regard than I was, her ears displayed quite clearly that she felt ashamed of having pressed these feelings on our little sister without thinking how she would feel about it. Tia had let herself get blinded by the prospect of giving Luna her full love that she conveniently ignored the fact that she was her sister in both lives. A sister that didn’t know what to do with these feelings like she would.

“There you have it,” Luna muttered, out of breath as she had raised her voice considerably in her explanation. “I love you. I fucking love you. I love you so much that I don’t care that it is wrong anymore, I just want to have you back. Please, please, please, promise me that one thing.”

“Lulu, you never lost us,” I consoled, nuzzling the side of her head gently. Her teary eyes looked up into mine and I just wanted to see her smile again. Seeing her so sad, it made my insides churn. “We were always here for you to come and talk to us. Perhaps we should have confronted you about this earlier and tried to apologize harder for our behavior. I’m so sorry we had been such bad sisters to you, and even worse lovers. I promise you that I won’t ever leave you.

“And I guess it was my fault that this escalated so badly over the past ten years by wanting to let you sort through these feelings on your own. I shouldn’t have let you go through this emotional minefield on your own like that, mainly because I know how it feels to have struggled with coming to terms with loving your own sibling as I hadn’t known Tia was Catherine from the beginning.”

“I have to agree with Summer, Lulu,” Celestia whispered. I've never seen her look so devastated. “I’m sorry for having been this inconsiderate of your feelings about this. I just... felt like it was an opportunity I should take once I knew that we were all that is left of our family, from both worlds. I can’t help myself from feeling excited at loving my own sisters, even if others find it despicable.

“Both of you are the only ones ever that truly understood me, not judging me for anything. Well, not everything, but still. You two at least make an effort to get over it, that’s not something anypony would do or even attempt to do. I hope you can forgive me for having been a bad sister. That’s the first thing I should be, right? A good sister. A lover can come after that. I promise to always stay at your side, Lulu. Even if it might kill me.”

“You aren’t bad sisters,” Luna sighed, closing her eyes contemplatively. “We all could have done something to clear this up, the fault lies with none of us. Or with all of us, that depends on how you want to look at it.

“I thank you for sticking with me even after I had been so cold to you. I don’t fault you for anything of this, both for how you wanted to have Summer and me love you, Tia. And for letting me sort through these feelings on my own, Sunny.”

“You know, Sunny is a pretty good nickname,” I muttered over to Tia, giving her a look. “How come you never thought of that, huh?”

My twin grumbled to herself, pouting. “I still like Summy more,” she said, sticking her tongue out at me defiantly. “Besides, Sunny can be Luna’s nickname for you, what do you say?”

“I’d love that,” I giggled, seeing Luna smile silently, too. She seemed content to stay quiet in our embrace after having cried so much. Something I couldn’t really fault her for. This was comfy, after all.

A few minutes passed as I didn’t really want to do anything else besides hold on to my sisters. It might be a good idea to skip court for today, now that I think about it. It would give us some much-deserved relaxation and cuddle time. Besides, the nobles could survive a day without us, right? “What do you say, should we cancel court for today and just laze around like this? I think that after all that we have gone through, we deserve a small rest from our daily duties.”

“Yes! That’s an excellent idea, Summer,” Celestia agreed eagerly. “I think I don’t even need to ask you if you are on board with this idea or do I, Lulu? Out of all of us, you are kinda the only one that tries to get out of doing work most of the time.”

Our sister snorted. “Because it’s boring,” Luna answered back, her eyes sparkling with mischief. “I would like to stay in bed the whole day, though. Let the commoners and nobles complain as much as they want, the world won’t end because of it.”

“Great, I’ll tell the guards,” I grinned, hopping off the bed with a little spring in my steps. With a few whispered words at the door, I returned back to my sisters with a happy smile on my muzzle.

I situated myself on the left side of Luna while Tia took her other side as we laid back down under the covers of Tia's gigantic bed (seriously, it would have fit in our old home and taken up the entire space there). Luna gave both of our cheeks a quick and small kiss with a burning deep red muzzle as we let ourselves doze off for a little bit. My heart gave a little flip in my chest in joy, the show of affection saying more than words ever could.

Just being close to each other was enough to tell us that everything would work out in the end. While we had the odd few interactions with monsters in the past, this had been the worst one yet. This was the first time we had to go against another pony and not some dragon stealing the only protection of a kingdom that was now forever lost to us.

Sombra would be the first of many challenges that would change how we would view the world, that much I was sure of. And if we can’t adapt to those trying encounters, I fear what would happen to the rest of the world. We have to stay strong, together. Our bond would give us the strength we would need, I was sure of that.

But I also feared that it could become our weakness, should we not be careful. It is best that we don’t make too many enemies. At least, not for as long as we could avoid doing so. It’s only a matter of time, though. Magic’s warnings weren’t just for show and our fight with Sombra was only our first taste of that. Amore already paid the price for a mistake I had made.

If that letter had never reached Radiant Hope, how would have Sombra turned out? Would he still have become that monster we had to seal away? Or could he have become an upstanding citizen with his love at his side? My own arrogance in thinking that I should get her away from what I perceived to be a threat led to that very threat coming into existence in the first place.

Would Amore still be alive and well had I not tried to get Hope away from Sombra? All of these 'what-if' questions were driving me crazy. The only thing I could do, though, was to give Amore the proper respect by holding a ceremony for her.

An idea both Celestia and Luna immediately jumped on board with as soon as I brought it up to them. So, that was what we planned to do and we would do it in Canterlot so anypony that wanted to come had an easier time getting there than they would have had if they had to come to our castle instead.

Canterlot was the capital city of Equestria, it was an easy choice to pick for the ceremony. And it was there that we stood next to each other on a stage a few days later.

Starswirl and the rest of the Founders of Equestria (minus Platinum) were also there, every one of them wearing black cloaks for the occasion as we all stood in the slight drizzle. The weather for this day was explicitly in a solemn mood, adding weight to the loss our world has suffered from Amore’s passing.

“We are gathered here today so that we can pay respects to a beloved ruler,” I spoke over to the crowd with the Royal Canterlot Voice, despite its volume it sounded like it was barely above a whisper. “Princess Amore of the Crystal Empire was a wise and kind mare, always looking out for those under her care. She was a symbol of hope and love to her ponies, standing strong even in hard times...”

The gathered masses before us looked just as sad as I felt right now, heads bowed in sorrow for what were truly dark times, indeed. My eyes lingered on a light grey stallion in a suit of all things, wearing a fedora upon his head that either completely hid his mane (which couldn’t have been possible) or covered a blank head (which was even weirder to me). He stared impassively into my soul with his unblinking eyes and for a moment, I forgot I was supposed to continue with the speech. He seemed... strangely familiar to me. Like I had seen him somewhere before, but I couldn’t put my hoof on where exactly. I would have thought to remember a pony that stood out like a sore hoof, he seemed entirely out of place with his choice of clothing (especially in this day and age, to be honest). Thankfully, my sister was there to step up for me.

“With a heavy heart, we tell thee now of her demise at the hooves of a tyrant,” Luna spoke up next to me, and while she looked stern, I could see her own tears mingle with the rain falling down from the trist and gloomy clouds up above. I was thankful that she continued on for me as I struggled with my voice. And as I looked back to where I had seen this strange stallion before, I couldn’t find him anywhere in the crowd. Had I just imagined seeing that pony? “This tyrant sought to destroy what we hold most dear in our hearts. Sombra, throwing away the kindness shown to him by Princess Amore, turned on her and took her life with his own hooves...”

“Not only did he desecrate the very city Amore sought to protect, but he also enslaved her subjects with his cruelty,” Celestia said and I could hear that she was struggling from keeping the anger out of her voice. “Sombra snuffed out one of the brightest lights this world has ever seen to this day and we will forever mourn her loss with heavy hearts. Sadly, even the Empire was not safe from his wrath as we banished this fiend below the ice, as he took it with him through a malicious curse as his last act of defiance...”

“Princess Amore was a shining example that we hope to emulate with our own reign. Her kindness and love should be remembered forever, for it would be a disservice to her memory not to. Amore was a princess unlike any other, but first and foremost, she was a friend. A friend that we cannot even bury and grant her the peaceful rest she deserves here...” I spoke, swallowing tightly as I fought to keep my composure. It was a battle I fought valiantly, for Amore. She deserved to be remembered and I wouldn’t let my mourning stop me from delivering my speech. “So, to help her spirit move on, let us light up the way for her. Let the light of our magic guide her to the next life, wherever it may take her.”

As I said the last words, both of my sisters lit up their own horns just as I did. Starswirl’s and Clover’s horns lit up behind us and I saw the unicorns within the crowd follow our lead. The earthponies and pegasi lit up specially enchanted candles, as well.

And from the light of our collective magic, they rose up. Small little motes of glimmering lights floated up into the sky in a display akin to fireflies or twinkling stars.

“May those lights keep thee safe against the darkness in thy next life, Princess Amore. They will guide thee to a better place, that we promise thee,” I finished, a small sob escaping me and I wasn’t the only one. Many of the gathered ponies let their sadness show in a similar way. Even my sisters and Starswirl, as well as Clover and his friends, were not exempt from joining the rest of us in showing their grief.

We watched on as the tiny wisps of magic grew more distant with each passing second. I didn’t care as I slowly got drenched by the rain while I remained standing there even after the crowd started to disperse as the day neared the end. My sisters, too, stayed with me, showing me their support just as much as I showed it to them.

Oh, Amore... I dearly hope to find you in your next life when our own time comes. I swear to you, I will find you then. And when I do, I will apologize for not having been there for you like a good friend should have been. If we do not meet again, then know that I am deeply sorry, anyway.

“Let us go home, Summer,” Luna whispered, nuzzling my neck softly. I sighed mournfully, giving her a little kiss on her forehead in thanks for staying by my side. “We do not want to catch a cold, now.”

“I doubt I could get one,” I said, ruefully letting out a diminutive laugh. “Not with the fiery aura around me. But thanks for your concern, Lulu.”

“Anytime...” she returned and we took to the air, gliding down towards our castle in the distance. A nice cozy bed sounded just about like the best idea ever right now. Or a pleasant bath together with my sisters as we indulged ourselves with expensive soaps, a few candles, maybe some wine, and some comfort food.

“The speech was wonderful, Summer,” Celestia told me, offering me a slight smile. “I’m sure Amore would have loved it.”

“Thank you,” I sighed. “I feel like I need a few tubs of ice cream right now... I’m glad both of you proceeded with the speech while I had to recompose myself.”

“Of course,” Tia said gently, a distant gaze in her eyes. “Amore was also our friend, we wouldn’t let you go through this alone.”

“I feel like I can’t thank you enough for this,” I mumbled sadly. At least she was past her grudge against Amore now. Better late than never, right?

“You don’t have to thank us, Summer,” Lulu consoled me, her eyes filled with understanding and love. “'tis was but a small thing to do for you, sister. We are here for you, so don’t carry this weight on your own, okay? We both love you.”

“And I love you, too,” I smiled softly. “I don’t know what I would do without either of you.”

“Panic and cry?” Celestia giggled and I smiled a little wider, feeling a bit better at the friendly teasing. “I’m sure we have some comfort food in the kitchens for us to enjoy, what do you say to a nice warm bath followed by preening?”

“That sounds divine, Tia,” I answered. My twin nuzzled me as we touched down a moment later on our balcony, opening the doors with her magic.

While Luna and I prepared our personal bathing chamber, Tia went and searched through the kitchens for some food. I’m glad that we basically had a swimming pool to relax in and with a little bit of magic, the water was steaming already.

Celestia returned with a whole tray full of all kinds of things on it and I was already longingly staring at the crystal berries. That’s one thing I will definitely miss with the Empire gone, our stockpile of those won’t last long without being able to get new ones. We couldn’t grow them ourselves since they needed the Empire to flourish.

“Now, just relax and let me pamper you,” Tia said with a smile, one I readily returned. So, I did just that and enjoyed the snuggles as my twin and little sister playfully fed me various things as we unwound in the water.

Before too long, both of them had me reclining on our bed as they worked on my wings, erasing the stress of the past years with tender care. I couldn’t say this enough, but having them here with me was the best thing Magic could have done for all of us.

I didn’t notice that I fell asleep that evening, feeling a little bit guilty that I hadn’t gotten the chance to return the favor for them. There would be plenty of opportunities later to do just that, though, I’m sure.

Finally, after ten very long years, we were back together like we should be. Luna was finally opening up her feelings to us, Celestia was finally not entirely insensitive to forcing her affection on others, and I finally accepted that I couldn’t just hope for things to fix themselves. Mostly.

Lastly, I had to wonder what happened to Radiant Hope. After the Crystal Empire vanished, she was gone. And I’m pretty sure she hadn’t entered the city, so where did she go off to? I dearly hope she was okay, she was perhaps the one that was the most affected by the recent happenings.

It was her that Sombra couldn’t let go of and she was the one that tried to get him back to the side of the light, trying her damndest to get us to rescue him. In that regard, we failed her. Hope deserved better, both from Sombra and myself. I shouldn’t let my feelings cloud my judgment so much.

Anger and fear only lead to heartache in the long run, something we couldn’t afford to let happen.

Chapter 009 - Experimenting with Portals! They are horseshoe-shaped...

Author's Notes:

Source material: Volume 5 Comics Flashback Reference

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Starswirl was finally ready to test out the prototype mirror. While it was only a prototype and general concept of proof, I’m sure that it will be a success already. Just thinking about it... it was something so incredibly unbelievable, wasn’t it? A portal to another world. Once upon a time, I would have thought something like that would never be possible. Something that was, at the very most, limited to science fiction only. Maybe, just maybe, it could have become a reality far into the future of technological development on Earth. Now, though? I couldn't believe we were just moments away from finding out what was on the other side of the Void.

I was a little bit anxious to find out, though. I can remember a few horror stories where things went incredibly wrong. It wasn't just limited to the fearful stories of forever being stranded in a different universe far from your own universe, either. No. The true horror came in the form of the eldritch monstrosities lurking in the Realm Between who could drive even gods insane. I dearly hoped we weren’t committing something stupendously stupid by opening an arcane gateway, a bridge between worlds, and inviting them unknowingly in. Whether or not Starswirl’s safeguards would be enough to keep such unwanted guests out remained yet to be seen. I dearly hope they are going to work, though.

To be honest, I didn’t want to go through that thing any time soon, I was very anxious about what might be on the other side. Despite being quite curious, I’d rather let Tia explore the unknown while Luna and I would keep this side of the mirror safe in case Mr. Tentacle Overlord does decide to visit our realm. I know my twin could take care of herself, no problem, so... we didn’t need to all go through it, right? I was content with hearing recounts from my wife of what she found with Starswirl, I’d rather stay here in Equestria where it was cozy and, most importantly, safe. Relatively safe, but safe nonetheless.

Well... I mean... a very small part in the back of my mind kinda... sorta... maybe wanted to experience it, too. If only for the excitement. Being confronted with the possibility of simply forgetting everything that has been going on for the past few months was very enticing, I'm not gonna lie. Still... I don’t know if I can get over my little bit of anxiety and go through with it. It sounded perhaps... a little bit too exciting?

It has been some odd few months since the Crystal Empire disappeared together with Sombra, we sorely needed something to distract our minds. Especially after the nobles gave us more than enough trouble by trying to raise taxes to get more money in their dirty little pockets. Platinum was among those nobles, trying to undermine our authority. Again.

I don't know what her problem with us was this time (it was always one thing or another), but she certainly didn’t know when to stop pestering us with her next stupid scheme to regain the throne. She got even worse after her dad got fed up with her antics and he kicked her out of the mansion they had in Canterlot.

I mean, she kinda deserved it? I don't know. She was a spoiled brat, through and through, so… I don't feel a lot of pity for her. Plain and simple, she was a nuisance to us and nothing more. Sure, Platinum was a dangerous individual within the court and it didn’t help that we couldn’t just ban her from attending. Despite everything, she just had too many supporters in the nobility for us to get rid of her. Legally, that is.

In the end, though, her schemes were just that. Schemes. None of them ever worked and it was unlikely she could ever attempt a coup. For that, she was simply too uncharismatic, and, well… everypony loves Celestia, it's ridiculous. No amount of money would be enough to sway ponies to her side.

Anyway, that wasn’t important right now. Currently, my sisters and I were in the secret laboratory deep within Mount Canterhorn (also known as the Secret Mad-Scientist Laboratory of Questionable Knowledge™). I was glad that the hydra Starswirl and Tia had me bring up here to his little hideout was having a great time and that it was well cared for. I wouldn’t want it to cause any trouble for the old coot.

“And there it is!” Starswirl proudly presented us with the rounded full-body mirror that eerily looked like an elongated horseshoe to me. The mirror was the very first of its kind and I had no doubt Starswirl would make good use of it. If there ever was a pony that I would trust to keep the portal safe, he was the one. His knowledge of magic was unrivaled by anypony, not even my sister came remotely close. And he was stupidly overpowered on top of that, being able to toy with time as if it was a mere suggestion to him. While he didn’t have our raw power, he made up for it with incredible control and skill. “Every bit of magical knowledge in Equestria all wrapped up in a delightfully reflective package!”

Luna snorted next to me as she rolled her eyes. “Certainly 'sounds' magical,” she commented derisively and I let out a giggle. It was a bit mean, but… also funny. So far, it looked like a particularly eccentric mirror and that was it. Our mentor continued on undeterred, though, bringing over a scroll from one of the nearby shelves stuffed full with a variety of books, trinkets, and artifacts. As well as his research. He explained to us that there were different ways he could access other worlds, mainly through a specific spell or by using the mirror as a gateway. The mirror was obviously a lot safer than ripping open a hole in the universe (duh).

Besides, the mirror served as a dimensional anchor. Without one, it would be all too easy to get lost in the multiverse. The mirror always leads to the exact place it has been anchored to, and conversely, the exit portal always leads back to the mirror it was 'attached' to. Hence, there was no way to get lost (unless you forgot where you put the mirror or don't remember the location of the portal leading back).

“Think of the new magic to discover out there...” Starswirl practically swooned and I could tell he was getting giddy already, as was my twin. Both of them were huge nerds when magic was involved. “The knowledge we can attain...”

“We?” I asked unsurely. It was all nice and good that he told us that he was ready to test this thing out, but I had been under the assumption that only Tia would be the one to actually go through with him. My heart was beating furiously in... anxiety, fear, and... excitement. I really wanted to say yes now... get over my misgivings and just enjoy life. Could it be that easy, though? “I... don’t know if it is such a good idea if we all go through at the same time, Starswirl. Something could go wrong, right? We can’t just leave our kingdom unattended for too long! We have responsibilities.”

My sister nodded in agreement as she eyed the mirror with trepidation and unease. “I’m with Summer on this one,” she commented. “I am all for the adventure, but somepony needs to run this nation while you go gallivanting off to who knows where. I’m not going to be the only pony to do so.”

“Wow, your laziness is showing through again, Lulu,” Celestia snorted with a smirk. “Come on! This is what we always wanted when we became princesses, is it not? You were the one that always wanted to have amazing adventures and explore the unknown, how come I am now in this position instead of you? Let’s do this together, it will be exciting!”

“I grew up, Tia,” Luna said with a deadpan voice. “We aren’t little foals anymore, we can’t just leave on a whim. Work's gonna pile up and…”

“Please? Pretty please? Do it for me?” Celestia pouted cutely and I had to shuffle awkwardly on my hooves as my resolve began to falter. Damn you, Tia. Damn you and your adorableness.

Haah. What could go wrong with one little trip? Perhaps my twin was right... And we certainly could use the opportunity to get some excitement away from the troubles of keeping the nation in one piece.

“Fine...” Luna mumbled, looking away from Tia with a faint blush, her forelegs folded over her chest. “I swear, you are more childish than me at times, sister.”

“Aww,” Celestia cooed, squeezing Luna’s muzzle with her hooves. “Look at you, so grumpy. It’s too cute!”

“Stop that!” Luna grumbled while swatting a hoof at our sister as one of her eyelids started to twitch. Judging by her fidgeting wings, though, she enjoyed the show of affection very much.

“Now, now. There is no need to fight over this, Your Highnesses,” Starswirl said and the mirror lit up with a swirling vortex of arcane energy, filling the room with a strange sparkling fog. “You won't have to worry about Equestria, we aren’t going to be gone for too long. And I thought you would be ecstatic about the pursuit of knowledge.”

“I guess that’s true,” I said, taking a deep calming breath (not that it helped any). “Might as well see it with my own eyes, right? What are the chances of something going wrong, huh? Eh heh heh…”

“That’s the spirit!” Starswirl nodded, ignoring my awkward smile as I could barely keep my emotions in check. “Now, come along! Adventure awaits!”

Luna went in first after him, followed by my twin and then (reluctantly) myself. The experience of traveling between worlds was... something, alright. It wasn’t as bad as teleportation, but it had its... ahem, 'unique'... quality to it.

I had to screw my eyes shut at all of the bright flashing lights, feeling like I was about to vomit sparkles and rainbows any time now. As I left the other side of the portal, I bumped into the rear of Celestia.

“Uff! Hey! What’s with the hold-up?” I asked, blinking my eyes rapidly to clear away the dancing spots in my vision. Following the gaze of my sisters and Starwirl, I looked up. And up. And up a little bit more.

“Aww, how cute!” I smiled, staring at the massive dinosaur with teeny weeny arms. The big reptile before us grinned back. My sisters let out a frightened squeak. “And it even has a Cutie Mark! Isn’t that something?”

“Run!” Tia screamed frightened, jumping back through the portal and dragging me with her in her telekinetic grasp. We landed all in a heap back in the laboratory and I pouted with an upset grumble as Starswirl closed the portal hastily.

“I didn’t even get the chance to talk with it,” I whined, hanging my head down sadly.

“Summer, it was about to fucking eat us, you idiot!” Luna growled at me.

I wilted away from her, rubbing my neck with a hoof. “I’m sure it was just happy to see us?” I retorted, uncertain. “I mean, it smiled back at us, right? Surely it wouldn’t have hurt a fly.”

“It's a giant reptile with sharp teeth. Do tell me, what do you think it eats for breakfast, Sunny?” Luna shot back and I laughed nervously. They never had a problem with the hydra guarding Starswirl's secret hideout…

“Well, this was a successful test!” Starswirl said jubilantly, not at all disturbed by the big reptile on the other side of the mirror. “Although, I think I might have made a small miscalculation with the spell.”

“You think?!” Celestia exclaimed. “We were almost eaten, Starswirl! Eaten! What is this, the mad search for knowledge by a crazy archmage? Have you lost your common sense?!”

“But we weren’t,” Starswirl told her nonchalantly, waving her concern away with a hoof. “And I will have you know, I’m perfectly sane. I think.”

“I... I have no words for this...” Luna muttered as her eyelid twitched madly and I shrugged back. I was also lost for words. Here was a world unlike any other and I was denied from having a conversation with a T-Rex. Unbelievable, I know. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I was just denied! Oh... all the things I could have learned from it!

“Let’s try again~,” Tia said with a little gleam in her eyes that told me she was about to go full insane scientist on me and Luna. And to make matters worse, Starswirl let out an excited laugh as well, encouraging her on. Those two could destroy the world and all they would do was cackle madly for the sake of science, I swear.

“As long as we don’t run into another giant beast ready to devour us,” Luna deadpanned. “That’s not the kind of adventure I was looking for.”

“I liked him,” I commented, getting my little sister to roll her eyes at me. “I think it was a him...”

“Does that even matter?” she asked me and I shrugged. “Seriously, since when have you overcome your fear of creatures that are bigger than you?”

“I don’t know,” I answered, trying to remember. “I guess seeing a dragon cry made them seem... less threatening? They are all big softies on the inside, you just have to get to know them.”

“Uhuh,” Luna huffed, not at all believing me. “They are big and soft and squishy on the inside. Once they eat you.”

“Aww, don’t be like that,” I pouted. “A little bit of kindness goes a long way, you know. They are just like you and me, having their own dreams and such.”

“Summer, they are predators. Predators eat prey,” Luna told me, poking a hoof into my side. “Ponies are prey. Excuse me for being so skeptical about that.”

“You like Melvin,” I shot back.

“He is a vegetarian manticore,” Luna argued with a raised brow. “That’s like... totally different.”

“He eats fish, so technically he isn’t a vegetarian,” I pointed out. My little sister rolled her eyes, mumbling something about technicalities. “Heck, we eat fish, Luna. Horses are opportunistic carnivores, so your point about them being predators is kinda moot in my opinion.”

“Doesn’t change the fact that a friggin’ dinosaur would still see us as prey,” Luna said. “Why are we even still arguing about this? Not every creature you come across can be reasoned with, Summer. Your bleeding heart won’t change that fact.”

“Fine, so the T-Rex might have been a teeny tiny bit hungry, but I’m sure I could have told it that we aren’t food,” I grumbled, crossing my forelegs in front of me defiantly. “Just because I haven’t gotten such a cool ability like you that lets me dream walk doesn’t mean that mine is entirely worthless.”

“Wow, are you pouting?” Luna giggled. “Could it be that you’re jealous, Sunny?”

“No...” I said, avoiding her eyes. “I’m not.”

“You are!” Luna grinned, prancing around me giddily. “Oh, this is rich! And here I thought you were incapable of such feelings. I need to mark this day on the calendar...”

“Yeah, well... rub it in, why don’t you? Fallen Star might have had more of an impact on me than I thought,” I answered, grabbing Luna as she came back around in front of me, trapping her in my embrace. “Don’t make me shut you up.”

“Oh? With Starswirl right around the corner?” Luna smirked, raising a brow at me. “Kinky...”

“My, my... you’re practically begging me to force my tongue down your throat,” I smiled wickedly. “Where is this boldness coming from?”

“You know that I hear you and Tia during the night, right?” she whispered, biting her lip cutely as she looked up at me. “You are driving me kind of crazy with that. Could it be that you and Tia haven't had sex with each other since I entered the herd?”

“Well, I’m content with her nibbling on my ears as long as we don’t make you uncomfortable,” I answered, shifting slightly on my hind legs. Why does she have to talk about this now? “I can’t say for certain how Celestia feels about this. She might be getting a little bit antsy.”

My sister let out an exasperated sigh. “Summer, just because I’m not comfortable with taking that step yet, doesn’t mean you and Tia need to stop having fun with each other,” she said, rolling her eyes at me. It almost sounded like she was scolding a small foal instead of a grown-up mare. “I won’t throw a fit because you have sex in the same room as me. I might even... w-watch...”

“I see...” I hummed. Then, I started to grin again. “Could it be that you’re secretly a pervert, too?”

“What? No!” Luna blushed as she vigorously shook her head in denial. “Stop looking at me like that, Summer. Seriously, stop! I swear you’re worse than Tia with that ‘I know you’re trying to lie to me’ look in your eyes. I’m not a pervert, for the moon's sake!”

“Aww. You are such a bad liar, Lulu~,” I sing-songed, nuzzling the tip of her muzzle softly. “Look at you! All flustered and swearing on the moon. I haven’t heard of anything cuter than that before.”

“Sure you haven’t...” Luna grumbled. “What about that thing Tia did the other night? Praising the sun on your butt?”

“Celestia is weird like that,” I shrugged. “It felt good, though. Her slowly nipping at my Cutie Mark and licking the center. Mhhn…”

“I didn’t need to know that...” Luna whispered, her midnight blue fur not hiding her cherry-red blush in the slightest. “...how did it feel?”

I grinned as she shyly asked me that. So much for not wanting to know more about that~. Slowly, I moved my mouth directly to her ear and then I whispered a single word into it. The experience was electrifying, something that was unlike anything I could ever compare it to. I saw her struggling from popping a wing-boner as I borrowed the sexy, raunchy voice of my darker half and I smiled with glee. Oh, my sweet, innocent little sister…

It took me only a month or so of practice and I could finally switch back and forth between Fallen Star and Summer Sol at will (something that my sisters weren’t able to do because they still struggled with getting into the right mindset for the transformation to happen, in the first place).

Luna and Celestia tried to have control over the change when it was a matter of losing it. I knew the feeling already, therefore it was easier for me to simply relinquish my hold on my emotions like that, submerging myself in my own rage. The best my little sister could do was evoke the change in her eyes. My twin couldn’t even accomplish that much because she was so rational about it that I felt like ripping the hair out of my mane (and then hitting something to calm down again).

What can I say, they just couldn’t use their emotions in the same way that I could. Even with spells, something that my twin was a prodigy at, they mostly failed to utilize their emotions. I don’t know, maybe I had an unfair advantage over them with my bleeding heart, who can tell for certain?

Accessing my other form was still a bit surreal to me, though. It felt like all my emotions were heightened while I was Fallen Star and it was especially easy to set off my anger. It still felt like I was me, but also kinda 'not'.

The thing about being Fallen Star instead of Summer Sol was that I felt like I had different definitions of kindness. Normally I would do my best to be as understanding and caring as possible but as Fallen Star? I’m more often than not in a no-nonsense mood and if the first attempt didn't yield the results I wanted, I wasn't about to give second chances. In that state, I will be more forceful in my approach to showing kindness. It doesn’t mean that I don’t have another pony’s best interest at heart, it is just more... convenient... for me to approach problems in that way to avoid getting annoyed at somepony.

Generosity, on the other hoof, flies completely out the metaphorical window in my altered form. While I may give in more easily as Summer to lending aid through financial means (or otherwise), I am more reluctant to part with what is mine as Fallen Star.

It was a bit peculiar that I still stayed true to my ideals of kindness (even if it was a bit different from how it should be) but not with generosity. I had no idea why I was so selfish as Fallen Star... I mean, I had a theory that might explain it, but that was only speculation at best.

Was I simply more selfish because I was afraid of losing the things I loved most like we had lost our parents and our old lives? It sounded plausible in my mind and it had become one of my most deep-rooted fears in this life. Besides Mom, Dad, and Earth, we had just lost Amore recently, which led to me enforcing my will to keep what is mine while I was in the form of Fallen Star.

Well, I guess I wasn’t entirely greedy... not with what was left of my family, at least. While I still felt like they were my possessions at times, I would do my very best to keep my loved ones happy. Even if that meant giving up things for their sake.

Besides the dilemma with my ideals, there were my... 'questionable' morals. I was a lot more paranoid about somepony’s intentions, questioning their motives more thoroughly. Almost to the degree of distrusting them by default. It was sort of useful while dealing with the nobles, so I wasn’t really complaining about that part.

No, what I was more concerned about were my cruel little fantasies of devouring souls. Even if I tried to keep my mind clear of those thoughts, they kept wandering back to the events in the Crystal Empire and what I wanted to do to Sombra. And sometimes, I thought about doing that to other ponies that had proven to us they were willing to sacrifice the well-being of others for their selfish goals. It was almost like a sense of how 'evil' somepony was, giving me the urge to punish them.

Apparently, there were other ponies that were just as cruel as Sombra at times, just without all the power he had at his disposal. They were no actual threat to us, but to the average everyday ponies of Equestria? Those little bastards could cause quite a lot of havoc before the law could intervene.

I don’t know why there was an incline in crime across Equestria. What I did know, though, was that somepony must be pulling the strings behind the scenes. There was a certain method to it that set off all of my warning bells. My twin was having more and more visions of ponies committing crimes and we were starting to get worried. There hasn’t been an actual murder as of yet, but that didn’t mean no deaths have been caused by this.

All that we could do for now was to investigate as much as we could without neglecting our nation in the process. On top of that, Luna and I needed to make sure Starswirl and Tia didn’t actually cause a rip in spacetime with their ‘casual’ experiments.

Most of what those two crazy ponies did wasn’t even all that interesting. Lots of complex mathematics that went well over my head and other techno-babble that sounded like mad gibberish to Luna and me. They were so engrossed in their 'science' that I feared they would forget to take a pause every now and then to eat something. I didn’t want them to starve themselves in their quest to find new and exciting worlds to explore.

Luckily, I managed to get them to put their work away every once in a while with the help of my sister. They had been at it for quite some time at that point and I’m sure they would be at it for several weeks more. Ah, who am I kidding, they are going to be here for months, trying to find more worlds.

Luna and I checked in on them periodically as we neared the end of the year, my twin practically having moved in with Starswirl instead. I wasn’t entirely happy with her that she literally shoved her regular duties over to Luna and me while they were working on the spell for the mirror, but then again, I understood that she had found something that gave her so much joy to work with.

It’s not like she shirked all her duties, anyway. Celestia mostly wasn’t attending court, so it wasn’t like we had to pick up the slack that much (she did leave us with more paperwork, though). The ponies attending court were kind of miffed that their ‘favorite’ princess wasn’t there to help with their ‘major’ problems that only ‘she’ could resolve, slowly grating on my nerves more than the slightly larger pile of paperwork Luna and I split between ourselves.

The arrogance of our ponies was a little bit nerve-wracking for Luna and me. I started to understand just how underappreciated Luna must have been feeling for her beautiful nights when they practically told us with their behavior that they saw us as lesser princesses as soon as they couldn’t go to Tia, instead. I never knew the sheer degree of their conceitedness and arrogance, Celestia never said anything in that regard about the behavior of the ponies attending her court. And when we held court together, it never happened that they treated us differently.

I was confused about why it was so bad now all of a sudden. Then again, I had my suspicions as to why that was and it all pointed to a prissy, snobby, little bitch that was the former princess of the unicorn tribe.

All of this was her doing, wasn’t it? Platinum couldn’t resist stirring the population against us as my twin was practically absent all the time. At least the commoners weren’t throwing hissy fits along with the nobility or I would have already dragged Tia back here to deal with the snobby idiots.

I could deal with Platinum and her schemes, for now, no need to run back to my wife to get her to solve all my problems for me. Luna and I were just as capable of dealing with them, I told myself. It would just be a bit more... 'difficult', I guess. For some reason, they wouldn’t take us seriously anymore with the false words Platinum whispered into their ears. There was no way they could be that gullible, right? Ugh.

It wasn’t like everything was bad at the moment, though. There was one thing I was looking giddily forward to and I couldn’t wait for the day to finally arrive. Hearth’s Warming Eve is just around the corner now and it will be the very first time Equestria is going to celebrate the day this wonderful nation was founded. Ee! I'm so excited! It has been a long time in the coming, hasn’t it? And it would also serve as a day that we could remember Amore by, celebrating the friendship we had shared. I'm sure she would have shed a happy tear at that, were she to see us honor her like that.

And I already had the perfect gifts for my sisters, I could hardly wait to give them their presents! I really hoped they would like it, I had spent a lot of time with the blacksmith and the jeweler to get them done just right. The jeweler that helped me out had been in awe of the outcome, so I felt like we had done our best, at the very least.

As the day actually arrived, Luna and I went back up to Starswirl’s lab. I had slaved over the decorations for hours by that point, much to the protest of a kooky old archmage. My sister helped me with glee, giddy to celebrate one of the greatest holidays we had basically ripped off from Earth.

I even had a nice present for the hydra, I’m sure they would like the Christmas hats I made for them. They would look so cute on them, I really wanted to see them wear them.

Starswirl and Celestia had a little surprise ready for us, too. They had finished altering the spell for a new world and we would get to explore it come morning, just after we would exchange our gifts with each other.

The evening was spent in a joyful celebration with a nice little feast prepared by me and Luna, consisting of seasoned vegetables, baked potatoes with smoked fish, and glazed fruits to round things out. Of course, I made a lot of baked goods for dessert, as well (more than we would actually be able to eat this evening). I might have gone a bit overboard with that, I think. Maybe. Eh. Probably not, considering how greedy my twin could get with these...

We had a great time, telling stories, playing a few childish games at the insistence of Luna (not that I minded, I instantly agreed to her proposal), singing some 'Christmas' songs with a new spin on them, and just sitting by the fireplace enjoying the warmth of the crackling logs within. It's nice, being able to put my fiery aura on a lower output so I could enjoy some proper warmth, cuddled up to my sisters with a hot chocolate in a silly Christmas mug.

Celestia even brought a tree into the lab that we decorated together, something that intrigued the old coot to no end (we even hung up some painted baubles with our faces because Luna thought it would be funny). Christmas just wasn’t Christmas without the tree and I was glad that my twin had magicked one up for us. No idea where she got it from, though. I didn’t really care, to be honest.

Luna made a little illusion of a flaming heart above it, starting a new tradition I would come to enjoy very much. Hearth’s Warming, indeed. It gave the celebration the slightest touch to make it different from Christmas, even though the holidays were so similar (they were basically the same, but… come on, everything's better with ponies).

Starswirl was quite proud of us, and he was like the cool grandfather that we never had. I was glad to call him family, including him as an honorary member, having him here with us on this day. While he was primarily our teacher, he was far more than that. Starswirl was a great mentor, through and through, even though it sometimes didn't feel like that (the old coot had... ahem, 'questionable'... teaching methods at best, which still somehow worked). While he was our mentor for everything our education could possibly need, he also was a confidant we could go to for advice, much like a grandfather would have been for us.

We never got to meet our grandparents in this life, so Starswirl took that role for us. I’m sure my sisters felt the same way about him. Celestia might even feel like he was her best friend, what with all the experiments they were doing. I just wished Amore could have also been here with us, or even our daughters from Earth.

The night was spent in a ‘small’ shared dream between all of us. Luna was having the time of her life as we engaged in a snowball fight. My twin and I had teamed up with a small snow fortress as our defense, doing our best with our shoddy aim to keep Starswirl and Luna at bay while avoiding their snowballs.

Suffice it to say, we weren’t entirely successful against our little sister and the crazy archmage that could manipulate hundreds of snowballs with his magic alone. It was quite funny seeing Luna turn on Starswirl as soon as they had taken over our fortress, declaring herself as the queen of this winter wonderland.

Besides that, we had a wonderful time skiing down the mountain after we had our fun with the humiliating defeat at the hooves of our little sister. I was abysmally bad at this sport, but my twin was happy to help me along as her sport-loving side showed itself from beneath her pervertedness.

I wasn’t complaining about having her wandering hooves grope me everywhere as she helped me. In my previous life, I might have tried to impress her by trying my best at the things she loved doing, but now I was more content with having her show me the things she enjoyed doing, instead.

It was also nice that Luna was getting over her shyness with physical contact as she, too, helped me out on the flimsy pieces of wood. At that point, we had half-forgotten about Starswirl, but he was having a blast riding down the mountain on a sled, so I don't think he minded it that much.

The next morning arrived all too soon, our celestial bodies demanding to be moved again. I really missed the times when we could sleep in and not worry about causing a mass panic. We were literally incapable of waking up after dawn because of our connection to the suns and moon.

It still managed to astound me that this world had two suns, instead of only the one I was used to on Earth. Although, by now it felt like such a distant memory and almost alien to think there was a world that only had one sun. My sisters and I had gotten so used to the sight that it was normal to us by now, the novelty of having two suns having mostly (but not entirely) worn off.

Anyway, it was time for presents and I was happily skipping over to the gift boxes underneath the tree, giddily awaiting the reaction from my sisters. I levitated the wrapped package over to me and brought it back towards the breakfast table we set up. Both of my sisters were nursing a hot cup of tea as they still looked half asleep. We really needed to get coffee to Equestria, those two seriously needed it.

My wife eyed the package I brought over in exasperation, letting out a sigh. “Summer, can’t we eat breakfast first before you want to open the presents?” she muttered, struggling not to yawn too loudly. “I swear, you’re like a little filly again, too impatient to wait a few minutes before we are fully awake...”

“We can eat breakfast while opening presents,” I whined while I pouted. “Come on, I really want to see what you think of them.”

“Don’t be such a stick in the mud, Tia,” Luna smiled slightly, putting her cup to the side as she slid the box over to her on the table. “And is it not in the spirit of the holiday to rip and tear away at the wrapping first thing in the morning? I seem to remember you waking up impatiently yourself, once upon a time.”

Tia crossed her arms over her chest, annoyed. “I am not an impatient filly,” she shot back with an indignant grumble. “I did no such thing, whether here nor then.”

Luna snorted and I couldn't help but giggle at how cute my wife was being. “Oh, sure you didn't. You go on and keep telling yourself that, sister. I know the matron at the orphanage would have insisted otherwise, were she here with us now,” she said, tearing the corner of the gift open with childish glee. I couldn’t contain the eager squee in anticipation of her reaction. Once the paper was shredded to tiny pieces, my sisters inspected the now revealed polished dark-wooden case. On the top were our Cutie Marks engraved while the edges were decorated with gold and silver in intricate patterns.

I danced a little bit on the spot as their eyes seemed to pop out of their heads as they opened the case and looked at what was on top of the silky velvet red cushion within. Celestia levitated one of the three necklaces out in front of her, staring speechlessly at the mana gem hanging from the chain, inlaid in a frame that depicted her Cutie Mark.

Luna took out hers with a few tears in her eyes as she, too, was stunned at the craftsponyship. The chain of her necklace was a silvery blue, infused with magical properties that would keep the necklace whole, not unlike our swords. The same was true for the necklace my twin was holding, although the chain she held was golden.

The last necklace in the case held a similar mana gem that Celestia’s had, only it was in the colors of my Cutie Mark instead. But that was not all there was to them. All three mana gems, when activated, could teleport the wearer to the sibling we spoke the name of. With these, we would always find our way to one of our sisters, as long as the necklaces were within reach of each other and had enough mana stored in them to power the teleportation matrix.

“Summer...” Celestia whispered in disbelief. “How did you get these?”

“I made them. Well, not by myself,” I admitted, rubbing my neck with a hoof. “I had help. Do you like them?”

“Like them?” Luna asked bewildered. “Summer, these are amazing! Thank you so much!”

I found myself being squeezed to death a moment later, both of my lovely sisters not holding back their affections as I was showered in grateful nuzzles and kisses. A laugh behind us made the fur on my neck crawl, a frightened whinny escaping my throat as I had totally forgotten where we were.

“My, my,” Starswirl chuckled, taking a seat at the table as he returned from the 'kitchen' with a plate full of breakfast (let's just say we repurposed part of his laboratory and leave it at that). “Such enthusiasm in youth… Oh, it makes my old heart warm up. You three share such a strong sisterly bond, I’m glad I followed that rumor and met you back then.”

My sisters and I let out a relieved sigh, thankful that the old coot had interpreted their gratefulness wrongly. This could have turned out very badly if he had thought this to be anything but sisterly affection. I’m glad that they hadn’t decided to shove their tongues down my throat. That definitely would have given him the clues to figure out what exactly our relationship with each other was.

“Now, let us eat before we try out that mirror again, hmm?” Starswirl commented, shoving the case slightly to the side as he levitated the plates on the tablet over to us.

“Oh! Starswirl, I also have something for you!” I said with an eager smile, reaching out with my magic toward one of the packages underneath the tree. Starswirl rose a brow as I deposited it next to him. With curious eyes, he neatly unpacked the gift with precise movements, revealing a thick tome with glittering letters on its cover.

“‘The Properties of Crystal Magic and its Uses, by Princess Amore'? Oh, my. Where did you get that, Princess?” Starswirl asked me, astonished. “I thought the Empire was lost?”

“Yes, well...” I coughed, fidgeting slightly. “...I might have asked Amore a long time ago to give me a guide on the unique crystal pony magic. I thought you might enjoy the read, I can’t seem to get it working. It combines emotional magic with rational magic. Maybe you will have more luck with that, rational magic still gives me trouble...”

“Hmm, I can’t say I have ever tried out emotional magic before,” our mentor commented. “I will try my best, Your Highness. It would certainly help my lesson plan for the three of you if I can get it to work.”

“Wait. Are you not an archmage?” Luna asked, her head tilted slightly. “Shouldn’t you know emotional magic as well as rational magic?”

“Yes, yes, that might be true, but I have always found that incanting words helped to substitute for that part,” Starswirl shrugged, looking at the table of contents with interest. “My, advanced mana crystals, that sounds very useful to know...”

“And we have lost him,” Celestia deadpanned, levitating a piece of cheese from her plate and popping it into her mouth. “I didn’t know you had that book, Summer.”

“It has been gathering dust,” I shrugged. “And that’s just a copy, so it’s not like I gave away the original.”

Starswirl chuckled. “Still a thoughtful gift, Princess,” he said as his eyes flitted over the words in the book, not even once stopping in the pursuit of knowledge. “Thank you. I do hope you like the gifts I have for you three, I wasn’t entirely certain what to give you three. This is all very new to me.”

Celestia patted his shoulder with a smile. “I’m sure it’s going to be lovely,” she said. Starswirl merely grinned mischievously at us and levitated three simple packages over that looked like they held some type of clothing inside. Curious, I opened mine with a few rips as I discarded the wrapping to the side.

I gave Starswirl a raised brow as I levitated the pointy hat out in front of me. The old coot just let out another chuckle as he saw my sisters and I stare at our new headwear.

“Really, Starswirl?” Luna asked before putting hers on as she let out an amused giggle. “A pointy wizard hat?”

“My dear Princess Luna, every apprentice of mine gets something like that eventually, it was long overdue that you received yours,” Starswirl explained. “Of course, I don’t expect you to actually wear them, it is just a tradition to give your apprentice something that reminds them of their mentor. Clover has gotten a wizard’s cloak from me when he was far along enough in his studies underneath me.”

“Thank you, Starswirl,” I said, feeling touched that he considered us in such high regard to give us these, even though we weren’t the typical students he has had over the years (or the most mature, causing him a few headaches here and there). I placed the black pointy hat on my head as well and saw my wife do the same with her own hat.

Mine had a red band around the base with a silverish-white buckle in the middle of it. Luna’s had a dark blue band around it, and lastly, Celestia’s had a yellowish-orange band around it, their hats also having the same buckle on it.

Luna rubbed her hooves eagerly together as she levitated her own gifts to us over. “Now it’s my turn to give out gifts!” she exclaimed excitedly. “Open them! Go on! Tell me what you think.”

I smiled at her enthusiasm and did just that, tearing away the paper and opening the small box within. In it was a little globe of transparent glass and inside of it floated a colorful cloud, changing its hue constantly. Looking over toward my twin, I saw that she had one of her own.

It kind of reminds me of a mood ball…

“What is it, Luna?” Tia asked our sister while she studied her glass ball curiously. Without asking, Luna took the thing from her and touched it to her horn for a moment, concentrating a second or two before the magical cloud within it swirled around. She gave it back to Celestia as an image became visible from within.

In the globe was a memory, specifically one of me and Celestia while we were asleep in our bed, my twin glomping down on my ear while my sleeping self was smiling.

“Aww,” I giggled, feeling butterflies well up within me as I smiled warmly. I presented mine to my little sister, silently asking her to fill mine with the same memory, and happily hugged it to myself after she gave it back to me. This might be my favorite gift of all time, I thought with joy.

“If you want to change the illusion in the memory ball, just touch it to your horn like I did and think of what you want it to display, then push a bit of mana into it,” Luna explained, happy that we were so enamored with her present to us.

“Thank you, Lulu,” Celestia said, extending a wing over Luna’s back gratefully, nuzzling her. “This is such a nice gift, I’ll cherish it forever. I hope you will like mine, in comparison to this it seems so little.”

“This isn’t a competition, Tia,” Luna consoled her as she leaned herself into the hug with a content sigh and I let out a d'aww. I wish I had another memory ball so I could collect these memories, they were better than any photograph I could have taken, instead. “I’m sure we will love yours just as much.”

Before it was Tia's turn, though, our sister brought out a big wooden case and gave it to Starswirl. We looked on as our mentor opened the big ebony case and he floated a great staff out of it. And oh boy, that staff looked like it came straight out of a fantasy novel, I swear. My little sister smirked as Starswirl’s eyes sparkled like he was suddenly turned back into a foal.

The staff was a sight to behold, truly. It was made out of a gnarly dark (almost black) wood, twisting slightly as it reached the top half upon which was a shining crystal acting as a focus to amplify any kind of spell. I knew Luna was really good with enchanting items, but feeling the sheer power that the staff was giving off, it made that fact stand out all the more to me.

“My word, Luna,” Starswirl muttered astonished, forgetting the title entirely as he was stunned beyond belief. “How did you manage to craft this?”

“I actually asked my moon to lend me a bit of help in enchanting the crystal at the top of the staff,” Luna answered, blushing slightly. “It was a difficult process and took me many failed attempts, but in the end, I got lucky with the right gemstone that could hold the enchantment. What you’re sensing is condensed moonlight enclosed in the crystal.”

“Simply incredible,” Starswirl noted, inspecting the branches holding the centerpiece of the staff and marveling at the shine within it. “I feel wholly undeserving of such a marvelous gift, I don’t know what to say. Whatever can I do to repay such kindness?”

“You don’t need to, you crazy old coot,” Luna shot back and rolled her eyes. “It is a gift, is it not? I mean... I wouldn't say no to you going a bit easy on us in our lessons...”

“Well, then I guess I have to simply thank you for this,” Starswirl smiled, resting the staff against the table reverently. “I won’t ever leave without it, it deserves to be seen for the masterpiece that it is.”

Luna blushed brightly at the praise and I was inclined to agree with our teacher on this one. It truly was one of a kind. I know we had our swords already, but this made me feel a teeny tiny bit jealous of the stallion. A great staff like that was like a dream come true for any fan of the mystical arts (or fantasy novels, in general).

Celestia was the last one to bring the remaining gifts over from underneath the tree, giving them nervously out to each of us. I showed her a reassuring smile as I ripped the brown paper away with my magic, finding something that looked suspiciously like an engagement box.

Fidgeting slightly, I gave Tia a suspicious stare as I opened the small box. A small flutter raced through my body in anticipation and my increased heartbeat almost threatened to make me go lightheaded as I slowly peeked into it. Celestia chewed on her lips nervously, shifting on her rear a bit as I felt thick and heavy tears come to my eyes upon seeing what was within that box on the velvety cushion. My sister let out a surprised shout as I threw myself at her, sobbing with all of my heart after seeing her gift for me.

It was a perfect replica of our wedding ring from Earth. Even the engraving on the inside was the same, spelling out ‘in amore in aeternum’ which basically meant ‘forever in love’ in Latin. I know it was cheesy as hell, but I didn’t care at the time and my wife loved it as much as I did.

Not a moment later, Luna joined my sister in comforting me as she took a peek at my gift from Celestia. I was unable to stop myself from crying my soul out in happiness, never having thought of having lost my ring back on Earth after our reincarnation. It felt as if I had been reunited with an old friend, seeing it again even though it wasn’t the original.

Tia patted my back as I clung to her tightly, whispering sweet nothings into my ear softly. Soft enough that Starswirl couldn’t make out what she was telling me (he was watching us with fond eyes, though, as if he was proud of us). I almost thought he knew perfectly well what the reason was that made me into this crying mess, but he never said anything.

My twin smiled gently down at me while I gratefully gushed out my thanks to her, placing her lips on my forehead just below my horn. Her calming presence alone managed to ease me of all of my worries, whether they were past ones or ones yet to come. With her at my side, I knew we could tackle all the problems this universe could throw at us. Or any other universe, as the case may be.

After I calmed down, I watched contentedly as Luna opened her gift from Celestia, lifting three very cute plushies out into the open. They looked just like us and were extremely well crafted. Lulu was happily hugging them to herself, a sight I was sorely tempted to imprint on my new memory ball, as well.

I really do need a lot more of those, don't I? I’m not sure how hard they would be to make, though. I might have to ask Luna if she would be up to the task of making a few more. They would also make for great decoration in our room, now that I thought about it.

As Starswirl levitated his unwrapped gift in front of himself, I let out a snorting giggle (and pointedly ignored the laughter that came from my sisters at that) while he slipped into the ugly Christmas sweater.

Starswirl proudly puffed out his chest with a chuckle, looking himself over like an upbeat grandfather that just got the best gift of all time. It definitely fits the crazy old coot to a tee, personality-wise. The sweater had a few images of bells and stars on it, paying homage to his usual attire, while also having cartoony versions of Clover, Starswirl himself, Celestia, Luna, and myself on it.

Suffice to say, I really wanted to have one of my own now. Perhaps next year I could get my twin to make me one, too. Oh, and Luna should totally also get one, it would look extremely cute on her. And naturally, Celestia should make one for herself to round out the set. Damnit, now I can’t wait for next year!

We finished breakfast not long after we were done with exchanging our gifts and Starswirl had us gathered back in front of the horseshoe-shaped mirror. A few minutes later, he returned with the scroll on which the activation spell was written out, altering the destination of the prototype mirror.

Once more the magical fog spread out as Starswirl opened the gateway to another universe. The swirling vortex of arcane power called out to us in an invitation to explore the unknown, and this time, I felt less trepidation about going on another adventure through the multiverse.

“Now, trip number two!” Starswirl exclaimed excitedly, resembling a small colt about to go play with his friends instead of the wizened old stallion that he was. “Where do you think we will find ourselves this time?”

“Hopefully not in a place with giant monsters,” Luna remarked, smiling slightly. “You know, like last time.”

“Pish posh, dear!” Starswirl chuckled. “What are the odds of that?”

Celestia let out a groan in mock despair. “Don’t tempt fate like that, please,” she commented. “Or Luna will be proven right and lord it over our heads for the next decade or so.”

“We could just... you know... go in and find out?” I giggled, poking the wobbly surface of the mirror with a hoof.

“A good idea, onwards to adventure!” Starswirl agreed, rearing up and hopping into the mirror without a care. Luna shrugged and jumped in right after him. Celestia shoved me through the mirror with a giggle, following behind me as we traveled through the Void in Between, Limbo, the Space that Separates, whatever one wants to call it. I was rather particular to 'The Realm of Psychedelic Lights'.

Celestia and I tumbled out on the other side, swiftly noticing that this wasn’t the most habitable zone of the planet we found ourselves on. I spit the sand out of my mouth as we all took a look around at the endless expanse of desert that could be seen in every direction. Ugh, so much for adventure.

“I call this now already, this is a bust,” Luna voiced her opinion in a dry tone. Pun fully intended. “Instead of a monster, we find ourselves in the middle of nowhere. Yay.”

“Don’t be so sour, Your Highness,” Starswirl said, shaking the sand out of his clothes as Tia and I struggled to do the same with it clinging to our fur and feathers. I really wished she hadn’t shoved me in with her now, this was a really annoying feeling. So itchy. “This is still a success! And who knows, maybe we can still find something of value here!”

“Starswirl, I don’t think you would survive for very long in this heat,” Luna told him. “I’m sorry to disappoint you with my attitude, but I prefer to have my friends alive instead of slowly cooking to death in a wasteland of nothing.”

“I agree with Lulu,” I said, spitting a glob of saliva out of my mouth to finally get rid of the sand within it (well... mostly, anyway). “This isn’t a place that you should stay in, Starswirl. My sisters and I will be fine in such an environment thanks to our auras. Luna might be able to keep you cold if she concentrates on her aura, but even I think we won’t find much besides sand here. We wouldn’t even know where to go to find something of interest.”

My wife hummed in agreement, pawing at her ear with a hoof. “Perhaps we need to refine the access spell for the portal a bit more,” she said, getting rid of sand in her ear. Starswirl let out a reluctant sigh, trudging back to the portal. “There must be something we are missing in our calculations. Maybe we can add a variable that determines if the world we are going to is inhabited by intelligent life or not.”

“Hah! A great idea, Celestia!” Starswirl exclaimed, his mood flipping back around almost instantly. “Why haven’t I thought of that before?!”

“Well, I hadn’t either, so I guess we are both at fault for that,” Tia shrugged and we went back through the portal. As soon as we get back home, I’m so going to take a bath. This itchiness was driving me insane.

“Back to the drawing board as they say!” Starswirl grinned, already moving to appropriate a new scroll for the reworking of the spell. The improved version would probably take him another few months, I feared.

Time I didn’t want Celestia to be away for so long again if I could prevent it. I’m sure Starswirl could take care of this on his own for a little while, he didn't really need Tia, right? My sister couldn’t just stop being a princess all of a sudden, after all. While I’m sure she would find enough free time to help him out with his experiments, she can do that when there wasn’t some kind of criminal mastermind running around.

That needs to be resolved sooner rather than later. Whoever is edging on this criminal activity within our nation needs to be brought to justice. And I wasn't just saying this because of my darker side getting restless. No. Our ponies were starting to become afraid and I couldn't leave it like that. But first, I really need a bath.

Back in our castle, I enjoyed the company of my sisters as we cleaned ourselves off from our recent adventure. I was pleasantly surprised when Luna engaged me in a rather intimate kiss as Celestia rinsed out my mane with her magic.

Even more surprising was her tongue prodding at my lips. I raised my brow at her as she gave me a nervous, but at the same time also excited, look.

“Luna?” I asked, slightly confused as she had never tried to do this before. Celestia moved on to my tail with her magic, watching us in the meantime with interest.

“I...” Luna hesitated for a moment, thinking about what she wanted to say. I gave her an encouraging smile, seeing her gain a bit of confidence from it. “I just want to try this kind of kissing? I’m not sure...”

“You don’t have to impress me,” I whispered gently. “We can stick with regular kisses for as long as you want to, don’t try to rush what you aren’t entirely comfortable with.”

“No, I... I do want to,” Luna mentioned shyly. “And we have been dating for a few months now, so why not go a small step further?”

“Come on, Summy,” Celestia whispered into my ear with a hot breath. “Don’t stop the show now, I was quite enjoying it.”

“Shut up, Tia,” I giggled. “Well, alright then. If you are sure...”

“I am,” Luna nodded, capturing my lips with hers. This time when she asked permission with her tongue, I let her explore my mouth and she let out a happy hum. She wasn’t as aggressive at it as Celestia was, but she still fought me into submission with gentle flicks of her curious tongue.

I let out a surprised moan as my twin brushed the sponge within her telekinetic grasp against my nethers, rubbing my clit. Celestia was watching us from her position at the edge of the pool, biting her lower lip between her teeth. I grinned slowly as I gave her a half-lidded stare, prompting Luna to do the same as we started to make a show out of our little make-out session.

Judging by how greatly Tia was fidgeting with her flank, she enjoyed what we were doing very much. Luna giggled, throwing her forelegs around me as she pressed me against the edge of the pool, my head coming dangerously close to hitting my twin in the jaw.

Once more, I let out a squeaky moan as I felt Celestia clamp down on my ear, almost whinnying in pleasure were it not for Luna trying her best to make me go out of breath.

“Ah~,” I moaned and my breath hitched as my twin slightly nipped my ear with her teeth, losing more ground against Luna’s tongue in the process. I let out a small growl as a bit of possessiveness started to well up within me, partially causing my transformation into Fallen Star as I felt my teeth and vision sharpen.

Luna was entirely taken by surprise as I reversed our position in the pool, aggressively pressing her tongue back with mine. I chuckled as my little sister pushed back valiantly, trying her best to even out our little battle. Our breathing came out in ragged puffs of air and I was delighted to hear her moan out cutely.

“Mhhn,” Celestia let out a moan herself and I noticed the sponge was nowhere to be seen but her magic was still lit up. Ah. I see how it is, how very naughty~. I grinned a bit more as I let out an exaggerated moan, watching her all the while.

Luna and I giggled as Celestia’s wings shot wide open at that, my raunchy voice bringing out the worst (or best, it depends on how one wants to view it) in her, and I finally saw what she was doing with the poor sponge. She really was naughty, wasn’t she?

I broke the kiss with Luna, giving both of us the opportunity to get some air back into our lungs so we weren’t constantly panting for more. With a little hop, I was out of the water and drying myself off with a quick flare of my fiery aura. I levitated some towels over for Luna as she followed after me, helping her dry off with tender care and small nuzzles here and there.

“Now, how about Tia and I work on those pretty wings of yours while you relax a little bit?” I asked Luna, my voice still that of Fallen Star. I have to say, I quite liked changing it back and forth in private. It has a nice ring to it and it manages to get Celestia all crazy and excited.

“Oh yes!” Celestia moaned out heavily, her eyes rolling up in her head as she set herself off and I rolled mine at what she had just done with a friggin’ sponge. Not that I was complaining, seeing her masturbate to Luna and I was kinda hot as hell. My little sister looked just as touched as I was about it, judging by the bright blush on her muzzle. Or she was embarrassed, but my money was more on the first option.

I took Tia into my telekinesis and levitated her over the pool with a mischievous smile. I let go of her and watched gleefully as she sputtered and flailed about in the water. Celestia shot me a glare as the liquid began to bubble around her as she let her fiery aura get out of control. Whistling lowly in amusement, I sauntered out of the room with an exaggerated sway of my flanks and I had to smirk as my twin calmed down considerably as I noticed her staring at my rear with undisguised lust. The only thing missing now was a nosebleed~.

Luna followed me up on the bed as I patted the spot next to me, happily snuggling up to me. A minute or two later and Celestia was at the other side of her. With some silent prodding, we had Luna extend her wings for us and we began to preen her carefully.

Not long after that, Lulu was half asleep with a relaxed smile on her face as we set her feathers straight and got rid of the ones that needed to come out. She let out a few giggles from time to time as we took care of her wings, even letting out a moan or two while we worked on her.

A little idea came to my mind as I stared at her Cutie Mark, Celestia following my gaze as she, too, got the same idea as me. Luna let out a surprised squeak which quickly turned into a heavy moan as she bit her fetlock while Tia and I slightly nipped her in the flanks. I watched with glee as her back arched up with her tail rising higher as we showed her the wonderful feeling of being teased at her Cutie Mark.

“S-Summer,” Luna mewled out cutely, staring back at me with a smoldering gaze. “Don’t. Please.”

“Alright,” I acquiesced, shoving down the feelings of possessiveness and reverting my changes back to normal as I felt guilty for forcing myself on her like this. “Sorry. I might have gotten myself carried away there for a moment...”

“It’s alright,” Luna sighed, fidgeting slightly. “It felt good, though. You were right about that, sister. It felt really good.”

“I’m glad you liked it, at least,” I whispered, snuggling up to her. “I truly am sorry for making you uncomfortable by doing that.”

“Don’t be sorry,” Luna reassured me, nuzzling my cheek. “I just need a little bit of time to get used to the idea, okay? I’m sorry that I make you wait so long for me to get ready for that step, it’s just... I don’t want to rush into things like that.”

“I understand,” I told her with a nod. “If I have to, I can wait for years.”

My twin sighed at that. “If it is for you, Luna, then I will wait, as well. I’ll just have to suck it up and amuse myself with the fucking sponge, instead,” Celestia grumbled, pouting back at me. “Because somepony won’t let me at them since you entered the herd.”

“Well, if you had been here the last month or so, we could have found time for ourselves, but no... you just had to seclude yourself in Starswirl’s lab,” I shot back, rolling my eyes while feeling a bit grumpy myself. Tia wasn't the only one with pent-up sexual frustration. “Maybe you should ask Starswirl, instead. You seem to be pretty attached to the old coot...”

Luna hit both of us over the head before our 'disagreement' could escalate. “Stop this at once! I won’t have you arguing over such a stupid thing! Besides, what have I told you about that, Summer?” she interrupted us. If it went on further like that, we might have started to accuse each other of more than just not having sex.

“Wait, you were serious about that?” I asked, leaning my head back from her as I looked at her incredulously. “Luna, just a moment ago you stopped me from taking a step further than what you felt comfortable with! This is so much more beyond that! Even what Tia did in the bathroom was inappropriate and inconsiderate of your feelings about this subject.”

“Luna, what is Summer talking about?” Celestia inquired, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

“Eh heh heh. I, uh…” Luna laughed awkwardly. “I might have told her... that I wanted to watch?”

“Watch?” Tia asked with a raised brow. “Seriously? Wow. And here I thought I was the pervert in our relationship. Is this your type of fix? Do I have to worry that you will get a nosebleed from this? Summer was right, this is so much beyond what you said you are comfortable with...”

“Okay, okay! I get it!” Luna groaned, slumping her head down in embarrassment. “I don’t need you teasing me over it, okay?! I just... I don’t know. It feels less involved if I just watch. I don’t have to get in on the action as long as I don’t want to.”

“But… we don’t have to do this with you in the room if it makes you feel so awkward, Lulu,” I gently told her, not sure how to feel about this. “It doesn’t feel right to leave you out like that while we do it right in front of you...”

“I’m with Summer on this, even though I really want to throw caution out of the window and ravish her this instant,” Celestia commented, throwing me one of her looks that told me she was about to do just that. “You have no idea how much of a tease she can be by just existing. Constantly flaunting her perfect little flanks in my face, the adoring look in her eyes, that childish skip she sometimes does… "—Tia gulped, breathing more heavily—"it’s like she doesn’t even realize she's doing this, it’s driving me crazy.”

My muzzle exploded in a blush and I felt heat erupt in an entirely different place, as well. “Since when do I flaunt my flanks?” I asked back, puffing my cheeks out indignantly. “I don’t do that!”

“Oh, you do, sweetheart,” my twin shot back. “You really do... and it is so fucking sexy...”

“No, I don’t!” I argued, turning my muzzle up at her, heart racing as Luna watched us bicker back and forth.

“You do!”

“Nuh-uh!”

“Oh, for the love of the moon, you do, Summer!” Luna shouted between us, causing us to look at her in surprise. A fiery red blush appeared on her muzzle a moment later.

I groaned. “You, too, Lulu?” I asked with a pout as I looked at my own flanks. “I certainly don’t do it consciously, then.”

“Yes, well...” Luna coughed into her hoof. “You started doing it more after your transformation into Fallen Star...”

“Really?” I asked bewildered. “Huh...”

“Oh, Sunshine,” Celestia giggled. “You have no idea how much sexy you flaunt around on a day-to-day basis.”

“So now it is sexy, instead of cute, huh?” I smiled. “When did that one change, huh? Let me guess, it happened after I learned how to control my switch to Fallen Star?”

“Are we going back to that topic now?” Celestia grinned at me, switching positions with Luna in a flash of magic. A moment later, I was pinned underneath her on my back, looking up at her twinkling eyes. “Does it really matter~?”

“I thought you liked it more cute?” I answered back in a whisper, heat spreading in my nethers and I felt myself get nervous as Luna watched my sister place one of her hooves on my lips, tracing them slowly while biting her own lips.

My sister chuckled. “What if I like it both ways?” she asked me, her voice incredibly saucy and I let out a whine, doing my best to not demand my wife to have her way with me even while Luna was here. “A cute little flank like yours, swaying them around in a seducing way... mhhn, that is sexy and cute at the same time, Sunshine.”

“Mhhhn,” I whined underneath her, her words sounding so raunchy I almost thought she figured out how to access Daybreaker’s voice. I begged her with my eyes to stop what she was doing before I would throw caution out the window, too. While I didn’t want to go any further with Luna right next to us, what I actually wanted Celestia to do right now was to fuck me silly while our sister watched us do it, instead. It was so very maddening.

“Shh,” Celestia murmured, smiling down at me with a mischievous glint in her eyes and I tracked them wander up to my horn as anticipation sped up my heart rate quite a lot. “If Lulu really wants to watch, then I’m taking my time with you...”

My eyes wandered back and forth between my sisters and I felt my fluids begin to soak the bed sheet underneath me as they unanimously came to an understanding. Celestia wanted to show Lulu how she was about to make me into a puddle of pleasure with her teasing alone and Luna wanted to get a taste of what she could look forward to herself when she decided to take the next step in our relationship.

And I was going to be the one that had to suffer the teasing touches of my twin while I couldn’t protest against her. Although, as Celestia trailed a few light kisses up my muzzle towards my forehead, I found myself unable to care about it anymore. All I wanted was to feel the thrill of her denying me an orgasm for hours on end. Oh, yes… it made my marehood beg with need oh-so-beautifully…

I mewled out against the hoof of my wife as I felt her tongue lightly grazing the groove in between the spirals of my horn, the sensitive part that could cause quite a lot of pleasure for a unicorn (or alicorn, as the case might be). Absentmindedly, I noticed Luna watching us carefully as she hugged our plushie selves to herself tightly, but I quickly lost focus of my vision as Celestia gave my horn a little flick with her tongue.

Celestia let out a chuckle as I whimpered once more as she trailed her tongue over the spirals, making me literally beg her to concentrate on the proper place instead. But like the massive tease that she was, she ignored my pathetic pleas in favor of riling me up even further.

Her teasing tendencies were starting to annoy me to no end, and yet, I couldn't help but revel in them. It was always the same with her and the fact that she drew pleasure out of it, hearing me beg futilely, only managed to make me resent (and love) her more for it. For some reason, it still had that strange allure to it that had me go wilder for her when she actually did start to grant me some mercy from her teasing. I could tell Tia was loving it, especially after she saw my eyes turn golden and my pupils into slits. All my attempts at getting her to lick the groove on my horn were thwarted by her withdrawing for a few moments before going back to teasing me.

Luna giggled at my misfortune and I let out a sad sigh in the hopes my sister was going to somehow get bored of doing this to me. Sadly, this was my wife and she was notorious for dragging this out as much as she could whenever she could. I couldn’t even move my forelegs underneath her to prompt her into doing what I wanted her to do. Celestia wouldn’t allow me any kind of choice in the matter, she was that evil.

So, seeing that I had no other way to get her to stop teasing me, I tried one last option. Giving in to my feelings of hatred, I felt my mane begin to heat up as the first few strands of my mane caught fire. I didn’t care that I might singe the bed in the process, Celestia made me resort to these methods.

That plan failed like the rest, though. I cried out in shock as my wife lightly slapped me across the muzzle with her hoof, stopping me from further turning into Fallen Star.

“Bad Summer!” Celestia told me sternly, glaring at me with that disappointed look that always managed to make me feel guilty. I resigned myself to my fate and continued to silently suffer as she licked me anywhere but where I wanted her to. All the while, I felt more desperate and thrilled to be treated like her personal plaything. “Do I have to teach you manners, Red Nose?”

I rolled my eyes as she used that ridiculous nickname again. It seems I won’t ever escape that one (not that I actually minded it that much, hearing it from her). Then again, I think I preferred Summy over this now.

“I think I need a reminder?” I asked back with a falsely innocent whisper, glad that she wasn’t stopping me from retorting after she decided to punish me. “Do tell~...”

“Well, first of all, do not do that again,” Celestia said, gesturing to my mane. “I don’t need you burning down the room. Again.”

“I seem to remember that it was your fault that happened,” I grinned smugly, thinking back to ten years ago when we got the power boost from our suns.

“Okay, we were both at fault for that,” Tia shot back, rolling her eyes in annoyance. “I wasn’t the only one with trouble containing our aura.”

“Luna had it easy with her aura...” I pouted and my little sister let out a snort at that.

“Sure, if you call sleeping on a block of ice better,” Luna commented sarcastically. “Or threatening to inflict hypothermia on anypony close enough to you...”

“Okay, okay! I get it,” I grumbled defeatedly. “We all had a bad time after we started with our celestial duties, bla bla bla.”

Tia looked disapprovingly down at me. “Don’t you get snippy now,” she told me, poking me with a hoof. “That’s the second thing after burning things, so no more of that now, or I won’t continue...”

“Aww...” I mumbled, feeling dejected. “But I rarely get the chance!”

“I would think you of all ponies would be the last one that would want to be like that,” Luna said with a raised brow. I shrugged. It probably was more of a Fallen Star thing than a Summer Sol thing, perhaps my darker side was showing through a bit more right now.

“Alright, will you behave yourself now?” Celestia asked and I nodded reluctantly, still of the opinion that my wife was dragging this out way too long with her teasing. She smiled and rewarded me with a soft kiss, improving my mood immensely. “As always, listen to your big sister and I’ll reward you~.”

“Aren’t you like... a minute older than me?” I asked with a roll of my eyes.

“Yes, but I was also older than you on Earth, so shut up,” Celestia answered and began to use her magic to clamp my mouth shut instead of placing her hoof back on my muzzle. I had to suppress a few giggles as the arcane energy started to tickle me.

Celestia couldn’t resist playing with me a little bit longer as she started to trail the tip of her tongue along the edge of my ears lightly. All I really wanted was for her to bite down on them, begging her with my eyes to at least give me that much. Alas, Tia (being the massive tease that she was) did not oblige to my silent request.

My wings strained against the restricting embrace of my twin as I felt a sudden pinch on my flanks, trying to flare out from the spike in arousal that the sensation evoked in me. Tia smirked wickedly at me, holding my wings closed against my sides for a moment longer before letting go of them so that they didn't start to cramp and cause me pain.

Luna stared fascinatedly as Celestia trailed her primary feathers lightly on the inside of my wings, provoking a few loud moans from me. I blushed heavily and fidgeted my hind legs in an effort to somewhat satisfy my aching nethers.

My twin wasn’t having any of that, though. So, besides me being silenced, Tia forced me to stay still by taking my hind legs in her telekinesis and spreading them wide open so even my squirming couldn't do much to satisfy me. She also threatened me by telling me she would stop touching me altogether if I continued to defy her. I pouted in defeat as she raised a brow at me, reminding me that I wasn’t supposed to do anything while she had her fun with me. What can I say, it was just so frustrating that I had to try something.

At least Luna was enjoying the show of me completely at the mercy of our sister. I could already see her mentally taking notes about what she would enjoy and what she would like to try out with us. That fascinated look in her eyes told me more than what a thousand words never could and judging by the playful smirk on Tia's muzzle, she also took notice of that.

The featherlight touches on the inside of my wings had me almost in a trance as Celestia didn’t let up on that, almost causing me to miss the sensation of her starting to lick my horn again. Both of these feelings combined managed to drive me into a quivering mess, although it was nowhere near the pleasure that the electrifying shivers of her paying attention to my Cutie Mark could have provoked.

Letting out a hum at Celestia licking the spirals of my horn, I was completely unprepared for the unexpected vibrations running through my nethers as my wife made me whinny through the use of her magic. I could hear Luna snicker at my reaction, but I ignored her as I cried out my desire for more.

Alas, Celestia stopped as soon as she had gotten the reaction from me that she wanted, causing me to whimper sadly because she was being mean to me. That only gave her more incentive for her teasing, her smirk widening at my begging. There was no way for me to convince her otherwise, and even if I tried, it would only get worse.

I watched with bated breath as she trailed a few kisses further down my barrel and then toward my stomach. My hopes rose as she continued to go further down and I waited, full of anticipation, to feel her finally reach my crying nethers.

And I waited... and waited... and waited, only for nothing to happen. I felt the needy ache build up more and more, soaking the bed sheets even further as my expectations began to crumble into nothingness. Celestia stared back at me with the most self-satisfied grin on her muzzle as I shot her a betrayed look, trying to wiggle myself in a way that would get her to stop being such a dick to me.

A heavy blush appeared on my muzzle as I felt her tongue play with my teats, a feeling I seldom got to experience from her as she found it more interesting to tease my wings or the Cutie Marks on my flanks. Perhaps because I was always less vocal when she teased me there, but I enjoyed the feeling nonetheless even though I wasn’t the most sensitive there.

Maybe she decided to finally have mercy on me for once or the heavy scent of arousal finally got to her, but I was happy beyond belief as I felt her tongue prod at my marehood after endless minutes of her driving me crazy. I think I might have even used the Royal Canterlot Voice as I let out the loudest moan I could possibly let out once her wiggling tongue dashed into my folds with eager enthusiasm.

If it was her goal to make me squeal and writhe in delight, she had certainly achieved that. Celestia giggled as I tried to trap her head between my hind legs, a futile effort on my part as she was clever enough to increase the strength of her grip on me whenever I tried that. I wanted her to go further in. However, even now she tried to get the maximum effect with the least amount of movements on her part.

The slow movements of her tongue had an interesting outcome, though. I don’t know why, but this only managed to get me more aroused. And the friggin’ slurping noises coming from her only drove me wilder.

She sucked her tongue back out of my folds, and then, I felt her teeth gently squeeze my aching nub, sending stars through my vision as I was suddenly overtaken by an earth-shattering, mind-numbingly good orgasm. This... this never happened before, I thought blearily. I was happy beyond belief as I basked in the afterglow of this unexpected orgasm, feeling pure bliss as my whole body shuddered uncontrollably.

My mind absentmindedly noticed that even my wife was surprised by this development, looking disbelievingly at what she had just accomplished. I let out a whimsical giggle, snuggling up to her contentedly as she let go of me in her stupor. I might have been a bit too much out of it because I started to abuse my wife’s ears without a care in the world.

Celestia very much enjoyed the attention she rarely got to experience from me, giggling happily. At some point, I must have nodded off into dreamland without letting go of her ear.

Opening my eyes, I found myself standing in the circular room with the mirror that would show me my darker half. Although, this time I was completely alone here as my sisters were nowhere to be found. Walking slowly over to it, I stared back at the reflection of Fallen Star. There clearly was something on her mind, seeing that she didn’t have her usual cruelly confident look on her muzzle but a more subdued expression, instead.

“Star?” I asked, confused. “What is going on? Why am I back here?”

Fallen Star sighed, looking away from me, conflicted. “Summer... we need to address a problem.”

“What problem?” I asked her, fidgeting slightly as my heart rate sped up with fear. I could tell that it was her fear instead of mine. “Hey. It's alright, Star. I promise you, whatever it is, you don’t have to be so fearful. You can tell me.”

“I think...” Fallen Star gulped, taking in a heavy breath. “I think there is something wrong with our aging, Summer.”

“Huh?” I let out a confused hum, raising a brow at her. “How come you think so?”

My darker half gave me a look that basically told me she thought I was an idiot. “We still look like we are barely an adult, for one thing. At most, we look like we just turned twenty,” she growled out. “Don’t you think that is a bit weird?”

“I, uh...” I stammered, fidgeting awkwardly. I summoned another mirror to look at my actual reflection, unsure of myself. “I thought ponies age differently than humans, to be honest...”

“Summer, ponies do start to look more mature by the time they reach this age, you dimwit,” Fallen Star snorted. “We are almost thirty-three and still look like we have just come out of puberty and become a young adults.”

“But I’m still growing?” I asked in uncertainty. “I mean, I am getting taller, in a few years I will even outgrow Starswirl and he is by no means short.”

“Think back for a moment when we got our Cutie Mark,” Star instructed me, a strangely gentle tone in her voice. “What did Magic tell us?”

“That we have a destiny to fulfill with our sun? I don’t know,” I snorted, put off by her being so cryptic with me of all ponies. “Can’t you be a bit more specific?”

She groaned back at me. “You featherbrained idiot, I am you!” Fallen Star growled. “We are literally talking to ourselves right now, I can’t hold your hoof and force the fucking memory out.”

I shot her a glare, pouting unhappily. “There's no need to get so snippy with me,” I grumbled before letting my misgivings go. “Anyway, there must be something that caused us to have this suspicion in the first place, right? Something that made us suspicious of why we still look like we are twenty at the most...”

“Why can’t Celestia be here, instead...” Fallen Star grumbled dejectedly. “She would have already remembered, damnit.”

My eyelid twitched at that comment. “How about you shut up and help me think, huh?” I shot back and focused on doing just that. Star muttered something about me being an idiot, but I ignored her in favor of replaying the last moment in that weird astral plane thingy. I don't remember what it was actually called. Didn’t Magic call it the Realm of Ascension or something? It’s hard to remember the specific words that were spoken, it has been over a decade...

There was something about destiny, a rising darkness, and then of course me discovering my special talent. The attitude of Magic was a bit alienating, to be honest. Everything that Magic said... it kind of blended together because of how bored and disinterested they came across to us.

What else? Magic told us who we were in our previous lives, but that was hardly connected to this conundrum now. Then there was the fight between my sisters and what Magic thought about that. Lastly, there were the insults Magic threw at us for being... ignorant, I guess?

“There!” Fallen Star crowed, slamming her forehooves against the glass pane of the mirror. “That's a part of it! Now, what was it that Magic said to us?!”

“I, uh...” I mumbled, thinking a bit harder. It wasn't easy, but… “I think it was something about mortals and their feelings?”

“Yes! Go on!” Star urged me, desperate. “Come on, we are so close!”

“Don’t rush me so much,” I said, massaging the side of my head indignantly. I might be getting a headache if she pressured me further like this. Can one get a headache in a dream? “Let’s see here... Luna accused Magic that it was all their fault, Magic insulted her back as she told them to die in a hole... I don’t think Luna had a painless death, now that I think about it...”

“Summer, focus! We can worry about that later!” she ordered me, snorting out a puff of fire. Clearly, she was mad about that, too. But she was also right, we had more than enough time to worry about that when we could ask Luna in the waking world. If I don't forget to ask, that is...

“There was something about... our bodies being different?” I asked, uncertain. “Right before Magic gave us the clue how we could leave and enter that realm.”

“Yes! That’s it!” Fallen Star nodded, pacing back and forth in front of me. “Magic said something along the lines of looking forward to our reaction when we find out in which way our bodies are different, right? So, together with that remark and what we found out about us still looking like we are just about twenty...”

“You don’t think..?” I asked, fearfully.

Star nodded reluctantly with a dark frown. “I’m afraid so...” she said, sighing as she slouched down. She bit her lip as she looked at me. “Summer, I think we do age differently than regular ponies. Just... not in the way you thought we did...”

“But... all of our friends,” I whimpered. “Pansy, Cookie, Clover, and Starswirl... Oh, dear...”

Star looked at me with pity, a sad look in her eyes. “I wouldn’t worry about Starswirl so much. That old coot still has that flawed time-travel spell, after all,” Star pointed out. She didn't look very happy about that small piece of consolation, though. Neither was I, to be honest. “Summer... we need to talk with Magic again.”

“What?!” I protested, my wings flaring out in shock. “But... but...”

“Yes, I know,” she said, rolling her eyes. “Magic is a massive asshole, but we need answers.”

“Don’t we have them now? I mean, we age slower, right? That's all there is to it… right?”

“Summer,” Fallen Star sighed, looking me in the eye with a crushing amount of fear in them, fear that I felt myself because we were the same pony. “What if this is only part of the answer?”

“Don’t be ridiculous,” I laughed awkwardly, although our fear only grew more with each passing second as I felt doubt creeping in. “This can’t be more than a slight increase in lifespan, right? There is no way that...”

“I’m waking us up now,” Fallen Star interrupted me, beginning to cast the spell already. “Go to Magic, or I will.”

“You are me, you know that, right?” I commented and I felt my ears splay back against my head.

“Yes, but we will force ourselves to turn into us if it means we will go through with this,” she shot back and I felt my hatred spike in response to that, unbidden. I didn’t want to believe we could live for a very long time, far longer than any mortal ever should. I wanted to rage and kick and scream at the unfairness of it, go to Magic so that I could rip the head off of their body for not telling us such an important thing, but would that change anything?

“I don’t want to know...” I whispered fearfully back to Star and tried to suppress my anger back from where it came from, but it was all for naught. It was my own rage, and the more I tried to ignore it, the harder it became to stay calm. “W-we don’t need to know, right? Please, don’t make me do this...”

Star growled, stomping a hoof angrily. “Then you leave us no choice, Summer,” she said and I noticed how her eyes turned into gentle pale magenta orbs while my vision sharpened. “I’m... sorry about this, but I see you won’t go through with this if you aren’t properly motivated.”

A moment later I was staring down at the reflection of Summer Sol as she wept to herself. My heart quivered slightly, but I quickly squashed those feelings. As much as I hate seeing her like this, this has to be done.

“We need those answers, Summer,” I told my good half, mustering up all the kindness I could as I gave her the gentlest smile I could with my sharp teeth. “You know you want this as much as I do. We can’t delude ourselves and live on in ignorance. It’s better we learn the full truth now, instead of learning it later down the line.”

“I know...” she sighed, shooting me a teary smile back. “Promise me to not go on a rampage once we find out the whole truth, please?”

“I... I promise,” I said as I sneered slightly, angry that my good half was such a bleeding heart. “Even though I feel like we should teach that stupid entity a lesson or two. The bloody kind.”

“I’m sure Magic has a good reason for the things they do,” Summer retorted gently and I rolled my eyes at her forgiving nature.

“I’ll be going then,” I said, placing my hoof on the glass surface of the mirror. Summer mirrored my movement, nodding with a wobbly smile on her white muzzle. I found myself smiling back at her as the dream world started to fade away around me.

I opened my eyes with a blink, finding Celestia and Luna snuggled up to my body. A bit of possessiveness reared its ugly head within me and I struggled to suppress the urge to view them as my belongings instead of my lovers. Damn you, Summer, for making me so soft.

My sisters were oblivious to me leaving their embrace and I hopped out of bed. A small part of me wanted me to wake them up and bring them with me to the realm Magic resided in, but I shook my head, dislodging that thought. It was probably something Summer wanted me to do.

I growled in defiance, not giving in to these feelings. This was going to be a mercy on them. They didn’t need to find out right now, right? I will let them believe they were still ordinary ponies for a little while longer. They just have a bit more power at their disposal, that's it. I fear a revelation of this nature would shatter them. And that's something I cannot allow.

I strolled over to the balcony, throwing one last glance back at the sleeping sisters on the bed. They were so peaceful and I couldn't take that from them. They deserved to be ignorant for a bit longer. I pushed the feeling of pity to the back of my mind before I reached out to my alicorn magic, demanding it to bring me to Magic.

Once more I found myself in the starry field of lights that strangely supported my weight with no obvious floor underneath me. I narrowed my eyes as I spotted the figure standing before me, wearing the skin of my other half as if it meant nothing to it.

“You...” I growled out, stalking forth with a snarl on my muzzle, displaying my sharp teeth in their full glory as I flared out my wings. “What have you done to us?”

Magic tilted their head at me, looking annoyed that I was taking up their time. “I need you to elaborate on that,” they said with their usual bored tone. “Otherwise, I might not be able to answer your question in the correct way.”

I sneered. “You know what I’m referring to, monster,” I told them, prowling around Magic-Summer as I barely held myself back from pouncing on them and as I wanted to sink my fangs into their neck. “Answer me!”

“Hmph. Always demanding answers. I wonder who the real monster here is...” they said, rolling her eyes. “I liked your other side a lot more. It's such a pity that she gave in to her darkness like this.”

“We have come to an accord,” I shot back. “Something I can’t say we have ever made with you. Now stop skirting around the question.”

“Truly? I assume this holds true for your sisters as well?” Magic asked, raising a brow mockingly. “I would have thought they knew better.”

“Because we do,” I snarled back. “We represent harmony, do we not? And what is harmony in your eyes?”

“All that is good? Where are you going with this?” they answered, sounding confused to my ears. I smirked maliciously, letting out a small, taunting laugh.

“All that is good, huh? You’re pathetic,” I grinned, coming to a stop in front of them. Our muzzles were almost touching each other. “Harmony is a balance, you ignorant fool. What would the world look like if there was only good in it?”

“Certainly a lot better than what it is now,” Magic commented, narrowing their eyes at me. “I see it has been a mistake to bring you and your sisters here, you threaten harmony. New guardians must be chosen.”

“No, you made a spell that would bring you a few unfortunate souls that were compatible, did you not?” I asked, mockingly patting their muzzle with a hoof. “And you did just that. What did you specify in your spell as the search criteria?”

“A soul in harmony,” they answered as if they thought it was already obvious. “Compatible, as you said.”

“The spell did just that,” I told it, my voice triumphant. As I continued to stalk around Magic, I studied the form they had taken on disapprovingly. My flanks do not look like that. How pathetic. They couldn’t even get the magnificence of my rump right. “Your spell searched for souls that would be compatible with the criteria that they would be 'in harmony'. But you misinterpreted the meaning of harmony, Magic. What you think harmony is is actually only an aspect of it. On a scale from extreme bad and extreme good, harmony would be where the scale is balanced.”

“Then I need to redesign the spell,” Magic said, ignorant of what that would mean. “New souls need to be chosen to fulfill a task you and your sisters would fail at. I need pure good to combat pure evil.”

“And that is where you are wrong,” I sneered, poking them in the chest. “Think for a moment what a soul like that would look like.”

“Better, perfect, uncorrupted,” they said, as if on auto-pilot. I let out a laugh at that pitiful answer.

“Then you would bring about the destruction of the world,” I shot back. “And you know why? A soul like that would be so fanatic, they would cleanse the world of imperfections until nothing but order remains.”

“But that is what is needed, is it not?” Magic asked, staring back at me in confusion. “Cleanse the darkness plaguing this world and bring order to it. That is the purpose that I brought you here for. Only for you to embrace your darkness. It is illogical.”

“You know, there is a saying back on Earth,” I said, staring at the ignorant deity in front of me. “Too much of one thing is bad.”

“How can too much good be bad?” Magic said with a scoff. “You are not making sense.”

“Alright, then let me explain it in a way that even your dimwitted skull can comprehend,” I sneered.

“I do not have a skull,” they commented, but I ignored their remark.

“You want to bring a soul so extremely 'pure' into this world, a soul that would rival the most vilest thing you could ever imagine, and then, it would look at the imperfect world it has been brought to,” I started to explain while Magic tried to comprehend why such a soul would be so vile as I said it would be, so I continued on with a smirk. “Seeing this blasphemy to their very ideals, they would go on to bring order to the world. Everything would become the same. Nothing out of place, no individuality, not a single soul that would still be in any way corrupted, right? That is what you want? This utopia with no darkness?”

“Yes?” Magic said, nodding dumbly in that ignorant way that made me want to rip their throat out in a fit of rage. “What is so bad about that?”

“Then you are mistaken that they would leave anything alive,” I growled, taking Magic aback. “Because life is impure by its very nature. You would bring a soul back that would go mad trying to accomplish a goal that could only ever be reached once there's no life left. At least, every impure lifeform, that is. I can’t say what it would think of divine beings...”

“You must be lying,” they retorted in disbelief. “Life is what should be protected for good to flourish, nothing purely good would do something so evil.”

“And you are so certain of that, are you?” I cackled, astonished by how naïve Magic was. “Life and death are a balance, constantly trying to reach a perfect harmony. Too much and it is tipping the scale, as would be the case with too much good. You invite that soul into this reality and all you would do would be to doom our world.

“This pure light would tear away everything you try to protect, and for what? A misguided goal to bring good to this world? This ‘harmony’ you seek is not accomplished by bringing a pure soul to this world for them to eradicate all darkness. There cannot be light without darkness, you idiot. And the brighter that light shines, the longer the shadow will become that it casts on this world.

“Is that truly what you want? A world that would be cleansed of every scrap of darkness, of every bit of imperfection, and every piece of uniqueness? Let me tell you what that would mean, Magic:

“A little colt makes the mistake of borrowing some money from their parents without asking them first. Does he deserve to die for that small show of selfishness? Or a foal is born with a disfigured wing, does this newborn deserve to die for what it had no influence over? And what of a mare that voiced a different opinion to everypony else? Is she going to die for that?”

“Why would they need to die for that?!” Magic shot back, indignantly.

“But that is what you want?” I mocked. “A 'perfect' world. No imperfections, right? No darkness, no bad, no evil. Or am I wrong? That is what a state of absolute order would bring with itself.”

“But that is wrong! Nopony should die for a small mistake like taking without asking for permission first! Certainly not for something they had no influence over, how can you suggest that?!”

“I’m not suggesting that,” I said in response, poking Magic in their chest with a hoof. “It is what you are suggesting by rewriting that spell so it would bring that pure light into this world. A light like that would be unable to live with anything that does not fit in with their version of perfection.”

“I... I need to speak with Honesty...” they muttered, winking out of existence in front of me. I blinked, not expecting them to just leave me standing here like an idiot. Where did they say they would go off to? To Honesty? That... couldn’t actually be the ideal they were talking about, so they most likely referred to another entity like themself.

“Great, and I still haven’t gotten the answer to my question, the only thing I came here for, in the first place...” I grumbled, plopping my flanks down on the weird ground of floating lights underneath me.

A few minutes passed and nothing happened, so I lay down with a bored expression. Just perfect, I thought bitterly, beginning to play with the little wisps of light as I had nothing better to do at the moment.

My thoughts wandered back to my sisters still sleeping in our bed, desperately hoping they hadn’t noticed my absence yet. I certainly wasn’t in the mood to explain why I decided to go on this little quest on my own. Now that I was thinking about it, I had to wince as it was really selfish of me to withhold this from them.

I snarled a bit as I watched my hoof lose its orange color, changing back to a pearl white. Not now, I told myself, forcing my regret back down from where it came from. This confrontation with Magic was easier if I continued to stay in my current form. I was in no mood to forgive the insensitive entity anytime soon. I would get my answers from them if it was the last thing I did. If I did that as Summer, I would surely back down from confronting them like I should and I couldn’t allow that to happen.

Damn you and your bleeding heart, Summer. Stay out of this! This needed a different approach, I told myself. A crueler one, perhaps.

“Such hatred,” a voice whispered at my side and I whipped my head around, my heart pounding in my ears. There stood a figure I thought I would definitely never see again.

“Amore?” I asked, reaching a disbelieving hoof out to her, desperate for her to be actually here. “Is that really you?”

“I’m afraid not, dear,” the being in front of me answered sadly. “You may call me Hope.”

“Hope? I’m guessing not Radiant Hope, right?” I said, disappointment spreading within me.

“Yes, my dear. It is not my place to tell you what happened to her,” she nodded. “In time, you might find out. If you prefer, you might call me Empathy, instead. It’s close enough to my domain, I suppose. Now, why is it that you feel so much rage?”

“Ask Magic that,” I snarled, shuffling away from the entity calling itself Hope (or Empathy, I don’t really care) in distrust. “I still need my answers. Answers I will get.”

Hope sighed, sitting down on the not-ground. “I see,” she said, motioning a hoof at the space in front of her in an inviting way and I gazed at her suspiciously. Slowly, I got over my reluctance and took her up on her offer, sitting down at the offered spot. “This pertains to your difference to normal ponies, I take it?”

“Yes,” I answered, staring at her serene smile and finding myself unable to stay mad at her genuine demeanor (at least, I thought it was genuine, but I can't be too sure of that). “Specifically about how we age.”

Hope-Empathy-Amore nodded, a sad look in their eyes. “Very well, then. I will answer your questions, young alicorn,” she said. Before she continued on, though, her gaze hardened considerably. “You must know this, little Red Sun: These answers will cause you and your sisters a lot of pain, I fear.”

“I don't care, I need to know,” I growled out, steeling myself for what she would say to me that could possibly be so bad. “This is important. Please...”

“Of course,” she nodded, honoring my wish. “The alicorn race is a very unique species among all of the pony races, young one. Alicorns are not only a combination of all pony tribes, they embody certain aspects of life and death itself.

“Depending on their calling, they hold dominion over various things in the world. Yours is a unique one, even among other alicorns of the past. You and your twin hold domain over the same aspects. Those being the suns you usher across the heavens in the physical plane of existence, and with those, you hold jurisdiction over light and heat but also destruction.

“With the power of the suns at your call, you and your twin sister can embody the very light that gives your world life, but also take it away. You have already embraced both parts of that duty while your sister still struggles with giving in to that aspect of her responsibility. You both will, once the time has come, bring about the destruction of the world to make way for something new.

“But rest assured, that won’t be something you have to worry about for a very long time to come. You won’t become the harbinger of change for as long as the suns continue to burn or you decide to end them by force. And I know this might hurt very much to find out, but with that duty comes a certain... agelessness.

“I’m sorry to say, aside from something of equal power to yourselves, none may slay you for good. You are, for all intents and purposes, immortal. God-like, even. Do not lose hope, though, my dear. This eternity is nothing you have to endure alone, there are going to be others that may stand against the test of time that you can rely on, aside from your sisters. Other deities roam this world to this day and I'm sure others will ascend in time.

“My brethren and I will also always be here for you to call on, as long as you stand true to your ideals. If you are ever in need of aid in the physical plane, visit us back in the cavern that houses the Tree of Harmony. There, you will find our vessels and call upon our powers to defend your realm from harm by using the Elements of Harmony.

“Magic might have only come to terms with the revelation you have given them mere moments ago, something I am deeply grateful for. I fear what would have happened had my sibling decided to go through with the spell to summon another soul to this world, a soul that would have brought nothing but ruin. I’m sure they will find it in their heart to reconcile with you and your sisters if that is what you want.

“And I feel like I have to apologize for what Magic has dragged you into without your permission, so please, do not hold it against my sibling,” she sighed, looking at me sadly. I looked down at my hooves, one white and the other blazing orange, trying to understand everything Hope told me. My heart was at war with itself. On the one hoof, I wanted to rage and scream at the being in front of me for what they had done to me and my sisters, but on the other hoof, I wanted to do nothing more than throw myself at her and cry my heart out.

I went with the latter, unable to contain the tears threatening to spill out. Hope hugged me back tightly with a loving smile on her muzzle as she stroked my deep red mane, the fire of my hatred gone from where it came from. I was back to being Summer Sol again.

“What happened to the other alicorns?” I croaked out, sniffling heavily. “Where are they? We can’t be the only ones left, right?”

Hope gave me a tender smile, wiping away my tears. “There haven’t been any new alicorns for a very long time, my dear,” she told me. “My siblings and I passed on in order to contain a great evil, but I fear our decision to do so might have done more harm to the world than we expected.”

“Why?” I asked, confused.

“The Devourer of Life and Death was too much for us to handle, even with our combined might. It consumed almost half of our universe, destroying the very plane of existence you reside in. It did not stop at even the most sacred of things,” Hope explained, a far-off look in her eyes. “Our very bodies were destroyed in the process of slaying the beast for good. I’m saddened to say, though, that some of its darkness has survived to this day and infected others.

“With every generation, new heroes rose up to combat the darkness left behind, but this time, Magic feared that mere mortals would not be able to stand against the rising darkness. My sibling felt a suspicious rise in activity from the remnants of the Devourer of Life and Death and it seems to us that it has gathered enough power to threaten the very world again. We needed new defenders, and Magic got the idea to search for souls like us that would restore harmony for good, starting with the damaged cycle of day and night.

“So, here you are, fulfilling a great duty only you and your sisters can accomplish. Hopefully, you will also stand up to the darkness left behind in our foolish attempt to vanquish the greatest evil this world has ever known. We can’t really assist you in the way that we would like to, because now we are but spirits bound to little gems on a tree that has been planted not too long ago. Before that, we were wandering aimlessly, not able to move on due to what we did. We were unable to interact with the physical world on our own. It was the better alternative to what that monster did, trust me. You do not want to know what it consumed to sate its hunger.”

Despite her warning, I asked her, “What was that?”

Hope gave me a grim look, speaking of horrors unimaginable with one glance only. “Souls, be it those of mortals or those of unawakened worlds,” she said, hitting entirely too close to home with that one. “Do not be afraid of your darker half’s desires, dear. There are souls that deserve that kind of punishment.”

“But... you just told me that it is the most sacred thing that could ever be defiled like that!” I protested and she let out a small titter at that.

“True, if you were to devour the souls of billions of innocents,” Hope told me. “Tainted souls, on the other hoof, can only be cleansed by a higher being. Such as an alicorn, for example.”

“That sounds so much like a deus-ex-machina,” I snorted. “There is no way such a thing could be natural.”

Hope tilted her head at me, confused. “Does the Grim Reaper not do the same in your original world, then? Do they not usher the souls of the deceased over to the Shadowlands to be judged for an afterlife like the kyrian or the Horse of Death? The Machinery of Death is more complex than you think, my dear,” she asked me and I blinked.

Was the Grim Reaper actually real? And what about this 'Horse of Death'? Are they the equivalent of the Grim Reaper here? I suppose it wouldn't be too far-fetched to think that they had something to do with the cleansing of tainted souls. After all, the Grim Reaper reaped the souls once their time has come, judging them based on something only they knew, most likely searching for any sign of corruption.

“Don’t tell me God eats souls for breakfast,” I queasily remarked, shuddering at the thought of the great being that was worshipped on Earth for being a benevolent force of good doing just that. Even though I’m pretty sure God was much more than that, based on all the divine punishments mentioned in the Bible and whatnot.

“I can’t tell you for sure,” Hope shrugged. “It has been eons since I lived my life on Earth. There were many that called themselves a 'God' back then. None of them ever survived the sacrifices.”

“Wait, what?” I asked, incredulous. “You were a human once?”

“Oh, are they called human now?” Hope said, furthering my disbelief. Just how old was she?! She can’t be serious about that, right? She has to be pulling my leg here. And what was that about human sacrifice, huh?! “My siblings and I all come from there, believe it or not. Alicorns are not an original life form found in this reality, dear. They are either made or reborn, sometimes both.”

“What do you mean, made?” I whispered, stunned.

“Not in the sense of throwing ingredients into a pot and saying a few fanciful words. Witchcraft isn't that powerful,” she laughed, finding amusement in my reactions. Now I couldn’t get the image of a mad alchemist out of my head, doing just that. Or, well… a witch, like she said, dancing around a cauldron. “There exists a process, one that requires very special circumstances, that allows a regular pony to ascend to this very plane we currently occupy. Here, a regular mortal may be judged worthy of their accomplishments and be remade into an alicorn. Have their souls be reforged into a divine one.”

“Seriously?!” I said, shaking the Amore look-alike in front of me excitedly. “We could make more alicorns? How?!”

“Dear, this process is not something you could do on a mere whim,” Hope scolded me, making me deflate a bit. “It requires an exorbitant amount of power to even begin the process and the pony that has the potential to ascend needs to embody their own special talent to such a degree that they could take up the mantle of their new domain over it.”

“Oh...” I mumbled. “That... that is very unlikely to happen...”

“Unlikely, but not impossible,” Hope told me gently. “I myself wasn’t actually reincarnated as an alicorn, I had to ascend from an earthpony.”

“Really? From an earthpony?” I asked, incredulously. “How did you do that?”

“By restoring hope when all else was lost,” she smiled. “A grand sorceress had nearly destroyed my new home in this world and I was there to stand against their evil when nopony else would. I rallied my fellow ponies in their greatest time of need, giving them the strength to fight against her. It was a close battle that I fought, but I persevered, defending the very way of life I had come to enjoy much. More than I ever did in my old life.”

“What happened?” I asked, eager to hear what she must have done to deserve ascension. It felt much grander than just being granted this power, like me and my sisters.

“I won,” she said, booping me on the muzzle with a hoof. I pouted at her, making her chuckle lightly. “The sorceress was using a magical artifact that boosted her magic in unpredictable ways. I destroyed it in our struggle against each other and with all of that power coursing through me in that moment, I literally became a shining beacon of hope to my fellow ponies. After that, I found myself in this realm.”

“Wow...” I breathed out. “It must have been so frightening, not knowing what was going to happen.”

Hope nodded, smiling. “It was, but thankfully, I did not find myself alone here. There were a few others like me here.”

“The rest of your siblings?” I guessed and she nodded.

“Though, they weren’t my actual siblings,” Hope admitted. “Kindness was a demure pegasus mare, having saved a whole village from dying in a magical forest fire. Loyalty had been a young thestral mare, she had stayed in the collapsing caverns of her old home until the last pony made it out, not knowing that it, too, was of a magical nature.”

“Why was it of a magical nature?” I asked.

“During our times, the natural elements of Mother Nature were a lot wilder, oftentimes manifesting in magical catastrophes,” Hope explained, thinking back to a world that was more primal and untamed. “Those times were a trial of survival for many ponies, some took to abusing others in the hopes of furthering their chances at survival, much like the sorceress that I fought against. Honesty was also an earthpony mare like me, defending her village against a raging earth elemental.”

“Were you all mares?” I snorted, giggling slightly. “Are there no male alicorns, or what? That’s so sexist.”

“Now that you mention it, we have never encountered a male alicorn,” Hope muttered, making me raise a brow in disbelief. Seriously? I was only joking! That can’t be a coincidence. “I can’t tell you if there had been others before us, but I would have known if there were any during or after our time.”

“What of your other siblings, how did they ascend?” I nudged her, bringing her back out of her musings.

“Oh, Laughter was born as an alicorn, as was Magic,” she answered with a shrug. “Generosity was a unicorn mare before she became an alicorn. She had actually managed to convince a dragon, a creature that is notoriously known for their greed, to open up their heart and share with the world, showing it that there was more to life than hoarding.”

“Wouldn’t she have needed a source of powerful magic to ascend, though?” I asked, confused.

“That I did,” a new voice interrupted me. There stood the form of Shield Wall, though judging by what he said, that was Generosity I was talking to. “I had given up an old family heirloom, a magical stone I believe is called a mana crystal these days, and gave it to the dragon to show him that giving was just as fulfilling as receiving.”

“That managed to convince the dragon?” I said skeptically. Generosity let out a small chuckle at that.

“No...” he answered with a smile. “I offered myself as his concubine.”

“What?” I breathed out in disbelief.

“A concubine? Do you not have those anymore?” Generosity inquired with a tilted head. “I could swear this is something that would have survived the passage of time. Oh, well.”

I sputtered, shaking my head in denial. “I don’t believe this,” I said, horrified. Generosity, the very ideal I strived to live up to, casually mentioned that they offered their body to a dragon in their lifetime. How does that even work?!

“Dear, it’s nothing to be ashamed of,” Generosity scoffed. “If I recall correctly, your own sister offered herself to you and your younger sister.”

“Okay, okay! Just... stop, alright?” I muttered, frustrated. This was entirely too embarrassing to talk about. “Say, what did you look like as alicorns, anyway? Why are you taking these forms, instead? Do you not have your own anymore?”

“Those would be the Elements of Harmony now, dear,” Hope told me with a hum. “We can hardly talk as inanimate objects now, can we? Our previous forms are forever lost to us, little Red Sun. Ever since we sacrificed ourselves, we were unable to revert back to our original forms.”

“But your powers still exist, right? In the Elements of Harmony?” I asked, feeling pity well up in me for their fate.

“Yes, over time our power grew back to a fraction of our original one as our vessels grew,” Magic said as they reappeared, unable to meet my eyes in shame. “There was also a different part to the spell that sought you out, that being your ability to wield our physical forms should the need to do so ever arise. I’m sure you can guess which of my siblings would correspond with you and your sisters.”

“Don’t make the filly so nervous, Magic,” the voice of Smart Cookie reached my ears and I looked at the mare standing next to Magic. “It’s mighty nice ta meet yah, little Red Sun.”

“Honesty?” I asked and she nodded. “The pleasure is all mine... I guess Luna would be all over you, would she be here right now.”

“Aw, shucks, no need to flatter me,” Honesty chuckled. “Ah do think the youngun would make a good match for mahself.”

“So, based on what Celestia is good at, she would wield Magic and Loyalty, right?” I mused, looking at Hope. She nodded, telling me to go on with a warm smile. “Then there is the obvious choice of Honesty with Luna and Kindness with myself, Laughter would most likely go to Luna while I would wield Generosity... but what about you, Hope?”

“Dear, I’m slightly insulted that you wouldn’t consider yourself for that role,” she told me, faking a dramatic sigh with tears. “Oh, the horror! My chosen champion, rejecting me!”

“I’m not rejecting you!” I squeaked out in panic, trying to calm her down. “But... am I really the best pony for the job?”

“Dear, I couldn’t ask for a better pony to wield my physical form,” Hope said, nudging my chin up with a hoof, causing me to look back into her kind eyes. “Are you not the one looking for the best in others?”

“Well, yes... but what has hope to do with that?” I answered, feeling slightly confused. I mean, looking for the best in others was kind of like hoping they had something redeemable about themselves, so that could be the link she was talking about (she did say her domain was close enough to Empathy and that I had in spades). And judging by the widening of her smile, it was quite easy to see my revelation on my muzzle.

“Now then, there is another thing we should probably tell you about. Magic?” Hope said, her gaze wandering over to Magic, who was grumbling indignantly as Honesty gave them a glare.

“Fine, I will tell her, stop giving me that look,” Magic (while still in my form) grumbled out. “There might have been a slight... 'detail'... I left out of my explanation of the spell...”

“What?” I asked, tired of getting confused and having to pull the answer out of Magic. “Was there another criterion for the spell?”

“Well, it was more like a... lack of a criterion?” Magic retorted with an awkward laugh. “I might have... uh... searched through time and space?”

“Eh?” I blinked, trying to comprehend what the flying pancake Magic meant by that. “But hasn’t your spell found Luna six years after me and Celestia?”

“Well, yes...” Magic said, nodding in confirmation. “But that also had something to do with your mother and father only succeeding in getting pregnant again six years later, the spell was... in standby? Is that the right wording? It had already latched on to her at the same time as it did with you and your twin sister, but due to circumstances beyond my ability to influence, she could not be reincarnated to a different, suitable mother.”

“Okay... I guess that makes some sense,” I said. As much sense as something like that can make, I suppose. “But what has that got to do with the time and space part of the spell? Or rather, the lack of criteria... for... that...”

“I think she is getting mad again...” Magic muttered, staring at me as my coat began to glow with heat.

“What gave you that idea, numbskull?” Honesty said, rolling her eyes.

“I don’t have a skull, idiot,” Magic shot back. “None of us have one anymore.”

“It’s a figure of speech, ya numbskull.”

“I’ll give you ‘figure of speech’...”

“Must you be fighting again?” Generosity remarked, giving a slight huff.

“And here I had managed to calm her down...” Hope grumbled, glaring at Magic. My eye gave off a twitch at their bickering, a snarl fighting its way on my muzzle, showing off my sharp teeth again.

Flames exploded away from me and I saw red. “What have you done..?!” I screeched, pouncing on the look-alike of my good half. Magic let out a sheepish laugh as I bared my fangs at her.

“There might be a... slight discrepancy of time between your old reality and when you were reincarnated here?” they chuckled sheepishly as their ears splayed back against their head. I let out a low growl, almost biting their head off were it not for the hoof Hope placed on my side.

I looked over to the one who dared to get in between me and my righteous fury, and, once more, I faltered as I stared at the regretful eyes of Amore. I wanted to throw every spell I knew at them in my rage, not in the least bit okay with the appearances they had chosen, but I quelled my blazing hatred as I felt a small glimmer of hope enter me that I might yet still find a way to see my children again at some point.

“How long?” I growled down at Magic-Summer.

“A thousand years... give or take?” they answered back, sounding not entirely certain of their answer. My heart sank further at that steep number. That long? That... that was a long way from my proper time. A long way away from my children. Will I even remember them by that time?

I lost my strength to stand as I sank back to the ground, crying out in despair and hurt. Absentmindedly, I noticed Hope hugging me in a comforting embrace, whispering her support and apologies. Disbelief didn't even come close to describing how I felt about that length of time. A thousand years…

“If it is any comfort, you went back in time instead of forward,” Magic told me, an ashamed tone in their voice. “I’m sorry...”

“You will be, you little piece of shit!” I snarled, fighting against the embrace of Hope, trying to get at Magic. “If I don’t find their reality by the time your little spell took us away from my daughters, I won’t leave anything of you remaining!”

“I could make a spell that would reincarnate them like you if you want?” Magic offered and I glared balefully at them. They winced. “Okay... not, then. Why not, though?”

I glowered at them, breathing heavily in rage. "You won't kill them, too, you idiot!” I growled, spittle flying away from my mouth as I saw red. This was supposed to have been an alicorn a long time ago? Puh-lease, don’t make me laugh.

“But what if they die before you reach them?” Magic asked, shying away from my enraged self. I blinked, caught off guard by that question. That was a good point Magic made…

“Fine, but only if they die first,” I muttered, calming down slightly. “And only then will your spell bring them here, do you understand me?”

“Yes!” Magic nodded rapidly, glad that we have come to an agreement. “Only in the unlikely, but possible, event that your children die before their time or of natural causes will my spell reincarnate them here.”

“Good...” I sighed, slumping down in exhaustion.

“That means that you won’t see them for at least a thousand years, though. Perhaps even longer,” Hope commented, giving me a sad look. “Are you okay with that?”

“It’s better than ripping them out of their time, too,” I grumbled. “And that way, they won’t get mad at me or you for having to wait to see their children, if they have any.”

“Very well,” Hope smiled. “I’m glad you’re thinking about what they would want, not what you want.”

“They are my children. Of course, I would,” I shot back, smiling mournfully back at her. “I can... live a thousand years without them...”

“Y'all see them in no time,” Honesty said, offering me an apologetic smile herself. “Time starts to blend together after long enough. Ah won’t say it will be easy; it won’t be; but eventually, they will come back to yah.”

“Thanks, I guess...” I sighed. “I think I will be taking my leave now. It was nice meeting you all for the first time. I can’t say the same for meeting Magic again, though.”

“Remember, we’re always there for you as long as you stay true to your ideals,” Hope said, giving me one last hug. I nodded in thanks, keeping that in mind.

“Do try to be more generous as Fallen Star, yes?” Generosity told me and I let out a slight laugh. We’ll see...

Drawing on my alicorn magic, I pushed myself back into existence in the physical plane of reality. I stared at my sisters still sleeping on the bed with a queasy feeling in my stomach.

Could I ever tell them what I had learned today?

Chapter 010 - Mistress of the Night.

Author's Notes:

Major Warning:
Consensual 'Rape' (Luna kind of, sort of, maybe (?) goes a bit sex crazy, dragging Summer into her 'lair' and satisfying Tia's demented fetishes). Be wary as they go to Tia! You have been warned, Vampire-esque Shenanigans, Pleasure from Pain, and a whole heap of self-loathing

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

I awoke to the feeling of somepony nibbling on my ear delicately and I let out a moaning sigh in contentment. After having dealt with that foreign dignitary from Saddle Arabia the day before this, it was a welcome change of pace. The last few months hadn’t been entirely kind to my mood, the revelation of the unique alicorn nature contributing the most to that.

The ministrations of my twin sister brought back a smile to my muzzle, a genuine one. Not one of those fake ones I had to wear on a daily basis while dealing with the nobility, foreigners, and peasants. It was an exhausting ordeal dealing with everypony when all they did was demand one thing or another from you and you had to bear everything with a friendly smile when you just wanted to tell them off and be reasonable for once in their damn lives.

Seriously, was it too much to ask for them to use their common sense to solve their own problems without having to bug us about minor things? Most of this stuff could have been resolved within seconds if they used their friggin’ brains...

Sometimes, I swear, I’m looking after children instead of fully grown adults.

I giggled as I felt a curious hoof start to brush against my marehood, leaning into it as I felt the mouth on my ear start to smile. Whatever I did to deserve this, I wasn’t in the mood to question it.

It felt great, to say the least. Not waking up to endless teasing, directly jumping into the action, instead. Tia must be particularly merciful today with me, perhaps she felt I needed the relief more than her enjoyment over making me squirm.

As I felt my breath begin to quicken due to my arousal picking up, I turned over to sleepily nuzzle the chest of my wife, silently telling her to not stop what she was doing. Then again, her scent was slightly confusing to me, I couldn't quite put my hoof on it. I chalked it up to her using a different soap without me noticing (which happened rarely, but she does manage to surprise me every once in a while when she feels in the mood for a change of scents). I continued to enjoy the nibbling on my ear and the hoof between my hind legs, meeting her hoof with a few humps of my own.

A louder moan escaped me as I felt her let go of my ear and lick the groove of my horn, the movement of her tongue feeling oddly different than usual. I blinked my eyes open wearily, staring at the midnight blue fur in front of me. Eh? What?

Luna giggled as she noticed how I stared back at her in puzzlement, having mistaken her for my wife. A shudder ran through me as her hoof rubbed against my needy marehood, her slender tongue doing wonders to my horn at the same time.

“L-Luna?” I moaned out, only for her to silence me with a kiss. Her tongue wrestled mine and quickly won, my dazed self unable to compete with her passionate show of affection.

“We want thee, right now,” Luna whispered as she broke the kiss with me and my heart started hammering in my chest at the seductive tone in her voice. It took all of my willpower to not start grinding myself against her in earnest to comply with her demand.

“But why?” I asked as I stared into her half-lidded gaze, confused. I avoided her next kiss by leaning my head back away from her, giving her a look that I wouldn’t do anything before I got an answer.

“We want thy baby in our womb,” Luna told me, trapping me underneath her in one fell swoop. My little sister started to grind herself against me, despite my protests at her strange behavior. “Pleasure thy princess! Mmh~!”

“Luna, stop this!” I cried out, not able to suppress the moan escaping me this time. Damn it, what has gotten into her? Which month were we in, again? “Luna... don’t tell me you’re in heat, please...”

“What of it?” my little sister asked back, hungrily trapping me in a kiss. Luna bucked her hindquarters against mine, her wet vagina smearing her fluids against my hind legs as she pressed her own against my sopping wet entrance with a little bit too much force.

“Ow! Luna, for fuck’s sake!” I growled, pushing her off of me. Or at least, I tried to do so as her magic forced my hooves away from her. “I’m not having sex with you when you can’t even think clearly!”

“We want to see thee try to escape from this,” Luna smirked down at me, her panting breath tickling my muzzle. “Thou won’t find a place that we won’t find thee in.”

“Stop...” I moaned, feeling slightly dirty that I couldn’t muster up enough strength to get out from beneath her and finding myself not nearly willing enough to actually want her to stop.

“Nay, we won’t,” Luna giggled, lightly stroking my cheek with a gentle hoof. “We can see thy desire for this in those beautiful eyes of thine, sister.”

“Where is Tia?” I breathed out, unable to see her in the darkened bedroom. I was so glad I could change my eyes on a whim to that of a more predatory nature, night vision was seriously awesome to have.

“'Tis not our usual bedroom,” Luna answered with a pant, biting at my lower lip as she let out a cry of pleasure herself after giving another buck against me. “'Tis one of the enchanted rooms.”

“You mean you dragged me in here in my sleep?!” I cried out, desperately wanting her to refute my fear. If she was in heat... I won’t be able to open that door from the inside and teleportation won’t work even with the full might of the red sun at my disposal.

“That we did,” Luna moaned out, bucking out against me once more, making a wince run through me. She clearly never had sex with somepony else before, or she was simply too drunk on her arousal right now. Or she liked it rougher, I don't know. “We left a note with Tia stating that we took thee for a little... trip~.”

“Luna, you can’t just drag me off like that!” I scolded her, struggling against the magic holding my forelegs still. My own magic didn’t come to my help as I felt something blocking the flow of mana to my horn. Ugh. Why am I not surprised? “And did you seriously put a suppression ring on me?! I still need to raise my sun!”

“Mhh~... Yes, we did that. We can’t have thee trying to weasel thyself out of our grasp, dear sister. Besides, Tia can probably take care of that for thee, no need to worry,” Luna smiled as she panted into my ear. She... she really was out of her friggin’ mind! I whimpered against her, feeling another jolt of pleasure and pain run through me as she rammed herself against me again with a buck. “And why shouldn’t we take thee with us here? We art a princess, we can do whatever we want~...”

“An argument that would be valid if you were the only princess in this room!” I shot back. “And could you stop with the archaic speech? I thought you were over this.”

Luna glared down at me. “Don’t spoil my fun, Summer,” she said, grinding herself against me. “And I know you actually like it, don’t try to deny it~.”

“Well, that might be true, but this is still not right,” I grumbled, only to find myself silenced by another kiss as my little sister moaned into my mouth. My wings flared out as she gave me a slight pinch on my Cutie Mark with her magic, sending me spasming against her with a cry of pleasure. “L-Luna, ngh... p-please...”

“Shush,” she told me around the kiss, both of us panting against each other while she increased the pace of her grinding against me. I couldn’t help myself as I felt even more arousal at her taking charge and forcing herself on me like this.

“This is technically r-rape,” I mewled, bucking out against her as I threw caution out the window. Damnit. I just couldn't resist my own need, she was driving me crazy with the smell of sex in the air.

“Is it, though?” Luna argued back, driving me further into the cloud mattress. “If both are willing, isn’t that just sex?”

“I’m not so s-sure this is e-exactly willing,” I moaned. “Y-you’re not quite in the right state of… ahn~... m-mind.”

“We art sound enough in mind to still decide we want this, dear sister of mine,” Luna answered me, very much convincing me with her 'logic' before she decided to nip my lower lip with her teeth and I mewled out in pleasure. Damn it. If she could convince me that easily, then I must be not thinking entirely straight, either. To hell with this. “Now stop thy prattling and fuck us.”

“A-as you wish, milady,” I whispered back with a wispy voice, the feeling of need overwhelming me. You know what? I’ll just chalk it up to constantly smelling her intoxicating scent and the erotic sounds of our privates grinding against each other as I gave in to the pleasure in a haze of lust. If she gets mad at me after this, I could always say that she was the one that forced herself on my poor, defenseless self instead of the other way around.

I was glad that she at least decided to give me back the freedom to move my front legs after I stopped struggling against her. That way I had a better grip on her as I threw my hooves around her and genuinely started to help her in our movements grinding against each other.

With my help, I finally got her to stop bucking herself against me so hard, actually making this more pleasurable for both of us. It certainly got better for her when I let one of my hooves wander down to her flanks, causing her to moan even louder, much to my satisfaction.

Luna got her kicks out of me as I began to start screaming her name as I neared my first orgasm, edging her on to bring us over the brink as fast as she could. And I have to say, I was enjoying 'vanilla' sex with her a lot. Tia was way more controlling in bed than Luna, it was a pleasant change of pace.

Still, I felt kinda peeved that Luna decided I didn’t need my magic for this, but it wasn’t like I would have used it that much, anyway. This was way better without having to bring magic into the mix. I had no idea this could be so damn good without resorting to oral sex, either.

I wouldn’t have expected Luna to know how lesbian sex worked in the first place (I could hardly believe this sexy devil was my sweet innocent little sister), although I was pleasantly surprised that she was so enthusiastic about it. And with her own sister, no less. Here I thought she would still have had reservations about that, even while in heat, but perhaps having watched me and Tia do it a couple of times over the last few months loosened her inhibitions enough to stop caring so much about it.

My mind was wiped completely clean of all thoughts as the explosive shudders of an orgasm wreaked havoc on my body and I cried out one last time against my little sister as she, too, succumbed to her own orgasm. She didn’t even stop with her grinding against me (slower as it was). It only served to prolong the tingling ecstasy all the more.

We breathed heavily in satisfaction once we had completely exhausted ourselves from the passionate round of sex, her pretty little head resting on my chest with an adorable grin fixated on her muzzle that I found was also mirrored on my own. She really was adorable, and I can't believe I found it even cuter because we just had sex with each other. Perhaps it was the afterglow in me speaking, but I really loved seeing her like that.

“'Tis was great...” Lulu mumbled dreamily, nuzzling my chest lovingly and I leaned slightly up to her to give her a small kiss in agreement. Luna started to deepen the kiss, much to my delight, and I felt her brush the underside of my wings with her feathers.

The sensation sent shivers through me in a pleasant way and I hummed with approval. Feeling a bit frisky with her, I started groping her flanks with my hooves. They had just the right amount of firmness and give, I noted happily. My sister was clearly enjoying the attention just as much as I did.

Before long, my marehood was already begging for attention again and I hummed needily. My vagina was insatiable, I swear.

“Art thou ready for the next round, sister?” Luna asked and I noticed that she, too, had changed her eyes to those of Nightmare Moon’s by now. That wasn’t the only thing that she had changed about herself, though. I could see the tips of her fangs barely poke out from behind her lips and they looked so damn cute on her, I felt my own teeth sharpen to match hers.

Oh, fuck. I swear, I never had a thing for vampires, but at that moment, I found it incredibly sexy. Too bad she didn't have webbed wings, she would look incredible with them.

My sister had obviously gotten a lot better with her control over her own emotions over the past few months, making a lot of progress. I was so very proud of her. She might even be able to go through with the full transformation soon. I couldn’t wait to see that finally happen.

I didn’t answer her question if I was ready to go again with any words, simply reversing our positions so that I was now on top of her with a little smirk gracing my muzzle. She let out a little surprised squeak which quickly transitioned into a moan as I stroked her marehood gently with a hoof. Luna hummed delightedly, leaning into my touch like the needy mare that she was.

She smiled into the kiss that we shared passionately with each other, my primary feathers running along the base of her wing joints towards the very tips in a practiced motion, provoking a few twitches and cute mewls from her. Her marehood certainly showed how much she enjoyed the sensation, too. My hoof was glistening with her fluids and the bedsheets were quickly soaked through due to her heavy arousal.

My muzzle found its way to the horn on her head and I smirked as Luna called out beggingly to me, shouting out my name as I began to suck on it like a popsicle. My, oh my, she was way more sensitive on her horn than I was myself, I noted with glee. I made sure to concentrate on the groove, the tip of my tongue trailing it with reckless abandon, evoking the lewdest sounds I've heard Luna make up to now.

She had her hooves thrown around me as I felt her shuddering against me and I awkwardly tried to wiggle my hoof against her eager snatch as she did her best to squish my foreleg in between us.

So, seeing that that was proving to be ineffective now, I defaulted back to our previous method of sex and withdrew my hoof from her folds. A short shuffle later, I had my sister and myself positioned properly for me to rub myself against her while still maintaining my ministrations on her horn.

Luna was absolutely loving it as she began to cry out against me, giving me slight nicks on the neck with her fangs. I almost asked her to bite me a bit more forcefully but thought better of it, it would have been a bit too much for our first time (even though the thought of her sucking my blood like a vampire had me excited for some strange reason).

I contented myself with the sounds of heavy moans coming from her, the noises she made were like music to my ears and I couldn’t get enough of them, even as I started to voice out my own pleasure around her horn.

It was almost like sucking dick, only more involved as she moved her head and I had to react fast to not hurt either of us. My assault on her horn also demanded of me to think outside the box to get the maximum effect from licking the spiral with my tongue. I couldn't just swirl my tongue around her tip and be done with it, I had to get more creative than that. Unlike with a soft, squishy dick, I could even use my teeth to play with her without having to be too careful. She especially liked a bit of pressure on the base of her horn, but it wasn't easy with her randomly jerking around as we bucked out against each other.

Before long, I was unable to concentrate on her horn. I abandoned my attempts in favor of doubling down on grinding myself against her, trying a new tactic altogether. It took me a few tries, but soon enough, I found a good rhythm to jiggle my flanks rapidly. The motion translated over to my nethers and Luna quickly copied me in an attempt to keep up with me. It was incredible, there were no better words to describe it.

It wasn't very easy to maintain our frantic pace of love-making, but that only made it more exciting. The more we kept this up, the more unexpected twitches and bucks started to switch things up. The little bucks against each other sent delightful jolts through my body and her tight embrace on me did not let up in the slightest.

We continued to drive each other closer to the peak in a maddened pursuit to win the race of who got to be the first one to give in while trying not to give in ourselves. Sadly, my little sister didn’t have the same experience as me from holding back, mostly due to the fact that Celestia was a cruel mistress in keeping me from my orgasm for as long as possible.

Luna let out a final last cry of my name as she was subjected to utter bliss and I allowed myself to let my own orgasm rock my body with heavenly spasms once I had satisfied my little sister and won the little bout of competitiveness against her.

She was happy to snuggle with me in our afterglow, nuzzling her head against the nape of my neck with affection. She was utterly exhausted, I could tell, and I simply enjoyed the closeness for as long as it lasted.

“Are you satisfied now, my little princess?” I giggled, moving a hoof lazily over her back in slow circles.

“Verily,” she sighed blissfully, snuggling closer to me. “Thy princess is pleased with this performance.”

“In that case, this princess is happy to have been of service,” I smiled, nudging her head back so I could give her a small kiss. She reciprocated with no hesitation, our lips locking in a sweet and passionate embrace.

We stayed that way for what felt like hours on end, content to have each other be there for the other. Luna might have even dozed off a few times, not that I could blame her. Both of us had thoroughly exhausted ourselves and we needed time to recover from our little bit of exercise.

“Hey, Luna?” I asked, an idea forming in my head.

“Hmm?” she murmured, lazily opening her eyes ever so slightly as she gave me a questioning look.

“How good are you at dream walking by now?” I inquired, curious if she could actually do what I hoped she could do.

“Pretty good, why?” Luna shot back with a roll of her eyes. I guess it should have been obvious to me since she has safeguarded the dreams of our subjects for more than ten years by now. “Where are you going with this?”

“Can you find a specific pony in the dream realm?” I smirked and she raised a brow at me. I smiled a bit wider when she gave me a nod, silently asking me what it was that I wanted her to do. “Say, if Tia goes to sleep, you would know, right? Can you bring us into her dream as soon as she is asleep?”

“Summer, who do you take me for? I am the Princess of the Night, not the Princess of Whatever,” she snorted. I felt my heart start to beat a bit faster in giddy anticipation.

“So, let’s say you bring us into her dream, could you make her believe that the dream she is having isn’t influenced by you? So that she doesn’t think we are actually there with her?” I grinned and I could tell she was catching on to where I was going with this.

“I could,” she confirmed, biting her lips with a hint of excitement and lust. “Any specific ideas on what we should do with her?”

“Oh, I have an idea~,” I giggled, explaining in detail what I wanted to do with my twin. Luna was definitely liking what I had in mind, licking her lips hungrily. She dragged me into a shared dream in preparation for what we wanted to do, one we were quite familiar with.

In the middle of the room stood the reflective surface of what we had agreed to call the Soul Mirror the first time we had used it to talk with our darker halves. I watched as my little sister happily skipped up to the front of it with an eagerness I found quite cute (and so very sexy, too).

Nightmare Moon stared back at Luna and let out a suffering sigh. I gave her a sheepish smile as I came to a halt beside Luna.

“No,” Moony said, glaring hatefully at me. “In no way am I going to satisfy that pervert's mind with this little fantasy of yours, Summer. Luna might be in heat, but I won’t let that cloud our judgment. I am above such things.”

“Come on, you want it, too, Nightmare,” I smiled at her with a hopeful expression. “Don’t be so sour all the time, have a little fun!”

“My definition of fun does not involve giving our perverted sister a wet dream of our darker sides,” she snarled, tapping the mirror with a silvery light blue shoe. Luna pouted cutely at her and Nightmare averted her gaze from us in a huffy fit.

“Please?” Luna whispered, displaying an expression of mock hurt in order to guilt-trip her other half into giving in. “I want this and I can feel how much you want this, too. Why not entertain the idea for a moment?”

Nightmare huffed. “And why should I?” she asked, raising a brow challengingly at her. “You’re too innocent for this, my dear. I won’t let you give in just because 'sister dearest' planted this absurd idea into your head. It's debasing and not to mention, ridiculous.”

Luna frowned, giving her an unhappy look as Nightmare refused her. “Is this why you won’t let me lose my control over our emotions? You fear that I will end up as a pervert just like them?” she asked curiously, tilting her head slightly. “Where is that mare I met that was ready to plunge this world into darkness just to make her good half feel happy?”

“Well, that mare was a naïve mare,” Nightmare shot back, growling in defiance as she crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m not going to let us do this while we are in heat...”

My sister looked like she might give up before she smirked. “We can do whatever we want with Tia~...” she whispered conspiratorially, grinning victoriously as her other half sported a heavy red blush. Nightmare shook her head, trying to block out the images my little sister was currently thinking of.

“No...” Nightmare whined, holding her head with her hooves. “I won’t give in to these... sweet... pictures... of... Gah! Stop! Why must you torture me so?! I hate you so much. Me. Whatever. Stupid mental bullshit.”

“Just think about it,” Luna giggled, running a hoof along the edge of the mirror playfully. “Tia as our mere pet while we can do whatever we want with her...”

“You know you want to,” I said, my fangs biting down on Luna’s ear as we both watched Nightmare’s reaction in the mirror. She was unable to stop the wing-boner from happening, displaying her arousal clearly for both of us to see.

“Fine! I will do it, you incessant idiot! I swear on my moon, sometimes I wonder just who of us is the good version here...” Nightmare exclaimed, pawing at the ear corresponding with Luna’s that I was currently gently nibbling on. “...might even enjoy it...”

“Aww~, you’re so cute!” I giggled. Luna gave a tiny huff as her fur turned black, muttering something about perverts corrupting her. Then again, that was probably more the opinion of her darker half.

I watched with eager anticipation as my sister was successful for the first time in turning into her other self. Turquoise eyes transformed into icy blue eyes with slits running down in their middle, her teeth sharpened even more while her starry mane took on a more cloudy quality, and the dark splotch behind the depiction of the moon on her flanks changed its color from black to purple.

“Well?” she asked me, looking at me with a sneer on her lips. “What are you waiting for?”

“I fucking love your voice,” I whispered dreamily, forcing my tongue into her muzzle. Nightmare gave off a startled whinny that quickly turned into a moan, although I could tell she was loathing it very much that she was enjoying this. Perhaps there was still a part of my sister that hasn’t entirely come to terms with this.

Nightmare pushed back against me as we fought for dominance, my own transformation into Fallen Star providing me with the extra bit of confidence and possessiveness needed for me to come out on top with a self-satisfied smirk.

“Don’t think I’m going to let you do as you please,” I stated, staring haughtily down at her as I pinned her to the ground with a glare. “You are mine.”

“Is that so?” Nightmare growled back, trying to reverse the position and only succeeding with it due to the unfair advantage she had over me of being able to use her magic while I could not. “You wouldn’t like me when I’m jealous, dearest sister of mine.”

“Know your place,” I snarled, rolling us over again. “Now bring us to our sister, we have a plan to enact.”

“Oh, Celestia isn’t asleep yet, sister,” Nightmare Moon smirked as she pinned me underneath her once more. “And I know my place perfectly well, sister~. It’s on top of you as your mistress!”

“We will see about that, bitch,” I shot back, but I struggled futilely against her as chains sprang up from the ground, ensnaring me in heavy iron cuffs. Panic started to grip my heart and I struggled against them with desperate movements. “Release me at once, sister! Or I won’t show you mercy once I break these!”

“I want to see you succeed at that,” Nightmare cackled, delighted at my struggling. “Call me your mistress and I might consider it...”

“I will rip that smirk from your muzzle, you insolent little...” I cried out in fury, only for her to put a ball gag on me. Nightmare had her fun watching me try to chew through the offending object in my mouth, something I failed miserably at.

“Now, now,” Nightmare said mockingly, patting my cheek condescendingly. “I am in control of this little dream of ours, you have no power here. If you won’t call me by my rightful title, then you will have to suffer for it.”

I watched fearfully as my sister procured a riding crop from out of nowhere, floating threateningly in front of my eyes within her icy aura. She grinned with all her sharp teeth fully on display as I leaned my head away from the blasted thing. A little giggle was heard from the mirror in which the good half of my sister watched on in amusement and a little shame. Mostly in arousal, though.

Oh, she is going to get it... once I’m free of these infernal bindings, that is. She knew that I despised being bound like this, unable to move within these restrictions. This was some weird plot for revenge, wasn’t it?

Nightmare prowled around me as I thrashed against the shackles holding me to the ground in a compromising position, howling out in pain as the crop flicked itself harshly against my teats. I swear, I will do so much worse to her once I get out of these damn chains! Her cackling was perhaps even more infuriating as she took her sick pleasure out of watching my twitching reactions to the crop.

Nightmare hummed, mock concern in her eyes. “Have you had enough?” she asked me, her voice so falsely sweet that there was no way she would let me go even if I gave her an affirmative. I nodded desperately, anyway. She snarled and hit me on the same spot again, making me howl once more. “Too bad I’m not in a forgiving mood, then.”

She ignored my growling, staying well out of reach of my raging mane, the chains not able to restrict something that wasn't solid, to begin with. It was too bad that they didn’t even seem to heat up in the slightest from the heat generated by my fiery mane and tail.

Another resounding snap echoed out in the chamber as the crop found its mark on my Cutie Mark this time, making me scream out both from pain and pleasure. A puff of flames escaped my nostrils as I silently glared at my captor. She didn’t seem to be concerned all that much by the blatant hatred I sent her way, though. If anything, it gave her even more incentive to humiliate me.

“This is what you always wanted, right?” Nightmare whispered snidely. “Your sister loving you, oh so very much. I’m just giving you exactly what you asked for, dear.”

I winced again as the crop flicked my Cutie Mark harshly, crying out as it hit the exact same spot as last time. The electrical feeling surged through my whole body, wreaking havoc on my nerves in a pleasant, shivery way. My marehood started to show its approval despite my misgivings about the situation.

Judging by the self-satisfied look in her eyes, Nightmare took notice of my begging nethers, too.

“Are you willing to call me your mistress, yet?” she asked with a raised brow, and had she not put a ball gag on me, I would have already spit her in the face for her insolence. She seemed to take my glare as an answer and punished me with another hit from her riding crop, this time slapping me across my muzzle. “What will it take for you to admit defeat and grovel at my hooves like the pathetic worm that you are?”

She stalked her way back around me, staring down at me like I was worth less than the dust floating in the air. Another snap against my Cutie Mark on the other flank made me scream out in fury and pleasure as I struggled harder against the chains in an effort to strike out against her.

Once more, my sister sneered disdainfully down at me. “Tsk, tsk. Must you be so difficult?” she asked me and I was prevented from tugging at my restraints more harshly as her magic reached out to the cold steel. With a cruel smirk, she enforced their strength before I could actually break them, ruining my attempts to break out altogether. “It would be so much easier for you to just accept me as your better. You just have to learn where your place is, sister. Everything will be so much more enjoyable then, don’t you think?”

I whimpered as the crop lightly slapped my horn, sending stars through my vision.

“I can continue with this for as long as it takes, my dear,” my sister told me. “Stop resisting! Bow down to me and call me your mistress and I will make you feel good, instead. That would be nice, right? Just. Stop. Resisting!”

I growled back, earning myself another slap to the horn from her stupid riding crop. Clearly, my rage wasn’t doing me any favors, much to my own chagrin. It was all I could do, though. The other option would leave me far more vulnerable and broken if I turned back into Summer Sol. That, I couldn't allow.

Alas, I was getting tired from the constant thrashing within my confines, the bindings digging painfully into my fetlocks. Submitting to her might be my only option left, but… my pride demanded of me to put up as much of a fight as I could in order to defy her for as long as possible.

Nightmare continued to punish me for my resistance against her as I tried to suppress the pleasure I started to feel from the damn pain she inflicted upon me. I never knew this could actually turn into such a good feeling (at least, not to a degree like this), but here I am, quickly being proven wrong of that little misconception I had.

My sister raised a curious brow at the unexpected moan that forced itself out of my throat instead of the pained yelp as she struck her crop against my teats. She repeated the same thing and I hated myself for the sound that came out of my throat once more. Why was this so damn arousing to me?!

“Now that is very interesting, indeed...” she mumbled, staring at the riding crop and then at me. I watched fearfully as she levitated the damn thing near my marehood and I tried my best to struggle against the restraints to get away before she could actually do what I feared she would do. “Are you going to submit yourself to me now or do I have to resort to more... painful methods? I doubt you could draw pleasure from that. Do you want to risk it?”

I shook my head in despair, hoping against hope she wouldn’t go through with her threat as I begged her for forgiveness with my eyes. Sadly, she mistook the frantic shaking of my head as a negative (probably so she could still punish me) and I let out a muffled shriek as she punished my aching snatch.

“Do I need to repeat myself?” Nightmare snarled and I let out a whimper, crying out tears of shame as the damn pain turned itself into arousal for more. I shrieked out again as another slap connected with my wet entrance, moaning heavily afterward much to the surprise of my mistress.

She smiled at that, pleasantly surprised that her previous statement was proven wrong. My mistress hit me once more with her riding crop and I voiced out my opinion with an even louder moan, ceasing my struggles entirely as I tried to lean my sopping-wet entrance closer to her. At long last, she took the gag within my mouth out and I cried out my desire for her to punish me more, calling her my mistress much to her approval.

“Now, why don’t you give me that little spell of yours,” Nightmare cooed, stroking the side of my head slowly with the crop as she stood over me and I leaned into it dazedly. I wanted her to hit me more, have her slap me without stopping. My marehood ached so much for it, I couldn't think clearly anymore. “You know which spell I’m talking about, don't you?”

“I don’t know,” I answered hesitantly, wincing as she hit me with her hoof across the muzzle. “Please, mistress! I don’t know how I cast it on myself!”

“Then you will cast it on me, pet,” she snarled. “Before I decide to punish you further for your disobedience.”

“Of course, Mistress!” I nodded enthusiastically, only to find that I still couldn’t access my magic. My heart sank as I saw my mistress narrow her eyes at me in impatience.

Stars danced through my vision as her riding crop flicked my aching nethers, hitting my nub harshly. I was quivering underneath my mistress as she stared disapprovingly down at me.

“What have I told you about disobedience, pet?” my mistress growled and I whimpered fearfully.

“I tried, I swear!” I sniffled while my ears pressed themselves against the back of my head. “But my magic is still restricted, Mistress! I’m sorry, I failed you! I need to be punished more!”

“At least you know your place now, pet,” she commented, doing just what I was deserving of as I felt another hit connect harshly against my begging marehood and then another. And another. And one more. I relished each one, moaning approvingly. “Now, describe to me the process of the regular spell version.”

I did what was asked of me and recounted the steps to take to give another pony a second sex, essentially transforming them into a male and female for a few hours. I even told her as much as I could remember about the time I had cast it on myself in the Crystal Empire.

“I see...” she said, tapping her hoof against her chin. “Feelings of possessiveness, you say?”

I nodded, seeing where she was going with this train of thought and feeling my heart start to beat faster in anticipation. My mistress lit up her horn and soon enough I saw the tantalizing tip of her member standing proudly erect right in front of my face.

Nightmare bit her lip as the heavy horse cock hung from her nethers, the tip twitching in time with her next heartbeat as she was unused to the feeling. “Ngh, fuck! This feels so good~," she exclaimed with a shudder, her dick twitching again as her breathing got more erratic and shallow from the lust addling her mind. "Oh, yes. It's like my clit got turned into a cannon, ngh!"

I gulped as I got nervous from excitement, myself. Her dark member was already glistening with arousal, the tip flaring out like a big mushroom. I really missed out on some premium cock as Summer, didn't I? That's what I get for avoiding to look at another stallion like that. My sister looked so fucking hot, reaching out a hoof to hold it up like that. She gave it a few strokes, getting it to twitch heavily and I couldn't help but feel like that monster would break me.

"Mhmph," she moaned, momentarily lost in the sensation before she looked at me with pure, unadulterated need. "Pleasure your mistress, pet! Fuck! You will suck me off until I cum down your throat, do you understand? Perhaps I will show you mercy afterward.”

“Yes, M-Mistress!” I gulped, greedily taking her thick rod into my mouth. She hummed in approval as I began to suckle at her tip, doing my very best to be careful with my sharp teeth.

“Ugh, yes! Just like that!" my mistress groaned out and I smiled happily up at her, her twitching shaft showing its appreciation of my efforts by leaking even more pre right onto my waiting tongue. "Fuck. You're such an eager pet, aren't you? Take my cock and choke on it!”

I hummed and did just that, forcing more of her big dick into my muzzle. All the while, slurping noises came out of the corner of my lips and the taste reminded me a bit of fresh mint. I’m pretty sure Tia was right about pony tastebuds being different, there was no way body fluids could taste this good.

“If I had known how empowering it felt to have another reduced to my mere toy, I might have given less resistance to this relationship thing with you and Tia...” Nightmare commented as I bobbed my head up and down, expertly working my tongue on her to get her to twitch and moan more. "Oh, yes! Mhh, you're so good at this. I just want to shove it in further."

I let the dick plop out of my mouth and gave her a seductive look, kissing the tip. "I aim to please, Mistress~."

Nightmare shoved her dick back into my face and I went back to bobbing up and down on it. "'Tis such a build-up of pleasure, all in one spot. I feel like it's going to explode any m-moment from… oh fuck! Faster, sister! Do it faster!" she exclaimed, barely holding herself back from bucking herself against me. And from the way her breathing got harder, it took her considerable effort, too. Not that I would have been able to complain, the thought of actually choking on her huge cock as she fucked my throat without mercy excited me immensely. The more pain, the better~. "I'm so close, pet. Suck my dick as if your l-life depends on it!"

“Mmhhm~,” I hummed and picked up my pace to as fast as I could move my neck up and down. Her dick was throbbing heavily in my mouth and I salivated at the thought of tasting her ejaculate. Her member twitched and I delighted at the begging look in her eyes, her legs shuddering with need as she was unable to keep herself from standing still.

It would only take a bit longer now and I doubled my efforts in pleasing my mistress, eager for the reward that wasn’t too far away from now. I needed that mint-flavored cum so much... My mistress hummed in approval as I added in a few lewd sounds, making vibrations run through her thick shaft with the loud slurping noises. Anything to get her closer to finishing was a plus in my book.

“I’m close, my pet,” Nightmare muttered, shaking. And yet, despite being on the verge of an orgasm unlike anything she has ever experienced, she gently brushed a hoof against the side of my head in a simple caress. To be honest, it was slightly weird to see her looking down on me with such a vulnerable expression, her current demeanor such a stark contrast to her usual behavior.

Was Luna having an influence on her? This was the shyness I would have expected from her before she had ‘abducted’ me into the estrus safe room this morning. But then again... it was the hesitation of Nightmare that kept her from embracing her affections fully, wasn’t it?

“Mhh~,” she groaned and I smiled at the heavy twitches her member gave. A few more and she wouldn’t be able to hold back for much longer, so I licked and suckled, moaned and hummed, slurping noisily, all to give her the best finish she could ever ask for.

And what a finish it was. My sister let her member shoot out its bountiful load into my mouth as she moaned gratefully during the convulsing shudder that wreaked havoc on her and I watched on in satisfaction as her eyes screwed themselves shut while I eagerly gulped down the minty cum of her shaft, savoring the flavor with happiness.

My mistress stepped back from me once she was done, her thick horse cock hanging there as it barely deflated. She can't possibly want more after all of that, could she? Or was she just that turned on? “Such a useful pet you are,” my mistress hummed, pleased with my performance. “You deserve a reward, my pretty little Sunshine.”

A hopeful flutter went through me, hoping she would punish me more with her riding crop. “I am wholly undeserving, Mistress,” I said, earning myself a hit against my aching marehood, much to my eternal happiness. “But… ngh~... I won’t deny my body to you. Abuse me more! Hit me as much as you want!”

“Oh, I will,” Nightmare sneered down at me, her vulnerable behavior long gone. And, oh, my, gosh! I just loved the fact I had corrupted my sister with a power fetish. It was kinda funny, seeing that her good side had a thing for being in the position I currently found myself in while her other side was the complete opposite, wanting to be the dominant one under any and all circumstances. “Let thy Queen return the favor.”

My breath quickened excitedly as I felt the chains around my fetlocks disappear in a flash of light, granting me back the freedom of movement. Or so I thought. A moment later, after I managed to get back on my hooves, my freedom was cruelly robbed away by her again.

Confused and panicking, I watched as new chains replaced the old ones, one even chaining me around the neck in a thick and heavy collar. I let out a fearful whinny, trying to figure out in which way I could have possibly displeased my mistress this time. I strained against the shackles holding my legs in place, flaring out my wings in a last attempt at somehow fleeing through sheer force of wing power.

Nightmare grinned beside me, watching my struggles with a sick kind of pleasure. I felt her bite softly down on my wing joint, the bit of pain massively overshadowed by the sweet, sweet spasms running through my body and causing my wings to stiffen up. I almost lost the strength to stand as she did that, moaning loudly.

“While I will reward you for your services, you are still my pet. Do not forget your place,” Nightmare whispered into my ear. “Or you will know true fear as I leave you here, forever alone and unable to escape.”

“Yes, Mistress,” I gulped, fear rising in my chest at the threat of her doing just that. It was degrading, what my sister was subjecting me to. After she had her way with me, I would turn the table on her and get my sweet revenge. It doesn't matter how long it would take, at some point, revenge would be mine. I just have to be patient. In the meantime, I can still enjoy the pleasure my mistress inflicts upon me.

Alas, I might have to get used to always being the one in the submissive role if this was an indicator of how my little sister could get with her darker side. I don’t think that, even when she was Luna Nocturnis, would I remain in the dominant one for very long with that damn riding crop being able to reduce me into a quivering mess so fast. And she had already proven to be capable of making me sub to her this morning. I had little hope of wrestling control away from her (not before she had me at her mercy, that is).

Nightmare circled around me like a hungry predator and I happily accepted the punishment from her riding crop, hating the fact that it could inflict so much pleasure upon me that I was starting to become a slave to my own lust again.

Then, my mistress left my peripheral vision entirely and I was prevented from turning my head by the collar around my neck holding me in place. I quickly found out what she had in mind for me, though.

Suddenly having to support the extra weight of my mistress as she placed her hooves upon my back, I felt excitement rising for what was to come. I very much liked where this was going and my marehood was crying happily at the prospect of getting stuffed with the mighty tool of my mistress.

My mind was going crazy at the lust addling it, my rage at being treated as a mere object got quickly drowned out by the trepidation of her making me her mare. This might serve as a painful reminder of what it feels like to be reduced to a possession... if I were able to care at the moment, that is. All I wanted right now was for her to penetrate me as deeply as she could and fill me with her cum.

My sister had her fun for a while, teasing my entrance with the tip of her big cock. Sadly, I was unable to shove her right into me due to the stupid chains preventing me from doing just that. Then, as if she felt she had gotten enough amusement out of her little fuck toy, she started to press into me with next to no warning.

I screamed out lewdly, my tight walls stretching painfully around the huge head, and I felt like I was just split open. Thankfully, she gave me more than enough time to get used to her girth, her dick pulsing with her heartbeat, and my tunnel adjusted with each one until I felt ready for more.

Slowly, she pressed in further, letting me enjoy the heavenly sensation of her rod burying itself deeper and deeper within me. She chuckled at my moaning gasps, rocking back and forth while going a bit deeper into me with each shove forward.

“M-Mistress!” I panted out as she hilted herself fully within me. And, oh my gosh, I felt her filling my insides so thoroughly that my heart quivered with ecstasy. Any bigger and I doubt she could've fit. She was a big mare with an even bigger cock, I was in utter heaven.

Fuck Summer and her preference for small and cute dicks, I need to be broken on this monster, now.

“Do you like your reward? I will leave you in a twitching pile after I’m done with you, my pet,” Nightmare crooned, her own panting breath tickling the backside of my head with pleasant tingles. I shivered slightly as her tongue ran up from the base of my neck towards where my ears stood stiffly erect. “Be thankful to thy Queen, my little mare.”

“Y-yes, Mistress! I-I’m very thankful for this honor,” I answered back, almost zealously. “I am but a lowly princess to your magnificence, my queen! Destroy me with that huge dick, I beg you! I deserve nothing less than having my cunt imprint on your big, fat cock! F-fuck! Ngh!”

Nightmare chuckled with a grunt as she started to pull back out of my marehood. “Verily,” she shot told me before she bucked back into me with a titanic thrust. That only worked for a couple of inches before my tunnel stopped her progress, squeezing her as stars shot through my vision. Then, instead of trying to get further in with another buck, she pulled her thick horse cock back out entirely. She rubbed the broad tip over my entrance as I whined at the feeling of withdrawal, and she laughed at my misfortune before putting the tip in as I begged her to fuck me already. “Now scream the name of thy queen for us!”

That is what I happily did as she shoved her dick back into my eager folds, making more progress than last time as our mixing fluids eased the way back in for her member, the stretchy feeling making me mewl out in delight.

I screamed my throat raw, edging my mistress on in her quest to drive me into an earth-shattering orgasm, her shaft tunneling its way in and out of my canal at an increasing pace. The way that her tip slid against my walls was forcing out moans from my throat even after I felt like I couldn’t utter another word.

Then, once my snatch got well and truly used to her girth, she hammered her member into me like a well-oiled machine. It encountered no resistance from me and my mistress was grunting cutely, pleased by how my marehood hugged her shaft snuggly each time she went back in, holding onto me with her hooves while capturing my ear in between her teeth at the same time.

A few rare times I felt her tip poke me at my inner sanctum, sending jolts and tingles through my body in a mesmerizing way (something that felt only so good because of how she made me enjoy pain so much). I wished I could rock my body against hers, forcing her member even faster back in, but I had to content myself with her own thundering pace.

She was like a beast gone wild as she pressed herself into me with grunts that got heavier the longer she continued at the insane pace she set for herself, the twitching rod massaging my inner walls beautifully. And I could tell she was having a great time herself as my marehood squeezed her length inside of me, massaging her big cock.

Her moans and grunts were coming out of her throat faster and faster, as she somehow also managed to drive her member into me with greater force than before. My moaning joined hers almost in a synchronized fashion, both of us were gasping for breath in exhaustion.

But my mistress was undeterred by her own exhaustion, pushing on with a determination to see her reach the end and deliver her payload within my eager sex. The twitching of her rod got gradually greater and I was longingly awaiting the climax of our degenerate love-making.

I felt a warmth begin to build up within me, coming closer to my desired high while my mistress ravished my insides with the pistoning movements of her shaft, hitting all the right spots in a mad frenzy.

Alas, my mistress finished before I reached my own orgasm, holding herself against me in an effort to get her heavily twitching monster of a penis as deep in as she could. I felt the warmth in me blossoming as her spunk filled me up in a veritable flood, one cum shot after another coming out of her member.

I was feeling slightly disappointed that I hadn’t gotten off from that alone, her orgasm joining with mine would have made this moment one to remember for all of eternity. But, as my mistress left the confines of my weeping snatch, I had to content myself with having given her the sweet relief I craved myself.

Nightmare Moon came around to my side, dispelling the chains holding me in place and I let out a squeak in surprise as she forced her tongue into my mouth. She had a devious smirk on her muzzle as I helplessly slumped into her embrace. Then, she started to vibrate my clit with her magic while my screams were muffled by the kiss.

I had already been close to the edge before she did this, but the stimulation of my nub was the turning point for me. Nightmare managed to make my vision go completely white in bliss. She had to hold me upright in her embrace as I convulsed against her in a mind-shattering orgasm, prolonged by the fact she didn't stop playing with my clit. I fear I would have met the ground with my muzzle, had she not held me up. All my muscles were like mush.

“How was that, sister?” she asked me, fidgeting slightly on her hind legs and looking at me a bit shyly. “I might have gone a bit overboard with this, but after watching you and Tia do this roleplaying thing with each other a few times, I thought I might give it a try.”

“I fucking love you,” I muttered with a dreamy sigh, nuzzling her black fur in a daze while I recovered. “I’m going to make you my bitch for this at some point, but all in all, it was great. I really enjoyed that girth of yours, too.”

Nightmare chuckled. "You seemed like the type that would enjoy the pain," she teased me and I grumbled.

"Only because you made me enjoy it," I shot back, glaring at her.

“I’m sure Summer would have approved,” Nightmare grumbled, giving me an irritated look.

“Dear, I’m going to rip your throat out for that suggestion,” I said in a deadpan tone. “If you dare do that to me while I am Summer, there won’t be a single place where you could hide away from my wrath.”

“Sheesh, I’m sorry, alright. No need to get so huffy about it,” my sister shot back with a huff, rolling her eyes at me. “Ungrateful witch.”

“Hold your fucking tongue, or it will be the first thing I rip out,” I snarled, not actually moving to follow up on my threat. “Tia knows how much I hate being bound and unable to move, I’m sure we already brought this up to you.”

Nightmare shrugged. “It might have slipped my mind,” she said. “In that case, we probably should establish a safeword before we do something foolish.”

“A... safeword?” I asked, looking up at her inquisitively. My sister nodded before creating a large bed out of nowhere. She invited me to join her on the soft covers, holding her wing aloft. I stared at her, a bit suspicious that she wasn’t so... anti-social against me anymore.

“Just get up here, already,” she grunted, looking stoically ahead, and at that moment, she very much resembled a cold-hearted queen. I got over my hesitation, reminding myself that this was my sister and not some stranger that just had me restrained while she had her way with me.

I snuggled myself into her side, silently offering an apology that I let my hatred get the better of me for having betrayed my trust like that. I found myself forgiving her for it, not having it in me to hold it against her. She knew now not to repeat that, so why not offer her a little bit of kindness? Besides, I sorta felt like I deserved it after the whole seducing thing Tia and I had forced on her and not helped her come to terms with afterward.

Also, now I was feeling guilty for withholding the information Hope, Magic, Generosity, and Honesty had given me. I let out a long sigh, debating whether to tell her about that or not. I certainly deserved the punishment after keeping it from them for so long.

Nightmare gave me a look as she noticed my mood shift. She fidgeted and scrunched up her muzzle, struggling with herself before she let out a sigh, nudging me. “Is something the matter?” she asked and I shuffled awkwardly with my wings.

On the one hoof, I could tell her and get it over with before resentment could begin to build up for not being honest with her, or I could hold my tongue in... misguided kindness.

That's what this was, wasn’t it? I feared how she would react and wanted to do her a kindness that could easily backfire on me. Breaking her heart like that would be a mercy compared to that, I thought bitterly.

“There is... something important I need to tell you and Celestia. I would prefer to tell you both at the same time, though,” I whispered, a fearful flutter running through my chest as my ears splayed back against my head. Damn you and your fucking bleeding heart, Summer. Damn you and damn me, too, for being such a coward. Damn this fucking world. Damn Magic. And damn fucking alicorns with their damn lifespan, damnit.

“In that case, let us pay our dearest sister a visit,” Nightmare smirked, ready to hop off the bed. I stopped her before she could do so, though.

“Can we stay like this for a few more minutes?” I asked, slightly embarrassed. Nightmare gave me a surprised look, but she did as I asked of her with a confused nod.

“I know I already asked this, but... is everything okay?” she asked me with a raised brow.

“Just shut the fuck up and cuddle me already,” I snarled, puffing out a small flame from my nostrils. My sister rolled her eyes, not fooled by my behavior. I silently enjoyed the closeness, feeling my face heat up as she rested her head on top of mine, hearing her start to purr.

Slowly, I moved my head so I could look at her, surprised. “I didn’t know ponies could make that sound,” I commented. “Think you’re part cat?”

“Hah hah,” Nightmare said, unamused. “Your mane feels nice, it made me relax and that just came out of me. I had no idea I could do that, either. Now, lie back down or I won't... c-cuddle... with you anymore.”

“Sorry,” I mumbled, heaving a sigh dejectedly. “I didn’t mean to insult you. Besides, it felt nice hearing you purr against me...”

“It’s okay,” she sighed, putting her head back down on mine as I did what was demanded of me. Sure enough, a few seconds later her purring started back up again. “Now, what about that safeword? Any ideas?”

“Naked apes?” I snorted, smiling a bit at the thought. My sister let out a laugh at that, shaking her head good-naturedly. “But I’m open to anything else.”

“No,” Nightmare said, her tongue lightly flicking my horn, causing my tail to rise up unbidden. My sister let out a very seductive-sounding chuckle, noticing my reaction with unfettered glee. I swear, if she wasn’t this damn sexy, I would have broken her muzzle already. “I don’t have a better suggestion.”

So, with that agreement made, Nightmare tried her best to get me to moan for her by continuing to lick my horn. Suffice it to say, it didn’t take her long to edge one out of me and after that, they just continued to come out of my throat. My nethers were already begging for attention again.

“You know...” Nightmare spoke up, stopping with her ministrations much to my disappointment. “Why does our regalia change when we switch from good to kinda bad and vice-versa?”

I blinked at the question, staring at mine with interest. My own shoes were a dark burnt red with the crystals having changed color from ruby red to an electric yellow, the rounded tips of the shoes were wickedly sharp now, instead. The rest was true for my chest piece and the ‘tiara’ upon my head. But instead of a tiara, it was more like an old Roman circlet with a flame theme instead of an olive branch. The chest piece looked mostly the same, though, only ending in a sharp point instead of a rounded one on my chest.

Luna’s obsidian tiara turned into a polished silver helmet, the miasma that her mane consisted of easily flowing out of it despite it covering so much of her head. The obsidian of the rest of her regalia was also turned into the polished silverish light blue metal, ending in more sharpened edges than mine, but not as much as the armor I had seen Daybreaker wear in the mirror.

Daybreaker had by far the most intricate armor out of all of us. Her regalia turned into actual armor in contrast to mine or Nightmare’s regalia, even adding protective guards on her wings where there were none before. If she weren’t on our side, I would have feared having my sister turn into Daybreaker on the battlefield.

The armor of Celestia’s darker side was more of an orange-red color with a deeper saturation than my own fur color while I was in the form of Fallen Star. Probably a bit darker than my fur, too. She had quite a sinister look to her, the shoes she wore extended a lot further than her regular ones, almost reaching the knees of her front legs in lethally sharp edges resembling a flame pattern.

Daybreaker’s armor was more suited to take into a war and lead on the front lines, breaking the morale of enemy soldiers with her terrifying looks alone. And the tiara of my sister didn’t just turn into a helmet like the one Nightmare wore, it somehow also combined that with a crown fit for a strict and harsh empress.

Any nation that dared to stand against her would have signed their death warrants as soon as they decided to engage in a war with her. I had no doubt that my sister could stand in for an entire army all on her own, her magical arsenal was far more vast than Luna’s and my knowledge combined.

The question of my sister left me quite stumped on a possible cause for why our regalia changed with us. I might have a working theory, but I couldn’t be entirely certain of the answer.

“I’d like to know for sure why it changes, but I have a somewhat plausible idea,” I said, holding one of my hooves in the air. “Option one, we replace these with new ones every time we transform. That's possible, but very unlikely. Option two, after having worn our regalia for more than ten years, our very essence seeped into them. That would also mean they are a part of who we are now.”

Nightmare nodded along with my hypothesis and I decided to do a little experiment. I slipped my right hoof out of the shoe and set the thing in front of myself on the covers of the bed. Concentrating slightly, I reverted my bare hoof slowly back to the bright white one of my other half while watching intently at what was happening to the shoe in response to the shift.

Sure enough, it transformed back into the golden slipper with the ruby set into it. Because I was doing the change slower than I had ever done before, we saw a fascinating display as it transitioned over to the golden variant. The transformation of the shoe progressed just as slowly as my right hoof.

That essentially meant that the shoe in front of us on the bed was the same one as before, not a replacement.

“You know, this does make sense,” Nightmare Moon stated, her curiosity sated with a purr. “It also explains why they appear with us in the dream realm, now that I think about it.”

“Huh,” I hummed. “You make a good point. I wonder...”

I concentrated on the feeling of the connection towards my sword, willing it to appear in front of me. The sword appeared in a flash of light, not blinding me due to the nature of my alicorn domain over light and fire. But the sword also looked changed, much like the rest of my regalia.

The shape of the longsword King Bullion gifted to me was still there, although everything else looked different. Mainly because it wasn’t entirely solid anymore, molten rivers snaking their way down the length of the blade. And the guard at the handle was a lot shorter, not fulfilling the purpose of a guard any longer. The gems had also changed their color to that of the other ones on my chest piece and shoes.

Nightmare got curious herself, laughing silently at my failed attempt at lifting it within my telekinetic aura to look it over more. I pouted angrily at her as she called her own weapon to herself.

Once more a weapon appeared in a flash of light, but this one wasn’t a sword at all. Luna’s sword had already seen quite a lot of use over the years, but what floated before us in Nightmare’s telekinetic grip was something different entirely.

The weapon was still a bladed weapon, just not in the way we expected it to appear. The grip of what had previously been a sword had been elongated and taken on a slight curve, the pommel in the form of a crescent moon was now a defensive hook still in the form of the crescent moon. The actual blade was massively bigger than the original sword, violating what I knew of the laws of physics by creating mass where none should have been.

That was transformation at its finest, though. Substituting physical matter with magical energy. The mana used in the transformation acts the same way as the real matter would, showing no signs of trickery to the untrained eye. The physical part acted as a core while the magical part stretched the definition of 'real' while leading the universe on, telling it the blade was bigger than it should be.

My sister was holding a wickedly sharp scythe, the blade's edge was as thin as paper as far as I could tell, and, after Nightmare experimentally tried to bend it to see how sturdy it was, we came to the conclusion that no ordinary mortal would ever be able to deform it through sheer force. Whatever the blade was made of, it refused to warp and flex even the slightest bit.

I had to begrudgingly admit that I was totally and utterly jealous of my sister. Well, I can’t say I was entirely surprised that the weapon turned out to be a scythe, it practically screamed ‘I am the Deity of the Night’ to me (not that I was particularly inclined to believe we were 'goddesses', I didn't quite feel comfortable with the thought of... well... being viewed as such).

Nightmare was very much happy that the weapon represented her so much, the color of the handle was almost black all the way up to the blade, which seemed to shine with an inner light. It also left a small trail of stardust in the air as she swung it experimentally in front of us in a horizontal curve (well, I'm saying stardust, but they were in all actuality just magic sparkles and a soft afterglow from the blade itself).

I groaned as she began to play around with it giddily, resembling more her better half than the fearsome ruler of all nightmares and night terrors. She also tried to draw funny faces in the air in an attempt to get me to laugh. All that managed to do, though, was to make me snort out a flame from my nostrils with a roll of my eyes, even as the corners of my lips twitched upwards.

Stupid sister with her awesome weapon and dream-walking powers...

“I think it’s time you stop with your shenanigans and we go over to sister dearest,” I said, nudging her with a hoof. With her attention now fully back on me, I hopped off the bed and stretched my limbs out, smirking as I saw her gaze wander toward my flanks. “Like what you see~?”

“Verily,” she nodded, biting her lower lip. I let out a nicker as she got out her riding crop again, immediately snapping it against my flank. Squirming slightly on the spot, I eyed the damn thing while trying not to beg my sister for more. Damn her and the stupid riding crop. Why does it have to feel so good?! “Do you want me to cast the spell on you?”

“I...” I hesitated, chewing on my lips. “I don’t know. Tia would no doubt love it, but I... after what I did to her? It would make me feel... dirty.”

Not to mention, ever since I regained my sanity, I felt the same way about my sex as Summer did. Being a mare just felt right, the reminder I got of our past life... it gave me a sense of dysphoria like no other. But how could I tell my sister that? She seemed to like having both parts, there was no way she could understand my difficulties...

“Why? It’s not like you're going to rape her again. Besides, as far as I can recall, she has forgiven you for that. What’s the harm in it?” Nightmare asked, coming over to me to lay a hoof reassuringly on my side. It still left me stumped about how caring she could be as Nightmare Moon. “You were male in your past life, so why are you hesitating now? It's not like you're going to turn back into a stallion for the rest of your life.”

“That’s true...” I said. “It’s just... weird to have one again, you know?”

“Can’t really say I would know, this is the first time I’ve had one and I can’t say I’m disappointed,” Nightmare shrugged. Then she grinned smugly at me. “Especially after making you scream for me.”

I blushed and fidgeted, looking away from her. That's exactly what I was afraid of. The feeling of being the dominant one as I... I don't like it. It made me feel like I was just pretending, that I wasn't really a mare and that I would lose everything I stood for in the process. I already did, once. I lost my sight and stopped being me. All because I couldn't recognize what I was doing. I was a slave to my own need and that scared me.

If I went back and had... that... again, would the same thing happen to me all over again? For some reason, I couldn't trust myself with such a thing, afraid I would start being abusive and hurtful, selfish even. More selfish than I already was as Fallen Star.

"Come on. It's only for one night," Nightmare told me, her muzzle tickling my ear as she spoke directly into it. I shuddered as she kissed my neck next. Her hoof reached around me as she hugged me from behind. It came dangerously close to my nethers and I felt her huge horse dick brush against my back as she molested me, pre-cum dribbling down from it. Then, it twitched with a small hump from my sister and my breath hitched. It pulsed with her heartbeat and my nethers drenched the fur around my thighs with arousal, the scent driving me into a lustful state of need. I leaned myself against her as she turned my head up, her grip forceful but still gentle (by her standards, that is). My sister's gaze was harsh and I moaned. Stupid submissive Summer, making me like being dominated... "’Tis was your plan to make Tia into our plaything, was it not? Should you not show her her proper place as your pet? 'Twould be easier to do it with a big, fat cock, no?"

I bit my lip, shuddering against her. Damn it. Why must she do this to me now? Turning my own words against me, she is using my lust to her advantage, making me weak. It was unfair and... and so fucking sexy. I couldn't help the pathetic whine from escaping my lips as a flutter raced through my stomach toward my pulsing sex.

Fine, then. I know I will regret it as soon as the spell takes hold of me, but... “Do it,” I said, giving in as I felt angry at myself. That, and defeated. I was unable to fight against her, not having it in me to deny her. Summer was incapable of saying no to our sisters, and I found out the same was true for me. I cannot bring myself to disappoint my Nightmare.

Still feeling queasy, I watched as my sister let go of me, clapping her hooves together in excitement. She lit up her horn with the spell after I gave her my consent and I shifted awkwardly on my legs as I felt her magic invade my body. With trepidation, I felt the magic mess with reality as a penis started to grow from my nethers. Like Nightmare, the shape it took was that of a pony's cock. Or rather, it was more akin to that of a horse, being too large on my frame.

I was by no means short, standing taller than most other ponies with few exceptions (those being mainly my sisters and Starswirl), but this was just ridiculous in comparison to my stature. The girth of the flat tip was just short of my hoof (and that's without my shoes on, still making it far larger than what it should have been).

Considering how the spell worked, the thing was already hard from all the blood rushing into the newly formed flesh. So... at least it couldn't get even bigger, right? That thought was only a small consolation, though. There was one other thing my mind couldn't stop focusing on, and that was the trip down memory lane as it brought back phantom memories from when I had... raped... my wife in my madness. This need to get off... it was already clouding my mind as all I could focus on was the damn sensitive point where my nerves congregated.

It felt like a simple twitch would be enough to set me off. And then, there was the overpowering desire to stuff it somewhere snug and wet. It almost overwhelmed me right then and there, my breathing shaky and fearful.

Come on, Star. Get a grip on yourself! This is embarrassing and you're better than that. You're the cleansing fire, the inescapable wrath, the Red Sun that ushers in a rightful dawn! Not some pathetic insect that cannot deal with one additional limb.

With a flare of my wings, I growled at myself, shaking my head from side to side. I won't let this turn me into a shivering mess, crying as I curl up on myself because I can't handle these sensations. I am better than that. I can do this. Nothing will stop me from ravaging Celestia like she was made to be my...

I stopped that train of thought before it could go any further, shutting my eyes tightly as the feelings of possessiveness overwhelmed me for a moment. Tia was not my toy, damnit! I won't fall into the same trap of thinking like that again. This dick does not dictate my thoughts!

Just as I thought that, I felt the overwhelming desire to rip the damn thing off of me in a fit of rage. It was wrong, I shouldn’t have it dangling between my hind legs. It was a dark temptation I couldn't deny. I wanted satisfaction, in the roughest way possible. I wanted to force myself on Tia with all my might and have her look at me with tears in her eyes as she choked on it. I wanted her to hurt as I had my way with her. Only my pleasure mattered and I felt disgusted at myself for that.

This wasn't me, I thought with disdain. I was already regretting having given Nightmare permission to cast the spell on me. It was an impulse decision I felt pressured to make, but what was done was done. I couldn't reverse it. At least, not without my magic and a useable counter spell I could cast on myself. And I'd rather not forcefully dispel myself. Stuff like that hurt. Even if I really wanted to get rid of it by any means necessary.

Perhaps it was the guilt talking within me or the fact that I had realized that I should have been female in my past life. This was likely a remnant of my time as a male on Earth, being ignorant of my distress over my gender. I didn’t envy any of the transgender people that actually took notice of their plight, I might have fallen into a depressed state like so many others had I known.

I know I was feeling like shit right now...

A slap against my face brought me back to reality, blinking the tears away. Nightmare was standing in front of me as she sneered down at me while I rubbed my cheek. “Get a grip on yourself, idiot. What is up with you? I know you aren't this pathetic, so what made you react like that? This can’t be a simple negative reaction from what you have done to Tia.”

“I... I might have been transgender and never realized it before being reincarnated,” I admitted and my head drooped even lower in shame. A sneer started to appear on my muzzle as my sister forced me to say it out loud. Her eyes lost the slits in them as they turned turquoise for a moment, concern showing in them before they reverted back.

“I see,” she stated, looking at anything but my own eyes. “I’m... sorry. I didn’t know.”

“How could you have known?” I snorted, letting out a sigh. “It’s okay, it’s not like I’m fully male again. I can survive this.”

“I could probably reverse the transformation if that is what you want?” Nightmare offered, but I shook my head, telling her the transformation would have to wear off on its own. I never actually bothered to figure out how to reverse it and I’d rather not have her shoot me with a dispel... those were seriously uncomfortable to be subjected to. Like... I'd rather chop it off with a rusty knife, instead. It was that bad.

I would get over this somehow, coming to terms with what I had done to Celestia and temporarily having a penis again. Thankfully this was nothing permanent or I might have done something really stupid.

For fuck’s sake, how can I be such a hypocrite? I loved it when my sisters had both parts and here I was, being a pussy about it. I was lamenting about things that shouldn’t be a problem anymore. I was still female, just... with extra parts right now. I have lived with that for forty years. A few hours won’t kill me...

I really hated having heightened emotions as Fallen Star, I’m sure I could have dealt with this better as Summer Sol. Okay, maybe not exactly, but I certainly wouldn't feel like torturing Tia with my... ugh... dick.

First and foremost, I need to keep myself calm and think this through in a rational manner. Fact is, I was transgender (or am I still? Since I got reincarnated instead of transitioning, does that mean the word doesn’t apply to me anymore?). I’m female now, so didn’t that mean I have reached the perfect state my body could achieve? Or was it more about the experience of knowing your gender differed from the one you were assigned with? Sure, I might have not noticed it until it slapped me in the face in this life, but that's alright. Well... mostly alright. Apparently, I had repressed feelings about having male genitalia, but at the same time, I thought it was perfectly fine if my sisters had both a penis and a vagina.

Hm. Then again, Celestia was a pervert about it, so I don’t think she minded it that much. Lulu, or rather my Nightmare, was sort of neutral about it and liked to be dominant in the BDSM kind of way. Both of them seemed to be happy with whatever as long as it wasn’t hurting anypony's feelings. A bit of pain turned out to be alluring in its own way and my Nightmare was mindful enough to make sure I enjoyed it before following through with it.

That much can't be said about me. I was only feeling this selfish need to satisfy my desires and couldn't trust myself to not end up being cruel and sadistic to the one I had 'fun' with. I felt dirty about what I had done to Celestia the last time I had a dick hanging between my legs, reducing her to a possession that I was still prone to do from time to time. Even if I work through my issues to reduce this possessiveness over my sisters, I knew it would lead to more pain and suffering if I lost myself to this feeling.

So, I had three things that were contributing to my self-loathing right now. The fact that I was transgender that I never acknowledged or knew of in my previous life, the rape of my wife during my insanity, and the uncontrollable urge to be pleased, no matter what. The mixed feelings of having both parts played a big role in that because it all centered around that stupid horse cock.

The gender question was difficult to deal with. I felt happy as a mare, wasn’t that enough? Why was I so vehemently fighting against having both parts for a little while? That shouldn’t cause so much conflict within me. Was it this irrational fear and insecurity in me that my psyche had to lash out at me because I had a penis again?

Perhaps that was it, I thought with a frown. Maybe I was fearful of having anything male-related on my body that evoked such heavy feelings in me. I was scared I would become a slave to my urges again and lose all of my inhibitions, in the process. I have to change my perspective, I told that to myself because... it couldn’t go on like this.

And there was a solution to that, too, wasn’t there? I was already thinking of those parts on my sisters as more feminine because they looked less masculine than they should have in my eyes. Whatever it was that made them look so sexy on my sisters, I had to view my own like that, too.

But could I get over that feeling of it basically giving me the same sensations as I remembered as a male? I mean, my recollection was kinda murky of having been male, seeing that a lot of time had passed since I felt these things, but it felt sort of familiar enough that it brought those old memories to the forefront of my mind. And it wasn't helped by my brief stint in the Crystal Empire, committing such a horrendous crime.

I guess I couldn’t just make myself feel differently about this at a moment’s notice. It wasn’t the end of the world, either, so I could temporarily cope with it during this little endeavor and ease myself into accepting it over the next few months if not years. If ever...

“Sister?” Nightmare’s voice brought me back out of my ruminations and I noticed her staring at me with a raised brow. Next to her was a white door. With an embarrassed flush, I took a look around me. I have no idea how I didn't notice the change of scenery. We weren’t in the Soul Mirror chamber anymore, standing on a starry path of mist and sparkles. Similar doors were all over the place, but this one was special. I knew who it belonged to without being told. My sister dreamed just beyond this door and we would go through any moment to have our way with her.

By my sun, how could I have missed a change of scenery like that? I must have been deeper in thought than I thought. Ugh.

"Can I ask you something, Nightmare?" I whispered, my gaze forlorn and unsure.

My sister snorted, smirking slightly. "You just did," she pointed out, amused. "But you may ask another."

"How do you resist it?"

Nightmare tilted her head, confused. "Resist what?"

"This damn need to fuck everything with a hole and not care about the consequences of being too rough!" I told her, aggravated. "All I can concentrate on is this pulsing rush of blood in my... in my... that thing!"—I pointed accusingly at my still stiff erection, unable to say it out loud in a proper way—" I feel like I'm losing myself the longer it is there!"

"Hmm," Nightmare hummed. "To be honest, it feels like a bigger clitoris to me and that's it. I don't know what the problem is."

I stared dumbfounded at her. "I did mention the overwhelming need to fuck, right?"

"And..?" Nightmare asked, shrugging like she didn't care. "What's so different about that than how you usually feel? As far as I can tell, you're just as horny as always."

"It's not about being horny!" I exclaimed, feeling like ripping a few hairs out of my mane. "It's about this damn need that borders on rape territory, sister! It feels like I'm actually going to hurt somepony because I can't think straight with it constantly demanding to be satisfied. And I want to get off so badly, it's driving me insane! I want to make you suffer on my dick, and not just because of the whole bondage thing, but because I can! And it's all because of this!"

Nightmare Moon gave me a skeptical look. "Are you sure you're not just sadistic?"

"...what?" I asked, caught off-guard by her question. "Did you not listen to a word I said? This damn thing makes me want to hurt you by forcing my..."—I struggled with forming the word, but ultimately couldn't as my emotions spiraled further out of control and the shimmer of heat around me got worse with my anger and fear—" in you! And I don't mean like pain-play with the whole shebang and so on, I mean like forcefully fucking your dry cunt because I can't help myself!"

My sister snorted, laying a hoof on my shoulder. "Sister, that is a cock and nothing more. It has got no mind of its own, it isn't making you feel like you're going to rape Tia or me, it's just an appendage with sensitive bits like your marehood. You're a sadist, nothing more. Much like I enjoy putting you in your place and making you beg for more, you are a sadist and masochist, to boot. Your dick just brings out the dom in you. I didn't torture you beyond what you enjoyed, did I? You won't, either. I know it, and you know why?"

I shook my head and she simply placed her hoof over where my heart was. With trembling lips, I looked back up at her. Her eyes were as cold and uncaring as ever, but I saw the compassion in her. It was there, despite it being hard to find. Her reminder made me realize something important. "I'm still me."

"Obviously," she said, a bit snarky with me. "Now, stop being a dumb idiot. You're projecting and your dick has got nothing to do with it. Or, well... it does, but only because of your stupid angst. You're still a mare and always will be, nothing will turn you into this 'meat prison' you fear your body will turn into because of one selfish act of sadism. Stop doubting yourself and be the strong mare I know you are. Not this pathetic excuse of a crying mess that calls herself my sister. It's embarrassing."

"Gee, thanks a lot," I said, glaring at her as I calmed down considerably from my, well... whining, I guess. That totally hurt my fragile feelings, though. Bitch.

"Then next time, be honest with yourself and tell me no," she said, sneering. "I have little patience for having to talk sense into you for breaking into tears over something that could have been avoided entirely. Now, am I going to do this alone, or will you let that dick get in between you and your prize?"

"I..." I hesitated and she frowned at me.

"I know you won't hurt Tia or me on purpose," she told me. "With or without a dick, that fact won't ever change. Now, are you ready?"

I let out a sigh and steeled my nerves. My sister was right, I'm not going to lose my mind over this and become a mindless beast. At heart, I will always treat my sisters like my most prized possessions. I, uh... I mean my most beloved sisters. Yes, exactly that.

You know, maybe some angry sex will do me some good to get rid of all of this frustration. Angry sex does not mean selfish torture sex, after all. If I keep that in mind, I might just make it through this without hurting them in the process. I can keep myself from being too rough, I know it.

"Okay," I said, trusting my sister to be right with this. Besides, I'm sure she will snap me out of it if I get too forceful. Tia, too, for that matter. “I’m ready.”

Just... think about giving your wife a good time and everything will be alright, I told that to myself, still a bit unsure but more confident in my ability to know what I was doing.

My sister looked dubiously at me but ultimately decided to shrug in a detached and uncaring manner. Well, I'm sure she still cared, only in her own 'unique' way. “Alright. Now, remember, she won't recognize that this is a dream at all, so just play along and don't screw this up,” Nightmare said, sending me a look that promised pain if I even remotely screwed it up, and I had to admit it to myself, I found it fucking sexy as hell. Then she let out a friggin’ squee, sounding absolutely adorable. “This is going to be so much fun!”

I shook my head good-naturedly, unable to believe that this was the same pony that had no qualms about being harsh to me if it got her what she wanted. It felt like such a stark contrast that I momentarily had the impression that I was dealing with Luna, instead.

Without wasting any more time, my sister opened the door with her magic, and a moment later, we found ourselves in the dream of my twin. I looked around with a questioning gaze at the living candy running around, the randomness of her dream throwing me for a loop.

“Are you sure we’re in the right dream?” I asked Nightmare, about to tell her she must have made a mistake, but I never got the chance. Her hoof connected with my muzzle as she gave me a sneer, wings extended in an intimidating way.

“Who do you take me for?” she growled, shoving me to the ground. I snarled back at her, crouching in a way that would make it easier for me to pounce on her. “Do I need to make myself clear again about who is in charge here? I know what I am doing, pet.”

“Try it, bitch,” I shot back, tackling her. We were sent sprawling across the ground, rolling down a hill in our struggle to establish our dominance over each other.

She was right. I totally wanted to be the dominant one and I would prove to her that I can do it. Without being a monster about it.

“Luna?” The voice of my twin put a temporary stop to our fighting and I craned my neck to look at where her voice came from. My eyelid twitched as I saw her sitting at a massive table filled with all sorts of cakes. Flying pigs were serving her more plates with confections while others made sure her tea never ran out. “...Summer?”

“This is so beyond anything I ever expected to see,” Nightmare muttered in disbelief and I nodded dumbly along, agreeing with her as I was too stupefied to respond to what my own eyes were seeing. My twin stared at us in horror, probably because of our appearance and the fact that we were previously fighting against each other.

“No...” Tia muttered, shaking her head in denial. “No, no, no, no! This can’t be a vision...”

“A vision?” I whispered over to my Nightmare and she shrugged back at me. “I think Tia has lost it, sister. In what way could this ridiculous landscape ever become a reality?”

“It could be another mirror world,” my sister shrugged. “To be honest, it does resemble the worst of Wonderland.”

“I’d rather not think about that shit show of a world,” I shot back, shuddering slightly. “Seriously, the original is way more disturbing than it has any right to be.”

“I agree,” Nightmare said, also shuddering at the thought. Then she smirked down at me, putting a collar with a chain back around my neck. She let out a triumphant laugh and I whinnied in surprise. I tugged at the chain with a hoof, desperately hoping I could somehow break it. “Now, do be a good pet and subjugate our sister for thy queen.”

“You little bitch, I will snap that stick of a horn off from your head the first chance I get!” I snarled, only for her to jank at the chain and crack her riding crop against my horn in retaliation.

I let out a whimper and moan, glaring at Nightmare for springing the same damn trick on me as last time. At least I could still move around. So much for trying to be more dominant...

“Do I have to punish you for your disobedience again, my pet?” she asked me in a deathly quiet whisper and I shook my head, actually getting afraid at her ice-cold demeanor. Fuck, she was terrifying when mad. “Then do what is asked of you.”

“Of course... Mistress,” I said, gulping down my fear as I desperately tried not to show my hatred for being commanded around on my face. It was bad enough being degraded to a possession myself, now I was her friggin’ minion of all things! That should have been me in her position, damnit. Me!

My eyes wandered over to my twin, and I knew how I could let my frustration out. I gave her a predatory grin, delighting in the fact that Celestia turned tail to flee like a deer caught in the gaze of a big, bad wolf. Oh, fuck yes~! A good chase was just the thing to start this dream off.

I let out a cackle as I saw her try to lose me within the cotton candy clouds, my mane proving to be useful in burning away the odd clouds. My Mistress wasn’t far away from us, taking flight after us. Both of us laughed in glee as Celestia only slowed herself down more by going through the sticky clouds, oddly enough drenching herself in what appeared to be chocolate rain.

With a tackle against her side, I captured my twin by restricting her movements with my forelegs. Together with Nightmare’s help, I brought Tia back down to the ground where chains sprung up to hold her in place for us.

“What do you want to do with her, Mistress?” I laughed, running a hoof against the side of her head before moving over to those delicious lips. My wife gave me a pleading gaze as I toyed with her. I looked down at her, smirking as she began to beg me with her eyes for us to show her mercy.

There was one other thing in her eyes, though. And that was lust as she began to fantasize about being used like the sex slave that she was. Such a pervert, my wife.

“Why don’t you present her your sex, pet?” Nightmare crooned, brushing her tail alongside my wife’s side as she stalked past her. “Force her to pleasure you while I have my way with her? Oh, you would like that, Tia, wouldn't you?”

My sister moaned in her bindings, her face heavily flushed as she breathed unevenly while my Nightmare groped her flanks. For some reason, it turned me more on than I already was.

“Which sex, my queen?” I asked back, desperately hoping she wouldn’t ask me to present my male parts to my twin, although I felt my arousal make me painfully hard despite my wishes.

“Must I make all the decisions for you?” Nightmare snarled, glaring at me as she brought out her riding crop.

"I..." I began, only for her to flick it against my flank, causing me to moan out. My lust spiked as she hit me again with it and I begged her to punish me more. My sister happily obliged my request, and I felt her going for my marehood next until I couldn’t hold it back any longer and did what she demanded of me with a shuddering moan. Grabbing the back of my wife’s head, I brought her muzzle towards my dick and forced her to swallow the thick tip in her wet maw. She let out a moan herself, aroused from what was happening around her.

“Such a little pervert,” Nightmare cackled, trailing her riding crop along Tia’s spine and getting her to raise her tail even higher up. “You are ours to do with whatever and however we want, sister dearest. Don’t you ever forget this or I will be quite displeased with you.”

Tia let out a heavy lewd moan as she began to bob her head upon my member, the vibrations made my mind get further addled with lust and I forced my dick further into her. A part of me despised me for enjoying this so much, but the bigger part only wanted to get off by shoving it in as far down her throat as I could go.

Fuck. I think I might be in heat myself, damnit. If I weren’t, I wouldn’t be going along with this so readily and my mind wouldn’t be in such a heavy haze of lust and need right now. Maybe it really wasn't my dick making me feel like this but every mare's curse. Stupid pony biology.

Nightmare mounted my sister right in front of me with a grin on her muzzle, pressing her rod into her without any hesitation whatsoever. Tia mewled out cutely around me and Nightmare tugged on my chain while she began to thrust into my twin, causing me to push my own shaft further down the throat of Celestia.

My twin breathed in sharply through her nostrils, trying to force enough air into her lungs to compensate for the awkward position we found ourselves in. It wasn’t helped by the fact that her breathing had picked up significantly after Nightmare started to plow her so recklessly.

This was no better than what I did back in the Crystal Empire, wasn't it? Worse, even. I felt sick that I was basically raping my wife with my sister this time around. I mean... this was a dream and Tia wouldn’t mind either way, but still. It was highly abusive behavior and I... I knew my wife would be waking up horny after this. Fuck.

Please. Please, please, please, don’t let her have a rape fetish, I thought with disdain and horror. By everything that was holy, my wife shouldn’t have such demented fetishes, I swear.

Too bad the lust currently ensnaring my mind was doing its best to reduce me to a slave to my body. All I could think of was ramming my dick into the throat of the beautiful mare that was my sister and getting off as fast as I could. I had enough presence of mind to not suffocate my wife and held myself back enough to not hurt her beyond what she could handle. But even then, the moaning voices of both my wife and Nightmare Moon drove me into a frenzy and the only thing that mattered at the moment was the pleasure running through my body.

I felt disgusted. Disgusted and ashamed. And yet, I didn't have enough willpower to stop myself. I was too weak for that. That, and I was selfish. I relished the feeling of being the dominant one, and for once, I could fully enjoy it. My sister wasn't fighting back against me, and if anything, I could tell she was trying her best to make it even better for me. As if she loved being able to suck dick again.

“M-Mistress! I’m close,” I grunted, moaning out as she yanked on the chain connected to my collar again. “How do you want me to finish?”

“Let’s see...” Nightmare hummed, not even stopping in her movements as she bucked into Celestia quite heavily. “How do I want my little pet to have her way with our slut of a sister?”

Tia giggled happily, apparently gleeful that she was in a position where we could do whatever we wanted with her. She tried to get my member out of her muzzle to say something, but I held her involuntarily back against me with a growl. The thought of being unable to finish put existential dread in me like my life depended on this one task only.

Was that how stallions felt like when they were close to orgasm? It never felt like that back on Earth and I doubt it was entirely normal. It felt more animalistic than anything.

Nightmare gave me a glare as she saw the momentary struggle between Tia and me. “Let the slut speak, pet,” she demanded of me, punishing me harshly with her riding crop at the same time. Chastised and startled, I jerked away from my twin, breathing heavily as a shudder went through me. “If she has an idea worthy of our time, I want to hear it.”

Celestia moaned ecstatically once she was free from me and she turned her heavily flushed face towards my mistress. “My queen, I... ngh! I want her to paint my body... ahn~! Yes, harder! F-fuck, so good! Mhhn, I want her to cum all over my face with her divine seed, please!” she begged, her panting only interrupted by the heavy thrust of my Nightmare. “Let me bathe in her cum, I beg you!”

“Through and through a pervert, huh?” Nightmare cackled, grinning widely as she bucked into her with renewed vigor. Clearly, she was turned on by the idea as much as my wife was. “Thy queen must admit, thy proposal hast merit. Pet, do as the... slut... requested... of thee. Mhhn! Fuck, yes! 'Tis feels so good! Squeeze our royal cock more, slut! Tremble beneath our might!”

“Yes!” Tia hummed back with a lewd whine, her eyes coming dangerously close to rolling up into her head as she barely kept herself from drooling, her mouth hanging open due to her difficulty of breathing in enough air. Then, I felt her magic surround my pulsing, needy shaft and begin pumping it with a slow rhythm at first before picking up speed once she screwed up enough concentration to do so without tugging painfully at it.

I would have protested vehemently against this a few minutes ago before we started with this mess of a dream, but if my wife was all for it, who was I to deny her this? If she really wanted me to coat her in a few strands of sticky cum, then I could do little to dissuade her from that.

On top of using her magic, my wife gave my penis a few kisses, licks, and careful nibbles. She went all out, and, as Celestia gave me a final lick on the tip of my member with that lewd grin on her muzzle, I felt myself let loose. Shot after shot flew out of my thick horse cock, spraying Tia from top to bottom. A few strands even landed upon my mistress. Not that she cared, fucking my twin senseless.

I had mixed feelings about this as my brain started to recover from the heavy dosage of lust, only to be assaulted by the intense orgasm playing havoc on my body. On the one hoof, I just enjoyed something that I felt like I shouldn’t enjoy under any circumstances ever, and on the other hoof, my conscience demanded of me to hate myself for it having been the wrong sex that brought me over the edge. My heart struggled to come to terms with what just happened and emotions of all kinds ran rampant within my body. I had no idea how I should feel at this moment, the only thing that came to my mind was self-loathing.

But hot damn, they both looked so fucking sexy like this, marked by my fluids while they continued to have crazy insane wild sex right there in front of me. I let out a snarl at my conflicting emotions, turning around and shoving my pussy in front of my twin as I felt tears building up at the edges of my vision. Fuck this shit, I want her to eat me out, damnit. Not suck my dick or jerk me off.

I needed something to take my mind off of these shitty emotions and my sister will please me where I wanted to be pleased, or there will be consequences for her afterward. The 'no sex for a year straight' kind of consequences.

Nightmare didn’t seem to care that I took the liberty to shove my marehood into Celestia’s face like that, continuing to plow into her with stamina I had no idea she possessed.

Moaning happily that Tia didn’t waste any time plunging her tongue into my eagerly waiting folds, I felt more at peace at the familiar sensation of my wife flicking her tongue back and forth in my slick tunnel.

This is exactly what I desired most out of the intimate act shared between us. While I can’t deny that it had felt (somewhat) good having offloaded cum shots all over my sisters, it didn’t manage to evoke the same feeling that I felt right now. The attention to my marehood calmed me considerably from the self-hatred I suffered from a few moments ago. I felt good and at peace, being taken care of like this. It made me happy. Euphoric, even.

I guess I won’t ever come fully to terms with being the target of the spell that I designed myself, huh? I really wanted to be more accepting of it, just to make Celestia and Luna happy, but I couldn’t help myself from still feeling disgusted at it. I wished I could go back to my ignorant self and let it be. I wanted to stop thinking about this, but... it felt like I was stuck in this endless loop of overthinking this.

Was I overthinking it, though?

Perhaps there was no way to get over this. Ugh. This was such a hassle, I thought with resentment. I was starting to hate my past self for the ignorance I displayed to the distress I felt about my gender, now. I was actually jealous of my past self. I didn't have to deal with all of this stupid mushy stuff back then. But on the other hoof, neither was I really living at peace with myself then, either. Not completely, that is.

I merely went through the motions, did all the stuff a 'man' was expected to do, and shut myself in as I wasn't all that good at it. I was basically the stay-at-home parent in our relationship because I liked doing it. My wife racked in all the big money and I never saw a reason to put in more effort to get a raise or a better-paying job. I was content raising our kids while making my hobby more-or-less into my reason to work instead of doing nothing with my spare time but playing video games (aside from doing various chores around the house, I suppose).

I never really lived as Rudolph Baker. And I only realized that now as I was reflecting back on everything I felt in conjecture to my identity. And, as I did that, I realized just how petty I was being, blaming my time as Rudolph Baker for everything I was feeling right now.

Just because I was male in my past life didn’t mean that my current life was bad. If anything, it was very much the opposite of bad. Sure, we had a prospering nation on our hooves weighing us down from time to time, but that's a hell of a lot better job than what I did as a human. I felt like I was actually doing something worthwhile as a princess, unlike what I had accomplished as a programmer.

Also, the fact I was biologically female was perhaps the best thing that could have ever happened to me, besides having my wife and her sister reincarnated here with me.

So many transgender people on Earth would be so jealous of me for literally being granted the life they wished for. Well, maybe not as a pony (even though that's totally awesome, too), but surely by being granted the body parts they longed for. Actually being born with them and not having to settle for the second-best option of surgery. Surgery could only do so much, after all.

All the struggle to reach a point where you could be happy with yourself and look into the mirror with a smile... and I skipped all of that. I got it for free (relatively free, I mean) and without hardships and discrimination along the way. If anything, the only thing bugging me about my new life was the fact that I felt like I didn’t deserve this chance. So many others on Earth were a lot more deserving of this than me.

Then again, there was also the ageless, nigh-immortal goddess of the sun thing going on that weighed heavily on my mind. While I had no doubt there was a vast amount of people on Earth that would have happily taken the offer of never really aging in a physical way past a certain age, I wouldn’t wish it upon my worst enemies.

Immortality wasn’t a happy existence and anypony claiming otherwise didn’t really understand the implications of such a life. Only a fool desires to live for eternity.

Living forever... something like that could only become bearable as long as there were others along the way, sharing the burden of loneliness with you as they stand beside you. I only had my sisters there with me, a thing I was very grateful for, but I feared what the passing of the rest of the population would do to me and my sisters. We would have to constantly watch ponies become old around us, losing friends to the process of aging we, ourselves, would be exempt from.

That could drive anypony to insanity if they lacked the fortitude to stay strong. A strength I feared I might lack, to be honest. Although, I might be able to draw strength from the thought of never having to leave my wife and sister, possibly even Starswirl, our only parental/grandfather figure left to us. If anything, I can hopefully keep my sanity by reminding myself that they are pretty much in the same boat as me. Together, we will make it through this for however long we can.

To be honest, the thought of guiding the ponies of our nation into a golden age for eternity did manage to excite me. We could actually make sure they would never turn out as humanity did, preaching peace and harmony through friendship and love.

Haah. That would be something, wouldn’t it?

I had no idea I could actually manage to get all philosophical while my twin sister was running her tongue all over my wet pussy, edging out happy moans from me at a frequently higher pace. Damn, that mare had quite the high stamina within her dream, judging by her own moans and the sounds of Nightmare still pounding into her like a friggin’ piston running out of control.

The lewd sounds coming from our passionate love-making were akin to a musical to my ears. But all good things had to come to an end at some point, although this ending was almost perfect. Tia managed to drive me to another orgasm with her wiggling tongue and she herself was overtaken by her own high as Nightmare finally finished within. Our Mistress pumped her huge horse cock into her snatch with a few last twitching (and awkward) movements, her eyes losing focus completely as she did so.

By everything holy, we had achieved utter bliss by reaching the climax all at the same time and it was the best thing that could have happened to take my mind off my worries entirely. Only this moment mattered and what a glorious moment it was.

My sisters seemed to be thinking along the same lines as I did, enjoying our collective orgasm just as much as I did. Once we were all spent and sufficiently calmed down, Nightmare brought us back to the chamber with the Soul Mirror. She dumped us unceremoniously on the bed, squeezing Celestia between her and myself, content to simply cuddle with us in her afterglow like a satisfied, overgrown cat. Tia was pleasantly surprised that we weren’t a figment of her imagination and that we hadn’t actually gone and become evil for the sake of it. Not that what we did was all that good, to begin with.

And, of fucking course, she asked us to ‘rape’ her again at some point in the future to sate her demented fetishes. For her, it didn’t matter whether we did it as Fallen Star and Nightmare Moon or as our slightly less majestic (but good) halves. Something I swore I would never let happen. Tia was seriously fucked up in her head if she honestly wanted us to do 'that' with her.

This... whatever this was that made her enjoy these absurd fantasies... it can’t be normal. I was concerned about what could have made her behave in a way like that and... feared what the answer to that might be.

Perhaps it was better to live in ignorance, instead. I was sure that the answer to this mysterious question would bring naught but ruin if I were to force it out of her. Besides... there was something else I needed to talk about with both of my sisters. Something that could just as well bring about the same amount of despair to them if not more so, if I were to be honest with myself.

Alas, it was a conversation I have to bring up at some point, as much as I didn't want to. I couldn’t hide it away from them any longer. The longer I waited, the worse it would become. Still, I was rather reluctant to ruin the mood to inform them of this dire news. Even so... they deserved to know about it, didn’t they?

I sighed, keeping my eyes down as I called out to them, avoiding their gazes outright as I fidgeted with my hooves. “There is something we need to talk about...” I said, dread filling my heart. I have to do this, I reminded myself. No more delaying like the chicken that I was.

“You’re not breaking up with us, are you?” my wife asked and I snorted out a laugh. How did she get that idea, of all things? Silly idiot. Breaking up, yeah right. Only in a million years, and even then, I doubt I... wait. Oh. Oh! I'm such an idiot. The whole ‘we need to talk’ thing might have given her the wrong idea, didn't it? Ugh. I should have worded that one better.

“No. Although...” I said, dragging out the last word and I giggled as my sister hit me on my side. “Okay, no more jokes! I get it, stop hitting me already, jeez.”

“Then get to the point, sister,” Nightmare sneered.

“Fair enough,” I said with a grimace, rubbing the back of my neck awkwardly. She's such an ice queen sometimes. “It would be better if you did this as Luna, though, Nightmare.”

My sister blinked in confusion, giving me a look. “What? Why would I need to switch back?”

“Well...” I whispered, my ears pressing themselves against the back of my head. “I don’t want you to... flip out, sister.”

“You know that I’ll just change back if this is as bad as you make it out to be,” Nightmare shot back and I winced. She might have a point there, but I would still feel better if she were in her other form for this. My sister did as I asked of her, grumbling all the while until she was back to being Luna.

“And why are you staying like this?” Tia asked me curiously. I bit my lower lip as I let out a sigh.

“For the confidence boost, I guess,” I answered. “Can I start now?”

“We’re waiting on you, dummy,” Celestia said with a raised brow and I chuckled weakly. Right. Might as well get this over with and stop stalling.

“I had a talk with Magic,” I began, both of them looking at me like I was crazy for having gone back to that asshole. “And I might have learned a few things that will change how you view the world...”

“Can’t be as bad as learning you and Tia love me,” Luna muttered.

“Well...” I whispered, wincing again. “Magic isn’t the only one in that plane of existence...”

“Then who else is there?” Celestia inquired and I mentioned all the others I had learned of. And I told them who, or rather, what they are.

“Let me get this straight,” Luna interrupted me. “Magic and her siblings are the Elements of Harmony, those crystals we saw on the branches on the Tree of Harmony?”

“More or less, yes,” I nodded with a helpless shrug. It does sound kind of ridiculous and far-fetched, doesn't it? “The important thing about them, though, is the fact that they were formerly alicorns, just like us.”

“Really?” Celestia asked, excited to learn more. “What were they like? How did they end up as the Elements of Harmony?”

I grimaced, seeing Tia so giddy over something that was, more or less, a painful reminder of their failures and our impending lonely existence. I guess some background information couldn't hurt before I get to the crux of the matter.

“Hope told me this story with a heavy heart, I will do my best to recount it,” I mumbled. “Basically, there is this process that can make a regular pony turn into an alicorn under the right circumstances. Besides Magic and Laughter, none of them were actually born as alicorns, but what surprised me was the fact that Hope told me she had also been a former human.”

Luna snorted. “Seriously?” she asked. “What? Are humans more prone to be reincarnated, or what?”

“I... I don’t know, Lulu,” I shrugged. “Hope didn’t say anything about that. Just that a reincarnated soul could start their new life as an alicorn, or be turned into one. But that is also true for other ponies that hadn’t been reincarnated before. Minus the ‘being born as an alicorn’ part, I guess.”

“Okay... so, how does one become an alicorn if they aren’t lucky like us?”

“That is something that Hope told me is a very rare to accomplish process, requiring an exorbitant amount of magic. And then, the pony trying to ascend needs to achieve the highest potential of their special talent they could, on top of that,” I explained, rubbing a hoof over the back of my other foreleg. “Basically, it is highly unlikely to happen on a whim, although still possible to some degree. But you can't brute force it for everypony.”

Luna narrowed her eyes at me, suspicious. “So, what else is there to this?" she asked, prodding me. "This can’t be everything, sister, or you wouldn’t have been so fearful to tell us, in the first place."

I gulped, my throat feeling suddenly dry. I was stalling again, wasn’t I? Damnit. “Depending on the... uh... 'domain' the newly ascended alicorn presides over, there are a few things you need to be aware of,” I answered, a reluctant feeling welling up inside of me. Perhaps a little bit of stalling wouldn’t hurt? Anything to ease them into the true meaning of their newfound 'immortal' existence... “Hope told me that aside from a power boost, all alicorns have a few things they hold power over that are associated with their calling.

"It's like becoming an aspect of your very special talent. Like we already had to find out, that means a certain amount of power your domain is associated with. For good or bad, you literally represent a part of that concept. Both the 'appreciated' part and the part you'd rather not face.

“For example, mine and Tia’s domain are over the suns. With that comes the power to control heat and light, among other things. We could use our abilities for nurturing life... or we could use them for destructive purposes, inflicting death.”

“Wow...” Celestia muttered, fidgeting slightly. “That’s... a lot of responsibility.”

“Yeah,” I laughed awkwardly, a bit queasy about what I had yet to share with her. “Responsibility...”

“What aren’t you telling us, sister?” Luna asked, staring intently at me. Oh, how I wished she hadn’t asked me that because now, I had no way out anymore. Please, don’t hate me for this...

“Hope also talked to me about what kind of responsibility would fall on the shoulders of me and Tia,” I sighed, biting my lip. Damn you, Luna, for being so... you. I couldn’t just lie my flanks off, you do not deserve this. Nor would it ever work. Not in a million years. “...you both know what happens at the end of the life cycle of a sun, right?”

“Yes...” Both of them nodded, a somber mood falling over them as they started to realize where I was going with this.

“Hope told me that Celestia and I would... bring about the destruction of life as we know it...” I muttered, a few tears running down the side of my head. “We are the ones that will usher in the end of the world.”

“...”

Neither of them said a word as I let that statement hang in the air like a looming specter. That was a revelation I feared talking with them about, but it wasn’t the only thing I was fearful of talking about. The bad news is far from over.

“...when?” Celestia asked, her voice barely loud enough that I almost missed her question entirely. I could see a few flames begin to appear within her mane as she stared back at me with golden eyes, the sclera of her eyes darkening considerably. Oh, no, no, no. This was bad, I thought, starting to panic. This hasn’t ever happened with my twin before, she had never lost control over her emotions like that. At least, not to such a degree that she actually started turning into her alter-ego.

“Hope wasn’t... very specific?” I offered, knowing full well that I was just trying to delay with that half-truth.

“When, Summer?!” she roared back and I stared fearfully at her as her entire mane was engulfed in solar flames. My tail tucked itself in as I found myself face to face with Daybreaker, reacting too late before she had me already pinned against the far wall of the room in the blink of an eye. The sneer on her face told me in no uncertain terms that she was ready to plunge her fangs into my throat if I dared to not give her a straight answer.

I let out a whimper.

“Whenever we think we need to?” I said, wincing as she let me fall to the ground like a sack of potatoes. I tried to stand back up, but my sister was faster than that. With incredible force, she pinned me to the ground as she put her whole weight on my throat with a snarl on her face.

“So, that’s it then, huh?” my sister growled, her magic throwing Luna away from us as she tried to come to my rescue. Daybreaker actually looked at me with genuine hate while I struggled uselessly underneath her. “We built this nation up for nothing? In a few years, it will become a ruin?!”

“Siftah...” I coughed, struggling to say something, anything at all as she constricted my windpipe with her hoof. This was making me afraid for my life and the thing about this dream was, that with Luna’s unique ability to dream walk, this could actually affect us in the waking world in a negative way if my twin decided to do something... violent.

“I’ve been a fool thinking that I could let my better half deal with everything that would have come up and contented myself with staying rational about everything,” she snapped and I let out a whine as I felt my vision darkening slowly. “By the way, the dream you and dear Lulu gave us was absolutely divine, beautiful. Too bad you had to ruin this night by bringing up that little tidbit of information. I wonder what I should do to punish you...”

“Hiftah...” I breathed out in a last desperate attempt to get her to step off of me. “Pweave...”

She gave me a contemplative look, deflecting a spell bolt from Luna nonchalantly with a shield as my little sister tried to break through her defense. Just when I thought I would suffocate in a friggin’ dream of all things, Daybreaker let up on the pressure she was putting on me. I gratefully filled my lungs with desperate gasps of air, pointedly ignoring the fact that one shouldn’t technically need to breathe in a dream in the first place, only to find her magic lifting me up against the wall by my throat again.

I let out a yelp as I felt her pluck out a feather with a sinister cackle. My sister patted the side of my head mockingly, trailing the feather slowly over my body in circles.

“Say, how long do you think I can tickle you until you pass out?” she asked me with a contemplative look and I shook my head desperately to dissuade her from going through with that threat. I tried to beg with her, but her grasp on me kept my jaw shut as well. “Or perhaps I need to inflict more pain?”

Tears streamed down my face as my twin plucked another feather from my wing. The moan escaping my throat edged her on to take a few more and I despaired. This is what I get for stalling like an idiot, isn’t it?

“Huh. I never thought you, of all ponies, would have had a fetish for this, dear,” Daybreaker mentioned, smirking as I unwillingly let out another moan while I cried for every feather that was taken from me. “Taking pleasure from pain... that must be a new development. Let me guess, Nightmare and that riding crop? Mhhn, I'm gonna rip out so much from your pretty body and make you sing for me~.”

I whimpered, let out a moan, and shrieked as she plucked four feathers at the same time, two from each wing. My eyes searched beggingly for my little sister, desperate for this to end. Daybreaker was way less gentle than Nightmare had been with her riding crop and I wished I could go back to her instead of my psychopath of a wife. She wouldn't subject me to this torture.

“Oh, how I like to see you squirm so much,” Daybreaker said, her tongue flicking along my cheek as she let out a lewd moan. “Your screams excite me, gorgeous. I want to taste more of those delightful tears. Don’t stop crying for me now, will you? How about a primary feather next? I think the 'fallen angel' look would suit you so well. Ah, hah, haah... yes~... mhhnn...”

It was all for naught. Trying to strain against my bindings was futile, I couldn’t budge a hoof even the slightest amount and I cried desperate tears. This wasn't Celestia. This was so unlike my wife, it was like she was possessed by a demon. Daybreaker was like the version of her that had absolutely no inhibitions against doing whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted. She existed for the sole purpose of sating her demented fetishes and she wouldn't stop to think for one moment about what her partner was feeling.

I screeched out as unimaginable pain wreaked havoc on my body when I felt a cut against my wing joint next, half of my primaries already laying discarded on the ground next to her hooves. Blurry eyes stared at what my sister had done, the limp wing on my left side was trickling blood down my body and I barely saw that she was licking her fang with a shuddering moan.

“Ahh... this taste is divine, mhhn~. It's so much better than those bitter tears,” Daybreaker chuckled, running her tongue over my injury with shuddering gasps again. “Perhaps I will content myself with drinking your blood, instead? It tastes so sweet~...”

“Stop... please...” I whimpered, already having given up with these futile struggles against her and I simply clung on to the hope that somepony, anypony, would come to my rescue.

“Mhh, ah hah hah! Why would I do that, gorgeous?” Daybreaker asked and I felt her fangs press against my throat as she took in a deep breath through her nostrils in excitement, taking in the scent of sheer fear reeking off of me. "I will play with you for the remaining time we have until the end approaches. Oh, yes! What point is there in holding myself back anymore if it is pointless?! I'll enjoy myself to the fullest until this pathetic world lies broken before my hooves!"

Despite all of that fear, there was a small part of me that found this... arousing. I didn’t want it to be like that, but for some reason, I couldn’t help myself from thinking that being held helplessly at the hooves of a vampiric being was sexy as hell. But I’d rather have that pony that held my life in her hooves be... Luna. Definitely not Daybreaker or Tia... not like this...

“Enough!” Luna roared and the dream world shattered around me, waking me up with a startled yelp. My little sister was beside me a moment later, running her hoof over my back as I bawled against her like a little foal.

“I’m here, I’m here,” Luna whispered gently, her icy aura sending a pleasant chill through my body, calming me immensely. “Whatever got into her head? That mule of a sister will hear it from me the next time we see her.”

My breathing slowly got steadier over the next few minutes and I just noticed I was back in the form of my better half. I must have been long before this and Daybreaker didn't care one bit. Everything that happened in the dream... it left me desperate for a kind touch. Especially since everything was still hurting despite there being no physical signs of anything having ever happened. It still left a mark on my soul, though.

At least the stupid male sex transformation wasn't active anymore here in the waking world. That was something, wasn't it?

Luna was content with me resting my head on her chest and I appreciated that she was simply there for me. I... I didn’t hold this against Tia, to be honest. Her dark half did scare me quite a lot, though. Especially since she was under the impression that she didn’t need to hold back anymore because of this 'impending apocalypse' she feared was right around the corner.

Fuck... that wasn’t how I ever thought my wife would treat me. It goes to show what kind of dark desires she was keeping herself away from if she drew pleasure from something that got dangerously close to torture.

Okay, okay. Scratch that, it was torture. Plain and simple. There were many things I could make excuses for and embellish, even lie to myself about, but I had to face the truth here. I could forgive my wife for pretty much anything, but what she did there was too much. I wouldn't ever be able to forget what happened, but... I also knew it wasn't purely her fault. Even with everything that happened, a small part of that fault lies with me. I stalled like an idiot and didn't fight back. As always, I held myself back because I was afraid and I got what I deserved for being a coward.

That's not to say I would forgive her for everything, though. For one thing, I didn't trust Daybreaker. And I don’t think I could ever have sex with her while she is like that. Not in the waking world or the dream world. Not without significant changes.

I still love her. She's my wife, and that will never change. Even as Daybreaker. I found myself unable to truly hate her darker half, if it even amounted to 'hate', in the first place.

Daybreaker was... something else. An adversary, cruel, sadistic, even a psychopath. But also fiercely passionate. The thought of everything being for naught scared her. And that alone told me there was still some good in her. That there was still a part of the pony I loved in her, aside from the perverted desires I knew my wife for. Deep down, she was still the same pony I vowed to spend my life with. In good times, as well as bad times. One lapse of judgment was not enough for me to condemn her.

She was still my wife, the love of my life. And Daybreaker was as much a part of her as Celestia Sol was. I would be a hypocrite if I couldn't give her that much. Because, if I didn't, I didn't deserve her and Luna's forgiveness, either. I hurt them a lot with my stupid actions, too.

For one thing, I forced them to give Platinum another chance. Or rather, leave her be. I know they would have rather murdered her and probably gotten away with it, too. Well, probably not with the law, but my inability to think badly of them. Then, there was the whole insanity thing and my own 'anger management' problems. When I explode, I... let's just say I had no idea how they kept giving me the time of day when I was being the Queen Bitch to them.

I have the same problems, just... in a slightly different form. And if 'I' deserved their forgiveness, then so does Daybreaker. I just... have to get used to the idea of being in the same room as my wife's darker half again.

I guess we really do need to set up a lot of ground rules to ensure there won't be a repeat performance to this degree in the future. A keyword or action should put an immediate stop to our actions, even if we are genuinely angry at the time. It wouldn’t do if one of us went too far (even while we were doing it in a dream).

Both of my sisters had a thing for inflicting pain while in the form of their darker halves, but they went at it in completely different ways. I actually thought it was quite nice to have Nightmare do that to me with her damn lovable crop. And I wasn't exempt from this. Fallen Star was just as bad as they were, in her own right. We all have to follow these rules or our relationship with each other won't work out in the long run. And I mean the 'long' run.

Ugh. There was still the matter of me having to bring the whole ‘almost-but-not-quite’ immortality thing up with them. Then again, I hadn’t really gotten the chance to talk about that without getting choked half to death, too preoccupied with trying to stall as much as I could. A fat load of good that decision had proven itself to be.

Eff my life. I’m sure my twin would go Daybreaker all over again when I got around to telling her that part. Not that I had much of a choice in that regard, seeing how my sister was currently on a very destructive path, indeed. I hope Lulu could keep her pacified long enough for me to tell her the bad news. Preferably before she woke up and had her way with half of the population in our nation.

I really do hope Luna can keep her from rampaging for real. I don't quite fancy having to use the 'Elements of Harmony' so soon after learning about them from Hope and her siblings. Not that I had any idea what they would exactly do or how to use them, in the first place. Nor do I want to use them on my own twin sister, for that matter.

I looked up at Luna’s face with a glum expression, sighing as she gave me a small questioning smile, silently telling me that whatever I was thinking about would be alright to tell her. Well... perhaps not the morbid thought I just had, but I guess I will have to start somewhere with the whole 'never getting old and wrinkly' part.

I wasn’t so sure she would take this that well, either. If anything, maybe the aspect of eternal youth might appeal to her in some way? She was by no means vain (at least, not to the degree Tia was), but even I found a very small part of that appealing. Okay, who am I kidding? It was the only consolation I took comfort in aside from having my sisters suffer through the same fate. I do like looking like a pretty pony, what can I say?

Anyway! I tried to muster up the (not so) considerable amount of courage I had in me, only for me to end up mumbling incoherent words out to her. Thankfully, my sister was very understanding of my troubles, already used to my crippling anxiety when I had to bring up serious topics that were not pleasant at all. She did not push me to open up and gave me the time I needed, quietly humming a melody that reminded me of Mom.

Her melodious voice calmed me down enough to where I mumbled out a hasty 'We’re immortal' and I clammed up on her immediately afterward. My ears pressed themselves against the back of my head as I heard her suck in air harshly, her heart skipping a beat.

“What?” Luna whispered in disbelief. “Have you just said we’re immortal?”

I nodded simply with the smallest incline of my head and I waited fearfully for what was sure to happen. But as I stared at her fur, I didn’t see it turn pitch black as I expected it to. Instead, she resumed the stroking motions on my back with a hoof and I heard her sigh.

“Well, that explains that, at least,” Luna muttered and I stared up at her quizzically, dumbfounded. That was not the response I expected to get from her. At all. “Summer, you look exactly the same as a decade or so ago. I am an artist, I do have an eye for detail, you know?"—she rolled her eyes at that—" Aside from all of us growing in height, we haven’t really aged in the sense that other ponies do.”

“Oh...” I simply stated. Luna gave me a sad smile and placed a small kiss on my lips.

“I've had my suspicions about that, especially during the time I kept to myself,” she said, a little frown appearing on her muzzle. “Did Hope tell you that?”

I shook my head, first in a negative but then changing it to a nod midway through after giving it a second thought. “I... uh... I had a dream by the Soul Mirror talking to myself. Star mentioned that I... we had the feeling something wasn’t right about our aging and proposed we seek Magic out to get some answers.”

“And then you found Hope, right?” Luna asked and I confirmed that with a little hum. “So, what did she say about this immortality? Is it true immortality?”

“No...” I answered, playing with the fur on her chest with a hoof. “But it is pretty close. You know how much power we got from taking up our mantle as the stewards of the heavens, right?”

My sister slowly raised a brow at me. “Yes, what has that got to do with this near-immortality?” she inquired.

“Hope told me an alicorn only dies if 'their time comes' or something of greater power slays them in combat,” I explained and she gave me a ‘huh’ at that. “Most likely destroying the source of their immortality in some way at the same time. For us, that would mean getting rid of our connection to the heavenly objects... by, you know... destroying them. In a way, we can choose when we want to die.”

“Is there no other way we can die if we wish to?” she asked me and I let out a hollow laugh. Luna gave me a concerned expression and I bit my lip.

“I mean, I'm sure there is a way to do so. Something about giving up our 'divinity' or so,” I shrugged, not entirely sure myself. Hope had said a lot but sort of not enough at the same time. “As I said to Tia before she went... you know... she and I will usher in the destruction of the world making way for change. In what way it will affect the future, I can’t say for certain, but I would like to at least make sure that when that happens, ponies will have found a way to traverse the universe. I’d rather not eradicate our subjects because I got weak and wanted to die...”

“Considering the lifespan of the sun that Earth orbited, I’d say we have enough time to come up with a solution,” Luna reassured me. “And I think I might know what I would have to cause...”

“What is that?” I whispered.

“I don’t think the night eternal thing came out of nowhere,” Lulu admitted and I agreed, it made oddly sense that her way of ushering in the apocalypse was by simply stopping her duty of lowering the moon and letting the tides of the ocean play havoc on the planet. Besides that, the planet would slowly start to freeze over on the half where the moon stayed up. And by that time, I’m sure Tia and I would do our best to raze this world to a burned crisp. “That vision when we took up our mantle wasn’t just for show, then...”

“Right... that. I almost forgot I had one of those, too. It was so short and confusing at the time and then there was the stuff that happened afterward with you and Tia. Besides talking about... you know, destroying the world... Hope and I had talked about something else entirely, too,” I admitted, nuzzling her chest softly. She smelled really nice... “There was this thing about Hope and her siblings sacrificing themselves to stop this 'Devourer of Life and Death' in order to keep it from erasing the universe. I think that thing might have been an eldritch horror from the Void or something.”

My sister snorted, giggling at the name of that thing. “Wow. That sounds really edgy,” she commented, barely keeping herself from outright laughing her flanks off. I mean... she was not wrong, per se. “So, that’s how they died? It seems like a worthy cause.”

“Yeah...” I agreed. I feel pretty bad for Hope and her siblings, to be honest. I can't imagine what that must be like, having lost their own physical appearance and then being denied the rest they deserved. It must be horrible for them. Still, considering the alternative... it was, by far, the preferable outcome. “Apparently the thing ate everything, even souls. Billions of them.”

“Souls? That’s... disturbing,” Luna muttered and I felt the same thing about that. “I mean, I can understand wanting to eat corrupted souls, especially after what Sombra did, but so many? And then not differentiate between tainted and untainted? By the moon...”

“Mhmm,” I hummed. “There is another part to being an alicorn, that being our ability to feast upon souls and cleanse them. Hope told me that every higher being could do so, even giving the example of the Grim Reaper.”

“Seriously? The Grim Reaper eats souls?” Luna asked me incredulously. “Didn’t Death guide souls to the next life instead of... you know... eating them?”

“Well,” I mumbled. “Hope made it out to be like the soul would be reborn afterward, so I’m not entirely sure how this works. I assume it’s more along the lines of the soul being a clean slate in order to start over, but Hope didn’t say much or anything about that. What she told me, though, was that there is this thing called the 'Shadowlands' and something about how the 'Machinery of Death' is more complicated than we think it is and so on...”

My sister dragged a hoof through her face. “This sounds like so much bullshit,” Luna grumbled and I let out a giggle, thinking back to how I reacted to that. “So, let me get this all in order. Firstly, alicorns have a domain they preside over with the associated aspects being part of their 'divine powers'. Secondly, as long as we decide to, we are basically almost immortal. Lastly, we can friggin’ eat souls to cleanse them of any corruption they may have. Anything else?”

“I, uhm...” I laughed nervously as one... no, two other things came to mind. Wait, there was actually a third thing, now that I thought about it. “I also learned of our actual purpose here besides us taking care of the suns and the moon.”

“Oh, sure, now Magic talks,” Luna snorted and I wilted a bit. “Or was it Hope that told you that? She sounds way more cooperative than that stupid asshole.”

I fidgeted with my wings, unsure how to exactly say it. So I just started with the easiest part. “After they sacrificed themselves, they lost their physical form and over time somehow got new bodies as these Elements of Harmony. They possess the power to do... 'something'... I don’t actually remember for certain if they talked about it or not. It was all a lot to take in, to be honest,” I explained, Luna nodding along as I continued on with the next part. “So, the spell that brought us here was designed in a way to bring a soul that is in harmony with itself to this world in order to combat the darkness left behind by the Devourer of Life and Death, in whatever form it manifests.”

“Okay... so I’m guessing that the spell looked for souls able to wield the Elements of Harmony and that we are the ones, right?” Luna asked to make sure and I nodded. That's one less part I would have to bring up, I suppose. “In addition to that, we are here for the purpose of fighting against these fragments left behind in their fight.”

“Yes...” I nodded, working up the courage to say the last thing that was on my mind. “There is one more thing...”

“Okay, I’m sure I can’t be surprised by anything anymore today, lay it on me,” Luna said and I grimaced. Oh, sweet sister of mine, if only you knew. If only you knew...

“Magic’s spell might have... taken us out of our proper time by, say, a thousand years or so?” I giggled awkwardly, feeling like a stone was weighing me down. Resentment started to appear on my sister’s face as the slow stroking movements on my back came to a halt.

“What?” she asked me with narrowed eyes.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much how I also reacted,” I said lamely, shrinking in on myself.

“Then how come I was born six years after you?” Luna demanded to know and I did my best to explain how Magic’s spell was basically on a pretty bad hiatus until Dad succeeded in doing the tango to impregnate Mom again. Weird metaphor aside, I gave her the ‘good’ news that we weren’t thrown into the future but the past.

“So there is a chance we will get to see your kids again?” Luna asked hopefully. “I don’t think my nieces took it too well after I died on them, too.”

“Yeah...” I said with a small smile. “We just have to find Earth now and wait. There is one thing I want to know, though...”

“And what would that be?” Luna inquired curiously.

“...how did you die?” I asked, dreading the answer. Her expression fell as I voiced my question. I felt bad as she tried to avoid looking at me. “It’s okay, you don’t have to tell me. I’m sorry for bringing this up...”

Luna sighed. “You don't have to be, it’s fine...” she whispered, sounding slightly dead on the inside. Then, despite my protest that she didn't have to do this now, she proceeded to slowly recount the events that led to her own death. Let’s just say she had done a few stupid things after Tia and I died and leave it at that. I don’t think something so personal and painful should be remembered.

To cheer her up, I gave her a long and deep kiss, much to her delight. I gently brushed my rear leg against her marehood as I felt a bit of lust well up within me. She moaned into my mouth and gave a grateful hum for taking her mind off of things.

Her forehooves snaked their way around me in a tight embrace, digging into my muscles, and had she had fingers, they would have surely left a mark right there. I giggled as she panted against me lustfully, nibbling on my lips and jaw every once in a while between kisses.

Before long we were grinding and bucking against each other in earnest, screaming out with pleasure as we rubbed our weeping pussies against each other’s legs.

“T-this is s-so much better t-than a dick could ever b-be,” I moaned out against her, loving every groping movement of her hooves over my body, especially when she gave me a few whacks against my flanks. The pain only aroused me more and I really wished she had her riding crop here with us. I might be getting addicted to the damn thing. “I love you s-so much, Lulu.”

“S-shut up and fuck me, sister!” she screamed out, moaning heavily. A lot of ‘Yes, right there!’ left her mouth right afterward and I made sure not to disappoint her as I gently bucked out with my rear, dragging my own marehood all over her hindleg in the process.

I’m sure I’m going to have a lot of bruises on my flanks after we were through with each other and I can’t tell for sure if they are going to be visible in the end. But at the moment, I found myself unable to care about that as I cried out against her while she let out lewd sounds, nicking me slightly on the neck, jaw, and cheek. If she keeps this up, I'm sure those will show for certain.

Both of us didn’t care that we were working up quite the sweat from the exercise of fucking each other silly, filling the room with our scent quite thoroughly. I was slightly turned on that it had a hint of horse to it (or rather pony in our case), the smell had become quite normal over the last thirty or so years.

And dear mother of all things, Luna’s particular scent was so very intoxicating to my nostrils, I couldn’t get enough of it as we continued to smear our fluids against each other and the bed.

“F-fuck!” Luna cried out against me as we bucked each other at the same time and I moaned out in agreement as stars temporarily filled my vision. “D-do that again, Sunny!”

“Mhmm, y-yes, sister,” I panted, coordinating myself with her and we managed to repeat the movement with fantastic pleasure coursing through our bodies afterward. “How c-close are you?”

“Not close e-enough, d-didn’t I already tell you to s-shut u-up?!” she whisper-moaned, deciding to shut me up herself as she shoved her tongue into my muzzle. I giggled, trying to win the war against her as we coordinated another buck against each other.

Once more stars danced through our vision and I tried to shake things up a bit by moving my hindleg in a circular fashion against her pussy, also doing my best to move my hips in the same way. It did wonders, I had to admit it, the pattern evoking the most interesting sensation with my aching nub.

My marehood was already begging for release, but I held myself from my climax as best as I could in order to finish at the same time as my sister. So, to even out the playing field a little bit, I decided to cheat. And by that I mean I absolutely abused the fact that the wing joints were quite sensitive to touch, not disregarding what a few featherlight touches on the feathers could do to a pony.

To round things out even more, I went for her horn as I disengaged from our little battle for dominance, licking multiple grooves at the same time. In the end, that rewarded me with many heavy, and more importantly, lewd moans from her as she screamed out her approval.

Together with our synchronized bucking, the massaging of her wing joints while slowly brushing the underside of her wings beneath me with my primary feathers, and the slow, sensual licks I gave her horn, I had her panting almost out of breath in no time.

“S-Summer, I... ahn~! I love you,” she mewled, her eyes crossing and I smiled, finally allowing myself to have my climax as she shuddered against me.

“And I you, Lulu,” I giggled, enjoying every twitch my body gave as I rode my high out with a few more awkward grinding movements. “So very much.”

"Mhmm..." she 'said', too out of it to reply how much she loved me, in turn. Not that she needed words to convey how she felt about me. Her actions alone showed her abundance of love for me, all of it contained in one gaze only. And ever since we confessed to her, that amount has been growing in her for me.

She really does love me above anything else, doesn't she? More so than even Tia does. I was so very lucky to have her...

“Lulu?” I asked after a minute or two of us lying there on the bed doing nothing. My sister let out a hum, looking me in the eyes with those beautiful turquoise orbs. “Do you wanna mawwy me?”

“Summer...” she rolled her eyes at my silliness, smiling softly. “If you want to propose to me, do it right. Seriously. How old are you?”

“Spoil my fun, why don’t you?” I pouted, grinning back at her. “But... if there ever is an option for that, would you?”

Luna sighed and I wilted slightly as she gave me a sad look. “You know as much as I do that our ponies would never approve of a marriage between siblings, you dolt,” she said and I nodded reluctantly. It really was a curse and a blessing to be reborn in the same family. “Although a private setting between you, Tia, and me would be nice...”

I smiled at that. “I can settle for nopony ever knowing about our marriage,” I said, giving her a loving nuzzle. “What matters most is that we know about it. It would have been nice not having to hide it, though.”

“Yeah...” Luna nodded slightly, letting out a yawn. “What about Tia?”

“What about her? I don’t think she would be against this. Not that I'm going to give her much of a choice in the matter....”

“That's now what I meant and you know it. It's not much of a guess to know what that perverted mare would say. My question was more about how are you going to tell Tia about the immortality thing?” she murmured sleepily, absolutely exhausted from what I had just done to her body. The fact she could probably sleep twenty-four-seven might also be a factor in how easily she could get herself to sleep. Lazy moon princess.

“I don’t know...” I sighed, hugging her against me with a wing draped over her possessively. I calmed myself down as best as I could, forcing my anxiety down from where it came from. “To be honest, I don’t feel like talking to her...”

“That’s a first for you, I’m shocked,” Luna commented and I wilted slightly at the remark. “Sunny... I’m sure she didn’t mean to be so forceful.”

“Intellectually I know that, but emotionally? I feel like I need some time away from her. At least for a little while,” I morosely said. “I can still feel my wings ache, Lulu.”

“Do you want me to talk with her?” she asked gently. I gave her a hesitant nod, looking away from her to hide my tears. “Hey, it’s okay, sister. I have my own few choice words for her, so don’t worry about it so much, okay?”

“Okay...” I nodded, smiling slightly as she gave me a kiss.

“Do you want to sleep?” she asked me and I thought about it. Sleep does sound nice right now. Even though we have barely been awake, it was still in the middle of the night. I gave her a small, timid nod and Luna used her power to grant me a dreamless sleep. “Rest easy now, sister. In the meantime, I will have a small 'chat' with Tia...”

I hummed sleepily, fully drifting off while happily snuggling her a little bit tighter against myself. The next few days would undoubtedly see us do a lot more kinky stuff while locked in our safe room, and I had to admit I was looking forward to it.

My sweet Moon was entirely of the same opinion and our bond would only grow from this point on...

Chapter 011 - Spieglein, Spieglein an der Wand, welches von allen ist das gefährlichste Land?

Author's Notes:

The first (obvious) crossover of the story arrives! Took a while, but here it finally is! So, as always, if you don't want to spoiler yourself (either for this story or the source material), don't look at the covered-up stuff here in the author's note. Don't worry, it totally is top-secret stuff you shouldn't look at, anyway. Give it a chance even if you are unfamiliar with it! :3

For reference's sake, here are the dresses Celestia and Luna are wearing later in the chapter: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgIsqldUcAEDm2R?format=jpg&name=large

My Little Pony-specific spoilers:
My Little Pony comic: Fiendship is Magic - Tirek
My Little Pony comic: Legend of Magic Annual 2018

Crossover-specific spoilers:
World of Warcraft - Warlords of Draenor Intro Quest Cutscene
World of Warcraft - Jade Forest Ending Spoilers
Various other World of Warcraft lore-related spoilers (nothing from the recent expansion, though)

Crossover-specific warning:
Keep in mind that there will be more violence in this chapter and certain things might seem confusing to those with no knowledge of World of Warcraft. I tried to keep everything to 'you don't really need to know anything about it to enjoy it'.

Translation of the title:
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, which one is the most dangerous Land of Them All?

Also, a 'little' warning (because I know you guys just love them... probably not, sorry :3 ):
I, under no circumstances ever, condone anything in regard to Tia's backstory. I am almost certain I will get angry comments for this, so keep in mind that, if I could, I would be the first in line for a man-hunt if it were possible to go after fictional characters (and believe me, for me to admit that I want to enact vengeance upon those type of people takes a lot because, as naïve as I am most of the time hoping for the best in people's hearts, I know there are actually people that are depraved like that and it riles me up like no other thing ever could). The same goes for >forced< rape (I don't care if you are into consensual rape roleplay, I don't judge any of you that have a kink for that), and anyone that comments something along the lines of 'I don't care, I get off from that' gets their comment deleted. I don't tolerate things of that nature, at all. So, if you think of accusing me of condoning something like that, then you are deeply mistaken.

Sorry for the rant, it had to be said. Anyway, I hope you guys enjoy the chapter.

Also: I am totally not sorry for how long the chapter is. Deal with it. *laughs madly in her little corner*

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Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

The weeks after Luna talked with Celestia were... a bit weird, to say the least. Tia danced on eggshells around me, profusely apologizing to me time after time for what she had done to me in the dream realm because she was too impatient (and admittedly quite enraged) to listen for me to end the recount of what I had learned from Hope and her siblings.

She showered me with gifts here and there, be it breakfast in bed or other things like flowers, chocolate, plushies, and whatnot. Luna had her sleep on the couch for a few weeks after our 'time of the year' was finally over, and I wasn’t sure how to feel about it. Tia had gone into heat herself, practically leaving our nation unattended were it not for Starswirl, Clover, and his friends acting as a stand-in.

Suffice it to say, Starswirl wasn’t entirely happy with us but understood that we couldn’t simply fulfill our tasks regularly in the state that we were in (which also emphasized the importance for us to find trustworthy aides and temporary stand-ins we could delegate some of our tasks to in case it ever happened to overlap like this again). And I felt really bad that we had left Tia out of our fun time that turned into a frenzied sex fest the longer time went on, so it was sort of easy to forgive her after leaving her hanging like that.

That didn’t mean that I was going to be in the mood to have sex with her any time soon, though. Not after how Daybreaker had been too rough with me and basically tortured me in a sad display of 'pain play'. This was her punishment for that. What did a perverted Celestia fear most? Not having somepony to molest.

It was the worst punishment I could think of aside from keeping my distance from her for some time, and it showed in her mood. Tia was extremely downtrodden and Luna had to convince me to not go easy on her to really hammer the lesson into her thick skull. It felt a bit mean to her, but my sweet Moon was also right. I can't just always instantly forgive and forget everything she does, I have to be more assertive. Tia was too used to having her way with me in whatever way she wanted, neither of us was able to recognize when it got too abusive and toxic until she crossed the line.

I guess I never really minded it too much. I was far too used to her perverted shenanigans, I simply thought it was 'normal' like this. But that's more or less alright. I was fine with it, to be honest. As long as she was able to recognize what I liked and didn't like, we could make it work out with a bit more communication along the way. No big deal.

Haah... who would have guessed Luna was the most mature one in our bunch? I do miss those easy days when we could just have fun and be ignorant of 'grown-up stuff'. Sadly, even with reincarnation, you couldn't stop yourself from growing up. I would never really get rid of that little bit of immaturity in me (nor did I want to), but I also couldn't simply pretend I wasn't an adult that got a second chance at life.

It was funny, really. Until puberty hit me, that never really hammered itself into me. I was how old now? Over seventy if I added both of my lifetimes together, but it didn't really feel like that to me. Heck, even before I was reincarnated, I never really felt like I was four decades old. If anything, my kind of life experience stagnated when I was twenty or so and I just bumbled around life until now. I certainly still feel like a horny teenager from time to time (especially around my sisters during estrus).

But that's enough of that. Aside from Tia being essentially in the dog house for as long as Luna saw fit, we returned to our usual routine of holding court and talking with dignitaries and the like (which didn't really help make me feel any less small in the grander scheme of things, trying not to screw up too badly). It wasn't by any means easy, but I was starting to get a feel for who was genuine with us and who wasn't.

I can't say I missed paperwork, but some ponies made me wish I didn't have to deal with their hidden barbs and the thinly-veiled smug superiority when they tried to outsmart us. Which happened more often than I cared to count, really. It was nerve-wracking and sometimes I would just cry in my bed, feeling exhausted beyond belief.

Such was the burden of the crown...

Not all of them were bad, though. It was mainly Platinum's posse that got on my nerves. Most of the foreign emissaries were pleasant enough to deal with. The hippogriffs were one such example. They were very honorable and Queen Novo kind of took pity on us? I mean, she helped us out wherever she could in the name of 'friendship', but I could tell it was more because she took a liking to us in particular. She had been a friend of Amore and genuinely thought we were good ponies that were in over our heads.

It was a bit demeaning of her to treat us like children, but I guess she meant well. Not unlike the deer, though. The deer were just haughty and had a thing against stone, for whatever reason. Oh, and we, uh... might have built our castle in their territory by accident. Yeah...

To be honest, though, King Aspen considered all forests to be 'their' territory because of some ancient wood spirit blessing their race with nature magic. Which they took as some kind of task or mission to protect all forests from harm, go figure. As I said, they are haughty and arrogant, but also well-meaning in their own right. Humanity could have really used a bit of that attitude, in my opinion. If only to prevent the erosion of the rainforests and poisoning the ocean with toxic waste.

One particular emissary stood out to me, though. Mainly because the leader of that envoy had a suspiciously human-looking upper body with red skin. Nothing says demon lord more than red skin and a pitch-black sclera with yellow irises. Well, the centaur did look rather grandfatherly, all things considered.

“Greetings, Princesses of Equestria,” he spoke up once he came to a halt a respectful distance away from us, giving us a bow. “I am here to correct the wrongdoing of one of my... 'subjects'. My name is King Vorak.”

“Well met, King Vorak,” Celestia spoke up and we watched as their group brought forth a weakened unicorn stallion with a purple mane and blue eyes. That instantly managed to make Tia wary of him. “What is one of our ponies doing with you, and why does he look so frail?”

King Vorak gave the pony a sad glance before looking back over to us, an ashamed quality in his eyes. “My apologies, we did our best to get him back to full strength,” he told us. “Rest assured that the one who took your subject from you against his will is being punished accordingly. The hermit known as Sendak has acted without any knowledge on our nation's part. I ask that you do not think too lowly of my kingdom. I would understand if you wanted to have nothing to do with me or my wife, Queen Haydon. But please, I humbly ask of you to not think all of us to be like him...”

“Was he also the one to leave him in this state?” I asked, motioning for the unicorn that was currently being looked at by our own healers. Poor thing...

“He... "—King Vorak hesitated before steeling himself—"No, Princess Summer,” Vorak muttered with a deep scowl. “That fault lies with my foolish son, Tirek.”

“I see...” I sighed. “And what has been done for disciplinary actions to make sure he won’t be repeating what he did to our subject? For that matter, what did he do?”

“I... I’m sorry to say, he drained the unicorn of almost all magic,” King Vorak admitted. After what happened back before we took up our mantle, it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Ponies losing their magic was a big deal, after all. Not to mention, the deaths it had caused... “For now, my son is under watch and not to leave the castle, or even his chamber, altogether.”

“How old is your son?” Luna asked, her voice hard as she glared at the centaur king before us. “Is he truly lusting for the power of others? A prince? The one to inherit the throne?”

“I will make sure to drive this behavior out of him, make no mistakes,” Vorak shot back. “But this is a matter of family, I will not let an outsider belittle me for how I raise my son.”

My sister merely gave him a raised brow in response to him taking offense to that. “See that you do, King Vorak. Such desires lead even the most steadfast of ponies down a very dark path,” Luna told him and I agreed with her. The same was true for Sombra after he got corrupted by this ‘Mother’ of his. A path I had gotten quite close to in my own madness, although magic and souls were two entirely different things. Even now I was tempted by these dark whispers, every once in a while.

I know Hope had told me that it was a part of who we are, but it still left me feeling queasy. Eating a soul... I don’t think I could ever do that. It felt like a violation of everything I valued most. I’d rather find other ways to cleanse a soul than by consuming it.

“And what will you do for reparations between our nations?” my wife asked, staring at him with narrowed eyes and furrowed brows while otherwise looking calm. I could see the shimmer of heat around her, though. It was subtle, but she was angry with him. One of our ponies was hurt by his son's actions and she took exception to that. “We would at least expect a public apology.”

“That and I’m more than willing to sign a non-aggression pact with you for as long as I live,” he sighed in resignation. Clearly, he wasn’t looking out for himself and was quite humble it seemed (as humble as one could be, given the situation). It was a shame that his son didn’t share the same traits he held close to his heart. I’m not sure this type of incident warranted a non-aggression pact to make up for it, but I wouldn’t say no to that. “Believe me, I would rather avoid a war with Equestria if at all possible.”

“Very well,” Celestia nodded, seemingly appeased by his offer. As we left the throne room to begin more detailed negotiations with King Vorak, I made sure to see if the poor unicorn would be alright. The healers assured me that he would make a full recovery and he himself told me that he was glad to be back home and that he looked forward to returning to his family, alive and well.

The stallion had a very interesting Cutie Mark, I had to admit. It looked eerily similar to Saturn, the planet depicted in his mark being pink instead with a few stars around it. He proudly explained to me that he was an astronomer and had gotten his Cutie Mark for discovering the planet in his youth.

I said my goodbye to the stallion, learning his name just as I was about to leave. I gave Dusk Comet the reassurance that he was always welcome to ask for funding in his studies of the universe if he needed it, catching up with my sisters in the conference room afterward.

A celestial Cutie Mark, how curious... I wonder what he will accomplish. Or one of his descendants, considering the same thing runs in our family, too.

Anyway, the discussion with King Vorak went on for quite some time, actually lasting multiple days as we hashed out further agreements between our two nations. We also came up with some rather advantageous trade deals to further cement our new friendship. They were sorely lacking in timber and had an abundance of various stones, among that being one of the highest quality marble this world had to offer. Canterlot was actually built from that very same marble and with that trade deal, we could get at that stone a lot easier and cheaper.

King Vorak was a very strict man (or are centaur males called stallions?) and well-versed in politics, he even gave us tips about ruling a nation from his own experiences. It was nice to get an outsider’s perspective from him, it taught us quite a lot. Especially for how we could deal with the less trustworthy members of the nobility. Or shady ponies in general.

His tips on how to deal with brown nosers and nobles plotting against the crown were invaluable and I made sure to talk with Luna and Tia in private about establishing a spy network for the sake of being informed of what happens behind closed doors within our own nation.

I might be mainly pushing for that to keep tabs on Platinum, although I had my doubts even the best-trained agents could fool that prissy former princess. She was already suspicious enough of us and I feared her resentment would put any agent we send her way in danger.

Luna was a bit queasy about using subterfuge to spy on ponies, especially on our own subjects, but she also saw the need for that. Celestia pretty much agreed instantly with me, no questions asked. However, I think she just wanted to further her own vendetta against ‘Princess Bitchface’ as Luna had dubbed her quite eloquently since we first met her.

The visit of King Vorak was over all too soon and together with his entourage, we sent him off with optimistic farewells. All in all, this incident had unexpectedly good results for all involved. Well, maybe not for Dusk that much, he was at least grateful that so much support was going his way.

Besides the odd few experiments and a ton of assignments from Starswirl to further our political and magical education, something we complained about quite vocally (he always gave us way too much to go through), nothing too interesting happened as months turned into several years. Well, there was still the mystery of the mysterious crimes happening around Equestria.

And as we found out, it was of a magical nature, after all. Starswirl was gone for quite some time while we were busy ruling the nation and trying our best to keep up with our lessons. I was immensely glad for the helping hooves of Clover the Clever. Seriously, without him, we would have been thoroughly lost (he was a way better teacher than Starswirl, not that our mentor was bad, per se).

Our friend couldn’t tell us that much about what Starswirl was doing, the only thing we learned was that our mutual mentor was with a group of his trusted ‘friends’ (Starswirl didn’t “do” friends, which was kinda sad in my opinion) investigating the cause of the strange magic causing ponies to fight.

Apparently one of those friends of Starswirl was a pegasus from the Cloudsdale Royal Legion. I didn’t know he had friends in the military. Perhaps one day we will get to meet these so-called 'not-friends' of his that he had never mentioned to us before, but getting answers out of that old coot was like pulling teeth. The cryptic stallion couldn’t give us a straight answer, ever.

Just like he never told us where he actually went, most of the time. It was rather easy to tell when he was going to be in dangerous situations, though. Every time he went away for any length of time and told us to stay where we were, we knew that there was a chance for him to not return.

I just wish he would trust us more. We weren’t little fillies anymore (even if we might behave like that from time to time). We were supposed to be Equestria’s guardians, right? Shouldn’t we help him out if we could? Our power surely could have been of great help, so I was unable to understand why he was so reluctant to let us help him with the more serious threats he encountered. But after the incident with Sombra, I suppose he didn’t want to risk us getting hurt.

Besides that, things were more or less back to normal between Celestia and me. The only thing that remained awkward was the way she acted around me when she was in the form of Daybreaker. Daybreaker suddenly turned a lot more, uh... how do I say this... submissive while I was around her. Like... extremely so. It was beginning to weird me out, to be honest.

One thing that kept bugging me about the incident with Dusk and this hermit that had held him captive was the question of how exactly he got ahold of our subject. A centaur would have stood out like a flying penguin dancing around a street corner in a pink tutu. Dusk didn’t remember much of how he got captured in the first place, but he surely would have been aware of a friggin’ centaur in the middle of Canterlot.

It would remain an unsolved mystery, I fear. More importantly, Celestia and I turned forty. It was quite a memorable birthday, because, at that point, we had been ponies for as long as we had been humans in our previous life.

Oh, Starswirl was also back from his little trip that took entirely too long in my opinion. He didn’t even bring us any souvenirs back, sadly. Well, there was something that he had for us. It wasn’t what I expected, though.

Let’s just say that the sight we were invited to at the mansion in Canterlot was... something else. The mansion, if one could call it that (it was a friggin’ palace bigger than our own castle in the Everfree), was absolutely packed full. Not with ponies, though, or even with ordinary furniture or chests and the like for storage.

No. This was something else, entirely...

“...Starswirl?” I asked, looking around me at all the differently shaped mirrors as I tried not to hide behind my mane in discomfort. “What is this?”

“Summer, dear,” Starswirl looked at me, stroking his beard sagely. “I would think you would know what a mirror is.”

I glared at him, not one bit amused. Definitely not amused. This right here bordered on obsession. The old coot had obviously continued experimenting with different dimensions on his own.

“Starswirl, this”—I pointed at the seemingly endless amount of mirrors all around us with a twitching eyelid—” is not normal,” I stated, exasperated beyond belief. Ponies were bringing in even more as we stood in a veritable hallway of portals leading to other worlds.

“You know, my sister is right about this,” Celestia said, looking around her with an equally queasy expression on her muzzle as mine. Then again, I was feeling even worse than her. These mirrors weren’t even reflecting anything back at us. It's downright creepy. “This is ridiculous, you crazy old geezer. And also seriously disturbing.”

Starswirl scoffed, frowning in displeasure. “Hmph, don’t be like that, Princess,” he said with cold eyes directed back at her. “We have used a prototype mirror like this in the past, have we not? This is in no way different from that, only on a slightly larger scale. Just think about the possibilities for Equestria. We could learn so much!”

“Oh, sure... slightly larger scale my flank,” I rolled my eyes. He's gone mad, I could tell. “Ripping holes into the universe is already risky, this makes it only worse. Sometimes I wonder which one of us is the ‘moody teenager’ here, Starswirl.”

Our mentor chuckled. “Now, now, don’t you say those words with such a snide tone, Princess,” he chided me and I pouted back at him. “I call you that one time and I never get to hear the end of it (even though it is true).”

“Just because we are a bit immature from time to time doesn’t mean we’re still teenagers...” I grumbled, kicking a hoof in frustration, and Starswirl rolled his eyes. “We might age to maturity slower (if it happens at all), but that doesn’t mean our age doesn’t matter...”

Tia made a face. “I agree with my sister, it gets annoying being treated like a little filly half of the time you give us ‘lessons’ (if they can be called that...), and sometimes it feels like you are coddling us. We can take care of ourselves, we aren’t completely useless. And with how often you go on those dangerous missions with those ‘not-friends’ of yours, I would have thought you would be a lot more cautious with this after our experiments with the first mirror, Starswirl,” Celestia argued. “Who knows what might come out of them if something were to stumble across the portal on the other end of these mirrors.”

Our mentor came to a halt at that, turning to her with that 'disappointed teacher' look in his eyes as his frown deepened. “I ‘coddle’ you so much because quite obviously you aren’t yet experienced enough to handle major threats to Equestria by yourselves. Sombra is enough evidence of that,“ he said and I winced, shrinking in on myself. That was a low blow. “And if you are so worried about something finding the portal on the other side, I can assure you that won’t be a problem.”

Starswirl went over to one of the mirrors, motioning for us to come and see for ourselves as he casually stuck his head through one of the mirrors. I looked at Tia hesitatingly and she let out a sigh. She grumbled as she joined Starswirl at his side, sticking her own head in.

I fidgeted slightly as Starswirl tried to convince us that there was practically no danger involved with this. He was of the firm belief that learning and studying other dimensions made them less dangerous.

I can’t say I really agreed with that sentiment, to be honest. Just thinking of all the possible eldritch horrors that could abuse a bridge between universes like that was enough to make a shiver run down my spine.

It was a little bit funny to hear them continue to talk while they were standing there with their heads in the mirror, though...

“I don’t know, Starswirl,” I said, rubbing my foreleg with a hoof. “This many gateways can’t possibly be safe, even if they are disguised on the other side as you say they are.”

Our mentor let out a groan at that. “Princess Summer, my dear. You can’t live your life in fear of an infinitely small possibility like that and ignore all of the knowledge right in front of your eyes!” he shot back, coming back out of the mirror with his head. “Besides, I am here to safeguard these. Nothing will get past me, rest assured.”

“If you say so...” I mumbled. “I hope you’re right about this.”

“Knowledge is power, as a wise mage has once said,” Starswirl chuckled. “And he should know, he himself was somewhat of an expert in traveling between dimensions.”

“Do we know him?” Celestia giggled, lightly nudging his shoulder.

“Oh, no, no. I’m not referring to myself for once,” Starswirl smiled cryptically. “Perhaps one day I will introduce you to him, Princess.”

“He must be a powerful wizard if he travels through the Void in Between,” I noted and he merely nodded. Sadly, he didn’t even give us a name, I’m sure Tia would have been able to find a book about him somewhere.

“Summer? Celestia? Starswirl?” Luna’s voice called out and I turned around, looking back down the hall as our sister came into view. “Here you all are. For a moment I thought I lost my way around here. Why are there so many mirrors here?”

“Blame this old coot,” I mentioned, pointing to Starswirl. “He thinks it a wise idea to go through with the portal project on a larger scale than before.”

“How did you even find so many other universes?” Luna asked, also looking queasily at the mirrors without reflections in them.

“He is a crazy scientist, what do you think?” Celestia mentioned, rolling her eyes. Starswirl gave a small huff, sending a small glare her way.

“I seem to remember your own enthusiasm as we worked together on the prototype before you abandoned me to do the work all on my own,” he reprimanded her. “Besides, after the first refined version was finished, it was quite easy to access other realities.”

“She kinda has a duty to fulfill, you know,” I muttered, thinking back to how bad they had actually gotten in their mad scientist schemes.

“Be that as it may,” Starswirl started before every single mirror suddenly turned black around us. I looked around us, startled. A strange glow began to emit from all of them and then a sinister (but strangely squeaky) voice began to fill the room.

“There they are! The Destroyers!” it called out, making me jump towards my sisters in fright.

“Get them, you fool!” another said, and then grinning shadows sprang forth from the mirrors, staring down at us with glee.

“Take all three of them,” the first voice commanded the rest of the shadowy creatures. “Kill that wizard, he is of no importance to us.”

“Girls,” Starswirl said, his voice stern. “Get behind me.”

I stuck close to my sisters as Starswirl started to sling one powerful spell after another against these monsters, binding them as best as he could. For a moment I thought he would be able to handle this situation without much effort as he sent the ones in his grasp back into the mirror. Only for dozens more to appear, surrounding us on all sides.

My sister was quick to shoot superheated lances of solar energy at the encroaching shadows. “Don’t come any closer,” she roared, furious. Not that that seemed to deter any of them.

Despite my fear, I swallowed my existential dread and breathed in deeply as Mother's training kicked in and I focused on doing something instead of being a burden to my sisters and Starswirl. Since my surge as a young foal, I've come a long way and my mana reacted accordingly. Unlike the raging font of power it was back then, I had it (more or less) under full control now, and calling forth my magic was like a brilliant flare as I didn't hold back. And while I couldn't unleash my full power with Starswirl by our side, the beam was more than enough to push them back.

Meanwhile, Luna used her connection to the tides to call forth water, freezing some of the shadows solid. Despite our best efforts, though, it didn't feel like we were making any progress. Luna's ice magic appeared to be the most effective, but our opponents quickly wizened up to our strategy and didn't give her any chance to pick out easy targets.

“Starswirl!” I called out, crying for help as more and more replaced the ones we fought against. We were trying our best, but for some unfathomable reason, Tia's and my magic were unable to do much against these foes.

“Foolish wizard, we aren’t here to seek victory,” the shadow that had spoken first chuckled sinisterly. “We seek only destruction!”

“In that case,” Starswirl shouted back. “This ends now!”

His magic aura flared up brightly as a vortex of magic was unleashed within the room, sucking in the dark creatures. We stared in amazement as our mentor just single-hoofedly took care of the beings invading our land.

But our luck ran out, sadly. My heart plummeted as Starswirl was tackled by a crafty shadow creature that had avoided the initial pull of his spell. And then everything started to go out of control as some of the mirrors began to get drawn in by the vortex.

I watched in horror as one mirror fell on Starswirl, sending him off to a different world. To make matters worse, the mirror shattered on the ground after our mentor had been forced through it and I cried out in denial as the only gateway back for him was destroyed right in front of my eyes.

“NO!” I screeched out, a massive circular wave of solar magic erupted from me, singing everything around us as it pushed against these monsters with such incredible force that they were momentarily thrown away from us. Only a few mirrors still looked to be intact, by the looks of it.

The integrity of the remaining mirrors was the last thing on my mind, though. I was in disbelief over the fact that our dear mentor was gone, just like that. In the end, I lost another pony I held dear to my heart and I was unable to prevent it. Even with him right there, I couldn't do anything. It was all over before I even truly registered what was happening.

Would I forever be cursed to lose the ones I loved most, even before their time had come? Starswirl... I... I'm so sorry. With the mirror in shambles, there was no way we could ever repair it to bring you back. I’m truly sorry. I'm such a failure...

It... it should have been me that the mirror... I couldn’t even finish that thought in my suffocating grief. The universe was a cruel mistress and all I felt was despair.

Despair at losing all of those close to me. It was only a matter of time, wasn’t it? Would I... would I also lose my sisters? My sweet Moon and my beloved Twin Sun?

I couldn’t let that happen... not again. Not with them...

A scream dragged me out of my shock and I looked over to see them grasping at my wife. “Let go of me, you cretin!” Celestia shouted, struggling as more and more of the shadowy creatures took hold of her, dragging her toward one of the remaining mirrors. I gasped, narrowing my eyes at the ones that dared try to take away my love from me. Luna and I ran after her, trying everything to keep her with us, but... our magic just slipped off of her everywhere the monster’s claws held tightly onto her. “I am Celestia, Princess of Equestria! I command the heavenly sun! I will not let...”

“Tia..!” I called after her, jumping towards her in a last desperate attempt to keep her away from the mirror as I reached out a hoof to her. But it was of no use. More of the fiends grabbed Luna and me, dragging us with our sister into the mirror.

A few moments later I lost consciousness as these monsters subdued us while we were moving through the bridge connecting our world to theirs. I was immensely glad as Luna brought us into a shared dream.

“Can you wake us up, Lulu?” Celestia asked, hugging me tightly to her chest as I sniffled in her embrace, hopeless. We were completely powerless against these things, whatever they truly are. Light and flames did nothing against them, something I would have thought should have been effective against creatures made out of shadows. It almost seemed like they were specifically made to capture us, as crazy as the idea sounded to me.

Luna gave her a grimace. “I could...” she answered although her gaze drifted downward, sullen. “But if that would accomplish anything is an entirely different matter. They would simply render us unconscious again.”

“True...” Celestia sighed, non too happy about it. “What do you think we should do then?”

“I... I don’t think we can do anything,” I muttered, causing both of them to look at me. “They mentioned us as the Destroyers, right? There is only one thing they could mean by that.”

“You don’t think they will force us to do that, do you?” Celestia glowered and I let out a shaky sigh as I nodded reluctantly. And here I thought I had more time until that would become relevant to us. A lot more time. Maybe Daybreaker was right to be so mad about it.

“I don’t know how they intend to accomplish this...” I admitted, my ears pressed firmly to the back of my head in despair. “However, there is no doubt in my mind that that is their goal. I'm sorry, sister.”

“But aren’t we at peace with our darker halves?” Luna inquired with a raised brow. “They can’t convince us to go through with that even while in the form of our alter-egos. They can't force us if we're not willing to do... that.”

“That might be true,” Celestia winced slightly. “We aren’t immune to corruption, though. Even if they torture us for months or years, at one point or another, we are going to break.”

“We can’t just sit idly by...” I muttered.

“Summer, I don't know if you haven't noticed it yet, but we are trapped here,” Luna growled, stomping a hoof on the chamber floor. “I can’t force us to wake up each and every time we get knocked out as soon as we even begin to show signs of waking up from slumber. It's useless, we lost.”

“I know... this just feels so...” I shot back irritatedly, searching for the right word.

“Soul-crushing?” Celestia offered sadly and I shrugged. It’s a pretty good way to describe how I felt, although still not enough to emphasize just how soul-crushing it truly was.

I sighed dejectedly. “Do you think Starswirl is okay?” I asked. “What if he can’t find his way back to our Equestria?”

“I’m sure he will find his way back somehow,” Luna reassured me, if only slightly. “He is still an archmage of the highest class. Starswirl has to have some kind of contingency plan if he ever got lost in another reality. He's not that stupid and senile.”

“Still, even if he does get back, what good will it do if we are forced to fight against him? Or if there's nothing to go back to, in the first place?” Tia argued. “Let’s face it, we’re all that we have and we should accept that our end approaches. I’m sorry it has to end this way... I am so sorry. I wish I had some kind of forewarning for this, maybe then we could have avoided this. I failed you.”

“Don’t blame yourself, Tia,” I said, giving her a small, reassuring peck on her lips. “You can’t control your ability like we can, it’s not your fault.”

“And we aren’t corrupted yet, sister,” Luna smiled shakily. “Perhaps somepony will come to our rescue?”

“I wouldn’t bet on it,” my twin muttered. Tia got a bit nervous as she looked at Luna. “So... do you want to marry us here? While we still can?”

“Oh?” Luna asked, her smile getting a bit brighter. “Do I not get a ring?”

“If we should get back home in the unlikely event that we somehow do get through this crisis, this is something I had made a long time ago,” Celestia answered, conjuring up a golden ring representing the one that was in our castle hidden in a drawer. I had seen it before, Tia couldn’t hide something like that from me. Especially when she put it beside my belongings, thinking she was clever (which she admittedly was, but still).

The ring was very similar to our own wedding rings, this one having a sapphire to show that it was meant for Luna instead. As was the case with our rings, this one also had the same engraving on it.

We hadn’t found the right time to actually go through with this, and I really wished we had done this as soon as I brought the idea up to my little sister. This might be the only, and quite possibly last, chance to do this. Luna smiled shakily as she saw Celestia and I bow down before her.

“Would you marry us?” we asked in unison, and I liked to think it was because we were twins and had a special connection. Luna gave us a teary-eyed ‘Yes!’ while throwing her forelegs around me and Celestia. My heart gave a happy beat at that and I’m glad that we would be facing our end as a married trio, at least.

My sister let out a small hum as she refused to let go of us. “How are we going to do this?” she whispered, curious. That was a good question, I have to admit. We didn’t have anypony to officiate for us, let alone a good location. Well, this was a dream, so... a location wouldn’t be too much of a problem, really.

“We could just give each other a vow without somepony to do a ceremony,” Celestia mentioned and Luna let go of her hug before it could start to get awkward. “What do you think of doing this at a beach?”

“Yes, a beach at sunset!” I giggled, hopping up and down gleefully. “Or better yet, at a solar eclipse! Eee!”

My sisters smiled at my enthusiasm. “A solar eclipse sounds perfect,” Luna said, the symbolism appealing to her the most. “But why a beach? Wouldn’t you like to do a repeat of your wedding on Earth?”

“Well...” Celestia shrugged. “A traditional wedding doesn’t feel quite as close as giving each other a vow at a beach. And I feel like we don’t need to do the same thing that Summer and I had done on Earth to cement our special relationship with you. Not when we can do something even better to include you.”

“Yes,” I nodded, throwing a wing around Luna with a smile. “Besides we are ponies now, let’s do something different. A beach is romantic, the view is a lot nicer, and we can enjoy the feeling of freedom it gives us. I always wanted to marry underneath the open sky, you know.”

“Alright,” Luna agreed. “Then let me give us a change of scenery. One cozy Caribbean beach coming right up.”

And with that, my sister closed her eyes in concentration as her horn lit up with a brilliant white light. The ground underneath us lit up, little wisps floating up around us as the walls and ceiling faded away like smoke or dust blown away in a breeze. The stone that had made up the ground was replaced with soft (almost white) sand that went from one end of the horizon to the other.

The suns in the sky peeked the slightest bit over the edge of the enlarged form of the moon, tinting the world in the soft hues of their light. The sound of waves reached our ears next, mixed together with the noise of a gentle breeze rustling the plants further inland. To our side a path of bamboo torches appeared, leading to a small pier with a palm tree next to it, hanging a bit over the water.

I smiled at the serene picture, proud of the artistic talent of my little sister and soon-to-be wife. I stepped out of my regalia, discarding the tiara and the chest ornament with the shoes in a small neat little pile. Both Celestia and Luna did the same with eager smiles on their muzzles, mirroring my own.

Lulu surprised me for a moment by giving each of us a lovely dress, fitted to the form of a pony. The fabric of the gown was almost so thin you could look through it, having an intricate pattern of lace on it that made my heart flutter warmly in my chest. I always loved the design of wedding dresses like these. They were so carefree and youthful. Additionally, she changed our hairstyles by weaving in a few white leaves as a replacement for the veil. It made us look like we had just escaped from a fairytale and I absolutely loved it.

“This is perfect, Lulu,” Celestia whispered, lost for words as a few tears came to her eyes. I wasn’t better off emotionally, desperately hoping I wouldn’t start bawling my eyes out at the sheer beauty displayed by each of us. This, I thought in awe, was the most perfect wedding I could have ever dreamed of (ironic, I know).

Today was the best, and sadly also the worst, day of my life. I hoped with all of my heart that what was happening in the waking world wouldn’t prove to be the end for us, I didn’t want this to be cruelly taken away from us in the end. I wanted to spend the rest of eternity with my sisters. I really do. I don’t care about the immortality anymore, it would only give us more time with each other to enjoy. But only if we made it out without being corrupted by these dastardly shadow beings.

“Shall we?” Luna asked, her voice as teary as our eyes. I nodded, letting out a shaky breath. Celestia was on Luna’s other side in a flash, a wing extended to meet the one Lulu reached out to her. My own wing met her other one and together we strolled over to the beginning of the pier at a sedate pace.

We faced each other as we sat down, not trusting our legs to support us as we were about to give each other a vow of eternal love. Tia held the ring for Luna aloft in her magical aura as she took the first turn.

“Luna, Summer,” she said, almost choking up. It was rare to see her so emotional since she was usually so composed (even serene most of the time) aside from the occasional angry outburst or perverted glee when molesting me. When Tia of all ponies was close to crying, I knew it meant the world to her. It touched my heart deeply. “We have known each other since we were little back on Earth. You gave me the support that I needed when our "—she gulped anxiously, heaving a heavy breath—"f-first... oh, fuck, ugh... when our first parents died, Lulu, and you continued to stick with us even as you felt jealous that I got to have Red Nose here all for myself.

“While I might not have been the best sister you deserved then, and I might have struggled with a lot of other things concerning you, mostly my inability to make my feelings clear to you, you are still one of the two souls I love most. Even through death, we couldn’t be separated from each other and... I am so sorry you had to live with the thought of us having been dead for such a long time.

“I know I put you through a lot of difficult situations, none more so than my confession that I love you, my own sister. But I hope you will stay by my side even when I do stupid things from time to time, even if we might find ourselves corrupted by those that wish us harm. I will always put you and Summer above everypony else, this I swear right now.

“To thee, I swear with all of my heart, I will bring hope and laughter, stay generous and kind, be honest and loyal, and cherish our love forevermore, I give my vow to never stop loving you in good times, as well as bad, while in life, and in death. Do you want to accept this foolish mare of a sister as your wife?”

Celestia bowed, almost prostrated herself, before Luna, offering her the ring with a hopeful smile and sparkling, wet eyes. Luna nodded enthusiastically, throwing herself at Tia in an embrace while kissing her deeply.

“Yes!” Luna cried happily, continuing to pepper her with little kisses. Celestia smiled gratefully, sliding the ring in her telekinetic grasp down Luna’s horn. Then my twin turned to me as she took her position in front of me.

“Summer, I know we had given each other a promise to love one another for the rest of time already, but I feel like I need to say this to you again,” she began, smiling brightly as my lips trembled with joy. “I’m proud to say that our marriage has gotten us through death once already, never once losing one another to the cruel grasp of fate.

“Earth has taught us many valuable lessons, none more so than the trials parenthood has put on our shoulders. And while times might have been rough at some points, much of its fault resting sorely with me and my hotheadedness both as Catherine and now as Celestia, we always stayed strong in our love for each other. Even as we might have been a bit coo-coo from time to time, me as Daybreaker and you during your own experience of madness, we didn’t hate each other for what we did.

“So, as I once gave my vow to you, let me give you this one now. To thee, I swear with all of my heart, I will bring hope and laughter, stay generous and kind, be honest and loyal, and cherish our love forevermore, I give my vow to never stop loving you in good times, as well as bad, while in life, and in death. Do you want to marry me here and now once more?”

“Yes, you silly filly,” I answered, giggling happily as I placed my own kiss on her lips. Celestia slid my wedding ring over my own horn, the familiar piece of jewelry settling with a comforting feeling around the base of my horn. It was obviously modified to fit, but the thought was still there.

As we parted from each other, I faced Luna with a bit of nervousness (or a whole bunch, considering how much I trembled). Her smile calmed my racing heart down in no time and I felt courage and determination for what I wanted to say to her.

“Luna,” I whispered, looking lovingly at her. My sweet Moon. “Even though things didn’t work out exactly as you wanted them to on Earth, you and I still shared a strong bond with each other then and it only managed to grow in our new life. I know I might not have been the best... uhm... 'brother'-in-law in our previous lives and I might have given you a headache every once in a while as your sister.

“I dearly hope that whatever might happen in our future, we face it together no matter what. I will always do my best to stay by your side with Tia as we establish this herd for real and never purposefully hurt you. From this point onward, I don’t ever want to be apart from you. I love you as much as I love that idiot there"—I pointed conspiratorially at my twin and Luna giggled while my wife-from-another-life pouted good-naturedly—" and I want you to know that. So, let me give you this promise that I will keep for the rest of eternity, whether in this life or the next.

"To thee, I swear this for the rest of time, I will bring hope and laughter, stay generous and kind, be honest and loyal, and stay true to our love for all of time, I give my vow to never stop loving you in good times, as well as bad, while in life, and in death. Do you accept my faith and heart as your wife?”

“Of course,” she answered, bringing me into a kiss with a teary laugh. I plucked one of my feathers with a small wince, floating it behind her ear and putting it snuggly into her hair. Luna certainly enjoyed having a part of me so close to her and I promised myself that I would give her one in the waking world should we get the opportunity to do so. I really hope I can do so.

Then, my gaze turned to my twin and she gave me a loving smile that I returned quite readily. It was my turn to give her my own vow now and I knew just the words that I wanted to say.

“Celestia,” I said. “I have a few words for you before I give you my vow... So, here they are... You’re an idiot and I’m breaking up with you to elope with Luna.”

She snorted and let out a giggle, shaking her head as I grinned at her. Luna was giggling herself.

“Okay, jokes aside, you know how much I love you,” I stated and started in earnest this time. “There is nothing that could drive you away from me and I certainly won’t ever leave you. Despite one or two hiccups here and there, I can’t imagine what life would be like without you. To me, you are perfect in every way, even your less-than-desirable qualities. You and Luna give me the light in my life to make me continue living on and give me the strength to endure a nigh-immortal life.

“Celestia, you won’t ever have to fear me thinking ill of you even when you might do some very questionable things, whether they have already happened in the past or will happen in the future. If you decide to make incest legal for selfish reasons, I will follow through with that threat of eloping with Luna, though.” I stuck my tongue out at her cheekily and giggled as she rolled her eyes. Heh. What can I say? She totally brought this upon herself. ”I love every part of you, perhaps your pervertedness most of all. Without you, we wouldn’t be renewing our vows right now and inviting Luna to join us forever in marriage.

“I’m glad that things turned out the way they have, even if we get corrupted on this day. Let me give you this swear in addition to our promises from our past life. To thee, I swear this for the rest of time, I will bring hope and laughter, stay generous and kind, be honest and loyal, and stay true to our love for all of time, I give my vow to never stop loving you in good times, as well as bad, while in life, and in death. Do you accept, my beloved?”

“I do, my sweet Sunshine,” Celestia whispered back. “Just as I promised to you.”

Tia gave me a long, passionate kiss, happily accepting the feather I offered to her. Just like Luna, I put my feather behind her ear in her mane and would be giving her one in the waking world, too. Shadow creatures be damned.

Then it was time for Luna to say her own words to us. She collected her thoughts for a moment and stepped up in front of my twin with a nervous but determined smile. Tia smiled warmly, telling her with no words spoken that whatever she would say, it would mean the world to her. I was thinking along the same lines, as well.

“Celestia,” Luna said, ruffling her wings a bit. “There is so much we had gone through together back on Earth and now with our life in Equestria... it's a lot to take in. While at times we were pretty close to hating each other’s guts, we still found our way back to each other. I... I can’t really say I was all that surprised by your confession of love, a part of me always had the suspicion that if given the chance, you would be the type to actually develop those feelings for me.

“After Mom and Dad died back on Earth, life was... interesting. And not the good kind, either. I didn’t know how to deal with loss at the time, barely knowing what was even going on, and I didn't even know much about them to be affected by it. Your own reaction to that, though, was... less than exemplary. For quite some time I feared you would actually take refuge in your pervertedness so much to offer yourself as a... as a prostitute. The loss hit you harder than me, but luckily... there was a certain awkward nerdy person that was there to prevent you from taking this path.

“I was so very jealous you got to be together with Summer back then and it caused so many fights between us, I wouldn’t have been surprised if you never wanted to hear from me again. I know I felt like hating your guts for it, but... thankfully, both of you stayed with me despite my misgivings and I’m even more grateful for the fact that I’m still here with you. The six years on Earth after your death were... they were not my proudest moments."

Luna grimaced before continuing on. “I wish I could say I was less stupid to do what I did the way I did. Even here in Equestria, I wish I could tell my past self to get over it and just say yes to being in a herd with you and Summer. In the end, things still worked out, thankfully. I have the two most wonderful mares as sisters and I would be proud to call myself your wife.

“The start might have been a bit rocky, these feelings might have given me a lot of trouble and I might have been a bit dumb from time to time, but I learned that hiding from them was perhaps the biggest mistake I could have made. So, what I want to say with this, I suppose, is thanks for being there for me when I finally realized that I couldn’t hide from my feelings any longer.

“I want to give you my own promise to always be with you because that is what my heart truly wants. What it always truly wanted, I guess. And I hope those feelings won’t ever change, even with what we may very well face in the next few hours. Maybe even only minutes from now...

“Let me swear this to you while I still can, Tia. To thee, I eternally vow with my very being, I will bring hope and laughter, stay generous and kind, be honest and loyal, and cherish my love to you from the depth of my heart, I give to you my vow to never stop loving you in good times, as well as bad, while in life, and in death. Will you accept me for all that I am just like I accepted everything that you are?”

“Oh, Luna,” Celestia whispered, wiping a tear away from the corner of her eye. “Why wouldn’t I say yes to that? I’ll gladly accept your vow like you accepted mine.”

I smiled fondly, watching as they exchanged a deep kiss. Luna gave her a feather of her own, her midnight blue one joining mine in Tia’s hair behind the ear. Celestia having both mine and Luna’s feathers was pretty much symbolic of her being the headmare in the herd.

Then my sweet Moon was in front of me, a happy little grin on her muzzle. Just this one last vow and we could call ourselves a proper herd (I decidedly ignored the fact that a herd usually consisted of a stallion and multiple mares, but who cares about archaic archetypes when you have polyamory instead).

“Summer,” Luna spoke, a little twinkle in her eyes as she blushed a little bit. “I have to admit that I might have fantasized quite a bit about how things would have been had I been the one that caught your attention back on Earth. I know you both knew I was jealous of what my sister had with you and I’m sure that, had it been legal, my sister would have asked me into joining a harem with you before we got reincarnated.

“Perhaps the reincarnation as ponies was the best thing that could have ever happened to all of us. I know it is hard for each one of us that we left your kids back on Earth, but hopefully, we will see them at some point once more. But the fact remains, without our reincarnation and you and Tia being twins, you might have never asked me out. It was perhaps that little push that made Tia simply not care about 'social norms', even though she might have had such feelings in our previous lives.

“I am not ashamed to say that it might have been sorely up to you that I even entertained these feelings, although I tried my best to make them go away by staying away from both of you as much as possible. You were the one that managed to win my heart over and Celestia is a nice bonus, I have to admit. I love both of you, but perhaps I love you a tiny smidgen more that it makes me feel a little bit guilty to Tia.

“Still, I couldn’t think of anything better than to spend the rest of my however long life with both of you. So, just like you promised me, I will promise to stay with you for the rest of time itself. To thee, I eternally vow with my very being, I will bring hope and laughter, stay generous and kind, be honest and loyal, and cherish my love to you from the depth of my heart, I give to you my vow to never stop loving you in good times, as well as bad, while in life, and in death. Do you want to be my wife like I want to be yours, accept my promise like I accepted yours?”

“Yes!” I answered, throwing my hooves around her neck and giving her lots of little kisses with a hum. “You didn’t have to ask, silly.”

I smiled as I saw her pluck one of her feathers and levitate it behind my own ear. The ring from Celestia and the feather from Luna declared me once and for all as their wife and I couldn’t be happier about it.

“Seeing that we have all given each other our vows,” Celestia began, enveloping me and Luna in her wings with a little grin on her muzzle. “I declare us as wives by the power vested in me as the Crown Princess of Equestria! It’s official, I say so.”

“Who decided you were the Crown Princess?” Luna snorted with a giggle. I had to suppress my own laughter, shaking my head.

“What?” Celestia asked with a shrug. “I am the eldest, so of course, I shall be the Crown Princess.”

“Your ego is shining brightly through the cracking walls of what you call 'humility', sister,” Luna shot back teasingly. “Does this make you the queen then?”

“Well, I just married two very beautiful princesses,” Celestia said matter-of-factly. “Technically I have the right to call myself Queen now. Queen Celestia, it does have a nice ring to it, doesn't it?”

“Careful, or you will float away with that big head of yours,” Luna smirked. “I’d hate to see you become a snob. It would be a shame to see you act like the nobles we have to entertain on a daily basis.”

“Pfft,” Celestia laughed, waving her hoof in a disarming manner. “As if. I would sooner give up the crown than become like those idiots.”

“You could do with a bit more humility and compassion,” I added my own opinion in between their arguments. "Besides, 'Queen' Celestia sounds more pompous than anything, to be honest. Now, Queen-Regent Luna and Mistress Summer, on the other hoof..."

“Summer, not you too!” Celestia whined, pouting at me playfully. “My own twin, betraying me!”

“Sure...” I said and rolled my eyes. “Jokes aside, Luna is right, though. You do have a massive ego.”

“Fine, I’ll admit I might be a bit self-absorbed from time to time,” Celestia began and Luna gave her a skeptical look at the ‘from time to time’ part which made Tia roll her eyes. “But I’m nowhere near those hoof-lickers.”

“Hah! Daybreaker would disagree with you there,” Luna giggled and I blushed heavily. That was one very odd thing that my sister's dark side had developed in her weird personality change around me. She had this strange desire to lick my hooves and I had to admit... I kinda maybe sorta liked it? It was difficult to say how I felt about this submissive side of my sister. She was the total opposite of... well, herself.

“Har har, sister,” Celestia mumbled. “While we are on the topic of hoof licking, what about our honeymoon~?”

“It has been a long time since we had a vacation...” I said. “I’d say we have it here, but I’d rather have it in the waking world without having to worry about those shadow creatures. What do you think is happening outside?”

“I don’t know,” she answered, rubbing a thoughtful hoof on her chin. “I would have thought something would have happened by now. It is kind of suspicious that nothing has interrupted us yet.”

“Perhaps they need some kind of ritual to make us go evil?” Luna shrugged. Celestia and I hummed. I mean, it was as good of an explanation as any. “Then again, a ritual wouldn’t take so long to complete, either.”

“They could be missing a rare ingredient for their spell,” Celestia shot back, as much at a loss as we were. “A lot of rituals demand something like that. That or a particular set of circumstances, like the celestial alignment of the suns with the planet or a full moon. Who knows.”

“Should we take a look?” I asked, fidgeting slightly. “I mean... even if we get knocked out again, we would at least know what is going on.”

“I will take a look and wake you if there is an opportunity for that,” Luna said while lighting up her horn. Celestia interrupted her spellcasting by placing a hoof on her horn, though.

Celestia let out a light growl, giving her a scowl. “You won’t leave us here alone, Luna,” she said, her wings extended in an authoritative way. “I won’t let you put yourself in danger, wake me up instead.”

“But it is okay for you to put yourself in danger?! Hmph. How very Celestia of you,” Luna snorted, angry at her. My sister crossed her forelegs in front of herself and I couldn't help but agree with her. It was very 'Celestia' of her (as strange as it was to sum it up like that, it fit her to a tee). "Why can’t you simply trust me for once to get things done by myself?”

“Sister, I don’t doubt your ability to succeed with this mission,” Tia whispered gently. “I just... I can’t live with myself if something were to happen to you, okay? Besides, I’m better at magic, I might be able to do something to help our escape.”

I fidgeted slightly as I raised a hesitant hoof, drawing their attention to me. “Why can’t we just all wake up?” I argued, thinking this was the perfect middle ground to their argument. “We aren’t entirely useless with our own magic, sister.”

“Summer,” Celestia groaned, dragging a hoof down her muzzle. “It is safer this way. If all of us...”

I snorted. “No, Tia,” I shot back, stopping her before she could get further in her argument. She looked mildly surprised for a moment that I was arguing back against her, but her expression changed slowly to that of a reluctant acceptance. “In a group, we are stronger. What if they decide to kill you instead, huh? They would still have two other alicorns to corrupt, after all. I won't sit idly by while you risk your life like that. Together we are able to accomplish things we wouldn’t be able to do alone. Please.”

“I think Summer is right,” Luna said and I gave her a grateful if hesitant smile. I was only so brave, I still felt like I was afraid something might happen to one of us, but I would soldier on if it meant helping us escape from wherever they took us. “Besides, three ponies are better in a fight than only one.”

“Fine...” Celestia sighed. “Wake us up, Luna. If anything happens, I’ll blame you, Summer.”

My sister nodded before she lit up her horn again (this time without any interruptions) and soon, we saw our surroundings fade away as my consciousness slipped away from the dream realm and we began to wake up.

With a nervously hammering heart, I blinked my eyes open, only to find my vision tinted in a light blue. And I was floating above the ground, something I definitely didn’t expect to see. Turning my head, I saw Starswirl and my chest leaped in joy at seeing him again, alive and well.

“Starswirl!” I exclaimed with relief. “You’re okay!”

“Princess Summer? I didn’t expect to see you wake so soon,” he said, looking up at me and he turned his head towards where my sisters were floating next to me as we all looked at him with relief and a bit of confusion. “Ah, I see your sisters are also awake. I was about to leave you in your rooms here in Canterlot.”

“Yes, well...” I mumbled. “We decided to risk taking a look at what was going on in the waking world, thinking we could escape somehow...”

Starswirl chuckled at that. “As you can see, you’re perfectly safe. No need to worry,” he reassured us, setting us down on the ground. “The only thing that matters is that you three are safe.”

I gave my regalia a confused glance as he set me down, seeing that it resembled the one I wore as Fallen Star instead. Celestia and Luna were also wearing a similar version of their own regalia. Although, just like mine, they looked less imposing and more like what we could have worn were our craftsponies going with a different, and slightly more imposing, look. Celestia didn’t have the wing guards, though.

“How did you get back, Starswirl? The mirror shattered right in front of our eyes!” Tia asked, deciding to ignore the weirdness of the change with our regalia. I hope we can turn them back into our regular versions, I rather got used to the soft look mine had. That, and I like my tiara a lot more.

“My dear Princess, I’m a dimensional traveler, I don’t need a fancy mirror to go to another universe I am well familiar with,” he explained, stroking his beard. “I’m sorry I failed you three, I should have been there to protect you.”

“You don’t have to be sorry, Starswirl,” I said gently. “We should be the ones apologizing, we were unable to keep ourselves safe and because of us, you were sent through that mirror in the first place. I guess we do need to be coddled if we can’t take care of ourselves...”

“Nonsense,” Starswirl shot back. “You have nothing to be sorry for, the fault lies with me. Perhaps I have been too hard on you three, after all. My experiments with dimensional travel attracted that fiend to you in the first place, causing this mess through my own folly. You were right to berate me for going through with the portal experiment on a larger scale.”

“Fiend?” Luna asked in confusion. “But there was more than one of those shadow creatures.”

“Those were only servants of the one behind your foalnapping, Princess,” Starswirl said, sighing heavily. “The one behind this was... a truly vile being. He knew the versions of me and my colleagues from his own world, though I have to wonder why he didn’t recognize Stygian...”

My sister perked up at the unfamiliar name. “Is Stygian the one that brought you and your friends together?” Celestia inquired, interested to learn more about who those other ponies were that our mentor was ‘not-friends’ with. He wasn’t kidding anypony by pretending they were merely his colleagues. Sometimes, he was way too professional for his own good.

“Yes,” he simply said, much to the displeasure of my sisters and myself. I pouted, disappointed that he wasn’t at all forthcoming with details about our saviors. The cryptic stallion never outright gave us all the answers we wanted and it was extremely frustrating.

Well, at least we were safe and could go back to our (now happily married) lives, even if it might get boring from time to time dealing with all of the grievances our ponies brought to our attention.

Starswirl told us that only a few of the mirror portals survived and that he had them moved to a more secure location. He was rethinking his approach to creating gateways between realities, wanting to put a lot more wards on them in order to ensure nothing with malicious intentions could cross over. At least, not without major difficulties. Stuff like severely limiting their access to power if they wanted to use it for ill reasons. Even an eldritch horror from the Beyond would have to abide by those rules (not that they were on the list of creatures permitted entry for very good reasons).

Tia, Lulu, and I had our first real vacation since getting reborn, enjoying the beach for a few weeks partly to relax after our little crisis was over and to have our honeymoon.

There was sex. A lot of sex. And I mean a lot of sex. Like... really wild sex, gentle sex, angry sex, slow sex, kinky sex, painful sex, weird sex, and so on and so forth. The list goes on for quite a while, trust me. Suffice it to say, we didn’t actually see a lot of the little town we were at, either staying in our bedroom or at the beach. Sometimes we didn’t even care to return to our inn in favor of snuggling on a low-hanging cloud. Or have sex at the beach. Or on a cloud. Or in the clear, warm water. Or any other place we could think of. Like pretty much everywhere except other ponies' homes. That would be rude.

Ahem! Anyway, there was a ton of sex involved and I'd rather not get into the details (that's something private between Tia, Lulu, and me, thank you very much). All I will say about it is that I was quite sore afterward, struggling with walking straight for weeks after my sisters had their way with my very needy and very, very wet pussy.

Luna and I also made three necklaces with our feathers, Celestia having both mine and Lulu’s. She enchanted them so thoroughly that I’m sure we could drop them into a volcano and not worry about them getting destroyed. Sadly, we couldn’t actually wear them out in public because that would basically give away that we had formed a herd with each other. Just like we couldn’t also wear our rings, but it was still nice to have something representing our bond.

It was a very nice honeymoon and I’m sure I won’t ever forget the things we got up to. But, all nice things sadly have to go back to boring, eventually. Okay, sure, the things we usually have to deal with weren’t 'that' boring. I actually enjoy helping our ponies out, so there's that. There was a certain monotony to it, though. And a lot of stress, having to keep up that smile constantly.

Always that damn smile, day in and day out. Sometimes I fear I will have that smile permanently etched on my muzzle. It was better to smile away the entire day, though, some of our ponies were just searching for an excuse to make Luna and I secondary princesses to our big sister.

Apparently, Celestia was seen as the wisest and most beautiful among us because she was marginally older than me and had such a colorful mane. I have no idea why it was like this, but the more colorful the mane, the more beautiful a pony was and those snobs were suckers for that.

I mean... they were kinda right with how beautiful my twin is, but the rest they kept going on about? It’s like we’re constantly dealing with little foals.

There was a reason behind that line of thinking and I was hating Princess Bitchface for it. The manipulative former princess was trying her best to cause a rift between me and my sisters by trying to make Tia the most loved one among us. It was a weird revenge scheme on her part and our spies were noticing her getting more agitated by the fact that it wasn’t working (honestly, what did she expect?).

The only thing that that prissy bitch was doing was feeding the ego of my twin, something that was only a mild annoyance to Luna and me. As always, though, our agents couldn’t learn more than the current mood of Platinum. That pony was way too cautious for my tastes and I definitely knew she was concocting another plan to destroy our bond.

It was just a feeling I had, to be honest. There wasn’t any concrete evidence that she was plotting an evil plan to take over Equestria or anything, so I couldn’t simply throw her into the dungeons for conspiring against the crown. I really wanted to, though, despite me usually offering everypony a second chance.

Well, third-to-nth chance with Platinum, actually. I’m sure she had done a lot of screwed-up things before and since the founding of Equestria that would have landed her the death sentence back on Earth (multiple times over, I'm sure). The least I would offer her with my kindness was a nice prison cell, at most. I might still resent her for taking our mother away. It might have been unknowingly so, but still.

At least the monotony was broken by the occasional visit of Private Pansy, Smart Cookie, Clover the Clever, and Puddinghead. While the wacky stallion has done quite a lot of good over the past few years, I certainly didn’t enjoy all of the pranks he committed with Luna. Well... I guess some of them did manage to make me smile genuinely.

Fortunately, they didn’t ruin my tea time with Pansy. Or cause trouble for my animal friends in my private garden. Celestia was the prime target of my sister and Puddinghead, making me the mediator between them when they managed to piss her off a bit too much.

At least they didn’t overdo it. Tia forgave them pretty fast each time they targeted her with their ridiculous pranks. Well, not before I actually managed to calm her down. I swear the mortar of our castle won’t last for long if she kept up that volume while berating our little sister. I know the servants were tired of it, already. And the ponies that have to bring in new windows for our castle every few weeks, I suppose.

I have no idea how many of those we already went through after they shattered due to their little shouting matches. I have no doubt the glazier in Canterlot is rich by now. Or suffocating in despair at the sheer workload, I guess. Poor stallion.

It still baffles me that ponies have such commodities as glass but are just starting to discover proper plumbing and heating. What’s up with that, anyway? I mean, my sisters and I are trying our best to introduce modern commodities like that to our ponies with our limited knowledge from Earth (that we could recall), but it was just... mind-blowing what sort of things our ponies prioritized sometimes.

Windows were nice, don’t get me wrong, but so was sanitization. If we didn’t literally have a hoof in the creation of our castle, we would be no better off than the rest of our nation, I swear. Living without having at least a private bath to yourself... I shudder to think of such a reality. Though I do miss a good showerhead with some decent water pressure...

Besides the pranks, there were a lot more things that had my sisters get closer together (I have absolutely no idea how they could call their shouting matches ‘bonding time’). Luna made a whole room for us filled with memory balls and she painted a few portraits of Celestia, herself, and myself. Then she also made some of Pansy, Smart Cookie, Clover, and Starswirl. I think it was more for her peace of mind, wanting something to remember them by once they... died.

I’m not looking forward to the day I’m sitting at the deathbed of my dear friends when they give their last breath. Starswirl wouldn’t actually need to die, he could choose his own time of death with that cheat spell of his, but I’m not sure he would stay with us for thousands of years. Nor would I be so selfish to ask that of him.

Of course, Luna also made a portrait of Puddinghead because that pony insisted on it so much that he begged Tia and me so that we would, in turn, convince Luna to make him a portrait. He was happy with the result, thankfully stopping the annoyance that was his behavior when he wanted something.

I swear, how anypony ever elected him to lead the earthponies is a mystery to me...

Anyway, as the twentieth anniversary day of us taking up the duty of ushering the suns and moon across the heavens arrived, Starswirl wanted to take us on another adventure through dimensions.

“Let’s hope nothing bad happens this time around,” I sighed, trudging after the eccentric stallion with no enthusiasm at all. Luna snorted, trying to suppress her giggles and Tia was grinning so wide at the prospect of an adventure without monsters snatching us away, that she was starting to skip gleefully next to us.

Fat chance of that happening...

“Oh, where I’m taking you still has the odd few monsters, but we won’t be seeing any of those, my dear Princess,” Starswirl chuckled. “Perhaps you remember me talking about him before, he is the other wizard with a penchant for dimensional travel. He was the one that helped me learn more about the intricacies of moving through the Space that Separates.”

“Seriously?!” Celestia asked, bouncing slightly in her steps, giddy. I gave her a look and shook my head with a subdued smile. Of course, she was all for meeting a powerful wizard from another world. “What’s he like? Is he as old as you? How powerful is he? What’s his name? Or his title? He is an archmage, right? He must be, you rarely talk with such reverence about anypony else. Is he hot~? I see how it is.”

Starswirl rolled his eyes at her comment implying he had a thing with this other wizard. “Nonsense, Princess Celestia,” Starswirl admonished her with a scoff, though I could see a slight wobble in his step. He didn't let that deter him as he led us through a door further into his secret lair within Mount Canterhorn.

Who knows, maybe he does have a thing for other mages (he does flirt with Miss Lulamoon from time to time in his own awkward way). Ah, well... I guess it will remain a mystery to us. All thoughts along that line were put on hold as he walked towards the last door that I knew led to a previously (relatively) empty storage room, so that must be where he put the mirror we would go through today.

As we entered the room, we saw an old stallion sitting beside a rather large mirror, staring at his hooves with an odd amount of happiness. Starswirl smiled brightly as he beheld the stallion. “Ah, you are already here! Great!”

“Starswirl, old friend!” the mysterious pony said, standing up on wobbly legs. “I have to say, your world is quite fascinating! Sentient ponies, I’d never have guessed that! My word!"

I raised a confused brow at that statement. The pony in front of us had a light blue coat of fur, his mane was as white as it could possibly get. He was wearing some weird dress robe thingy and had a rather long staff with a carving of a bird on top leaning behind him next to the mirror. The odd thing about him, though, was the fact that he was an earthpony. Also, there was an otherworldly golden glow in his eyes. It was subtle and already gone a moment later. If I had blinked, I would have missed it.

“Thank you for the compliment, but I have to say that your homeworld is by far more interesting,” Starswirl commented. “Such a large variety in species, it is simply astounding, my friend.”

“So, I take it that these three are the ones you told me about?” the (probably not) pony asked and our mentor gave a nod. “My, my! They truly are a marvelous sight. You were not joking about the raw power they exude, I can practically feel it down to my very bones! How does their hair do that, though?”

“Are they going to continue this conversation without us?” Luna whispered to Celestia and me. I shrugged, smiling in confusion as I sat there without a clue as to what the flying pancake was going on. Well, obviously they were comparing things between our worlds, but this wasn’t really how I expected an archmage from another world to behave. Or look, for that matter. Such strange, ill-fitting clothing.

“The most I can tell you about that is that their manes are overflowing with mana,” Starswirl shrugged and I began to wonder about that myself. I never really put much thought into how our manes were doing that, either. It was just another part of ourselves, I guess. Well, technically our manes started flowing in the ethereal breeze after we started raising and lowering the suns and the moon, but if it was because of that or an overflow of mana, I couldn’t tell. If we actually wanted to, we could make it stop flowing in the ethereal breeze, but I rather liked it that way. “Well, my friend, let me introduce you to my wonderful students. This one here with the twinkling lights in her mane is Princess Luna, the youngest of the three. Next to her with the red mane is Princess Summer and her twin is Princess Celestia.”

“You didn’t tell me they were royalty, old friend!” Starswirl’s friend exclaimed and gave each of us a respectful nod. “It is a pleasure to finally meet you, Your Highnesses. My name is Khadgar, Archmage of the Kirin Tor of Dalaran.”

“Kirin Tor?” I asked, rolling the words over my tongue intrigued. “Is that like the Mage Order raising and lowering the suns and moon in your world?”

“Raising the sun?” Khadgar asked flabbergasted and I felt a little awkward for forgetting that it wasn’t the norm, but rather the exception. How silly of me. “Your universe is even more interesting than I was led to believe, Starswirl! You left quite a bit out of your explanation of your homeworld, my friend.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Celestia grumbled. “He likes to be the wise and cryptic wizard, driving me and my sisters insane in the process.”

“Ah, I know the type,” Khadgar chuckled and I got the impression he was talking about somepony he knew a long time ago, possibly even his own mentor. “Now then, we have a few hours and while I would love to explore this world, I’m sure you’d rather experience Azeroth instead.”

“Azeroth?” I mumbled, the word sounding a bit weird on my tongue. It does sound very fantasy-esque. “That is an... interesting name for a planet.”

“It is better than Outland, I have to say,” Khadgar said and I had to wonder how that world got such a name. “Shall we then?”

Taking a deep breath, my sisters and I nodded. I ignored the mischievous smile on Starswirl’s muzzle as he followed Khadgar through the portal in the mirror. With a shrug back to my sisters, I took a step forward and instantly regretted the decision to not screw my eyes as tightly shut as I could before doing so. I tried my best not to throw up into my mouth because of the weird pulling and stretching sensation as I traveled through the Void in Between. Or rather, the sparkly-rainbow-vomit stretchy place from hell.

I moaned pathetically as I slumped to the floor on the other side, whining as my whole body disagreed with me. By the twin suns, everything felt weird and wrong. That mirror was definitely worse than the previous ones before it. Whatever Starswirl had enchanted it with, I didn’t like it. The breath was knocked out of me as my sisters stumbled out of the portal after me, landing rather painfully on top of me. My only saving grace was that I seemed to have rolled onto my back.

As my brain caught up with me, though, I felt a distinct difference from how I previously felt. Or to be more specific, the lack of something. My heart stopped as I couldn’t feel my wings and panic started to set in. Also, my hooves felt incredibly strange and when I blinked my eyes open, I had to immediately shut them again as everything spun around me. With a cautious breathing technique (read: everything but hyperventilating) I slowly tried to clear my vision enough of the nausea plaguing me.

The next time I opened my eyes, I let out a startled yelp as I noticed what had become of me and my dazed sisters. I blew a red strand of hair out of my face, mildly disturbed that it wasn’t automatically flowing in the ethereal breeze. Luna and Celestia were similarly affected, it seems. I stared dumbly at the appendages that had previously been my front hooves and I wiggled the little digits I didn’t have for the last half of my life.

Wow. Did they always look so weird? No matter how I turned them, all I could think of was my twin making pervy, grabbing motions at me with them. Of all the times to get flashbacks...

“Sister..?” the voice of my twin reached my decidedly less large ears that felt like they were in the wrong position on my head. “Is that you?”

“Y-yeah,” I breathed out, trying to not lose my composure. I blushed as she poked the large teats on my chest, fondling me in her stupor. I felt a little weirded out by their sheer size that I thought for a moment I must be pregnant. Well, actually, they weren’t that large according to my rather limited recollection of human females, but to my panicking mind, they sure felt like they were humongous. And Tia was grabbing them a bit too forcefully, too. So much for flashbacks...

My teats felt kind of stiff and squishy at the same time and I didn’t like it. Not one bit. Everypony is going to think I was with foal and the questions that would follow would surely expose my relationship with my sisters. I would forever be labeled a sis-con princess and...

My sister sat up on top of me and I noticed her teats were just as large as mine and there was no huge, bloated belly announcing either of us was pregnant with Luna's child. I blinked, momentarily confused. Right, they were like this by default on human females even without them being pregnant.

For some reason, that disappointed me as much as it relieved me.

What was I thinking? Bad Summer! Stop thinking about foals and big, pregnant bellies! That's incest! I mean... even worse incest. Think about the child that would have to grow up with that stigma! You don't want that!

"Hey," Tia poked my boob again and I rubbed the spot, giving her a pouty glare. "What are you thinking so intensely about? Is it how gorgeous I look in a mermaid dress? The feathers are a nice touch, though Luna is totally rocking that goth princess look. Mhhn, those legs~..."

After my twin made her obligatory pervy statement, I looked over at my little sister. Sure enough, I saw her currently sitting on the ground like she would have as a pony, wiggling her fingers around with a giggle. She was wearing a rather interesting dress that would look way too indecent on a real Victorian princess. I had no idea how she could even breathe with that corset on, but that wasn't even the only 'comfortable' looking thing on her, either. Her shoes had what looked like five-inch heels and looked rather short on her no doubt cramped toes. The choker around her neck looked kinda really cute, though.

Both of their dresses had a Carmen neckline, and Luna's had, unlike Tia's feather-like straps, transparent black puff sleeves. The gown itself was a lighter blue than her coat (probably the exact same color before her appearance changed to her more mature one) and barely reached her thighs. The corset was the same color as her coat and seemed to have a slight push-up effect for her... ahem, 'chest'. At her waist was a large brooch(?) of a crescent moon and the fabric transitioned over to a short, wavy train behind her, turning into a plum-purple color at the end.

More interesting was her hair, though. It was just as wild as her black mop of hair had been like when she was Rebecca, though it was more wavy than chaotic and unkempt. But that wasn't really what caught my eye. No, my sister had light purple strands of hair between some of her locks of sparkling night sky. It framed her face nicely and the slight makeup she wore gave her eyes and lips that bit of accentuation to make them pop.

Tia's skin (and thus my own) was a very pale porcelain one in contrast to Luna's tan one. The pure white dress she wore was very form-fitting from what I could see and on her waist was a golden chain with a sun pendant hanging from it. Around her neck was a familiar necklace with a large purple gemstone and a smaller one to each side of it, pointing directly down into the valley of her actually modest breasts (looks like Luna won in that department). Her hair was just as voluminous as her mane, and while still wavy, nowhere near the wild hair of our sister. The mermaid part of her dress subtly mirrored the colors of her mane, creating the effect as if she still had her tail.

I was thrown out of my musings as Khadgar helped my sister off of me and onto her feet (at least I assumed it was Khadgar since he wore those funny-looking clothes) and I noticed the golden slippers surrounded by the colorful mermaid end of her dress. I'm unsure how tall they were, but it seemed the heels might be on par with Luna's shoes. I had no idea how she could even stand on those.

A hand entered my vision next and I looked up at an old man with a long white beard and a pointy hat with bells. “Need help?”

I stared at what Starswirl looked like as a human and had to admit he looked every bit the fantasy wizard with the kind eyes and all-knowing, grandfatherly smile. Hesitantly, I looked down at myself and where my shoes were, finding similar ones to my sisters with blocky heels on them. Unlike theirs, though, mine were also plateau shoes (the universe clearly hates me). Thankfully, they were nowhere near high enough that I felt like I would be walking around on stilts like a circus clown.

That doesn't mean I wanted to walk on them, though.

Sighing, I let Starswirl help me up as I took his hand in mine (after trying a few times to refamiliarize myself with moving my fingers correctly). He helped me keep standing in an upright position on my shaking legs and I was glad I didn't tilt immediately over and fell on him. That would have been awkward...

And oh, boy... this was so weird, standing on two legs again. I almost lost my balance a few times as I watched Khadgar help my twin take a few steps while Celestia struggled with equally wonky legs but she at least got the hang of it relatively fast while I had to cling on to Starswirl.

Sighing, I looked down at myself again and felt ridiculous. My dress was the complete opposite of me and resembled witches’ clothing more than anything. Very indecent witches’ clothing, at that.

The chest bit was the only remotely 'normal' looking part, having a burgundy corset underpart with a black 'wrap' around the sides. On my waist was a loose-hanging golden strip of scarf-like cloth on each side of my thigh, connected at the front and back so that it would move alluringly each time I would take a step. Past that, I was wearing a half skirt that did nothing to leave anything to the imagination. It was predominantly black, but halfway down, it changed to orange-golden feathers. The worst part about it, though? I, uhm... I was, uh...

I was wearing hot pants and patterned tights, okay?! The stupid things were totally transparent, too. I blushed deeply as Tia ogled my exposed legs and I tried to tug my tights up as best as I could to hide the exposed flesh from sight, only to yelp as I almost lost my balance. I would have tried my half skirt next (or suns forbid, my hot pants), but... it wouldn't have helped me any, seeing that the stupid thing had little to no wiggle room on that front.

Much like my sisters' dresses, mine also had a Carmen neckline but also not? It had additional straps that held it in place around my neck while two bangles with golden red feathers created that typical Carmen neckline. At my waist was also a pin in the form of my Cutie Mark that held the golden strip of cloth in place (though only one side of these had my Cutie Mark on them, the other went without). To be honest, if the hot pants and tights didn't expose so much of my thigh, it might have looked very sorceress-like (I was missing my pointy hat, sadly).

Ugh, anyway. My hair was similar to Tia's in that it was quite voluminous. Unlike her, though, it covered more of my face, just like I liked it (totally not so I could hide more easily in it... ah hah hah, nope). I also wore a necklace, although it was more like a pendant with my deep red gem hanging down from it, right over my chest. The only thing my sisters didn't have were the gloves going halfway up my lower arms. They seemed nice enough, so I didn't think much of them.

By the twin suns, I look like a slutty sorceress slash witch. It did have that 'phoenix princess' vibe going for it, but that's about it. Even Luna looked more decent than I, and her legs were completely exposed as it is! No wonder Tia was already salivating at the mere sight of me.

It felt weird to be covered by so much fabric, and yet, so little. I honestly preferred my regalia over this, it didn’t feel as... restricting? No, that's not the right word for it. Hmm. It was more like my regalia covered less than my stupid get-up. I wasn't even sure I could describe this as a dress. And for some reason, I was the one that had to wear this thing instead of Tia? Why?! It was right up her alley, not mine!

Haah. Clothes were such a hassle. The first opportunity I get, I'll get rid of them. Besides, why was I even wearing anything, in the first place? I swear, clothes were next to useless aside from in the winter months, and even then, ponies had fur covering them all over their bodies, so it wasn’t like we needed them that much. Not like humans would, anyway. Which I now was... yay. Stupid mirror. As a pony, all our private parts weren’t really on display all the time, so there wasn’t even any reason to cover our genitals with clothing. It honestly was just... inconvenient. That's the word I was looking for.

Ugh. It's of no use. Might as well get used to it while I am here. Besides, complaining won't change anything, anyway. And it isn’t so bad, right? It had the added effect of making my twin go gaga over me, so there was that. I'll take all the blessings I can get.

Once I got used to walking on these stupid plateau shoes (they were surprisingly more steady than I gave them credit for, the only problem being the uncomfortable way I had to support most of my weight on my upper foot and toes while making sure not to step on my heels at a wrong angle), I looked over to Luna. I had to suppress a groan as she was holding the fabric of her dress in a way that allowed her to look at her chest. She had larger teats now than she had as Rebecca and I could tell that she felt somewhat prideful as she stared at them with a little satisfied grin. I never understood how anypony could take pride in their ‘size’ before and I still felt confused about it.

Meanwhile, my twin was looking around at the quite large room we were standing in and I followed her gaze, too ashamed of my sister to pay her more attention than she clearly desired. And here I thought she blamed us for being perverts, the hypocrite...

Thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) of thick tomes and books, as well as a sizable amount of scrolls, artifacts, tools, and the like, littered the ground and numerous bookshelves around us. “Where are we?” I asked, astonished at the sight before me. A broom wandered past my vision and I was thrown back to that old Disney movie, a memory almost forgotten resurfacing. I let out a ‘D’aww!’ at the sight as it continued on with cleaning the floor of any dirt or grime it could find. A futile task if there ever was one.

I want one of my own.

“This is the grand library of Karazhan,” Khadgar answered. “More knowledge has been lost in here than it has been written down in books since the tower had been built.”

“Is this your home?” I asked, feeling a little bit jealous that he had such a mystical place all to his own. I mean, it was kinda creepy and dark, but still. A few flowers here and there and it would look positively gorgeous.

“No, I’m not living here. Too many... bad memories,” Khadgar said, scratching his jaw a little bit and I felt bad for asking. I should've guessed since it was so chaotic and unruly. I wouldn't want to live here, either. “And it isn’t the most hospitable place to reside in, I must tell you. The tower has a little problem with... realities bending inside and out. Many bad things have happened here and the ghosts of the past continue to haunt this place.”

“I understand,” I mumbled. I certainly wouldn’t want to live in a place that could, at any time, be host to an eldritch horror because the place wasn’t entirely stable in the dimensional senses. Or that was haunted, for that matter.

I watched, a bit startled, as a gaseous creature popped into existence from a sparkling blue cloud and offered the archmage an envelope with a fancy seal on it. Khadgar took the letter from the interesting creature (I had to wonder if it even was a living being, to begin with) and opened it with a practiced motion.

“Hmm...” Khadgar hummed. “This seems... bad... Very much so, even... might have to...”

“Is something the matter, my friend?” Starswirl asked, walking over to him with the assistance of his own staff. Khadgar looked up from his letter with a frown, starting to pace back and forth a little.

“A dear friend of mine, Katy Stampwhistle, has just informed me that there seems to be a problem developing in the Blasted Lands,” Khadgar informed us, his concern heavy in his tone. “The Dark Portal has changed in color once more...”

“The Dark Portal?” I whispered, grimacing slightly in worry. “Sounds ominous.”

“Very much so,” Khadgar nodded grimly. He folded the letter he received and stowed it away in a large pocket of his mantle(?). I'm still not sure what to classify his garb as, it looked kind of like... gambeson? But also like a wizard's robe. A wizard's robe that was made with swords in mind. It even had tiny, metallic plates that looked like dragon scales. The leather was probably also from some kind of beast. “Previously, the portal was green, leading to Outland on the other side, a twisted landscape of a ruined world. If what she says is true, then whatever lies behind that red portal is grave news indeed.”

“Why?” Luna asked, slightly wobbling her way over to me. At least she had the same problems with those stupid shoes as I did. “What could possibly be on the other side that causes so much concern?”

“Draenor,” Khadgar answered darkly. His look turned slightly haunted as he stared into the distance. “Before the Burning Legion destroyed it, Outland was a primal land only the strongest and fittest survived in. That land of danger and beauty holds many mysteries and was called Draenor by the natives, consisting of different orc clans.”

“Orc clans?” Celestia inquired, very much reminded of what fantasy stories made those out to be. “So, does that mean you won’t be able to show us around, then? In that case, let us help you!”

I blinked and Khadgar wasn't that far off from my own reaction, either. “Help?” he asked, taken off-guard. “I couldn’t possibly drag you into problems you have no part in. It would be safer if you stay in one of the major cities or go back to yours. I can’t ask you to fight when you are unfamiliar with your own bodies, Your Highnesses.”

Celestia shot him a displeased frown at that. “I’m not going to stand idly by while a friend is in need of assistance,” my twin argued back fiercely. “Besides, I’m sure with our power, we will be a force to be reckoned with.”

Khadgar sighed. “Of that, I have no doubt,” he said, looking over to Starswirl for help before continuing his side of the argument as our mentor merely gave him a cryptic smile. I suppose Khadgar wasn't exempt from our teacher's antics. “You can’t abandon your own realm, Your Highness. From what I understand, you are responsible for the daylight cycle in your world? I can’t have you be gone from a duty like that by allowing you to fight in a war. Many heroes have fallen against the brutality of the orcs and their warchiefs.”

“I can reassure you on that part, my friend,” Starswirl said, stroking his beard. “The first time I visited Azeroth, I noticed a rather peculiar difference between how much time passed here and back in Equestria. And if you fear they won’t be able to hold their weight in a fight... I’d like to give them the chance to prove themselves. A test, if you will.”

“See, no need to worry! We'll show those orcs not to mess with ponies!” Celestia smiled. Then she looked a bit confused. “How much time are we talking about here, Starswirl?”

“About a day for an hour,” he told us and I gave him a disbelieving stare. A whole day? “That is, a day here equates to about an hour back home. The most we can stay here is about nine or ten days. Don’t make me regret this decision, Princesses.”

Khadgar massaged his temple with a sigh, his grip tightening around the staff in his right hand. “I would still rest easier knowing you won’t be putting yourselves in unnecessary danger,” he pleaded with us and I tucked at my twin's dress. Celestia gave me a look to which I shrugged helplessly. We held a silent conversation about what we should do.

“Fine, let us compromise,” Celestia grunted, a sour look on her face. “We will look at the situation and listen to everything you say, even if you give us the order to retreat.”

The mage chuckled at that. “You are one stubborn woman,” he said, shaking his head with equal amounts of amusement and reluctant acceptance. “Although, I think I can agree to that. But I have one condition for you all, one that is as much for you as it is for them, Starswirl. Under no circumstance will you go through the Dark Portal, even if I am going through it.”

“But...” Luna muttered, only for him to silence her by holding up a hand.

“No,” he said, frowning sternly at us. “There is a good chance that I will have to close the portal on the other side. I can’t guarantee that I can open a way back to your home from there, so please, listen to my words for they are only for your own wellbeing.”

My sisters agreed reluctantly to his demand and I was thankful that Starswirl was pretty much thinking along the lines of Khadgar, wanting to keep us safe under all circumstances.

Then, Khadgar literally ripped open space with his powerful magic, making the hair on my body tingle in a fascinating way, creating a shimmering portal right in front of us. He tapped his staff on the ground and much to our surprise, he transformed into a raven as he flew through the portal.

As we stepped out on the other side, we found ourselves standing in a desolate land, dark and gloomy clouds rumbling up above. I looked around in horror as the very life of the land seemed completely gone from the cracked reddish dirt we stood on, various scavenging animals keeping their distance from us.

What caused us more concern, though, was the massive portal that stood in a gigantic crater in the distance. It wasn’t the sinister red color that gave me shivers, though. No... It was the enormous army pouring out from it, clad in dark grey (almost black) metal armor, bringing forth all manners of war machinery with them that I had never seen before. Half of the things they were bringing through the portal I couldn’t even guess at what their purpose might be.

And in between their army and us were the defenders of Azeroth as they fought them back as best as they could. My stomach did a few queasy flips as I beheld the carnage in front of my eyes. It was so... visceral and ruthless. They didn't care as their comrades died right by their side, fighting next to corpses of the fallen as if it were nothing. This... this wasn’t right. How could they care so little about their brothers and sisters in arms? How could they so callously throw away their own lives? Both sides struggled furiously against each other, killing life after life without pause.

Among the ones defending against the invading force, I saw various different races all working together. What looked like werewolves stood beside what looked to me like bulky minotaurs. Then there also were honest-to-goodness elves, one was a darker variant than the other. Those could only be high elves as they had a more golden color to them while the others had to be dark elves (or something similar along those lines, I suppose).

While the invading orcs had a dark brownish skin color, sometimes grayish even, among the defenders were also orcs fighting against their kin invading Azeroth. Those had either vibrant or sickly green-colored skin, though. It broke my heart to see them kill each other with such blatant hatred and ferocity.

Celestia and Luna looked just as horrified as I felt. I wish we had taken the out Khadgar offered us by rather going to one of their cities for sightseeing purposes and whatnot, but I also couldn’t ignore so much suffering, either. I had no idea what their motives were for invading this world with such an excessive force of soldiers and war machinery, but what I did know was that we had to put a stop to this madness, no matter what.

Even if that meant... taking their lives.

Was I... was I ready for such a task, though? I wanted to try and appeal to their senses, naïve as that was, ask them to stop... but would they heed those words? They were obviously here for war and I knew what that meant. War was never something to seek out and all I wanted was to go back. Pray this was a mere nightmare and wake up. But this sadly was no dream.

I had to make a choice here. Help or flee. Bravery or cowardice.

It would be so easy to choose the option I was most comfortable with, but then so many innocent lives would be lost if they broke through the line of defense here. I would never forgive myself if I were to let that happen. I had to be stronger than that. Judging by how my twin steeled herself for what was to come, she thought similarly to me. Her loyalty had been extended to Khadgar and all those he called friends and there was no way she would sit idly by.

Power flooded the area around my sisters as their eyes lit up with a brilliant white light and I let loose on my own suppression of my magical might, glad that Starswirl wasn’t anywhere near us anymore so that our fiery aura couldn’t hurt him. Around Luna, a misty fog appeared while the air around Tia and me began to shimmer with heat.

I called out to my sword, bringing it forth across dimensions in a fiery flash of flames and I glared out at the invaders. They were bringing with them war and carnage for what could only be selfish reasons and I’m not going to allow them to continue like that.

War means the willingness to fight and die for what you believe in, to give no ground to the enemy. Those orcs were clearly prepared for that, and from the looks of it, they were only here for conquest and bloodshed. A despicable goal. They were soldiers willing to die for their world and their leader, and I treated them like the invaders that they were.

There was a time for kindness and generosity, and then there was a time to take up action to ensure the loss of life was kept at a minimum. I wanted to show them mercy despite their foolish actions, although I doubted they would lay down their weapons and accept a peaceful solution. I would try my best to offer mercy, I swore that to myself, but it was the only thing I could do. One offer. A single offer of mercy and that's it. They will either accept it or face the consequences.

I silently gave my apologies to those that would find their deaths at the end of my sister's blades. For they would do no such thing. They were here to fight for one side and one side only. It was harsh, but so were our enemies.

In the end, I wasn’t so naïve to think that trying to only subdue them would lead to an end of their invasion, even if I wanted it to be so. No, those orcs here were on behalf of their leaders' orders. They were willingly following the commands of some megalomaniac hell-bent on conquering this world and I bet he or she wasn’t even on this side of the portal to lead their army. The only hope I had for them, a dwindling hope that I desperately clung on to, was that they would have a change of heart.

Something that would probably never happen, sadly.

Most of them didn’t seem to want to surrender, and I feared they had some notion of superiority that didn’t allow them to seek out a peaceful solution. As I moved around the battlefield (in a slutty dress, no less), I saw some of the orcs had deliberately crippled their arms. That could only be a deliberate act because I saw way too many of those orcs with missing forearms, having replaced them with blades that looked cruelly jagged and hooked, sharpened to rend, not cut.

What could cause a being like these orcs to go to such lengths? They couldn’t have just done that to gain an advantage in battle, right? No creature would purposefully cripple themselves like that. It almost seemed like a religious ritual they had to go through to earn their spot in the clan. And there was no doubt in me that they must have been from the same clan, somehow believing cutting off one’s arm was a strength that gave them an advantage.

Those orcs were one of my primary targets because I could at least reason with myself that such a commitment on their part meant that they had no qualms about hurting the innocent, even torturing them. After all, no being in existence would replace their arm with a weapon if they didn’t intend to use them for cruel reasons.

For every soul that died to my sword, I despaired. My sword found little resistance to their armor, cleanly cutting through even the thickest parts as if it were made out of butter. Had I not already emptied out my stomach during the first few minutes of the battle, I would have been throwing up all over the place as I found the blood splattering against me evaporating moments later.

That day, that damnable day... my weapon earned its name. It was my Remorse given form and for the first time? I hated the fact that I chose to give Starswirl that chance. To become a princess. This was a duty I never thought I would have to actually face.

"A fitting name..." A hint of a whisper spoke up from what I thought was behind me and I whirled around, startled and confused. For a moment, I thought an orc had snuck up on me despite my fiery aura burning everything around me, only for nothing to be there. I shook my head, my grief and despair getting to me. That must be it.

Leading the charge against Sombra had been different. We didn’t have to fight a war against him. It almost seemed like such a long time ago that he took away so much from us. From the world, really. The fight against Sombra seemed almost 'tame' in comparison to this. Even though he was one of the worst monsters ponykind had ever faced.

I tried begging with each one of them to lay down their weapons and preserve their lives by surrendering, but none of them did so. It was like they lived for the whole purpose of dying on a battlefield and I couldn’t fathom why anycreature would be like that. It was a massive culture shock to me, those orcs valuing bloodshed more than a peaceful co-existence.

It was like the antithesis of what ponies believed in and I hated it with a passion. I hated them with a passion and Remorse seemed to cut through their armor even easier than before as I admitted that to myself. And I hated that even more.

Celestia had fewer qualms about cutting down their numbers and using solar fire to eradicate entire groups at a time. She might have even relished in the fact that she was bringing their deaths in an act of divine punishment. Perhaps she was just cutting loose to vent out her frustrations that Khadgar had forbidden us from following him through the portal should he enter it.

Luna, on the other hand (it has been a very long time since I could say it like that), tried as hard as I was trying to get them to stop their senseless fighting. Not that she cared particularly much if they ended up dying from her attempts to subdue them. Frozen orcs were strewn about the battlefield here and there as she teleported to and fro, doing her best to not slip with her footing, a blizzard of ice and frost surrounding her.

Celestia was the only one that had adapted back to a humanoid form seemingly without problems. Although, I suspect she was using magic for that purpose. I was fortunate enough to only fall flat on my face a few times, getting back on my legs moments later, none the worse for wear. At least none of the orcs could take advantage of my bumbling around because the air around me was simply too hot for regular mortals to get close to me without burning themselves to death.

It put things into perspective for me, the inability of my foes to get anywhere near me, not when they had to fight the immense heat of my fiery aura. Hope had told me that only a being of equal or higher power could slay us for good. This was one such example that it was very much true for us now.

Normal mortals simply couldn’t do anything against us and I had no idea how to feel about it. It didn’t feel great to know that we were on a wholly different level than our enemies. But we couldn’t simply cut loose willy-nilly, we had to be mindful of our allies, lest they get in the crossfire. We had to be careful of our positioning to make sure we didn’t hurt the wrong side in this conflict.

Aside from my sisters and me, Starswirl was hard at work himself. He was near Khadgar with one of those green orcs and what looked like a weird bipedal... space... goat... thingy (it was hard to better describe them, they just looked so... alien). Both of those were swinging around large hammers, one with a larger shaft to make it a two-handed weapon, while Starswirl used his vast arsenal of spells to fight against the invading orcs. One of those spells was a bigger version of the vortex he used to fight against the shadowy creatures a while back.

I noticed a shimmering flare within the portal and watched as Khadgar proclaimed it as their chance to flip the war in their favor. The orc and the whatever-it-was made a push forward as Khadgar led a small elite force through the portal.^[1]

Celestia was about to abandon her fight against the remaining orcs to break her promise to Khadgar, but I was there to stop her from doing anything foolish. She might have struggled for a moment or two in my grasp and I reminded her that we couldn’t risk it.

I’m sure that Khadgar would do his utmost to close the portal from the other side and we shouldn’t be caught there when he does. While I’m sure he could eventually make a portal back to Azeroth, the fact remained that the other side was most likely not only in a different dimension but also in a different timeline. There was no telling whether we could go back home anytime soon if we went with him, not to mention that we had absolutely no idea how many orcs would await us on the other side of the portal.

He had said that this Draenor place was a vastly different place before something that called itself the Burning Legion invaded it, turning it into Outland as they razed it of most (if not all) life. Well, there must have still been some life left, otherwise, it wouldn’t have become known as Outland later on.

Thankfully, Starswirl and Luna were still on this side, not having followed Khadgar through the portal, either. There weren’t many enemy orcs left here, so the rest of the defenders could take care of them easily enough, I'm sure. I just wish I didn’t have to do what I had to do today.

Maybe Starswirl was right and we weren’t ready for this part of our responsibility, yet. But leaving our soldiers (or those of our allies) to themselves felt even worse. If we could help, then shouldn’t we?

Taking a life was despicable, there was no doubt about that, and I certainly felt dirty for it. The memory of this day would forever haunt me, I know it. I mourned for the deceased, be they ally or enemy, as I put a leash back on my magic. Neither side of them should have had to lose a loved one on this day. Not by my hands.

I didn’t notice that after the majority of the fighting had stopped, Starswirl led my numb and haunted self over to a few mages holding a portal open. My sisters were no better off as he led us away from the Dark Portal and the... Blasted Lands they were called, right? Anyway, I looked around confused as I suddenly found myself in a different location. A much more civilized location.

Following Starswirl, he led us through a large street and I could see various shops left and right, tall white towers with purple spires, and even a few exotic creatures being used as mounts by the races of Azeroth as they went about their day (and what looked like griffons, funnily enough).

“You three have had a long day, I’m sure the council will be more than accommodating enough to spare us a few rooms,” Starswirl whispered, ushering us along and up a long flight of stairs that led to the biggest tower of this city. After our mentor mentioned the council, I assumed that we were in the city Khadgar spoke of, Dalaran.

“Do you still think it was a wise idea to have left him there?” Celestia muttered, hugging her arms close to herself. “What if he gets captured or something? We can’t abandon him to such a fate!”

Starswirl chuckled heartily at that. “My dear Princess, Khadgar doesn’t get captured,” he reassured us, though it left much to be desired. “He has quite a few tricks up his sleeves, I assure you.”

“Still, aren’t you concerned?” my sister asked him, looking downtrodden and I reached out a hand to Lulu. Huh, I never knew how much I missed doing that...

“Oh, don't get me wrong. Of course, I am worried something might happen to him, but that won’t change the fact that he can take care of himself. Don’t you worry, Princess, what you three did today was the right thing to do. Khadgar would say the same were he here with us now and I’m sure he is doing his best to return at this very moment,” Starswirl answered. “He isn’t a member of the Council of Six for nothing, quite an accomplishment if I have to admit.”

Luna let out a small giggle as she detected a hint of envy in his voice, pouncing at the opportunity to tease him. “Wow, are you jealous?” she asked, mischief in her eyes. A little smile found its way onto my face, as well. My past misgivings about taking the lives of the orcs started to weigh less upon my shoulders and I watched on as Starswirl let out a scoff in return, mumbling about how his students couldn’t keep their muzzles out of business where they didn’t belong in. It was kind of funny. He only ever got like that when we found something he lied about or neglected to mention. And, you know, when we discovered a secret of his. “You totally are jealous!”

“Nonsense,” Starswirl said with a roll of his eyes. “Now hush and let me do the talking. I can’t have you three immature fillies make a wrong impression now...”

Luna and I pouted while Celestia grumbled about being treated like a little foal again, but Starswirl ignored our misgivings as he led us through the entrance into a grand chamber with a staircase leading up further into the tower. There were a few doors leading to different hallways to the side of the lower floor and up above us was also an indoor balcony, from which a woman was currently looking down on us with curiosity.

“If it isn’t Starswirl the Bearded,” she commented, a slight smile coming to her face. “I didn’t ever expect to see your return here. Come to learn more about portals?”

“No, I’m afraid my visit this time is of a different nature,” he explained, also smiling warmly. “It is good to see you, Modera.”

“And I’m sure it is good to see you, too, as long as you don’t turn the library into your bedroom again, Starswirl,” she replied, laughing lightly before she gave my sisters and me a questioning gaze. “And who might you three be? I assume they are your apprentices, Starswirl? They hold a staggering amount of power within them.”

Starswirl gave her a nod in confirmation. “Yes, those are my students,” he said, pointing to each of us with his staff. “These are Princess Celestia, Summer, and Luna. Girls, this is Archmage Modera. She is also a member of the Council of Six, so treat her like you would treat me.”

“Princesses?” Archmage Modera asked in surprise. “My, how ambitious of you. Perhaps even more so than Antonidas was with young Jaina.”

Our mentor chuckled with humor, stroking his beard. “Sometimes, I wonder if it is ambition or foolishness on my part,” he commented, promptly earning himself a light slap from my twin as she gave the old coot a glare for that. Modera gave a laugh herself, watching bemusedly as Starswirl smacked her behind the head with his staff. Luna and I giggled as our sister grumbled to herself with a pout. “Now then, I’m not sure if you are aware of it yet, but Khadgar went through the Dark Portal to Draenor to close it from the other side and my wards are weary from fighting all day long against an army of invading orcs. Might we perhaps find a room or two to rest in?”

Archmage Modera sighed after hearing our mentor explain the reason for our appearance. Not that I was very aware of the state I was currently in, too tired to care. “Of course, Khadgar would do something like that,” the mage muttered, not sounding surprised by his actions in the least. “We have plenty of rooms for you and the young Princesses to stay in. I hope you still know your way around. I should probably look into what Khadgar has gotten himself into this time.”

“Many thanks, my dear,” Starwirl bowed his head and I did the same with my sisters following suit. “Come along then, Your Highnesses.”

Too tired to care about him addressing us in a way we've told him time and time again he didn't need to do, I merely followed after him as he led us up a few flights of stairs towards where the guest rooms were located in the Violet Citadel (the name of this place, Starswirl explained to us excitedly). This building apparently served as the seat of power for the Kirin Tor and pretty much anything else a mage, or archmage, needed. Or a crazy old coot, as the case may be.

I let out a happy groan as I slumped on top of the covers of my bed, grateful that I could finally rest my legs, and more importantly, my feet. I was thankful I could finally wind down from the taxing day we just had, kicking the stupid shoes off with a sigh of relief. Whoever decided heels were a great thing for women to wear was a misogynist. That, and a genius. They really do look nice, but holy flying penguins, they are such a pain to wear for extended lengths of time. Or on a battlefield.

I suppose it was my fault for not stopping to think that removing them might have been a good idea while fighting against the orcs. I only had myself to blame, and sadly, Starswirl insisted that we get our own rooms, for whatever reason, so I was currently alone in my room. It was a little bit unnerving to not have my wives here with me, I'm not gonna lie.

Grumbling, I rolled over so that I was on my back instead of on my side, and I extended an arm above me. Half of my life I have spent as a pony now and seeing myself as a human again, I had to say that I honestly preferred hooves over squishy feet and hands. I had completely forgotten how tiresome it could be to stand, walk, or even run like that. Ponies were just superior in every way, a human couldn’t hold a candle to the capabilities a pony body had over them.

Stupid mirror turning me into a naked ape. I would have been fine without the clothes, but no... it just had to turn my regalia into something appropriate for my new form. Not to mention, slutty. Ugh.

I'm not a fan of these dumb human limitations. I mean sure, I had a great deal more agility like this, I’ll concede on that, but by the twin suns, this body couldn’t even compare to my stamina, strength, and speed as a pony. And I don't even exercise that much! Besides that, a good third of the pony population had the capabilities of flight, a major advantage in favor of my natural body (even though I wasn’t the best flier myself).

Although, as I stared up at my fingers, one thing did come to mind that could prove that humans had one advantage over ponies that could very well put things on an equal footing between both species.

I stripped out of my clothes as fast as I could and threw them haphazardly to the ground. I discarded my undergarments not a moment later, biting my lip in giddy anticipation while my heartbeat picked up speed. I smiled to myself as I felt my netherregion becoming wet with arousal. After what I went through today? I sorely needed some relief from the stress that managed to accumulate in me.

Humans, I had to give it to them, could masturbate way better than ponies ever could (without magic, that is). So, that is what I did until it was well and truly dark outside. It took me all of my willpower to not automatically reach out to Azeroth’s sun to make it go over the horizon, the celestial duty of upkeeping the day cycle had managed to ingrain itself into me after over twenty years of doing it twice per day.

Admittedly, I actually enjoyed fingering myself quite a lot, the sensation very different from when Tia or Lulu eat me out with their tongues or stuff my snatch full of cock.

I wanted to sneak out of my room and make my way over to one of my sisters, but Starswirl had his room directly opposite of mine and most likely hadn’t closed his door. The old stallion had to know about me and my sisters, otherwise, he wouldn’t have had the foresight to separate us while we were guests here.

He most likely knew more than he let on, he always did. Just his damn time-traveling spell made certain of that and who knows what he could have seen in the future between me and my sisters. Or maybe he was a lot more observant than I gave him credit for...

Before retiring to bed, I had the absolute pleasure of finding an almost modern bathroom connecting to my bedroom. Azeroth was truly a marvel to behold, I thought happily standing under a (somewhat medieval-ish looking) showerhead.

They had things here that I had never seen before and things I would have expected to see on Earth. One of the tiny creatures I could only compare to a tinier dwarf (might be a gnome, now that I think about it) had been riding a rickety chopper in the streets earlier. While it wasn’t up to snuff with modern Earth standards, looking a bit like it might fall apart at any moment, it was a genuine motorcycle.

As I dried myself off with a moderately fluffy towel, I watched the bustling city below me through the open window, a fascinated stare in my eyes. This city was perhaps even more remarkable than I had first given it credit for because, as I stared out towards the horizon, I noticed that it... wasn’t exactly on the ground.

Dalaran, the city of scholars and adventurers, home to the mages of the Kirin Tor and ruled over by the Council of Six, was a floating city within the clouds. Unlike the pegasus cities back home, Dalaran wasn’t made out of clouds or even supported by cloud magic.

It was easily missable from the ‘ground’ level of the city, but some kind of magic was keeping this city aloft. I wasn’t concerned, though, surely everycreature here wouldn’t be staying on a massive floating rock if it wasn’t safe.

The lights below from the shops and lanterns were easily overshadowed by the lights coming from the crystals atop the buildings, glowing in nice soft blues and reds. If I had to guess, they were some kind of ward to keep the city safe from outside threats or enchanted to help keep the city aloft.

True to the nature of scholars and students, as well as adventurers and the like, Dalaran was a city that didn't sleep. Even in the middle of the night, there were still more than a handful of people going about their day. And the term 'people' really did stretch to all kinds of races, even though the Kirin Tor seemed to be predominantly made up of humans. In typical fantasy fashion, the elves I've seen fighting in the Blasted Lands were the second most represented race, followed by the tiny gnomes and then the goat-like race I later learned were called draenei. But there were also the numerous other races I had seen and then others I had not yet encountered.

One such race were the goblins and they seemed to be in a bit of a rivalry with the gnomes. The explosive, engineering kind of rivalry. The things you see when you stay up long enough at night...

Alas, sleep eluded me for hours as I decided to retire to bed, tossing and turning on the large mattress. It wasn’t as soft and fluffy as I was used to back in our castle. I wasn't one to brag, but... nothing could compare to a cloud mattress. The inherent pegasus nature in me couldn't content itself with whatever they used for bedding here. It wasn't stuffed full of straw, at least.

It wasn’t just the different bed that kept me up at night, though. I had gotten so used to sleeping next to my wives over the years, falling asleep required at least one other body next to mine nowadays. Whether it was Luna’s pleasant freezing aura that could negate my fiery aura or Celestia constantly nibbling on my ears, I missed having something to hug in my sleep. The pillow wasn’t doing it any justice, sadly.

Then, there also were the memories of the Dark Portal. The rushing orcs with their bloodlust-fueled fighting spirit, Khadgar going through the portal while we had to stay behind, and the sheer mass of dead bodies the longer the fight continued on. Whatever I tried, I just couldn’t get these images out of my head and when I thought I had managed to do that for a measly minute, another picture flashed by in front of my mind’s eye.

Every time I watched myself end another life after begging them to lay down their blades, I winced and whimpered. Yes, sure, I felt some small modicum of indignant rage at the ones that replaced their limbs with weapons, they seriously had it coming for them with what I had witnessed them do to the other defenders, there were those that seemed to only be following orders, no matter what. Those I wept for because I could have sworn I saw a few of them didn’t want to have a part in this fight but still went along with it.

One might argue that they should have known better, that they shouldn’t simply let others dictate how they act, and I would agree that they had a chance to change their hearts as I pleaded with them, but then again, I didn’t know what led to their invasion in the first place and who was the one making them fight for them.

Was it a tyrant of the worst kind that cruelly threw their soldiers at a problem until it ceased to be a problem? Or was it perhaps their homeworld that offered them no choice but to seek out a new home? The little bit of what I knew about Outland, the world Draenor would become, made me think it was the latter case, although I could be wrong.

I had too little information about what was going on and I didn’t even know if I was on the right side in this conflict, to begin with. I mean, I’m pretty sure those invaders didn’t have the best mindset as they simply invaded this world without any formal declaration of war, so I was reasonably sure I wasn’t on the side that was in the wrong here.

But every side in a conflict had their arguments for doing the things that they did, so there had to be something that could explain the reasoning of the orcs from this past version of Draenor.

I told myself that it shouldn’t really be my concern what these foreigners were doing with each other as I barely even knew one side, hoping that it would grant me some small amount of sleep. My heart on the other hoof (or hand currently, it was still weird to see myself like this), felt like I needed to resolve this conflict between these two worlds because I couldn’t live with myself if I ignored their plight, otherwise.

The problem with that, though, was that I couldn’t just go around traveling between worlds and solving all of their disputes while ignoring my own home and the problems we were facing there.

Ruling a nation came with its fair share of conflict and such, too. And while it is nice and all to lend a helping hoof to a neighbor wherever I could, meddling in their affairs would only manage to alienate me from them, and that wouldn't make me many friends. The leaders of this world surely had their own ideas about how to solve this predicament and if I were to tell them how to handle their own problems, they wouldn’t look too kindly upon me and my sisters.

Judging by how experienced the soldiers were that fought on the battlefield against the invading orcs, this world, with all its wonders like floating cities, technology, and racial diversity, was very familiar in the art of warcraft. Something I definitely didn’t want to have even more of a part in than I already had.

It didn’t change the fact that I yearned for a peaceful solution, though. The best I could probably do to reach that goal would be to have a talk between the leaders of this world and my sisters and me, suggesting to them to at least consider extending a hand in friendship in the hopes that it would lead to a brighter future for all that were involved in this.

But first, a solution to the conflict would have to be found and a truce or ceasefire before talks could even begin. That, and possible reparations to alleviate any grudges. One can't build a lasting friendship if one side hates the other's guts.

Even I am not that naïve to think I can talk them into having a change of heart. Look how that one turned out, already...

Well, enough of these ramblings, Summer, I told myself with a sad sigh as I moved back and forth over the bed to find a comfortable position to sleep on. Not that I was all that successful in getting my desired sleep. It didn’t help that my body was screaming at me that it was all wrong, the shape not agreeing with me at all. It was like my soul was protesting against me that I was a pony and that these limbs didn't reflect that, at all. In a way, it was almost like a mask that didn't fit.

Haah. Tomorrow would hopefully be a better day, I thought glumly. Maybe a bit of sightseeing would be able to lift my mood. Besides, constantly worrying over things I had little influence over would only serve to drive me insane. This trip was just that, a trip to see and experience new things, even if some of those things might end up being unpleasant.

Such as the conflict with the orcs and the absolute pain that was women's clothing. I swear, only Tia had 'princess-appropriate' clothing and the universe was trying to make Luna and me out to be some kind of degenerates. The irony.

I'm glad my fiery aura regarded my regalia as a part of myself. I don't even want to know how many orcs might have tried to do something with me had I not had the additional layer of my dress covering me. Truly, the thought of anyone but my wives lusting after my body disgusted me. I felt dirty enough, already.

Ugh. I won't ever forget the feeling of blood evaporating from my body, will I? Being lusted after by big, strong muscular orcs was the least of my problems (even the women were Amazonian, seriously). Without my fiery aura, this stupid frail body wouldn't have lasted a second against them. All of my movements felt awkward, to say the least. It would have been a simple matter to break me in so many different ways had they not literally burned themselves by trying to get close to me.

I can still see the agony in their eyes as their blood boiled while their armor sizzled on their skin. Putting them out of their misery with Remorse was a mercy. And still, even more came after me to avenge their fallen comrades or to seek glory against a powerful foe. I would never forget their faces as they realized they stood no chance. Their screams would forever haunt my waking moments and terrorize my sleep.

All because I failed to get them to lay down their arms. I failed to make them surrender like a good princess should have. I made the mistake of thinking this world was like my own, where even the griffons valued their lives more than a pointless death.

Damnit, why can’t I just ignore my feelings for once and stop worrying over it so much so I could finally go to sleep without having to see myself ending lives left and right?! I’m certain my lovely wives would say something about my ‘damn bleeding heart’ right about now and I couldn’t help myself from chuckling mirthlessly. They were probably right, my compassion would one day lead to me ruining myself utterly in a hopeless effort to make the world a brighter place to live in. Any world, for that matter.

“Such a pity I can’t simply snap these fingers and make a wonder happen,” I mumbled as I stared at the slightly bent appendages with a forlorn gaze. Experimentally, I did just that and snapped my fingers, waiting for a few moments with bated breath. I think at some point in the life of anycreature, they had the hopes that they could simply change how life was with a simple wish, and I wasn’t exempt from that wishful thinking. I was only, well... not so mortal anymore, but mortal enough to count.

Too bad that wishful thinking never got anyone anywhere. Faced with the harsh truth of reality, the only way to change the world was by doing something to make that wish come true, if only in the slightest way. I’m sure I'm going to face many such thoughts over the next few years alone and the thing about that? I literally had an unlimited amount of years that I could make those wishes. I had the time to work towards fulfilling them, though. Something only a few beings had.

Was that the purpose of immortality? Work tirelessly for a vision of what one thinks should be the future at some point? Here I was again, getting all philosophical about life.

Sleep never came to me that night, sadly. I simply stared up at the ceiling of my room, wondering about this and that. As was the case with all things in philosophy, there was no one true answer to the questions I asked myself. That, coupled with the happenings of the day before and the night without rest, had me in a seriously cranky mood.

I made my way through the tall halls of the Violet Citadel, searching for anything that resembled either a kitchen or a dining hall (or a mage that could point me in the right direction). At least this building wasn’t as full of nooks and crannies as our castle, sometimes I still found myself lost in my own home. Perhaps I shouldn’t have let Luna have her way with all the traps, twisted hallways, and secret passages she had put in our castle.

Seeing one of those weird gaseous creatures that had given Khadgar that letter yesterday, I asked it for directions in the hopes that it could at least understand what I wanted from it. The... mana... elemental thingy (it kinda looked cute in a weird sense) led me down one staircase and brought me to a room that had a table filled with all kinds of confections and fruits, as well as drinks.

I was apparently the first one here, only my little helper at my side as he stared at me with those unblinking glowing eyes. I got the impression that these 'creatures' were basically the servants of this place and that they must also be the ones that make the meals around here. Or they just deliver them to the right place, I couldn’t tell with their semi-intelligence. Much like automatons, they seemed to be preprogrammed with the things they could do. Anything beyond that and they just stared at you. Like asking them what was what (someone apparently neglected to think such questions could come up with foreigners).

Shrugging, I took a plate and loaded it with a little bit of everything. I debated whether to take that blue glowing liquid or the drink resembling wine and juice at the same time. I gave the juice a cautious sniff, not smelling any hint of alcohol coming from it. So, with one last wary glance towards the blue concoction, I decided to take my chances with the juice instead.

Once I placed my little feast on the long table, I dragged the high-back chair out a little to take my seat. Sitting as a human felt also slightly unnerving to me now, my legs bending in an unfamiliar way. Or rather, a forgotten way. I sighed with irritation, trying to get a bit more comfortable on the cushion.

This was starting to grate on my nerves, seriously. I wasn’t supposed to feel so alienated by a human body after having lived half of my life as both a human and a pony, damnit. Maybe I had just adapted to being in a pony body way more than I thought I had. It didn’t help that it had also been quite a long time since I had last been in a human body. The fact that I associated my old body with the cause of my gender crisis wasn’t helping, either.

As I drank from my cup, I was pleasantly surprised to note that it tasted like a mix of cherries, strawberries, and most importantly (and the surprising part), crystal berries. It was a much-needed pick-me-up, lifting my mood considerably.

Hearing voices coming nearer, I looked up and was greeted by my sisters and Starswirl, accompanied by Archmage Modera. The woman stared at me with bewilderment as I was about to bite into one of those swirly buns I had picked up from the buffet table. My sisters were also blushing heavily as they stared just as much, while Starswirl was hiding his eyes behind a hand.

I gave them a confused stare, trying to figure out what the matter was. Had I spilled some of the juice on myself? I looked down at my body, not finding anything dripping down from me that indicated as such.

“What?” I asked, still not getting it. “Do I have something on my face?”

Perhaps the juice had discolored my lips or something? I took a napkin and tried to clean my face of something that was apparently not there.

“Okay, what’s going on?” I grumbled, not in the mood to stay in the dark about what was up with them while I had not slept at all.

“Summer...” Celestia began gently, still blushing brightly. “Where are your clothes?”

“Clothes?” I asked back, confused. “Back in my room, why?”

I think I might be forgetting something here, something very important. I gave each of them a glance, seeing them with their dresses and robes on. Then, I looked down at myself, giving one of my 'huge' teats a poke as they were completely bare and on display for the whole world. Huh, right. Humans have that nudity thing, don’t they?

Ponies were the complete opposite, I swear. We only ever wore clothes to entice or when it got too cold even for us (not that my sisters and I had much of a problem in that regard, so only to seduce, really). The entire point of clothes for ponies was to show off a hint of what lay beneath and make it more exciting to reveal our bodies in a playful and risque way. Hence part of my reluctance to wear anything of the sort.

The only exception was formal wear, and even then, most of that still made us look more daring than fancy and serious. The only type of 'clothing' that didn't have that effect was armor and our regalia (when it wasn't transformed to 'fit in' with the social expectations of this world, that is).

I gave them a pout and crossed my arms underneath my 'assets', which only furthered their reaction. “I don’t see a problem with this,” I muttered grumpily, feeling more comfortable the way I was right now. “What’s up with clothes, anyway? We don’t wear them twenty-four-seven back home. The only one that does that is Starswirl and he is crazy, so he doesn’t count.”

“I beg your pardon?” Modera said, staring at us with wide eyes. “You don’t wear clothes?!”

“Ah, well...” Starswirl chuckled awkwardly. “I should probably explain that to you while her sisters get her decent...”

“Stupid clothes,” I grumbled as Tia and Lulu dragged me away from my breakfast. “Why do we have to wear them? They are so uncomfortable. And they make me look even more 'indecent'.”

“Summer, I get that you haven’t had a female human body before, but you can’t just go out in the nude like that!” Celestia shot back and I continued to pout. “What do you think would have happened had somepony else found you before us? Somepony that wasn’t female?”

If I still had a tail, I would have flicked it angrily. “Tia, not every male is a rapist,” I told her, glaring at her. My sister snorted and glared back at me.

“True, but what if somepony like that came across you?” Celestia shot back. “I’d rather not take the chances of you being molested by anypony but me or Luna.”

Our sister rolled her eyes at that comment. “Way to be a pervert about it,” Luna muttered but we ignored her.

“I’d think they would be more decent like that,” I argued back. “Why do you always look for the bad in anycreature? And for your information, females can rape others, too. It's not about penetration.”

“I don’t see the bad in everypony!" Tia argued back, mad at the accusation. "But I’m not so naïve to think it isn’t there. Male or female.”

“Naïve? I’m not naïve!” I grumbled in denial. “What is it that is so reprehensible to hope for the best in another being? Is it because they aren’t ponies?”

“What?! No!” she growled, slapping my shoulder. “How could you think so little of me?!”

“Then how could you have so little faith in me?!” I shouted back, poking her back on her shoulder. “I’m not a little foal, who do you take me for? I can take care of myself if I were in the situation of another creature trying to molest me!”

My wife looked like I just slapped her. “I... Summer, I’m sorry, okay?” Celestia sighed, looking to the ground. “I’m just... concerned. I don’t want you to be seen as some slut, or worse yet, have some... creature being successful in overpowering you and having their dirty hands all over you!”

“Tia, I... I’m sorry for shouting at you, I didn't mean to,” I said, rubbing my arm awkwardly. “And I’m sorry for being so... 'naïve', I guess. I really am an idiot, aren’t I? You must think that I’m stupid...”

“Summy, you aren’t... well, a little bit, but not 'that' much. At least, not to the degree that you need to be constantly held by the hoof for you to get anything done,” Celestia told me and I pouted again at the sheer confidence boost that gave me. “You know I’m just teasing, right?”

“Could have worded that a bit kinder, though,” I answered with a little grumble. “I’m glad you at least don’t think I’m a complete failure...”

“Why are you so negative and depressed right now?” Celestia asked and I gave a half-hearted shrug. Not like I can just tell her I hated my skin right now. “Summer... did you even sleep tonight? Don’t even try to deny it, please.”

“I... might have not slept, like... at all?” I said, wincing slightly as she gave me that disapproving look that always made me feel bad.

“You do know that you could have asked Luna for help, right?” she told me and I felt... sort of stupid for not even considering that possibility. I haven't needed that kind of aid in a long time, after all.

“Sorry...” I mumbled, only for Luna to give me a hug in reassurance.

“Great, now you two kiss and make up,” Luna commented with a smile and I rolled my eyes at her. Tia giggled, taking me in her arms and dipping me towards the ground. I shrieked out in surprise at her sudden boldness, humming happily as she captured my lips with hers.

“Please, just understand that I’m looking out for you, okay?” Celestia whispered as she held me there in her arms. I blushed heavily, giving her a nod. She had a point there, even though I desperately searched for reasons to dispute her claims. It felt wrong to assume anycreature would do what she implied, but this wasn’t Equestria and I should realize that probably a bit more. The inhabitants of this world clearly don’t have the same morals as ponies (even if those might be sometimes a bit... weird to get used to).

My twin helped me back up and together we made our way toward my room, luckily avoiding any other being in the process. Back in the safe confines of the bedroom, Celestia and Luna took note of the discarded pile of clothes and gave me a raised brow. I shrugged, crossing my arms underneath my teats, not realizing that that only put more attention on them for my sisters.

“It’s like she doesn’t even know how much she flaunts her body around...” Luna commented quietly to Celestia and I glared at both of them as my twin bit her lip, nodding in agreement. Stupid horny sisters. I let out a huff as I lifted a leg so Tia could slide over the undergarment while Lulu sat down beside me with those dastardly teat-holders.

“Must I wear those?” I grumbled, staring distrustingly at the garment in the hands of my Moon. “They bite into my shoulders with those thin straps and they feel way too restricting, overall. Why do humans have to wear such things, anyway?”

“Sister, I doubt you want to show just about anybody your nipples,” Luna argued and held them up for me to slide my arms through. “Now, stop with your squeamishness, and let me put these on you.”

“I’m not a little foal, I can dress myself...” I said, not actually doing what I said in my reluctance to put these stupid things on. Human clothing is dumb, I stand by my point.

“And I don’t see you doing that, so it falls to Tia and me to do that for you,” Luna snorted, taking my arm without much trouble as I didn’t resist her. I pouted, putting my other arm through the strap as she wiggled the damn thing in front of me to get me to comply with her demands.

I let out a surprised squeak once she had closed it, her arms trapping me in a hug and her hands groping my chest. I could feel her hot breath on my neck (something that was completely unlike her with the perpetual coldness that was around her usually), her lips coming closer and closer to my ears and I shivered with arousal. Celestia smirked at us, obviously enjoying the show as she still waited for me to lift my other leg so she could put my undergarments on for me.

“What do you say to us sneaking out tonight?” Luna whispered seductively while placing a soft kiss behind my ear. My heart skipped a beat and my breasts started feeling funny in addition to my clit. “How about we explore the city on our own with Starswirl none-the-wiser? Spend the night together doing naughty things...”

“W-won’t he find out?” I asked, my breath hitching as I felt her nibble at the edge of my ear with her pointy canines. My body shuddered and I let out a moan. I wanted her, right now, so badly. Celestia, too, for that matter. I was desperate for relief. “What if he... ahn~... notices? Oh, fuck, this feels so much better with human teeth!”

“Do you actually care?” Luna shot back, squeezing one of my teats a bit tighter. Her tongue licked the back of my neck and a shiver ran down my spine in pleasant tingles. I was already falling into a lustful haze and sex was the only thing on my mind. “Who are we fooling with him, huh? He probably knows already, doesn’t he?”

By the twin suns, I never felt happier being molested by my sisters. I didn't want her to stop, but the thought of Starswirl finding out... “What if he... mhn... doesn’t? Haah... why does this feel so good..? Squeeze them more..!”

My sweet Moon did just that as she chuckled. “We can play the ‘what if’ game the whole day and get nowhere. I’m sick of hiding this from the ones we hold dear most,” she growled. Then, her other hand wandered over my stomach in a slow, sensual way. Butterflies didn't even describe the feeling I felt accurately enough. “Day in and day out we sit on our thrones, hiding our love out of fear for what might happen. I understand that it is necessary, but why keep it from the ones we call friends? We can trust them.”

“But what if they slip up and reveal us to the whole nation?! What then?!” I asked her, turning my head a bit to look at her from the side. She looked pretty uncaring of the consequences right now... “I'll tell you what will happen! They will hate us and ridicule us! Platinum will regain the throne and undo everything we worked so hard for! We will be stripped of our duty and sent into exile! I can't let that happen! We had this conversation before and you were on my side then, so what changed? Has Tia gotten to you?”

Luna stayed silent at that, involuntarily giving me the answer to the question I asked and I shot my twin a disapproving look. Celestia rolled her eyes, poking my leg with a finger impatiently. And here I was starting to feel good, too. This was such a turn-off.

“What?” she scoffed. “Don’t look at me like I’m suddenly going to make our relationship public. Why can’t we just open up a bit to Starswirl or even Clover? What about Pansy? You’re pretty thick with her. Don’t you think she would at least understand? Heck, I’m certain we aren’t even the only herd with sisters in it. We can just rope Clover into this and make him pretend he's our husband.”

I looked a bit ill at the thought of asking Clover to pretend he was part of our herd. I mean, he's like a brother to us! "I'd rather not we do this. And he has his own love life, you know? We can't just make him decide between helping us and his own happiness," I said as I lifted my leg with a huff, letting her dress me while I leaned back against Lulu tiredly. It was just too much to ask of anypony, really. “Maybe Pansy would understand, but... how can you be so certain? Besides, I’m pretty sure I would have heard of such herds before, sister.”

“Amore didn’t care, so why would they?” Celestia said, pointing out that there had already been somepony that accepted us for who we were. A pang went through my heart, missing my best friend and a little bit of hatred flared up in me for what Sombra did to her. “If you would open a history book for once in your life, you would know that those types of herds existed for survival reasons. It isn’t even like they were in a herd with their brothers, so why are you so stubborn about this? I assure you, the genetic defects you associate with incest happen over generations and it's not like we're going to put a foal in you.”

“Tia, making those things legal only leads to bad things. How long would it take for ponies to think it would be okay to be in a sister-brother relationship? Or suns forbid, a parent-child relationship?! I don’t want to be responsible for such depravity to be accepted in society, sister,” I shot back and she let out a sigh in despair, something that rewarded her a glare from me. “Incest has massive risks that we can’t allow, Celestia. Besides birth defects. So please, can we stop arguing about this?”

“As you wish, sister,” she muttered, clearly not convinced that a sister-sister relationship would lead to the very thing I feared so much. I won't be responsible for siblings gaslighting each other into relationships. More so than we did with Luna (though that was more or less how she already felt for me in our past life, we still did plant the idea into her head). “Anyway, you have yet to answer our question. What do you say to us sneaking out tonight? We might... get a little bit of action while in human form~. What do you say?”

Her proposition made a flutter run through me and I felt my nethers get excited again in anticipation. I gave her a nod, my face blazing brightly as my throat couldn’t get out a single word. I would have preferred to have her and Luna do it right this instant and I could see it in their eyes that they would love to do just that, but Starswirl and Modera would probably question why we were gone for so long. It's not like we had wasted enough time already, but still. No need to give them any ideas.

“Great~.”

My lovely sister made short work with the rest of my clothes (I didn’t mind the wandering hands, at all) and we were on our way back to breakfast. My stomach and my nethers kept arguing over what we should have done while we were alone for a few minutes, and honestly, I was taking the side of my needy womanhood more right now. Breakfast could have waited...

Alas, I had to acquiesce to my stomach’s opinion of food being better than sex in the morning, the small feast managing to satisfy me perhaps just as much. There were just so many flavors I had never experienced before and I felt like I was going to go into a happy food coma the more I sampled from the variety available here.

Archmage Modera was a little bit perturbed by what she had learned from Starswirl, although I could see a certain childlike glee in her eyes from knowing we were ponies in our reality.

Once breakfast was over and the hungry god in my tummy was satisfied, Archmage Modera excused herself to us, stating that she had to prepare for her own journey to the Draenor that somehow got misplaced in time. It was clear to her (and probably Khadgar) that it was an alternative version of the one the original orcs came through.

So, yeah... those green orcs were apparently also aliens. I was getting the impression that Azeroth had a lot more experience with the unknown from out of space than Equestria or even Earth had. That is to say, I didn’t think we would have ever made contact with extra-terrestrial life on Earth and the odd few encounters with life outside of my home dimension in Equestria didn’t even come close to what Azeroth had to deal with.

The draenei, the weird space goats with blue skin, were also refugees running away from the Burning Legion I had heard of a few times now. Those had crash-landed on Azeroth a while back, having traveled through the cosmos in an attempt at finding a safe place to settle down and live their lives peacefully. Apparently, they had also encountered Draenor along the way, but the orcs weren’t too kind to them.

The library I learned this from also had a bit more about the odd few lifeforms that got summoned here by warlocks and such in a misguided attempt at subjugating them to their will. Demons were a thing here, it seemed.

And most of those demons served the Burning Legion, go figure.

I wished, I really wished with all of my heart that I had never opened the damn history book (I’m definitely not reading it because of the argument I had with Tia... nuh-uh). There was a lot of tragedy here that was even worse than everything that happened back on Earth. For example, there was a young prince that, in his mad pursuit to eradicate the undead, turned to less pleasant methods to get the job done, only to fall to corruption and use the same powers of his enemies on his once allies (another example of just how screwed up this world was, although there had been rumors of undead in Equestria in the past, though only wendigos were confirmed to be real). Arthas even murdered his own father, going on a rampage right after and almost destroying the entire population of the world to bring it to its knees.

A mad king with his undead army wasn’t the only thing that had me cry as I read along further, not able to stop myself from learning the tragic history of this world. There were some mentions about an ancient high elf queen that first invited this Burning Legion to Azeroth, but most of the accounts were a bit hazy and that happened almost ten thousand years ago, so I was tempted to take it with a grain of salt. The interesting part about her, though, was that she was still very much alive and had been turned into what is called a naga. A type of sea-serpent high elf hybrid and I had no idea how that happened, in the first place. She had her slimy tentacles in a lot of things, trying to achieve whatever it was she was working towards, causing a lot of trouble even for the ones living on the mainland of the continents of this world.^[2]

There had been some trouble in this Outland Khadgar had mentioned, something about an elf that had taken on the powers of the demons he had hunted, becoming one himself in the process. I’m not sure what it is that he did that was so bad, but I’m not going to argue with the ones that felt it necessary to put him out of commission.

Besides this Illidan the Betrayer (I found no clues as to whom he betrayed, but the title didn’t make me give him much sympathy), there was a mention of a Sunwell and how a commander of the Legion was almost summoned through it. Another reference to an alien ‘lifeform’ was mentioned in passing and I had to look up what a ‘naaru’ was. Let’s just say, I wanted to stay the hell away from those things, as they were beings of pure light.

I knew what those types of beings led to and I definitely didn’t want a part in their twisted crusade, even if it might seem benevolent at first. To them, mortals were merely pawns in the grander scheme of things and nothing more. Learning about the naaru also led to me learning about the beings of the void, their opposites. The light and the void, three guesses as to how they thought about each other and the first two don’t count. It seems like I stumbled upon a world that had a cliché fight between ‘good’ and ‘bad’.

Fat chance of either of them being good. Both wanted the same thing in their own way and that was total superiority and control over the universe.

Anyway, after my little excursion into the two cosmic forces vying for control of the universe (because for what else could they be fighting over), I went back to learning about the history of Azeroth. There were several mentions of the odd few wars with various tribes of trolls, some bigger than the others. Something about a blood god that had to be put down and a plague they spread, weakening everyone afflicted and killing the unprepared. There was also something about some wild gods that another tribe of trolls channeled into their bodies or whatever. I’m not so sure that is what actually happened, it sounded a bit preposterous.

I flipped through the pages of the history book until I found something interesting that had nothing to do with friggin’ trolls extorting their gods or something and came back to the topic of that foolish young prince... I had no idea how to feel about the things he did, they all sounded so atrociously wrong that I wanted to slap the damn book shut and forget I ever read the damn thing in the first place. But sadly, the young prince was one of those topics you couldn’t get around while learning about the history of this world...

The resurgence of the Lich King was one of those recent events that still affected the people of Azeroth to this day. The name Prince Arthas had taken on as he went down the spiral to crazy says a lot about what exactly happened, you didn’t just go around calling yourself the Lich King for nothing. A lot of the races on Azeroth had an issue with him and banded subsequently together to defeat him once and for all. Arthas, or the Lich King (or however he preferred to call himself, who cares), had done a lot of despicable things during his mad reign of terror. One of the most horrid things he made use of was a floating necropolis called Naxxramas that was under the command of one of his most loyal underlings, housing horrors beyond imagination.

I’m glad that such a monster was put down for good. Sombra seemed like a little child in comparison to him, but I could have seen him becoming just as bad as Arthas had been given enough time. Perhaps our decision to merely banish him was too kind for him...

I shook my head and continued on. Something a little bit more recent was the event labeled as the 'Cataclysm'. I had no idea what to think about the dragon that was, at some point, called the Aspect of the Earth or the Earth-warder. Something told me that this Deathwing had been used to cause as much destruction as possible, considering the change was not all that subtle. He was slain by what must have been his own family, judging by the titles they all held.

It might be worth investigating these dragons a bit more, they were depicted as guardians of some kind and perhaps a lot older than most of the races in this world. Even if only to get some advice on how to keep ourselves sane.

The last notable thing in recent history that I found out about was the discovery of a hidden landmass to the south. I definitely wanted to visit their land and I’m not ashamed to say it was only because of the name and what it implied. Pandaria.

I swear, if there are cute cuddly little pandas running around there, I’m going to take one back with me despite what they might say to that. I just couldn’t help myself at the overwhelming sense of possessiveness flaring up within me as I thought of what the inhabitants might look like.

Celestia stared at me with a quizzical stare as I giggled to myself like a lunatic, looking up from her book of spellcraft. Luna was also glancing at me with a raised eyebrow, smiling fondly at my antics.

I slapped my tome shut, not caring to read any further if I could simply drag my sisters with me on an adventure to see their land for ourselves. Starswirl grumbled as I asked him to show us where we could possibly get a mage that could open a portal for us there. The grumpy old wizard sighed, shutting his own book as he stood up leaning on his staff.

“Sometimes you really are a pain in my flank. You need to learn more patience,” he groused, scratching his beard slightly. “And here you wonder why I call you little moody teenagers, behaving like that. Very well, then. I suppose we have been in here for some time, might as well go and see the world.”

I nodded happily, pointedly ignoring his remark about our behavior and that he still would have liked to finish studying this world's magic. Lulu was just as happy as I was, if only for a different reason. She was mainly glad to be out of the library after lazily flipping through books in the hopes that something caught her attention. I took her and Celestia’s hands in mine and followed after Starswirl.

We left the Violet Citadel and went into a different building where a hub of permanent portals was kept in a neat row. There were some interesting ones I wanted to take a look at, but Starswirl wasn’t one to let us wander off on our own while we were in a different dimension.

https://youtu.be/Dyk1GSVqo7U?t=32911

The portal to Pandaria brought us to what was called the Shrine of Seven Stars, one of the two capitals that saw a lot of travel from the rest of the races of Azeroth. And, more importantly, the natives.

I was giggling like a little foal as I saw humanoid pandas going about their day and my sisters tried their best to keep me away from them. Well, ‘tried’ being the keyword here.

“Uncle Chen, h-help...” the little panda girl I was squeezing the life out of croaked out as I nuzzled her cheek affectionately. The little girl tried futilely to get me away from her as I showered her with my love. “Lady, what is the problem with you?”

“Haha, Li Li,” an older pandaren said, smiling mirthfully. “What have I told you about wandering off?”

“Yeah, yeah, now get this crazy woman away from me!” Li Li complained, pouting at him and Luna giggled as she came to her aid, instead.

“I apologize for my sister, she can get... enthusiastic quite easily when cute things are involved,” she apologized on my behalf. I gave her a pout as I rubbed my arm awkwardly, sad to have my little cuddle bear taken away from me. “My name is Princess Luna, this is Princess Celestia and Princess Summer. It is a pleasure to meet you.”

“Princesses?” Li Li asked with fascination as her uncle gave us a baffled stare. “Wow, Uncle Chen, have you ever met princesses before?”

“I have,” Chen replied, giving his niece a lazy smile. He was a rather easy-going guy, wasn't he? “Though, I can’t say I have ever heard of you three before. From which kingdom do you hail from? You dress in a very peculiar fashion.”

I fidgeted at that particular comment, feeling self-conscious about wearing these clothes. He didn't seem to be meaning it in 'that' way, though. I suppose he wasn't into that kind of thing. “It’s...” I started, but my sister covered my mouth before I could say too much. She gave me a stare that said that I shouldn’t go around telling everycreature we come across from where we are, as long as we don’t know if we could trust them. I gave her hand a lick.

“Eww,” she said, wiping her hand on my shoulder. “Summer, behave yourself. Didn’t you say you weren’t a little foal anymore?! Ugh. 'Tis disgusting.”

“Foal?” Li Li asked, confused and my sister breathed in sharply.

“A child, my dear,” Starswirl explained, getting a ‘Duh’ kinda look from the little girl as she rolled her eyes, muttering something about knowing what a foal was.

“I must say, you and your daughters are quite interesting,” Chen chuckled. “This here is my niece Li Li and I’m called Chen Stormstout. We travel the world a lot.”

Starswirl smiled brightly. “A Stormstout you say?” he asked, intrigued. “I have only heard good things about your family.”

“Yes, I can imagine,” Chen answered, smiling slightly again. “I don’t believe I have caught your name yet?”

“Oh, where are my manners?” Starswirl laughed a bit awkwardly. “I’m Starswirl the Bearded and I feel like I must correct you on something, my dear friend.”

“And what would that be?” Chen asked, confused.

“These are my students, not my daughters. Although, at times I wonder if I shouldn’t be a bit stricter with them. Sort of in the way like a grandfather would be that I’m sure they see me as,” he chuckled, stroking his beard. “They are very close to me and I would give everything to know them safe.”

“Hah! Just as I would for my niece,” Chen agreed, looking down at Li Li with a bright smile, showing off a canine in the process. “She could do with a little more patience.”

“What..?” Li Li asked back, looking innocently up at him with a little mischievous glint in her eyes. “So you can drink your alcohol in peace? Pfft. Where is the fun in that?”

“Li Li...” Chen warned her. I giggled as his niece stuck out her tongue and dragged her eyelid down in a mocking way. Chen chuckled himself, mussing up her hair affectionately.

“So, what did you guys mean by foal?” Li Li inquired curiously, looking up at us with those big cute eyes that just begged me to hug her some more.

“It’s... complicated,” Celestia said, rubbing her temple at the slip-up while Lulu and I tried not to look too sheepish. “Can we trust them, Starswirl?”

“Dear, you shouldn’t be asking me that,” Starswirl answered. “Aren’t you the princess here?”

“Yeah, because you made me one...” she muttered. “What do you think, Luna?”

“They seem nice and judging by what Starswirl said about their family, I think they are at least somewhat trustworthy. I say we give them the benefit of the doubt, Khadgar and Modera know about us already, so why not Chen and Li Li, too?”

“And you, Summer?”

“Do you even have to ask?” I giggled, snatching Li Li up in my arms again. Chen grinned back at Li Li as she gave him a pleading look. “You’re just too cute, I wish I could take you back home with me.”

“Haha. Believe me, you don’t want to have her running around without supervision, causing all kinds of trouble,” Chen told me. “She is one curious little cub.”

I shook my head, squeezing his niece a little bit tighter to my chest with a wide smile. “Aww, I’m sure she wouldn’t be that bad.”

Chen gave me a look, telling me he was completely serious that his niece would be just that bad. I looked down at Li Li and saw her smiling innocently up at me. Looking back up at Chen, he gave me a raised brow from beneath his well-worn Asian-style hat. I sighed reluctantly, feeling that he probably had a point there. She was a mischievous little panda, what would she get up to if she were set loose in my world?

“If Summer and Luna think you can be trusted and Starswirl has only heard good things about you and your family, I guess we can tell you where we come from,” Celestia said, giving them a wary smile. “Besides, Summer seems quite enamored with your niece and I think I’m speaking for all of us when I say that we would like to consider you as friends.”

“I’m honored, Your Highness,” Chen said with a bow, holding his paws together respectfully. “Making friends on our travels is one of my favorite past-times.”

“Yeah, especially if it leads to him drinking his friends under the table afterward,” Li Li giggled, making her uncle roll his eyes good-naturedly. “You should have seen him when he visited the Stormstout Brewery. He had these really awesome moves fighting brew elementals that were totally cool! He was like: pow, take that, hiyaah!”

“I don’t make those sounds, Li Li,” Chen chided, shaking his head at her antics while I smiled at her enthusiasm. If I hadn’t seen those mana elementals in Dalaran already, I would have doubted the existence of elementals made out of alcohol a bit more. “Perhaps I need to have a word with your parents, you mischievous little cub.”

“Then I’ll tell them that you took me to a brewery!” she retorted, sticking out her tongue. “Now, you were about to tell us where you came from. Oh, oh! Chen, can we go visit them? I’m sure you can find some new ingredients for your brews there!”

“If they will have us?” Chen asked and I turned to Celestia with a pleading look, holding Li Li a little bit closer to her as she made the most adorable puppy dog eyes at her. My sister sighed, smiling at the combined assault of me and my partner in crime.

“Yes, I suppose we can host you for a little while,” Celestia answered (she never stood a chance). “Although I must warn you, our homeland is a little different from what you are used to.”

“As if,” Li Li laughed, waving her off. “Lady, we come from a wandering island on the back of a giant sea turtle. Nothing beats that!”

“Aww, a giant sea turtle?” I smiled, sighing dreamily while my sisters groaned. “Can we go there next, Tia? Please?”

“Summer...” Celestia muttered, rubbing her eyes in frustration. “I swear, if we aren’t back home in the next few days because you dragged us off to the middle of nowhere, I’m going to put you on a leash.”

“Don’t be a meanie,” I pouted. Although, it did sound kinky...

“Your sister is right, dear,” Starswirl said, placing a hand on my shoulder. “We can’t be gone for too long, after all.”

“Fine...”

“Will you guys tell us where you are from or are you going to get distracted the whole day?” Li Li interjected and I looked away in embarrassment. What can I say, this world just had so much to see and experience, I wanted to see everything. Absolutely. Everything.

“Well, my adorable little companion,” I stated, smiling down at her after I got over my brief bit of embarrassment. “We come from a very magical land. So magical in fact, that it isn’t even on Azeroth!”

Li Li looked up at me in wonder, excitement building up as her expression glowed even brighter with fascination. Chen was also looking at me with an intrigued look. “Woah... Chen, we definitely have to go there now! Please, take me with you? I won’t tell Mom and Dad about the thing with the brewery, promise!”

“I suppose I could take you with me... if you behave,” Chen answered and Li Li cheered in my arms. The little panda cub looked up at me with a bright smile and I mirrored it back at her in happiness. Oh, I couldn’t wait to show her my garden! I’m sure they will love it.

“I must warn you, though, our homeworld is a bit different,” Celestia mentioned and we moved through the Shrine to find a spot that was not quite so open to talk. Once we were sure we had our privacy and there would be no eavesdroppers anywhere near us, she turned back to our new friends. “For you see, we aren’t actually what you see before you. We are ponies in our world.”

“Ponies?” Li Li gasped, stars in her eyes as she wiggled around in my grasp to better look at me. “That foal comment makes a lot more sense now.”

“I’m not a foal anymore,” I pouted, but Li Li only smiled wider. “And no, I’m not going to give you a ride...”

“Aww...” Li Li sighed dejectedly, turning on me with her puppy dog eyes. Chen chuckled as my resolve faltered and I grumbled as I relented to her, not able to stand her assault of cuteness overload for more than a few seconds.

When did I lose my title as Mistress of Cute..? Haah...

“Now, I’m sure we can talk some more while we explore this world a bit longer,” Luna said, drawing the attention to her. “But where should we meet you when it becomes time to leave?”

“Hmm,” Chen mused, stroking his chin with his claws. “I’m sure we could serve as your guides while you are here. That would solve the problem, don’t you think?”

“An excellent idea, my friend!” Starswirl exclaimed. “You would know the best spots around here, don’t you? Where should we go first?”

“Ah, a good question!” Chen answered, looking back over to his niece. “What do you think, Li Li?”

“Well, we were planning to go to the Jade Temple again, right? Why not show them that?” Li Li offered and my sisters and I nodded in acceptance. A temple like that would surely be a serene sight and give us an insight into their culture. “We can take the kites and be there in no time!”

“Kite?” Luna asked, interested in what Chen’s niece meant by that.

Chen chuckled and gave my sister a smile. I must say, he sure was a happy panda most of the time. “It is the primary travel method here in Pandaria. They are perfectly safe, I assure you.”

Chen and Li Li led us out to the massive terrace of the Shrine of Seven Stars and I looked out in horror. The landscape beyond the Shrine was... blighted, I suppose would be the best word to describe it. Blackened earth and dried up riverbed greeted my eyes while Chen looked at it with a sadness I hadn’t seen in him before. The black and dead ground was definitely of magical origin, though. At the edges of the destroyed landscape were white edges that gave me shivers just looking at them and further in I could see more patches of the stuff.

My wife held a hand before her mouth, shocked. “What... what happened here?” Celestia asked, her horrified eyes glued to the sight. Our companions sighed, staring at the ruined part of this land as they led us to one of these kite flight masters.

“The sha happened,” Chen answered grimly. “With the protective mists surrounding this continent gone, the Alliance and the Horde fought over the resources here in their endless fight against each other. What they didn’t know, though, was that this land is different from theirs.”

“How so?” Luna inquired, lost for words. Chen seemed to hesitate for a moment but dredged up enough willpower to continue on. Meanwhile, Li Li and I paid the flight master for a trip to the Jade Forest, in which the Jade Temple was located.

“The sha are remnants of a malignant old god, a being hell-bent on the subjugation and subsequent corruption of the races of this world while it lived,” Chen explained. “The sha are the manifestations of negative emotions, lingering here on this content long after the old god was slain for good. Strong negative emotions attract the sha to mortals like moths to a bright light. They cause... a lot of problems once they infect your mind.”

“Sounds like dark magic,” I muttered, thinking back to Sombra. “It has the same effect.“

“As does all that promises easy power, dear,” Starswirl said. “Dark magic is not the only thing that might corrupt a pony's mind in Equestria. It is best you never learn what the darkness truly hides in a ponies heart.”

“I know what my heart holds,” I shot back, feeling defensive for my other half. Fallen Star wasn’t a monster.

“Not that kind of darkness, dear,” Starswirl reassured me. He placed a comforting hand on my shoulder while Li Li gave me a confused stare. Instead of pushing for an answer, she squeezed my arm reassuringly with one of her paws. “Great strength lies in the bond between us all, but the bond of ponies can be taken advantage of as well.”

I sighed at his crypticness, puzzling over what he meant. I think I had an idea, though, and I felt a bit queasy about it. The herd mentality of our subjects could certainly be influenced in the wrong way, causing a lot of strife. And should somepony influence them in a way that doesn’t have their best interest at heart? I shudder to think of what might happen.

Platinum was a prime example of that, whispering false words to the nobility in an effort to make our lives miserable. If somepony were to spark another war between the three tribes, the eternal winter we had experienced in our foalhood was sure to resurface.

Starswirl and Clover had told us in the beginning years of our education about the true cause of the eternal winter and it left a bitter taste in my mouth. Wendigos were malignant spirits of ponies that couldn't let go of their hatred. They feed on the conflict between magical beings like ponies and so on, slowly freezing the world in the process. I have no doubt that another winter like that might prove fatal to our ponies.

Thankfully, Platinum wasn’t that stupid to incite another rift between the tribes, she was quite aware of what the danger of that would entail. She had almost lost her life to the wendigos once already, she wouldn’t risk having that happen again.

“I can assure you, though, that the pandaren of this land are slowly cleansing this land of their taint,” Chen assured us. “So there is no need to be concerned about this. As long as you don’t fall under the influence of the sha, yourself, you will be fine. Now, while the chance of that happening is greatly reduced, I would still advise you to not let your emotions control you. The prime sha were defeated, but lesser sha still roam this land. Being possessed can be rather... startling.”

“You said they were 'defeated'... not killed?” Celestia asked and Chen shook his head.

“As much as I wish that that were the case, you can’t eradicate negative emotions, Your Highness,” he explained. “Now then, are we ready to depart?”

“Yes, the trip is paid for and the flight master has enough kites ready,” Li Li answered and I set her down on the ground. Then she turned to us with a nervous smile. “Now, don’t be alarmed, they fly a little bit fast.”

“You don’t need to worry about us, little one,” Luna smiled. My sister leaned down to whisper conspiratorially over to her. “We have wings back home and dare I say, Celestia and I are quite adept at flying. Summer... not so much, though.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” I grumbled, tired of them rubbing it constantly under my muzzle. “I feel safer at a slower pace, sue me.”

“Wow, what kinda ponies are you?” Li Li gasped in fascination. “I have never seen ones with wings before!”

“Starswirl is a unicorn, a very powerful one at that,” Luna explained, proud of our mentor. “While my sisters and I are alicorns, a combination of all three tribes of ponies. Those are earthponies, unicorns, and pegasi.”

“Whoa!” Li Li exclaimed. “What are earthponies? I've never heard of those before. Oh! Are they like earth elementals?”

My sister giggled. “No, they aren’t elementals. They are ponies that simply lack wings and a horn,” Luna told her. “Although, what they lack in extra appendages, they make up for in strength and the ability to cultivate plants in ways you have never witnessed before. I'm not very good at it, but Summer has a very beautiful garden. I'm sure she will show it to you if you ask nicely.”

“So, you three have all pony characteristics? That is so cool!” Li Li said, hopping up and down a little bit in excitement. “Are you special like that, or are there more of... what did you call them again?”

“Alicorns,” I answered for Luna. I stared at the hovering kite with a little queasiness, the thing looked a bit... fragile? I don't know. It certainly did not look sturdy, but if it could hold Chen comfortably, then it must be enchanted to be more durable. “And yes, I guess you could call us special. We are, as far as we know, the only three living alicorns back in Equestria.”

Li Li hummed with interest and hopped onto the kite in front of me, motioning for me to just get on it. I put my hand on the paper-like surface, testing it unsurely, before I crawled on top of it with an uneasy feeling in my gut. Li Li snickered at the way I sat down behind her, holding her afterward as if my life depended on it.

“You definitely sit like a pony would,” she commented and I rolled my eyes with a huff. I let out a squeak as the damn thing shot off at a pace that blasted the wind into my face in a way that gave me the impression we were dive-bombing toward the ground.

“How can you stand these things?” I shouted over the wind and my young pandaren companion just gave me a shrug. So, I quietly suffered through the journey as the kite flew on a set route to the Jade Temple. At least the sight of the land was nice to behold. The kite flew over the mountain separating the valley from the rest of the continent, passing by a sparkling waterfall and over lush green fields before we entered a completely different part of Pandaria. I smiled in wonder as we flew over an entire forest of bamboo, in between mountainous pillars, and a homey village full of pagoda-style buildings with big, round doors.

As we neared the temple, I frowned sadly at the ruined jade statue of a serpent. Around the destroyed statue, the small island was blackened with the influence of the sha. The few pandaren that were there to clean the mess up that had been left by the conflict between the Horde and Alliance had to work with the protection of their warriors that fended off horrific creatures. Creatures that seemed... wrong. Only glancing at them was enough to make my limbs shiver with an existential fear I had never felt before on such a scale.

I was thankful that I didn’t have to fight these things, I don’t know how long I could have withstood their presence. The sha truly were as monstrous as Chen made them out to be and those were just lesser ones. By the twin suns, I didn’t want to know what a prime sha looked like, or the old god that spawned them. Negative emotions incarnate, indeed.

I’m glad that Equestria was without their influence, tyrant kings and wendigos were already enough as it was. I have no doubt that we would face more of the darkness left behind by the Devourer of Life and Death in our universe (no matter how often I say or think it, that name is still utterly ridiculous). Old gods and their corruption could stay where they are in my opinion.

Our kites flew through the round gate that led to the temple grounds and came to a stop soon afterward, much to my relief. I didn’t look forward to another ride with those things, that’s for sure. Perhaps we could find a kind mage here that knew how to make a portal back to the Shrine or even Dalaran so that I could avoid the rollercoaster that were pandaren kites.

Chen and Li Li were already looking around with smiles as I was doing my best to not hug the ground reverently. Luna rolled her eyes at my antics, letting me hold her arm as I calmed down from the experience of flying on something that had no right to do so in the first place. Seriously, I was tempted to burn the damn thing to ash, it looked nowhere near safe enough.

Of course, Celestia just had to ask the flight master if she could buy one to take home with her and I gave her the stink eye before my eyes caught something very interesting, indeed.

I have to say, these pandaren sure knew how to build with artistry in mind. The temple had a certain theme to it with the depiction of what I could only equate to Chinese dragons. And, you know, and the literal Chinese dragons flying around as if it was completely normal. Seeing that the natives weren’t panicking like headless chickens, I assumed that these dragons were at least docile enough to live peacefully together with the pandaren.

I really wanted to pet one of them...

We followed after Chen as Li Li played the tour guide with gusto, even though she barely knew much of the temple herself. It wasn’t her fault, she didn’t grow up here, after all. It was still cute, though.

“There is someone here that I want to introduce you to,” Chen said, spotting a pandaren in yellow garb going over a few scrolls. Chen called out to his friend, causing him to twitch in a startled panic, fumbling around with the bundle of scrolls in his paws in the hope of catching them before they were damaged.

“Chen, what have I told you about sneaking up on me?!” the pandaren grunted, putting the scrolls safely away and smiling brightly in greeting.

“Ha! I don’t sneak up on you, Cho,” Chen chuckled. “You are just always too deep in thought, my friend!”

“That might be true,” Cho answered, embracing Chen and turning to Li Li with a smile. “And what has this little cub been up to, hmm?”

“We have made some new friends, Lorewalker Cho!” Li Li giggled, pointing over to us. I gave a little wave, one he returned as he eyed us curiously. “They are from a whole different world!”

“Li Li, you don’t go around telling secrets like that,” Chen chided her. His niece looked a bit abashed, muttering an apology before running over to us with a little mischievous grin.

“But the best thing about them is, they are ponies! Can you believe that?” Li Li said, giggling as I put her on my shoulders. “And they are princesses, too!”

“Truly?” Cho asked, coming over to us and shaking our hands enthusiastically. “The knowledge your people must possess! You appear human, though I must say that there is a certain difference there. I have never seen such unique clothing!”

“That is due to a spell on the mirror I made to cross over to your world,” Starswirl explained, catching the attention of Cho. “It transforms us to better fit the world we are in.”

“An interesting use of spell-craft,” Cho said, nodding to himself as he stroked the little beard on his chin. “Perhaps even one-of-a-kind spell-craft. You must truly be a wizard of greatness. I wonder how much of that is part of your ancestry. Knowing one’s ancestors can tell much about the person and where you come from.”

“Well, I’m sure you could bring them to those stones of yours once we are done exploring here,” Chen commented, smiling lazily. “You certainly seem to love using them whenever a stranger crosses your path.”

Lorewalker Cho smiled, seemingly taking no offense to his teasing comment. “You know me too well,” he said and I was left wondering what they meant. I’m sure we will find out soon enough. “Now then, you must be curious to know about this Temple, yes?”

My sisters and I nodded, certainly interested in their obsession with jade and the dragons (who wouldn't be? They're such cuties!). Cho led us up the stairs to the temple courtyard before he started his explanation.

Apparently, the late Emperor Shaohao had long ago trapped the Prime Sha of Doubt in these halls and nowadays it serves as a place of great wisdom with the (I’m not sure if he was serious with this) living library and the scrying pools that the fish-like beings known as ‘jinyu’ use to watch over this continent.

The Order of the Cloud Serpent keeps the peace here in the temple and serves directly under the heavenly being called Yu’lon, one of the four celestials that keep Pandaria safe from harm. Cho also told us that the ruined statue was originally going to be used by her in a way that reminded me of reincarnation. She would pour her essence into it to renew her life cycle, not unlike a phoenix. Just without the ‘bursting-into-flames’ part. With the statue destroyed, though... I'm not sure how she will do so if they can't repair it in a timely fashion.

“Yu’lon is known for her great wisdom and like the other August Celestials, she gave council to Emperor Shaohao, freeing him of his doubt. Perhaps you might be able to find her here,” Cho told us, smiling happily as he lectured us about the history of the Temple of the Jade Serpent and a little bit of the history of Pandaria itself. “To keep his subjects safe from the Burning Legion, the Emperor enveloped the continent in a dense mist that would hide it for ten-thousand years. All so that they would have time to learn what he had learned on his journey to rid himself of his burdens.”^[3]

“Oh, oh!” Li Li exclaimed, tapping my head and making me look up at her. “I know the part after that. There was this really old pandaren that had this turtle as a companion and he would always leave from the shores with it. Sometime later, the turtle became the Wandering Isle! Isn’t that neat?”

“Very,” I giggled. Cho chuckled at the exuberant cub on my shoulders as we entered the temple interior. Our group marveled at the sight of the old architecture, and if Lorewalker Cho was to be believed, it was thousands of years old. Pandaren definitely knew how to keep their work from crumbling to dust. The artistry reminded me very much of Chinese temples back on Earth.

“Liu Lang was one of the braver pandaren,” a little cub spoke up as she noticed our conversation. “He was undeterred by the opinion of his peers, having faith in his companion to bring him always to the place he needed to be.”

“You know about the Wandering Isle, too?” Li Li asked, catching the attention of the other cub before us with a wave. I let Li Li carefully down from my shoulders and the enthusiastic cub ran over to her newest friend, clasping their paws together. “Let’s be friends, okay? Chen and I always make friends wherever we go. My name is Li Li.”

The other cub gave her a gentle and kind smile. “I have heard great tales of your exploits, Chen and Li Li Stormstout,” she said and I got the impression that she wasn’t exactly the age she appeared to be. No little child spoke in such a manner. Nor do they act so mature at that age. “I would be pleased to count you among my friends, I am Fei.”

“A nice name,” I commented with a smile, crouching down next to her so she didn’t have to look up so high. “I am here with my sisters and mentor, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Fei. You strike me as a mature cub, but I have to ask, where are your parents? Surely you wouldn’t have run away from them?”

“My parents?” Fei asked and I could swear she was as amused as she was confused about my concerned question. “I don’t believe I have gotten your name yet? I assure you, I am quite capable of looking after myself.”

“I suppose a temple is at least safe enough for a cub as mature as you, Fei,” I smiled, petting her head affectionately. “My name is Summer, these are my sisters Celestia and Luna, and that old man over there is my mentor, Starswirl.”

“They are princesses!” Li Li commented in a stage whisper and Fei looked at us with a raised brow, eyeing my clothes in particular. Haah... I would be skeptical, too. Stupid slutty, phoenix outfit. “They come from...”

“Li Li, what have I told you about secrets?” Chen grumbled, reaching down to take her into his arms. She giggled nervously, apologizing to us for almost giving away our origin again. I smiled fondly, not perturbed in the slightest. She was just excited about it, after all.

“Princesses,” Fei whispered, blushing slightly as I continued to stroke her hair. It was really soft and pretty. I wonder if she would let me scratch her behind the ear? “It has been quite some time since I have been in the presence of royalty. The young prince that had been here recently was a delight to talk to.”

“Young?” Luna muttered, confused. Meanwhile, I was more interested in the prince that she mentioned. That, and making her melt underneath my expert touch.

“Prince?” I asked and Fei nodded, smiling fondly at the memory.

“Yes, Prince Anduin Wrynn of the proud Kingdom of Stormwind,” she told us. “He is a human and perhaps just as enamored with our home as you are. Unlike him, though, I can’t say you share the same presence as his race. What are you?”

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked, getting defensive. “We are humans.”

“No, you most certainly are not,” Fei simply stated and I felt a bit awkward as Luna dragged me away from the little cub as she gave her a suspicious stare.

“Who are you?” Luna asked, holding a hand out in front of me to keep me away from her. “You aren’t what you appear as, either. Or am I wrong? That comment about a ‘young’ prince... a cub wouldn't word it like that.”

Fei smiled as she found herself under the scrutiny of my sisters, Starswirl, and our new friends. By his unconcerned behavior, I think Cho might have known something that we didn’t.

“I see that you are more perceptive than your siblings,” Fei said, regarding Luna with kind eyes that belied her physical age. They looked almost... ancient. “Great wisdom lies in those that don’t hide from the things their eyes might not see.”

As she said that, something on a fundamental level changed about her. A presence unlike anything I have ever felt surrounded the little pandaren cub. It wasn’t suffocating to be in, though. No. It was rather like a warm blanket, comforting me in a sense that couldn’t entirely be put into words.

Whereas the aura of my sisters and I was more like a heavy pressure if we weren’t careful in how we contained it, Fei's aura was like a soft caress of a mother looking out for their child. And the power that I felt in that presence was infinitely more powerful than that of ours combined.

A cloud of smoke enveloped the being before us and both of my sisters summoned their weapons warily. I was about to say something when the smoke cleared away as if it had never been there in the first place. And what it revealed was something much bigger than we could ever hope to be.

I stared up, speechless as I beheld the heavenly being before my eyes. She stared down at us with the serenity that I could only hope to achieve someday on my own. Her jade body gave off a mystical glow not unlike what our hair in our own dimension gave off, white light illuminating the little bit of fur she had on some parts of her body. And an ethereal waving mist could be seen leaving from the side of her head while the tips of her horns faded from jade to pure white color.

“I apologize for the deception,” Yu’lon the Jade Serpent, August Celestial of Wisdom, said with an incredibly gentle voice as she floated before us. She was absolutely massive in her true form and just being in her presence put my soul at ease. “I can see that you have kind souls, though there is something that must be addressed.”

The next moment, I felt like I was choking on the air itself as an uneasy feeling welled up in my gut. I fell to the ground, barely noticing that the same happened to Celestia and Luna. Yu’lon stared at us sadly as we writhed on the ground, Starswirl screaming at her to stop whatever it was she was doing to us.

And then, a tar-like substance seeped out of me, reforming moments later in a facsimile of my body, looking gray and sinister. The clone resembling me opened her sinister glowing red eyes before admiring its twisted body it just received.

“Such darkness,” Yu’lon mourned. “What has brought it about, I wonder?”

The clone of myself stretched her hand out and in a fiery flash, it held my weapon in its hands. I stared in horror as I heaved more air into my lungs, seeing it twirl my sword around casually. I noticed that the clones of my sisters appeared similar to my own, having taken control of our weapons. I tried to will Remorse into my hands, but my weapon refused my call.

Yu'lon almost seemed to sneer as she floated around them. “Let us see their true forms,” the August Celestial said and after a flare of power squeezing them harshly, the clones bubbled like tar before they reformed into our natural bodies (if they were entirely white and gray, that is). “So much self-doubt. All of this pride. The fear and despair... and the anger, the hatred. A truly saddening sight...”

“How dare you...” Celestia grunted, eyes blazing with power as she heaved herself up onto her wobbly feet. “I will show you pride and anger..!”

My twin raised her hand, not even caring how much raw power she put into the flames of her magefire as she mixed solar magic into the cocktail of volatile arcane power. A beam cut through the distance in milliseconds, blasting a hole through her clone and the wall behind it, continuing on well into the atmosphere of this planet.

“Such aggression,” Yu’lon said as she let out a mournful hum while staring at the path of destruction my twin wrought. She turned back to Celestia and my sister grimaced at the sympathetic look she gave her. “What has made you like that? There are scars of the emotional kind on your soul. Tell me about them, child. Don’t let this hatred fester.”

“Oh, you’d like that, wouldn’t you?” Celestia snarled. “The great and wise Yu’lon, perfect in every way.”

Yu'lon shook her head. “I am not perfect,” she answered, a heavy weight in her voice. “Nothing is, child. That is a lesson we all have to learn at some point.”

“From where I stand, you certainly seem that way,” Celestia growled and raised a hand with another spell ready to do whatever her enraged mind was ready to do. I leaped into action, throwing myself at her in a desperate attempt to save Yu’lon from her wrath.

Turns out, it wasn’t a spell that was meant to attack, but one to muffle the sounds of the words spoken between her and Yu’lon, now myself included. Yu’lon watched on in curiosity as Tia and I fell back to the ground. I looked at my wife in concern as she started to weep right in front of an audience.

“I try to be the perfect princess, day in and day out. Try to be strong and put on a façade that nothing is wrong!” Tia cried out and together with Luna, I comforted her even though my little sister couldn’t hear a word from her mouth. I think Tia was under the assumption that I couldn’t, either. “The damn world, on the other hoof, just keeps on taking away and away what I hold dear. You know... I killed my parents while I was a child...”

“You killed them?” Yu’lon asked, unsure if she heard correctly and I wasn’t so sure if I had misheard her, either. I... I never knew. “Why did you do so?”

“They were monsters,” Tia muttered, a hollow look on her face that I had seen a few times on her face before. I... I never could have imagined that this might have been the reason for her pain. “My father, my original one, not my pony father... he had his way with me so often, I can’t remember when it started. Every day he would come to me and... do these things. He gave me no choice, threatening to b-beat me i-if I... if I didn't let him. And then he would pummel me regardless because I wasn't fucking wet enough for him to... to..."—she grimaced as if in pain and my hurt sunk even further at that—" it wasn't until I started bleeding that he would stop and leave me in the cold basement as a punishment.

"He took advantage of me every day, telling me to stop crying like a weakling. The ass valued strength above everything and he took anything he wanted because he could. No one even attempted to stop him because he had a whole syndicate backing him up and... and my original 'mother' was totally indifferent to what he did while he molested me until I started to crave his depraved touch. What sort of person likes that?!”

“Oh, child...” Yu’lon sighed mournfully. “To go through such a terrifying thing, I weep for what he has done to you.”

“I... I don’t need your fucking pity,” Celestia snarled, struggling against Luna as she got angry at Yu’lon again. “I fucking killed them so my sister was safe from them, so she didn’t have to become like me. I killed them and their whole fucking clan so they couldn't terrorize more people. I killed them so my only light in the world wouldn't fall into the same dark pit as I did. I am nothing more than a perverted lunatic that can’t stop but crave sex even after what my own 'father' has done to me. He conditioned me into a horny, sex-obsessed slut.”

“Even if that is so, a lover’s touch is quite different from one that holds malicious intent, little one,” Yu’lon told her gently. “I imagine that your love for your siblings is genuinely that and not the remnant of the actions your 'guardian' had taken against you.”

“How do you know about me and my siblings?” Celestia asked, her tone changing to a fearful whisper.

“Child, I am old,” Yu’lon laughed, her voice almost angelic in quality. “I know how a lover acts around the ones they treasure most and how they look at them. Yes, you do love them from the bottom of your heart. As crass as your actions might have been, they spoke of a certain "—her eyes twinkled with mirth—"protectiveness. There is little to nothing you wouldn't do to know them safe. Hold onto that, little one, for life can be fleeting even to those that may not expect it.”

“Right, just the thing for a ten-thousand-year-old immortal to say...” Tia muttered tiredly. Yu’lon shook her head, her smile becoming rueful.

“I am not immortal, child,” Yu’lon said. “Lei Shen has proven that to be the case... I continue to grow weaker and my time will come one day, should I not have another vessel be made in time.”

"Oh..." Celestia whispered. “I... I’m sorry for assuming...”

Yu’lon floated down a little bit closer to my twin while Luna gave me a quizzical look as I was unable to stop the tears from flowing. The August Celestial nudged my sister slightly, giving her a reassuring nuzzle.

“Don’t be sorry for something like that, little one,” she told her with a gentle tone. “It has been eons since my natural body died. I dearly hope you won’t ever have to resort to such a life like mine, child. Treasure that which you have, promise me that.”

“I... I will,” Celestia nodded, her gaze turning to me before she went pale. “Sister?”

“I’m sorry for not saying anything,” I mumbled, my lips trembling heavily as I tried my hardest to not start sobbing right then and there. “I... Tia, I...”

“Summer...” she sighed and I sobbed into her chest as she embraced me tightly, her own tears falling down on my head. “It’s okay, I... I have dealt with this for all my life... well, lives... I didn’t want to burden you and Lulu with my screwed-up head.”

“How can you think that?!” I shrieked, hitting her as I started sobbing harder. “H-how can you think that w-we wouldn’t want t-to... to... to h-help you carry s-such a burden?!”

“Summer, calm down,” Celestia said, rubbing my back while Luna gave Tia a glare because she still couldn’t hear what was going on. Starswirl was by the side with Chen, Li Li, and Cho, staring at us with concern. I felt a little nudge at my side and I looked to see what appeared to be a mini-Yu’lon. Confused, I looked back up to where Yu’lon continued to float and turned my gaze back down as the little version of her gave a small chirp.

“It seems there is another one that wants you to smile again, little one,” Yu’lon stated, smiling as the, I assume, child of her nuzzled my leg while looking at me sadly. “She seems quite enamored with you.”

“What?” I asked in confusion as the little serpent flitted around me in a stunning display of dexterity, managing to make the tiniest smile appear on my face in amusement of her antics.

Celestia smiled slightly next to me as the little one did her best to cheer us up. Then, her expression turned hesitant and mournful before she let out a rueful sigh. “Summer, I don’t want this to get between us, do you understand?” she told me, her eyes pleading with me. “Please, trust me when I say that I don’t think about him when I am with you, okay? I never did.”

“But you said...” I mumbled, my emotions all over the place as they tried to fight for control. “You said that you only crave sex so much because of what he did..:”

My wife gave an unladylike grunt and glared at nothing in particular. “He might have made me into a perverted nymphomaniac, but that does not mean that what we have with each other is based on a lie. No, you gave me something that swine never could. You gave me love, Sunshine. Pure, unconditional, and unadulterated love.

"Sure, I might have been selfish at first, especially when I got the idea to ask you out before my sister, but... I never viewed you as an outlet to deal with my 'condition'. I never once treated you as a replacement to have sex with. I genuinely felt attracted to you because you were so kind and generous. Honestly, who wouldn't fall for a nerdy, bleeding heart like you?

"Our rebirth has done a great deal to mend these wounds and I'm glad I have you by my side. Both you and Luna,” she explained. “And while you can’t stand being in a remotely male body for even a second, my body doesn’t remember his touch like my old human body did. Besides, the only time I really go sex-crazy anymore is when we are in heat and you know just as much as I do that that is very different from when we have fun while not influenced by our heat.”

“I... but...” I sighed in defeat. “You just can’t help it, can you?”

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked, giving me a puzzled look. I rested my head against her chest while slowly stroking the little serpent with a hand.

“Making me fall in love with you all over again,” I mumbled. “You just have a way to make me agree to anything you say, despite me wanting to keep arguing. That’s also why you were so insistent on me wearing clothes this morning, right? As slutty as they look, they are decent 'enough' to not get me raped by the first person that I come across.”

“Duh,” she giggled, poking my nose. I went cross-eyed, smiling contentedly. “But I also meant what I said. Only Lulu and I are allowed to molest you. And you really aren't making it easy on me to not grope you right now.”

“At least now I know why you are so perverted,” I said while looking into those sparkling pale magenta eyes of hers. I could lose myself in them for eternity. “I can't say I approve of the reason why, though...”

“Summer, my love, I’m a broken mare,” she whispered, her expression starting to show a little shame despite her best efforts to hide it. “But I am healing. I even thought I might have fully healed, thanks to you and Luna helping me, but it seems I’m not quite done yet.”

“One might never fully heal from such scars, little one,” Yu’lon spoke up, her tone a lamenting one. “I know that quite well, myself. After I was first slain, it took me all of my willpower to help the pandaren under my care to not fall prey to Lei Shen and his army. I gave them the wisdom and hope they needed to free themselves of his cruel grasp and keep their freedom, eventually giving them the chance to liberate the rest of their kin from the Thunder King.”

“It must have been so hopeless,” Celestia said and Yu’lon gave a small laugh as she smiled watching her daughter wrap herself around me and over my shoulder, licking my cheek with a draconic purr (it sounded somewhat like a growl but more pleasant and happy?). The small cloud serpent was really intent on making me giggle as much as she could.

“On the surface, it might have appeared like all hope was lost,” she agreed with a nod. “But that is the thing about hope, little one. It is the very last thing that leaves us and can be easily sparked again. Hope never truly dies, only our belief in it. And even then, that is never permanently gone. All intelligent life strives to live because they have hope.”

I thought of the Elements of Harmony and had to smile. In a way, Yu’lon was right. Hope and her siblings had never truly left the world after they sacrificed themselves, always being there in the time of need in one form or another. While they couldn’t interact with the world, they continued to hold vigil over it. They continued to live because they had hope.

“Now, I grow weary and your sisters have yet to face their own inner conflict plaguing them,” Yu’lon said, changing back into the cub we had seen before. She looked so very tired as she sat down on the ground and the little serpent that had draped herself over me floated over to her, nuzzling her mother softly. “I’m alright, Yu’la. I'm alright. Nothing a little bit of sleep won’t fix.”

“Are you sure?” I asked as I knelt down beside her. Yu’lon gave me a nod and her daughter gave her a lick on the cheek, too. I couldn't help but giggle at their interaction, it warmed my heart. They were so cute together!

“Yu’la sometimes can’t stop fussing over the ones she likes,” she told me, nudging the little one over to me. “Ever since I breathed life into the jade statue that would become her, she has only ever bonded with myself. I fear I can’t keep taking care of her for long, though.”

“Why?” I asked, saddened by what she was telling me while Celestia’s spell was still active. I assume she wanted to make full use of the privacy while she could, but I couldn’t understand why she would be telling me this.

“Child, this might very well be the last life I will be granted,” Yu’lon explained. “With the statue for my rebirth destroyed and my death drawing nearer, I might not be able to breathe life into my successor.”

“But, aren’t you still you?” I asked, confused. “You do remember your past, right?”

“It is more like looking upon a story in a book, little one,” she told me, her ancient eyes betraying that statement. “While I might still be me, it is another that continues on, never being quite the same.”

“That sounds so sad. I wish I could help you...”

“I have lived this life for eons, with each regeneration continuing to guide the pandaren of this land,” she said before reaching out a paw to tenderly wipe away my tears. “Now, stop crying over something that you cannot change. Life has so much to offer to only concentrate on the bad things, don’t you think?”

“You truly are the Spirit of Wisdom,” I smiled. Yu’lon smiled in return, although it was a very humble one.

“I can feel the connection you have to life, so don’t squander such a gift, little one,” Yu’lon told me and I got the impression she meant my gift that let me talk to animals. “Each one deserves to be nurtured and loved. I can think of no better guardian for Yu’la. Please, take care of her for me.”

I stared at her in bewilderment and watched as Yu’la let out a little yawn. “I... but won’t you miss her?”

Yu'lon smiled in a sad but happy way. “As would any mother, child,” she told me. “But I would rest easier if I knew her to be with someone that will keep her safe. She will be a companion that will stay with you through eternity.”

“And how do you know that I won’t die of age?”

“You will get a sense for that as you get older, little one,” she explained while her eyes twinkled cryptically. “A higher being knows when they are in the presence of another. Even without the aura to prove it.”

“I still don’t feel like I should be granted such an honor to look after your own child...” I sighed, although my heart begged me to simply accept it and be the best possible surrogate mother I could be. Perhaps it was empty nest syndrome or I was just that much of a bleeding heart. Possibly a combination of both, if I was honest with myself. I really do miss my children.

Yu’lon laughed a bit, unconcerned with my bout of self-doubt. “No one ever feels entirely worthy of such a thing. We can only strive to do our best, in the end.”

“I guess...” I muttered. I looked over to where the grayish version of my pony body stood, not having moved an inch as the doppelganger stared directly into my soul. Even tired as she was, Yu'lon's presence kept it rooted in place. “I think it is time to face my own fears, then.”

“Indeed it is, child,” Yu’lon agreed. “Don’t let your doubts cloud your judgment. Be true to yourself and I have the utmost trust in you that you will become a fine princess in time. I know they will hold you in high regard.”

“But, what if I fail them?” I asked, uncertainty making me fidget uneasily. That was exactly what I feared, them looking up at me like I was on a pedestal and then screwing everything up in a spectacular way.

“Then pick yourself up and try again,” she stated simply. I sighed, not feeling any better about it, but I guess you can’t simply shake your own doubts away at a moment’s notice.

It was the same with my misgivings about Tia's past. I would have to learn how to look at her in the same way I always did with the added knowledge of the atrocities committed against her. One step at a time, Summer. One step at a time. You can do this.

As I readied myself against what could only be the sha representation of myself, I looked deep within myself and thought about it more thoroughly. I knew that I couldn’t just put away all my doubts about the future, but what I could do, on the other hoof, was to accept them for what they are.

I might make mistakes every once in a while like I did with Sombra for example. I needed to accept that I could only try my best to avoid them moving forward, and if not, correct them afterward. As Yu’lon had told Celestia, nocreature was perfect and I didn’t need to be. While Tia might be a bit prideful from time to time, she had learned her lesson about not having to be perfect for the sake of Luna and me.

So, I learned my lesson about my fear of making mistakes and my habit of doubting myself, gaining a little bit of confidence. Not so much that I thought I could do anything and do no wrong, but just enough to learn to live with my doubts not weighing me constantly down. To not live in endless fear and cowardice. And I learned another lesson that I probably should have learned a long time ago.

It was okay to not want to use the transformation spell on myself and be a little bit selfish. What mattered was that I could live with myself without hating what my body felt like, be it human or pony. I didn’t have to be selfless for the sake of pleasing my sisters all the time. It was okay to say no when I felt like it was the right thing to say.

And it was okay to accept guardianship over little Yu’la if that was what her mother wanted of me.

As I reached out to the font of my magical energies, drawing forth the faint connection to my sun through the dimensional gate, I told my sword in no uncertain terms to get over to me and obey. The black and white Summer struggled against my command, trying to keep the sword to herself, but ultimately lost against me as I demanded Remorse to stay loyal to its mistress.

The sword answered my call and Negative-Summer was powerless as I cleaved her in half. The clone dissolved into smoke and for the first time in all of my two lives, I felt completely at peace with myself. I have overcome my hatred of my old gender (somewhat at least) and accepted that I might have fears and doubts here and there about things that might very well be out of my control at times.

Li Li cheered for me and I smiled gracefully, making a little curtsey as I felt the spell Celestia had cast dissipate fully from my body. Luna looked at her clone unsurely and I went over to her to give her a hug. “There is nothing to be afraid of, Lulu.”

My sister frowned with uncertainty. “That is so easy to say, isn’t it?” she shot back, narrowing her eyes at me. “What was it that you and Tia talked about?”

“That is something for Celestia to tell,” I said, resting my head on top of hers. “Now, tell me what it is you fear so much? What has gotten you in despair?”

“You should know that better than anypony else, Summer,” Luna sighed. “The future.”

“Hm. You do have a point there, Lulu,” I nodded, swaying a bit from side to side as I let out a hum. “I can’t give you an answer as to how it will look and I’m sure Tia would say the same thing to you, but then she might have the odd few visions here and there, so I'm not sure. What I can say, though, is that you shouldn't let it overwhelm you.”

“Wow. That’s not something I ever expected to hear from you of all ponies, sister,” Luna muttered. “I fear so many things about the future, but at the same time, I look forward to it. Is that weird?”

“No...” I reassured her, feeling quite similarly about it. “I know what that feels like and it is downright terrifying at times. But as I learned, living in uncertainty and doubting yourself all the time won’t do you any good. We will have to take on the future on a day-to-day basis and plan accordingly to the best of our ability as a long-term solution. Live in the here and now, but don’t lose sight of what has yet to come.”

My beautiful Moon let out a snort and nudged me playfully. “Who are you and what have you done with the real Summer?” Luna joked and I giggled. She squeezed me a bit tighter before she let go of me in order to face her own clone. I went over to my twin, Chen, Li Li, Starswirl, and Lorewalker Cho as Lulu made short work of the representation of her own negative emotions that still lingered in her to this day.

It seems it was a good idea to come here to Pandaria (or Azeroth in general). While the invasion from the alternate Draenor was still something that weighed quite heavily on my mind, it was nice to feel this burden of self-doubt, fear, and anxiety be gone at last. Mostly, I suppose. Something like that isn’t gone forever, sadly. But I could aspire to never let it weigh me down as much from this point onward.

Tia stretched out her arms, only to inconspicuously drag me into a hug and grope me. “I think we should make our way back home tomorrow morning,” she said while I tried to hide my blush. She did the same thing with Luna as she came over to rejoin the group, grinning impishly. “This little journey has been... 'tiring', to say the least.”

Or what she really meant: I wanna go home so I can molest my wives to my heart's content. She did have a point, though. I could sleep for a week straight, I swear.

Starswirl gave her an unreadable look before he nodded. “As you wish, Princess,” he said. “Now, Chen, Li Li, do you have any unfinished business here?”

“No, we don’t,” Chen answered with his perpetual lazy smile, but then he pointed over to his friend, Lorewalker Cho. The history enthusiast looked very eager to have just a little bit more of our time. “There is someone that might want to show you something, though.”

“Yes,” Cho smiled. “I assure you, it’s not too far from here.”

“Then let me allow you to bring you there,” Yu’lon said and I frowned in concern as she transformed back into her serpentine form. “One little journey won’t hurt me, little one.”

I sighed, accepting her offer to fly us to where Cho wanted to go with us. At least flying on her back was a bit more pleasant than the damn pandaren kites. The flight over to the little circle with the stones that had the native’s writing on them was indeed a short one. It would have taken us some time had we walked, though.

I said my goodbye to the August Celestial, giving her a tearful hug in gratitude and promising her that I would take care of Yu’la as best as I could. She gave me her own thanks before she gave Yu’la a final nuzzle and departed afterward. I could tell she didn't want to make this any more difficult than it had to be and I wasn’t sure how to feel about that while Yu'la curled herself around my neck with a big, tired yawn, so I concentrated more on what Cho was doing.

The pandaren in the yellow and orange garb was lighting some incense, telling the story of the pandaren as a magical fog appeared, showing some of the pandaren of old and how they regained their freedom from their mogu masters. I couldn’t even begin to describe what those bipedal beings resembled. If anything, they had a strange resemblance to dogs, I guess. Big, grumpy, muscular dogs without snouts. Among those was also the Thunder King Lei Shen, perhaps the most despicable mogu of them all.

He built an entire empire upon slavery... I’m glad that that monster had been dealt with and that he was unsuccessful in killing Yu’lon (even though the end of her time was sadly approaching her). I hope she will find a way to avoid her death, it would be a great loss to this world and to Yu’la, in particular. And to me, as well. While I don't know her too well, she had this kind, grandmotherly feel to her that I was just drawn towards. I wish I could spend more time with her, there's so much I could learn from her...

Anyway, Cho told my twin to light her side next. Celestia shrugged, going along with it as she went over to the little shrine made of gray stone. I was wondering what would appear for us...

A bit of fog started to appear again, but this time we watched featureless ponies appear instead of pandaren. What was interesting, though, was the fact that they were alicorns. I suppose each tribe had its own vast history and it only showed ours. Lorewalker Cho hummed thoughtfully as he began to study them.

“A noble race you hail from,” he said, sounding impressed. “Holding within them the expertise to influence entire ideals to their whims. But they do not abuse their power. No, they take great care of what they burden themselves with, just as I can tell that you do so as well. I see why they call you alicorns, it is a terrible burden to uphold.

“But that is not all there is to it, as it seems. No. Far from it. There has been a frightening price paid to keep your people safe. Great darkness threatened the very life of your reality. Oh, dear. And an equally great sacrifice had to be made to get rid of it. A truly noble thing to do.”

I stared at the image that had replaced the first, shuddering as I looked at the representation of what could only be the Devourer of Life and Death. The thing had maws with sharp needle-like teeth all over its body, eyes protruding from in between or even from within the maws as tentacle-like appendages grasped at planets like they were toys, shoving them down its ‘throat’ to sate a hunger that could never be sated.

Facing the abomination a ways off from the planet they had sworn themselves to protect were the seven featureless alicorns I knew must have been Hope and her siblings. Bands of ribbon-like lights connected them to each other as they channeled their very beings into the spell that would destroy the threat to the universe itself.

It was a saddening sight, seeing them float there as they stared their end in its face and did the only thing to save everything they held dear. I hope I won’t ever have to face something so terrifying. The eldritch horror bore quite some resemblance to what our new friends had told us of the 'Old Gods' of this world, only way more threatening and sinister with its sheer size in comparison to the planets it casually devoured.

“It was truly inspiring to meet you,” Cho said, throwing me out of my musings as the fog started to dissipate, and with it, the horrific scene of their last stand. “Maybe we will meet one day again? Learn from the wisdom of your ancestors, Your Highnesses.”

Celestia bowed her head gracefully in respect. “Thank you, Lorewalker Cho,” she said. I don't know how she did it, but she made smiling serenely look so effortless and easy. “Perhaps one day we will come back to Azeroth.”

“Safe travels,” Cho bowed and waved before walking back along the path.

“Well, that was interesting!” Li Li exclaimed with a grin. “So... when do we get to go to Ponyland?”

“Li Li...” Chen sighed, chuckling lightly to himself as he grabbed her and set her on his shoulder, holding onto her so she didn’t fall off. “Patience.”

“Yeah, yeah, Uncle Chen,” she pouted and I giggled.

“It might take me a few tries, but the spell for the portal to Dalaran shouldn’t be that much different from what I’m used to,” Starswirl said, drawing Li Li’s attention.

“What are you waiting for then? Go on, do your thing, wizard!” she snickered. “I always wanted to say that.”

“Behave yourself, Li Li,” Chen chided her. “What have I told you?”

Li Li rolled her eyes. “I am only allowed to come with you to Ponyland if I behave myself,” she repeated his earlier words, making a hidden gesture in a mocking way that mimicked the words she spoke. Luna and I had to do our best to not start laughing while Tia smiled good-naturedly. Li Li certainly grew on one’s heart after a while and I began to understand why Chen traveled with her so much.

The little panda cub was just too irresistible to not take her with you while traveling around the world.

Before long, Starswirl had a wobbly portal open and we moved through it warily. For his first attempt at creating it at will and actually managing to bring us to the right place, it was pretty good. I definitely wouldn’t have been able to do that myself. I even doubted Tia would have been successful on the first try, either.

Archmage Modera was there to greet us and so was Khadgar, much to our surprise. He couldn’t stay for long, though, as he had a busy schedule of establishing a foothold in the alternate Draenor together with the Alliance and the Horde. Khadgar was (as I understood it) a neutral party between both factions and considering the threat presented by the orcs on Draenor and what might possibly be on the way there, it was a good thing that the two factions were at least working together for now.

I have no doubt they would be at each other’s throats once this was over with, though. The things I have heard so far about the Alliance and Horde don’t paint the brightest pictures.

We had a nice little dinner with Khadgar and Modera, Chen actually had met both of them before and was having a blast drinking Khadgar under the table. I was suspecting Khadgar of foul play, though, as he didn’t seem to get intoxicated at all from what he was drinking. And I definitely had no idea where Chen was putting all of that liquid, it seemingly disappeared in his stomach like a black hole.

Before we retired, Celestia dragged me and Luna out to Dalaran’s streets to explore the shops and maybe get a souvenir or two. I left Yu’la with Li Li, the little dragon having nodded off during dinner. While we were out in the city, my sisters were almost stuck in the little workshop belonging to the gnomes and goblins full of weird contraptions (and explosives that were totally safe... insert sarcastic eye roll here), not wanting to leave until they knew all of their darkest secrets. I let out a suffering sigh as I wondered why I couldn’t have wives that were more into fancy things instead of icky grease and stuff.

I told Celestia in no uncertain words that she couldn’t have a chopper of her own, dragging her away by her ear. The kite was enough already. By everything holy, I was done with this workshop and I would get to see that Magical Menagerie before it closed for the day. That, I swear. Nothing could keep me away from it, not even my idiotic sisters.

And oh my gosh, it was the bestestest place I have ever laid eyes upon. The lady standing in front of the shop promoting their business had a friggin’ mammoth standing right next to her as if it was a normal thing. I just wish I could take it home with me. Alas, I had to contend myself with petting the hell out of it, much to the amusement of Mei Francis, the lady wearing a purple shirt and hat that was the owner of this little cutie (she was apparently an expert on everything that could wear a saddle).

I giggled as the mammoth had the time of its life as I gave it belly rubs, much to the confusion of Mei as it had never let her do that before. By how vocal the mammoth was about what I was doing to it, it didn’t want me to go away, either. I simply couldn’t stop running my hands through its thick, wooly fur. It just felt so fluffy and soft and fluffy. So fluffy...

My fun came to an end not long after I caused a scene by making the mammoth melt into a puddle of bliss, the citizens living here giving me a disbelieving stare as my sisters dragged me away from Manny the Mammoth.

It was getting darker, so I wasn’t entirely disappointed that my fun was disrupted. And, much more importantly, Starswirl didn’t notice us sneaking into the same bedroom. Luna and Tia had to keep their hands over my mouth as I was prone to giggle while doing something that our mentor obviously didn’t want us to do. Like sneaking past his open doorway as he read totally engrossed from what appeared to be a thick tome about the magic of Azeroth.

He was also muttering things to himself as he wrote down notes like a crazy wizard. I don’t think he would have heard me giggle, but my sisters kept me silenced as we crept past his room nonetheless.

“Tia, shouldn’t you tell Lulu about... that... first?” I whispered once we were safe from curious ears, watching her suspiciously as she went over to the bed with a little spring in her steps. She turned to me and frowned, biting her lip as she eyed Luna hesitantly.

“This is about the thing that you talked about with Yu’lon, isn’t it?” Luna asked and I nodded. Luna gave my twin an expectant stare, practically telling her she wouldn’t be having any sex with her until she spilled the beans.

Celestia muttered something under her breath as she took a pillow and hugged it close to her chest. It was clear that she was reluctant in sharing this with our little sister, but she forced herself to speak about it in the end. I felt a little bad about making her share such a dark part of her past, talking about it in more detail than she had with Yu’lon that I didn’t even want to remember most of the things she had to endure.

It was gruesome, to say the least. Her father was a true monster that, should I ever find him (whether his reincarnated self or by finding Earth before Tia killed him), I promised to myself that I wouldn’t show him the least amount of mercy and devour his soul on sight. And that would still be a mercy, I suppose.

Luna was understandably horrified by what she learned that night, cuddling up to Tia mournfully as she was left speechless by the end of the explanation. I cuddled up against Celestia on her other side like Lulu during her recount, resting my head on her shoulder.

Celestia did her best to keep her emotions out of her voice as she stoically made the thing sound like it happened to somepony else, trying to distance herself from the idea that her perverted nature was only a byproduct of what happened so long ago.

Just like myself, Luna was hesitant to accept that Celestia still insisted on our fun time despite what we felt about it. It was hard to understand why Tia still wanted sex after what her ‘father’, her original one, had done to her (scum like him doesn't deserve that title). But, as Tia explained it more and more, Luna and I slowly understood her reasoning behind that decision.

We made her forget what happened and gave her new, and more importantly, better memories to focus on. As Yu’lon had said, a lover’s touch is quite different in that regard. Tia associated sex with pleasure not because of what that monster changed her into, but because of what we did together as part of our love for each other. She told me as much, but... it was all a bit much to take in at the time. A part of me still felt unable to get over the idea of her being entirely genuine, in that regard. As if she was lying to herself in order to live with herself.

Another part, a much larger one, felt touched that she trusted Luna and me so implicitly to lay her heart bare to us. Even with the nagging thought that I wasn't entirely comfortable with her nymphomania because of this atrocious background, I took comfort in the fact that she was the one who happily takes charge of the dominant role in our relationship.

I guess I really was a sub at heart. Anything to take away the reminders of being the abused one was a plus in my book.

“So... now that you know all of this, please don’t stop having sex with me,” Celestia whispered, sounding afraid. “I... I can’t live without it. Not because of what he did... but because I love you so much that I can’t imagine myself not having two wonderful sisters to molest...”

Luna snorted as Tia just ruined the moment with her last sentence by making it sound perverted. I giggled, blushing brightly as I felt a hand grope one of my huge teats that were probably not that huge at all judging by the standards of this world. Well, in comparison to what my teats normally looked like, they certainly came across as huge to me now.

“I can’t say that I won’t feel awkward about it for a while,” Luna said, staring up at her while Celestia continued to let her hands wander across our bodies. “But I will do my best to think past this... I... I have to thank you for sparing me from what you had to go through, Tia. I prefer having grown up in an orphanage over such a despicable thing. I never knew our family... no, those cretins were the leaders of the infamous 'Blessed' Raven Crime Syndicate. It certainly explains a few things... It's no wonder you were so eager to get your name changed with the wedding.”

“Lulu, I would tear the world apart for you. For both of you,” Celestia told her, an odd gleam in her eyes. “I’m the big sister, aren’t I? I’m supposed to keep you safe, so stop thinking about it so much, and let me have some fun molesting you while we look like this, hmm?”

“You know, as inappropriate as the sentiment is, I suppose you’re right,” Luna sighed. “It’s in the past so we should put this behind us. We can’t change what happened, so let’s not focus on what happened and focus on what has yet to come." Then, she gave her a glare. "You are still going to sleep on the couch for having kept this a secret for so long, though.”

“Oh, come on, Lulu...” Celestia groaned and I giggled while Luna let out a snicker. “I’m so going to tease you until you beg me to fuck your brain out, you know that right~?”

“Is that a challenge?” Luna smirked and Celestia smiled back mischievously. With one swift motion, Celestia had her pinned underneath herself, trapping her body by grabbing Lulu's arms as she looked down at her with a seductive glint in her eyes.

“It’s a promise,” she whispered back and I contented myself with watching them as they fought for dominance over each other. I felt my nethers moisten simply from watching them both practically rip their clothing from their bodies in a mad dash to get the other naked first. “And you know I keep those~...”

Tia was victorious as she had Luna at her mercy, placing teasing kisses on her chin and nipping at her lips while trailing her fingers softly over her chest. She grinned as Luna whimpered cutely and I bit my lip, secretly starting to finger my sopping wet pussy, my clothes long since discarded in the corner of the room where they belonged.

My twin called forth her magic as she bound Luna with arcane bindings to the bed frame, putting them on so tight that she couldn’t move at all. My eyes almost popped out of my skull as she used her panties as a blindfold for Luna and I let out a moan at the kinky sight. Damn, sometimes Tia really was shameless.

And I friggin’ loved it as Lulu was mewling out her pleasure to the heavens on top of that. Celestia gave me a look, asking for one particular spell and I cast it in no time at all, making the transformation last for a few hours at the most. I have to say, even as a human, she looked friggin’ sexy as hell with both parts.

My nose started bleeding as the pony-shaped dick twitched. Fuck, why does it have to look so cute and sexy on her..? She was already hard mere seconds after I cast the spell.

“Come over here, Sunny Bunny~,” Celestia commanded huskily and I shuffled over obediently, heart beating frantically in nervous excitement as she called me that. She positioned me so that I was almost squishing Luna’s head into the mattress, my nethers smearing my arousal all over her face and I let out a squeaky moan as she started to lick my needy sex with a happy enthusiasm. “Now then, Sunshine~... cast the spell on Lulu, too.”

I didn't even have to do anything as Luna already cast the spell on herself before I could even think about doing so. She flicked my clit with her tongue in mischievous glee and I moaned. Celestia gave me a perverted smile, coming in for a kiss and fondling my chest with a lusty gleam in her eyes. I moaned a little bit louder than before as the sensation of her kneading my teats was entirely different from when she did this in my natural body.

I know I complained about it earlier, but... with me being so aroused... it actually felt nice. The nipples, especially. They were so perky and sent pleasant shivers through my body as she pinched them.

“Isn’t that nice?” she asked me in a whisper and I nodded, panting slightly. “You know, we can try out so many different positions like this that we can’t really as ponies. I can fondle you in so many different ways...”

“S-sister...” I mewled, grinding my wet sex against Luna as Tia smirked, twisting them slightly next. My breath caught itself in my throat and I bit my lip as I felt weak. Tia didn't give me enough time to so much as gasp for air, sealing her lips against mine as she cradled me in her arms.

Then, she let me breathe for just a second. “What do you say about playing with Luna a little bit?” she asked me and I nodded stupidly, unable to think of a reason why that wouldn't be a good idea. “How about... you come over here and ignore her for a while? Let her hear what we are doing while she has to wait for us until we finish?”

“Isn’t that a bit cruel?” I whispered back, crawling over to her anyway. Her scent was driving me crazy. Or it was my own, considering how aroused I was.

“She likes to be powerless, doesn’t she?” she answered, grabbing me and lining her rod up with my snatch. It looked just big enough that I felt comfortable to be fucked silly. I was more of a 'size doesn't matter' kind of girl and my wives were thankfully understanding enough. They were more than skilled enough in getting me to cum that they didn't need the ego boost (and let's be real here, it really is just an ego boost). “Now, we will have sex right on top of her while she can’t do anything about it, my precious Sunshine...”

“Y-yes, sister...” I moaned, throwing my arms around her shoulders as the tip of her member prodded lightly at my entrance, locking her lips with mine at the same time. I giggled as I heard Luna whine pathetically underneath us, enjoying this moment thoroughly as I wasn’t the one being teased endlessly for once.

I hummed happily as I felt her girth fill me up nicely, finding no resistance as I lowered myself until she was fully in. All the while, Tia was groping my ass and we continued to make out noisily on top of Luna. I could tell that the lewd sounds coming from us were driving her crazy and it only managed to make Celestia smile wider as we kissed.

Slowly, she lifted me up, withdrawing her member from my folds as I assisted her in her endeavor. Her shaft was positively soaked in my juices as she stopped just short of leaving my insides entirely. Tia ignored the colorful words from Luna as she complained that she couldn’t even watch us do it, bringing me back down in a somewhat swift motion and I cried out a muffled sound of approval as she wrestled my tongue with hers.

Moving back up, we started a rhythm of slow movements against each other, our chests touching every once in a while in a pleasant way. I had almost forgotten what sex was like in an upright position and with me on the receiving end of her throbbing member, I had to say that it was mind-boggling good. While I still preferred a nice rutting from my wives as a pony, this was a lovely change of pace.

“I-increase the pace, T-Tia,” I whispered pantingly, gazing at her with a lusty, half-lidded stare. She gave me a small nod, starting to actively thrust into my eager pussy with cute little grunts, ramming her cock into me a little bit harder as I continued to bounce up and down on it.

I mewled out each time she slid into me and back out, her movements hitting just the right spots. A thrust in, a moan leaving my throat, a thrust out, a whiny sound begging her to stuff it back in, the cycle continued on like that as I did my best to wear down her stamina and get her to cum.

“F-fuck, Summer,” Celestia panted, growling slightly as her movements started to get a little bit more jerky and awkward. “C-continue ramming yourself u-upo-ahn me and I’m gonna... ah! Fuck! I'm gonna c-cum before you! Mhhn!”

“I-I don’t care, Tia,” I shot back, giggling happily as I felt her twitch more and more in me. “T-tell me when you cum...”

“W-Why?” she asked, half out of breath and half confused. She gave me an inquisitive stare and I giggled mischievously. My happy smile got a lot more pervy and I whispered into her ear what I wanted her to do. Her eyebrow rose higher and she started to giggle in glee herself, giving Luna a look in anticipation. “V-very well, sister...”

“G-good,” I grinned before helping my twin move her pony dick into my snatch at a far faster pace than before. That seemed to be enough to push her over the edge as she stopped trying to hold her orgasm back. With a cute grunt, she started twitching in me as she couldn’t keep her load contained. My gorgeous wife began to spray my walls with her spunk and I kept her purposefully at my entrance with just the broad, flat tip still in me (almost like a plug, I have to say).

With one single motion, she deposited me right back on top of Luna’s face and we managed to startle her so much in surprise, that she had to process for a moment that my pussy was directly over her mouth, leaking the mixed fluids of Tia and me on her.

I moaned with heavy approval as she began to drink from me with lewd slurping noises. I smiled as Tia grabbed the shaft of our little sister and shoved it into her own sopping wet snatch, spearing her pussy on the stiff rod. I leaned forward to restart our make-out session again, taking Tia’s own member into my hand before lightly beginning to stroke it with gentle, careful movements as we played with our tongues. It was still sensitive and raw, but in typical Celestia fashion, her dick began to harden again.

Luna, in the meantime, moaned against me, licking every part of my needy sex before she started to lightly nibble on my clit. The vibration of her voice and the attention to my aching nub had me almost over the edge, but she wasn’t quite there yet. She was good with her ministrations, don't get me wrong, but... she would have to work a bit harder to make me orgasm.

Celestia certainly loved the extra attention, drawing pleasure from both her natural sex and the artificial one as I stroked her sensually. Luna had enough freedom in her restraints to somewhat move her hips, thrusting into my twin as she flicked her tongue in my snatch back and forth, scraping her teeth against my entrance gently.

Sex as a human was... interesting, to say the least. I mean, sure, I’ve had sex as a human before back when I still had a, you know. But right now, I had little recollection of those times and the only thing I could compare this to was sex as a pony. If I had to choose between both, I still would go with having sex as a pony over having it as a human. That didn’t change the fact that both versions were great, though. Perhaps when I had enough free time I might try to create a spell that would temporarily change the form of the one it was cast on, allowing us to... 'mix things up' even more.

Now that I was thinking about it... Starswirl might have a spell for that, considering the mirror changed us to fit this world better. Then again, he might not give us access to such an advanced spell until he felt like we were ready for it (insert exasperated eye roll here...). While we had the raw power to spare, we still need to learn how to cast it like any other pony. We couldn't just cast a spell without practicing it first. Any spell, for that matter. We could still somehow screw them up in the process if we were unlucky. Rushing through spellcasting was a tremendously stupid idea and only ever worked when you were in dire need of it. As in a life-or-death situation. Screwing up a spell ranged from 'nothing happens' to 'unforeseen side-effects' all the way over to 'you better hope you survive this or you'll be dead anyway'.

Not that such accidents have happened before. Nuh-uh, never. If you ask anypony, it didn't happen and they are lying!

...okay, maybe it did happen a few times. Maybe. Besides, it's not like Starswirl had no failures with his experiments, either. Heck, he was the most likely cause of a magical mishap if one were to happen.

Anyway, Celestia, Luna, and I continued to have sexy time well into the night until we were too exhausted to continue on. Besides, we couldn’t just have sex all night long without getting any sleep at all, we had to be up bright and early for our return home so we could show Chen and Li Li around a little bit.

It has been an exciting... if weird... ‘vacation’ from our usual daily routine. I was looking forward to some boring normalcy for once, tired of the emotional rollercoaster that Azeroth had sent us on.

Let’s hope Li Li won’t destroy our castle, trying to trigger every secret passage and trap. Chen would kill us if something happened to her, I’m sure.

But for now? I really need some sleep.

Chapter 012 - Fight for what is worth fighting for.

I stretched out my limbs happily, ruffling my wings gratefully. Oh, how I have missed you! I’m never gonna let the bad, bad mirror take them away again, no I won’t! Who are good wings? You are! Yes, you are!

Ahem, get a grip on yourself, Summer. I smiled as Yu’la flitted around me curiously, looking at all the nick-nacks scattered around Starswirl’s lab, nuzzling my side affectionately.

“Wow! How does your hair do that?” Li Li asked and I looked over at her, seeing her in her regular form. I guess the mirror only worked on humans or ponies, for now.

...or pandaren fit in just as well as they are. Which does oddly make sense, now that I am thinking about it.

But, going back to Li Li's question, I let out a thoughtful hum. “I can’t give you an answer for certain,” I told her. “But I would say it must have something to do with my connection to the Red Sun.”

As I said that, Celestia came out of the mirror after me. Li Li had already moved out of the way, so she was free to stretch out her own limbs like I had done. “Ah, it feels great having hooves again! And while I really missed the weight of my horn...” Tia said with a smile, walking over to me with a certain glint in her eyes. “I’m going to miss having hands even more...” Then, in a quiet and hushed tone, I heard my twin mutter something along the lines of it 'not feeling as great to molest Lulu and me with her magic' (because for what other reason would she complain if not for her being unable to satisfy all her perverted desires?). Thankfully, Li Li seemed to have a one-track mind exploring Starswirl's 'organized' chaos with Yu'la by her side or my sister might have just given us away.

Wouldn't be the first time, either...

Luna stumbled through the mirror next, standing on her hind legs for a moment while trying not to fall over. Once she was steady on her hooves, she went over to Tia, giving her a happy little nuzzle. She moved over to me next and I extended a wing over her back, giving her cheek a quick peck when I thought nopony was looking our way (mainly the little pandaren cub, but she was already racing over to the mirror as it rippled again).

Starswirl and Chen came through a moment later. Our mentor casually dusted off his hat like the unflappable stallion that he was while Chen tried his best not to throw up from the first-time experience of moving between worlds (with a magic 'rainbow vomit' mirror, that is). I gave him a sympathetic look as Li Li bombarded him with a veritable barrage of excited words, pointing to all the different things she found and our floating manes.

“Welcome to Equestria, Chen and Li Li Stormstout,” Celestia said, smiling serenely. “I hope you will find your stay here as fascinating as we did with our visit to Azeroth.”

“Though, I hope we won’t have to go over there again. Once was enough for me,” Luna whispered to me, sounding as exhausted as I felt. Sleep deprivation does that to you (not that I had a good reason to stay awake for so long, eh heh heh...).

I hummed, giving her a 'big sister' smile. “Aww. Don’t be like that now, Lulu,” I said, bumping my shoulder against hers. “While there were a few things I could have done without, it was a nice experience overall. Just... forget the bad things and everything will be fine, right?”

“You just want to have a mammoth, sister,” she snorted and I giggled, not arguing that point. While the idea of a mammoth was very enticing, Yu’la should be the only being from Azeroth that finds her home here, just so that the balance wasn’t upset too much. We had no idea what would happen if something from another universe stayed in ours for a longer period of time. Or how the environment would be affected.

I'd rather not deal with a frog pandemic. Or squirrels breeding out of control like rabbits. Or... just about anything else, really. While I would be uniquely equipped to handle the spread of a foreign species better than anypony else, it would still be more work than I had the time for. I can't let Tia and Lulu run the nation alone or things might happen.

Ah, well... technically, my sisters and I originate from a different universe, too. Although, one might argue that we were born here in a completely 'natural' way (insert sarcastic eye roll here). I’m sure Magic would be able to answer those questions, but I was in no mood to go ask her. Maybe Starswirl would know, seeing that he wasn’t that concerned about Yu’la staying here.

This was giving me a headache, already. The implications of dimensional travel and all its dangers were vast and we probably should make some ground rules down the road to ensure we didn’t accidentally implode our universe. Starswirl mentioned that he had reworked the mirror portals, so I’m sure he had some fail-safes already in mind. I shouldn’t worry so much about this or I will start fearing everything and anything again.

I mean, it is a legitimate fear, but... I can't fall into an existential crisis over everything, right? Or I really will start jumping at every shadow. Which, to be real, are sometimes very scary, no shame there, but I'm a grown adult pony. I drink my milk cold, shadows fear me (except when they don't, those are the nasty ones).

“Now, let’s see if I can get this right,” Starswirl muttered, lighting up his horn. Once more a wobbly portal came into existence, this time connecting his lab with our castle in the Everfree Forest. Chen and Li Li looked interestedly at the grand sight of our castle towering over the forest like a silent guardian. “I have to say, the portal spell from Azeroth does wonders on the mana requirement! And being able to travel within the universe, truly a magnificent spell!”

“Yes, well,” I giggled, glad he was so happy to have an easy traveling method (despite it looking moderately unsafe). “I’m sure it isn’t as easy as you make it sound, Starswirl.”

“Your home is huge!” Li Li commented, running over the bridge and I took flight to catch up with her before one of our guards got the idea that she somehow was a threat. One may never know with the critters lurking in the woods.

“I’m glad you think so, Li Li,” I said, setting her on my back as I landed beside her. “But you shouldn’t run off on your own. You gave your uncle a promise, did you not?”

She looked abashed, rubbing the back of her head with a paw. At least she learned from this. “I’m sorry, Princess.”

“That apology should go to your uncle, my little cub,” I giggled, nuzzling her cheek affectionately. She blushed in embarrassment and I swore to myself to fill a memory ball with this moment at the earliest convenience I got. The little pandaren was just too cute for me to forget such an image later down the line.

The guards did their best to keep their expressions neutral as they saw one of their princesses be used as a mount for a cute little cuddly panda bear. I appreciate their concern, I really do, but sometimes they just could get so protective that it got ridiculous.

It didn’t take long for my sisters and Chen, as well as Starswirl, to catch up to me and Li Li. Chen took it with humor, not the slightest bit surprised that his niece had gotten a bit overly excited to go explore our home. So, my sisters and I gave them the tour, showing them around all our favorite places and introducing them to our chefs (they were happy to learn new recipes and share their own with Chen as he left them with a casket of his finest brew). Starswirl sequestered himself in our library, muttering quietly to himself about old gods and the connection to what he saw in the smoky illusion Lorewalker Cho had shown us of our ‘ancestors’, something that wasn’t all that surprising to me. He was sort of awkward around others after a while, especially when there was something occupying his mind for some time. I don’t know, maybe it had something to do with how much he tended to be alone with only his books and scrolls keeping him company. He was an introvert deep down, through and through.

Luna had her fun with the secret passages and the 'Organ to the Outside', playing “a few” pranks on our servants and guards with Li Li. It was a good thing that Chen was so lax with his definition of behaving as well or he probably would have been running around like a headless cockatrice.

We played a few rounds of hide and seek with the little mischievous panda cub, Li Li finding places to hide in that I had no idea whatsoever how she got to them in the first place (a tree I would understand, but the rafters of our castle?!). It was fun playing around in a carefree nature, every once in a while. It reminded me of how little we had actually gotten to enjoy our foalhood after our father died. Thinking about all the missed opportunities we never got started to make me feel melancholic. We had so little time with our parents and I missed them dearly.

I let out a saddened sigh, excusing myself from Chen and Li Li, making my way to a place I rarely went to due to the fact that it always made me cry.

Summoning some flowers from my private garden over to me, I placed them gently down in front of the intricately designed headstones, a crescent moon gracing the one of our mother and a four-pointed star for the one dedicated to our father. Both were being cradled by a hooded statue of an alicorn. “Hey, Mom and Dad...”

Talking to my parents, even though they had long since passed away and were probably living a new life... it was as calming as it was heart-wrenching. I nudged the flowers awkwardly back and forth, trying to get them to rest absolutely perfectly against the stone, mumbling tearfully about all the things that had happened since I was last here talking to them.

Yu’la seemed to understand what this place meant to me and stayed silently by my side, nuzzling my leg softly. I smiled down at her comforting gesture. I was uncertain if she would ever grow up to the size of her mother, seeing that she was technically an animated statue with a part of the essence of Yu’lon breathed into her.

I stayed at the little private graveyard for a while, just basking in the solitude for a moment. My sisters eventually found me staring forlornly at the tombs, Yu’la sleeping on my forelegs as I lay on the ground without a care if I got a little bit dirty in the process.

“Li Li is asking where you are, Sunny,” Luna whispered, putting a wing over my back. My muzzle turned up into a tiny smile and I appreciated their soft kisses with a small, happy hum. I could just bask in their presence all day long. Sadly, life goes on, and being a lazy bum wasn't on my schedule anymore. “Come on, it's almost time for dinner. Let’s go back inside.”

I sighed, leaning my head against hers for a moment. Reluctantly, I put Yu’la on my back and got up. I gave a little stretch and a yawn escaped my lips before saying my silent goodbye to the graves of my parents. Smiling slightly in a subdued way, I turned to Luna and Tia. “Lead the way, sister.”

---

Dinner with Chen and Li Li was, as always, interesting. Chen had somehow gotten ahold of one of the bottles of Luna’s moonshine. I have no idea how she managed it, but it was essentially made of ‘distilled’ moonlight mixed with high-percentage alcohol. I gave Lulu a disapproving look and she merely grinned innocently back at me, whistling like nothing was wrong with the world as he drank a highly potent magical drink.

I swear, ever since she was allowed to drink again, my sister leaped at the chance of making her own poison. Like mother, like daughter, I suppose. While we didn’t make it a habit, sometimes we did indulge a little bit (or a lot, in Luna's case). The one time I drank one of my sister’s 'concoctions', I felt like I was dying the next day. I had no idea how she could drink the stuff like it was water and not get totally wasted from it. Tia and I never gave it another try with her special drink, not wanting to start becoming like Mom was at her worst.

At least Li Li liked the cookies I made for all of us. Naturally, my sisters were fighting over theirs while I mostly gave mine to Yu’la, unable to say no to those cute eyes of hers. The little dragon was happily munching on the crumbs I levitated over to her. If I didn't know better, it almost seemed like chocolate was similar to catnip for her (which made it really hard to say no to her once she had more than enough).

The other thing I found out about her diet (aside from her love for cookies) was that she ate a piece of jade gemstone that had previously been part of the decorations around the castle. We... uh... had one fewer gem-encrusted spoon now, I guess, but I don't think our chefs will miss it too much. It was tacky, anyway.

Ponies really love to put gems on everything, don't they? And because we’re princesses, it was almost expected of us to have the most gaudy decorations. Well, I can’t argue against it looking beautiful, but it was getting annoying that our subjects started to put us on a pedestal. Mostly Celestia, though.

We returned Chen and Li Li to Azeroth with the help of Starswirl as the day started to come to a close, telling them they were always welcome to visit us again in the future. Li Li gave me one last ‘big’ hug before following her uncle through the portal, waving at us with a little smile on her face.

“It feels like we’ve known them for years,” I sighed while smiling sadly that they were already going back home. Sure, they couldn’t stay here forever, the time difference would be disastrous the longer they stayed in Equestria, but I would still miss having them around. They had so many interesting tales of their travels, too. I look forward to the next time when they visit us. They'll have even more stories to share by then, I'm sure.

Celestia gave me a nudge toward where Starswirl kept the portal to our castle open and we went back through. Before we could go in the direction of our private tower, though, she stopped us. “Let’s go see what our agents have to report before retiring for the day,” she said. Luna nodded next to me and I heaved a sigh. I guess fun time was over, then.

We accompanied our sister over to the barracks (they weren't really barracks in the sense of a separate building, they were just located in a separate wing of our castle and that's it) in search of our spymistress. She was in charge of our intelligence agency and the dirty little secrets of the black ops kind. Naturally, only the thestral tribe came into question for such tasks as they had fewer qualms about taking somepony's life. And they were scarily good at it, even with the failed attempts at infiltrating Princess Bitchface's inner circle.

As we entered her office, we saw the thestral sorting through some important-looking documents on her desk while listening to a report from one of her agents. Both of them stopped doing what they were doing to face us. “Princesses!” Night Fang said, saluting us while dismissing her underling. “Just the ponies I wanted to see.”

“It’s good to see you as well, Spymistress,” Celestia smiled, taking a seat on the cushion in front of her desk. “How is Platinum? Any news on her?”

“Right to the point, that’s what I like about you, Your Highness,” Night smirked, pushing a few of the documents to the side as she searched for one in particular. “The last agent that shadowed her only got as far as the others, I’m afraid to say. But! He noticed a meeting between her and another pony in the back alleys of Canterlot. He was unable to find out what it was about, but it seemed important. That mare is one paranoid pony, it isn’t easy to get anywhere close to her. Despite being disinherited, she's got a lot of money to spare on security and shady deals.”

My sister grumbled unhappily while the feather's on her wings bristled with suppressed anger. “Did he at least see something of interest? Or were those your only leads?” she asked, disappointed. My twin had become increasingly frustrated with the lack of details coming from their combined efforts and I’m sure she is going to be grumpy for the rest of the week. She always was when things weren't going her way.

“I wish I could tell you we had anything on her, Princess,” Night Fang answered and her ears splayed back against her head as she glared at the report as if it had personally offended her. “There was some sort of exchange of a large bag of bits and a bag he couldn’t decipher the contents of. It was heavy and bulky, though, so the best guess I could give you about that is that Platinum bought some rare materials that she could only get from the black market. Something's going down and I don't like being in the dark about this any more than you do. I've got a bad feeling about this.”

"Materials from the black market?" I muttered, fidgeting beside my sister. “What would she need something like that for?”

Luna let out a thoughtful hum. “It can’t be anything good if it is from the black market as you say, Night Fang. I assume she is working on some kind of ritual.”

“As good a guess as any," she shrugged, folding up the papers neatly before placing them in a binder labeled 'Finances, July' (there were a couple more like that, labeled in a way to appear like she was our head accountant, instead). "We’ll try to get more info on that for you over the next few days. Don’t be disappointed if we return empty-hoofed again. Her home is warded so much that even a slightly misplaced blade of grass would trigger an alarm. Figuratively speaking, of course. Nothing gets in there without her noticing it.”

“And we do not have enough evidence to warrant a legal search of it, either. Ugh. I really hate the law, sometimes,” Celestia grumbled, snorting angrily. I laid a calming wing over her back, making her relax slightly. “Anything else we should be aware of?”

“A few of Her Highness' animal friends were here and had 'reported in',” she answered, pushing a scroll over to me that had what appeared to be gibberish and crude doodles on them. To any other pony, it would have been unreadable. But I wasn't just any pony, I spoke the language of critters and beasts alike (and was somewhat proficient in reading their chicken-scratch-like script... who would have guessed birds developed the universal animal code?). My eyes flitted over the chaotic letter, my eyes narrowing in concern. “So... what does it say?”

“They say something is abducting ponies,” I mumbled, trying to decipher more of the message. “It isn’t very clear about what the cause behind it is, though. Half of this is barely legible enough for me to make out the general gist of it.”

“That... is not good. Our agents haven’t noticed anything happening like that,” Night muttered, rubbing her temple tiredly with a grey hoof. “I need to have a few choice words with them, in that case. Bunch of idiots...”

“I’m sure they are doing their best,” I said gently, placing the scroll back down on her desk. “Don’t be too hard on them.”

Our spymistress sneered as she narrowed her eyes at me. “I mean no offense, Your Highness,” she began, voice dark. “But they have been slacking off. We should have gotten an agent into Platinum’s inner circle by now, and yet, they fumble around like little foals. That something like this went past our notice is not acceptable.”

“She is right, Summer,” Celestia said, a grimace on her muzzle. “We need to be better informed and we can’t always rely on your animal friends to notice something that our agents don’t.”

“Can you fault them for trying their hardest? I wouldn’t even trust my animal friends to get anywhere near close to Platinum and most of our focus is on her and her schemes. It is no wonder something slipped past our notice when you continue to try to further your vendetta against her,” I argued back. We had scarce few resources left to concentrate on other important things to ensure the safety of our nation. If it weren't for the royal guard picking up the slack in civilian matters, things might be going a lot worse for us.

Not that Tia cared much about that, she looked about ready to retort that it was ‘our’ vendetta in a snide way. We have had that argument a few times already and it always ended up with her being mad at me for having different priorities than she did. It was as aggravating as it was cute, seeing her pout to herself because she learned the hard way there were some things I wouldn't budge on. I could stand up for myself and it always managed to surprise her when I was the one refusing to be her 'yes-mare'.

I couldn't help but inwardly grin as my sister reined her temper in with a sigh and a low growl. She shot me a glare, unhappy with my reasoning, but she had enough presence of mind to get over her misgivings and realize I might be onto something. She really was too fixated on her vendetta with the former princess, it was starting to become an obsession of hers. “I'll admit, you might have a point there, Summer. It still doesn’t excuse them from failing so spectacularly. Our agents were trained better than this, and yet, after so many years, they still aren’t doing their best.”

I was about to tell her that her quest against Platinum was the reason behind them being in such a tight spot when Night Fang sighed tiredly, giving us a suffering look.

Poor mare, I felt kinda bad for her. She had to fix the messes we made and here we go, fighting with each other over something so trivial as Platinum being her usual self up to no good.

Still, Tia had to learn the lesson at some point, right? She can't just waste all of our resources on one petty mare trying to discredit us for the nth time. We all knew that whatever she was concocting up this time wouldn't work, either. It never did and never will.

Platinum was like an incompetent cartoon villain in that regard. She always tried the most childish things a bully could come up with and would later throw a tantrum when it inevitably failed to get the results she hoped for.

My twin is a stubborn mule wasting her time with another stubborn mule and it has to stop! She was riling herself up for no reason. Tia needs to take a step back and notice the rest of the nation instead of just one individual with megalomaniacal tendencies. What can I say? Wasting thousands of bits in this petty squabble was insane. Both of them were, to be honest. Princess Bitchface for obvious reasons and Tia for giving her more attention than she deserved.

“Now, aside from a few unforeseen setbacks, let's not forget about the good things, alright? The rest of the kingdom seems peaceful enough, all things considered. And I'm proud to say it's all thanks to your fair rule, my Princesses,” Night Fang said, putting an end to our argument before it could degenerate into a shouting match. It wouldn’t have been the first time something like that happened and I doubt it would have been the last. My twin calmed herself down significantly, the reminder doing her a world of good to remember not everything was doom and gloom with our nation, nuzzling my cheek apologetically but I turned my head away with a stubborn pout. Never let it be said I couldn't be a stubborn mule, myself.

Luna gave me a raised brown and I fidgeted. Ugh. Don't look at me like that! You were the one that encouraged me to be more assertive! I am doing just that! I'm teaching her a lesson here!

...which I am, right? So... why was I feeling so guilty? Or was I just being petulant? Damnit.

Who am I even kidding? I can’t stay mad at her, ever. Besides, Tia was right, too. Maybe. Possibly, but not entirely. I mean, our agents aren't entirely useless, right? They managed to get some intel, which should be enough. We knew she was buying stuff from the black market most likely and, uh... probably scheming a stupid plan to turn my mane green and laugh at me in court. I wouldn't put it past her to stoop down to that level of pettiness.

Besides, I'd probably look great with a light green mane, so it's not like it would give her much to laugh at.

All that matters is that they could do their job without getting discovered, right? No intel in the world is worth the risk to their lives, after all. Even if that intel barely amounts to breadcrumbs.

...okay, okay! Maybe I shouldn’t lie to myself like this and face the truth that our agents might not be the best infiltrators. Who can fault them for that, really? Ponies just weren’t made for this type of work. Even thestrals with all of their skills in espionage. They were good at fighting and staying out of sight, silently sneaking around and counterfeiting signatures as well as stealing fruit and bits alike, but none of that helped them blend in at social interactions. And since a majority of the thestrals in Equestria were fiercely loyal to the crown... anypony seen talking with them would set Platinum off. And, well... trying to disguise a thestral was a futile effort due to their cat-like eyes (not to mention the bat wings).

Before I could start second-guessing myself even more, our spymistress gave me a big, joyful smile. It caught me kind of off-guard as she vibrated in her seat. The emotion was so uncharacteristic and foreign seeing it on her, it was almost cute (if it weren't for what she said next). “I'm happy to report that crime is at an all-time low since the founding of Equestria if that cheers you up. And there have been no monster attacks that we know of that need handling by you, Princess Summer. Furthermore, aside from the seemingly disappearing ponies, your subjects are content with the work that you do. Everything is running smoothly within the guard and we even discovered a traitor! Eee!”

I smiled awkwardly, mildly put off as her sadistic side shined through her professional behavior. I have no doubt the hospital ward will have to deal with the blood loss of the poor fool that got caught by her agents.

Night Fang is one scary pony.

Well, I guess at least some things were going well for us. It was nice knowing our work was appreciated (even if Tia primarily got the laurels for that). Hopefully, we would get behind these disappearances as well as Platinum's schemes and counterspy actions (because why else would anypony betray us?). Neither side was getting anywhere with this stupid spiel that she insisted we play with each other. We had better things to do than entertain her.

All I want to do is to ensure that our ponies are safe and sound, allowing them to live a happy life. I can't say we were doing too badly on that front, ruling our nation. One little setback can't sour that. And neither could Platinum, for that matter.

“Focus our efforts on finding our ponies, Spymistress,” Luna said, pointing out that Platinum was way less of a threat in comparison. Celestia had to acquiesce to the wisdom behind that decision and I hoped it would get her over the constant paranoia of the former princess being up to something of a world-ending nature. Furthermore, whatever Princess Bitchface was planning, I’m pretty sure it was more along the lines of her throwing another hissy fit instead of ushering in the apocalypse. She didn't possess that kind of power and nopony sane would attempt a ritual that's more likely to kill them instead of turning them into some kind of overpowered god-like being without being worthy of such.

"Anything else you want me to do, Your Highness?" Night Fang asked, but Luna shook her head.

"I trust you to make the right decisions should anything else crop up, Night," my sister told her. "Keep us up to date on that traitor and we will keep this nation in one piece in the meantime. Until next time."

Night Fang nodded, giving us a bow as we left her office. Our way back to our chambers was spent in silence, the quiet only broken by the clip-clop sounds of our hooves. Together we lowered the suns and Luna did her thing with the night sky as we stayed on the balcony, gazing up at her magnificent work. The stars twinkled serenely up above us, and, seeing the tension in my twin from all of the stress, I started to preen the wings of my lovely wife.

...I guess Luna does have a point about her 'kiss and make up' viewpoint. I don't enjoy fighting with my twin, but... if it leads to showing our love to each other like this? I suppose I couldn't entirely dislike it. I'd prefer not to get into a spat with my sisters, though.

“Why does this have to be so frustrating?” Celestia grumbled, melting into my light touches as Luna began to work on her other wing. “It’s always something that goes wrong...”

“We can’t be everywhere at once, sister,” Luna told her, spitting out a loose feather from Tia that had come out. “And we can’t be perfect at everything.”

“What’s the point if we can’t guarantee the safety of those we watch over? I bet... mhh... I bet Bitchface is behind it...” Tia shot back, letting out a happy moan. I smiled as my twin started to relax a bit more.

“Are you doubting yourself, sister?” I asked, getting a snort out of her. “It’s not all bad, you know. Even if Platinum has a hoof in this (and that's a big if), we will find our ponies and then everything will be okay.”

“I’m not doubting that,” she answered, sounding just the slightest bit insecure. “I’m just worried we will get to them too late or we won’t find them at all.”

“Moping about it won’t help, either,” Luna told her, placing a small peck on her cheek. “All we can really do is to keep doing our best.”

“That and hope for the best,” I said, nuzzling Tia softly. “We can also ask Starswirl to look into the matter. He could find something with one of his spells that our agents or my animal friends might not find. Besides, he needs to get out more, he stays in his lab and the library way too often.”

“Okay,” she hummed. “That sounds like a good plan. We can delegate this... keep this kingdom running smoothly while Starswirl and Night Fang look for the perpetrator. I hate to admit this, but... we can't do much without more information.”

“There we go,” I smiled. “Let’s go to bed, I’m "—I let out a big yawn, feeling the exhaustion catch up to me—"really tired. A good night's rest will do us all some good.”

My sisters nodded in agreement and we moved over to our large bed, discarding our regalia in a haphazard fashion (our maids would no doubt get into a fit if they saw us doing that, the dedicated chests and ponyquins forgotten and neglected). Yu’la was already fast asleep on a cushion in a drawer jutting out from the nightstand next to it (it kinda was perfect for her size to curl up in and it looked very cute). Judging by the little movements of her snout, she was having a pleasant dream of chasing after something, perhaps a mouse if I had to guess. Or a memory of playing hide and seek with Li Li and me.

Soon enough, I was also asleep with a pleasant dream of my sisters swimming next to me in the ocean. I suspected Luna gave it to me, but I couldn't really complain about the subtle message behind it. The water was nice, after all. And their wet manes... or the droplets of water running down their bodies as they strolled out onto the sandy beach to relax... a-and their half-lidded eyes as they turned to look back at me ogling their flanks...

Haah... my life was turning into one of those smutty romance books my twin liked to read so much. The kind with steamy scenes depicting a tall and bold mare dominating their meek wallflower of a friend. And by the twin suns, I liked every moment of it.

There was just a certain allure to it that being in charge couldn't give. It was exciting, never knowing what might happen next. And despite the helpless feeling, I felt more in control than I would've felt by being able to do whatever I wanted with my sisters. It was very contradictory, I know, but it was the truth. I decided how much power over me I would give them, and as long as they didn't play dirty, they would have to acquiesce to my judgment.

Ultimately, I was the one getting pleased by them. And that gave me a different kind of power over them. A power I rarely made use of, sure, but when I needed to, they had no choice but to behave.

And that's why, despite me enjoying my dream quite a lot, Luna would have to try a lot harder to get me to agree to a real vacation at the beach. My lazy ass of a sister might think she was being clever, but I got a sense of responsibility I wouldn't so easily turn my back on. Even Tia, as sex-starved as she sometimes might be, knew we had way too much work piled up on our hooves to just take a vacation after we basically wasted a whole day exploring another world and playing around in a carefree manner.

She would have to content herself with the dream realm for a while longer. We had other things to worry about for now. Things that might test us in more ways than we could imagine.

Thankfully, Starswirl agreed to look into one of those aforementioned problems for us. It didn't even take much convincing for him to concentrate on this newest mystery of missing ponies all over Equestria as we asked him the next day. Well, I say he didn't need much convincing, he pretty much agreed to do so in an instant once he was aware of the circumstances, although then again, he gave us a veritable mountain of homework we had to work through while he was gone. Just our luck.

Haah. I guess nothing comes without a catch with that stallion, does it? He really loves giving us extra work disguised as lessons. He doesn't even teach us in pony most of the time, either. It was just a matter of 'Here's a list of topics you'll need to look up and here's a sheet of tasks you need to do before I come back', nothing more.

More often than not, the research involved was scattered over multiple books and tomes, and not always in the same location. Our library was by far not small, but it paled in comparison to the one in Canterlot and other major cities.

In a way, our 'lessons' also taught us about making social appearances all over Equestria as a whole, but by the twin suns, it was exhausting in a completely different way to holding court. Holding court was primarily like problem-solving while making visits to other towns and cities was more along the lines of making social calls at parties for the sole purpose of small talk. If small talk had hidden meanings and thinly disguised brown-nosing as well as fake pleasantries as a part of it. But what was I expecting of the nobility? They were even worse in social outings than they were in court, playing 'The Aristocrat Game' as I liked to call it.

It wasn't a nice game, nor was it really a game in the strictest sense. It was a war of influence and power, a chess board where every move was calculated and every loss a major blow to your reputation. And our main opponent was Platinum and her gang of old Unicornian noble families. The kind with lots of stuffy rules and customs that looked down on 'lesser' noble families and those that couldn't trace back their lineage for at least ten generations or more. Their only language was money and how many favors you could owe them.

In the most simplest of terms, it was a minefield. A minefield of offending one party by speaking to another, by not 'laughing' at their miserable jokes of supremacist views, and earning their ire for holding more progressive ideals than their pea-brained conservative views could handle.

And all of that just because we had to complete some obscure homework our teacher couldn't deign to teach us himself anymore. After we went through the initial stages of our apprenticeship, Starswirl couldn’t be bothered to actively teach us the things we were 'supposed' to learn and made us do it instead. On top of ruling the nation, of course. I have to wonder if Clover had to do so many assignments all over the place, as well. This wasn’t teaching and whoever thought Starswirl would make a great teacher made a grave mistake.

Probably King Bullion, now that I thought about it...

Night Fang and her agents put their efforts into finding out who was responsible for the disappearances as well, but as the days dragged on, they only found vague clues that didn’t help much. Aside from that, our agents started to encounter strange artifacts of a dark origin at an increasing and alarming frequency.

I had no idea where these things were coming from, and at first, they appeared as seemingly harmless toys with only mildly corrupting effects to them. It didn’t stay that way for long, though. Sometimes it got so bad that one of my sisters or I had to step in to apprehend the pony under the influence of dark magic and get the thing away from them.

More often than not, they looked like ordinary things such as quills, books, or even jewelry. The more insidious ones posed as harmless toys for foals, making it incredibly heart-wrenching for us to take the vile things away from them. That, and the fact that the process of 'detoxifying' them was similar to making a drug addict go through rehab.

It was gruesome and I hated every moment of it. Whoever did this to our ponies would receive no mercy from me for giving these things to innocent foals. Doing so was worse than allowing a child to partake in alcohol or cigarettes, even in small amounts. It withers your magical core and risks insanity, no matter your age.

All of them promised the wielder power beyond imagination, but what they really did was ruin their lives in the blink of an eye. The infuriating thing about these horrible artifacts was the fact that not a single pony that we asked (once they regained their sanity, that is) knew where they got them from. It was like they just suddenly had them and promptly fell under their influence.

The more dangerous dark artifacts couldn’t even be destroyed without risking massive consequences in the process. It forced us to put them away in secure places within our castle as the years passed by. Luna trapped the rooms in which we put them with such efficiency that only the most foolish of ponies would attempt to steal them. If they even found the rooms in the first place, Luna was quite thorough in hiding them. To make sure that a thief couldn’t simply steal all of them at once, we stored only a few artifacts per room, no more than three to four (we didn't exactly have a lot of room for each place holding them). A vault might have been another idea worth considering, but the risk was simply too high that somepony might have broken into it for selfish reasons to take them all at once.

Foolish selfishness, but selfishness nonetheless. Even our ponies were not entirely without greed and the ambition to use any means necessary to gain power.

Our ever-loyal spymistress was having a conniption with the trouble those artifacts caused and I couldn’t fault her for sometimes snapping at us in her frustration (we were just as much frustrated as she was, after all). I wish I could have relieved her of her burden, even if it was just a slight amount, but the nobles were giving us a lot of flak for this escalating situation. Especially to Luna and myself. They somehow got the idea that 'we' were pulling the strings behind the scenes in order to get rid of Tia, which was about the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard that came out of their muzzles up to this date.

Platinum was most likely seizing the opportunity to further besmirch us as we tried our best to keep this nation together. The few times I saw her over the last fifteen years, I could tell that she noticed we weren’t aging at all past what a young adult mare would have looked like in their mid-twenties. If that pony started to outgrow every other pony in height, that is. Luna even joked about us being related to swans, which I couldn't really berate her on. My neck was feeling kinda longer than it should be even though I knew it wasn't (at least, I think so...).

Tia and I were still a head taller than Lulu but in comparison to any other pony? We had to look down to meet their eyes and it didn’t make me feel comfortable. Like... at all. Even Luna had to look down so she could speak to our subjects, and she didn't feel any better about it. Tia, on the other hoof, found it great because why wouldn’t she? She had a narcissistic streak a mile wide and it was hard berating her for it when she made the same arguments about me.

What? Being tall and slender had its own charm to it. I might prefer being small and meek but I can't say I didn't like the more mature, matronly look it gave me. My figure started to look more angelic and Luna was really into it. And, uh... it might have made me a bit more... possessive of my little ponies? Almost like they were my own children I had to protect. Which might just get worse the older I get because none of them might reach my age in a generation or two.

Granted, even the next few generations won't ever be able to, but I haven't entirely lost hope of finding another immortal pony aside from my sisters and me. There were rumors the hippogriff queen was far older than her appearance might lead one to believe, but Novo never confirmed those in her correspondence with us. King Aspen might also be long-lived, but that deer rarely paid anyone a visit, so it was a bit hard to confirm when their community stayed so secluded in 'their' forests.

Who knows, maybe the kirin shared a similar lifespan to the dragons? As far as I know, those could get thousands of years old.

Anyway! In addition to all the stress, Starswirl was still investigating the missing cases that continued to pile up more and more. He had tried to go to Khadgar for help, but for some odd reason the mirror to Azeroth lost its connection completely, and every time he tried to open a portal manually to investigate, the spell failed by literally blowing up in his face, a strange static and fuzzy feeling spreading over the area each time he tried to open a way to Azeroth with his magic.

I was saddened that I couldn’t go visit Chen and Li Li for a little reunion or ask Yu’lon for some much-needed wisdom. Yu’la couldn’t even visit her own mother and that was making me incredibly sad for her. She hasn’t grown at all in the fifteen years since she has been with me, which either meant her growth would take centuries or it wouldn’t happen at all (or it might require a similar process to how Yu'lon reincarnated, allowing her to breathe life into a successor).

Celestia even found a playmate for my darling dragon in the form of an injured phoenix chick, which we nursed back to full health. She started calling her Philomena, named after an old bird our daughters had in our previous life that they pressured us into getting for them (it was either that or a dog). The phoenix chick was way more exotic than a paradise bird and had a frighteningly high level of intelligence.

I think Philomena might have been learning all the wrong things from Luna, to be honest. She started to behave a bit mischievously the longer she stayed with us. I dearly hoped Philomena wouldn’t start to become a bad influence on Yu’la or I swear I will kill Celestia for corrupting my darling dragon through the proxy of her pet.

Aside from that, I used a lot of my free time (time that wasn’t spent on all of the problems keeping us up at night, that is) on working on another spell of my own making that proved to be way more complicated than the temporary genital transformation spell.

I wasn’t really made for mixing both emotional and rational magic, something that Luna had gotten exceedingly good at after first accessing the form of her other half. It was better left unspoken just what my experiments created with the voluntary test subjects of mice and rats and the odd few cats living in the castle. Let’s just say that a partial transformation into a different species tended to look... ahem, nightmare-inducing... and leave it at that.

My Moon had to calm down one too many of my bad dreams that she went so far as to forbid me from testing out my experimental spell until I was absolutely certain I could get it done right. She has been especially weirded out by my latest failed attempt that I dreamt about and I couldn't really fault her for that. A cat shouldn't look like a fusion between a pony and a lion coupled with a giant.

Speaking of dreaming, Celestia had a few foreboding ones over the last couple of months that were very concerning by themselves. And they all had one thing in common, too: Ponies losing their magic to theft.

Of course, that made the majority of our alarm bells start ringing in our minds. Celestia had sent a missive to our centaur allies, asking for any possible explanations, but... we have yet to receive an answer from King Vorak or his wife. I was getting mightily tempted to send out a scout to look at the situation as my concern started to rise after the continued silence. Something was wrong, I just had this feeling, and Celestia’s nervousness only made it worse.

A shadow was looming over the horizon and the question was a simple one. Are we ready to face the oncoming storm and fight for that which is worth fighting for? For my family and my nation, I would give anything. Even my life, if I had to.

The world’s fate now rested within our hooves, just as Hope and Magic had warned us. The teachings of our mentor will come into use to prevent a future without magic, and I had my suspicions as to who the perpetrator was behind all of this.

It all added up, didn’t it? The missing ponies, the missing correspondence with King Vorak, and what happened to Dusk Comet so long ago now. A queasy feeling was starting to settle within my gut at the thought of Prince Tirek having murdered his own father in a quest to gain more power.

Sighing, I stared down at the rough draft for a law the nobles pushed us into passing into the Equestrian Constitution, stating that any and all alicorns are to be considered royalty by default. There was no doubt that it was a hopeful grab for power from those idiotic fools thinking they could somehow get blessed in producing an heir that is born an alicorn. Fat luck with that, the chances of that happening are abysmally low.

I could tell Platinum had her dirty little hooves in this, there were rumors about her floating around of having a suitor that she most likely had no love for, whatsoever. She must no doubt be getting desperate if that is how she plans to get an heir back on the throne. I have received no news that she had birthed a successor, but ponies like her knew how to keep such things on the down low.

I shouldn’t let Platinum’s schemes cloud my judgment on this one, though. While most of those attempted power grabs from the snobbish portion of the nobility would find themselves under heavy scrutiny from my sisters or me, every once in a while they actually managed to get their two defective brain cells working long enough to churn out something decent.

My, my. Let's see here... this could have the potential to backfire on them in a spectacular way. They probably never thought about the possibility of a 'peasant' ascending to an alicorn or being born into a commoner’s family. Aside from that, I suppose there was merit to an alicorn being granted the title for another reason, too. One major positive of this law would be the ageless nature of alicorns, ensuring that they think about the future of the planet and its inhabitants first and foremost. The alternative wouldn’t look pretty for them.

Those elves from Azeroth had the right idea, living in trees weirdly enough. They did their best to protect nature, although I wasn’t a fan of their methods for the most part. The little tidbits I had the chance to read about them during our visit fifteen years ago gave me enough of an idea that they were... a bit conceited. They were practically the ones that attracted the Burning Legion to their planet in the first place which led to the sundering of the primal continent. It seems a little bit ridiculous, now that I think about it.

The deer would fit right in with their own attitude...

I shook my head, trying to clear away the random thoughts and focus back on what was really important. I needed to find my sisters and discuss with them the suspicions I held about the wayward son of King Vorak. And the possibility that the son... disposed... of his father.

I left my office in the usual state of organized chaos, nodding to the guards and servants going about their way, receiving salutes and respectful bows from those that weren’t carrying things around.

It had taken a while to get them to this level of comfortableness around us, previously they stopped doing whatever it was they were doing and prostrated themselves before us. Some were fearful of what we would do if they didn’t show such reverence to us, most likely a remnant of what previous rulers expected of them.

Or... perhaps they felt the need to grovel before us simply because we moved the heavens. It was... bothersome to be viewed like that and we tried our best to make them see that we were only ponies ourselves and not some... 'goddesses'.

I mean... we weren’t, right? Just because we could move the suns and the moon didn’t automatically make us infallible goddesses. We fail and make mistakes just like any other pony, there's no need to start worshiping us as something we are not. Sure, we might have a lot of magic at our disposal, but I wouldn’t go so far as to label us as goddesses of the heavens because of that. A demigoddess would still be exaggerating it, I thought with exasperation.

Damnit, now I feel like I’m desperately searching for arguments against this (again). There was a feeling of denial welling up within me and I shoved this train of thought to the back of my mind where it belonged with an un-princess-like snort. The notion of us being goddesses was simply ridiculous. A god had power unimaginable and could form reality to their whim, they had knowledge beyond a mortal's comprehension, and they were omnipresent. Not to mention the multitude of other things a being like that could do. Omni-everything.

I decidedly ignored that my sisters and I sort of fit that description, if only partially. We do have far more power than what we know what to do with on a daily basis, we had knowledge of a different life with technology that would blow an ordinary pony's mind, and we could ask our celestial objects for a peek from the orbit of this planet. Everywhere their light touched, we could perceive.

Still, I would argue we were 'demi-goddesses' at most and incredibly powerful ponies at a bare minimum. It would be pretentious to claim we were more than that. We didn't deserve worship.

Anyway! I peeked into Tia’s office first to see if she was there but came up empty-hooved, making my way to Lulu’s office next. Seeing that it was also empty of the midnight-blue mare, I looked down at my necklace and shrugged, touching it with a hoof.

“Luna,” I spoke, feeling the mana gem feed the teleportation spell with power as it linked up to the location of my sister's necklace. I took a look around the cluttered atelier of my wife, smiling at the sight my eyes were greeted with.

My beautiful Moon was sitting on a dark blue cushion with silvery-white lining and she had her tongue sticking out of her muzzle as she mixed some colors around on the palette in her telekinesis, adding some brush strokes to the canvas in front of her on the easel. Meanwhile, my twin was in a seductive pose on a velvety couch, wearing very enticing lingerie that complimented the smokey makeup on her face perfectly.

Celestia’s eyes found mine and I bit my lip as she gave a little wink. I walked up to Luna, giving her a loving nuzzle and kiss on the cheek. She smiled at me and focused back on her painting.

“How long have you been here?” I asked.

My sister shot Tia a glare as she was about to move out of place before turning to me. “Since this morning, Sunny. Tia had this idea and dragged me away before I could even get started on work. She promised me some BDSM later...”

I raised a brow and gave Celestia a look at that. I have to admit, this was most certainly worth the trouble of her work piling up. My wife smirked back at me, having noticed that my tail started to move up on its own. I had no idea how Luna could remain calm and collected while Celestia looked... like that. My mind already had me picturing how I would slowly get rid of the clothes on her body, burying my muzzle in her marehood afterward. I would eat her up while Luna used her riding crop on me... letting her bite my delicate flesh with her fangs... moaning and begging as my sensitive nub was played with... all while my twin writhed before me.

I took a deep, shuddering breath, calming my racing heart back down from my wild imagination. I didn't come here for that. “I, uh... a-aside from Tia being a pervert making you draw porn, I might have a theory about the missing cases,” I said, receiving curiously raised brows from them. “You remember King Vorak?”

“Yes, he is hard to forget, even though we haven’t seen him for twenty-five years. Summer, if you are implying what I think you are...” Luna answered, shooting me a grim look while momentarily slowing down with her painting. “What do you think we should do?”

“Go after him, obviously,” Tia commented. I could hear the sheer fury in her voice, and judging by how her eyes turned black and golden, it was enough to make her emotions start to go out of control. “If that brat of his truly is behind this, I won’t rest until I have his severed head mounted on a pike in front of our throne room. It will teach our enemies a lesson not to mess with ponies.”

“We shouldn’t jump to conclusions,” I told her gently. “And we don’t go around killing the ones responsible. Not like that and you won’t put his... his..."—my face turned ashen as I felt sick at the thought—" head on display like that, Tia. I couldn’t have lived with myself had you not stopped me from killing Sombra, so don’t go down the same path I had almost seen through to the end.”

“He drains our ponies of their magic, Summer!” she growled and I winced as a hoofprint burned itself into the cushions of the couch underneath her. “Clearly he doesn’t care for their lives, his greed might even overshadow Sombra’s!”

“Sombra wasn’t in control,” I argued weakly, although it felt hollow to my ears. Like I was lying to myself. He couldn’t have done all of those despicable things of his own volition, right? It must have been the dark magic influencing him that was responsible for that. Sombra... the uncorrupted Sombra, that is... he would have never done those things that the monster he had become had done. Of that much, I was certain. “There might be something influencing Tirek, too...”

“Alright, Summer Sol,” Celestia snorted, looking at me from the corner of her eye as she stared stoically ahead, miffed that I ‘dared’ to speak in the defense of Tirek. My ears wilted as she was genuinely mad at me. “Let’s have it your way, then. Everything that happens from here on out is on your hooves. Show him mercy with that bleeding heart of yours, I don’t give a damn. Don’t come crying to me when he tramples it with his dirty, greedy, cloven hooves while draining every last drop of your magic. You fucking deserve the lesson that not everypony deserves a second chance.”

My Moon scowled at her attitude while I tried to keep the tears at bay. I really hate being so close to crying at the smallest things sometimes. “Put a lid on those emotions, Celestia,” Luna scolded, giving her an icy glare. She always has to stand up for me... and I hated how that made me feel, too. So useless. “Summer is right, sister. We can’t play the part of the executioner as well or we will become no better than he is. If he is behind this.”

Celestia grumbled, looking away in shame. She grimaced at the ruined patterned tights she wore and at what her rage had done to the couch. Her ears splayed back against her head as she gave me a mournful, apologetic look. “I... I’m sorry, Summer. I got too angry there for a moment.”

“It’s okay, Tia,” I said, slightly teary. Despite that, I smiled reassuringly. “I understand.”

“No, it’s not alright,” she said glumly, hopping down from the couch much to the chagrin of Luna. “I’ve been naughty...”

“Not this again...” Luna sighed as Tia prostrated herself before me and I blushed heavily as she started to change into Daybreaker, trailing kisses all over my hooves as if they were, without a doubt, holy to her.

I stood there awkwardly as Daybreaker took one of my shoes off, licking the underside of my hoof at the frog with a reverent hum. I looked over to Luna for help, unsure of what I should do. This happened so rarely that it always manages to take me completely off-guard every time. Luna, on the other hoof, gave me a shrug as we stared at our sister ‘worshiping’ my hooves and the ground they walked on.

The feeling was, admittedly enough, nice. I can’t say I wasn’t drawing some form of pleasure out of this, but I still felt extremely embarrassed as my twin whispered one apology after another for having been a bad lover to me. I reluctantly took the leash of the collar she put around her neck into my telekinetic grip, holding it to the side like it would strike out at me like a snake, ready to bite me at any moment. I... I suppose giving in to this perverted desire to treat her like a misbehaving pet would be the poison of the leash if I allowed it to 'bite' me.

It was mightily tempting...

Still, this was so weird, I thought even as I felt myself getting aroused by her over-the-top submissive behavior in front of me. Luna had taken out a sketchbook as she drew frantically away with an enthusiasm I wish wasn’t there. Certainly not for something like this. She had no doubt seen an opportunity in this, me blushing profusely over being treated like the owner of a sister-turned-slave while said sister was ignoring my distress and disdain over how she wanted me to treat her. And how could my Moon not find inspiration in this? Me, a meek mare that seldom took initiative on my own, being completely in control of how I could treat my twin for any perceived offense... it was the perfect material for her dirty hobby.

Ugh. I just wanted to teleport back to my office and forget this ever happened. But at the same time... I kinda wanted to stay here and tell her to give my ear a nibble, my hooves more attention, and bury her muzzle into my eagerly waiting marehood. No words escaped my lips, though. No command to tell her to do whatever I wanted her to do. Nothing.

My heart and my mind argued over what to do and my body just stood there, still as a statue. There was no way I could tell my wife to stop, for I didn’t want her to. There was no way I could utter a command telling her to please her mistress, for I didn’t want to give in to this selfishness. There was no way I could escape this, for my body didn't react to my desperate need to flee.

“My goddess?” she whispered, sounding fearful. For a moment, I felt my heart stop at how she insisted to call me. One word. One damnable word and I felt hate like I never felt before. “Have I displeased you?”

Looking down at her with narrowed eyes, I felt a small part of myself get angry. Furious, even. I was no goddess, to nopony. There was no way that an alicorn could ever have the right to call themself a god, never. We were regular ponies, just a bit more powerful. Normal. That's what I told myself we are. We are normal, regular, run-of-the-mill ponies. I won’t call myself a goddess and I certainly won’t let anypony else do that. Not a stranger, not a friend, not even my twin sister. We. Are. Normal.

Before I knew what I was doing, I had already hit my wife across the muzzle with the hoof she had been licking. She flinched back, cowering before me, offering teary apologies for having caused me displeasure. I stared in horror at my own hoof, stumbling back fearfully. Luna had stopped drawing, disbelief in her eyes at what had just happened.

I never hit my wives, even when I was furious with them. I always 'tortured' them with the patented tickle apocalypse. The most I ever did was increase gravity on them with my go-to spell for naughty sisters, but I never hit them. By the twin suns, what did I do..?

“I...” I whispered, disgusted at myself. How could I do that to my wife..? How could I lash out with my own hoof? How could I hit my wife? “I-I didn’t mean to... I...”

“Summer?” Luna asked, reaching a cautious hoof out towards me. I jumped slightly as she touched my shoulder and I felt like running away from them. I felt like I didn't deserve them anymore. I was a wife-beater, I was a horrible pony, I... I didn't mean to. “Summer, it’s okay. You didn’t do it on purpose. Right?”

“...right,” I muttered, barely keeping myself from hyperventilating. “I didn’t... I... I’m such a bad wife...”

“No! You’re not, my goddess!” Daybreaker was back in front of me so suddenly that I fell back in surprise. “I deserved it! I deserve more! Hit me until I bleed, my goddess!”

“...what?” I whispered in shock, horrified. “No! Why do you even want me to do something... something so despicable?! I hurt you! You should hate me!”

“But... my goddess...” she whimpered and I suppressed the urge to shove her away from me for calling me like that again. “I need to be punished for my transgressions. I'm the one that hurt you, and I keep doing it because I'm a selfish bitch! I need to be put into my place for treating you so badly, my goddess! Treat me like the naughty pet I am! I am a filthy animal that needs to be trained on how to behave for her mistress!”

I blinked, unsure where that attitude had come from. It was strange, seeing it come from my twin of all ponies. Since when did she start to think of herself like that? “Then... lick my ear?” I asked in uncertainty, not wanting to inflict further harm upon my twin sister. She gave me a skeptical look, trying to find a reason for how that could be a punishment for her, but she ultimately did as I asked of her in order to not ‘displease’ me even more.

I hummed approvingly, feeling my nethers get wet from the stimulus I was so addicted to. By everything that's holy, I absolutely loved it when she played with my ears. There was nothing that could compare to it, I swear. Nothing.

Absentmindedly, I noticed Luna turn a page in her sketchbook, starting a new drawing as I was on the ground in front of her with my twin nibbling and licking away at my ears. I gently guided her so that her upper body was on my back, hugging me around the neck with her forelegs, and I relished the feeling of closeness I felt to her because of that.

Giving the leash in my levitation an interested and wary glance, I debated whether to tug on it or not. It was such a degradation of my sister, I felt uneasy at the thought of doing anything with it. Although, there was a certain allure to it that I simply couldn’t shake away completely.

My own sister, reduced to a misbehaving animal on a leash. For some reason, it made my insides quiver with excitement. It was so naughty...

A moan escaped my lips as I felt her nip me with a sharp fang, the little bit of pain swiftly turning into more arousal. An intense desire, even. I wrapped the leash around a hoof and decided to just go with it. For once, I stopped thinking so much about it. I didn’t give it a second thought about treating her like the filthy animal she wanted me to see her as. I would give her what she wanted, and then some.

I gave the leash a very soft tug and commanded her to bite my ear once more. To cause me pain in a gentle way. To hump against me in an almost feral way. And for the whole time, I viewed her as nothing more than a horny, misbehaving pet.

Luna continued to sketch frantically away in her quickly filling up sketchbook as Daybreaker had me happily humming, feeding my addiction of having her lick my ears and nibbling on them, as well as drawing pleasure from the little bit of pain when she bit on them. Tugging a bit more forcefully on the leash, I melted into a puddle of bliss as she bit me once more, this time on the back of my neck. It would leave a mark, I had no doubt about it, but right now, I only wanted her to humiliate me more. To be a naughty pet jumping her mistress as she was helpless to stop her from ravaging her.

Still, the ground was kinda uncomfortable, so maybe... “Get on the couch,” I told her quietly and she reluctantly removed herself from me to follow my command. Instead of the whole 'naughty pet' thing, there was another fantasy I wanted to try out that I was previously too afraid to ask for, one that would humiliate me even more. I could even chalk it up to having a secret thestral lover should anypony ask me about my 'bruises' later...

Luna watched me curiously as I stretched, sighing in satisfaction as my limbs gave a few popping sounds here and there. I went over to her so that I could ask her where she kept her riding crop. She gave me a raised brow but lit up her horn to summon the requested item to her side a moment later.

Smiling, I took the replica from the dream world into my own levitation magic. I was getting excited by its mere presence, and with a skip in my step, I went over to the couch before I hopped up on it so that my twin was trapped beneath my hooves. Daybreaker looked up at me with those golden, demonic eyes and my smile turned softer, but at the same time also more wicked. Perverted. Deranged.

Mhh. I couldn’t hold back anymore. My lust demanded of me to satisfy my own perverted desires and at that moment, it was all that I could concentrate on. I wanted... no, I needed her to hit me with that damn lovable riding crop. My body craved its forceful, stinging touch and I wanted to feel pain in the most pleasurable way that I knew of. If she was obedient to my demands, I might even reward her for her services.

All I wanted to do was to indulge myself with one particular fantasy of mine...

My beautiful sister watched as I levitated the riding crop over to her and I gave her the command to take it from me and use it on me. For a moment it seemed like she was going to protest, but she took the riding crop from my grasp as I gave her a tiny glare. She would do this or I’m going to punish her with no sexy time at all for the next few months. I knew that she couldn’t take a punishment like that, so it was an easy task for me to coerce her into doing this against her own wishes. Not that I thought she was that much against this, she was, after all, a massive pervert.

I leaned down and gave her a kiss, telling her to spank my flanks in between two kisses, and I moaned happily as she complied. Spank after spank, I felt my marehood begin to drip my juices on my twin, showering her with the heavy amount of arousal that the pain evoked in me. I had long since accepted that I might have a weird love for such a thing and what can I say? It was doing such wonderful things to my body. I couldn’t get enough of it, having her spank me.

I started to grind myself against my sister, telling her where to hit me as I moaned and panted in bliss, kissing her roughly as the warmth in my nethers demanded to be sated. Each time I made her hit me with the riding crop, I mewled out in pure ecstasy. I knew only pain and pleasure, and yet, it was not enough. Far from it.

“Hit my marehood, my pretty slave,” I whispered and tugged at her leash demandingly. Daybreaker hesitated as she felt uncertain about what I had just asked of her and I repeated myself a bit louder and more forcefully. She squirmed underneath me, screwing her eyes shut as she did what I demanded.

And just like that, my world exploded with one of the heaviest orgasms I’ve had up to that point, my vision going white as I felt my limbs go limp and unresponsive as every cell in my body cried out in bliss, shuddering with pleasure. I watched lazily as Daybreaker stared at me with conflicted eyes while every cell in my body could only voice out absolute happiness. Her eyes met my lustful, deranged ones and I giggled. I giggled because, for once, I was just as bad as she was and I loved it.

I could tell that she very much enjoyed doing this to me, but the hesitation of being rough with me was clearly present in those burning eyes of hers. She was holding herself back so much, trying not to give in to her darker desires that had caused me such fright the last time she had done so.

But, as I was starting to calm down from my high, I wanted more. My hunger was far from sated, demanding to be fulfilled. And there was only one thing that could give me that satisfaction, I thought with heavy anticipation.

My muzzle found hers, engaging her in a furious kiss. Moans and cries ripped themselves from my throat as I started to grind myself against her, faster and faster, shuddering with each little buck. I felt even more pleasure explode within me the more forceful I was with her. But it wasn’t enough. I demanded Daybreaker to hit me again, my marehood crying out in pure joy as her almost gentle strikes edged me on even further.

Yes~, this was what I truly needed. Although there could be always more, I thought with a demented gleam in my eyes. I knew just the thing, too. Something that could set me off so heavily that I was sure I would lose consciousness if she were to obey my demands.

So, grinning lecherously down at my twin, I told her to satisfy my little fantasy at last. To bite down on my neck like a vampire and drink from my lifeblood like it was her only sustenance. A small part in the back of my mind lamented the fact that it wasn’t Luna that would be doing that to me, but I could always do that with her later. I could always tie her up in our bed until she did what I asked of her.

Eh heh heh heh...

Daybreaker took a bit of convincing, though. Harsh glares and tugs on her leash quickly got rid of that hesitance, much to my delight. As her fangs pierced me and I let out a very, very loud moan, I saw her shudder with her own orgasmic pleasure as the blood hit her tongue.

And I absolutely loved the feeling of her drinking deeply and needily from me, her own hunger overtaking her. I couldn’t help but find it even more arousing when I heard Luna’s sketching get more furious. All of these things, the heavenly hits from a slightly wobbling riding crop, the vampiric feeding shenanigans I forced my twin into, and the perverted exhibitionism of having Luna watch us do this while drawing porn of us, gave me one of the most mind-numbingly good orgasms I have ever felt.

My orgasm left me in such a daze that I was completely cut off from the waking world for what felt like hours. I absolutely lost myself in this feeling of satisfaction, of utter bliss and ecstasy. Alas, I couldn’t stay in that state for eternity, as much as I wished that could have been the case. Once my body calmed down considerably from my high, my eyes lazily noted that my twin was back in her usual form, slowly caressing my sides with her wings as I tiredly nuzzled her, snuggling her lovingly.

To be honest, at that moment I could have cared less if anypony found out about our forbidden love, I just felt utterly content.

“One day I’ll get you to be a bit rougher with me,” Tia giggled, smiling as she slowly trailed a hoof over my chest. Her hoof stayed at the red crystal within my regalia and I hummed lazily in denial. Luna was snickering at me while I rested on top of my sister, finding it humorous how I resisted their attempts to get me to take the more dominant role while I wasn’t in the form of Fallen Star. Not that I was any more successful when I was her.

I couldn’t get myself into that mindset, and honestly? I never want to get into that mindset, ever. I mean, this little thing we just did was already a bit too close to that way of thinking, I was starting to feel guilty for having forced my twin into that position. Just thinking about it, me being in her position instead, doing that to her... it made me feel queasy at the mere thought of hurting her like that. I did that already and I hated it. It wasn't me.

But enough of that. There were far more pressing matters to attend to, as much as I wanted to laze around on top of Tia. “Mhh. We still have to plan out what we are going to do about our suspicions of Tirek,” I mumbled as I tiredly got up from my twin and the couch. I gave the few sketches Luna made of us a curious glance and I blushed a bright red color at how explicit they were, depicting us in various acts. Luna gave me an innocent smile and I rolled my eyes, too tired and cheerful from the orgasm to care about her basically drawing porn of me and Tia doing it in the most degenerate way possible. Of me satisfying my darkest fantasies.

“Starswirl is still investigating, is he not?” Luna said and I nodded, giving her a curious gaze, telling her to go on. “Then let us send him to find Tirek before he can start to drain all of Equestria of its magic.”

I sighed, frowning slightly. “I feel like we are still missing something,” I said, a paranoid feeling in my chest. I know there must be more to it. Like... as if this was only part of the bigger picture. “If Tirek is behind all this, why is he so patient? From what we know about him from King Vorak, he was pretty impatient to get his hands on unicorn magic when he was younger.”

“Do you think there could be a third party involved?” Celestia asked and I shrugged. The possibility was there but this was all only speculation, anyway. The only clue we had were the visions that Celestia had of ponies in Equestria losing their magic. And why would she only get these visions now when this dilemma had already started fifteen years ago?

I swear, there's something fishy going on. If my feeling was right and there actually is another chess piece moving on the board that we had no knowledge of whatsoever, then what else could there be, hiding in the shadows? The problems just keep on piling up and we had no idea of how we should deal with them.

The future was starting to look bleak. On every front things were happening that could threaten the very existence of our nation, of our little ponies. The magical dark artifacts were easy to deal with but the continued emergence of those would sooner or later start to overwhelm even us. Then there was Tirek, an immediate threat if we are interpreting Tia’s visions correctly. He had a thirst for power that I wasn’t sure we could deal with without some major help. Khadgar was out of the picture since our access to Azeroth was mysteriously gone. And if there truly was a third party moving in the shadows, how are we going to deal with that? They obviously were able to circumvent our agents without a problem, how are we supposed to fight against something like that?

Three threats, all demanding attention. One of those threats was obvious, the other two were mysteries that refused to be solved. And we weren't even certain one of those mysteries existed, in the first place. It was very frustrating.

So, seeing that I was getting nowhere with these jumbled thoughts, I did the only thing I knew how to do in a situation like this. I made a list of everything we knew, ordered by their severity. Soon, even my list wasn’t enough to give me a better picture, so I moved everything to a board and started to connect the information we had with strings.

We knew somepony was making those artifacts, ponies were missing inexplicably, and Tirek was most likely on his way to Equestria or he already was. King Vorak and his wife were most likely dead, so our non-aggression pact was not going to keep us safe from Tirek’s greed for very long. Furthermore, if he is behind the foalnappings of our ponies, he could already be strong enough to overwhelm even our best-trained soldiers. Celestia’s visions weren’t reassuring in that regard, either. If Starswirl failed, what good could we do in the end? Our mentor was way more skilled than Luna and I, Celestia was the closest one out of us in reaching the same skill he had.

The more information I piled onto the board, the more obvious it became that we had to somehow contain the centaur before he could do some serious damage. We needed... a prison of sorts. An impenetrable prison with a guard whose magic Tirek could not drain. Somewhere where nopony would be close enough to stumble upon the prison and foolishly release him.

But all of that depended on whether or not he was going to come here to actually do what Celestia foresaw. I’d rather not lock away an innocent soul in the deepest pit we could find. It was already cruel enough having locked away Sombra underneath the ice of the Crystal Empire, could we do something like that to somepony else?

The answer to that came surprisingly easy to me. Yes... yes, we could. He wouldn’t be the first we did something like that to and I doubted he was going to be the last. And if I were honest with myself, I already had an idea of where to put such a prison.

The prison would also need a guard, but for that, I also had an answer. It had me crying as I thought of putting the little puppy that had grown into a literal behemoth into such a position. The little Cerberus puppy that had quickly outgrown my care would make the perfect guard dog. On top of that, we could convert the massive cavern Cerberus called his home into this prison so that he wouldn’t need to leave his new territory.

And, as I thought of a name that we could give to the prison, only one would do it justice. Cerberus had been a mythological creature back on Earth, just like so many other creatures living here, and that Cerberus served as a jailor of the damned in an Underworld called Tartarus. It was quite fitting, wasn’t it? The ultimate prison, one that nopony could leave from within, and the price of entrance would be steep.

Celestia came up with the specifics of how to create a place that would restrict every little bit of power of those that were placed within the halls of Tartarus. Runes that made sure the wearer of the chains that bound them to their cage could under no circumstance use their magic or whatever other powers they might possess. Wards that heavily restricted what those foolish enough to enter Tartarus could do with their own magic if they were not invited. And the door... the door would only react to the magic of a higher being like alicorns, opening only then. And they would make no exception in regards to who entered, not even for us. Just in case.

So, as we planned for the worst-case scenario and sent Starswirl a letter of what we suspected might happen in the near future, we enlisted the aid of all of my animal companions to start constructing a place I wish we had no need for. A place that should have never been built, in the first place.

The door was intricately designed to look foreboding, Luna having a lot of fun in making a dark red eclipsed sun pattern on it to symbolize that, beyond the tall and oppressive doors, only despair awaited those that entered the cavern. Besides that, she told me that it also represented us in the way that we, while we acted mostly in benevolence, could also act harshly and strictly if the need for it arose.

The necessity for a place like Tartarus was sadly an inevitability, as much as I hated to admit that. While yes, there were going to be sentient beings that needed to be locked away because of what they represented, there were also animals that couldn’t be reasoned with at all. I hated it when I came across those, but I wouldn’t have to... put them down... anymore. Here they could at least live out the rest of their lives without causing mass destruction.

As Celestia worked on the wards, I couldn’t help but feel like we were making a massive mistake with this. We were essentially creating the equivalent of hell, an eternal prison of suffering, just for the sake of putting our problems out of sight and out of mind.

This would come back to bite us in the flanks, wouldn’t it? Heck, with the exorbitant amount of wards, runes, and rituals put into this place, it could contain anything short of alicorns. Even then I wasn’t sure if we ourselves could escape from within the walls of the prison without completely obliterating it outright. If the doors weren’t tied to the magic of us, that would be the only way we could escape. And if we did, the consequences of doing so would be catastrophic.

Perhaps this prison was too perfect. I felt bad about leaving my little Cerberus here, so I had Tia make an exception for him. If he needed it, he could come and go from Tartarus through a specially enchanted collar that could open the lock. I doubted he would make use of this little rule all that often and Tia made me compromise that he could only do so every few years or so. He had a duty to fulfill, it wouldn’t do if he shirked that so that he could come visit me whenever he felt like it.

Cerberus had a strong sense of duty, anyway, so I doubted that would ever become a problem. He was glad to have a purpose and my teary self had to be dragged away from him once the prison was finished. I’m gonna miss him and I promised to check up on him every once in a while.

Now, the only thing we could do was wait for Starswirl. The old wizard hadn’t been idle himself, as we learned. Roughly half a year had passed since we sent him out to find out what happened to Vorak and the news he had for us wasn’t good.

But that wasn’t the only thing he had in store for us.

“There is somepony I want you to meet, Your Highnesses,” Starswirl said, smiling with his usual cryptic smile as he brought us out to the courtyard. “Or rather, somecreature.”

Before us stood a brown-furred, winged humanoid being. From what I knew of their nation, this was the second heir to the throne. The gargoyle in front of us gave us a bow and I could see the sadness in his eyes.

“Greetings, Your Highnesses,” he said, straightening up. “I come here to warn you of my brother... I...”

“It’s alright, Scorpan,” Starswirl told him gently. “You can trust them.”

Scorpan sighed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. “I can’t recognize what has become of my brother... he... he murdered our father in his sleep and I only found out recently. Starswirl was the first pony I befriended here in Equestria and I... I’d like to do what you have achieved here in my homeland. Peace and harmony, it is something I had lost all hope of, but your ponies showed me that it is achievable.”

“I’m sorry to hear about your loss,” I said, bowing my head respectfully. “We... we feared something like this might happen and had hoped that your father might have changed your brother for the best. As it stands, it was foolish of us to not offer our assistance more. We could have done something...”

“No,” Scorpan said, shaking his head. “It’s not your fault. I stood aside while my brother did all of this. He... he lost himself in this darkness and I did nothing to prevent it. You shouldn’t blame yourselves for something that should have been handled by family. I suppose the strictness of our father only further caused a rift between him and my brother.”

“Still, we will do our best to help you,” Celestia said, although I could hear a hint of fury in her voice. “Tirek will be brought to justice, that we promise you.”

“I... I only ask of you to make sure he can’t hurt anyone else ever again,” Scorpan said, his face a mask of stony resolution. “If he has to be brought down for good... I would understand. Please, do what you must.”

“We won’t kill him,” Luna told him, but I could tell she was addressing Tia more than Scorpan. “He will live the rest of his life out in Tartarus, the prison we made just for such a purpose.”

We didn’t tell him we made it for Tirek in the first place. Such news would have surely made him suspicious of us and what we actually knew. While it wasn’t much, we had basically acted on paranoia and nothing more. It would be for the best if nopony knew of the ability that Celestia possessed. If it became known... I didn’t want to imagine just what could happen as a result of that.

Riots and civil war were the least of my concerns. Tia could be taken advantage of like some sort of weapon and that was unacceptable. I won't let it come to that.

“Be careful when you approach my brother,” Scorpan said, looking gravely at us. “He is crafty. Always assume he is stronger than he is, for he might very well be. I have no idea how many ponies he has drained of their magic so far and I was unable to convince him to return back home with me. Now, I will be taking my leave, there is much I need to take care of with the... absence... of my parents. Farewell, Princesses of Equestria. It was nice meeting you..."—he tilted his head towards us before giving our mentor a glance, a small, rueful smile on his face—" Starswirl, my friend.”

“We wish you the best on your quest to better your nation,” I said, nodding respectfully toward him. He gave me a sad nod before he turned away from us and he took to the skies on his wings. Perhaps we might meet again, someday.

“Your Highnesses,” Starswirl coughed politely, gesturing towards a portal at his side. “This will take you as close to Tirek’s last location as possible. I trust you to take care of this by yourselves, don’t make me change my mind. Besides, I have... other things I should take care of. We might not see each other for a while yet.”

“Oh?” Celestia asked. “What is it that you are doing?”

“My colleagues and I have... something to discuss with Stygian,” he said and didn’t elaborate further. I sighed, shaking my head at the cryptic answer. Whatever it was, I’m sure it was nothing too important. “Don’t forget to do your assignments!”

We smiled a bit wistfully as we stepped through the portal, shaking our heads at his priorities. We were about to go fight a power-hungry centaur and all he told us was to do our homework while he was gone.

Our swords were at our side as soon as the portal closed behind us and we looked over the rocky land and fields with searching eyes. There was an extinguished campfire not too far away from where we were, so we went over to investigate.

Suffice to say, we were in the right place. The hoofprints in the dirt were a lot larger than even our own (together with our shoes, that is). Next to those were the easily identifiable prints from the gargoyle we had spoken with only moments ago.

“Alright, Summer,” Celestia spoke up, turning to me. “Do your thing and find out where he went.”

“I’m on it,” I said, rolling my eyes. “Don’t you have a tracking spell?”

My wife snorted. “And you know how good I am with emotional magic, Sunshine,” she smiled, poking my side playfully with a hoof. “That is more your forte. Without a personal object from the pony you want to track, a tracking spell with rational magic isn’t going to be accurate, no matter how hard you try.”

“As much as I love to hear you go on about magic, let’s be quiet so Sunny can search for clues,” Luna whispered, dragging Tia away by her ear. I giggled at the disgruntled expression of my twin and focused my attention back on the abandoned camp.

Tracking wasn’t really all that hard for me, most likely a side-effect of my connection to animals. On top of that, this was sort of like a crime scene, just without the crime part. Playing private investigator was always a fun thing to do, in my opinion. You always find out the most interesting things about a pony that way...

Anyway! From what I could tell, Tirek had been pacing back and forth, most likely after his argument with his brother. There were signs of scuffed earth, probably because he got angry during or after the argument. Luckily for us, the centaur kept on venting his anger as he left the camp behind, giving me an easy trail to follow. Well, the signs were spaced out quite a bit, but with the help of our wings, those weren’t that hard to find.

The day was spent flying all over the place, the tracks left behind by the centaur suggested that he wasn’t keen on being followed, despite him leaving hints of his anger behind. I’m sure there was a pattern to it, but it continued to elude me. It seemed random at first glance, and at some points, I feared I lost track of them entirely. Fortunately, my sisters lent me a helping hoof every once in a while when that happened to be the case.

During the nights, one of us kept vigil over the land in case Tirek lit another campfire and we would be able to see the light from where we kept watch. It was during one such night that Luna shook me awake an hour or so before we had to raise the suns and lower the moon.

She pointed to the distant village with a hoof as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. Celestia was squinting her eyes next to me, trying to see what our sister had seen. I wasn’t better off, the little bit of moonlight barely enough to see far ahead.

I blinked, feeling stupid for a moment, before tapping into my other half to change my eyes to a more predatory nature. The difference was like, pun fully intended, night and day (I never pretended to be funny and Tia was considerably worse with her puns, seriously). With a more focused gaze, I looked intently at the village until I noticed what Lulu had seen. I could make out the faintest glow as a silhouette moved in between a few huts and it was just as tall as they were.

Sometimes I still wonder why half of the villages in our nation still lived like primitives. The big cities like Canterlot (which was the only really 'big' city aside from the pegasus cloud cities, now that I think about it) were a bit more cultured in that aspect. Then again, those still lacked a lot of commodities like indoor plumbing (and I don't mean having a pegasus stuff a cloud into your bathroom and calling it a day). Our efforts to get sanitization up to snuff were still slow going, and honestly, we had worse problems to focus on right now.

After having almost lived for sixty years in a world that was still somewhere around the middle ages, I have (sadly) gotten used to this. That didn’t mean that I sometimes didn’t wish that everypony would take a bath with soap every once in a while. Alas, not everypony has the luxury to have a swimming pool for a bath connected to their chambers. Or a warm home with a fireplace, for that matter. Or, you know... soap.

We did as much as we could when we had the time for that, trying to improve the living standards of our ponies. The simple truth to the matter was that not everypony had the money to make such changes to their homes that they could care about taking a bath and so on. Nor did they have the money to regularly visit a bathhouse.

Not to mention, ponies (and humans, I suppose) had the bad habit of resisting change. Ponies, as we had learned, even more so. What wasn’t broken didn’t need improvement, and what one doesn’t need, one doesn’t make. It was a very weird habit of the old pony kingdoms that still managed to be around after the founding of Equestria. The best I could make out of it in order to make some sense of it was that ponies felt safer with what they knew and what they didn't was met with heavy skepticism.

Advancement meant having to change things and having to change things meant giving up a certain amount of safety to bring about that change. Losing that safety meant death, and thus, advancement had a rather low priority for most of our ponies. Sure, we did many things to change that sort of mentality, but... progress in that direction wasn’t always the fastest.

It was something that would simply have to come with time, I assured myself. Running Equestria took a lot of work, it wasn’t like we could put that aside and concentrate on less vital (but still important) matters. At least we didn’t have to worry so much about food spoiling and magic in general was pretty helpful when it came to keeping ponies healthy.

Haah. I’m spacing out again, aren’t I? Well, it seems we have found our target then. Tirek was gorging himself on the magic of our subjects and Celestia was none too happy about it. My own hatred tried to fight its way to freedom, but I told myself that I needed to keep myself calm and collected, lest I start supporting Celestia’s threat of mounting his head on a pike.

Judging by the slight glow coming from the coat of my twin, she was losing the battle against the raging inferno of her emotions. The usually collected and serene behavior of my wife was replaced with the likelihood of an avenging angel about to bring down the judgment of the heavens.

I laid a calming wing over her back, silently telling her that if she were to call down the fury of her sun upon Tirek within that village, nothing of the land would remain. It was a constant act of restraint we had to put on ourselves, lest we used so much power that we endangered those we wanted to protect from harm.

“Tia, I think you should sit this one out,” I whispered to her gently and she gave me a betrayed look. “Don’t think I’m doing this out of spite, sister. I worry that you are going to do something you would regret later down the line. So please, listen to what I'm saying, okay?”

“Summer...” she sighed. “I... I can’t just sit here on a cloud while you put yourselves in danger.”

“Then keep your distance,” Luna told her, agreeing with me. “You have been too agitated since this all started, we can’t trust you to not kill him.”

“Wow... that’s... thanks for the vote of confidence, Luna,” Celestia grumbled, a slight growl in her voice as she glared at us. “I can’t believe you’re doing this to me. The both of you! Do you know how much of a hypocrite you are being, Summer? I didn’t tell you to stay away from Sombra...”

“I know and I’m sorry,” I sighed, looking away from her while my heart cried tears of despair. “But can you honestly say you wouldn’t swing your sword with the intention to kill?”

“He deserves it...” she snorted, furious. “He murdered his own father, Summer!”

“You did, as well,” I grumbled and immediately felt bad. Celestia was gone in a flash and I wished I could have taken back my words. Luna gave me a glare and I wilted under her disapproval. Not that I can blame her. If I could, I would be glaring at myself right about now, too.

“That was uncalled for,” Luna scolded me. “I know we have our spats every once in a while, but you just crossed a line.”

“I know,” I cried, sniffling as a sob escaped me. “I didn’t mean to say that.”

“But you did,” she shot back, standing up and flapping her wings once, gliding towards the village and away from me.

So much for kindness, you stupid idiot, I told myself. Ugh. Celestia is going to hate me for this, isn’t she? How could such hurtful words even leave my lips? It was a spur-of-the-moment thing and they just came out. I only wanted her to shut up for a second and think about what she would have done if we had allowed her to come with us.

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Nothing ever came between us like that. It felt more like something Fallen Star would have said. Were we starting to blur together? Or was this purely the fault of Summer Sol? Who was I even anymore?

I let out a suffering sigh, biting my lip until I drew blood. Damnit, why did I have to go and say that?! Stupid, stupid, stupid! With a snarl, I summoned my sword and stared into the reflection with a hateful glare. I snorted as I looked at the slit eyes, and the burning golden eyes I gazed upon stared coldly back, almost cruel in their judgment of my actions. Seems my self-hatred was doing its best to kill me with a stare alone.

I shook my head and flapped my wings once, launching myself after my sister with regret heavy in my heart. I would apologize to Tia after we brought Tirek to Tartarus, that I swear, and I would beg her for forgiveness as I groveled before her hooves like the unworthy wife that I am. Whatever punishment she saw fit for me, I would accept it.

I only hope she would still want to talk to me after what I said to her. I would hate it if it put a wedge in our relationship with each other.

To add insult to injury, my sun called out to me, asking joyously to give the other half of the world her life-giving sunlight. I reached out to her with my magic, seeing Luna do the same for her moon. Sighing dejectedly, I reached out to Celestia’s sun as well, explaining to it that my sister was too distraught to fulfill her duty. Way to go, Summer, I thought bitterly. Way to go. I really was an idiot at times.

We landed behind the big, muscular centaur just as he threw a weakened unicorn to the side like a worthless sack of potatoes. Tirek noticed the sound of our wings and hooves before turning around with that self-satisfied smirk on his ugly mug and I wanted to punch his face until only a bloody pulp remained (and then some).

I forced my raging emotions down, trying to calm myself to the best of my abilities. It would do me no good to start being a hypocrite after having sent Tia away in tears. Well, I was a hypocrite already, wasn’t I? Still, it didn’t mean I should continue to be one. I was better than this...

Yeah, right, like I was to my sister? Like I had been to Sombra? Or how about that shitty griffon king that you still wanted to rip the head off of? Keep deluding yourself like that, Summer. You don’t deserve Tia and neither do you deserve Luna, for that matter. They deserve better.

I swallowed the lump in my throat, telling myself that that wasn’t the case at all. It was an accident and I didn’t mean to say those words to my wife. Hopefully, she would find it in her heart to forgive me someday. I know I couldn't...

“Ah, the Princesses of Equestria,” Tirek laughed, sounding exactly like the arrogant brat that he was. I should have let Tia skewer him and be done with it. “Though, I only see two of you. Wasn’t there a third?”

“She isn’t here,” I snarled, infuriated that he was talking about her at all. “You aren’t even worth her time, you slimy worm.”

“Hah! So fierce! That other princess must be a weakling then if she ‘can’t be bothered with me’ like you said,” he grinned, rubbing his hand eagerly. “I wonder what alicorn magic tastes like.”

“You won’t ever find out,” I shot back and fired a beam of superheated solar magic at him. He raised his hand and gave me an unimpressed look as it barely affected him. I stared at him in disbelief. W-what? That... that much magic would have incinerated the limb of a regular pony! I shook my head, not trusting my eyes. Fuck. Who was I kidding? It would have incinerated their whole body, leaving nothing but ash.

Nopony said I was perfect and me being a hypocrite was proof of just that. Maybe I did want to see him as dead as Tia wanted him to be...

Perhaps I wasn’t as kind as I thought I was if I threw that much power against Tirek after he dared to insult my wife like that. And to be honest? Maybe he actually deserved it...

With one leap, Tirek left his spot and created a small crater, tackling my distracted self away from Luna as we had thoroughly underestimated him despite what Scorpan had told us. I barely had enough time to raise my sword to block his next strike before he kicked me across the landscape like a soccer ball.

I coughed, heaving as the contents of my stomach tried to fight their way up. The whole world continued to spin as I tried to get my bearings back. Only for him to hurl my sister right into me, so we continued our roll to the edge of the forest I could have sworn was still on the horizon a moment ago.

“This isn’t how I thought this would go,” Luna muttered and I groaned, agreeing pathetically. I felt the hoofsteps before I heard them and cried out as he grabbed my tail, slamming me into the ground back and forth before Luna catapulted him away with a powerful buck from her hind legs.

“Mommy, I didn’t steal the cookies. It was Tia~...” I mumbled deliriously.

Luna snorted before she shook me slightly. “As fun as it is to see you like this, you have to get a grip on yourself, you idiot,” she told me and I moaned pathetically. I clutched my head as it continued to throb with my heartbeat, each thought sending more spikes of pain into my brain. That probably wasn’t a good sign.

Come on, Summer. Get up and fight for what is right, I thought as I forced myself back onto my hooves, summoning my sword to my side with a small amount of difficulty as I scanned our surroundings for the centaur. Luna found him first and sent a few highly overpowered arcane missiles toward him, each having more than enough force to blow a giant hole into a mountain. She nudged me urgently so I would take flight before he got close to us again and I had just enough presence of mind to follow her.

Flying was a bit wonky and I had barely enough time to dodge a red beam with crackling black lightning in surprise, almost getting hit by it. I saw my sister throw a hasty shield up in defense to save herself as she was blown back over the sky. In the distance, I saw her crash into the side of a mountain and I teleported myself to her side hastily.

I ignored the slightly singed smell as part of my mane and tail paid the price of my haphazard spellcasting, grabbing my Moon as swiftly as I could, teleporting us away before the next beam could reach us. Thankfully, my spell didn't backfire on me this time and my sister gave me a nod in thanks for the save. We both fell on top of a cloud and Lulu spat out a little glob of saliva mixed with blood, one eye swollen halfway shut. It was already healing with her moon's power accelerating the recovery speed.

“This is ridiculous,” she growled and I agreed. Our healing was still keeping up with what Tirek could throw at us, but I’d rather not risk having him wear us down slowly (as unlikely as that would be) or chance us getting knocked out into unconsciousness. We needed to find a weakness and fast.

Before I could think further on that, Tirek appeared behind us mid-jump. “There you are!” he said with a smirk. Panicking, I threw up a bubble shield around Luna and me, watching it crack almost immediately as he punched it with a fist. I poured more energy into the spell as we rocketed down to the ground. A mighty shockwave blew away from our impact, leaving us in a crater where previously a small lake had been.

I looked up and saw him smash his fist back into my shield, creating another shockwave from the force. I growled and forced most of my magic into my horn, sending him flying within a beam that dwarfed him in comparison. Fine, I told myself, he asked for it. I was done playing nice.

If he wanted to die so badly, I will grant him that wish without complaint. I'd rather return home alive than give him another chance to attack us.

I poured as much mana into this attack as I possibly could, almost sending him into orbit as the beam continued on well into the atmosphere of our planet. I didn’t care that my surroundings were literally set on fire as my body was consumed in solar flames. My sun happily lent me a portion of her power.

Only as I felt the fatigue set in and the cool touch of my sister’s hoof on my shoulder did I stop the attack, slumping to the ground utterly exhausted.

There was no way he could have survived that attack, right? I’m so gonna hear it from Tia later once she finds out that I friggin’ vaporized Tirek in a moment of weakness. If she even wants to talk to me ever again, that is.

“Take it easy, sister,” Luna told me, gently stroking my cheek with a hoof. “I will take it from here.”

As she said that, I nodded weakly. Rest sounded nice and I’m sure she could take care of Tirek’s... dead body. It felt strangely weird that I felt no remorse at all for doing that to him. I mean... he must be taken care of before he could drain each and every pony in Equestria, so this was the better alternative to that horrible fate.

That was what I told myself in my deluded delirium, wheezing exhaustedly as I felt the trickle of mana that my sun sent over to me increase to a stronger flow in order to rejuvenate me. I didn't realize I spent so much, even with her assistance...

Haah... flipping flying penguins, I shouldn’t have to feel bad for something that needed to be done, suns damnit. Not everything could be solved with kindness and generosity, right? I did the right thing, didn't I?

Fuck. It felt like I was betraying my very ideals just by thinking that. I didn’t want that and that was the only thing that made me feel bad. I swore to myself to never ever let that happen to me, to never ever betray my ideals of kindness and generosity, and to never ever lose the hope in me that made me look for the best in others. If I lost that part of myself, would I still be... me?

If I forsake my ideals, would I start to search for reasons to rationalize to myself that killing was acceptable? Like... like I had done on Azeroth if I were absolutely honest with myself? I knew I had to do something... but was it absolutely necessary that I resorted to taking a life? It wasn’t even just one life that I had taken back then. War... I never wanted to experience something like that ever again and now, fighting against Tirek, it felt eerily similar to that one time.

Like we were fighting a war against each other, just without the soldiers.

I watched my sister stride purposefully out of the crater, waiting until she could see Tirek again. Sadly, and much to my surprise, the centaur wasn’t dead. If anything, he looked eager to get back into the fight.

With a single flap of her wings, Luna launched herself at him, her sword glowing with icy light. And like a baseball bat, she swung it at him, sending him speeding away into the distance. Another flap and she was back at his side, swinging her sword down at him.

Tirek’s body was sent to the ground and I felt the world shake from the impact, all the way to where I had been left by my sister. Once more, they clashed, empowered fist versus magical sword, and both of them were sent flying in opposite directions by the resulting shockwave. Luna towards me and Tirek back to where we started our fight. I winced as he crashed through the homes of our ponies, crying as some of them were most likely heavily injured or even killed by the impact.

This... I... why? How could this have gone so horribly out of hoof? This wasn’t what I wanted at all... this senseless violence was disgusting and deplorable. Totally and utterly despicable.

It was nothing but wrong.

Pointless.

“Lulu? I... Oh, Lulu...” I whispered as I nudged my sister after I limped my way over to her, finding her completely out cold but still breathing, much to my relief. So much for that, I thought uneasily. I tried to call up enough mana to teleport her to safety but winced at the headache that split my head as soon as I attempted to do so. Perfect, just perfect.

I guess not even alicorns were immune to the blasted curse that was mana exhaustion. Despite my sun helping me recover, it did nothing for my overtaxed horn. Without a good night's rest, I wouldn't be casting anything anytime soon. That's what I get for throwing highly destructive spells around like it was nothing.

Sadly, Tirek wasn’t out of the fight as I saw him shake off the rubble of the destroyed buildings. If there ever was a cause to panic, this was it. With my remaining strength, I started to drag Luna away from where we were as he sent another beam of crackling red and black magic at us. It became quickly apparent I wouldn't be fast enough, though. It was far too large to dodge at my tempo.

Just... just how much magic had he absorbed that he could throw these around like nothing?! And why the flipping penguin was he no worse for wear?! This wasn't even remotely fair!

Resigning myself to my fate, I screwed my eyes shut before the blast was about to hit us and throw us who knows where. But as I waited for the attack to connect with us, nothing happened. Confused and with hope rising in my chest, I chanced a peek from behind my eyelids and saw a golden barrier absorb the entirety of the magical attack.

“Can’t do anything without me, huh?” my twin asked and I looked behind me to see her devil-may care-smirk. I blushed as I was reminded just how badass my wife could be. “Saw that pillar of radiant solar magic, by the way. It was gorgeous~.”

“Tia... I...” I whispered, sorrowful tears coming to my eyes. “I... I-I’m s-so...”

“Shh,” she said, placing a gold-clad hoof upon my lips. “Let me take care of that sorry excuse for a sentient being first, okay?”

I nodded, a wavering sob leaving me as I wanted to throw myself at her mercy and beg for her forgiveness. She strode past me with a certain casualness to it that I thought she was actually invincible. It made me feel safe and my heart gave a little quiver, falling even more in love with her.

Celestia’s mane glowed more vibrantly as the aura around her horn increased, the spell she was about to unleash taking a lot longer to cast than what I was used to seeing from my twin.

But then, as she finished her spell, I understood why she needed a bit longer to cast it. Hundreds of golden spheres shot away from her, trailing bright lights behind them as they flew in an arc toward where Tirek was standing. And each one of those exploded into his face, sending him back and forth in brilliant explosions.

A fiery flash at the side of my twin signaled her calling forth her sword. The last few orbs sent Tirek like a rag doll towards her and with a heavy swing, she hit him with the flat side of the blade on the forehead.

I stared at the unconscious form of the centaur as he landed in between me and Celestia. I cautiously poked his head with a hoof, afraid he was only faking his state of being unconscious.

Thankfully, he didn’t move in response to my prodding and I felt relieved to hear that he was still breathing. Avenging blood with only more blood... I can’t have us continue that cycle. Not... not without very, very, very, very good reasons.

Celestia gave me a blank look, watching me check his vitals. “Didn’t think I’d let him live?” she asked and I fidgeted awkwardly.

“Tia...” I said, even though my voice was barely loud enough to qualify as a whisper. I was uncertain whether or not it was even intelligible in the first place with how much it quivered with my emotions. “I...”

She sighed through her nostrils, muzzle hard as stone. “I can control myself, you know. Just because I sometimes let my temper get the better of me doesn’t mean I’ll start killing the ones threatening my family and nation,” she said, causing my ears to splay back. That last part sounded more like me at my worst. It was me that was that vengeful if the lives of my wives were threatened. I was the one that couldn't rein herself in when angry.

“I’m s-sorry, Tia...” I sobbed, crying ugly tears. “I-I’m so, so s-sorry f-for doubting y-you.”

“It’s okay, I know you didn’t mean what you said, Sunshine,” she told me, a tiny smile gracing her muzzle. It didn't quite reach her eyes, but there was no hate in them. Only understanding and disappointment. “It hurt so damn hard, but it’s not like I haven’t done worse to you...”

“But you never...” I argued and she gave me a glare, shutting me up immediately. I had no idea how she could still smile in a situation like this.

My wife snorted. “What? I’ve never insulted your family before? We both know I have done that plenty of times before,” she shot back in defiance. “Like your brother for example. How often have I bitched about his arrogance while you argued against me? How often have I told you to go fuck yourself with a cactus for defending him like that?”

“He isn’t that bad...” I weakly said, fidgeting with my wings.

“Dear, Tobias worked for Massive Dynamic. If that doesn’t already give away how soulless he is, then I don’t know what would,” she snorted and I wilted, painfully reminded that, yes, he had been working for that company. I’m sure he felt bad about it, though. He was just... easily tempted by the promise of power. And what else would give him more power than the respect he earns in his company for developing and selling the ‘future’ of weapons technology that could generously be called biological warfare? The government certainly seemed to think so. All so that they could get ready for some obscure, far-off war that was based purely on paranoia. That company was owned by none other than the devil in mortal form and had no morals, whatsoever.

Okay, maybe... maybe my brother had his flaws (like having divulged the secrets of his work to me and my wife while he was drunk, for example), but... Toby is still my big brother. Or was, once upon a time. He was just... deeply misunderstood. He even tried to be a parent, so he can't be all bad.

Okay, maybe Tobias wasn't the most caring person since he was married to his job, his son only an afterthought by the end of the day, but... he does care. A lot more than one might be led to believe at first glance. He was just... bad at showing it. Toby didn't trust people easily and saw them more as a nuisance than anything, judging them by their use rather than their personality, and he might seem a bit harsh here and there, but past all of that was a deeply scared person that only wanted to keep their loved ones safe.

Toby always protected me from harm. Despite his flaws, he always looked out for me. Even when it meant sacrificing parts of himself to keep me safe.

“Can... can we change the subject, please?” I whispered, not in the mood to continue with this argument. It was bad enough she was dragging my brother through the mud again (even if he might, maybe, perhaps, possibly deserve it for the things he did) and refused to listen to my apologies. Every time I tried to say something to convey how much I regretted what I had said to her, she stubbornly told me it was okay.

I could tell, though, that it wasn’t. I had hurt her like I never had before and I swore I would make it up to her. Somehow.

“Bring Luna home once you feel well enough to fly, please,” Celestia said, taking the limp body of Tirek into her magic. He almost looked frail like that, and in a sense, he was. Tirek wasn’t going to walk away from this fight with his freedom intact and honestly... I held no sympathy for him anymore. If I ever had any sympathy for him in the first place. Tartarus would be a kindness to him... “I’ll see you soon, sister.”

“Tia...” I whispered and she gave me a curious look as I awkwardly rubbed my forehooves against each other. I went in for a small kiss and looked away to the side once we broke it. “I’ll accept whatever punishment you deem fit for me for speaking out of turn, whether you give it to me or I make Luna give me one. I truly am sorry.”

“Summer, stop apologizing already, I’ve had enough of it,” she snapped. “Let’s forget it ever happened, okay?”

I watched her go and sighed sadly. “Something like that isn’t forgotten so easily, though...”

I was starting to get concerned for my twin and I agonized over the thought that she was bottling things like that up as if they would simply disappear if she never thought about them again. It wasn’t healthy and despite her wishes, I would follow through on my words until I felt I had repented enough.

Or maybe she was right and I should simply forget that I had compared her involuntarily to Tirek. I certainly didn’t mean it like that and I hoped she didn’t think I did. And I definitely didn’t fault her for what she had done to her human parents. Heck, if I had the opportunity, I probably would have done the same thing.

...okay, probably not exactly the same thing, but I would have still done something to bring them to justice.

Honestly? I would have most likely tortured them for doing that to my wife, even if she hadn’t been my wife at the time. No one hurts my wife and gets away with it. If there was one thing, one thing only, that I could never ever under any circumstances ever forgive, it was that.

At least Tirek was dealt with, that was something that would hopefully help us rest a bit more easily now.

Still... the question of the mysterious dark magic artifacts remained. Who was behind them and for what purpose were they ruining the lives of seemingly random ponies, regardless of their age, race, or gender? What did they hope to gain from such an action?

One thing kept nagging me at the back of my mind, though. Tirek didn’t seem like the type to abduct ponies, he would have been a lot more subtle in that case. If he wasn’t behind the abductions (like I had hoped he would be so we at least had a face to put the blame on), then who was really at fault? A mystery for another time...

Haah. One battle was won, how many more would we have to fight? A vacation does sound nice, but... there was much to be done before we could allow ourselves to truly relax.

Until then, I'd remain cautious. It is the only thing I could do, really.

Author's Notes:

Summer you idiot. I think we need to update your 'brain-to-mouth' filter to the newest version... *shakes her head disappointedly*

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Chapter 013 - Gaze upon his... magnificence?

It has been a few weeks since we imprisoned the centaur known as Tirek, former prince of the Centaur-Gargoyle nation, and overall asshole that will forever rot in the deepest pit within Tartarus. Good riddance, I have to say. May he learn his lesson as he counts the specks of dust for however long his miserable life will last for.

All was not good, though. Tia pretended that I never insulted her in the first place and (mostly) went about life as she usually did. I did go through with my promise of making Luna give me a punishment for my transgressions, much to my wife's chagrin.

My precious Moon created for me, at my nagging insistence, a dream creature. Not just any ordinary dream creature, though (if those can be ordinary in the first place), but one that would create every type of dream that I asked of it. Including nightmares.

Technically, it was me giving myself a punishment with a little bit of help from my wife. That wasn’t important, though. What was important, on the other hoof, was that I had myself living through the moment that led to this punishment, again and again, to make sure something like this would never happen again. It served as a reminder that I was indeed capable of cruelty while in my regular base form.

I wasn’t infallible and I could be hurtful with my words even if I never intended to speak them in the first place. Or think them, same thing. This would serve me well to keep myself grounded and humble, I told that to myself harshly, suffering the same nightmare for what felt like an eternity each night. Sometimes I varied it up a little bit and had the dream creature make me relive my worst moments besides the one before the fight with Tirek. Like what I had done in my brief moment of insanity. Sometimes, I just made it mock me as much as possible.

Hmm. Maybe I really was a sucker for punishment and Nightmare Moon had only awakened my desire for it with the riding crop of infinite pleasure™. Regardless, I had my way and made myself suffer for every mistake I made.

Besides giving myself nightmares each and every night, I also did other things to make up for it and hopefully have Celestia forgive me for real. She certainly enjoyed the cakes and cookies I baked for her, so I hoped it was a good step in the right direction.

Luna, on the other hoof, was trying her best to stop my attempt at ‘making Tia fat’ with my delicious cooking. I have no idea where she got that idea from, honestly.

...okay, maybe I was trying a bit too hard, but I was getting desperate to earn my twin’s forgiveness! I simply had no idea what else to try. It was infuriating that Celestia pretended nothing was wrong and insisted that I had nothing to feel sorry for. I just... I never felt like she was entirely honest with me.

And honestly, I think she was avoiding me most of the time, too. She never was one to enjoy those garden parties with the nobles, but all of a sudden she couldn’t get enough of them? Puh-lease, I’m not blind. What hurt most, though, was that she sometimes didn’t even turn in for the night with Luna and me.

Lulu tried getting her to talk about it, but nothing really came out of it. Even my Moon was starting to get agitated by it and angry vampire sex with me wasn't enough to get her mind off of it. That was also something really weird... and enjoyable... that had started to happen more often.

There were also rumors spreading around that something had happened between Celestia and me. Well, between Tia, Luna, and myself, really. It wasn’t easy assuaging the fears of our servants and guards, or even the nobles. Although, with how the nobles behaved most of the time, they felt vindicated in their belief Luna and I had tried to get rid of Tia (or something equally ridiculous along those lines).

At least there was one thing that managed to uplift Celestia’s mood by quite a lot and that was the inexplicable absence of Platinum within our court and so on. Not just there but everywhere else, really. It was like she had given up on defaming us in some way or another. Our spies told us that she rarely even left her home and it was causing me a bit of concern. Not for her health or anything, although a small part of me did feel concerned because of that, but there was a rising suspicion in me that she was planning something big. Or she was getting too old to care...

Nah. That stupid old hag won't ever give up, no matter how wrinkly her face gets. Keep on dreaming, Summer.

Anyway! Whatever it was, I think those materials she has been hoarding for quite some time were finally coming to use sometime soon. I have no idea what sort of ritual needed so many rare materials that she had to acquire those ingredients for years, but it could be nothing good.

Clearly, such a ritual would have massive consequences and she honestly thought she could cast it despite the risk of it failing. The more 'cogs' you put into the machine, the less likely it will run smoothly. And that wasn't even mentioning the potential side effects, the risk of it blowing up in your face, or the ritual substituting your life force to finish casting when it ran out of juice.

Searching for evidence against her so that we could legally do something about her was a headache in and of itself. We had nothing on her and trying to go the black ops route was doomed for failure, too. Platinum was just too well fortified in her own home and I think that was partly due to the fact that she had resources that we had not. Like ancient spells of her family line that even Starswirl had no access to.

Speaking of Starswirl, he had come home from whatever confrontation he had with this Stygian completely furious. Naturally, we didn’t get a single word out of him about what had happened between them and it had me worried. He wasn’t normally this angry, even when we did our best to get on his nerves.

What can I say? We really were brats, sometimes (even as adults). Not to downplay my own part in this, but... Lulu was by far the worst. She really couldn’t keep her hooves to herself at times and she was prone to cause all kinds of pranks at the most inconvenient of times. The last time she played one on me I had pink fur for a month or so. I took it with humor... mostly.

I looked ridiculous and Luna kept making memory balls of it whenever I got rid of them. I swear, she won't ever let me live that one down.

Aside from that, Yu’la had been sleeping a lot over the winter months again. Whether that was because of her nature as an animated statue or because she was a dragon, I couldn’t say. I kept her bed nice and warm and Celestia’s phoenix stayed with her most of the time. It was delightful seeing them get along so well over the years and I was pleasantly surprised that she didn’t take on the more... mischievous... tendencies of Philomena. That bird took too much after Luna and Celestia, seriously. She was like the perfect mix of Luna’s pranking tendencies and Celestia’s ‘I have done nothing wrong’ look.

As spring came back around for a new year (the Equestrian calendar actually starts with spring and ends with the winter, it was easier that way after what happened with the wendigos and the eternal winter), I stayed in my garden a lot. Most of the time I did my work right underneath my beautiful tree while Yu’la was playing around with the animals that made it their home here.

On another pleasant note, our estrus cycle did get (marginally) more manageable like our mother had told us such a long time ago now. We weren’t entirely like depraved, sex-crazy animals anymore, but we still had a strong urge to mate with each other as often as possible. More often than not, that meant Luna and I fucking each other silly with wild, 'vanilla' lesbian sex.

I think I preferred having that kind of sex with Luna over us using my spell. Celestia, on the other hoof, was really bad at the regular lesbian variant of sex without resorting to oral sex. Not that it didn’t feel good, she just was more awkward if she was in the leading position. Besides, teasing the hell out of me was not as satisfying.

Okay, maybe it was really good, too... but it was also really frustrating. I totally (maybe not really) hate Tia for it, making me (totally not at all) love it despite my misgivings about it. I (absolutely do not) love her teasing me for hours on end. Definitely not. Nopes. Nuh-uh.

Ah, well, it wasn’t like Celestia ceased to be amazing in bed... or any other place we decided to do it. She was better at this if we did use the spell (while teasing me at every opportunity... which I definitely love... damnit) and Luna was better at it if we didn’t (thankfully without any teasing), so it balanced itself out nicely. Not that they didn't switch out who would use the spell or not, they do fuck each other without me around, but we all have our preferences.

Such as me not touching a strap-on with a ten-foot pole, for example. The spell wasn't the only thing I had a strong dislike for, I generally couldn't bring myself to stick anything but my tongue into my sisters' cunts. Lulu had her thing for BDSM and Tia... well, Tia was Tia. She did everything with equal fervor and disliked nothing. And she was practically horny all the time. So... yeah. Let's leave it at that.

I swear, sometimes I hear a faint buzz when we're sitting on our thrones and I knew Celestia was behind it. She probably enchanted something to vibrate for multiple hours, whether it was the cushion or something smaller, I couldn't tell. Knowing my sister, though, she was being very naughty right in front of our subjects. If there was one thing that turned her on more than everything else, it was exhibitionism. If she could, she probably would have me sit in her lap and use a charm to make everypony watch as she molested me.

N-not that I was fantasizing about her having her way with me while e-everypony saw me o-orgasm right in front of t-them! No, such things were reprehensible and would set the wrong kind of example, making it okay for s-siblings to... to... coerce each other into forbidden, incestuous love! I won't let that happen, not on my watch.

It would be humiliating and, and... kind of sexy, but wrong! Suns damnit, Summer. Ever since that night in the Crystal Empire, the idea of being found out kept creeping back into the foreground of my thoughts! What's wrong with you?! Do you really like to be toyed with so much you crave the ultimate humiliation there is?! Stop paying attention to Celestia's antics to corrupt you, damnit! You are better than that!

Even though it would be really sexy and make me stammer and moan as I whined needily in my sister's grasp while she nibbled on the back of my neck and rubbed my clit with a hoof...

Fuck. My twin is a succubus, there's no other explanation for how she has corrupted me so thoroughly. I was trapped in a waking nightmare of wet dream after wet dream by her design, forced to endure her sweet temptations while being unable to give in. If I did, I would have to face the consequences of such a decision. And that was exactly where she wanted me to be: torturing myself over my newest kink. Give in and be humiliated to my heart's content, or stay silent and suffer through everything my imagination could throw at me.

It was an insidious plan and I won't give her the satisfaction of breaking my resolve. Siblings shouldn't take advantage of each other like this and she knew that! She knew making incest legal would cause chaos among our ponies, so... whatever this dastardly scheme was, it is not going to work. I won't let it.

Despite my resolve, a crack was already forming in my morality. And Celestia only made it worse by encouraging our subjects to 'love freely' in herds. One good thing did come from it, I suppose, and that was the legalization to be openly gay, lesbian, and/or bisexual in a herd. Why a herd? Well... apparently the nobles ran out of arguments about 'biologic reality and the need to reproduce' when faced with Tia's fact that a herd was one big family and it shouldn't matter who takes care of the foal and how a mother got pregnant. And if that herd consisted of two couples with a mutual agreement, it was still a gerd out of friendship according to the law.

Hence, nopony could object to my wife passing the 'Herd Reformation Act' into the Equestrian Constitution, making it a basic, fundamental right for everypony. I was kinda proud my sister managed to get one over the old Unicornian noble family faction and made it basically impossible to revoke her decision without major backlash on their part. That didn't eradicate prejudice, but it laid the foundation for more acceptance to come in the future.

...and we became figureheads for the... ahem, 'rainbow' pride flag, which was basically Tia's mane colors followed by my red one on top and Luna's midnight blue at the bottom. As far as designs go... it was okay? It felt like a cheap replacement for the actual pride flag I remember from Earth, but telling that to our subjects wasn't exactly easy when they already made their mind up. So, now we have queer pastel pony pride, yay.

Ah, well, progress was progress, right? It could have looked considerably worse. Like... I don't know. Worse.

Anyway, enough of that. Life kept moving on in a suspiciously quiet manner. I would have expected Platinum to make a fuss about the 'blasphemy' we committed against the sacredness of marriage or whatever, but we didn't even hear so much as a peep from her.

I'll never understand that former princess, I swear. When you think she might yet manage to sink even lower than she already did, she disappoints you and does nothing. It was unnerving, to be honest.

Ah, well. I won't cry over a gift like that. We were one step close to making this land a better place for future generations to come. Someday, discrimination will be a thing of the past. I can't wait to see that day come to fruition through our hard work.

The right to love and be yourself is a fundamental right we shouldn't have to fight over so much with the House of Lords. Perhaps it was high time we established the House of Commons so that the power dynamic shifted more in favor of the average pony instead of those with a noble heritage. I suppose that was another project we could start working on, long term.

That, and modern commodities such as better housing, plumbing, and basic rights like access to healthcare and equal rights. The main problem would be Platinum's faction trying to delay us for as long as possible, but we quite literally had agelessness on our side. They were fighting a futile battle.

One night, as we were wrapping up our work and were about to retire for the night, Starswirl came to us and told us that he might be gone for a while, stating that there was an emergency he had to take care of with his ‘colleagues’ (that were really his friends, he was just too stubborn to call them that).

As was always the case with him, we didn’t find out what it was about at all. The only thing he told us to do was to finish our assignments on time (something we struggled to do most of the time, we still had a nation to run, after all), look after his things for a while, and then he was gone. Just like that.

Clover was as displeased about his behavior as we were, the old stallion running off again to do whatever it is that he did with his ‘not-friends’. But Starswirl was kind of notorious for doing things like that, so I wasn’t really too concerned about it.

Later during that year, as I was on one of my monthly check-up tours through the forest to see how my animal friends were doing, I was visiting my first manticore friend with Yu’la, not having visited him in quite a while. And I was pleasantly surprised at what I found.

Melvin had become a parent together with his mate Martha and the little fluffy kittens were incredibly adorable. Yu’la had a lot of fun playing with them while Melvin and his significant other were watching them with pride and contentment. Seeing that I was unable to resist the temptation, I filled one of the memory balls I always had on me for such moments with this cute scene. It would have been a crime not to.

Sadly, my visit was cut short as the first droplets of water fell from the sky, the rain quickly picking up in intensity. The little cave was not big enough to house all of us for the night, so I hurried back to the castle with my darling dragon tucked in safely beneath my folded wings. She really wasn’t a fan of stormy weather. Me neither, for that matter. It was something we had in common.

As I galloped through the forest trying not to slip (which wasn't an easy feat in the Everfree), I felt a weird familiarity as I passed by a tree. A tree that, as I stared at it for a moment, I could have sworn to have passed by not too long ago in my pursuit to get back to the castle.

Sure enough, a few moments later, I saw the same tree again.

“What the...” I muttered, staring in disbelief at the gnarly tree. Using a rock in my magic, I carved a little cross into its trunk and went left, hoping beyond hope that I was just imagining things. Either I had been running around in circles, something I seriously doubted, or something else was going on. Something fishy.

And just as I came across the same tree again, I found the same cross I had carved into the tree's bark from before. Or the same tree, as the case may be. This time, I went right to ensure I wouldn’t be running around in circles and did my best to stay in a straight line.

Again, I came by the tree and I stomped angrily around the tree, trying to see if there was anything strange going on with it. But, try as I might, it was an ordinary tree (with the cross on it, true, but still like any other tree in this flying penguin of a forest). Sighing with barely suppressed rage and quite a bit of terror running rampant through me, I started to walk backward. I always kept the tree within my sight, only every once in a while looking behind me to make sure I wouldn’t bump into another tree.

This time, I didn’t find the same tree again. No... I stumbled over a root and noticed that I was outside the forest. Startled, I turned back to go through the forest again in order to find my castle and forget that this madness has ever happened, just to see that there was no forest to run back to. I wasn’t even anywhere near the Everfree Forest because, as I looked around in horror, I recognized parts of where I was.

This was impossible, I told myself as my right eyelid started to twitch madly. Utterly impossible.

I had suddenly found myself on the other side of Equestria. It would take weeks to find my way back home. Weeks!

Lightning flashed overhead as I stared down over the cliff’s edge at the crashing waves of the raging ocean. I jumped a little bit as the booming thunder rattled my bones and I tried my best to comfort the shivering bundle within my wings with calming noises, even as I myself felt too afraid to move.

This wasn’t possible, I told myself. One couldn’t simply stumble out of a forest on the other side of the country and find the forest gone in the next moment. And as I looked up, the dark pinkish clouds overhead weren’t natural, either. Blue, green, red, heck even black lightning flashed within those weirdly colored clouds as they continued to pour out their contents over the land.

Whatever was going on, I needed to find my sisters first and foremost. Glancing down at the sun necklace around my neck, I touched it and said Celestia’s name.

No flash came to take me away from where I stood.

Touching the necklace once more, this time saying Luna’s name, nothing happened. I touched it over and over again, panic starting to set in as it failed to bring me to one of my sisters each and every time.

Tears fell down from my chin as I felt the crushing realization that I couldn’t get back to my sisters. The salty liquid mixed with the oddly brown rain that smelled suspiciously of chocolate and even as I lit up my horn to teleport over to the nearest cave entrance (it was more of a rocky overhang), nothing happened.

I couldn’t even reach out to my sun as it called out to me, wanting to set over the horizon. Despair clawed at my heart as I was denied from acting upon my special talent. My Red Sun begged me to do something and I was at a loss for what I should do. The only thing that worked as intended was a light-emitting spell and telekinesis.

I stood there, utterly helpless, staring at the horizon hoping to get the sun to set before it suddenly started to move without my input. One moment, everything was bright, and the next, I was left in the dark of the night. Maybe Luna was so nice to do it for me, instead?

Sadly, that wasn’t the case as the moon set over the horizon a moment later, making way for the twin suns once more.

“This isn’t happening,” I whispered fearfully, once more finding myself in the dark stormy night. Then it was back to daytime a minute or two later as I made my way to the only shelter I could see in the distance.

I tried my best to light a campfire with the conventional method as I sat there dripping with chocolate milk of all things, but the drenched sticks I gathered refused to light up. My fiery aura, instead of warming the sticks to dry them, did nothing. The universal constant of temperature refused to acknowledge my alicorn domain of heat. Yu’la was shivering and I myself was, for once, not immune to the unnatural cold. Or the normal, natural temperature, considering I was usually exempt from that rule.

As I stayed there, shivering underneath the rocky outcropping of the 'cavern', staring out at the land, I was witness to something even stranger than pink clouds and chocolate rain with rainbow-colored lightning flashing overhead. The ground beneath us started to change, too.

Fields, forests, and lakes began to look like a bad children’s drawing and a chessboard pattern started to cover everything as far as the eye could see. As long as it was bright enough to see, anyway. I wasn't about to change my eyes to a more predatory nature as the random frequency of the day and night cycle might leave me blinded for longer than my eyes could adjust.

Even that was not spared. None of my alicorn domains seemed to be working anymore like they should and it felt so alien to me that my own sun's light was blinding to me. It was like the rules of the universe were uprooted and only a mere suggestion. And among that, gravity and direction were completely thrown out the window, substituted with 'down is where a surface is' and 'you think something is straight, but as you move, it might bend and twist like an optical illusion'.

So... with that in mind, strange things started happening. Well... stranger things, I guess. Entire land masses began to rip themselves out of the ground, starting to float there like islands in the sky as if gravity failed to adhere to certain areas. The ocean bent over itself, going up and down while the sky itself twisted around, clouds and all.

The orbit of the twin suns and the moon was all kinds of weird, too. They bounced across the heavens like bouncy balls, shot across the horizon like they were in a pinball machine, and then, they sometimes moved in stop-motion like a ticking clock. Or they moved completely normal, either sped up or in slow motion. All of it completely without rhyme or reason.

For the first time in my second life, I felt deathly afraid for my own existence. My survival was uncertain and the world around me turned into a madhouse at a carnival. Nothing made sense anymore.

Whatever was behind this, they were far more powerful than my sisters and I. Heck, they were probably more powerful than every unicorn in Equestria combined, judging by the casual display of playing ping pong with the suns and the moon.

Reality itself said fuck it and left physics crying in a corner. Nothing was as it was before and I had no idea how I was going to get back to my sisters in this chaos. Wherever they were because I doubted they were still at the castle, either. At least Yu’la was with me where I could keep her safe. Well... relatively safe, seeing that I probably couldn’t do anything to the one behind this madness.

That night (or day, it depends on which one of the heavenly bodies was up in the sky at the time), sleep didn’t come easily. And much to my dismay, there were no dreams I could comfort myself with, even if they were nightmares. That also meant Luna couldn’t reach out to me, sadly. No dreams meant she would find herself in an empty dream realm. If she even found herself in the dream realm.

On the days that it didn’t rain (let’s just call them days for now, even if it was hard to keep track of), I tried foraging for anything that might prove itself useful to Yu’la and myself. Mostly food that didn’t consist of ninety-nine percent sugar. While I’m sure Tia was having a blast right now satisfying her sweet tooth, I’d rather make sure that Yu’la and I had something healthy to eat. Or drink, for that matter.

The land wasn’t the only thing that had been changed, though. I watched buffalos in ballerina costumes dance around like nothing was wrong, saw schools of fish flying through the air as if they were still underwater, gazed upon frogs that were so massive that they could have crushed trees with their tongues, and witnessed mice chase away cats and cats chase away dogs in a surreal role reversal.

Nothing remained untouched by this utter insanity sweeping across our nation, changing just about everything that could be changed. Every time I thought I recognized something, I was proven wrong in my desperate search for my castle. There was only one thing that could (hopefully) change everything back to how it was.

We needed to find the Elements of Harmony. That also meant that we needed to find the being responsible behind all of this chaos. And before I could even do any of that, I needed to find my sisters.

Easier said than done when you couldn’t even find your way around reliably. Reality had new rules and I was woefully underprepared to make heads or tails of it all.

As I traveled across this weird caricature of Wonderland, I also bore witness to the suffering of our ponies. It was a fight for survival, nopony trusting each other to not steal their possessions or shelter. Law and order were a thing of the past in this disharmonious world that we suddenly found ourselves in.

My subjects were begging me to do something against this and I wish I could have reassured them that this would have been all over soon. The truth, though, was that I wasn’t certain it would be over anytime soon. Not in the foreseeable future, at any rate. Or ever, to be honest.

To put the cherry on top of a mishappen cake, the ponies I encountered were subjected to cruel jokes that bordered on torture (like their food literally coming alive, trying to eat them instead). I did my best to help them, but even that was not enough as I often found myself in their trouble instead while they fled. It was understandable, this world was more than scary in all the wrong ways, but... sometimes, I wish I could have done without the monster murder food trying to take a bite out of me.

The first year was not even the worst of it, yet. At least, I think it had been a year (I had gone into heat once since this started, so it must be somewhere around a year-ish, I suppose). Getting back a sense of time had been hard and still was most likely inaccurate, anyway.

With each passing day, I felt more of my hope die that I would find my sisters in this mess. I stubbornly clung to the littlest spark I could keep alive within me, taking solace in the fact that Yu’la was my constant companion. She never left my side, thankfully. Wherever I went, I tried to make the lives of my ponies somehow better with the smallest things I could still offer them.

In a time like this, even food that wasn’t trying to eat you was a luxury good. Or food that didn’t consist mostly of sugar. Shelter was also something that wasn’t easy to come by, as most buildings seemingly blew over like they were made out of paper, only to spring back up a moment later as if nothing had happened in the first place.

Food and shelter weren't the only things that were difficult to get ahold of. No, there was one thing that was perhaps even more frustrating than that. That being clear water untouched by the practically omnipresent sticky substance of sugar and chocolate rain.

Keeping myself clean was a fruitless endeavor. Wasting clean water on bathing was honestly a rare commodity I gave up on a long time ago, seeing that the pink clouds up above always had a weird sense of knowing when they needed to rain to drench me from head to hoof whenever I was remotely clean.

Chocolate rain was the absolute worst thing to get drenched with, let me tell you. Being a pony had very few downsides in my opinion, but fur could be so bothersome, sometimes. And if there was one thing I hated with a passion, it was sticky fur. It managed to make me feel uncomfortable in a really disgusting way.

Out of all the things that managed to make me feel hopeless and close to the verge of crying, this was it. Not the monsters or the incomprehensible sense of direction playing tricks on my mind, nor the sugary food and the 'pranks' played on my subjects, it was my hygiene that almost made me give up and cry in a corner. I wasn't a cleanliness freak by far, but this was one of the things that frustrated me to no end.

Disgust could do a lot to dissuade one from going on, and were it not for my resolve to find my sisters, I might have succumbed to it. Hope was the only driving force that kept making me want to get up from my makeshift bed each and every day.

My regalia somehow stayed pristine, despite everything I went through. Well, almost pristine. There were a few scratches on it now and the reason behind those was perhaps the most terrifying encounter I had with a creature of chaos yet. Let’s just say, running away from a giant cupcake with sharp claws and teeth hell-bent on eating you wasn’t fun. I was afraid to leave the confines of my new 'home' for a few months after that.

Although, that would prove to be one of the more harmless encounters as I later found out. One day, as I was out scavenging, I had an interesting 'encounter' with a blue flower. At first, I thought nothing of it, thinking them to be harmless plants as I picked some fruit from the trees they were growing around. The only thing that made me mildly suspicious was the amount of pollen I shook loose from them, but I chalked that up to the local bee population being distracted by all the sugar around us.

If only I had stopped to think for a second and cleaned myself of their pollen with the last bottle of fresh water I had on hoof. Alas, I did not have the foresight to think I might have been in contact with a poisonous flower since they were rather harmless at the time.

The next day after sleeping, though... I was in for a rude awakening.

The first clue I got that something was off was my pitiful attempt to speak (or rather mumble sleepily), only to be greeted by a bubbling sound coming forth from my ‘throat’ while I tried moving my limbs to rub the sleep out of my eyes. The thing is, said limb was made of molten rock and I was sleeping in a puddle of hot glowing lava. Yu’la was on the other side of our 'shelter', staring at me in concern.

Well, I would have, too, if I found out my surrogate mother turned into a weird mix of alicorn pony and magma slime. It was... weird finding myself in such a malleable form that I felt my limbs stretch beyond their normal proportions as I tried to escape from the pool I had slept in.

And I found out I didn’t even need to breathe, as every time I tried to do that only a few bubbling sounds escaped me. I was essentially mute now, too. At least, as long as I stayed this... slimy.

Suffice to say, I was panicking. A lot. I couldn’t even cry, no tears were able to be produced in my state of liquified rock. On top of that, escaping my ‘bed’ was a difficult task that took me a few hours. Hours spent thinking I would stay like this forever as I thought whatever entity was responsible for this chaotic world had changed me, too.

And, as I was finally free of the molten pool, I found the outer layer of my ‘coat’ started to cool off enough that I got a bit more solid. Solid enough that my limbs weren’t stretching out each time I tried to move.

Once I found a lake that actually could reflect light back at me, I studied my form with dismay. I looked like the demonic child of a volcano and an alicorn. My ‘mane’ consisted of heavy black, smoky ash clouds and my eyes were a hot glowing yellow aside from an iris that was pitch black and my regalia looked like broken shackles and chains.

Instead of a tiara, or even a crown, a broken halo faded in and out of existence slightly above my head. It looked strangely captivating to me, but also left me with a foreboding feeling that shook me to my core. As if its mere existence was a bad omen.

Fallen Star was one thing, but this was another matter entirely. I had the strangest urge to burn everything to cinders and had to actively keep myself from acting upon these instincts. These 'desires' were nearly consuming my every thought, and had I less presence of mind to fight against them, I would have fallen prey to them. Whatever happened to me, this wasn’t good. Not one bit.

“My, somepony has gone supernova, hasn’t she?” a voice behind me commented with a chuckle and I whirled around to find perhaps the most... weird? looking creature my eyes had ever landed upon. “That is a fitting name, isn’t it? Supernova? What do you think?”

I stared at the mish-mash of a creature before me, looking like Yu’lon if she were male and made out of different parts of animals instead. Two different antlers sat atop the goat-like head, a single sharp tooth poking out from his lips with a white fluffy goatee on his chin. Beneath his ‘neck’, the goat-like head transitioned over to an elongated brown-furred body, ending at a scaly dragon’s tail with another white fluffy tuft of hair at the end. His left arm was that of a lion’s paw, while his right arm was an eagle’s claw, currently scratching his goatee as he grinned at me. He was floating above the ground like I had seen Yu’lon do, only he was floating a bit more upright. His hind legs were those of a goat (or donkey?) on his left side and a lizard on his right side. He also had two wings, one a bat’s and the other being that of a bird’s.

And, as he stared at me with his yellow eyes with differently sized red pupils, I shivered in fear for I felt like I stood before a god. His presence alone made me feel like a worthless ant, about to be squashed beneath one of his legs.

“Not one to talk, are you? Cat got your tongue? Or perhaps it was the slime that stole it?” he asked and I let out a squeak. He laughed uproariously, clutching his stomach (at least I think it was where his stomach was), wiping away a lone tear. “I can already tell, we’re going to have so much fun!”

“W-who are you?” I asked, my voice sounding really bubbly and, well... demonic. I stepped away from him, causing the water behind me to start steaming as it came into contact with my body. Oddly enough, I felt a mild amount of pain from that. Not from the fact that it was a liquid, but because it felt so incredibly cold.

Everything felt cold, for that matter. Like it was purposefully trying to cool me down and cause me to become rigid like a statue. Despite knowing the atmosphere around me had the same temperature as every other 'day' so far, it suddenly felt like I was thrown into the cold, dark void of space.

What... just what was I now? It didn’t make any sense. Ponies just don’t turn into weird magma slime things all of a sudden. Thinking about it, though, there was a strange sense of belonging for this form coming from within me. Like it was meant to be there all along.

For that matter, I don’t think I was a magma slime at all (or lava slime, in all actuality). Otherwise, I would have already ‘cooled down’ enough to gain solid form. There must be more to this than first glance would suggest.

Like... I dunno. Like I was partially elemental in nature. Perhaps we were wrong about alicorns since we discovered we were a mix of unicorn, pegasus, and earthpony.

I think... no, I know this must be the case. There was no doubt in my mind about it. Whatever I did to end up like this (I was rather skeptical that a plant of all things could be the sole cause of this), it gave me access to this new form of mine. First, we gained access to our darker halves, and now? I gained access to this new 'elemental' form through means that I didn’t entirely understand. Not yet, anyway.

Going back to our theory of alicorns being the perfect mix between all three pony tribes... were we even thinking correctly with that line of thought? I mean... clearly, Fallen Star was different from regular ponies. More thestral in appearance, minus the membranous wings. A predator through and through.

So, we must at least be also partially thestral then, right? But what about what I am right now? This... elemental type of pony? The only other analogy I know of that gets even close to what I am right now... are the crystal ponies. Are... are crystal ponies more than what we previously thought they were? In that case, they simply can’t be a more ‘beautiful’ version of earthponies.

Could it be that crystal ponies are elemental in nature? Nature given form... Earth given form. Or rather, crystal.

There was something like that on Azeroth, but by my sun, I just couldn’t remember what it was. I must have read about it in some book while we were over there. Something related to the old gods and a curse...

A loud clap brought me out of my thoughts, momentarily distracting me from what I had forgotten. I blinked, reminded of the odd creature in front of me. “Introductions are in order, my little Supernova. Pay attention now,” the being before me proclaimed theatrically, snickering as he said ‘order’. My previous thoughts were all but forgotten as I fidgeted uncomfortably as he threw an arm around my neck in an attempt to appear more friendly. The only thing he managed to accomplish with that was to make me tremble in fear. “I am the Lord of Chaos, Spirit of Disharmony and Disorder, the handsome version of Loki Laufeyson (green is so last season, let me tell you), gaze upon my magnificence, yadda yadda yadda, bla bla bla, schnick schnack and all that good stuff. Hmm. What else does the script say?”

He produced a thick stack of papers with only doodles on them as he skimmed through the thing, gazing over the rim of a pair of glasses he casually created out of nothing, before throwing the stack of papers away without a care in the world. The thing turned into a dozen doves or so that flew away in a frightened frenzy. He cleared his throat again, holding out his claw in greeting as he smiled down at me cheekily. “Ah, yes, my name is Discord. What a pleasure to meet you, Your Bubblyness.”

Discord, as he introduced himself as, stared at me expectantly and I hesitantly reached out my hoof to shake his claw. Though, as he took my hoof and gave it a shake, his arm popped off his body and I stared wide-eyed as the thing still held onto my hoof.

I was this close to fainting from that sight alone... I think I even saw the end of his bones poking out of that... that stub. He didn't even seem to be concerned about losing a limb, either.

“Oops, seems like I might not have screwed it on tight enough, here let me give you a hand,” he chuckled, taking his claw back from me with his other arm. I shuddered as he screwed it back on his shoulder like some kind of toy arm. It even made those squeaky noises as if it was in need of oiling. “So, you’re one of those 'princesses' the ponies around here tell me will defeat me, huh? You don't feel particularly powerful to me. Kinda pathetic, really. Now, Sleipnir, on the other claw? Mhh, he was a real stallion packing an 'Oomph!' if you get what I mean~.”

“Uhm...” I stammered, wincing away from him as he stared at me with those red glowing eyes as the surroundings around us got dark. Fear and despair clawed at my molten heart as terror flooded my entire being. He really was in a league of his own, wasn't he? He wasn't actually talking about the Sleipnir, was he?

“Well, I look forward to your attempt,” Discord shrugged and our surroundings went back to the bright day it was a moment ago. It was a bit jarring, seeing him go from that back to his carefree nature. “In the wise words of someone that I don’t remember, probably Odin that bastard, let the games begin!”

“You... you think this misery is only a game?!” I asked, snorting angrily but the self-proclaimed Lord of Chaos only snapped his fingers and was gone in a flash.

That concluded my first visit from the god-like being with the ability to alter reality itself. And by everything that was holy, I slumped to the ground as whatever constituted adrenalin within my gooey body left me, feeling the last vestiges of hope I held on fade away entirely.

I couldn’t win against something... something like that! He was on a wholly different level, bordering on eldritch horror! I was glad that my mind wasn’t ripped apart just for gazing upon his body. Thankfully he wasn’t a Thing from the Beyond or I’m sure that I wouldn't have been able to formulate coherent thoughts anymore.

It seemed the universe was once more a cruel mistress, taking even the slightest semblance of normalcy away from me, as well as my sisters for however long it takes me to find them. If I even could find them in this mess...

Was it even possible to defeat Discord? Could the Elements of Harmony even affect something on such a level of power? They had defeated the ultimate evil in the universe, but that was when they were alive. Now? Now, they might not even be enough. They certainly would be useless as long as my sisters weren’t there to wield them with me.

Luckily, there was one thing I didn’t have to worry about as I woke up the next morning and that was the fact that my body was back to normal. It seems to me that whatever had been affecting me, be it something Discord did to me or those blue flowers I had inadvertently stumbled upon, had lost its hold on me. I chalked it up to me being an alicorn, but I wasn’t entirely sure about that.

Maybe I unconsciously shifted back into my form of Summer Sol in my sleep. If I ever found it within me to put my little theory to the test (I was rather reluctant to feel that primordial need to set everything on fire again), I’m sure I could figure out how to turn back into 'Supernova', as Discord had dubbed that form so lovingly for me. It wasn’t that bad of a name, anyway. Better than something volcano-related, anyway.

So, as the days blurred (quite literally) together, I did my best to stay out of Discord’s way. Months upon months I scavenged through the oddest places and the most dangerous ones. All so that I could somehow find a landmark that told me where in the flying penguin I was.

It was driving me crazy, searching for anything that could give me a clue as to how I could find the whereabouts of my castle or that of my sisters. I had to fend off monsters every week or so, always an amalgamation of different animals that I could tell were a product of Discord’s mad reign.

His reign was a cruel one. Everywhere I went to, I only encountered more suffering than from where I had previously come from. It was breaking my heart over and over again. He didn’t even stop at ‘playing’ with ponies, the same was true for the poor griffon I found flying desperately away from the massive shark hunting her.

My gift with animals hardly ever affected the critters under the influence of Discord’s chaos magic. So, with a heavy heart, I ripped a close-by tree from the earth and... put down the shark. It was the better alternative than allowing it to devour the battered and exhausted griffon.

Greta Eagletalon, as I learned her name was, was extremely grateful for my interference and stayed with me for a couple of weeks. I nursed her back to full health, taking pity on her despite my previous misgivings about griffons. I let her accompany me until we found her homeland only because she wasn’t as conceited as the rest of her kind. But even in the Griffon Empire, as I gazed sadly upon it once we found it, the land wasn’t exempt from Discord’s influence.

In a land ruled over by a being far worse than anything I previously had the pleasure of 'negotiating' with (not that there was any negotiating with Discord, whatsoever), I found out that the majority of griffons weren't as bad as I previously made them out to be.

Sure, some of them were dicks, massive ones at that, but... so could be ponies, to be honest. One just needs to take a look at the old Unicornian noble families and they would be just as bad as the éclair-addicted moron sitting on the throne of the Griffon Empire.

Ahem! I... might still be holding onto a grudge or two with that stuffed turkey for what he tried to do, but I could also admit his ilk doesn't really represent their race as a whole. I suppose I wasn't entirely immune to racism, as much as I pretended otherwise. It was hard to swallow my pride (that's something I never thought I would have in abundance), letting go of my misgivings and 'holier-than-thou' attitude when it came down to innocent griffons who were honestly undeserving of it.

...King Éclair of Sugar-in-his-Blood still deserved everything he got, though. There was little to nothing I couldn't forgive, but I draw the line at my wives. Cross that and I will be very vindictive, regardless of my bleeding heart.

Okay, maybe, just maybe, I was a teensy, tiny little bit sorry for him. I'm not going to go out of my way to forgive him, though. I... might have gone a bit overboard with his punishment, but it's his fault, and his alone. He dug his own pit and now he has to climb out of it by himself. Whether or not he would seek help for his addiction, I couldn't say, but chances are he will choke on an éclair before he gives them up in favor of living a more healthy lifestyle.

Admittedly, I was not proud of what I had done to him, but if I had the choice to do it all over again? I'd still do it. Heck, I would feed that bastard myself with a gleeful smile and watch him get sick before force-feeding him more pastries.

I did mention I have a vindictive side if my wives were involved, right? I can't wait to do worse with Discord...

Ahem! Anyway, my new griffon friend and I parted ways as I prepared to traverse the dangers of a changed world to find my sisters in all this madness. At least I had somewhat of an idea of where I currently was.

Three years in this nightmare and I had hope again. I couldn't wait for it all to end. The light at the end of the tunnel was finally within grasping distance. Only a little bit more.

Too bad that, once I went to sleep that day, I woke up in an entirely different place. To my great relief, Yu’la was still with me so I had one less thing to worry about. Everything else was up for debate, though. Much like that time I suddenly found myself on the other side of Equestria, I now found myself on the icy peaks of the tallest mountain I had ever seen.

The view was the only thing I enjoyed about waking up in the frigid cold, cursing the fact that my fiery aura was next to useless nowadays. Yu’la snuggled herself as close to me as she could and I took to the air in an attempt to glide down to lower altitudes. That was met with total failure as the harsh winds blew me back to where I started and I heard the infernal disembodied laughter of the chaos god.

So, I began the long and arduous trek through the snow to reach the foot of the mountain. Several times I felt like my body couldn’t continue on as the icy snow clung onto my coat and I stumbled to the ground, crawling on in a desperate bid to find any kind of warmth that would stave off the threat of hypothermia. My own body heat could only keep up for so long and if Yu’la hadn’t literally been made out of jade, I fear she would have died a long time ago.

I doubt even turning into Supernova would have saved me from that coldness. If I ever figure out how to deliberately trigger that change, that is.

I swear, one day you will regret this, Discord. One day your reign will come crashing down upon your malformed body and I will be there to laugh in your face.

To make matters worse, the chocolate rain returned and I found myself in a blizzard of frozen chocolate milk. It was like Discord was testing how much the body of an alicorn could withstand before succumbing to exhaustion. I doubted something like this could ever kill me, but I wasn’t keen on risking it. Definitely not with Yu’la needing me to keep her safe.

On and on I dragged myself through the harsh weather, trying to find anything, anything at all, that might give me a reprieve and allow me to recover some of my lost strength. Alas, in this poor visibility, I didn’t think I would ever find a cave or even some trees.

“Just.. a little bit... longer,” I muttered, tiredly dragging myself forward, blinking and squinting against the damn chocolate milk blizzard raging around me. “Only a little bit... longer... just... a bit. You can... do this, Summer...”

Stumbling, I fell to the ground, shivering heavily while trying to get back on my trembling legs. A glance at my left wing told me that Yu’la was still safely tucked away and I took another unsteady step, only to fall back to the ground.

“I... ngh... I c-can’t... give... up...” I mumbled weakly while the edges of my vision started to get much darker. “N-not... mhn... not... like... this...”

My body lost the fight against Discord’s trap and I gave up. My body couldn’t continue on and the snow slowly started to bury me as I succumbed to what would probably be my last slumber. I was barely conscious enough to hear somepony, probably Discord coming to gloat, approach me. But instead of hearing snide words, I felt a pair of gentle hooves grab onto me as I lost my vision to exhaustion entirely.

As I later found out, when an alicorn is at a point that is (mostly) lethal to a regular mortal and their healing factor couldn’t keep up with the stress anymore, they fall into a sort of... 'hibernation' would be the best word for it, I suppose. I survived for much longer than any other pony could have withstood, but even then, I couldn’t keep my body working in such conditions indefinitely. Conditions that were heavily screwed up due to Discord redecorating reality like a jigsaw puzzle under the instructions of a foal.

The slumber I found myself in needed time to repair my body until it was sufficiently strong enough that I could be roused back into the waking world. So, when I arduously blinked my eyes open one day, I was surprised to find that I was in a small cottage, a little fire burning within the fireplace my ‘bed’ was right next to.

I warily looked around in tiredness, seeing next to no decorations. The whole cottage in and of itself looked more like it was a hastily constructed shack than what a home should have looked like.

The door to the outside opened so suddenly, I almost rolled right into the fireplace with my flanks. In came a tall pony entirely covered in the fur of dead animals, shutting the door behind themself as some of the snow from the outside followed them in. Yu’la flitted out from beneath their... ugh, 'clothing'... and happily flew over to me to nuzzle me as if she hadn’t seen me in ages.

I giggled slightly, glad that she was okay after what had happened out in the wilderness. The noise from my throat had the mysterious pony in shock for all but a moment before it turned into joyful relief as she took off the hood from her head. Luna stared at me and I stared right back at her, all kinds of happy feelings flooding me as I finally found one of my wives.

“You’re okay!” she exclaimed with a smile and happy tears. She glomped me, embracing me tightly in her forehooves. “I thought you would never wake!”

“I’m glad to see you, too,” I told her, pressing myself tighter against her. “How... how long have I been asleep for?”

“I... Summer, you...” Luna started to say, only to hesitate. Yu’la let out a mournful growl and I felt my heart begin to drop.

“Luna... how long?” I asked her fearfully.

Luna swallowed thickly. “From what I can tell... you were... uhm... about... uh...” she whispered before she clammed up. She winced, reluctant to continue. “Do you really want to know..?”

“I... I don’t want to, but I need to know, Lulu,” I whispered back, fidgeting in the embrace. “Please, tell me.”

My sister bit her lip as tears came to her eyes. She hid them from me as she turned her head away, ears drooping. “About five years now,” Luna told me with a shaky breath. Her words were almost too quiet to make out, and for a moment, I thought I had misheard her.

I sat there in disbelief at what she told me. Five years?! How... that can’t be possible. And judging by how the snow looked that she had dragged in after herself, Discord was still unopposed. All that time and... and nothing changed regarding him? I... I guess I shouldn’t have been so surprised about that.

It was impossible to defeat him, wasn’t it? Not alone and... and not by mortals. We would never live in a normal world again.

“Five years...” I numbly repeated. “How... how can I sleep so long?”

“I don’t know, sister,” she told me, her voice tinged with sadness. “It was a miracle I even found you in the first place, I was out hunting for anything edible and happened to stumble upon you, half-frozen solid.”

“I... I was frozen solid?” I asked incredulously.

She rubbed her forelegs awkwardly together. “Half-frozen, as I said,” Luna said with a small nod, a frown on her muzzle. “For a moment, I even thought you had been there for much longer, were it not for the tracks you made. I... I thought you were dead, honestly.”

“Yet here I am...” I muttered, unsure of how I should feel. How could I have recovered from such a thing in the first place? It was, for all intents and purposes, seemingly impossible. I should be dead. But evidently, I was not. Were alicorns really so powerful that even severely weakened they were almost impossible to kill? Could I really not die from 'mundane' causes anymore? Was I forced to live on forever until I commit to ending my own life by any means necessary?

Just how much of what I had learned from Hope had I taken with a grain of salt?! How much had I dismissed because I didn't want to believe her..?

“I took you here with me, in the smallest hopes that you weren’t dead like I feared you were,” Luna explained and went over to put a kettle with clean water over the fire. “Had Yu’la not insisted on staying with you, I might have buried you. Summer, I thought you were dead. Your heart wasn’t beating anymore.”

For all we knew, my mortal body was dead. All that was left of me was my soul tethered to the mortal plane by my alicorn 'divinity' and the bond I shared with my Red Sun. How Yu'la knew I wasn't going to stay 'dead', I had no idea. Maybe she inherited Yu'lon's ability to sense divine beings and knew that only very special circumstances could permanently kill me. A bit of snow wasn't enough to do me in, evidently.

I sighed, shaking my head. That was a topic for another time. My darling dragon was full of surprises, wasn't she? “So, what happened then?” I asked. My sister smiled, going over to her bag and taking out a small dead rabbit much to my horror before she started to clean it out. I looked queasily at her as she was oblivious to my distress. Poor bunny...

“As you started to... thaw... your heart started beating again,” she told me as she uncaringly cut the poor rabbit up like a butcher. “It was slow at first, but it got stronger with each month that passed. You continued to sleep, though, despite appearing to be fully healed. I couldn’t even wake you with my magic.”

She added the meat to the stew she was preparing and glanced back at me, seeing my horrified look at what she had done to the rabbit. Luna rolled her eyes at me and came back over to me.

“Summer, it’s not like we haven’t eaten another living being before,” she said and I fidgeted against her as she embraced me again, reluctant to stay away from me for long. The feeling was very much mutual. “Besides, it’s the only thing I can find out here in the few moments the blizzard outside is light enough to find my way around without getting lost.”

“Have you been here all this time?” I inquired, testing my legs' strength and finding that they hadn’t atrophied at all. Or my body simply was better at recovering than a regular mortal. Perhaps I really should rethink that ‘goddess’ thing, this certainly was an eye-opener.

My sister snorted grumpily to herself, tensing up. “Yes...” she grumbled, holding me a bit tighter. I could understand her frustration, I also had almost given up on ever finding her and Tia again. Almost. “I tried making my way down to the foot of the mountain only to end back up at the top, somehow. Summer, what is going on?”

“I wish I could pretend I didn’t know, Lulu,” I sighed. “There is an... 'entity', I suppose... that bends reality to his every whim. He is far more powerful than you could possibly imagine. His name is Discord and he says he is the Lord of Chaos. Think about how we felt around Yu’lon and then you get somewhat close to how powerful he is. His body... it is the strangest thing you could ever perceive without going mad.”

“So, this Discord... he isn’t an eldritch abomination from the Void in Between, then?” she asked and I shrugged. I mean, I was sure he wasn’t but one could never be sure.

“Pah, those would never be as handsome as moi,” the voice of Discord rang out before said... whatever he was... appeared. Luna shrieked, blasting him with an overpowered lance of arcane energy and he simply snapped his fingers, changing it into a harmless swarm of butterflies. Both my sister and I stared in shock at his casual display of power, but it wasn’t entirely surprising. “Now, now, Princess. No need to be rude. You’re almost as bad as my cousin, and she has a mean temper, let me tell you. Maybe I should introduce you to her. I’m sure she would just ‘love’ to meet you.” He snickered in a sort of mean-spirited way.

“What the..?” Luna muttered before shaking her head, recomposing herself. A second later, she was standing protectively in front of me, an angry snort directed at the chaos entity before us. “What do you want?!”

“Oh, nothing too terribly important, dear Moonbutt,” he said, waving his paw nonchalantly. “I just came by to see how two of those pesky princesses were doing that are ‘supposed’ to defeat me. You are doing a terrible job so far, I have to say. I had hoped to have a little bit more fun with you. Tsk, tsk. Good fun is so hard to get these days...”

“You little..!” Luna growled and I held her back from doing something to him before he started to think he needed to actually do something to get rid of us properly. As long as he wasn’t thinking we were a threat to him, we might still find a way to defeat him.

“Ooh! It seems to me like somepony might have a little anger management problem, no?” Discord asked, grinning at my sister as we glared back at him, peeved. Not that he was concerned by our attitude. Instead of provoking my sister further, he turned to me next, studying me for a moment. "You look different, my little Supernova. Have you redecorated? I liked the old look better. Such a shame.”

My eyelid twitched at that. “What do you mean, redecorated?! I’m back to normal! And isn’t that the wrong word to describe this?” I shot back, indignantly. "You have a lot of nerve!"

“Pfft! Why use words for their intended purposes when you can get creative? You ponies get so upset over the simplest things. Language is such a beautiful thing, ever-changing, ever-adapting... how could you not change it up every once in a while?” he shrugged. “Anyway, I see you found each other! Sisters at long last reunited! Well, two out of three, at least. Good luck finding that other one, not that it will do you any good if you can’t leave the mountain. Might want to think outside of the box if you ever hope to get back to your precious sister. Or should I say, wife? Such a naughty pony, you are. Ah, well! Can’t give you more tips than that, Princess.”

“Can’t you just let us go?” I asked and he laughed like I just told him the greatest joke. He shook his head, saying something along the lines of ‘Where would be the fun in that’ and left with a snap of his fingers, his laughter lingering for a moment.

So, it seemed like we were stuck here. No wonder I never found Luna on my travels if she couldn’t escape the mountain. That left me wondering where Celestia was, all alone on her own.

Most likely also trapped somewhere from where she couldn’t escape. Discord wouldn’t have simply put Luna in a glorified prison and left Celestia and me free to do what we wanted. So there must be more to this predicament than meets the eye.

Now that I think about it, I probably would have also been stuck for eternity in the forest if I hadn’t turned around to backtrack. I could have gone on and on or I could have simply given up and stayed in the same spot, never having been able to find my way out of the forest.

There was a method to this insane chaos and I was sure we could find the ‘exit’ if we were determined enough. The obvious choice would be to go back up to the peak of the mountain and try from there. I told Luna of my thoughts and she thought they were plausible enough to give them a try.

The thing is, we couldn’t just go without a proper plan. And going down the mountain to cheat would probably be against whatever rules Discord imposed on Luna (and now on myself as well). If we wanted our freedom back from this forsaken rock of a mountain, we would need to play his game and overcome the challenge.

Suffice to say, it was a crappy game.

First things first, we need food to last us the difficult climb up the mountain, which meant... ugh, we needed to go out hunting. Luna was right, in such an environment we couldn’t simply look for vegetables or even fish. Aside from chocolate milk snow, there wasn't a lot of variety we could have chosen from that was remotely appropriate for a vegetarian diet.

I would have been fine with eating fish rather than... cute bunnies and the like. We have been eating fish since we were foals and it was widely accepted among ponies to eat those since most aquatic animals have, for the most part, no semblance of sentience. Animals of the mammal variety in Equestria were capable of (somewhat) complex thoughts and emotions, which made this more than horrible in multiple ways. Most mammals in this world could be categorized as self-aware in the (very) early stage of evolution, and if given the chance, they might start forming their own civilizations in a couple of thousand years once they leave behind their primitive origins. For now, they were still (more or less) instinct driven and unable to communicate with ponies (aside from myself, as far as I know).

Another thing we needed was something to keep us warm. Luna already had clothing for herself, but we also needed a warm place to sleep. A makeshift tent would (hopefully) keep the blizzard away from us. Maybe we might get lucky enough to get a small window of time when the weather was clear, but I didn’t count on that happening. At least, not for the whole trip.

We had to expect the worst and prepare accordingly. Anything less and we risk the same thing that happened to me. And this time, I’m not sure we would recover as easily without another pony to get us somewhere warm and safe. Evidently, we wouldn’t die, but we couldn’t start recovering if we were buried in snow.

I made a list of all the things we needed, most importantly a sled to make moving the tent and the food easier. And the firewood, for that matter. Luna told me there was a nearby forest in which she usually hunted and gathered the firewood, so that was where we would start gathering materials for our journey.

It took a few weeks until we had enough animal fur to make me sufficiently warm clothing so that I could go out and help her. I wasn’t comfortable with it, far from it, but I sucked it up and told myself it was the lesser evil. Discord needed to be stopped and this was the only way we would get one step closer to that goal.

A goal that seemed impossible to reach. The Elements of Harmony were our only hope and I stubbornly clung to the belief that they would be able to defeat him, even if a small part in the back of my mind worried that it might not be enough. Heck, we didn’t even have an idea of how to use them, either. That would be a worry for later, though. I kinda hoped we would only have to point them at him and they would do the rest for us...

Our little sled was already proving to be invaluable as we gathered as much as we could when we went foraging. We were limited to a few days in the week that we could do so, the blizzard being too harsh most of the time. For hunting, Luna mainly used traps and checked up on them when she made her trip to the forest, occasionally finding a lone animal wandering the forest. I always looked away when she killed them, unable to watch as their life left their little bodies.

I swore I would never eat meat again once we were free of this infernal mountain. While ponies could eat meat, we didn’t need it. And I made sure to complain to Luna every time, getting on her nerves as much as possible about it. She understood why I did, though. She wasn’t a massive fan of how she had to acquire it, either. Or how messy it could be. Although, she had no qualms about eating meat, much to my annoyance.

It seems we had changed quite a lot since the first time we went through Starswirl’s prototype mirror and encountered that dinosaur, sparking the first argument about predator and prey between us. Luna had gotten a lot more pragmatic about it, and while I was very much against discriminating predators, I wasn’t entirely too keen to defend the standpoint that ponies were opportunistic meat-eaters, anymore.

A few months passed until our tent was finished and big enough for us to comfortably sleep in and have enough space for a little campfire to keep us warm. Obviously, the smoke had to go somewhere and we had to think with that in mind as we built our tent. Unsurprisingly, our tent turned out to be bigger than we expected because of that.

“Ready to set out?” Luna asked me and I gave a small nod. Yu’la snuggled herself against me within my clothes as we left the hut behind us, dragging our loaded sled after us.

“Let us hope my suspicions are correct,” I commented, not having to raise my voice as we had chosen a rare clear day to set out specifically for this. The suns up above us were exchanged for the moon and I did my best to ignore the cry of despair and pain from my sun, begging with an agonized scream for me to stop this madness. I wish I could have, but Discord’s magic was too powerful for me to overpower.

I had no idea why Discord was doing this and why he was doing so now of all times. Having seen his eyes, I could tell he was far older than my sisters and I (and that's counting our previous lives, too). I don’t know why, but I had this feeling that he wasn’t merely ‘playing around' for his own amusement. It felt like it was only a pretense to disguise the grander picture that I was unable to see. A cruel picture, at first glance and he would be paying dearly for it if it is the last thing I do.

Our climb up the mountain was arduous and took longer than we had initially anticipated. This was the first time I found myself wishing for a human body instead of my pony body since my rebirth. The climb would have been by far easier with a bipedal form and, while trying to maneuver narrow passages, I realized that ponies weren’t as superior in comparison to humans as I had deluded myself to believe. Just the advantage of having hands alone would have made things a lot easier for us, being able to hold onto the rocky outcroppings in order to avoid falling to our demise. Even the advantage of flight wasn’t a great help as we climbed the mountain. The air was far too thin for us to even consider flying in the first place, and that wasn't even taking the biting wind into consideration.

I suppose the way that the human body is unspecialized in most things is a blessing in itself. It grants humanity the very ability to make any place in the world their home, even if it is such an incredibly hostile place that it would make it difficult for any other creature to survive in. At least, in the way that only those that have adapted to the environment specifically would be able to survive there. Any other creature wouldn’t be able to survive in a place like that, having adapted to an entirely different environment, instead. A human doesn’t have such limitations and therefore made it their strength.

After all, humans are experts in survival. They don’t need claws or a thick coat. Their will to survive no matter what sees them through anything and that is something that literally allowed them to conquer planet Earth. Something ponies couldn’t claim to have accomplished. If we ever could.

We endured our difficulties without complaint, though. Aside from the trials that we went through due to the limitations of our own bodies, there were times when the blizzard got so bad that it actually managed to bury our tent beneath the snow. It was a good thing we had taken more supplies with us than we initially planned, just in case. Otherwise, I’m sure we would have failed in our task a long time ago.

I suppose Discord had a claw in this, too, trying to delay us for as long as he possibly could without outright resorting to killing us. Two months spent in fear and doubt had taken their toll on our supplies and if this wasn’t going to work, we wouldn’t get another chance to escape this mountain.

Every day I had my sights firmly set on the peak of the mountain, desperately hoping that I was right and it would take us away from here. Luna was as exhausted as I was, with the same small light of hope in her eyes praying for a miracle. With each day we came closer to our goal, the weather seemed to get harsher in an effort to keep us away.

But we continued on relentlessly, determined to escape. An escape that wasn’t even a certainty at that point. Although, as we gave a last push in desperation (our supplies were mostly depleted due to the delays), we finally made it and were met with a familiar sight.

Luna stood next to me and Yu’la flitted out from underneath the confines of the animal fur covering my body as the chocolate milk snow clinging on to me started to melt while we looked out at the warped ocean. The sounds of crashing waves came from beneath us as we stood near the edge of the cliff I had first found myself at during the beginning of Discord’s reign.

I shook off the animal fur, stroking it sadly. The animals that had to die because of this made a brave sacrifice, one I would never forget. As soon as I was able to dream again, there would be an eternal reminder of my sins waiting for me.

My sister helped me make a small gravestone for all the poor animals we had to kill, placing it there at the edge of the cliff while we buried the fur and tent beneath the earth as a last tribute. Luna was at least sympathetic enough to not say anything about it, honoring my wish to give each and every animal that had to give their lives for us a proper send-off.

Never in my life had I been so happy to gorge myself on confections made of ninety-nine percent sugar before this day, finally not having to rely on the flesh of animals for sustenance anymore.

We were free of one prison, but we only exchanged one for the other. As long as the world continued to stay in a state like this, we would never truly be free. This was only a false freedom, for a mad god still sat on his throne able to do whatever he wanted.

Luna and I made ourselves right at home in the little hide-out I made so long ago now. She, Yu'la, and I recovered from the ordeal of constantly freezing our flanks off and having to fear for our lives, finally able to rest easy at ‘night’ without one of us having to stay awake to tend to the fire.

Our journey was long from over, though. A month of recuperating was the only length of time we gave ourselves before we headed out to search for Celestia and our castle.

There was one big problem with that, though. We basically had no idea of where to go as we traveled through a discorded world. Everything looked different enough from five years ago that I couldn’t even tell in which direction the Griffon Empire was that I accompanied Greta to.

I dearly hope my first griffon friend was doing okay in this mess. I’d hate for her to become just another victim of this mad world. I dare not think of the numbers the final death toll will show once this nightmare is finally over. If it will ever come to an end, that is. I still had my doubts about that. It was hard to stay optimistic and believe in the Elements' ability to deal with Discord when all we faced was nothing more than suffering wherever we went.

And that suffering was just as bad now as it was then. Maybe it was even worse, to be honest. It was hard to tell when it was already pretty crappy before and Discord didn’t seem to change much in his method of chaos. Which was kind of a contradiction to what chaos was supposed to be, I absentmindedly noted as we came across the same dancing buffalos I had seen in their ballerina outfits when all of this had first started. It was mildly disturbing to see them so... nonchalant about it.

“This is even weirder seeing it with my own eyes,” Luna said, watching them uneasily as they got way too close for comfort. “And you went through this for three years without going mad, sister?”

“You get used to it, weirdly enough,” I sighed, continuing to trot on as Yu’la chirped from within my saddlebags, poking her head out while munching on a jade gemstone that we had found a small cluster of a week or so into our journey to find Celestia. I gave the little dragon a smile, shaking my head. “Don’t eat too much, darling. I doubt we will find new ones anytime soon.”

Yu’la ignored my words, however, instead burying herself back into the bags with a defiant growl. Luna snickered at the little munching noises coming from the little dragon (they even got more exaggerated in a very childish way). “You know how she gets with those, Sunny. It’s been five years since she had some, let her have them.”

“I’m just worried she will get a tummy ache,” I admitted, sighing. “I can’t say enough how grateful I am to you for looking after her, Lulu.”

Luna smiled as she nuzzled me affectionately and I leaned into it. “You worry too much,” she said. “And you don’t have to thank me for something as simple as this. She is family, after all.”

“I’m glad you think so,” I said, smiling back at her. “If only we can find our other missing family member...”

“Indeed...” Luna agreed, frowning slightly. “There aren’t even any rumors of her whereabouts. How are we supposed to find Celestia in this mess? It's like searching for a needle in a haystack if the haystack is made out of needles and the one you’re searching for isn’t even in it.”

That might as well be true, I suppose. We couldn’t even reliably navigate our way around the land without getting lost every few days or weeks. I sighed, looking sadly at my Moon. “Honestly? I’m beginning to think the only way to find her is for us to stumble into her on pure chance.”

“The universe isn’t that kind to us, sister.”

“One can hope...”

That was, after all, the only thing that still managed to give us the strength of will to go on. Sometimes it appeared so bleak that hope might as well have ceased to exist, but we continued on. We had to remain steadfast and persevere, maintaining our belief that we would someday see the world return to normal. We had to hope that the Elements of Harmony could accomplish that which we ourselves couldn’t.

To make matters worse, my knowledge of the monsters Discord had created was pitifully out of date, much to my chagrin. Luna and I had to fight off chimeras of a thousand different variations, more often than not having to run away for safety as everything we did showed next to no effect against them. Heck, even throwing trees at them only slowed them down for a few moments, at best.

Alas, months passed and we came no closer to figuring out where Celestia was. And months turned to years with no change. Neither were we able to find our sister or our castle, the only hope of defeating Discord being found in the cavern beneath it.

It was incredibly frustrating to both Luna and myself. Discord didn’t leave us alone for most of the time we traveled through this hellhole of a world, mocking us for our failure to locate our sister. The draconequus, as we learned his species was called while he gloated to us, oftentimes made us into his personal toys, enacting twisted stories that I swear he shouldn’t have been aware of in the first place. Like some of the things that we vaguely remembered from our time on Earth or even Azeroth. We had to reenact these stories for him without getting a say in it, sometimes being literally used as puppets in a puppet show of his own design. He made tons of obscure references and expected us to understand them, all the while doing his best to make our lives miserable.

He even sent us to the moon and back in a cardboard space shuttle labeled 'Apollo the 2nd' (after crossing out the eight with red paint). There even was a fake movie set as he filmed our 'adventure'.

Of course, the ass laughed his behind off as he made me stumble out of the 'spacecraft' as I was supposed to say my line and whatnot. So... now the moon had an imprint of my butt instead of my hoof on it...

I really hate that noodle dragon snake.

In the end, we somehow managed to escape his sight long enough to get lost in an underground cavern. Massive reflective crystals arranged in some kind of maze-like formation made us run into walls more often than I cared to admit. If it weren’t for the glowing mushrooms that proved to be edible, we would have long since starved to ‘kinda-sorta-ish’ death as we searched for an exit.

Those mushrooms, while edible, also had strange effects when we ate them. Some made us grow taller while others shrunk us down. I could tell that Discord was painfully making it obvious that this cavern was a reference to Wonderland and how Alice could, by consumption of certain foods, change herself in the same way. Through the Looking-Glass, indeed.

We might have spent one or two years (or four, five, six years, I wasn’t that certain, our estrus cycle was a bit... wobbly) bumbling around in that maze, trying to figure out the layout of the maze that, as we found out, also shifts around. It was no wonder that we had a hard time trying to get out of there. Discord probably set us up to end up here, hoping we would never make it out to freedom.

By my estimations, about fifteen years must have passed since his reign started and we were no closer to ending it when this all began. His reign might even last for much longer, should we be well and truly trapped in this mirror maze.

Although, as I found myself being shaken awake from slumber by my darling dragon, there was a tiny glimmer of hope coming back to me as she presented me with a little bunny, a clock hanging from its neck. Perhaps Discord got tired of us ‘losing’ to the maze and wanted to throw us a clue as to how we could get out.

Luna, as I roused her from her own slumber, gave the bunny a death glare. She had been as fessed up about this maze as I was, and this obvious continuous mocking from Discord had been making her more irritable over the years.

“Does he really expect us to follow the rabbit?” she asked me grouchily and I shrugged, rather reluctant to distrust the cute little bunny. On one hoof, it was probably a trap (a cute trap, but a trap nonetheless) and on the other, it was the only change in who knows how long we have been stuck here, so I was inclined to just... go with it and hope for the best.

“It can’t hurt to try. We can’t get any more lost than we already are, right?” I suggested and she snorted, although she came around as I gave her a gentle nuzzle. So we told Yu’la to let go of the bunny and immediately started to follow it, not letting it leave our sight for one second.

“I swear... if we run across Alice as a pony,” Luna muttered and I giggled, trying to picture how said mare (or filly, depending on how old she would be) would look. We might even run across the Cheshire Cat, which would be totally awesome. Maybe.

On second thought, the Cheshire Cat might turn out to be a crazy monster just as bad (if not worse) than Discord. This world was already horrifying enough with one mad creature nudging things along. Or literally pulling the strings on ponies in an improvised 'puppet theater' in Discord's case (seriously, one time he got bored enough with us not following the 'script', he made Luna play as a very handsome 'prince' and me as the mute seapony maiden falling in love with each other while we flopped around like fish on land).

Anyway! As we followed the little bunny, we sometimes had to eat from the mushrooms in order to fit through the gaps in between some of the crystals. Eventually, we came upon a different section of the labyrinth we had never encountered before. Smack dab in the middle of the massive cavernous chamber was a forest, massive glowing mushrooms standing next to short, dense trees. Leaves were falling in a constant state of autumn, seemingly evaporating once they touched the ground. Every time they did, new leaves would grow on the tree's branches before they would also fall down, renewing the cycle all over again.

From within the forest, we could make out a faint sound of rushing water and a bright light peeking through the foliage that could have been mistaken for sunlight. Thinking we might be able to escape, we started to gallop toward the forest in anticipation of finally finding an exit.

What we found instead was just as relieving. It wasn’t the exit we have so desperately been hoping for, but it was just as good. Nay, even better. It was our sister.

Celestia sat at a long table, drinking from porcelain cups while simultaneously stuffing her face with one cake after another. As we got closer to her, she didn’t seem to react to our presence at all. It was like she couldn’t even see us. Feeling helpless, we called out to her in the hopes of getting through to her, but much to our dismay, she continued to eat and drink, oblivious to our presence. She hadn’t gained any weight at all from the unhealthy food the flying piggies were serving her, continuously supplying her with cakes and other confections, non-stop.

I was reminded of a dream, one Luna and I had invaded my twin on and dismissed as some kind of fantasy on her part. It wasn’t. The dream had been a vision and we never thought it could come true. Celestia had foreseen the reign of Discord and we had done nothing to prepare for it.

We had been oblivious to the danger it foreshadowed.

It was like a slap to the muzzle for both Luna and myself. We knew about this possible future and ignored the warning. Now, our sister was unresponsive and stuffing her face with baked goods while we could do nothing about it. This here, the table with the tea and cake, the muffins, brownies, and whatnot, was a tea party with no escape once you sat down at it to eat.

“Celestia...” I whimpered sadly in anguish, trying futilely to get her eyes to focus on me as I stood on the table right in front of her. “Please, my love. Can’t you hear my voice?”

No answer came from her as she levitated the fork back to her mouth, a piece of Sacher torte sitting on a plate in front of her. I tried taking it away, only for another plate to take its place a moment later, brought to the table by those infernal servants in the form of flying pigs (they looked deceptively cute with their cartoonish proportions, only to hide evil incarnate behind those falsely innocent eyes of theirs).

Luna tried to stop them from reaching the table altogether, only to notice that for every pig she held back, two more were making it past her. And as if Discord was personally taunting us, Celestia seemed to devour each pastry even faster than the last as she stared listlessly at them like a soulless puppet. For each cake, donut, and sugary treat she ate, I wept and cried for her to hear my voice, to snap out of it. I wanted my beautifully perverted wife back.

It was all for naught, though. My twin continued to eat, unresponsive to everything except her tea and cake. As long as it was on a platter in front of her (or in a cup), she would eat and drink without pause.

Haah. Her bladder must be made of reinforced iron, seriously.

We couldn’t even get her to leave the chair she sat on. She seemingly stuck to it no matter what we tried and it was a fruitless struggle to get her to stop eating the damn cake. I was ninety-nine percent sure that those were the reason why she was in the state that she was in and each day we failed to get her to snap out of it, we started to try even crazier ideas of how to get her to notice us.

Celestia, on the other hoof, remained unfazed. She didn’t even sleep, as we found out and it made it even harder for us trying to break her out of this suns-forsaken haze. Luna couldn’t command her to go to sleep, either. How does one stop someone from stuffing their face when they don’t even need to sleep and react to nothing but the sugary death on the table?

It was a futile endeavor but we didn't give up. Luna and I tried to find out from where the pigs got the cake, only to find out they literally popped into existence every few seconds from a bright shaft of light we had mistaken for sunlight. They carried trays of confections and tea to our sister like it was their only purpose in life (which, I suppose, might as well have been the case).

As time went on, Luna tried to slaughter the pigs as her frustration grew, only for them to pop up into existence even faster. I tried to use my stare on them, hoping that the intimidation effect of my gift could affect them, but they shrugged it off like it was nothing. It was almost like they weren't even alive, as much of a puppet as my twin has been reduced to.

The pigs continued on and on, shrugging off everything we threw at them like mindless drones. Despite my protests, Luna sacrificed the bunny with the clock in a rage right in front of Celestia, only for her to continue eating her apple pie after it had become covered in the poor animal’s guts and blood.

I didn’t talk to Luna for weeks after that, mourning the loss of the poor, innocent bunny. Despite my misgivings, I couldn’t stay mad at her for long, not after we had to hunt all those animals for survival reasons on the mountain before this. And… it was kinda hard to actually condemn her for getting frustrated enough to lash out at the creature that brought us here without so much as giving us an idea of how we could free our sister from her curse.

One day, just as we were about to run out of ideas (okay, let's be real here, we had run out of ideas a long time ago and were trying out random things by now on the off chance something was going to work), Luna stared at our stash of mushrooms and shrugged, placing one of them on the plate a little piggy was carrying towards Celestia.

The effect wasn’t immediate, although something was obviously happening as our sister grew slightly larger in size. I told Luna to put more of those enlarging mushrooms on the plates that the pigs brought over to my twin, noticing the faintest change in how she behaved and moved.

It was like a little bit of life returned to her eyes. As she started to tower over us, I suspected the dosage of whatever was in those cakes wasn’t enough to affect her increased size. I flew up to my twin’s muzzle, staring into those big orbs of hers with nothing but hope and anticipation.

“Sister?” I asked hesitantly, and, much to my relief, her hazy eyes stopped staring emptily ahead of her for a fraction of a second. Her ear gave a twitch. “It’s me, Summer. Your wife...”

“Sum...mer?” Celestia whispered although the volume of her voice managed to sound like she was speaking quite loudly. I smiled, nodding tearfully while telling her that I was here for her, here to rescue her. “I... Summer..? My wife?”

“Yes, your wife,” I laughed, seeing the life in her eyes start to return fully. It was a massive relief to see her like this, recognizing my voice even as the pigs uselessly piled up one plate of confections after another on the table, completely forgotten by my sister. “Let’s get you out of here, Tia.”

"I... I can go..?” she asked and I nodded, seeing the first tears fall from her face as if she had expected to remain at that table for the rest of her life. Luna offered her the other mushrooms to get her back to a reasonable size as she followed us back to the crack in the wall from where we had originally entered this chamber.

And, as she was back to her regular size and went through the crack with us, we didn’t come back out within the maze, but instead, we found ourselves back at the cliff. Always that cliff...

Seeing the sky again (even if it was all wonky and nauseatingly distorted so close to the twisting ocean), caused all of us to let out a happy laugh in relief. I dragged my sisters into a feathery embrace and we stayed there, hugging each other as we couldn't believe our luck. We were free at last from that infernal maze, breathing in fresh air again. And, most importantly, we were finally reunited with each other. Tia told us what had happened to her, thanking us profusely for setting her free.

The day the chaos began, Tia had been waiting for us at the dinner table when, instead of our chefs, a little piggy approached her with a strawberry cheesecake. Celestia didn't think much of it, finding it rather cute and adorable as it stared at her with expectant eyes. She had assumed it was some sort of hidden romantic gesture from me, so she took the cake and ate it with a flutter in her chest.

Then came the next piggy, offering her a blueberry muffin and a crystal berry tea. After that, things started to get worse for her as she automatically reached out to the chocolate chip cookies another pig served her. Before she knew what was happening, she was already eating the glazed donuts brought to her by the next piggy. On and on this went until she was a mere spectator in her own body.

The memories blurred together after a while and she had no idea when she ended up in that cave, already having retreated further into her mind as her despair and depression grew. It was only when we came along and Luna tried her idea out on a whim that she gradually noticed a change and my voice guided her back into the real world.

A world that was in desperate need of our help. Tia agreed with us that our only hope was to find the Elements of Harmony once she saw what had become of our once peaceful nation. At first, she didn’t believe us when we told her Discord was behind all of this, that he was a genuine god of chaos and mischief, finding it difficult to accept that a single creature was capable of rewriting reality on such a large scale. But as she saw him toying with our subjects while we tried to stay out of his sight (I wasn’t certain we truly managed to do so, one never knew with Discord), she couldn’t deny our claims.

And it gave her a target to concentrate her anger on. It gave her a goal to work towards. A need to bring Discord to justice and restore harmony to our world, just as much as Luna and I wanted to bring him down to his knees and spit him in his stupid smug mug. And I wanted him to suffer like he made my sister suffer, trapped in her own mind. He would know the horror of his own body disobeying his will, even if I have to break every single bone in his body over and over…

The self-proclaimed Lord of Chaos had managed to piss all of us off at the same time and we wouldn’t rest until we had the Elements of Harmony in our possession and used them on him. After that? Well, I have no idea what they will do to him, but I'm sure it won't be enough...

Thus, we searched. We searched and stayed as hidden as much as we could manage. We flew until we were exhausted, we fought monsters until we had to drag ourselves to safety, and we saved as many ponies as we could from every threat imaginable (and, much to our dismay, unimaginable).

We traveled and traveled, crossed mountains and rivers, braved perils nopony should… until we felt a tugging on our magic, that is. Curious as to what was calling out to us, we followed the sensation to where all of this started for us. The damn cliff.

I should have known Discord would pull something like this, making us travel all over the place and once he got bored of that, we would get drawn to the one place we never expected we should go back to. I should have known better, I suppose.

So, seeing that we were back to square one, except with skills and magic honed by experience and life-and-death situations alike, we only had one direction left to explore. A direction I never previously considered.

To go forward, one must be willing to take a step backward...

Haah… jumping off of cliffs isn't exactly my idea of 'fun'. Especially with my back turned to the frankly frighteningly steep drop. But what can I do? For some reason, I knew Discord made the puzzle of returning home for us in such a way we would never consider doing it if we were remotely sane.

Well... fuck him. I have survived this hellhole for how long now? I can't say I was exactly sound in mind after all the crazy shit I had to go through. Survival instincts? What are those? The only thing that mattered was defeating that ugly goat noodle.

One leap of faith later, we found ourselves back at the place we had longed to return to for such a long time. The Everfree Forest was a welcome sight, shining like a beacon of hope, never having looked more welcoming to us. We were finally home.

The dark forest seemingly remained unchanged. The gnarly trees gave us a certain sense of safety, despite their appearance. This forest of unparalleled danger was, in contrast to the world of Discord’s design, almost inviting in comparison.

As we flew over it, it became blatantly obvious what has been calling out to us over such a long distance. By now, the faint feeling had become an unbearably strong pull on us, demanding our presence as we came closer and closer to the source.

The sight of the Tree of Harmony has never before been as incredible and breathtaking as it was right now. Luna let out a relieved sigh, basking in its presence as we neared it.

“Here we are,” I smiled, placing a hoof on the star as I flew up to the tree with my sisters. “This is our only hope in defeating Discord. Please, let this work...”

“Are you sure the Elements of Harmony will be enough, sister?” Luna asked me a bit unsurely and I gave the tree a determined look. It has to. “We don’t know what will happen to the tree if we take them away from here.”

“Even without the Elements, the tree will remain strong enough to keep the Everfree Forest in check,” Celestia said, sounding so sure of it that I knew it had to be so. There was no way it couldn’t be so, right? “It is made of powerful magic.”

“If you’re sure,” Luna said, only marginally reassured by her words.

“We are,” I smiled, sending a bit of magic into the tree and one after another, the gemstones that made up the Elements of Harmony came free from the tree. “This has to work against Discord. We can’t afford to doubt this now, our subjects depend on us. Let us put an end to his reign.”

Two gems floated over to Luna, while another three similarly shaped ones came over to me. Celestia received one simple gemstone from one of its branches, but another came from behind the star as the bark opened to release the final Element in the form of a gemstone shaped like a magenta star.

The presence of Kindness, Generosity, and Hope had my very being filled with a renewed vigor, revitalizing me in ways I never experienced before. The same was true for Celestia and Luna as their Elements also filled them with strength.

Within the presence of those former alicorns turned powerful artifacts, I could tell that they were far more powerful than Discord could ever hope to be. My own magic was finally able to reconnect properly with my sun, flooding my body with a long-forgotten might that greeted me like an old friend.

I hadn’t realized how much of my mana pool had slowly drained away without having my sun provide more for me. I had almost used up all of my reserves over the years that I hadn’t been connected to the sun in the proper way. My 'death' had probably drained the majority of it... had I been more careless, I might have not made it.

It was as much confirmation that I was still mortal... but also not quite. I was more than that, all thanks to my bond with the Red Sun. A mortal goddess...

My overly happy sun welcomed me joyously back as I took control of her from Discord. Wounds and such were nothing more than simple scrapes now. The thrum of arcane energy wasn’t near that of the Elements, but it didn’t need to be. We stored the Elements in our saddlebags and mentally prepared ourselves for what was to come (I had to tell Yu’la that the green crystal representing Hope wasn’t a jade she could eat... that dragon, I swear).

“Ready for the final confrontation, sisters?” Celestia asked, drawing upon her magic in preparation for a powerful spell. Luna gave her a nod and I let out a hum with a smile.

It took Celestia only a single moment of concentration before she teleported us to the nearest point she sensed the Lord of Chaos at. With our might fully restored, our very beings cried out against the wrongness of what Discord did to the world and directed us to his position like a painful stab in the back of our minds.

With a flash and crack of displaced air, we appeared not too far away from the chaos god as he sat on his throne with his back to us. As we approached him, his throne turned eerily around to face us once we were close enough to him. Discord laughed with mirth, not at all put off by us seeking him out.

“Isn’t this fun, Princesses?” he chuckled, a grin perpetually etched on his muzzle. “How about a game of pin the tail on the pony?”

As he held up the tail of my twin, I stared in disbelief at the blank spot where Celestia’s should have been, bones and all. Luna was just as baffled as I was, while Celestia let out a low growl after she gasped in shock.

“No? How about...” Discord began but Celestia wasn’t having any of it.

“Playtime is over for you, Discord,” she told him while we glared up at him. The draconequus was munching without much concern from something that looked like a bag of seeds, carelessly throwing the seeds all over the place. I snorted, feeling one of my eyelids twitch as some of them bounced off of us. He totally did that on purpose.

“Oh, I doubt that, Sunbutt,” he commented, seemingly getting off on those seeds (I doubted they were 'that' good, but he was weird like that). They didn’t look like they were supposed to be edible, whatever those seeds even were. Not that he would care about something like that, I guess.

I stomped my hooves on the pink and purple tiled ground, wings flaring out in anger. “Your reign ends now, Discord,” I said with a snort. “You have caused enough suffering.”

Discord gave us a haughty smile in amusement. “My, my, you're so sure of yourselves,” he said, a skeptical look in his red pupils. “What makes you so confident about that, hmm?”

“These,” Celestia answered, levitating out her Elements while Luna and I did the same for ours. “The Elements of Harmony.”

He smirked. “So, you’ve got some shiny trinkets,” Discord retorted while rolling his eyes. “Good luck with those.”

Suddenly, I felt an uneasy feeling settle over me as he looked totally unfazed by their presence, but I didn’t let that make me falter. It was... strange the way he looked at them. As if he knew exactly what they were. Or rather, who they were.

…they had to work, I told myself. He was only playing mind games with us, there was no way he couldn’t feel the sheer power contained within those gemstones. The last remnants of the alicorn race of old. If he truly is as old as I thought he was, he must know about them, right?

So... why did I feel like he was purposefully sitting there doing nothing to stop us while we held this ultimate trump card in our grasp? Why did I feel like he knew exactly what was going to happen? There is no way he would just... stay here and do nothing. It didn’t make any sense.

Well, if there is one thing he always insisted on, it’s his unpredictableness (even though his chaos was sometimes very much predictable, to a painful degree).

One by one, the Elements started to circle us until they got so fast they were blurring together. Discord just laughed at us, finding amusement in our stern expressions as we glared up at him from where we stood. It has to work, I told myself with a shaky breath, gulping my fear back down where it belonged. Discord can’t stand against the power of the Elements of Harmony and be unaffected, it... it has to work. It just has to. Please.

A faint whisper of my sun called out to me and I noticed Luna’s moon and Celestia’s sun were doing the same to my sisters. A reassuring whisper was all I needed to shake off this fear of uncertainty that plagued me. My sun was here with me, nothing could go wrong now that I had her back. I decided to act upon my instincts, letting my sun guide me as we worked together with my sisters and their heavenly bodies, and not a moment later we stood perfectly underneath a twin solar eclipse.

Maybe Discord should have taken us seriously as the world itself made the Elements of Harmony into its voice, calling forth a vortex of rainbow-colored magic. The eclipse in the sky amplified our own power and with a single thought, we told the Elements to bring down their full might on Discord and make him unable to cause more havoc and restore reality to what it was supposed to be.

The Elements answered our call, gladly bringing down their wrath on the child playing god. Because that was what Discord was to them, a child toying with things he shouldn’t be toying with.

And, as if waking up from a bad dream, the world around us was returned to a state before Discord’s reign started, his influence over reality broken. All that remained of him was a statue forever frozen in an eternal laugh. I could still feel a faint trace of his presence, but it was so subtle one could easily miss it.

A tiny part in the back of my mind shivered as I felt like he was satisfied, happy even. I couldn’t fathom why he would feel like that, it made no sense. Puzzling over this would do me no good, though. It would only drive me crazy trying to understand the enigma that was Discord.

“It’s finally over,” I whispered, feeling afraid this was only an elaborate trick, an illusion. I slumped down to the ground as nothing happened to take this victory away from us. It was like a weight on my shoulders was lifted once I realized we had actually done it.

Discord couldn’t do anything anymore as a lawn ornament. He was defeated. We won.

As I looked around, though, I noticed that the ground underneath us had remained in the chessboard pattern. Thankfully, I could see the end of that not too far away from where we were, almost having started to panic in my confusion. This land would forever be one last reminder that Discord had, for twenty or so years, reigned over the entire world with his chaotic magic.

Magic that I was pretty sure must have been a remnant of the being that Hope and her siblings had battled. I mean... it had to be so, right? How else could he be so powerful?

But... what if it wasn’t a remnant like I thought and, instead, something else entirely? He talked about eldritch horrors as if they were beneath him, why would he talk like that if his own magic was only a remnant of the most hideous being to ‘grace’ this universe?

Anyway, worrying about this would do me no good, so I did my best to leave it be. After all... our nightmare has, at long last, ended. Now we could begin to rebuild. Why worry about things that don’t need to concern us anymore?

A faint laughter echoed from the statue and I swore I would put him in an open place within the city of Canterlot and tell every bird I could find to take a dump on him as a reminder of his failed reign. He deserved way worse than that, but it would be a start.

We will see if he still is in the mood of laughing after a thousand years trapped in his own mind, the bastard.

Author's Notes:

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Chapter 014 - Luna! You were supposed to bring the food and firewood!

Normalcy... I had hoped it would return as soon as we defeated Discord, thinking that with him gone, everything would go back to how it was before his chaotic reign. Sadly, it did not. Far from it, even.

A lot of our ponies were frightened, afraid that this was only a trick of the mind. The fear was more than understandable. Heck, I also felt more than a bit paranoid that this was only a false sense of security and that he would return at any moment if I wasn't watchful enough. Even with the proof of his defeat in the form of the petrified draconequus, our ponies felt like a monster was about to jump them out of nowhere.

That might as well have been the case, for a lot of the chimeras Discord created were still roaming around, hungry for fresh meat. A hunger that primarily targeted the flesh of our poor little ponies. Tartarus gained a lot more inmates following our clean-up of the mess left behind. Alas, we couldn’t catch every creature on the loose, for we needed to deal with far more annoyances coming from the nobility, itself.

One might think they would give us a moment of reprieve, but sadly, that wasn’t the case. They wanted to declare us unfit to rule, having taken so long to bring Discord down from his throne. Thankfully, there was also a faction within the nobility that argued against those power-hungry, conservative morons, saying we earned our right to rule even more so now with the Elements of Harmony on our side. We were the ones that liberated the ponies of Equestria (and the rest of the world, for that matter).

Then, there was the painful truth that a lot of our ponies had died as a result of Discord’s shenanigans. That also meant some of our friends weren’t here to support us anymore. Although, that was more the fault of the twenty or so years that had passed. Old age had taken away Smart Cookie and Pansy from us, something that seemed almost... surreal to me.

I never thought I would just wake up and they would be gone. All this time, I denied the possibility of... not being there for them. Sure, I knew the day would eventually come, hard not to since everypony around us grew older while the signs of age kept eluding us, but... I always thought I would spend every moment of their life next to them and ease their passing with a familiar, friendly face. Instead, I missed a big chunk of it and failed to protect them when they needed me most. At least Clover was still alive...

The old stallion (this feels really weird to say, seeing that we were barely older than him) wouldn’t make it much longer, though. A few years at most, maybe. Even he wasn't exempt from the passage of time. His time was nearing its end and he refused to make use of Starswirl's old, faulty time-travel spell. Not that I could fault him, he was growing weary of life...

Haah... this was honestly one of the only things I couldn't quite empathize with. Despite a few moments of fatigue here and there, I still felt barely older than the day we met him and Starswirl. Now that I thought about it, it didn’t feel like we had gotten any older since our coronation, really. Wiser, perhaps. But older? Certainly not in body. We were almost eighty and it didn’t show one bit.

Not to mention, we still behaved like immature twenty-year-olds that procrastinated learning for exams until the very last day because there were other things taking up our attention on a day-to-day basis. That, and goofing off whenever one of us managed to convince the others to take a day off or two (or three). Which, let's be honest here, was mainly because Luna got bored out of her mind, doing paperwork.

Always the dreaded paperwork...

Anyway, aside from most of our friends being... gone... we also heard no words whatsoever about Platinum’s whereabouts, though I suspected she was gone as well by now. If not, she would be in the next few years for sure.

Besides Pansy and Smart Cookie (as well as Hurricane and Puddinghead, bless his scatter-brained head), Starswirl was also gone. Well, we didn’t actually know for certain and he shouldn’t have been dead due to his time-travel spell, but we received no words from him at all. Nothing from him that could tell us what had happened to our mentor. I didn’t want to go search his personal belongings in Canterlot for the off-chance he had written something down that might give us a clue. If he was still alive (which was the most likely possibility), he would skin me alive for snooping. And then give me even more research assignments to do because why not?

Not to mention, I still haven't started on his last assignment and I was kinda twenty years tardy on that. Understandably so, but... still. The old coot really takes these assignments seriously and they are no joke. Merely being disappointed wouldn't do his reaction enough justice, I fear...

Ah, well... it's not like he was breathing down my neck and Celestia (very conveniently) convinced me not to send a search party for him. We needed all the resources we could spare to fix our nation. Besides, it would have been a wasted effort, anyway. If Starswirl wanted to come home, he would come home.

It was a hard year for us, immediately following the end of Discord’s mad reign. Houses were destroyed or misplaced, cities and villages were in ruin, and morale was incredibly low. Everywhere I went, ponies were mourning the loss of their loved ones or desperately hoped a missing child, sibling, or parent would come back home to them.

More often than not, our subjects were crestfallen to receive only a coffin instead. Missing cases piled up in the thousands and despite the fact that the world had returned to normal, chaos remained. Not Discord’s chaos, but the chaos that came from a broken nation.

Starvation was just one of the more common problems we had to deal with. There was little food left and Celestia, Luna, and I tried our best to provide as much as possible to our ponies without running out of what little reserves there were. More often than not, even we went to bed on an empty stomach. It was an eye-opening experience, only ever having heard stories of how bad something like a post-war world could get. That was the best analogy I could come up with.

Diseases were not far behind as some of our ponies tried their luck with spoiled or rotten food and things they found out in the wilderness. Diseases, starvation, and bad hygiene were a bad mix, and at times, I feared we wouldn’t have a nation left for much longer.

The medicine of a fabled healer (I think her name was Meadowbrook or something) was the only hope we had to give our ponies a chance at survival, much less recovery. The stories told about the healer certainly spoke of promising results... if only a pony like that wasn’t a story and was actually here to help us. A legendary healer would have been nice to have the support of, in times like these.

As it was, the remedies and cures passed on from pony to pony by word of mouth, attributing their effectiveness to the pony that allegedly discovered them (one that probably never existed in the first place, let's be real here), were the only things we could work with in an effort to save as many as we could. Celestia tried finding healing spells within the libraries of both Canterlot and our own castle, only to come up empty-hooved for anything that wasn’t an injury.

The thought of continuing to search for Earth or any other dimension that had a bit more advanced healing methods available was a thought I entertained many nights, but we simply didn’t have the time to spare on something that would take us years to accomplish without Starswirl’s help. For better or for worse, we were on our own and we had to come to terms with that.

Help wouldn’t come from outside our own reality, that much was certain. Without Starswirl to make new mirrors, the only mirror we could use to visit multiple realities would be the prototype mirror. Celestia might be able to work something out in regards to that should we really get desperate enough, but she would be of more use to us and our ponies if she continued to keep the nation in one piece together with us.

Trying to keep morale high enough when your subjects were obviously suffering and dying was a fool’s errand. The other nations surrounding us weren’t better off, so we at least didn’t have to fear one of them getting bold enough to invade us for land and resources. That would have been something we were ill-equipped to deal with at the moment (while we were on good terms with the deer, for example, I'd rather not get into a fight with King Aspen about who rightfully 'owned' the Everfree Forest again...). We couldn’t spare enough of our soldiers to also fend off an enemy from the outside (or inside, as the case might be) while most of them were currently helping rebuild the homes of our ponies.

There was a lot of damage that needed to be repaired and night-time had become far more dangerous with all sorts of monsters roaming around freely. Heck, even during the daylight hours it was risky to leave the village without being in a group and carrying weapons for defense.

It wasn’t only the monsters prowling around our land that posed a danger to our subjects, though. No, I wish I could say otherwise, but sadly, I had to admit the truth to myself as much as it pained me to do so. Ponies, as I found out, were still very much capable of banditry. The last time such a thing had been a problem had been the time when the wendigos had caused an eternal winter. Now, with our nation pretty much in shambles, some thought they could take advantage of their fellow ponies while our guards were stretched out thin enough as it is.

Luna had been doing her best to deal with them whenever news reached us of banditry in the nearby settlements. Oftentimes she would take a detail of our best-trained agents with her to... ahem, take care... of the bandits, Night Fang proving to us that she was still as deadly as ever (and just as sadistic, for that matter).

Sometimes I saw her come home with arrows still sticking out of her, the projectiles only causing her a ‘minor’ discomfort (those were her words, not mine). Despite my misgivings about her going out again, I patched her up after sternly berating her to be more careful next time. It hurt my heart more to see the arrows embedded in her flesh like that than it caused discomfort to her, but still... I couldn't help but worry. I know that alicorns could withstand a lot before succumbing to their wounds, but that still didn’t give her a free pass to start becoming reckless. I’d rather have her safe and sound, locked away in our bedroom so she wouldn’t go out risking her life, but that wouldn’t make our nation safer.

Not to mention, she would be hella mad at me for coddling her to the point of wrapping her up in multiple layers of bubble wrap (figuratively speaking, of course). She was a thrill-seeker through and through with a strong sense of justice. There was no telling her not to risk her well-being when there were innocent ponies depending on her.

Then, one sad night, it was time to say goodbye to Clover, our last friend that was still with us since we started on the path as princesses (I only wish he could stay longer with us...). Celestia couldn’t stand the sight of him slowly losing his strength and buried herself in work instead while Luna and I offered him some company.

“Who would have thought how far you would have come after all these years?” Clover chuckled, wheezing slightly. “From the three awkward young mares barely knowing what they were doing most of the time to these strong dependable rulers keeping a nation on the brink of ruin from falling apart. Fate really has a strange kind of humor...”

“Clover,” I whispered gently, stroking his mane softly as he struggled to take in more air. “Don’t talk too much, you should conserve your energy.”

“Princess,” he began, coughing for a moment. “My... ahh... my time is already upon me, a few seconds won’t change much. There is something you need to know...” Luna and I waited for him to get his breath back in order and once he did, Clover brought over a scroll with a shaky telekinetic grip. “A few years ago, before Discord came, I tried my hoof at a spell meant to write out a prophecy for the future... you should read it... and I’m sorry I kept it from you for so long.”

I looked him in the eye, hesitantly taking the scroll from him and unfurling it in front of Luna and me.

“Where did you even get a spell like that?” Luna asked him and I hummed with interest myself. Such spells were hard to come by, even for us.

“I don’t know,” Clover admitted quietly. “A strange stallion said I dropped something and there the spell was. He had the weirdest type of clothing that seemed strangely out of place.”

Luna hummed. “Interesting,” she muttered. I nodded in agreement and returned my eyes to the unfurled prophecy in front of us, fearful of what it would say. Clover had almost seemed reluctant to give it to us, something that was surely a bad sign.

“On the longest day of the thousandth year, a lost sister shall be reunited with her family. For a thousand years, the moon shall be a prison without escape. An unexpected betrayal will force the others to send the one responsible away so they may keep the world safe from her terrible wrath. Her escape shall be aided by the convergence of the three brightest stars and only the touch of true harmony can bring about the end of a nightmare,” I read out loud, my voice getting quieter and quieter. Luna gave me a look and I could tell that the last word had unsettled her very much.

Was this... was this prophecy talking about her? There was no way this would come to pass, definitely not after how much Nightmare Moon had changed from the jealous, bitter mare that we had first encountered within the dream realm. No, I refused to believe such nonsense. Luna wasn’t like that while in her alternate form, not anymore, that much I was sure of.

And Celestia would never betray one of us... so the only possibility that I felt was remotely possible... was myself. I... I wouldn’t ever do such a thing, though. None of us would, for that matter.

I was about to tell Clover that this couldn’t possibly be true, only to meet the sunken, lifeless gaze of our friend. Clover had passed away and I hadn’t even paid attention to him as he breathed his last breath. What kind of friend was I? Tears fell from my eyes in mourning rivers and I sighed in heartbroken agony as Lulu closed his eyes slowly in her own grief.

This prophecy that he gave us... it didn’t have to be about us, right? I would hate for the last thing he did to be a foretelling of our family falling apart. The thought of betraying one of my sisters... I didn’t even want to entertain the thought that Luna or Celestia would do something like that.

Clover, I wish... no... I dearly hope you were wrong about this. Fate be damned, prophecies can't foretell the future for such a long time span. I refuse to believe that!

Luna and I returned to our castle, promising Clover’s daughter we would be there for his funeral. Celestia knew, as soon as we came back in somber moods, that our dear friend was gone for good. I... I couldn’t bring myself to tell her about the supposed prophecy, keeping it hidden from her and telling Luna that it would be for the best if she didn’t know. I couldn’t break Tia’s heart even further, should the prophecy indeed be about one of us.

We held the ceremony for Clover in a similar way that we had held the one for Amore. He deserved at least that much from us and his daughter thanked us for everything we did for her family. For having stayed with him in his last moments, even as she lacked the courage to do so herself. Seeing family die was never easy and Clover felt like the brother we never had.

May he rest in peace or live a grand new life, wherever he was now.

Eventually, our food situation started to resolve itself over the years more and more. The earthponies of our nation worked tirelessly to provide as much as they could grow and the pegasi ponies did wonders with the weather to assist the cultivation of crops as best as they could.

Our own worries were lessened, knowing we would make it through this crisis without starving most of the population to death. Without constantly having to worry about the food lasting us through the winters, we could concentrate more on bringing a stop to the banditry and funding the development of medicines, as well as rebuilding the cities.

We made it a priority to have plumbing be more widespread even in the lesser advanced regions of Equestria. It was a very costly endeavor, though, bits we could only spend sparingly. The advancements in sanitization were still primitive in comparison to what we had on Earth, but it was a start.

In a few decades, maybe a century, this would hopefully be a thing of the past. The first five years after Discord had been defeated were the most difficult, demanding a lot of us and our ponies. We fought through these difficult times with determination, though. At last, the standard of living was improving (if at a slow pace). A few more years and we might come out of this stronger than ever. Our dream of creating a utopia was finally within grasping distance.

Many of the missing cases were also resolving themselves with time, as well. More and more ponies were returning to Equestria from all over the world. A world that gained a name, paying tribute to the species that saved it from the overwhelming chaos. Equis was the name that became the accepted name by most nations in this world.

The griffons raised a fuss for a while and my sisters and I had to work hard to keep them from starting a war with us, explaining to them that it wasn’t our idea and that we could hardly change the opinion of everycreature living on this planet (not that I was inclined to deny them their opinion, it is a nice name).

It was exhausting to deal with the Griffon Empire for any length of time, to be honest. They just never know when to stop complaining about the smallest of things, be it technicalities in treaties or the name of the friggin’ planet. At least they didn’t have the guts to attack our nation again (for now, I have no idea whether or not it will stay that way), remembering quite well how we basically made their old ruler next to useless by making him become dependent on enchanted éclairs.

It served them well as a reminder that ponies aren’t so easily conquered.

Besides, after Queen Novo had quite literally told them to stop being petty chickens, they were less vocal about their displeasure. The hippogriffs, while they were not that big of a nation, had a way of reasoning with the griffons that made them somehow listen to their words over our own pleading words. I wasn't entirely sure how in the world they managed to do that while we failed pretty much entirely in that regard. Perhaps it had something to do with their shared ancestry, I couldn't be entirely certain of that.

All in all, the first 'summit' of the nations of Equis was (somewhat) a success. Not one nation was mad enough to declare war on us outright (something that might have happened with the griffons were it not for their 'cousins', I suspect), so everything went more or less back to normal afterward. The yaks went back to breaking all their stuff for reasons unknown, the minotaurs secluded themselves once more in their 'city' (if one can call that labyrinth of theirs a city), the abyssinians went back to being abyssinians, the deer went back to being haughty night elf rip-offs, the griffons were left to stew in their pettiness, and we got to catch up with Queen Novo (who it turns out was as immortal as we were, go figure).

To be honest, things could have gone a lot worse. I was thankful that we didn't have to worry about opportunity-seekers. Things might have been much more difficult for us while rebuilding our nation, otherwise.

And so the months passed on and our nation started to recover back to its full strength. Luna, Celestia, and I could finally breathe easily and allow ourselves to relax more. Between paperwork and talking with foreign nations in order to keep the peace, we didn’t have to hear so much flak from the nobility, anymore. A massive relief, honestly.

If we couldn’t keep the nobility appeased, then we couldn’t keep the nation from falling apart again. Without their help, reluctant as it was most of the time, I’m sure we could have never recovered the way we did. The peasantry would have rioted with discontentment long ago were it not for the nobles keeping them as happy as they could.

I’m glad that the nobility in Equestria wasn’t following the example of Earth’s nobility, actually working actively to better this nation when it was needed of them. That was as far as the usefulness of the nobility went, though. I could do without their constant whining in court, complaining constantly that they had to help the peasants and keep them happy (they apparently liked their heads too much to ignore my warnings about what would happen if they didn't act like decent ponies).

“Sister?” Luna’s voice interrupted my workflow as I was reading through a document with a critical eye. I let out an inquisitive hum, trying to commit the position I stopped reading at to my memory for later reference. “What do you say to a vacation? The beach, perhaps?”

“Lulu, you know that we still have a lot of things left that we need to work on,” I told her, sighing even as I wanted to say that it sounded like a wonderful idea. While it wasn’t much, the work does need to be done at some point. A vacation, while nice, would only pile up more work on us that we had to work through once we returned home. Our duty would have to come first before we could even think of our own enjoyment. “Despite things calming down considerably, this isn’t going to go away. The sooner we get it done, the better.”

“I know,” she said, pushing the quill in front of her around with a hoof as she pouted a little bit grumpily. “But after all that has happened, don’t we deserve some free time? Time to ourselves~?”

I blushed, as she waggled her eyebrows from where she sat at the other side of the desk. Stupid naughty sister. “You would have to go beg Tia, then. I can’t make that decision behind her back.”

“Good thing I asked her, already,” Luna grinned, puffing out her chest a little bit. “She said I had to get you to agree, so... please, please, please, Sunny!”

I giggled as she gave me her best puppy-eyed look, her eyes twinkling beautifully in the light of the candles. “Very well, Lulu. It might take things off of our minds for a short time, so why not?”

“Yes!” she cheered and I shook my head good-naturedly. “Oh, we’re gonna have so much fun!”

“Now, I think we have been at this for way too long, let us get ready for bed, okay?” I said, stretching out my stiff limbs with a yawn as I moved away from behind the desk and towards the door. Luna nodded, her mood significantly lifted as she followed after me with a spring in her step.

The trip from my office to our bedroom within the tallest tower of our castle (not regretting that decision... nope, nuh-uh, definitely not) was spent in companionable silence, with me amusedly watching as my sister practically pranced around in her happiness. It seems we were long overdue for a vacation if this was how she was acting.

Besides, unwinding and relaxing at the beach does sound absolutely divine. Having time to ourselves... I could barely remember the last time we had that, being so occupied with the current state of our nation that it gave us little time to enjoy each other’s company.

I suppose it would be well worth it to let our work pile up a little bit, as much as it would be a pain in the flank to work through it afterward. A fresh mind was important for us to not get majorly burned out and if some relaxation would grant us just a little reprieve from the daily stress, it could give us the much-needed energy that would allow us to work with more efficiency after we return home.

Luna and I entered our chambers, finding that Celestia was already fast asleep on the bed. Quietly, we slipped under the covers of our bed, careful not to wake her. Tia had been working herself ragged, she deserved all the rest she could get. Not that we were that much different in that regard.

Luna gave me a goodnight kiss and snuggled herself tightly to my chest, nuzzling my neck affectionately. I hummed peacefully, smiling as I threw my forehooves around her in an embrace.

Ten minutes or so later, Luna let out a tiny grunt. “Summer? Are you still awake?”

“Yes, Luna,” I mumbled, opening one of my eyes slightly. “What is it? Can’t sleep?”

Luna snorted at that. “Me and being unable to sleep?” she said with humor and I giggled silently myself. “I just... Summer, when are we going to tell Tia? Keeping secrets from her isn’t... I feel bad for it.”

“I know... I don’t feel any better about it, believe me, but...” I whispered, grimacing at the thought of that damn prophecy. Whenever the subject came up, I tried telling myself that it wasn’t about us, hoping with all of my heart, but the more I lied to myself, the more I started to feel like running away from the truth was a futile effort. “Tia has been stressed out the most among us three, I don’t want to give her more reasons to go into hysterics.”

“Still...” Luna mumbled, sighing sadly. “It feels wrong to keep her in the dark about this. What if... what if she will hate us for it? This could very well lead to the thing we want to prevent...”

“We just... we just have to believe it isn’t about us...” I argued weakly, though I could tell she wasn’t convinced by that in the slightest. I don’t blame her, I didn’t feel any differently about it. “Besides, even if it is about us, Tia would be the last pony to do something like that. That... that could never happen. She is too loyal for that, you know that. If one of us would ever, you know, it... it would probably be me...”

“No...” Luna said and moved her head so that we could stare into each other’s eyes. Our slit eyes. “You wouldn’t... it would be me, right? You know what it said... a nightmare will end.”

“Lulu...” I said glumly, my gaze hardening as I felt a bit of rage flare up within me. I shoved the negative emotions back down, swallowing thickly. “You aren’t like that. Neither as Luna Nocturnis or Nightmare Moon. I, on the other hoof? I have my problems with lashing out when I don’t want to. If it is about us, it's going to be me...”

“That’s... Sunny, I know you wouldn’t go so far as to purposefully hurt us,” Luna shot back. “Please, don’t think like that. You can’t bring yourself to such cruelty...”

“Luna..?” the sleepy voice of Celestia interrupted our argument and I felt my heart hammer loudly within my chest in fear of what she could have overheard. “...it’s the middle of the night, go to sleep...”

“Yes, Tia...” Luna mumbled, cautiously watching our sister as she went back to lightly breathing. It seems we were lucky this time, it was a good thing we kept the conversation vague enough so that, if she had actively listened in, she would have mistaken it as something else. Probably. I think. At least, she wouldn’t have jumped to the conclusion that it was about a prophecy.

This is driving me crazy and I wish Clover had never made this damn prophecy in the first place. I have been wishing for that a lot lately, haven’t I?

“Everything will work out fine, Lulu,” I whispered, though my words rang hollow to my ears. “We just have to believe it.”

Luna stayed silent as we stared at each other for a few more moments, then she gave me a tiny (if reluctant) nod. I placed a soft kiss on her muzzle, hoping to give her all the reassurances I could give her, and closed my eyes trying to go back to sleep.

Try as I might, all these thoughts about the prophecy kept me from a fulfilling sleep that night. It was hard to clear my mind of all worries, always falling back to the same questions of an uncertain future. Most prophecies, like the one from Clover, were vague about the ones they talked about, only giving the barest of hints about their intended subject, so they could be about anypony, but this one resonated painfully with us in particular. No ordinary pony would live as long as the ones prophesied by Clover to go through what he had foreseen, so it could only be us (even though I clung to the thought that it might not be so with a fierce vengeance).

Over the next few days, we planned out everything we needed to take care of before we could actually go on a vacation. It took a lot of time setting this up so that our nation could go without us for a week or so (while I desperately wanted to have an extended vacation, it simply wasn’t a good idea to leave the nobles in charge for too long).

In the end, we found enough trustworthy ponies that wouldn’t go power crazy as soon as we left them to their own devices. That didn’t mean we trusted them to do our job for longer than a week, though. Even the more noble ponies among the nobility had their own ambitions and ideas of how to run Equestria. Celestia was perhaps the only pony that could rein them in and keep them from becoming too selfish, nowadays.

So, with one last glance back at our castle, I felt a little bit of giddiness rise up inside my chest as we took to the skies with nothing but our saddlebags on us to hold a few things for us. Luna had picked our destination, an island just a bit off the coast of our kingdom, so we didn’t have to fly over half the planet (not that we couldn’t have, our stamina would barely notice that, but Tia and Lulu might get a bit impatient with my flight speed).

The island, as Tia and I found out, was a (somewhat pretty) wasteland. Next time we plan a vacation, Lulu won’t be having a say in the matter. That, I swear to myself.

There was, as far as the eye could see, black volcanic rock scattered over the landscape with a few cactuses and palm trees here and there. So, that made the mountain in the distance a volcano, most likely. I gave Luna a look and she merely grinned back at me, silently telling us to follow her as we flew along the coastline.

It took us well into the evening until Lulu finally found the spot that she wanted us to make camp at and I had to admit, she had a point about wanting to spend our vacation here. As we neared the small lake, I couldn’t keep the wonder away from showing on my muzzle as I stared slack-jawed at the mesmerizing sight.

In front of us was a beach entirely comprised of black glistening sand and the lake itself, nestled against a wide cliff overlooking the beach, was a vibrant green that could have been liquified jade for all I knew. Yu’la was looking at the lake curiously from underneath the flap of my saddlebag and I can’t say I wasn’t curious myself as to how the lake came to be like that.

“Luna, this is...” I said, completely stunned and at a loss for words. It was beautiful despite the lack of vegetation.

Luna snickered and bumped my side with a hoof in mirth. “I knew you would like it,” she said, gliding over to the top of the cliff. “Took me some time to find a place like this.”

“How did you find it?” Celestia asked, landing beside her while Philomena continued to fly a few circles over us. Yu’la jumped out of her snuggly confines and joined her, both of them chasing each other playfully. Tia and I smiled at their antics with fondness. Sometimes, they really could be mistaken as sisters.

“There were a few stories the pegasi in our guard had about this place,” Luna explained, starting to set up the tent at the same time. “It was apparently one of the few places that the wendigos couldn’t affect with their ice during the great winter.”

“Well, starving to death in the cold or starving to death in a wasteland next to a volcano... I’d choose this place, honestly,” I said, struggling to help Luna with the big tent. She couldn’t have chosen a simpler tent, could she?

“Don’t be so negative, sister,” Luna snickered, watching me with barely suppressed laughter while I was trying to get the little hook thingy (I wasn’t actually certain what it was called) into the ground without it becoming loose again. I think it was called an anchor, but that wasn’t important right now. If I could only get it to stay where I wanted it to, damnit!

Celestia came over to me, smiling slightly at my struggle, and nuzzled my cheek, telling me to let her do this for me. I grumbled defeatedly, perking up slightly at the nuzzle she gave me, and watched her as she took the stupid thing from my telekinetic grasp. She put the anchor on one of the rocky outcroppings of the cliff and, with a swift stomp of her hoof, had it firmly embedded in the ground. She smirked proudly and I pouted at her.

“You know that thing is probably ruined now, right?” Luna said snarkily and Celestia stuck her tongue out at her cheekily. At least the tent was standing now and it wasn’t like we could get more of those anchor thingies back home.

“I’m going to go catch some fish, I trust you will have a fire ready when I return?” Celestia said and I gave her a deadpan look. Where were we supposed to get firewood here? “Right, wood. Let’s see... how far was the last palm tree?”

“Good luck with getting that to burn, Tia,” I snorted. “Palms don’t make for good firewood. They aren’t even technically trees, in the strict sense.”

“And here I thought I was the nerd,” she giggled, giving me a kiss. I hummed happily, not willing to argue with her over how ‘nerdy’ it was to discuss the intricacies of whether or not palms were considered trees. “So, how are we going to cook our food then?”

“We shouldn’t have let Luna decide where to go on vacation,” I whispered, getting an indignant shout from said sister as she poked her head out of the tent with a glare directed my way. “Even though this place is beautiful beyond measure.”

Luna smiled, appeased by my words as she went back to filling our tent with enough pillows one could probably drown in them. I think she went out of her way to fill her hammerspace with as much of those as she could fit into her dimensional pocket spell. Then again, Tia or I should have had enough foresight to pack more than our camping gear for this, too. I'm sure I wrote 'food and firewood' on the list of things to pack just in case, though...

“If we really need to, I guess we could use our magic to cook?” I asked, grimacing at the idea. It always made solids taste funny, and not in a good way. Celestia, too, gave a pained grimace at the idea.

“Are you sure we can’t use palm trees?” she whined, begging me to reconsider.

“I... Tia, we would have to dry them of all of their oils, and even then, they burn much too fast and I don’t know if they will burn hot enough, either,” I told her. “We could try, but it would be easier to just cook our food over a pit of lava.”

Celestia grinned, hugging me tightly with a laugh. “Summer, you’re a genius!”

“I am?” I asked, blushing brightly as she peppered me with kisses.

“You make that pit while I go and find us some fish!” she shouted back at me as she glided away from the cliff towards the ocean. I watched her for a few moments longer (I did not stare at her flanks for longer than what was appropriate... nope) until her words registered in my head and I groaned. Of course, she would actually consider cooking her food over a friggin’ pit of lava. I sighed disgruntledly, knowing how much of a pain I would put my coat and mane through while making her that lava pool.

I walked a good distance away from our tent, grumbling all the while, and let loose over the careful control of my fiery aura, even fanning the flames to make it go hot enough to melt the ground beneath me. I frowned at the goopy feeling of slowly getting submerged in molten rock, not enjoying it for one second.

“This is going to be a pain in the flank to get out of my coat,” I muttered to myself. Celestia returned ten minutes or so later, a happy little expression on her muzzle as she floated a dozen or so medium-sized fishes of all kinds after her soaked body. I blushed from within the pool of lava as the saltwater started to evaporate from her body, the sight of her fur leaving me nothing to the imagination of her powerful muscles.

“Is everything alright?” Tia asked me and I sank further into my little pool, shaking my head as I bit down on my tongue to keep myself from answering. My marehood practically begged me to drag my twin into the pool and have her ravish me as long as we could stay awake. My sister gave me a skeptical look, narrowing her eyes at me in suspicion and I squirmed, trying not to ogle her too much before we had even eaten anything. “Summer, are you masturbating?”

I shook my head and she snorted. I looked over to Luna as she came over to us and I noticed she was biting her lip, staring at the rump of Celestia with poorly disguised desire. Here I had thought we could at least go one day without going sex crazy.

Not that I had any intention to stop satisfying my begging nethers, either.

“Why is Summer in a pool of lava?” Luna asked, sitting down beside Celestia. Tia wiggled one fish within her levitation meaningfully at Lulu, half done already. “And... is she masturbating?”

“She thinks we won’t notice, but it is plain to see she is doing it. Her eyes have that twinkle,” Celestia giggled, flipping around the fish in her telekinesis. A few bubbles of air escaped my lips as I heard that for the first time. Did I really have that twinkle in my eyes? “And she thinks I will go into the pool with her, despite knowing that the molten rock will cling to our coats in the most annoying way possible.”

“Hmm,” Luna hummed and smiled mischievously before shoving my sister into the little pit with a laugh, taking my twin by surprise. My ears splayed back as Celestia surfaced with a glare sent to both Luna and me. “Sorry, my bad. My hoof slipped.”

“Luna!” Celestia growled, the hot glowing rock dripping down the side of her head and I let out a moan as it looked way more lewd than it had any right to be. Tia gave me a glance before turning back to Luna. “Perhaps you would like to test out what would happen if you were to be submerged by lava?”

“No need to get hasty, sister,” Luna giggled nervously. “I’ll just... go back to the tent, bye!”

Celestia smiled devilishly at me as she turned around while Luna abandoned me to my fate. “Now that she is gone, I have you all to myself... Although, I could have done without the, ugh, bath.”

I surfaced enough that my muzzle was free from the lava and slowly drew in a breath as she came close enough to me that she was within range of me kissing her hungrily. “Don’t you dare start teasing, Tia... I want you right now...”

“Very well~,” she whispered back, only briefly breaking the kiss between us. She shoved her tongue back into my mouth, enveloping me in her wings as she pressed herself tighter to me. I hummed happily, gasping in surprise as she took me to the edge of the pool and had me on my back a moment later. “Spell?”

“No...” I whispered back, breathily. “I want you, purely you... no shenanigans, no extra parts, just you against me...”

“As you wish~,” she answered, nipping my lips with her teeth gently. Tia giggled as I moaned, grinding herself slowly against my body. We both gasped against each other, Tia starting to buck me while ignoring the splashing lava around us. It still amazed me that we could just casually bathe in molten rock and be unaffected by it.

My twin stopped kissing me and just as I was about to whine for her to continue, she shoved a piece of fish into my mouth, her grinding against me slowed to a gentle movement. I let out a surprised humming sound and Celestia laughed quietly with that absolutely angelic sound I so adored from her. She continued with the soft grinding, kissing me between every piece she fed me.

Sex while being fed and half-submerged in a slowly cooling pool of lava as the day neared its end was... actually quite nice. I would have thought the physical exertion of making love to each other would have made eating at the same time a bad mix, but with her slowing down and only giving me small pieces it didn’t make this into an unpleasant experience. The lava, on the other hoof, was starting to make this bothersome the longer we stayed in it.

“T-Tia...” I moaned, digging my hooves into her firm muscles as I ignored more of the fish, I rather wanted to have her get me closer to my orgasm instead. Tia, for once, didn’t indulge in her teasing tendencies as I would have expected (even though she gave me her word not to) and started to pick up her pace grinding against me, stroking my cheek with a soft touch from her hoof as she smiled at me lovingly.

I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this much care from her, but I wasn’t going to say anything lest I ruined the moment. The panting breaths leaving me were starting to quicken and I could tell, as my twin pushed herself against me with grinding and bucking movements, that she must have gotten a few pointers from Luna on how to move with her hind legs to achieve maximum effect. I very much approved, hungrily kissing her.

“I love you, S-Summer,” my twin whispered, placing a prolonged kiss on my horn.

I mewled out and gasped and moaned, panting as much as my body allowed me, and I pressed my body against hers so we were touching as much as possible. “I love you, too, T-Tia. So very much. I... I-I’m close...”

Celestia smiled wider, pushing herself to move faster and I felt my pussy scream out in pure bliss as she finally managed to push me over the edge. She was also silently screaming as the cells of her body wreaked havoc on her as well, apparently having held back her orgasm just for this moment.

“Tia...” I murmured, feeling massively elated as I enjoyed the heavenly quivers my body made. “I... You...”

I wanted to tell her. Tell her that there was this prophecy weighing me down, but I got scared. I got scared so much, I clammed up on her and remained silent, keeping the damn thing secret. Luna would have had no trouble telling her, but I didn’t want her to. I... I wanted to be the one to tell her, but at the same time, I wanted to keep it away from her forever to avoid hurting her. I couldn’t hurt her like that, making her worry with the knowledge one of us might betray the others.

The truth, though, was that I was selfish. I didn’t want her to know not because it would hurt her, but because it would hurt me. It would hurt me to know that she knows. That she has to bear the same burden of knowing. Ignorance was bliss, a bliss I had been robbed of. I wanted to be ignorant of this prophecy, but alas, the only thing I could do about my wants was to keep Celestia blissfully ignorant in a poor attempt at feeling that bliss through her own ignorance. Did that make sense? Somewhat, but such feelings rarely made sense, anyway. It was dumb and I was dumb for allowing it to rule my feelings. Like always.

“What is it, Summer?” she asked me, staring into my fearful eyes with concern. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”

“No,” I whispered, looking away from her with shame while the first tears started to appear in my eyes. I was a bad sister, wasn’t I? All I wanted was to keep her safe from the future that Clover had foreseen... I can’t tell her... “It’s... nothing. Forget I said anything. I'm being... dumb.”

“Summer, hey...” Celestia said gently, turning my head back so that I was forced to look into her beautiful eyes. I couldn’t look away and hide the glistening tears from her. “What’s wrong? You can tell me anything, remember? I don't want you crying over something when I can help...”

“I... I want to tell you so much, believe me... b-but if I do,” I answered as a sob escaped me, my heart tearing itself in two in my sorrow. I can’t tell her. Never. “But if I do, it will destroy you as much as it is destroying me...”

“What could be so bad, Sunshine? You... You still love me, right?” she asked, her voice going deathly silent. I squeezed her tightly against me, giving her a fierce kiss to dispel her fears. Even though I was still sobbing slightly, I started to giggle at the same time. “I... alright, I guess I was stupid for assuming that. But... what is it then?”

“I... I can’t tell you,” I told her, burying my nuzzle in the crook of her neck. “I don’t want to. But I do want to and I don’t. It’s ripping me apart, I just... I can’t, Tia. It’s... I... Tia, please don’t make me...”

“Does Luna know?” Celestia asked quietly. Judging by the way she began to tense, my silence told her enough. “So, I’m the only one among us that doesn’t, huh? I... Don’t you trust me? Is that it?! I expected better from you, Summer...”

Her voice sounded so sad, it tore into my conscience like jagged claws tearing away at my last resolve to keep it away from her. “I’m sorry, Tia. I... You really want to know, don’t you?”

My sister gave me a look full of resolve as she leaned back. She held me back by my chest as I tried to keep her from moving away, but as always, she was stronger than me. Or I was just not willing to put my own strength into it, I guess. “Summer, whatever it is, I promise I can take it! I’m stronger than you think. I... I promise I won’t get mad. Not like I had been when you were about to tell us about our immortality. So, please... tell me what it is,” she said firmly. Her gaze was one of steely determination. “Tell me. Now.”

“Clover... he... I...” I whimpered, screwing my eyes shut in reluctance.

“Sister...” Tia growled. “Spill it. I won’t ask again.”

“He made a written prophecy. It doesn’t specifically say any names, but it is obvious that it is about us,” Luna’s voice reached us and I squirmed underneath my twin, whining at the cold inevitability of Celestia learning the truth. My Moon's gaze was uncharacteristically cold. I screwed my eyes shut right as she said those cursed words. “One of us will betray the other two.”

“...what?” Tia asked, stunned. I chanced a peek out from underneath my eyelids and saw her look at us with a disbelieving look. “What... what else did the prophecy say? Anything specific?”

“Not in the way that would give us a clue as to who is supposedly betraying the others, Tia,” Luna answered grimly. Then, her frown deepened and I knew she would accuse herself again. We've been at this long enough for me to know when she tried to reason herself into being the villain in the story again. Instead of denying the damn prophecy, she was determined to take the blame for something that hasn't even happened yet. We were both doing it, to be honest. “The prophecy talks about an end to a nightmare and both of you know how I refer to myself in... in that state.”

“Luna, you...” Celestia began and sighed heavily. “You won’t be the one to do that. You have gone through so much and even as Nightmare Moon, you have come a long way. Me and Summer, though...”

“Tia, you wouldn’t ever betray us!” I cried out, drawing her gaze fully to me. “You are the most loyal pony alive, you are literally incapable of betraying us. Me, though? I’ve sometimes lashed out against you and... I fear it will happen again, in a way that will be unforgivable. I... I even wanted to keep this away from you because I was being selfish. Both of you are so strong with your ideals, while I... while I struggle with mine. I’m such a hypocrite most of the time... if it weren’t for you keeping me straight...”

“No, Summer, I won’t ever believe that will happen. And you know why?” Celestia said, giving me an intense look. Slowly and nervously, I shook my head, confused at how she could think that. “Because, whatever you do, however bad it may seem, I won’t ever think you betrayed me. You are the paragon of kindness, a few outbursts of anger here and there won't change that. You are the most virtuous pony I know, don't try to deny that. So, whatever you are thinking right now, stop that. You are my everything, I won't allow you to torture yourself over this."

My lips quivered as tears started to spill by the dozens. My heart leaped in my chest, touched by her words. I have no idea how she could always lift me up so effortlessly. And here she told me I was the most virtuous one among us. She was selling herself way too short. Still, I guess she was right on some level. "...okay."

And I mean, none of us are the type to really do that, so... maybe it is a false prophecy? Or one of the other immortals out there was the actual subject of the prophecy. There were tons of those around, it... it doesn't have to be us, right? Right?

...right?

Celestia sighed as she gave me a loving smile and a peck, wiping away my tears with a brief nuzzle before looking back to Luna. "Was there anything else that was foretold in the prophecy?”

“A thousand years long exile for the one that betrays the others...” Luna answered, a disturbed look entering her eyes. “On... on the moon. You have to admit, all of the signs are pointing towards me. Tia, Summer, you... you have to prepare for that. Lock me up, do whatever you must to prevent this, I don't know. Just do something! I... I can’t stand the thought of betraying either of you.”

“You... Luna, believe me when I say it won’t be you. You aren’t going to do that. Don’t start to think like that or you doom yourself into a mindset I fear you won’t be able to escape from,” Tia shot back, a dark and haunted look in her own eyes. She wasn't going where I thought she was going, was she? “It’s me, it has to be. You both are such pure souls...”

Suns be damned. Is everypony here going to play the blame game, or what?! This was getting ridiculous. “Is... Is this about your parents?” I asked, feeling anger rise within me. “You told me you were over that! That it didn’t bother you anymore! Was that a lie?!”

“...no,” she said, growing silent for a few, heavy seconds as Luna and I gave her a glare for obviously lying about it. Sometimes, I really don't know what she was thinking by doing this. “It wasn’t a lie that I’ve gotten mostly over that. But... if I can betray my own family like that once, I... I can do so again.”

“That wasn’t family,” Luna snorted, stomping her hoof down angrily. “That you would dare call those sorry excuses for parents family only disgraces the memory of our real parents. Besides, they betrayed you and not the other way around.”

Celestia's ears wilted at that and I gave her a pleading look. “Tia, please don’t think like that,” I said, staring up at her with sad eyes. I can’t let her do this to herself. Not when she was so insistent that we wouldn’t betray her, either. “What your human father did... I would have done the same thing as you, Tia. That wasn’t you betraying your own family, it was saving Luna from going through the same thing.”

“Be that as it may, Summer. I... I can’t entertain the idea of either of you betraying the other,” Celestia shot back, scowling darkly. I wanted to wipe that look from her muzzle because it didn’t suit her at all, her serene look was what I had come to associate her with (and the protective glares sent towards our enemies, those were also quite sexy).

“Then... uh..."—I fidgeted, trying to think of a solution for this before getting a sudden flash of genius (I really could pat myself on the back for this one)—" then we simply don’t think about the prophecy! It has been, what? Over twenty years since Clover made it? Maybe it was a fluke,” I told her, though the hope in me accompanying that statement was but a flicker. My heart feared that it still might come to pass.

“You should know better than to dismiss warnings of the future, Red Nose,” Celestia said, smiling thinly. It gave me the impression that what she thought of her own abilities was not so kind. She still blamed herself for not having taken the visions of Discord’s world seriously, didn’t she? “We will have to see what the future holds. You know that preventing it is going to be a fool’s errand. The weave of fate is not easily changed.”

“Aren’t you an expert in preventing bad visions?” Luna asked, poking her lightly on the tip of her muzzle.

My twin rolled her eyes. “We have all seen how that turned out with Discord, haven’t we?” Tia shot back. “I could have done something, anything.”

“It wasn’t your fault, sister,” Luna told her. “Nopony could have foreseen something like that and taken it seriously. Heck, Summer and I didn’t take it seriously, either. Or have you forgotten that we have seen the same vision, too? We were there and dismissed it as mere fantasy on your part.”

A small piece of my conscience told me that Discord deliberately did what he did... to prove to us that prophecies were inevitable. Maybe he was just preparing us for this moment, but that was something I couldn't... no, wouldn't entertain. There must be a way to prevent this. There has to be.

Perhaps... perhaps ignoring it would delay it long enough for us to... I dunno. Make it not happen?

“Let’s... let’s just hope it doesn’t come to pass. And if it does... that it won’t happen anytime soon. That way we won’t have to worry about it so much,” I whispered, hoping that they would at least agree with me on that. It was a futile hope, I know, but what could I do? Whatever we do, no matter what we try, we won't know how it will happen or when it will happen. Or who is going to betray whom. All we could do is wait, and needlessly worrying over this won't do us any good. As will shifting the blame on each of ourselves because we don't want to believe that the others could be the culprit.

Despite my plea, Celestia and Luna looked skeptical. I couldn’t really blame them for that, for I felt exactly the same. Pretending it won't happen is just as stupid as pretending to be the one to do it. But it's the only option where we stay sane instead of going crazy over a possibility. We can't let it control us, so we have to think of it more as a 'suggestion' than a 'certainty'.

We never get what we want, though, do we? Ugh.

My sister sighed. “Summer... my sweet Sunshine,” Celestia frowned, giving me a look full of pity. “You’re too optimistic about this, thinking like that.”

Instead of agreeing with her, Luna grimaced as she narrowed her eyes. “And we are too pessimistic about this, aren’t we?” Luna argued as she gave a thoughtful hum. “Perhaps we really are overthinking this too much. If the prophecy hasn’t come to pass in over twenty years, who can say when it will? It might take a century before anything even happens.”

My twin snorted in disbelief. “So, what? Your solution to this is to just ignore this?!” Celestia asked and I shrugged awkwardly. I mean, it was pretty much my previous approach to this, wasn’t it? Ignore it in the hopes it was a fluke and go on like it never existed in the first place. Nothing could go wrong like this, right? I mean, even if it does come true, we don't really know what to prepare for.

“Well...” Luna began, rubbing her hooves against each other while fidgeting with her wings. “The best way to prevent this prophecy is to never betray each other, right? What better way is there to do that than to ignore the prophecy?”

Celestia looked ready to argue further but paused thoughtfully. “You... might have a point there, Lulu. This prophecy can’t happen if we never betray each other. That... that might work. It’s ingenious, really.”

I smiled as we finally came to an agreement. Even though I felt like it was anything but ingenious, I desired nothing more than to hide away from this damn prophecy. Even if this was a stupid idea and would bite us in our flanks at a later time... “And besides, it’s silly, isn’t it? Us, betraying each other? That might be the stupidest thing ever in the history of ever.”

“True,” both of them agreed with me, giggling. I joined in with the laughter, a feeling of relief washing over me. Still, a nagging part of my brain, far in the back, protested against me in fear. Was this really the course to take?

The universe was never so kind to us, was it?

“Alright, let’s get out of this, Sunshine,” Celestia said, helping me up and out of the pool of lava that was beginning to cool down enough that it was getting all goopy again. Right, that stuff. This wasn’t going to be nice. Getting rid of it would take a while of really silly motions.

Suffice it to say, it was well past midnight until my twin and I had managed to get all of the liquified rock shaken off of us, using our fiery auras to help speed things along as best as we could. Our wings were mostly at fault for it taking so long and Luna had her fun laughing her flanks off while Tia and I did our best impressions of headless chickens fluttering our wings around.

Damnit, I hated molten rock so much. It's worse than sand, I swear. At least we had some food stored away in our hammerspace now, so we didn’t have to repeat the lava pit incident (hip hip hooray for stasis spells!). Luna was apologizing to us afterward for not having taken care of our food situation ahead of time (she only did so after Tia had gotten fed up with her laughing at us so much that she dunked her tail in the cooling pool of lava in a fit of mischievous revenge).

Now we knew what happens when she comes in contact with lava, though. It cools off rapidly within her icy aura, not really surprising. Luna was pouting afterward, trying to get the stuff out of her tail (serves her right).

That concluded the first night of our vacation and despite the start, it did help make us relax quite a lot. The veritable sea of cushions in our tent was a delight to sleep on, so Luna had at least done one thing right. It didn’t matter that we were really bad at camping, we had each other and that was enough for me.

On the second day, we decided to explore the island a bit. While it was interesting to see so much volcanic rock quite literally all over the place, it didn’t make much for sightseeing. The landscape was beautiful in its own right, but that was all that it had going for itself. Besides the few volcanos (inactive at the moment, thankfully), the only thing that managed to hold my attention was the green lake we had set our camp up at. That, and there was this one cave that circulated hot air from the volcano over a massive pit (which made the whole lava pool completely unnecessary, yay...).

Instead of finding seashells at a beach like one might have expected, we found little green crystals scattered around and Yu’la kept happily collecting as many as she could find with my help.

Without much to see or even do on this island, we defaulted to enjoying each other's company. In the naughty way, that is.

Alas, even our vacation came to an end eventually. I had been thoroughly satisfied by Lulu and Tia and had reciprocated in kind, getting them over the edge of orgasm many times myself. It managed to get the more worrisome things weighing us down off our minds, and for that, I was eternally grateful. Sex just had a way to relieve stress in the best possible ways.

Thankfully, the nobles hadn’t managed to burn Equestria down to the ground by the time we returned. It was back to the same old routine for us and before long, the years started to fly by and the worry we had for the prophecy was all but forgotten.

As it turns out, we should have worried. We should have panicked. Most importantly, we shouldn’t have ignored the warnings like that. For a nightmare was about to walk right into our lives and ruin everything.

A nightmare that shouldn’t have existed, in the first place.

A nightmare that was utterly impossible.

Our lives... were about to be changed.

Forever.

Author's Notes:

*Foreboding noises*

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Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Chapter 015 - Fall from Grace.

Author's Notes:

*Panicked breathing intensifies*
It's here! It's here!
*screams*

Reference: My Little Pony comic: Fiendship is Magic - Nightmare

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Alternative Cover/Title for Twin Suns (read the chapter first, duh)

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Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

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A few years before the prophecy

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It has been ninety-five years since we started raising and lowering the twin suns and the moon. Discord was only a bad memory by now and that prophecy Clover made was all but forgotten. Tia and I had just celebrated our one-hundred and seventeenth birthday, a number I would have previously thought utterly ridiculous, to be honest.

Almost a hundred years raising and lowering the sun, my sun, each and every day of the year. If Starswirl was still here with us, he would be proud. I had long since given up on finding out what happened to our mentor, losing hope of ever seeing him again. He was simply gone with no hints at all about what happened to him.

So much had changed since the early days of Equestria, since we first started to rule this nation. Since we picked up the mantle of upholding the day cycle. Time just continued on cruelly, taking away pony after pony that we called friends. Even Night Fang was gone now, having given her life for her job without even a single bit of hesitation, keeping this land safe. She didn’t even have a foal to carry on her legacy.

I’m such a sentimental old mare now, aren’t I? A hundred and seventeen years old, and many more centuries would follow of losing mortal ponies while we stayed eternally young. Well, I always was sentimental, 'being old' and 'acting my age' was still up for debate. When cookies were involved, I still behaved like a little filly with her hoof stuck in the cookie jar.

Yu’la, thankfully, was still as youthful as ever, not having grown at all. As was the case with Philomena, Celestia’s phoenix (more or less, she was very much a free spirit in the sense of not listening to us). That bird has gone through a few of her life cycles by now, though. It is always quite the sight to behold as she bursts into flames and rises from her ashes a moment later (she really gets cranky and misbehaves a lot right before it, much to my chagrin).

What else has changed? Let’s see... hmm. Our kingdom has finally fully recovered in every way from Discord’s mad reign. Many things have been improved for our little ponies (quite the literal statement by now with our height). Things like medicine and living standards were the most prominent things that have seen a big improvement. By my sun, I was so glad our ponies had better hygiene now.

The majority of those pesky dark artifacts had also been rounded up by now, too. It was still a mystery to us from where they originated from. New ones popping up were a rarity by this point, a great relief to me and my wives. The less we had to worry about those, the better.

Our ponies were happy and content, perhaps the best improvement of them all. The nobles finally started to take Luna and me more seriously, too. No longer were we the ‘lesser’ princesses, a mindset that had persisted for far too long after Platinum was finally gone from the picture.

It was strange, looking back at what a nuisance she had been to us. It was aggravating at the best of times, but now? Without her trying to undermine us at every opportunity? I had no idea how to feel about her death. For some reason... I always thought we would continue with this squabbling, that it would find no end. A (somewhat, but not really) friendly rivalry (or more like an antagonistic tug of war) where we expressed our disdain for each other in petty pranks and shadow warfare.

I did regret never reconciling with the estranged former princess, trying to teach her a better way. On the one hoof, it was probably better like this. She never could get over us being the rulers of Equestria, always trying to sabotage us in a misguided attempt at revenge. But then again, on the other hoof? Despite her indirectly causing the death of our mother by going behind the back of her father’s wishes to not force anypony to lend their magic for the ritual to move the heavens, despite her overwhelming selfishness and pettiness... if only she tried, she could have been a shining example of what unicorns could be, not unlike her father.

Maybe if she had cast aside her misgivings, she could have been a friend. It was sad that the light of friendship eluded her so. To live in misery, in sadness... in darkness... it reminded me painfully of what Sombra turned into. Had Platinum been half as powerful as the mad stallion, she might have deliberately taken somepony dear to my heart away from me as he did. Not that time didn’t already do that by itself...

Still... Platinum didn’t deserve such a painful death, dying in her own home as it burned to cinders around her. The magical fire that consumed the far too fortified home of the bitter former princess suddenly sprang up one night not too long after her surprising return from the Dragonlands after Discord’s reign was over. The old mare had no chance to escape, locked into her own home that would become her fiery tomb.

While I was feeling slightly guilty for feeling relief to know that she couldn’t have possibly survived the fire, my sisters were... celebrating her death. I could (somewhat) understand their enthusiasm, but... it felt wrong to me. To celebrate somepony’s death... I couldn’t do that. It was disrespectful, even though she didn't deserve an ounce of sympathy from me.

Sure, she had been responsible for a lot of grief in our family, even for Equestria as a whole... but that doesn’t mean we have to gloat about her death. While she didn’t show any kind of remorse for all the ponies she forced into losing their magic, she did try to help the world, misguided as it was. I mean... she did what she could with what was available to her at the time and after having ruled for such a long time... I could understand what a heavy burden it was to make such decisions.

A part of me resented her for having taken our mother away from us, anyway. A part of me wanted to dance on her grave and throw insults at her. A part of me wanted her to burn for eternity in the darkest corners of the afterlife. But I couldn’t let those dark feelings control me, lest I start down a path with no return. I needed to strive to be better than that.

It was tempting, though... to join my sisters in their celebration. We could finally breathe easy with her gone, that much I felt like I could agree to ‘celebrate’. That’s as far as I was willing to go with that, though, because celebrating her death in itself just didn’t feel right. Celebrating death never felt right.

I knew that, as alicorns, we represented life and death in equal parts. That didn’t mean I had to cherish it. Death is something to be accepted, not celebrated. Not in a malicious way, anyway. Tia and Lulu knew that as much as I did, so it was a little bit unnerving to see them be delighted with the death of Platinum. I couldn’t fault them for that, though, after everything the former princess had done to us. I just hoped they wouldn’t get into the habit of celebrating every death of those ponies that would or had become a nuisance to us at one point or another.

I’d rather leave such bitterness behind us and focus on the good things. Things that we could look forward to in the future and actually celebrate without having to feel guilty afterward.

Aside from Platinum and all the ponies lost to Discord’s chaos, Equestria recovered remarkably swiftly from the decline in population. Our nation saw a rise in newborn foals that has never been seen before like that in the history of ponykind. Herding had become especially popular recently, something that warmed my heart immensely to see so many new families living their lives happily together with their loved ones, forgetting the hardships Discord put us all through. That, and bisexuality was becoming (more or less) the accepted norm among society as ponies opened up to their feelings.

It wasn't that hard to realize that all sexualities had one thing in common: love is love, no matter the form it takes on. And when life is so fleeting and anything could take it away at a moment's notice, you learn to cherish those moments without denying your heart what it wants (as long as it was being kept consensual and age-appropriate).

Nopony has to feel ashamed of their desires, whether it be romance or naughty time. Or even the complete lack of such desires. Friendship is its own kind of magic, after all. Everypony deserved a piece of happiness and nopony could deny them that. Well, unless it was incest, there was still a heavy stigma behind that and I wasn't inclined to meddle with my ponies' opinion of that. Much as I would like to stop hiding my feelings for my wives, there was just too much baggage to work through in order to make it work and be accepted in society.

Not to mention, the risks of a sibling union's pregnancy was far more than just birth defects from similar genes (even though Celestia assured me those risks would be minimal for first-generation incest). No, the main risk of incest among ponies came from magic, as we found out.

The more closely a magical core resembles the core of the partner, the more likely it would become that the magic core of the newborn would become unstable. It does sometimes happen in regular pregnancies, too, but those were more of a one-in-a-million chance of happening in comparison to an almost fifty percent chance of something going wrong with incest.

Tia was, of course, trying to find out how ponies could have ever survived ancient times to the point where evolution and pony tribes became what they are now. Things like incest were, more or less, a common occurrence among primitive ponies (or so she told me, making comparisons to humans during their tribal, nomadic lifestyle thousands of years ago). The only thing I could come up with was that magic was less tame during those times and that ponies tamed it over the span of several thousand years, which now led to the problem of magic surges being hella dangerous to newborns and foals.

Ah, well... that was just one mystery among many things we still had next to no idea about. The very nature of magic was still mysterious in and of itself. But that was one of the things we made an effort to educate ourselves on (as well as our subjects). And I was even more proud to say that our ponies got increasingly more interested in education.

Gone were the days when it was a privilege only for the rich and the nobles, a thing my wives and I welcomed with open arms. Knowledge was a basic right I felt should be available to anypony regardless of heritage. And for that matter, the nobles were hard-pressed in finding ‘good’ arguments against making education available to the common ponies. It basically boiled down to them throwing a tantrum over losing their 'privileges' like those right-wing conservative idiots were wanton to do.

Haah. Politics. Gotta love dealing with supremacists. Not.

It had taken a lot of effort to whittle down their conviction that it was something that should be 'exclusive' to those of noble descent, and with the masses seeking to educate themselves, it was almost too easy to get them to agree to the change. While they were reluctant at first, they did agree that it was for the betterment of Equestria and their own purses (since ponies that knew what they were doing worked more efficiently, the nobles were all too happy to take advantage of that).

With all those things making our ponies happy, we were happy. Nothing could have taken our happiness from us. Everything was perfect the way it was and I was certain it would have stayed that way if the universe would have decided to give us that peace and fortune.

The universe, on the other hoof, was a harsh mistress. Fate had other plans in mind for us and I got my first taste of that as I felt my twin toss and turn in her sleep in the middle of the night.

Dragged out of sleep, I looked around tiredly in the darkness before I tapped into my alternate eyes. My vision sharpened considerably, the dark world around me becoming a little bit clearer, enough so that I could make out what was what even from across the room.

“Tia?” I mumbled, shaking her slightly. Luna also turned her head around with bleary eyes, giving Celestia a questioning gaze before realizing that she was having a nightmare. With a quick burst of her magic, she woke our sister up from the hell her mind was plaguing her with.

Celestia awoke with a scream, looking around wildly like a frightened animal and I laid a gentle hoof against her side in concern. Her head whipped around to face me and all I could see in her eyes was pure, unadulterated terror. “S-stay away from me!”

“...what?” I asked, thoroughly confused as my wife scrambled away from us, falling off the edge of the bed with a yelp. “Tia! What is going on? What did you see?!”

“I... I have to get away from you,” she said, taking panicked breaths as she failed a few times to get back on her trembling hooves. “I-I can't... I can’t stay near you!”

“What in Tartarus are you saying, sister? Has the cake finally driven you mad?” Luna questioned, hopping out of bed after her, only for Celestia to flinch away from her and run for the balcony. I tried to erect a barrier, but my twin shot it with a dispel, causing me to let out a gasp, disoriented.

“I won’t hurt you, not like that, have to get away...” Celestia muttered crazedly, Luna jumping on her and pinning her to the ground. That didn’t prove to keep our sister contained for long, though. Celestia struggled for a moment before she flung Luna back towards our bed. Not even a second after that and she was back to fleeing towards the balcony.

Luna and I got tangled up in the covers of our bed, and just as we freed ourselves from the sheets, we saw Celestia take flight. Luna gave a panicked whinny, scrambling to catch up with her and I wasn’t very far behind.

“Sister!” we cried out, confused and scared for what had gotten our wife in such a frenzy to get away from us. The nagging feeling in the back of my mind returned, forgotten warnings trying to push themselves back into the foreground of my thoughts.

Celestia continued on, beating her wings furiously, growing more distant from us by the second. Luna and I couldn’t even keep up with her when she really wanted to start gaining speed. Luna might come close, but I was already straining my wings for all that they were worth to not lose either of them from my sight. That's what I get for not exercising my wings enough, ugh.

A flash of light was the only thing that told us we would never catch up with Celestia (at least, not anytime soon). She had teleported away. Not far, as we could still see a small dot in the distance, but even that was gone after a moment of her charging up the spell again. Her casting speed was unparalleled, even with such demanding spells like teleportation.

Once more, I cursed myself for not practicing more, especially with such a useful spell. I swore to myself to remedy that deficiency as soon as I could. I would get better at it, so much so that not even Tia could keep up with me. The next time she runs away, she won't get far. Not on my watch.

Alas, for her to be able to run away again, we would first have to find her. Luna wanted to keep on chasing her, but after an hour of finding nothing, she came back to the cloud I was staying on, breathing heavily in exhaustion. We had flown and teleported across half the nation in our attempt to bring our frightened sister back home. And all of it was for nothing, she was gone.

“What has gotten into her?” she whispered and I whimpered, tears spilling from my eyes. She began to soothingly rub my back with a hoof as I clung to her desperately, not wanting to be left completely alone.

“Why?” I sobbed, sniffling loudly as my breath came out in short, irregular, sporadic gasps. Luna made a few hushing noises and I continued to bawl my eyes out into her coat. “Why would she run from us?!”

“I don’t know, Sunny,” Lulu answered, her voice wavering. She remained strong, though. Most likely for me. “I wish I knew. She was afraid of hurting us, but what could have spooked her so much to think she would actually do so?”

“Do you think it's about that prophecy?” I asked, my voice barely audible.

“Prophecy?” Luna asked back, momentarily confused before she remembered. She tensed up, holding me tighter to her. “Damn her for running away like that. We all agreed that nothing could happen if we don’t let it happen in the first place.”

“Maybe... maybe we thought about it in the wrong way,” I whimpered. “What if we didn’t have a choice about it?”

Luna frowned as she looked down at me with a glare. “What do you mean, Summer?” she growled. “Are you suggesting that this is going to happen no matter what?!”

“I... I don’t know,” I answered, withdrawing slightly from her. My wife sighed, calming herself and motioning for me to elaborate further. I gathered my jumbled thoughts, considering every word I remembered from the prophecy off the top of my head. “The prophecy, it never explicitly said who betrays whom, right?”

“Yeah...” Luna nodded, giving me a suspicious look.

“What if... what if it was never one of us?” I said, biting my lower lip in worry. Luna stared at me like I had just grown a second head and I suppose I should have worded that a bit more clearly. It seems Starswirl had managed to rub off on us with the cryptic answers he always gave. “I mean, what if it is somepony else that would force us to betray the others?”

“That is ridiculous,” Luna snorted, rolling her eyes. “No mere mortal can just 'command' us to do something. Nor would Celestia play willingly into their hooves by running away from us. But then again... I don’t want to entertain the idea of one of us willingly betraying the others. She must have seen something out of context... but what?”

I gave Luna a severe look, mustering up all the strength my faltering courage could manage. “We need to find Celestia. Now.”

“Right, but how?” Luna asked and I smiled, poking her necklace. The one I had made so long ago now, able to send us to each other. Luna returned my smile as she placed her hoof over it, speaking Celestia’s name loud and clear.

Luna remained where she was, right in our embrace. She gave me a confused look and I took hold of my own necklace, saying her name with fear. Although, once more, nothing happened. My frightened eyes met Luna’s own. “Why... why won’t it work?”

“I don’t know!” I shot back, trying again and again as I started to panic. “It should bring us to her while she is within reach!”

“How far is that?” she asked, a feeling of horror starting to set in within her expression.

“Luna, everywhere in the damn solar system!” I growled, getting desperate. “The only way for it to not work would be if she was dead, outside our solar system, in a different time to our own, within a magic nullification barrier, or if she isn’t wearing her necklace in the first place!”

My sister shifted against me, nervous. “What are the chances of that?” she asked me and I snorted. I started listing off that it was next to impossible that she just got killed randomly (even though that happened already once in our lives...), that we had no way of actually leaving the solar system or our timeline (at least, as far as I was aware... well, actually, she could have used a mirror portal for all we know), and that a magic nullification barrier was nothing more than a myth, a damn theory. “Aren’t the runes Mom had used to keep us within our rooms during estrus magic nullification barriers?”

“No,” I sighed, rubbing my head tiredly. “Those are wards, meant to stop you from completing the spell if it had the intended effect of leaving the specified area in the first place. A magic nullification barrier would actively or passively negate all attempts at magic, including teleporting in or out of a specified area. You wouldn't even be able to begin casting a spell without excruciating pain.”

My sister gave me a blank look before shrugging. “Still sounds like what Mom had used,” she said and I groaned in exasperation. “But 'apparently' there is a difference. If it isn’t that, what if... what if she doesn’t have her necklace with her?”

“Lulu, we wear those everywhere we go,” I said, pointing out that we even wore them when we went to bed. Heck, we even wear them while taking a bath! “She would never leave it behind.”

“Except when she doesn’t want to be followed...” she shot back and I felt my ears press themselves down to the back of my head. Could she really have taken the necklace off? Even in her panic? I tried to remember the moments leading up to this moment, reconstructing the scene in my mind as clearly as I could.

Celestia woke up after Luna used her magic to bring her out of her nightmare, she panicked about keeping us away from her so that she wouldn’t hurt us, fell down from the bed, and tried to get back on her hooves as fast as possible. Something about that wasn’t right, though. There was a difference there, and, as I examined that moment again, I bolted from the cloud in a rush to get back to our castle, more specifically, our bedroom.

"Hey! Summer! Wait!” Luna shouted after me and I gave her enough time to catch up with me, although she would have caught up nonetheless. She was faster than me, after all. “What is it? What has you in such a rush all of a sudden?”

“I think she purposefully fell down from the bed,” I answered while pushing my wings to their limit, exhausted as they were from the earlier chase. Still, I persevered through the burn of my muscles being worked far more than I ever put them through in an effort to return home as fast as possible. “She did that to take off her necklace at the same time!”

“Are you sure?” Luna asked and I nodded, the desperate denial within me quickly losing the fight against what I was certain must have happened.

The flight home took an eternity within my mind, thoughts racing to and fro about what we should do to get Celestia back. I wanted to go out and search for her all day and night until I had her back where she belonged, but that would be next to impossible, wouldn’t it? Tia was an expert in magic, she had enough knowledge about spells to hide away even the faintest sign of her presence from us.

There were so many places that she could hide in where magic wouldn’t even be able to help us, each one incredibly vast in its own right. If she truly thought of hiding in another reality, we would never find her. Searching through every world Starswirl’s old mirrors connected to would be an absurd task, not to mention the possibility that she might have gone through the prototype mirror, instead. I dearly hope she didn’t consider hiding away in the multiverse, I couldn’t take that possibility.

Back in our bedroom, my fears came true. Right there, down on the ground at the edge of our bed, was her necklace, discarded haphazardly during her hurry to escape us. My legs got weak and I fell down, beginning to weep as the reality of the situation got all too real for me. She was gone.

My shining Yellow Sun left me.

She was gone and we had no way to track her, no way to reach her with her actively hiding from us. Luna came up beside me, throwing a wing over my back as we cried together. We cried in despair as we realized we couldn’t simply call out to her and have her come back home. All the while, Luna made reassuring noises in an attempt at calming me down.

It didn’t help, the reassuring words that we would somehow find a way to get Tia to see sense. It only managed to drive me further into despair, wailing my pain to the heavens. Celestia had abandoned us in a misguided endeavor of sparing us from whatever vision she had seen.

She hadn’t abandoned us in the sense of betrayal, but out of loyalty. Tia thought that, for her to be loyal and remain as such to us, she had to go away. Leave us out of a sense of love to prevent this vision from happening, even if it might break our hearts at the same time. She didn’t want to hurt us, but she did. Celestia was gone and everything in me screamed in agony.

My beloved left. Only Luna was still with me. My sweet Moon, my only remaining anchor to sanity. And... and the prophecy was about to come true, wasn’t it? One of us was going to be exiled to the moon... and it would be Celestia. I... No... Please...

Not... not her, anypony but her...

Celestia... Catherine, my love. I don’t want you to be taken away from me. It would break me...

I didn’t know when but at one point Luna took me to the bed and put the covers over my body, kissing my forehead gently before leaving me alone for a moment. The world felt muted, colorless even. Less bright. Hopeless. Gloomy.

Dead.

Everything was going to be meaningless without my twin here with us. With... us... Luna was still here, right? Whatever fate saw fit to take Celestia away from me, I won’t let it take Luna, too. She was mine. Mine. I wouldn’t lose my Moon, too. Never.

She belonged to me.

Absentmindedly, I noticed I was grinding my teeth. Sharpened teeth. Hatred ran rampant within my body and I didn’t want to let go of it. I wanted to grasp it tightly, stoke the fires. Rage and destroy absolutely everything in my vicinity. But that wouldn’t help me. Or Luna. Or... or Celestia.

An explosive sigh escaped my lips, a tired yawn following it shortly after. Luna came back, distinctly smelling of strong alcohol but not excessively. I wanted some of that, I realized. Drown myself in alcohol to make the pain fade away. The more bite it had, the better.

My resolve to stay clear of the poison wavered for the first time since becoming a princess. I didn't care what it did to my mother, I only wanted it to make me feel numb and nothing more.

Luna didn't even fight me for the bottle as I took it out of her telekinetic grasp before drinking straight out of it.

I might have started coughing immediately afterward, unused to the strength Luna preferred her alcohol to be. She didn't laugh, instead enveloping me in her wings as she put the bottle away, nuzzling me softly. The care she showed me made me start to bawl again. Her soft strokes were the only comfort she gave me, but it was more than enough.

We clung to each other, drifting off to sleep in a tight embrace. A tight embrace that told us that we were still here, that we didn’t have to fear losing each other, too. That we would remain with each other, no matter what.

The days after Tia was gone were slow. Slower than they had ever been for me. Luna and I moved through the motions of our duties like mere zombies. Day in and day out, we went through our duties, doing our bare minimum to not neglect our nation outright, and then, with much more fervor, went out searching for our sister, although we had little hope of actually finding her.

I wanted to make a public announcement, begging for Tia to come back home before whoever was going to use her could do anything. I was sure that there was some nefarious villain that must be pulling the strings from behind the scenes, about to force Celestia into betraying us, nothing else made sense. Luna stopped me from making that announcement, though. She was right to do so, it would only ensure that Tia would go further into hiding and possibly run right into the hooves of that dastardly villain.

Was I paranoid? Maybe. Was it justified? Possibly. Was I right about there being an unseen villain, somepony wanting to tear us apart? I feared so. And fear could be a powerful motivator, driving ponies to either great lengths or cause them to fall into the deepest pit from which there was no escape.

Suffice it to say, I didn't operate well on fear and paranoia.

I was living from moment to moment, driving our agents crazy by getting increasingly snappy at them for failing me so spectacularly in finding my sister. Tia was right, they were useless. If Luna had not been there for me, I would have lost myself to my fears and anxiety after the first month had passed. After the second month, I started to vent my anger on the training dummies our guard used for new recruits and Luna had to drag me away before I could openly weep in front of our little ponies (and destroy the training courtyard in the process, I guess... since when were these things so fragile, anyway?).

Hope, I bitterly thought, had abandoned me. Month after month, the only thing hope managed to do for me was to make the painful ache in my heart start to throb more and more. It was maddening. I stubbornly clung to the last vestiges of my hope for Celestia to return home safely, crying in my sleep for the universe to spare my sister her dark fate.

A year passed and no news of our sister reached us. Luna and I had searched each and every city, village, forest, and mountain (the only thing left was pretty much the ocean by this point, I swear). None of the ponies living in the places that we went to knew anything about the whereabouts of our lost sister. Not even rumors of where she could be. The population was starting to notice the lack of their third princess and unrest was already beginning to show its ugly head.

Tia always was such a public figure and now it was coming to bite us in our flanks. There was no keeping things secret, whether it be embarrassing rumors or the absence of Equestria's strongest guardian.

Another year went by in the blink of an eye and I was starting to get worried even more. My search got more and more erratic as time continued on and our ponies were noticing something was wrong. Not only with their missing princess but also with me. With each passing day, week, and month I was having more trouble thinking clearly. The worry, anxiety, and fear were making me go into hysterics. I needed to find my twin before anything happened to her.

I was one step away from breaking and it showed. Sometimes, I was missing entire days worth of memories as I moved through them in a haze, and other days, I didn't even move a single feather as I stayed in bed. The emotional toll was high, but I still had my Moon there with me, at least.

Luna was like a calming balm to my stress, anchoring my emotions as much as she could. We both desperately clung to each other, but our mutual need to find our sister had us neglecting our duties more and more. The nobles had to pick up the slack for us, and for once, they wholeheartedly helped us without ulterior motives. It was surprising that they could put their greed completely behind them for even a little while. I was glad they understood the need to help wherever they could, though.

Three years after Celestia’s disappearance, false leads were starting to trickle in and quickly managed to drive me completely mad in a chase for a specter. Somepony was playing with me, toying with me, tricking me into a false sense of hope, and then they crushed it mercilessly. It felt familiar, the methods used by this mysterious pony feeling like I had known them from somewhere.

And then it hit me. The mysterious dark artifacts full of evil and sinister magic... it was the same method, wasn’t it? Just like back when those things emerged for the first time, they were making us chase around all over the nation, only now they gave Luna and me a glimmer of hope to reunite with our sister. It was baffling, that this unknown pony was still around to make our lives miserable. The more I chased after ghosts, the more I wanted to seriously rip the soul out of the one responsible and devour it with glee.

For once I didn’t think it was a despicable thing to do. The more I thought about it, the more appealing it sounded to me. This pony that insisted on playing these horrid games with us deserved nothing less. First, they put our ponies needlessly in danger with corruptive artifacts, then they taunted us with the whereabouts of our lost sister.

After a year of this grueling back-and-forth hunting after even the littlest hints as to where my twin could be, I was too tired to continue paying attention to these false leads. I had hoped one of them would prove to be true, but after a year of doing this, I knew better. My best hope was that Celestia would return home on her own.

A hope I would be granted, just not in the way I ever expected.

“Sister? It’s time to lower the sun,” Luna said and I turned my head towards her as she brought me back out of my lost thoughts. I hummed, reaching out with my magic to lower my sun over the horizon. Although, as I did so while walking towards Luna to join her so we could retire to our bedroom, a jolt went through me and I cried out in pain. Luna raced towards me and caught me before I hit the ground, giving me a concerned gaze.

A loud bang rang through our throne room and the doors were blown open, cleanly ripped from their hinges as they thundered to the floor. Our heads whipped around to see Celestia and another pony at her side. No, not at her side, she was standing slightly behind this cloaked pony.

I squinted, making out ethereal chains around her neck and my heart sank at the clear reluctance showing in her eyes, her muzzle set in stone in a stoic mockery of her usually serene expression. A cruel, sinister laugh rang out from beneath the hood of the masked pony.

“What is the meaning of this?” Luna growled, helping me back on my hooves. I rubbed my horn, trying to alleviate the magical backlash I just went through. Whatever caused it, that pony must have been behind this.

“Kill the white one while she is still dazed,” a raspy voice rang out from the cloaked pony and I recognized the voice instantly. It had a certain whiny quality to it that I knew could only belong to one pony only.

My train of thought was derailed as Celestia actually followed the command dutifully without hesitating, throwing one of her self-developed combat spells at me with the full intent of killing me as was ordered of her. I had little time to get my muscles ready to dodge and I gasped in pain as I was blown away from Luna as the spell exploded on me, sending me crashing against the wall. I fell down, blinking rapidly as my world spun rapidly around.

So much for practicing magic to get better than Celestia at it... I never stood a chance. In a fair fight, I might have been able to protect myself against that attack, but this wasn't really a fair fight, was it? No, this was an ambush, a genuine attempt at seizing the throne from us.

“Tia! Stop this! What are you doing?!” Luna roared, teleporting to my side and putting up a shield. My sister put her trembling hooves on my side in disbelief and I winced, a whimper leaving my throat. “Don’t w-worry, Sunny. I’ll... I’ll keep you safe. You're g-going to be fine..!”

I stared at her as her hooves came back bloodied, coated in my golden-glowing, mana-rich blood. Luna was deathly pale and I could tell she was afraid I would bleed out on her. Tia did use her siege breaker on me, I probably had a gaping hole in me right now. It certainly felt like it. I was feeling... kinda... lightheaded...

I struggled slightly to focus my attention back on Luna as she turned around to face our sister, and without a doubt, the former princess that should have been dead a long time ago. Platinum had returned and somehow managed to put a leash of some kind on my twin. A leash that allowed her to command her like an obedient tin soldier.

A tin soldier with the power of the Yellow Sun on her side. Suffice it to say, we were utterly screwed.

“Release my sister at once and surrender,” Luna said, her commanding tone not allowing for any sort of argument. Platinum, on the other hoof, laughed mockingly and drew her hood back with a withered hoof. Her visage was... almost skeletal in quality. Her sunken eyes glared balefully at us, her hatred for us was just as strong as it has been since we entered her life and took everything away from her. “Or die.”

Platinum sneered. “I think not, peasant,” she hissed back at Luna, patting Celestia’s cheek almost affectionately. Almost. It was clear that she did so in a demeaning way. After all, she was still the same, greedy mare we have come to know. Platinum had changed a lot, but on a deeper level, not at all. Like back in our youth, she was still that overly self-centered, narcissistic mare that didn’t know what no meant. “It took me a great amount of time to bind her like this. Do you like it? I think it is one of my best works yet.”

My sister growled angrily at her mocking words. “Stop this and I might yet spare you your miserable life, Platinum,” Luna told her as she extended her wings threateningly. “You have gone too far with this. What kind of evil magic have you been using to prolong your life like this? To what lengths have you gone in your quest for vengeance?”

Platinum let out a mocking laugh as her sunken eyes took on a crazed look. “Ah. The soul is such a fickle thing, isn’t it?” she answered, smiling thinly and I could make out her teeth from where we were. They were sharp and jagged, twisted beyond what a pony should have had. The sharp fangs we ourselves had while in our alternate forms were at least still normal. The feral quality of what Platinum’s teeth looked like, on the other hoof? It was... nightmarish.

This... this was the unexpected betrayal, the nightmare that would arise and threaten the world if left to her own devices. The prophecy never talked about us betraying each other, I just interpreted it that way because of everything else mentioned in the prophecy. I was a fool. I never realized it until it was too late.

And now, we were only moments away from fulfilling the rest of the prophecy. There must be a way to change at least one thing, please. I don't want to lose my twin to this... abomination.

How far have you truly fallen from grace, Platinum? Have you really become this nightmarish caricature of a pony all on your own? To think I ever gave you a chance to overcome your faults...

“How can you defile the sanctity of souls like that?!” I asked, more than 'just' horrified. The thought of her twisting her own soul, or even consuming them to extend her life... it made my fur crawl in horror. Using magic in such a way... it was a crime against life and death. It was a darkness that shouldn’t exist.

A piece of darkness left behind by the Devourer of Life and Death.

How... how did she come upon a remnant of that vile being? Why would she even let it change her so? She... no, that’s it, isn’t it? Everything that would grant her the ability to enact her revenge upon us... she would gladly take it for herself, wouldn’t she? She was too far gone, that much was obvious.

She was irredeemable. Pure evil. Platinum... to think that I once granted her more than one chance to better herself. I should have seen her for the monster that she truly is, the monster that she turned into standing right before us. I was naïve and stupid to think that she could be anything but this abomination, desecrating the sanctity of the soul like that.

“Defiling is such a strong word, don’t you think?” Platinum spat. Her crazed eyes chilled me to the bones as she showed no remorse at all. “I like to think of it as a sacrifice for the greater good. They died for a greater cause. A grander cause. As will you.”

“You...” I whispered, realizing for the first time what had been right under our muzzles. “All the missing cases... the dark artifacts. Why..? How could you?!”

“How could I? How could I?! I will tell you why,” she said, sneering. “I needed to perfect my masterpiece, the most complex spell your small, simple, insignificant minds could only hope to understand. All so that I could take back my rightful place. You don’t belong on those thrones! I will put everything back to how it should be, you little heretics. My plan of tempting that buffoon Tirek into taking away your powers failed... but this one shall not! Ah ha ha ha!”

Luna shot a beam of magic at her, tired of Platinum’s whining that we didn’t ‘deserve’ our place. Celestia, though, intercepted the attack dutifully as she was reduced to a mere pet and it broke my heart to see her fight for this disgusting miscreant. Platinum laughed in her megalomaniacal way, powering her horn up in a twisted light of cold and icy blue, vivid dark purple, sickly green, and bubbling black.

Her magic aura was even more horrid than black magic alone, I realized. I recognized the green sting of fel-touched magic signifying her corrupted mental state. It was a devious type of magic I thought only existed in Azeroth, but apparently, ponies were also very much capable of harnessing the demon's signature, hellish magic.

Even from all the way over here, the icy blue aura felt like all life was being sucked out of me. There was only one possibility of what kind of magic that could be: death magic. Amore once told me it was the primary source of the dreaded umbrum, beings of pure death and shadow. It was the complete opposite of the pure, soothing light blue magic of love.

The black aura was an obvious sign of dark magic, but... what was that purple aura? It felt similar to what the sha had felt like on Pandaria, but also not. In a way, it felt more malicious and deranged...

I was thrown out of my thought as Luna intercepted another of Celestia's spells meant for me before she turned her head toward me. “Go! Get to safety, Summer!” Luna told me, shooting a beam of arcane might at Platinum in an effort to stop her from completing whatever spell she was casting. None of them connected, sadly. Our sister was protecting her, despite the clear reluctance I could see in her eyes. She was fighting, trying to break free of the control Platinum had over her.

Her efforts wouldn’t be enough to regain her freedom, I could tell. A single look at those chains around her neck was enough to tell me that they were far too strong for her to break out of. They were resisting even the might of alicorn magic. This pale light blue soul magic... it was unlike anything we had encountered before. And without sufficiently enough knowledge about it, we would be hopelessly tapping around in the dark trying to find a way to counter it.

“No. I won’t leave you behind, Luna,” I said, wincing as I struggled to stand beside her. Breathing was difficult, but I gritted my teeth in determination. Luna gave me a pleading look, one I returned with as much ferocity as I could muster. She wouldn’t leave me alone, I won’t risk her being taken away from me, too. I won't let anypony take my Moon away from me, never.

Together we could defeat Platinum. Hopefully.

Alas, we were thoroughly outmatched by the magical abilities of our sister. She expertly deflected everything Luna threw at her and my own pitiful attempts were even less effective than Luna’s. My magic still felt sluggish after the backlash and Platinum continued her spell unhindered. A sense of urgency filled me and I desperately called out to my magic to do something, anything.

Try as we might, Luna and I were too late as the spell Platinum cast finished with a bright and sickly light. A wailing sound akin to what I would have associated with a banshee echoed around us and we watched in total and utter soul-rending horror as Platinum dissolved into a miasma of a cloud before she completely surrounded my twin.

The icy blue cloud flickered with green and black particles, a purple haze ensnaring my twin with sickly and putrid tentacles reminiscent of what we had seen in the smoky illusion of the Devourer of Life and Death on Azeroth, slowly entering Celestia and I cried out in denial at what she was doing. She was possessing her. Platinum, the Bitchqueen Supreme, was possessing my wife.

By my sun... she was possessing my wife! No! Not like this!

Something within me snapped and my magic answered the call in a raging tempest of arcane wrath as it shot forth, blasting a path of absolute annihilation toward Platinum’s cloud-like state, ripping the throne room apart from top to bottom. My sister... no, Platinum stepped out of the smoke and grinned cruelly as she flicked her head and deflected my attack with no effort at all.

She laughed crazily, turning her head around in order to look herself over with glee. She had a dark purple coat and her eyes were slit. The iris was a deep blue and her mane pale white mane had a sickly, light cyan streak running through it. But most notably, her horn resembled Sombra’s curved, red horn. Even her Cutie Mark had changed. Gone was the crown she had been so proud of before. In its stead were a horn and fiery, blue wings to represent her greed of stealing her alicornhood from my sister. “I’m young! I’m young! Ah ha ha hah! And all of this power! Nothing can stand against me now! I shall rule forever! Ah ha ha ha!”

Luna was in front of her a moment later, moving incredibly fast and throwing herself at our foe. I could see the coat of my sister turning black as they started fighting up close, trying to bite each other’s throats out. Both of them were rolling around on the ground for a moment before my sister blasted her directly through the roof after she bucked her up into the air to get a clear shot at her.

“Get the Elements, sister!” Nightmare shouted at me, readying her wings to take off after Platinum. “We need to purge her from Tia!”

“But... without Tia, who would wield Magic and Loyalty?” I asked. Uncertainty and fear froze me up in absolute terror. This... I-I couldn’t do this. I don’t want to do this. It would m-mean... it would mean that Tia would be trapped on the moon with that... that monster. For a thousand years. I can’t let the prophecy fulfill itself like that. I won't let it! There must be something I could do, damnit!

Nightmare snarled, glaring at me with heavy reluctance. She knew it as well, didn’t she? “Just take them and use them, Summer! We need to do something!”

Then, she was gone. Gone after where she had thrown the usurper through the roof. I glanced at the destroyed cover of the hidden mechanism in the floor where we stored the Elements of Harmony.

Could I... could I tell them to spare my sister this fate? It was my only hope. I didn’t want to do this, but if we didn’t do something in order to deal with Platinum because we didn’t want to use the Elements on her for fear of taking Celestia away, what would happen to our nation? She would ruin everything we built up, bringing about the destruction of the very ideals Equestria stood for.

We had to use them even if it meant Celestia was caught in the crossfire. Tia would have done the same, right? Our duty to safeguard our nation, this world... it has to come before our own desires.

And I hated it. I hated that this was what we needed to do. I didn’t want to do it, I really didn’t want to, but... what else could I do? This destiny, this damn prophecy... why, Clover? Why did you have to go and make this damn prophecy? Why couldn’t you ignore your temptation and stay away from prophetic magic? It was the ultimate jinx, a curse of knowledge.

A prophecy would come true, I painfully learned. A vision, one could work with that, it was malleable, but a prophecy foreseen by magic? It had the ugly tendency to come true regardless of what you tried. I was a fool for believing otherwise. A fool to hope that we could prevent it. That we could ignore it.

The Elements lifted themselves off the pedestal they were on, rising within my telekinesis. Each one shined with power magnitudes greater than I could ever achieve on my own and I could feel their desire to be wielded for good.

To do what needs to be done.

Nightmare crashed through the roof and I heard the cackling, twisted tone of Platinum within the body of my twin sister. All that stood before me was a twisted alicorn because we were too weak to prevent this outcome. This was the moment Tia had seen in her vision, wasn’t it? Fighting us with the intent to kill, trapped in her own body being marionetted around by a vile monster.

The Elements responded to me and me alone. Nightmare Moon was dazed on the ground, coughing up blue-glowing blood, and I turned my gaze back to the true nightmare in the room. With a pleading thought, I told the Elements to get Platinum away from my sister. Get her as far away as possible, to spare my sister her life.

I should have worded my thoughts more clearly. I should have given the Elements a clearer command than ‘take Platinum away from my sister’. Because, as they powered up and fired a rainbow of pure power at her, they took my words literally.

They send Platinum away from my sister. Away... from Nightmare Moon, not from Celestia. They misinterpreted my words and I wailed in agonized screams for them to bring Celestia back, to give me back my wife.

The Elements fell down in useless hunks of rock. My connection was ultimately broken to them as I directed them at my own sister and because I had used them without having a connection to Loyalty, Laughter, Honesty, and Magic.

Grey orbs replaced their crystalline bodies and I couldn’t feel their presence anymore. I... I stared in disbelief at their petrified remains, groveling down on the ground in front of them, begging them to make things right. To bring me back my beloved. A black hoof gently dragged me away from them as I began to scream at them to obey me. I raged and flailed in denial, throwing insults at them for betraying me like that.

Another unexpected betrayal, even though I knew the outcome from the beginning. I had desperately hoped they would understand my desires better, but they had done no such thing. They ignored my distraught pleas, punishing me for something that I had no idea what I could have done wrong.

Nightmare held me tightly in her hooves, her own sorrowful cries echoing around in the destroyed throne room. Everything had come crashing down on us, it was a mistake to ignore the prophecy like that. I had been such a fool. I lost what is mine.

I lost against fate and against the universe.

I wouldn’t let it take my remaining wife from me, too. She is mine. Hope failed me, abandoning me in my time of need. Kindness held me back. Generosity took everything from me. Never again. I would hold onto my beloved Moon with a fierce grasp.

Sorrow drowned me and I buried my muzzle in the fur of my sister, not wanting to let go. I needed her now more than ever. Without her, I would have been lost. Lost in my depression.

I couldn’t bring myself to move, it was just too much. My sister had an easier time getting a grip on herself, her tears lessening the longer we stayed in our tight embrace.

Nightmare nudged me ever so slightly, nuzzling me softly with a sad sigh. “We... we have to get away from here, Sunny. This place... it feels dirty now.”

“But...” I muttered, sniffling a few times. I leaned away from her in order to look into her eyes. “Everything is here... C-Celestia’s things a-and...”

“Shh...” she hummed as I started to breathe in too fast again due to an oncoming panic attack. “We will pack everything up and move it to Canterlot. I can’t stand staying here where I will constantly be reminded of what we lost today. We can prepare for her return there...”

“So we just... abandon what we’ve built here?” I asked, giving her an incredulous look. She only shrugged listlessly as she bit her lower lip and I whimpered in reluctance. She was right, I guess. This place would only manage to drive me further into despair. I... I didn’t want to leave everything behind, but the memories here would remind me painfully of what we had and what we wouldn’t have... for a thousand years. “I miss her...”

“I do, too,” she said, rubbing my back comfortingly. A gesture I leaned into, reciprocating it myself slowly. She needed it as much as I did. This wasn't how I imagined our reunion would go with Celestia... I really need a drink, preferably a whole bottle or two.

Haah. Look at me, Mom! I am following in your hoofsteps! Aren't you proud of your useless daughter? Ugh, I hate my life.

Nightmare unintentionally brought me out of my depressive thoughts as she turned her head slightly upwards. “Did you lower the suns?” she asked me and I blinked, reaching out to my sun. Much to my surprise, though, I found out that it had been lowered already.

What was going on? I shook my head and gave my Moon a frown. “No, did you?”

“I... didn’t. So, why is the moon up? I haven’t done that...” Nightmare muttered, looking up at the hole in the ceiling with a frown. I followed her gaze and saw the moon, but it looked... different. “That... is that a face?”

I mutely nodded, staring at the dark marks on the moon that resembled the head of a unicorn, or rather, an alicorn. “Platinum... staring down on us.”

“That’s what she always wanted to do, isn’t it?” my sister snarled, growling slightly. “She is marring my beautiful moon with her filthy visage! My! Moon! I’ll rip her soul out and tear it to shreds!”

I winced as she used the Royal Canterlot Voice and did the only thing I knew would work to calm her down and silence her. Pressing my lips against hers, she practically melted against me. “Let’s go to sleep and t-then... then we can prepare to leave for Canterlot.”

My sister nodded, returning to her regular form as she calmed herself properly down. She gave my side a look, where I had been injured by Celestia... no, not by my sister, by Platinum... and followed her gaze. My injury was already almost gone, my alicorn magic knitting the flesh together faster than what a mortal could ever hope to achieve. I gave my sister a wobbly smile, assuring her that I felt fine now. An alicorn could withstand a lot, more than what we had previously assumed. I doubted even a sword to the heart would actually kill us. Short of tearing each and every cell apart, I don't think anything could.

The first night after the prophecy had been fulfilled was spent in sleepless silence between Luna and me. We couldn’t drift off to sleep (and stay asleep) no matter how much we tried, and honestly, I didn’t want to. We were mourning the loss of Celestia, and had we gone to sleep, we would have been assaulted by the last moments before we lost her for far longer than either of us was comfortable with. A thousand years...

Written down, it doesn’t seem much, does it? Such an innocent number... It was anything but. A thousand years without my beloved, without our wife, it was an eternity. An eternity we would have to endure with only each other as company. It could have been worse, I suppose. If one of us had been left alone for a thousand years, I don’t know if we might have been able to do this.

In the end, it was a less cruel fate than what Celestia has to endure on her own. She was trapped with that monster on the moon without a way to break free of Platinum’s clutches. My twin sister was nothing more than a marionette and I wept for her. I wept and wept as I cried without stopping. She didn’t deserve this. None of us deserved such a cruel fate.

The next morning, I was faced with another challenge, one I didn't expect.

“Who will raise her sun..?” I whispered while staring numbly out towards the balcony. Luna let out an inquisitive hum, just as listless as I felt, and I turned my head so I was gazing into her eyes instead. “Celestia’s sun. Somepony will need to raise and lower it. For a thousand years...”

“We can always try and share the burden...” Luna said as she slowly got up and I followed her. “It won’t be easy for me, though. You and Tia were better at raising each other’s suns.”

I sighed before reaching out to my sun while Luna reached out to her moon. “I suppose I will have to bear through it, then. It will still be hard, though. Even with your help, her sun is much more different than mine.”

"Hey..." my sister hummed, nuzzling me softly. “We will get through this,” she reassured me and I leaned my head against hers. “We could try to do it together. That way, neither of us will have to shoulder the whole burden all at once.”

I let out a thoughtful hum before nodding at that idea. If we do it like that, it would lessen the burden immensely. Neither of us was bonded to Celestia's sun, so this would still be a monumental task. If we were to do it alone, though, it would slowly weaken us even with our own celestial bodies aiding us in our endeavors.

Both of us took hold of the Heavenly Sun, prodding it gently along as we guided our own celestial bodies over the horizon. Celestia’s sun resisted for a moment, unsure of why her caretaker wasn’t there to guide her over the sky, so I whispered a few sorrowful ‘words’ back, explaining what had happened.

Luna and I were almost overtaken as her sun responded with a white-hot, burning fury. It took us a lot of effort to calm the distraught sun down. It was understandable, she wanted her caretaker back just as much as we did. We shared in her pain, but... sooner rather than later, Celestia’s sun would have to get used to Luna and me, though. I wanted to bring back my twin as much as her sun wanted her back, but that would also mean Platinum would return with her.

We couldn’t risk that. Not before we were absolutely certain we could purge her from Celestia without hurting my twin at the same time. With the Elements of Harmony pretty much gone (perhaps even dead, for all we know), we had no means to purify Celestia of Platinum's presence. New wielders have to be found. Wielders that could revive the Elements (if that was even possible...), and use them in the right way. Use them to free my sister.

Luna and I would have to wait a long time for that... an eternity by all rights. The prophecy said that the nightmare will end after a thousand years. And only should the Elements be used in true harmony will my sister be returned to me. To us. I have to believe the Elements would return, I just have to...

I gave our bed a sad glance. We had been sharing it for such a long time now and it wouldn’t be the same without Celestia there. Luna nuzzled me, sensing my distress and she whispered a few soothing words. It was time to pack up the things we wanted to take with us and leave behind a painful chapter in our lives.

This castle has an oppressive feeling now. Luna was absolutely right about that. I didn’t feel at home here anymore, the pain of losing my wife in these halls was terribly vicious. Perhaps it was time for a change in scenery, to be closer to our ponies where they didn’t have to traverse through the dark, gloomy Everfree Forest in order to reach us.

Besides, Canterlot already has a place where we could stay at. The big mansion would make for a grand castle after we expand upon it. It wouldn’t even need much work, it was pretty much a palace already. The nobles have wanted us to make it our seat of power since we first started out as princesses and I suppose it would have to do for now.

My Moon primarily took a few paintings with her that wouldn’t remind her too much of what we had lost and I raided our memory balls for everything that they were worth. The little moments were the most important ones and I couldn’t bear the thought of them gathering dust in our half-destroyed castle.

And, as it turns out, the fight between us and Platinum had done a lot more damage to our home than I initially thought. Well... our former home now, I guess.

Obviously, the throne room was nigh unrecognizable anymore. The only thing remaining were the thrones and the half-burnt tapestries depicting our celestial bodies above them. Most of the windows lay shattered on the torn-up ground while half of the ceiling had collapsed during the night. Most of the damage came from my destructive spell and the other half from Celestia and Luna exchanging high-powered arcane spells. It happened more or less due to them reflecting each other's spells than purposefully wreaking havoc on our castle. Not that I think Platinum minded it that much, having happily thrown my sister through the roof.

It was so very hard to leave it all behind. The rest of the castle didn't look much better, one of the towers had even collapsed entirely during their fight. Rebuilding it would probably take more work than it would take us to expand the mansion in Canterlot. And even then, staying here was far too dangerous with the structurally unsound areas posing a threat to our servants and guards.

Then, there was also Celestia's sword, shimmering in the light of my levitation aura as I gazed mournfully down upon it. Her weapon would also come with us, I decided. After all, my sister wouldn’t want to let it gather dust.

My twin never gave it a name, always viewing it as a mere tool. It was kind of sad, really. Now? Now she had become the tool, instead. A tool to a megalomaniacal usurper that we should have killed a long time ago.

I regretted stopping my sisters from doing just that as we first met that cockroach in pony's clothing. I never thought that I would regret something like that, but here I was. For the first time, I wanted nothing more than to see a pony dead.

Ponies were no better than humans, I thought darkly. Able to reach even greater depths than humans had ever achieved. Disgusting, worthless pieces of..!

I shook that wrathful thought from my mind and frowned at the reflection within Tia’s blade. I could have prevented all of this, had I been less merciful. The sword of my twin would be that reminder for a very long time to come. The reminder that I was the one at fault for her being possessed by Platinum. For allowing Platinum to live. For allowing her to become the greatest stain upon the history of ponykind.

Perhaps I should name the blade for Tia? 'Regret' would be a fitting name, but that decision wasn’t mine to make. I suppose I would have to content myself with keeping it safe and taking care of it to the best of my abilities.

And for that matter, I would also take care of her pet for her. Philomena let out a confused trill, questioning me where Celestia was. Yu’la had been sleeping next to her and was understandably curious as well as to what was going on. A sad smile found its way on my muzzle and I explained with a sorrowful sigh that we were leaving and that Celestia won’t be coming back anytime soon. I would be taking care of her from now on (which I have been doing a lot, even before my twin ran out on us).

Philomena was understandably upset about 'Mama' Tia being gone, but Yu'la was quick to remind her that 'Aunty' Summer was the Cookie Mistress Supreme, so everything would be fine. I wasn't sure whether to feel offended or honored. My darling dragon, reducing me to 'Snack-Mom'...

Ah, well... I could live with that, I suppose. She wasn't wrong, per se.

Once we had packed everything we wanted to take with us, we left our old castle behind. Our servants and guards assisted us with the luggage and we made our journey towards Canterlot on hoof. These were uncertain times for everypony, one of their princesses was now lost to them and things would never be the same again.

Not even their grandfoals would get to see the return of my sister, I mused as I watched each and every servant follow us dutifully to our new home. And with our strongest guardian gone, the neighboring nations would surely see an opportunity to take advantage of us. I feared we might even face our first (actual) war without Celestia there to be the steadfast ruler that could intimidate them enough to not attack us.

That responsibility would now rest sorely on Luna’s and my own shoulders. We needed to be stronger than ever for our ponies and keep this nation safe. Even if it meant we had to lead them through conflicts that might take more lives than I was comfortable with. I knew one nation that would gladly try their luck with conquering Equestria and I wouldn’t allow them to lay their dirty claws on our land (and sky, as the case might be).

What is it with griffons and having one dictator after another on their throne, anyway? Come on, you guys! If the guy on the throne is a dick, throw him in the dungeons! Or... do whatever griffons do, I don't know! I don't wanna deal with it again...

Ugh. I just know they would find some stupid technicality in the peace treaty, again. There was no way the stupid bird brain on the throne wouldn’t try to take advantage of our situation, probably arguing that with Celestia gone, the old treaty was null and void once more. We... fuck, we need to prepare for that possibility, don’t we?

Above all else, we need to adapt. If I had to, I would become the War Princess this kingdom needs to keep it safe. I wouldn’t let my ideals come in the way of keeping what is mine safe. They had already failed me, so why should I bother to adhere to them any longer? Morals are for weak, naïve little mares who give traitorous monsters way too many chances. They are nothing more than a hindrance.

Well, I say no more! My damn bleeding heart won’t get in the way of what is necessary anymore. Perhaps it was high time to let go of it. To stop caring. Why should I give them any leeway with what they could get away with? I won't give anypony the chance to take advantage of my kindness anymore, they are all unworthy! I won't let another Platinum happen when I could just...

No. I shook my head, trying to dislodge that train of thought. I can’t fall into this abyssal darkness so easily. I couldn’t allow these dark whispers to swallow me whole like that. Celestia wouldn’t want that. She wouldn’t want to return to this bitter mare that failed her, having forsaken all her ideals because she couldn’t keep what is hers. If I forsake my heart completely, would she even recognize me once she returns? Or would Luna have to banish me to the moon next?

I swore to myself, I wouldn’t let that ever happen. I wouldn’t let myself be changed so drastically. Our nation needed a strong ruler, that much was true, but not at the price of creating another monster for the sake of battling our enemies. Whether from within or from outside our nation.

Maybe I was starting to become paranoid in my old age. Paranoid that everypony was out to get us. I was jumping at shadows, seeing enemies in every pony I interacted with. And it was all Platinum's fault. My trust in ponykind has been shattered only because of one bad apple.

It's going to take a lot of work for me to regain my faith in the good of ponykind, I fear. Not everypony was going to turn out to be the 'next Platinum', I know, but... it was hard to ignore these thoughts, this damn paranoia. These dark whispers of my psyche kept pushing themselves into the foreground of my thoughts. It was a downright battle to not fall for them.

We would endure, of that much I was certain. But at what cost? I dearly hoped I wouldn’t start to entertain this vicious thought again. I was stronger than that, I knew it in my heart, but... something told me I wouldn’t be that fortunate. That I would have no choice but to take up the mantle of the War Princess. That I would have to rule with an iron hoof.

Then, there was the reaction of our ponies to the news of Celestia being gone and the one that was responsible for it. The day of Platinum’s defeat became a new holiday. A fucking holiday.

It didn’t need to exist, in my opinion. It was insensitive of our ponies, but I understood why they felt like celebrating this 'memorable' day. It gave them the reassurance that we would keep this nation safe, no matter what. On the other hoof, though, this holiday only brought heartache to Luna and me.

I was very much tempted to stomp this holiday out of existence as soon as it popped up, but our ponies insisted on celebrating the longest day of the year. And let's be honest here, I didn’t have it in my heart to deny them from celebrating one of the few holidays we had. Besides Hearth’s Warming, we now had the Summer Sun and Moon Festival, honoring my sister and me for keeping the world safe from a nightmare that would have swallowed it whole.

I could live with that (reluctant as I was), but that didn't mean I would have to be happy about it. Lulu and I didn't even get a free day of work out of it unlike our ponies since we just have to put on a performance for them of raising and lowering the suns and the moon.

Where's my holiday of sleeping in, huh? Ugh, what I won't do for my ponies...

Canterlot grew a lot with our relocation to the capital. Ponies came to celebrate us and our new castle stood tall like a shining jewel by the end of the first year of Celestia being gone. A new era had started for Equestria, the Era of the Two Royal Sisters.

While everything was not good with Tia 'exiled', things could get a lot worse. And they did. They got a whole lot more worse. Absolutely, maddeningly worse. Ponies started to get nightmares and panic spread about Luna and I supposedly being tyrannical megalomaniacs torturing ponies in our basement for 'fun'.

Two guesses as to who was behind all of this and the first one doesn't count.

Luna tried to fight against these nightmares as best as she could, but there was a far more sinister driving force behind them. Platinum had somehow found a way to tyrannize our ponies from the dream realm, earning herself the nickname of ‘The Evil Alicorn Queen, Nightmare Dream’ (a ridiculous name, in my opinion... and Luna absolutely hated it, obviously). A certain eldritch Bitchface used the nightmares to spread unrest while Luna and I had next to no idea what to do against it.

Well, there was one thing we could do... but it would come with a hefty price, indeed. A price I was willing to pay, though.

“Are you sure about this, sister?” Luna asked and I turned my gaze away from the crackling flames within our fireplace.

I sighed heavily, having made up my mind about it as soon as we learned who was behind this incursion into the dream realm. “Yes, Lulu. We can protect our ponies with our magic from her cruel influence. If we have to sacrifice our own protection, then so be it.”

My sister laughed hollowly at that. “You sound a lot like her, you know?” Luna pointed out and I grimaced. “It suits you, though. I’m glad you are still here with me, Summer.”

“I wouldn’t ever leave you, sister,” I smiled, nuzzling her cheek affectionately. “Let us cast the spell and save Equestria from her meddling hooves. If we dream together from now on, maybe it will help us resist her influence as much as possible.”

“The dream realm is my domain,” Luna sighed, starting to pace back and forth in front of me. “It irks me that she is twisting it so. It is supposed to be a safe retreat for our ponies...”

“It will be so again, Luna,” I told her, stopping her in her tracks and giving her a kiss. “For them, we would do anything, wouldn’t we?”

“I can’t believe I’m going to say this, but...” Luna began and smiled more genuinely at me. “I’m glad you made us follow Starswirl back so that we could become princesses. It seems we were made for this position.”

I hummed, enjoying the moment she deepened our kiss to include our tongues. I threw my forehooves around her and let us fall back on the big cushion in front of our fireplace. Our horns began to glow with our magic, and together, we began to weave the spellcraft to safeguard the minds of our subjects from Platinum in exchange for our own safety in the dream realm.

The spell wasn't actually a spell in the conventional sense. Nor was it a ritual, per se. We simply changed an aspect of our alicorn nature, more or less. Well, I say 'changed' like it was some sort of configuration on a computer system, but it was the best analogy I could find for it. Nor was it actually a change in itself. If I had to put it into the most accurate way I could describe it, we 'expanded' the natural safeguard of our subconsciousness to that of our subjects while they slumber. Hence it would leave us weak to attacks in the dream realm, instead.

It was still easier to think of it as a spell, though. Less hassle explaining to our subjects why everypony would suddenly sleep easier at night.

The effect took place as soon as we released the 'spell', but that didn’t stop us from eating each other’s faces out. I wasn’t going to look forward to going to sleep now, and as long as we didn’t feel tiredness claim us, we would stave it off with lots of sex.

I needed it to take my mind off of all the things that had happened recently, and judging by the eagerness Luna showed, she also needed this as much as I did. I’m glad we had the foresight to put a soundproofing spell on our new private chambers. It wouldn't do for a maid to walk in on us while we made hot, passionate sister sex, after all.

Haah, since when have I started to think of it that way? I really was a naughty pony at heart. Or ponies were a bad influence on me, who knows. I swear, most ponies have no shame at all, talking about sex as casually as they would the weather.

Equestria as a whole had become a 'sexual paradise' mostly because earthponies and pegasi didn't give a flying penguin about the unicorns' prudishness. Heck, I still remember the days when Mom and Dad went at it like rabbits before Mom got pregnant with Luna. They weren't exactly a 'quiet' couple.

Things have only gotten worse, in that regard. Half of that I chalked up to a mare's estrus cycle (the spring and summer months were especially not safe for young, impressionable minds), the other half... well, that was mostly Tia's fault, I swear. The herd reform was the primary reason why talking about sex in public became such a blasé thing. Or having sex in 'private' public spaces (and by that, I mean behind a bush in the park, for example).

I can't really say I was ashamed of this change, a part of me found it even kind of cute. It's almost like ponies were reduced to naughty teenagers again, living life to the fullest. And the boom in foals was a nice bonus for population growth, so there was that.

In a sense, sex has become a comfort for our ponies, oftentimes shared between not only partners but friends as well. After the recent hardships, who could blame them? I certainly don't, I also used 'hot, lesbian sister sex' as a way to comfort myself and feel good.

Haah. I can still feel that last remnant of human prudishness in me rebel against me every time I think of it that way. Well, fuck that! I'm not gonna let it affect me. I'm an adult! Feeling ashamed of my desires is for petty mortals and their shortcomings in accepting others as they are!

Now, if only I could get over my own fears of what incest could lead to if it were made legal. Hmm... nah. Doing something naughty in secret had a certain thrill to it that I wasn't ready to give up just yet.

Speaking of doing naughty things in secret... Luna giggled as I threw my shoes off to the side and took hers within my magic while she freed me of my chest piece. I smiled a bit brighter as she began to give my horn attention and I got rid of the rest of her regalia as well, reaching out with my wings to softly stroke hers.

My sister started grinding herself against me and I let out a tiny gasp from the combined sensation of her licking my horn and my clit rubbing against her hindleg. My marehood was soaking wet already and I wanted nothing more than to have her ravish me at that moment.

“Mhh, L-Lulu,” I moaned, bucking slightly with my rear and getting her to squeak out beautifully, too. She moved a little in circles with her rear and I reached out a wandering hoof towards her gorgeous Cutie Mark, squeezing it and making her gasp with delight.

Luna smiled deviously down at me and picked up her pace, bucking against me herself and I let out a pleased mewl as she bit down on one of my ears. “Sing f-for me, sister!”

I moaned louder as she said that and got a bit rougher in her movements with me. “Luna-a~! Ahn!”

She grinned as I screamed her name and began to pull on my ear with her teeth. The little bit of pain had me howling in delight and it only aroused my sister more. Soon enough, her riding crop joined the fun and my voice began to go hoarse as I voiced out my pleasure.

If only Celestia could have been here. Luna drove my melancholic thoughts away from my mind, though, by slapping the riding crop harshly against my Cutie Mark while bucking against me with more impulsive movements.

My world exploded in bliss and joy, riding my first orgasm for all that it was worth. Luna, I noticed absentmindedly, continued with her ministrations. I felt her fangs near my neck and let out a begging whine, wanting her to drink from me in the literal sense. And, as she stopped teasing me with featherlight touches of her fangs, I moaned blissfully as she granted me a pleasure I hadn’t felt for a while. The pain didn’t even register as that to my brain as all I could feel was joy.

I don’t care if this was a demented fetish, it set me off each and every time I was treated as a mere food source. That was all I was and deserved to be. A food source for my pretty Moon.

Another orgasm followed the last and I was renewing my screams with a fervor. She squeezed another orgasm out of me by the time she let herself fall prey to her own body, shuddering against me with loud moans.

“How was that?” Luna giggled, capturing my lips for a moment before letting go so we could breathe after our little bit of exertion. I giggled back happily, stroking my hoof through her soft fur with admiration. The taste of my own blood on her tongue was simply...

“Extraordinary, sister,” I told her breathily, reversing our position so I was on top of her. If we weren’t part thestral, it would have probably been extremely disgusting. And she would have thrown up afterward, I’m sure. We could consume blood like anything else only because of that fact alone. Not that we made it a habit to feed each other our own blood. “I’m just sad that Tia can’t be here with us. It won’t stop me from doing this, though...”

Luna was about to ask me what I meant, but as she opened her mouth I had already put a gag on her. I grinned mischievously down at her, conjuring a few magical bindings and securing her tightly so she couldn’t move. I heard her moan as I put a blindfold on her and moved away from her. This was going to drive her nuts, I just knew it.

I took one of my feathers that came loose without resistance, mentally telling myself that I needed to preen again sometime soon, and got to work. Celestia wasn’t the only one that could tease the Tartarus out of somepony.

Better not dwell on such thoughts, I told myself with a shake of my head. Only madness awaited me down that road. There was nothing I could do but wait now and try to find a solution for when Platinum returns with her, welcoming Tia back with a loving embrace. If there was another way to bring her back, I would have gladly taken it. Alas, nothing came to mind that would give me back my sister except the passage of time. We couldn’t just fly up to the moon, sadly.

Maybe... no, that would be silly. And technology of that kind was well out of our reach, too. Not unless we fancy dealing with a free Discord, anyway. As much as I wanted to try everything, there was simply no way for us to reach the moon. Heck, teleportation would have been my first thought, but even alicorns couldn’t do everything. My necklace might have worked, but without the connection to Celestia, it wouldn’t do anything.

I focused my attention back on my tied-up sister, shaking away my rampant thoughts. Wishful thinking would get me nowhere. Besides, even if we somehow made our way to the moon, how would we deal with Platinum? Sucking up her soul would endanger Celestia to the same fate, too.

Once more I cursed the Elements for abandoning us. I had tried to find them in the Realm of Ascension, but they weren’t there. Even there they eluded us. I didn’t want to entertain what that meant because, quite frankly, it frightened me to no end. Did I... do I still stand true to my ideals? I... I didn’t actually mean what I thought back then, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing. I was still kind and generous... I still had hope, right? They couldn’t just think I abandoned my ideals. If anything, they abandoned us.

What if... what if they were actually dead for real?

I distracted myself from my thoughts, telling myself again that I shouldn’t linger so much on such grim musings, by using the feather in my telekinesis to get my sister to moan for me. Smiling, I teased her everywhere my fancy took me, making her squirm beautifully underneath my touches.

Using my tongue, I licked the needy entrance of my sister slowly. She was trying to shove her snatch towards me, but I wasn’t having any of that. Lulu whined and I started to giggle again. The feather went over to her horn at my command, lightly tracing the spiral, and to my surprise, her horn began to sputter with magic as she let out a heavy moan.

“Huh,” I whispered to myself, staring at the feather with contemplation. Might have to try that out myself, at some point.

My sister writhed and moaned as I decided to have mercy on her and plunged my tongue into her eager pussy while continuing to do what I had been doing with the feather. Wriggling my tongue around, I was greeted with muffled screams and I took extra delight in them.

She was screaming for me just as much as I had for her and I wouldn’t disappoint her now, would I?

Like a conductor on a stage, I made my sister do all sorts of noises, from whining to begging to lewd moans. Every possible sound she could have made, I made her do them for me. At the crescendo, I had her screaming in the Royal Canterlot Voice, and her body pulsed with the vibrations her voice made as she went through an earth-shattering orgasm.

I didn’t stop, just like she hadn’t stopped for me. She was my instrument to play with as I saw fit and I wouldn’t be satisfied until she was unable to make another sound.

By the time we couldn’t go on any longer, both of us were unable to make sounds besides happy, heavy, and exhausted breathing. We persisted halfway through the night, forcing our bodies through orgasm after orgasm in an effort to keep sleep away as much as possible.

Sadly, we had to succumb to slumber at some point. As we had planned, our dreams were now shared, no matter what. That didn’t save us from the wrath of the nightmare Platinum had become, though. She had enlisted the aid of creatures that were called ‘nyx’ (little dream wardens, I suppose) and what she had done to them was truly monstrous.

Luna had already warned me that whatever Platinum did to gain access to the dream realm wouldn’t be pretty. And she was right, Platinum had quite literally corrupted these once-innocent creatures into beings of darkness, hatred, and nightmares.

Of course, Platinum had no actual idea of what she was doing and tried her best to cause us nightmares, as well. Luna was having none of it and dispelled all of her attempts at causing us a bad night. Had I known Platinum was this bad at it, I wouldn’t have feared going to sleep so much.

Surely with the protection over our subjects' minds, nopony would fall for her pathetic attempts any longer.

“Your paltry tricks aren’t even worth our time, Platinum,” Luna told her in no uncertain terms, wings spread wide in confidence. Her confidence inspired me to do the same, and together, we glared at the disgrace to ponykind with contempt.

“You little mongrel...” Platinum sneered. “I might be unable to rule as I should, but my time will come, ‘Princess’. Mark my words, your precious ponies won’t be safe from me for long. I will come for you and destroy everything you have built.”

“You will leave them alone, Platinum,” I said sternly, pawing at the ground in anger. She wouldn’t touch a single one of them, not for as long as I lived. Luna and I would keep them safe, forever. “Because if you don’t...”

“Oh, the filthy farmer has gained some courage, I see,” Platinum laughed derisively. “Whatever shall I do? You little heathens are nothing to me. Nothing!”

“We are a thousand times more regal than the princess you could have ever hoped to be. Having been farmers before ascending to the throne doesn’t change that,” Luna shot back. “You are nothing but a lowly bully. That’s what you are, isn’t it? Your daddy didn’t love you enough and you lashed out. Poor little Platinum, forever alone~...”

“Be silent, you little...” Platinum growled, lighting up her horn with stolen alicorn magic as she spread her equally stolen wings wide in a menacing way. Luna and I responded in kind, powering our horns up with arcane energy.

“And what will you do about it, huh?” Luna snarled. “You are powerless against us here, you can’t win. There is nothing you could throw at us that will bring us down.”

Platinum let out a mocking laugh at that. “Everypony has something they fear, ‘Princess’,” she shot back. Her magic pushed against ours, and to our surprise, it was starting to gain ground on us. Even with our combined strength, she was more... no, wait. She wasn’t more powerful, the nyx were helping her! “Even you two have nightmares! Ah ha ha ha!”

Our vision was overtaken by darkness until we could make out a faint light shining down from somewhere. In front of us was Celestia, battered and beaten, chained to the ground by the soul shackles around her neck and her fetlocks.

“I’m all alone,” she whispered, crying in despair and her eyes looked straight through me as if I wasn’t even there. “Abandoned... by my own sisters...”

“That isn’t true, Tia! I...”—I reached out to her, but the nightmare kept her out of reach—” Please, sister. Don't think like that,” I said while my heart skipped a fearful beat as she continued to cry in her solitude. “We didn’t abandon you. We are searching the Canterlot Library for anything that could get you back... but there is nothing. Luna and I are doing our best to find a way to free you, I promise.”

“Sunny, she... she can’t hear you,” Luna told me, draping a wing over my back. “This vision isn’t real, it’s Platinum forcing us to see this.”

“No! No, this is her. It must be her,” I insisted, telling myself that it had to be true and hoping against hope for Tia to hear my desperate words. This was where she was imprisoned within that monster. I could reach out to her and give her the hope that we will come and save her. I have to believe that. I have to believe that she can hear my message, that she wouldn’t think... that, about me. I didn’t want her to think I have abandoned her. That... that I was unfaithful to her. “Tia, please be patient. We will come and save you, I promise. Even if it takes a thousand years, I'll be there to save you.”

“Such a heart-wrenching sight, isn’t it?” Platinum spoke with barely restrained glee as I cried for my sister to see me, just so that I could reassure her that this won’t last forever. “You can’t even help the one you love. What a pity.”

“You don’t understand what it means to love and be loved,” I said, turning around to give her a baleful glare. Even if Tia couldn’t see me here, even if that image of her wasn’t truly my sister, I knew she must know that I still loved her. And I still have Luna here with me, so I placed my horn against Luna’s lovingly, reassured that not everything was lost. Platinum hasn’t taken everything from me and I would make damn sure it would stay that way. Luna was mine. “Love is something... more. Something that you apparently don’t have. It saddens me, it truly does. For you won’t ever understand the power of love. That is the true pity here, Platinum.

“Love is the most pure thing in the world and when you are in love, you do things that might seem unreasonable. Being in love means that, sometimes, you have to let go. Do what is right and what is best. What you are doing, though, is as far removed from this pureness as it could possibly get.

“You are nothing more than a selfish brat, Platinum. You don’t deserve the form you have right now. You defile everything an alicorn stands for. You are a pathetic parasite, a disgusting leech. Your greed has cost me my sister and it will be a very long time before I can see her again, all because of you. So... be scared.

“Be scared for the day will come when you are going to get what is coming for you. Shake in your hooves in the knowledge that, whatever you throw at us, it won’t prevent this. We will come for you and you will be destroyed. You are going to be utterly and thoroughly destroyed to the degree that there won’t be anything left of you.

“You are weak, Platinum. Love will see us through these hard times, no matter what. Love will give us the strength to get our sister back from your dirty clutches. And what is it that you have, hmm? Nothing. That is your weakness. A weakness that will be your undoing, that much I promise you.”

With a burst of bright light, Luna and I shot a beam of condensed magic at her and expelled her from our dream. We could rest easy for tonight, stay with each other, and draw strength from our bond. Platinum, on the other hoof? She is probably going to stew in her anger and hatred like the pathetic weakling that she is. I have no doubt she would be back the next night, but for now, we wouldn’t be disturbed again.

This was a temporary victory over her, and as long as my subjects were safe from her machinations, Luna and I would bear the burden of her tormenting us in our sleep. She wasn't even that good at it, resorting to low blows, instead. Perhaps Nightmare Moon and Fallen Star should teach her a lesson or two on how to be scary...

Chapter 016 - How to Train Your Changeling.

Author's Notes:

Surprise!

References:
2/1 Person "cameo"... No worries, there is no need to read my other story (heck, I would even recommend against it, 'cause I'm not really proud of it >.>)
My Little Pony comic: Fiendship is Magic - Queen Chrysalis

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Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Nightmare Night. Such a... distasteful holiday, I mused. Luna found some kind of irony with the day (or night, rather) to actually enjoy it. I think she simply enjoyed the fact that it was held during the night and that it was a Halloween rip-off. The origin of it left much to be desired, to be honest.

After we had restricted Platinum’s access in the dream realm to our shared dream, our ponies celebrated the day the nightmares stopped. How did they do that? Well... they did so by demonizing Celestia’s puppeteer (I shouldn’t have been surprised by it, but for some reason I was). And, by doing so, they did the same thing for my sister as well.

Unintentional or not, my sister’s name was being spoken of in hushed whispers and it broke my heart to see it happen. She didn't deserve their mockery, but what could I do? My ponies' minds were already made up, and as much as I wanted to, I couldn't force them to speak nicely of her when they associated her with 'Nightmare Dream'. If I did that, they would also start to question whether or not Platinum was real and that she possessed her. Such things were pretty much unheard of in pony history, not to mention what Platinum did to extend her life prior to possessing my sister. It wouldn't be hard to jump to the conclusion that everything was just made up by us since Platinum was 'technically' supposed to be dead long before she could have done what she did.

Already, wild conspiracies were circulating around us not being the benevolent princesses we claimed to be, I didn't want to worry about that, as well. And all of this was happening because of the seed Platinum planted in their heads, too. Acting like a dictator now would play right into her hooves.

It wasn’t just the adults that treated my twin like she is a monster, though. No, it was sadly not limited to adults only. Even little foals, in their ignorance of how... hurtful... it was to see them fear my sister like that, told each other stories about how Nightmare Dream would come down from the moon for one night only in the year to 'gobble them up' if they weren’t in disguise and offer her sweets as a tribute. It was ridiculous, but try to tell that to little foals, I thought with a roll of my eyes.

I wanted to stomp this little ‘holiday’ out of existence, I really did, but my hooves were tied. It painted my sister in a bad picture, and should she return and find out about this day... I just know she will blame herself. Well, the holiday isn’t actually about my sister (more like the monster that replaced her), but she would still feel guilty for falling into Platinum’s hooves.

Then, there were also the rumors that Celestia had willingly associated herself with Platinum, which was just ridiculous. Just one more reason why I despised this day so much.

Celestia was the last pony that would ever be in cohorts with that cockroach, seriously. Sometimes I wonder how gullible my ponies are that they would believe something like that.

If this continues for much longer, I would have to resort to more... drastic measures to keep the good name of my twin clear of anything in relation to Platinum. If I had to, I would erase every mention of my sister from history so that our little ponies wouldn’t fear her as much as that monster once she returns. She doesn’t deserve any of that. Both the fear and erasure from history. Only myths would remain in that case and I hoped my sister wouldn’t come to resent me for it.

I sighed and looked into the mirror with tired eyes. Five years without Celestia... it showed. Both Luna and I were exhausted, and not only because of the sorrowful sex, the angry sex, the gentle sex, the sexy vampire sex, the... okay, that’s enough of that, Summer. There was a meeting waiting for me with the generals of our military.

It was high time we put some order into that and combined all three forces into a unified front. Luna already had a name picked out for it, and as always, it was utterly unimaginative. I think she does it on purpose because I know she is the most creative pony alive, but getting her to admit it is another thing entirely.

Our special agents would, of course, remain outside the military and the thestrals that wanted to serve us within the military would become their own division. Plausible deniability or whatever Luna told me was her reason for establishing the Special Pony Operating Thestral Taskforce. I wasn’t in the mood to argue with her and I decidedly ignored the meaning of that acronym in German. It was ridiculous and pretty much the only reason why Luna wanted to call it like that.

Philomena trilled behind me and I rolled my eyes. “Yes, yes, I’m going already, don’t be so pushy.”

That bird, I swear. I had no idea where she learned that type of language. At least my darling hasn’t started using the same language or I would have strangled Celestia’s pet phoenix. Legendary immortal fire bird or not, there surely was a way to get her to stay dead permanently.

Trotting down the hallways of our castle, I had to marvel at how much the former mansion had changed. The hallways still had a high ceiling, but I found it added more to the majestic feel. The ‘mansion’ had been large already and could have been mistaken for a small palace, but now? It was absolutely massive. Nowhere near what the Crystal Empire’s centerpiece had been like, but it was a close second in my opinion.

The castle was made primarily out of white marble, as was the case for most of the rest of Canterlot. The roofs of the grand towers and the main part of the castle were a royal purple and decorated with gold. I might have thought it a bit excessive at first, but I quickly came to like the look of it (and it’s not like gold was considered to be expensive in Equestria, it just looked shiny enough in the nobility’s eyes for them to insist on it... and when faced with the other option of gemstones everywhere, I sure as hell won't complain about it).

Our new castle looked almost magical in comparison to our old one (kind of like it was out of a fantasy book or a fairy tale). While our old castle looked like a facsimile of what I imagined Hogwarts Castle must have looked like from the books, our new castle... looked like it could have come straight out of a Disney movie.

I was especially proud to say that it was also 'very' safe. Well, at least as much as we could secure it with our spellwork. Our magic practically oozed from the stones the castle was built with. It would take one very powerful unicorn to even put a hole through the glass of our tall windows.

As I opened the door to the large, rounded conference room (it was more like an auditorium), I was greeted by the chatter of hundreds of ponies talking among themselves. Each one of them was in uniform, wearing it proudly. My sister was already in here and it seems she has been waiting for me so that we could begin.

I gave her an apologetic smile and saw Luna roll her eyes at me and my ‘punctuality’. She cleared her throat and shuffled the papers in front of her around and the room grew silent in anticipation. “As you might know, our nation needs a better answer to external threats,” she began, letting her gaze wander around the room for a moment. Our ponies were starting to mutter again and Luna clopped her hoof twice on the table, stopping their chatter. “For that reason, Summer and I will combine the Equestrian Forces of the Earthponies, the Unicorns, and the Pegasi to the EUP. Henceforth every unit shall consist of at least one of each tribe to better deal with enemy attacks through the combined strength that each tribe possesses.”

“What of the thestrals?” one general asked. I believe his name was Nightshade. Luna smirked slightly beside me and I prepared myself for what was to come. It wouldn’t do to start giggling because she named them S.P.O.T.T., after all.

“The thestrals will belong to a specialized part of the military that will henceforth operate under covert operations outside of Equestria should the need arise for such a mission. The Special Pony Operation Thestral Taskforce will deny any and all involvement with the Equestrian structure of command,” Luna explained, fidgeting in her seat with glee. I think I might have snorted in amusement despite my best efforts.

She really needs to hang out less with the dignitary from Germaneigh if that is the first thing she comes up with for a name. I should have known that, after she learned German, she would use it for joking around...

“And what will happen to those secret agents of yours, Your Highnesses?” Nightshade asked skeptically. He was giving us a confused look as we did our best to not burst out giggling while a few of the other generals were rolling their eyes good-naturedly. Not that any of them were going to say something to us about it, most of them knew we were prone to act a bit immature from time to time. “Aren’t they already doing that?”

“Yes and they will continue to do so,” I answered as I got my giddy feelings to calm down from almost giving me away. Luna owes me one for this, I swear. “They will mainly operate within the borders of Equestria. Thus, the need for a new task force that can... ahem... do the dirty work, as they say. Aside from the combined military, there will, of course, be other departments like the navy and (hopefully) an aerial special strike team. I’d rather not take any chances with the griffons' new 'Emperor', general.”

A pegasus in the back raised a hoof in a salute before he spoke up, his voice rough and scratchy. “Ma’am, my flock would gladly take up the challenge,” he told me and I smiled slightly at the stallion. I was quite familiar with him and his 'crew'. He was a firecracker through and through.

The way he keeps getting into tight situations and always comes through is truly awe-inspiring. General Firefly would do nicely, I mused. That he pretty much considered his unit his family was also a very nice bonus. Now more than ever do we need loyalty to stand strong among the ideals of ponykind.

The meeting took up the majority of the day after we got the main announcement out of the way. It was a lot of work, but we got all the details worked out in the end.

There were a few more divisions made within the military for more specialized tasks and such, like the disaster relief division that would train themselves specifically to help out our allies in times of need after a major catastrophe. They would also be deployed within Equestria, should the need arise, of course.

Aside from that, the rest of the day was spent finalizing the official documents for the military divisions and their sub-divisions, so on and so forth. There wouldn’t actually be any 'official' documents for the... ugh, S.P.O.T.T. division. Damnit, Luna, I can’t even think about that without wanting to grin about it. To name it ‘taunt’ of all things, it’s like she wanted to piss off every other nation.

General Firefly had come up with a name for his unit, as well. Our aerial strike force would henceforth be named the Wonderbolts. Let’s see if they will live up to their fancy name, then. Hopefully, they could pack as much of a punch as they could fly in hazardous conditions. I knew his ponies were fast and extremely agile at their speeds, surely they could fight as well as they fly.

As Luna and I were walking down the hall from our office towards the exit that would lead us to the massive garden we now called our own for a bit of relaxation, we felt a... disturbance, I suppose would be the best word for it. The best I could describe it as was a vague sense that we had almost forgotten. It felt like one of Starswirl’s old mirror portals had opened, one of his mirrors that opened only under special conditions.

Luna gave me an apprehensive look and I raised a brow at her, silently asking her if we should investigate or ignore it. My sister started to slowly smile at me and I couldn’t hide my own excited grin. This was perfect, a nice distraction from the stress of our daily routine.

Like little curious fillies, we were at the door to the storage room where the remaining mirrors of Starswirl’s experiments were kept safely away from wandering ponies. An adventure was just the thing we needed to get our minds off of things for a little while.

We quickly searched the mirrors until we found the one that was active, and, seeing that we had no further duties for this day besides coming back in time to bring about a new dawn, we stepped through the mirror. Like on our side of the mirror, it was currently night outside and I could still feel my connection to the sun through the mirror. Even more surprising, though, I could feel a connection on this side as well. Although... it felt different.

“Is this... Canterlot?” Luna asked me and I nodded, not having expected to end up in a different Equestria that was in our own time. The first few tests we had done with Starswirl were, now that I think about it, most likely different timelines of Equestria. They had felt like our own world, at least.

“Well, let’s go find ourselves, then!” I giggled, happily trotting forward with a skip in my step. My sister let out an amused snort, probably trying to imagine what our alternative selves’ reaction would be. She followed me without hesitation, and soon enough, we found somepony. Or should I say, someone?

One of the two patrolling guards almost dropped his spear as soon as he spotted us. “What in the world is going on here..? There are horses... wearing jewelry... in the castle...” he muttered, staring at us with total confusion. Oh! And he was decidedly human in appearance. I winced as he ran away to presumably get one of ‘us’ to deal with this 'strange occurrence' while the other one didn’t let us out of his sight, his sword pointing at us while he held his shield defensively in front of himself. If I had to be honest? I didn’t blame them for reacting like this.

“Sister..?” Luna asked me in a whisper and I turned my head towards her with a questioning look. “Why didn’t the mirror transform us into humans if this world is populated primarily by them?”

“I... I don’t know,” I answered with a shrug. “Maybe Starswirl hadn’t integrated the transformation effect into the mirror we went through?”

“What do we do?” she asked me, whispering urgently. “You haven’t completed that transformation spell, have you?”

“Uhm... no. I actually forgot all about that after Discord and... you know...”

“Great...” Luna muttered and shortly after our conversation petered out, we were greeted by an even more unexpected sight. Before us stood this world's version of my sister in the fancy dress I had last seen her in while looking like a human. But this wasn't Luna. Not at all.

“...L-Luna?” Celestia whispered, looking like she just saw a ghost. I suppose that was as close as it got because it was very much our own reaction to her. Tears fell freely from our eyes before Tia teleported over to us, immediately falling down to her knees so that she could hug Luna.

My sister gasped before awkwardly enveloping the sobbing woman in her forehooves and gently patting her back. Lulu gave me a helpless gaze, but I was rooted to the spot in paralyzed shock. “I... I’m not your Luna, sister...”

Tia didn't let go of her grasp at that, too upset and shaken by finding us here. “I-I k-know...” she said while gasping profusely between sobs. The calming words my sister whispered to the alternate version of my twin were helping her calm down, though, even if only slightly. “That m-much i-is... is pretty obvious, don’t you think?”

Luna giggled softly, nodding her head. “Yes, it would seem so. Only if your Luna hasn’t been turned into a pony without your knowledge?”

Celestia let out a watery laugh, wiping away her tears with trembling arms. “No, that hasn’t happened, and... I wouldn’t know either way.”

My sister gave her a concerned look, looking at me out of the corner of her eyes in an effort to get me to say something, anything to make this situation less... awkward. Celestia noticed her looking at me and she followed her gaze, putting me in the spotlight.

“And... you are me, then?” Tia asked, confusing the living daylights out of me. “At least, I think so. The hair color is all wrong, though. Or is it mane? I like the look of it, don’t get me wrong, it is a bit more... mature than my own hair. Not that I would change my look because of that.”

I blinked as my thoughts screeched to a halt. “Uhm... what..?” I whispered, at a complete loss for what to say in response to that. Doesn’t she recognize me? Do I not exist here? By the twin suns, that was like a slap to the face for me. Was I an anomaly? Was I... not supposed to exist?

“Tia?” Luna whispered quietly as I sunk deeper into denial. My (not so much) twin turned back to Luna and my sister was looking at her in a confused stupor. “That is Summer, don’t you recognize your own twin?”

“My... twin?” Celestia said in a baffled whisper. “I don’t have a twin, Luna. Your world must be a lot more different than mine, aside from the whole... pony thing.”

“So... Mom never got me here, huh?” I laughed in a depressed way and I had to sit down lest my weak legs gave out underneath me. “That... that puts so much into perspective. I'm a mistake, an error in the system. I... I'm not supposed to exist.”

Before I could fall further into existential dread, Luna hugged me fiercely. “Don’t you dare to think like that, Sunny,” Luna told me and I let out a sad sigh. The joy of reuniting with Celestia (even if she was another version of my beloved and not my Tia) had quickly drained itself out of me with the world-altering truth I've come across. “Tia, are you sure Summer never existed here? I mean, what if... what if she... I can’t believe I’m going to suggest this, but... what if she died during childbirth?”

“I...” Celestia hesitated, rubbing her arm in a guarded fashion. “I never knew my mother, Luna. Neither of us has ever seen her, the only things we do know about her are from Sunfire and Moonlight... our, well, surrogate parents. They’re... gone.”

That stunned both me and Luna into speechlessness. Had Lunar Sky and Argent Star never existed here, either? What else was different, aside from this Celestia and her Luna growing up with surrogate parents? I mean... I could guess one more difference and I was pretty sure it meant that the woman currently on the moon in this version of Equestria was my only remaining wife. Were Tia and Luna even married here?

Celestia let out a humorless chuckle as she saw our expressions. “I suppose you had parents, actual parents, there for you?”

“That’s... yeah,” I nodded, trying to get a grip on my erratic emotions. I nuzzled Luna in appreciation for the hug and got back on my hooves. They still trembled ever so slightly, but I could deal with it. “Perhaps we should relocate to somewhere a bit more comfortable for this?”

“Yes, that would be for the best, it seems,” Celestia agreed. With us following after her, we soon found ourselves in a familiar room that somehow managed to look unfamiliar at the same time.

It was Celestia’s study and the furniture here was actually made to fit humans (duh). Like our own study, this room had a cozy fireplace and (instead of a big fluffy pillow) a nice sprawling couch. There were, of course, dozens of tomes and scrolls scattered on shelves and a large desk made of mahogany.

Tia led us over to the couch and brought over a tea set with her magic as Luna and I snuggled up against each other. She gave us a confused glance at how close we were but seemed to chalk it up to us being ponies. So, I guess I was right about my assumption, then.

It was... weird. Knowing that Celestia and Luna of this Equestria weren’t together, that is. It almost felt alien to me that there were versions of us that weren’t romantically involved (that is to say if there were other versions of me... it was, sadly, still up for debate).

Celestia took a dainty sip from her tea and gathered her thoughts for a few seconds before she turned back to us. “I think we should compare what else is different between our respective realities. Learn what similarities there are, and so on.”

“Very well,” I nodded, being careful of Luna’s horn as I rested my head on top of hers with another loving nuzzle. “Should I begin, then? Seeing that I’m the... anomaly, I suppose. You must be so confused about this, right?”

“Please,” Celestia said, making a gesture with her hand that I suppose was meant as a ‘go-ahead’ motion. My, I really seem to be forgetting a lot about human body language in my old age.

“I was the second born of Lunar Sky, my mother, and Argent Star, my father. Celestia, my Celestia that is, was born a few minutes ahead of me and our mother named us after the twin suns, the Heavenly Sun for my twin, Celestia Sol, and the Summer Sun for me, Summer Sol.

“Our father died not long after the first incursion of the icy spirits feeding on the hatred between the three pony tribes. Luna had been born six years after Tia and I first saw the suns’ light, only for Dad to die shortly afterward. She never got to know him as much as my twin and I did and... it changed our mother.”

Celestia listened quietly, raising an eyebrow as I told her about the twin suns of our reality and it wasn’t difficult to make the assumption that this world only had one sun like Azeroth (or Earth, for that matter), explaining the feeling I had of my connection to the sun here.

“I’m sorry to hear you lost your father at such a young age,” Celestia whispered and I smiled softly back at her. “Luna and I lost Sunfire and Moonlight, too. Not at an early age, though.”

I chuckled mirthlessly, feeling reminded that even in alternate worlds we had to go through hardships I wouldn’t wish on anypony else. Well, except for Platinum, of course. “It seems we are destined to lose loved ones, aren’t we?”

She nodded at me, her gaze full of pain and sorrow. For her, it must be especially hard to be completely alone like that. Celestia didn’t even have her Luna with her or another version of myself to comfort herself with.

Luna hummed and I let her go on with the story instead of me. “After a few years of quietly living together on our little farm (I still miss those days, by the way), the eternal winter returned because the three warring tribes brought the wendigos back due to their negative emotions, and shortly after that, our Equestria came to be with the three tribes establishing a truce between them.”

“An interesting history,” Celestia said before a slight frown started to appear on her face. “Much more peaceful than ours. I envy you. Our nation was founded after one of the two deities"—my ear twitched at the way she said that (I was pretty sure there was some resentment in that statement...)—" blessed the humans of this realm with magic. Her brother, though, only sought the destruction of everything she worked to create. It ultimately led to a cataclysmic war and she had to seal him away while also sealing herself away to maintain the prison holding him.

“Sunfire and Moonlight were her champions... they died for her. They died fighting a monster that defiled their bodies and raised them into undeath to fight for the cause of their master. To fight against us. Without her having made them her champions, they wouldn’t have had to go through that. Moonlight and Sunfire were a thousand times the parents that she was supposed to be. She abandoned them and us in turn...”

Luna and I watched her press her fingernails tightly into her palms and I felt my ears splay back against my head. I could feel her hatred for the unjust fate from where Luna and I rested on the couch and all I wanted to do was make her pain go away.

She was right, what befell her family was a thousand times worse than what happened to my own. I didn’t even want to entertain the idea of having to fight the undead versions of my own parents because some megalomaniacal monster decided to use them against us.

We continued to chat for much of the night about this and that. Luna and I told her of our difficulties with our version of Equestria (a lot of it was pretty similar but still very different from Celestia’s world). Celestia and her Luna were fierce warriors, trained from a very young age just like our mom taught us. The only difference was that our mom focused more on the subtler ways while they learned the art of war on a large scale. They could fight entire armies much more efficiently than Luna and I could have ever hoped to even emulate.

They, too, had their own enchanted weapons, although they gave them up due to a prophecy of their own. Somepony, or rather, someone will rise to fight the darkness that threatens their world and these saviors would be wielding the weapons that Moonlight and Sunfire had wielded in the past and passed on to Celestia and Luna. To be honest, this darkness sounded a lot like what Hope and her siblings had battled against.

Could it be that its influence wasn’t unique to our Equestria? It was a dark thought, indeed. To think that the corruption of similar beings to the Devourer of Life and Death could have sought out other realities, too... it was terrifying.

“If you ever need our help, you only need to ask,” I said, standing beside the portal back home. Celestia smiled as we embraced one last time and I gave her a bright smile back. “Or if you simply want to visit and spend a day off, you know where to find us.”

“Thank you, Summer,” Celestia answered, humming giddily as she was probably screaming like a little child in her head at hugging an alicorn in real life. “And the same offer is true for you, too. Do come by again, won’t you?”

“Of course, Tia,” I nodded.

“And... if you need help against Platinum...” she began and I nodded, not needing to hear more to know that she would come running if we asked it of her. “It still baffles me that such a kind and generous woman turned out to be such a vile monster in your universe.”

“Believe me, had we known that she was behind so many crimes in our world...” I muttered, not able to keep the tiny growl out of my voice. “I would have devoured her soul as soon as we met her. I had hoped she would grow out of it, but I was sadly mistaken in that belief.”

“Were I in your position, I don’t think I could have done anything less than that,” Celestia agreed, slowly stroking a hand through my hair with a mournful hum. "You are a good... pony, Summer. Don't let anything ever change that, okay?"

"Okay," I said, giving her one last squeeze before facing the mirror to go through it and get ready to raise the suns as soon as I was back home.

“...Summer?”

I stopped just shy of entering the mirror and turned my head back to her with an inquisitive brow raised. “Yes?”

“Are you and Luna...” Celestia began and shuffled awkwardly where she stood. She looked almost afraid to voice her thoughts.

I smiled softly, not actually needing to hear her say it out loud to ask me if I was 'together-together' with my own sister. “Yes, Tia. We are. Does that make you uncomfortable?”

“I...” she said, hesitantly looking me into my eyes with her own pale magenta ones. “I want to say no, but I won’t judge. I don’t see my Luna in that way. As long as both of you are happy, I’ll support you.”

“I’m glad you don’t fault us for feeling like this, Celestia,” I told her, relieved that the alternate version of my twin wasn’t utterly disgusted with me. “If I could be so curious, I have a question of my own.”

“Ask me, I’ll do my best to give you an answer.”

“Do you remember living a previous life?” I asked and hoped to see that little sparkle of recognition in her eyes, at least some hint that she had shared a similar experience as I did with my Celestia and Luna.

Instead of seeing what I hoped to see, I only saw confusion in her eyes and I knew then and there that I wouldn’t find what I searched for. Either she didn’t remember her time as Catherine, or she has never lived as Catherine before her life as Celestia began. I stepped through the mirror as she was about to ask me what this was about, not feeling up to the task of explaining myself to her.

Sometimes, knowing you were a reborn soul was something that made you stand out and gave you the feeling of not actually belonging. Of course, that was a silly notion, but one can’t just dictate their feelings about matters like this. I knew that I belonged here in Equestria, there was no doubt about that in my mind, but it didn’t change that I sometimes wanted another pony (or human, as the case might be) to talk to about this and not have them look at me like I was crazy. Luna filled that role nicely most of the time, but sometimes all I wanted was somepony unrelated to me with an unbiased opinion.

Well, there are more important things to focus on, anyway. As much as I wanted to go to sleep right now (we did stay up the whole night, after all), a new day was about to begin and there was still a ton of work that needed to be done. A nation doesn’t rule itself, and then there was also the fact that we needed to pay extra attention to our military over the next couple of weeks, months, possibly even years.

Luna had her horn already lit up and I followed suit after her. Together, we guided the celestial bodies over the horizon and made our way to the throne room. The little distraction had proven to be a nice refresher of the dreary daily routine, but now we had to return to our duties.

As much as I had hoped to avoid conflict with the griffons, their new head of state wasn’t all that bright in the head. It took multiple attempts at a peace treaty and many, many battles with massive losses before I got fed up and had him dethroned after he had laid siege to the bordering villages of our nation, slaughtering our little ponies regardless of their age, eating them like cattle.

That bird didn’t know when to stop and he even thought he could try to poison Luna and me in an attempt to assassinate us. If we hadn’t been paranoid about him trying something like that and didn’t have our agents there to tell us of his stupid attempt, we could have spent a few years in alicorn hibernation to recover. Years we couldn’t afford to spend while he looked for every opportunity he could to go to war with us.

I was unable to understand why somecreatures had to be so lustful for conflict and bloodshed. I wanted to chalk it up to him being of a predatory nature, but that would have been an insult to predators. He was simply a fool that sought glory in the most unethical ways possible.

Hmph. It served him a lesson, then. War is not kind and I wasn’t going to be kind to him, either. His screams as I drove my sword through his wretched body, calling me a demon (what can I say, I do look like one as Fallen Star), begging for mercy, and crying for his mommy, were almost like music to my ears. They would have been music to my ears if I hadn’t despised that I needed to go to such lengths with an idiot that shouldn’t ever have been put on the throne, that is.

Sometimes a ruler must do what a ruler must. Even if it meant dealing with a pest by myself. I would have sent S.P.O.T.T. without going myself, but it was actually better to show the griffons that I wouldn’t let them trample on us like that. I didn’t enjoy doing it (okay, maybe a little bit), and the fact that many of the griffons cheered my name for liberating them from a tyrant wasn’t what I wanted to hear, either.

Dethroning a ruler always left behind a mess. A mess I had to correct, even though it was the better alternative. There was actually a griffon noble house that would, hopefully, make for a better royal family. I was pleasantly surprised to see that the House of Eagletalon was still around (despite the atrocious treatment they went through with the old government for trying to incite a revolution) and they were as righteous and just as I knew their ancestor had been. Greta would have been proud to see her descendants bring about a new, more peaceful age for the griffons.

It was a headache to deal with all the paperwork, though. That is what it always boils down to in the end, isn’t it? Paperwork, paperwork, and even more paperwork. I was debating what was worse, killing the bastard calling himself the ‘Immortal’ God-Emperor of the Griffons myself or the paperwork of establishing a new, worthy ruler.

The loss of life wasn’t worth it, it never was. Why, oh why, does war have to exist even here on Equis? All of our little ponies that gave their life would be remembered, that much I made sure of. Even the griffons that had to throw their lives away for an uncaring tyrant.

I had sworn to myself to not become the War Princess of Equestria, but like so many promises I had made to myself, I broke even that one. Had there been a way to avoid war altogether, I would have taken it with open hooves without hesitation. Alas, in that aspect, the now former head of state was too paranoid to fall for the same tricks we had used against King Gregor. I mean, he was wise to be so paranoid of us, but it was an absolute pain in my flank dealing with the fallout of what war brought with itself.

A fallout that we were much more prepared to deal with than in our youth. Grieving ponies were still as much of a heartbreaking sight as ever, though. My heart went out to each and every one of my ponies, as it always did. Every lost life felt like a stab in my gut and the pain only lessened marginally as the years continued to pass.

And for once, I couldn’t wait for them to pass even faster, just so I got closer to the day my sister would be released from her prison and we could enact vengeance on Platinum for all that she had done. It had been utterly foolish of me to grant her kindness the first time I met her, giving her the chance to redeem herself a hundred times over and over again, but she never learned from her mistakes. It was like she was incapable of bettering herself at all, even continuing to hold onto her twisted hatred while being a nuisance in the dream realm for us.

Never had I thought I would actually want to enact vengeance upon somepony with all parts of my soul screaming at me to make her pay a thousandfold for every transgression she had committed.

I knew better now. I knew with perfect clarity that kindness and generosity were only ideals one should strive to aspire to, not to live out zealously in a foolish attempt of setting a better example for the rest of ponykind.

There were ponies that deserved my kindness and generosity, and then there were ponies that deserved nothing more than to burn.

Time was a fickle thing, though, as I agonizingly learned. Some days would just pass by in the blink of an eye, while other days dragged on at a painfully slow pace. Sometimes, a year feels like a hundred, especially when conflict looms on the horizon...

Once more I found myself confronted with the question of whether or not Equestria was in need of its War Princess or the kind and gentle beacon of hope I could be if I embraced my bleeding heart again.

“Do we have any news about the city-state of Trot? Anything new, that is?” Luna asked as we found ourselves back in the war room of our castle. Ponies were hurrying every which way with reports and missives, and if I didn’t know better, I would have thought Discord broke free from his prison. This was total and utter chaos.

One of our generals cleared his throat, speaking with a rough voice and one of our assistants brought a scroll over for him. “They expelled the invading force and erected a shield over the city, Your Highness. Emperor Incitatus insists that everything is, and I quote, ‘in control, no need to interfere, it’s a matter between me and my Snookums’.”

Snookums? What a... weird... pet name to give to your loved one. It’s no wonder that he was under siege if he called his estranged ‘fiancé’ such ridiculous things. I would probably give Luna a hard time as well if she called me that.

“From what we know so far, that seems like the understatement of the century,” Luna snorted and I couldn't help myself from agreeing with her sentiment. Emperor Incitatus wasn’t exactly... fully there. That would be the kindest description I could give him, I suppose. He has one of the biggest, narcissistic egos I have ever seen and that was saying a lot. “Is there anything else that we know of these invaders besides ‘black bugs’?”

“The report says they supposedly mimic ponies,” General Firefly answered. “They appear like insectoid ponies in their natural form and use some sort of magic that disguises them as any regular pony. They can’t be told apart from the real pony, whether it be earthpony, unicorn, or pegasus.”

“What are their motivations?” I asked, scowling. There was no way they just went around destroying cities without wanting anything out of it.

Now that I was thinking about it, there had been extremely vague rumors of black pony-like creatures floating around since before Discord turned the world upside down. Since we had more information now, I suppose the disappearance of Timbucktu was most likely caused by these insect ponies, as well.

Ugh. I really had hoped I wouldn't get dragged back into acting as Equestria's War Princess again.

“We have no information on their motivations or any demands, really, Your Highness,” General Firefly answered. “Emperor Incitatus refused to mention anything of the sort to your agents.”

“Apparently the leader of these invaders posed as his fiancé,” General Nightshade grunted, looking bored out of his mind. “Can’t we just storm in there and make him answer?”

Luna gave the stallion one of her patented frowns. “Know your place, General,” she admonished him. “If we were to invade his home, how would that reflect on us? This isn’t something we can handle with force.”

“T’was just an idea,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. I let out a suffering sigh and went on with the meeting, instead. We shouldn’t have made him the General of S.P.O.T.T., he wanted to solve everything with force nowadays. Can’t blame his mindset, though, after what the old griffon 'god-emperor' pulled.

“Perhaps we should take a dozen or so EUP soldiers with us to make sure these invaders won’t be coming back to try again?” I suggested, raising a questioning brow. “And we can bring in the disaster relief division to make sure everything is in order, just in case. A friendly mission of support, if you will.”

“As good a suggestion as any I've heard today,” Luna sighed. “We might as well go with that, then. I'd rather not find out that they got invaded again, somehow. Their Emperor isn’t the brightest and I know of a dozen ways to get into a secured city, anyway.”

None of them legal, I added silently within my mind.

So, a few days later, Luna and I were on our way to see if Emperor Incitatus needed help with anything, only to find out that the city had gone up in flames, instead. To be honest, it was not that surprising, once we saw the Trojan Horse likeness of the Emperor fallen down within the city limits. His love for himself proved to be his downfall, in the end. I wondered how far his stupidity actually reached if he thought it a good idea to accept a ‘gift’ like that after having been invaded recently.

How typical. Why couldn’t he have simply asked us for help from the very beginning? Then all of this could have been avoided. It’s clear he wasn’t fit to rule if this is how he behaves, endangering his subjects like that. It didn’t look like the fight had been going on for too long, at least. They were still trying to evacuate the citizens to safety in all of the chaos.

Luna pointed to the side and I saw what could have only been the leader of these invaders. And said leader was draining the life out of Emperor Incitatus. Feeling a sense of urgency, Luna and I told the rest of the pegasi with us to aid the ponies in their time of need while we separated ourselves from them to go deal with the imminent threat to the life of the Emperor. The pink stallion didn’t look very good because of what he was being subjected to.

This greed for the essence of what made a pony a pony cannot be condoned any longer and I felt the embers of my alicorn magic burn hotter and hotter as my fiery aura spiraled out of control. The only thing on my mind right now was the primal need to set things on fire and destroy, destroy, destroy! Rage wanted to drown my mind in a fury of emotions and I struggled to contain those tempestuous emotions within me.

My body was glowing brightly with heat and flames followed my wake as my hooves touched the ground behind this villain that dared use such vile magic. My sister’s body was half frozen over in thick icy crystals and our auras negated each other’s more destructive effect on the environment. I was glad that she had the foresight to increase the output of her aura or I would have caused serious damage to everypony near us.

“Surrender at once, fiend,” I growled, feeling the dark desires of my other half flare up within me, almost making me shift to Fallen Star on the spot then and there. Depending on how this went, I might even indulge myself...

No! No. Ugh. For fuck's sake, Summer, get a grip on yourself. I’m sure this... whatever it was, wasn’t too far gone. No need... no need to get hungry...

“And if I don’t?” the insectoid pony asked me, the faceted glass of her helmet almost managed to hide her eyes completely from view. The voice of... her? She sounded like a female, but I could be mistaken. The voice of the pony before us sounded like it was multi-layered as if more than one pony was speaking at the same time. It was as strange as it was... alluring, I had to say. Damnit, Summer, this was an insect for goodness sake! That's gross!

...but she does look kinda sexy, to be honest. The armor wasn't doing her(?) any favors and her mane could use a bath or two, but otherwise? The insect wings were the only 'truly' buggy thing about her. Her chitin wasn't overly shiny or anything. And she didn't have mandibles, so there was that...

No. No, no, no. The bug pony queen(?) is an enemy, Summer! Stop checking her out, for twin suns' sake!

Luna snorted out a puff of cold, misty air that faded quickly away before she pointed her sword at our opponent. Clearly, my sister wasn't a fan of her answer, either. “Then you will face our wrath, monster,” my sister told her in no uncertain terms. “We are in no mood to be forgiving of such actions. Tell us why you invade and destroy city after city!”

The being in front of us laughed, licking her lips while showing off her fangs. “Emotions, Princess. You ponies have such succulent emotions, I could gorge myself on them all day long. I wonder what an alicorn tastes like...”

Drawing forth more power into my horn than it could comfortably hold, I sent out my magic in a devastating attack with an enraged whinny as she gave Luna a hungry look and I felt an overwhelming sense of protectiveness over what was mine flood me to my core.

Snorting angrily, my wild eyes tried to find my foe within the rubble and smoke my attack left behind. Mine. Luna was mine, none will touch her. She is my Moon. Mine. An icy hoof touched me and I whipped around, ready to blast my foe into oblivion again. Luna stared back at me with a tiny smile and I felt myself calm down considerably.

“Sister...” I whispered, my voice altered to the raunchy voice of Fallen Star. It was fading back to my usual tone, though. “I... Oh, dear. I didn’t mean to use so much force... I... I’m so sorry, I... "—my breath hitched at the sight of the sheer destruction I've wrought—"By the twin suns, what have I done?”

My sister nuzzled me comfortingly. She didn't put any blame on me, nor was she disappointed in my lack of control, but... it still felt like she thought differently about me. As if she pitied me. “Let’s round up these... insects and seal them away somewhere safe,” Luna said and I let her guide me gently as we began searching for the one I had possibly obliterated. I felt... utterly disgusted at myself. I... just why did I react so strongly?! “I don’t think Tartarus will serve well enough as a prison for a being that feeds on emotions. As much as I think she deserves it, I don't want her to get any ideas.”

“You might be right,” I muttered, a numb feeling overcoming me as I beheld what I had done. The path of destruction I caused traveled through the whole city and I winced at what I had carelessly brought about in my rage. I... I needed to stop myself from getting so angry again, this couldn’t go on further like that. Ever since Tia... ever since my twin was lost to us, I was much easier to anger. I’m sure my decision with the old griffon ruler could have been avoided if I had been thinking a bit more clearly and not let my emotions get the better of me. I could have found a better way. I could have avoided so much death...

All of this hatred that was running rampant through me... it burned so brightly in my chest, I wondered whether or not it would ever go away completely. Recently, I have been acting too much like a harbinger of death, haven’t I? This... this needs to stop, I told myself, horrified. This wasn’t me.

Luna and I found the leader quite a distance away from where she originally stood in front of us and... I sighed sadly as I beheld the damage I had done to her. There were literally holes blown through her legs and wings that she had shielded herself with and her mane and tail were in tatters. This wasn’t what I had wanted to do. What I had done was... was cruel and unnecessary.

Just how far have I forsaken my ideals? What happened to always being forgiving and kind? Where was my generosity when I needed to show it most? What have I become? All this time I had deluded myself, insisting that I never abandoned my ideals... but it was clear to me now that I had done so. I was so pathetic. A disgrace.

A little nefarious thought in the back of my mind told me that I was turning into a monster, that I shouldn’t be trusted by anypony, anymore. I quashed that thought ruthlessly where it was and reminded myself that I was still kind and generous to my ponies, that they did not need to fear me turning into a mockery of myself. I couldn’t let myself fall like that and leave Luna all alone while she would be forced to deal with me like we dealt with Platinum.

I was no monster. I repeated that thought over and over again in my head, bringing forth every memory of me doing something good for my ponies. I might lash out when somepony was threatened (or something really annoyed me), but that did not mean I was a monster. I mean... everypony has a bad day every once in a while, I wasn’t exempt from that. I'm not a bad pony... I'm not.

Still, this anger... these violent tendencies have to stop. I couldn’t solve everything by throwing excessive force at it and then hope it would survive so that I won’t have to feel bad. Now that I think about it, either Nightshade was rubbing off on me or I've been rubbing off on Nightshade...

I didn’t want it to be the latter case. I didn’t want to be a bad role model. I didn’t want to be this monster I fear I would become if I did nothing against these feelings, these urges.

I'm not a bad pony. I can't be. I have to lead by example and make up for my mistakes. I am a princess, first and foremost, and that means I cannot allow myself to be so wrathful. I must reconnect to my ideals, my virtues.

I'm not beyond redemption...

“What will we do with her?” I asked in a low whisper, not trusting my voice to show any hint of anger in it if I were to speak normally. Without the helmet, it was pretty clear that she was a 'she'. And judging by the crown on her head, she was probably the ruler of these insect-like ponies and not merely a general as I had first thought. I looked the... queen? Insects have queens, right? I looked the queen in front of us over with a sad gaze, my eyes lingering on the deformed horn where previously an almost blade-like horn was. In a way... it looked more pretty like this...

Luna let out a thoughtful hum at my question and shrugged. “Well, Tartarus is out, how about... a deep hole?” she said and I already had an idea that fit that description. But then again, it would be a cruelty to put her and her subjects there, wouldn’t it?

If we had no other option, that inactive volcano we visited on that island with the black sand and green lake would be a perfectly isolated place to hold her and her kin there. If she couldn't be reasoned with... would I be in the right to put her there?

“I... Luna, would it be atrocious of me to suggest a volcano?” I whispered and my sister gave me a surprised look. I avoided her eyes and instead looked at what I had done to their queen. Another failure on my part. A victim just as much as the ponies living in this city. I could have reached a hoof out to her in friendship and taught her better. Now, though? Now she would undoubtedly hate me. And I deserved every bit of that emotion, I told that to myself with self-hatred.

“Summer, this?” Luna began and motioned with her hoof at the beaten queen. “This was what she had coming for her. She wipes out entire cities, sister. A volcano is the kindest hole we could put her in for everything she has done!”

“I feel like it would be a mistake, though,” I muttered. “She will hate us, swear vengeance, and then what? Will this cycle never end? We’re making too many enemies that want our heads, sister. Discord, Sombra, Tirek... Platinum... now her? We can’t just always shove our mistakes away like this.”

“Mistakes?” Luna snorted, incredulous. “Sister, they are the ones that chose the wrong path to follow, not us! They are on the wrong side here!”

“But we could have shown them a better way,” I argued back weakly, a feeling of agony in my chest. “Maybe my bleeding heart is showing itself again... if it hasn’t already shriveled into a black husk...”

Luna nuzzled me softly, a sadness in her eyes that told me I wasn’t beyond redemption, and I smiled gratefully at her. I could always trust her to lift me up. “She needs to learn her lesson, though, Sunny. A time-out in a volcano will give her plenty to think about. Reforming the villain only ever happens in fairy tales, sister.”

I hung my head at that. She does have a point there, I guess. If there's one thing life has taught me, it's that the universe never gives me what I wanted. But still... “For how long will we seal her away?” I asked while a feeling of unease began to spread within my stomach at the thought of actually considering this. Every part of my being screamed at me to not go through with this. To give her that chance. To become her friend and stop this senseless cycle of hatred that I've gotten myself trapped in. That’s it, isn’t it? This cycle of hatred... it would continue if she started to hate me because of what I had done to her. She would hate me and swear vengeance as long as I didn't try to make it up to her. I... “I don’t want her to hate me.”

Luna blinked before an impish grin spread on her muzzle. “Is... is that infatuation I hear in your voice?” she teased me and I whinnied in shock.

“What?! No!” I denied her accusation fiercely while my muzzle burned with embarrassment. “There's no way! Have you looked at her?! She is an insect! A bug!”

“And we are ponies,” Luna shrugged nonchalantly. I stared at her slack-jawed. Was... was she actually for real? She wasn't even disgusted by the thought in any way? Why was she even entertaining this ridiculous idea of mine (not that I was actually entertaining it myself, nope, nuh-uh, no way)? “If you like her, you don’t have to lie to yourself, Summer. I mean, if she truly is able to change her shape?”

I let out a choked gasp, sputtering in... in what? Indignation? Disgust? ...Arousal? “Luna!”

“What?” my sister asked, giving me an innocent look that I knew hid some not-so-innocent thoughts.

“Why are you even... I mean...” I stuttered, searching for words in confusion and... whatever else this jumbled mess of emotions within me was. “Aren’t you... jealous? Why..? I don’t understand, Luna.”

“I would have been, a century ago,” Luna said. “A century ago, I wouldn’t have thought I would be married to my sisters. A century and a half ago and I would have laughed at you for even suggesting anything like this could have happened to us. A century and a half ago, I never thought we would live as ponies in a primarily polyamorous society.”

“So... what does this mean? For us and her?” I asked, squirming slightly as I actually looked her over without focusing on the injuries that I inflicted on her. “She is an insect, Lulu...”

“And we are ponies,” Luna shot back, repeating herself with a roll of her eyes. “Are you actually fishing for my permission..? Summer, I swear, you’re so squeamish sometimes. She doesn’t even look that bad.”

“I’m not fishing for permission!” I blurted out. Luna snickered at me and I pouted. “You’re being mean to me...”

“I’m not!” she denied, though the tongue sticking out from behind her lips told a different story.

“You are,” I rebuked, poking her with a hoof. “You totally are. You’re making fun of me and I don’t like it. I don’t understand how you can even consider... with her... it’s icky.”

My sister snorted as I pouted back at her. “Sunny, you would have said the same thing about ponies back then on Earth,” Luna chided me. “And we don’t exactly look... horsey, I suppose. Just look at her and tell me she has that creepy-crawly vibe. From where I stand, she looks just like us only without the fur, different wings, and that green shiny shell thing. She doesn’t even have faceted eyes, you dolt. Your irrational fear of insects is getting out of hoof if her appearance is triggering it.”

“...” I sighed and shuffled around with my hooves while fidgeting with my wings. I glanced at Luna and the... bug-pony... and back at Luna, biting my lip in thought.

She... wasn’t wrong about her looking nothing like an actual insect, but some similarities were still there that made me feel uneasy. The chitin didn’t look overly insect-like, it had a more matt appearance that rather resembled leather. Thankfully, she didn’t have mandibles or I’m sure I would have put way more power into my attack with the actual intent of killing her until only a smear remained.

I suppose I could rationalize her green shiny shell on her back as looking similar to what a paint job on a car would have looked like on Earth (at least, I think so... the memory was a bit vague by now, to be honest). The hair of her mane and tail looked kind of silk-like, so I don’t think I’m going to have many problems with that.

So, what was my problem? If I could actually look past her subtle similarities with insects and the differences with ponies, why was I still so against this? Luna had no problem with her as it seems, something I wouldn’t have expected from her of all ponies.

Was it that slightly guilty feeling in me that I couldn’t explain? Why was I even feeling guilty about liking this... Ugh, we really need a name for her species, don't we? There was no rational reason to actually be against it if Luna approved of adding her to our herd. But... that’s it, isn’t it? One member of our herd couldn’t give her approval, could she? Celestia wasn’t here to approve and it was making me feel guilty if I were to go behind her back with such a decision.

I wanted to open my mouth and argue further with Luna, but my sister beat me to it. “And if you think Tia wouldn’t go for a pony that supposedly has the ability to shapeshift, think again.”

It was like Luna had read my mind and I felt my heart warm at the thought that she could read me so easily. She had a point there, Celestia would have been the first one to beg us to add her to the herd. If only to satisfy her perverted nature.

I really miss Tia...

“So, we don’t put her in the deepest hole we can find?” I asked in uncertainty, my eyes pleading with my sister to tell me that we won’t make an enemy out of this... pony. That’s what she is and I just have to believe it more. I need to get over my fear of insects, it's in no way rational.

Luna was right, I need to stop letting it control my feelings and the best way to get over an irrational fear was to confront it. In a safe environment. Without being forced into it. Where I could run away and hide in a corner, shivering in fear...

No. Summer, stop. Don’t be ridiculous now. You're being way too dramatic again. Everything is going to work out fine... as long as she doesn't skewer me on her horn as soon as she wakes up, that is.

“That’s the question now, isn’t it?” Luna answered, throwing me out of my disturbed and guilty thoughts. “We don’t know how she will react if we put her into that volcano and we don’t know what she will do if we take her back with us to Canterlot. She still needs to be punished for her transgressions, but would that also make her hate us? You tell me what to do here, Sunny. Volcano or Canterlot?”

Looking at the unconscious queen, I remembered that hungry gaze in her eyes through the lenses of her helmet. What if she only did this because nopony ever loved her? Not in the right way, at least. How do the emotions she eats taste if they weren’t for her in the first place? Do they even satisfy her need for sustenance? Has she ever tried being in love a chance instead of taking it?

“Canterlot,” I whispered and Luna smiled. “You can keep her asleep, right? I don’t want her to flee before we get her somewhere safe in our home. Somewhere comfortable, most importantly. It wouldn’t do to put her in the dungeon, she would never trust us then.”

“What about the rest of her... hive? Her subjects?” Luna inquired and I hummed. What to do with the rest of them, indeed. Keep them asleep and under guard? Or... put a little faith in them and hope they won’t abuse it?

For us to gain their trust, and most importantly their queen's trust, we have to make sure they have the option to leave peacefully. If their queen doesn't want to accept our apology and our attempt at making things right between us, then we can't treat them as prisoners, either. It will only prove to her that we are the 'villains', instead.

Still, her subjects can't just do as they please, either. “Let’s... I want to say give them the benefit of the doubt, but I fear they will try something reckless for their queen. I don’t think it is a good idea to give them too much freedom right now, it depends on how this goes with her...” I answered, worriedly biting my lip. I have been doing that a lot recently, I should probably stop with that. "Keep them asleep until we have had a chance to talk with her. If she wants to leave, we will let her. S.P.O.T.T. can keep an eye on her to make sure she doesn't continue with her previous path."

My sister hummed before nodding. “Being cautious is probably the best approach, sister. And she does have to learn to behave,” she said. “Very well. Let us return to Canterlot then and leave our soldiers to their duty. They will ensure the city of Trot will recover from this.”

They probably have to recover from what 'I' did, instead of what these insectoid ponies have done. One thing I will never forgive myself for, I guess.

Luna picked up the unconscious queen in her levitation and took to the sky on her wings. I followed after her with an apprehensive and anxious flap, and together, we rounded up the remaining invaders, putting them to sleep as well. They weren’t that many and it made me feel like they were struggling to get by. Some of them even looked frail and sickly, further giving me the impression that they weren’t arbitrarily going around draining ponies of their essence.

For a race that relied on emotions for their sustenance, going around invading cities and the like seemed like a stupendously stupid idea. In the short term, it might work somewhat, but even then it was a foolish thing to do. You were just as likely to lose your subjects by doing it that way as you would provide for them. I dearly hoped we could bring them away from this destructive path and show them a better way. They didn’t deserve this fate. As much as I wanted to say they do deserve it for hurting our ponies, I didn’t want them to suffer, either.

Could I ever fault them for wanting to survive, even if they went about it the wrong way?

We put most of them in secured guest rooms once we got back to Canterlot, they shouldn’t be able to cause a ruckus in those should they somehow wake up from Luna’s influence. Their queen was with us in our own chambers, there was no other place where it was safer within our castle.

There were a few healers there with us should she wake up in pain from what I did to her. It didn’t seem like the holes in her limbs actually hurt her as they weren’t irritated or bleeding in any way, but it was better to make sure she wasn’t negatively affected by this. Her race seemed sturdy enough that they could take a fair bit of punishment (much like me and my sister). Or perhaps it was only the case of her being able to withstand such injuries and the rest of her subjects were closer to how an injury of that magnitude would have affected our own ponies.

Luna nodded towards me and I mentally prepared myself as much as I could for how the queen would react once my sister woke her up from unconsciousness. My sister then placed her horn on the forehead of our... 'guest'. I suppose that would be the best way to view her as for the time being. An unwilling guest that was in no way a temporary prisoner of war... nopes. Nuh-uh. Definitely not.

I watched as the slit eyes of our... mhh, I don’t want to call her our prisoner, damnit. Anyway, our guest opened her eyes and stared at us in confusion and at her surroundings. Her behavior was extremely guarded and I could tell that she was incredibly weakened. I felt a bit of concern for her as she tried to shuffle away from us on the bed (especially from me) before searching for an escape.

“It’s okay, we won’t hurt you,” I said and winced as she gave her limbs a horrified look. “Not any further, at least. I’m sorry for... for doing that to you. Does it hurt?”

“N-no... I don't think so...” the queen whispered, her voice shaking slightly which sounded... I don’t know, it sounded incredibly alien. Like it was buzzing, I guess. “Am I... am I your prisoner now?”

“For the time being, you are our guest,” Luna answered sternly and the queen looked away forlornly. My sister made it abundantly clear with her tone that that could change at any moment depending on how our talk goes. “We will see to your recovery first before making a decision on that. It depends entirely on whether or not we could trust you to not repeat what you have done to Emperor Incitatus. You must understand that we can’t simply let you go and continue on like that. Be glad we didn’t seal you away in a volcano.”

“A volcano?” she laughed deprecatingly. “Don’t you pony princesses turn your enemies to stone or something?”

“That... that was one time,” I muttered, embarrassed. “He deserved it, though. Please, don’t think we are heartless monsters that go around turning everypony to stone just because they have done something bad.”

“Could have fooled me...” she shot back and I heard her hiss at one of our healers as he was about to get closer to her to examine her wings. I motioned for them to stay away from her and give her her space. It’s the least we could do for her. “So, what now?”

“Now we search for a solution to your plight,” I answered and her eyes turned to me as she raised a brow. “But first, could we learn your name? I’m sure you know ours already.”

“Who doesn’t,” she snorted. “My name is Queen Chrysalis. What do you mean by ‘search for a solution to my plight’? There is nothing that needs to be fixed. And if this”—she gestured to her holes—” is any indication of how you ponies handle problems, I don’t want your ‘help’.”

My ears wilted at the bitter tone in her voice and I gave her a sad and ashamed look. “I’m truly sorry, I didn’t mean to... no, I did do this on purpose, but I didn’t intend for the outcome to be so... gruesome. I’m very protective of my sister, and when you looked at her with such primal hunger, I suppose I snapped and put too much power into my attack.”

“Yeah, right,” Chrysalis growled, turning away from me. “Apology not accepted, pony. Go tell that to someling that will actually believe your lies. Too much power, my flanks.”

Luna frowned as I let out a sad sigh, fighting off a few tears. Chrysalis hated me, that much was obvious. Why had I even entertained the small glimmer of hope that it wouldn’t turn out like this? It was foolish of me. I had no idea how I could possibly make up for my mistake and it crushed my heart to see her like this. I deserved every bit of her resentment and then some...

“You don’t have the right to talk to my sister like that,” Luna snapped at her while opening her wings wide in a threatening manner. My sister stalked into Chrysalis’ line of sight, her legs tense. The glare she gave her was as frosty as it was intense. “You have done much worse to our ponies, haven’t you? Perhaps you should rethink your standpoint and stop being so haughty. My sister was the one that wanted to offer you mercy even after what you have done to so many of our ponies. Even now, she wants nothing more than to make it up to you.”

“I don’t need your pity, stupid pony,” Chrysalis snarled. “And I don’t need to let myself be berated by a stuck-up princess. Certainly not by a pair of them that can’t stay out of my business. Leave me alone, let me starve in a prison cell for all I care.”

“You don’t have to,” I whispered and I could see the apprehension in her as she heard my voice and the concern in it. “Please, what can I do to make it up to you?”

“Give me back my freedom and forget you ever saw me,” Chrysalis spat. “My hive needs me and I can’t entertain a pair of prissy princesses’ notion of ‘righteousness’.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble, but you won’t be leaving so that you can go back to terrorizing our ponies,” Luna said sternly. “And neither are we prissy princesses with 'delusions of righteousness'. You are in no condition to leave, half of your subjects are starving. We will be taking care of them from now on. You are clearly not thinking straight.”

My eyes widened as Luna made that declaration. We would do what now..? That's not what we originally agreed on! We can't just take her people away from her!

Chrysalis bristled at that, her wings buzzing angrily. “Tch! That’s rich of you to say,” she growled. “Take away my hive? How typical of you ponies. You discriminate against anything that doesn’t fit your view. How was I supposed to get food for my hive when all you do is run away screaming that a monster is coming for them? Or better yet, blast us to smithereens! Fuck you, you prissy shit!”

“Perhaps if you wouldn’t drain them completely of their essence, they wouldn’t run away!” Luna shot back, snorting angrily. “You go around attacking our ponies left and right, it’s no wonder they get frightened of you, you insolent brat!”

“I'll show you 'insolent brat', you fucking...” Chrysalis snarled and I had enough of the spat between them. I tugged harshly at the ears of both Chrysalis and my own sister with a quick burst of my magic while giving them an unamused look.

“Stop!” I shouted, stomping my hoof to the ground, causing the room to shake a little bit. Instead of continuing their fight, they glared at each other while I breathed in and out in a calming manner. Hopefully, I can still salvage this situation. “What is this about discrimination by our ponies?”

Chrysalis sneered at me before chuckling darkly. “Are you really that ignorant?” she asked mockingly. “Your 'perfect' little ponies are bigots, Princess Summer. They shun anything that isn’t one of their own. My hive can’t get enough food, what we gather is barely enough to get by, and you know why that is? Ponies fear us simply because we are different. Going around draining ponies was the only way to avoid total extinction for my species, so don’t lecture me about morals when we are forced into this position!”

“Is... is that truly how desperate you have become to survive?” I asked, feeling horrified. I hated it when I was right. Chrysalis did the only thing that came into her mind to save her subjects. “I’m so sorry that you and your hive had to resort to this. I didn't know...”

“You aren’t telling the whole story,” Luna remarked, giving the queen a narrow-eyed look. “Tell us, you and your... what is your species called?”

“Changelings,” Chrysalis muttered.

My sister hummed curiously in surprise. “Interesting name,” Luna mused and I agreed. Wasn’t there a myth about those back on Earth? One that didn’t paint them in the greatest light? “Tell us, you and your changelings, have you ever tried to go about it the peaceful way? You are clearly capable of blending into society, why not use that ability to its best effect?”

“Why bother?” Chrysalis retorted glumly. “I have seen what you ponies have done with the griffons. You don’t hesitate when you want to get rid of a problem. What would you have done had you found us posing as someone's loved one? Most ponies assume we replace the pony they fell in love with, so I can already guess what their reaction is going to be. If one of you had found us in an important position, as well? I can only imagine the fallout of that.”

“That...” I began before I faltered. She was right, as much as I hated to admit it to myself. “I suppose we don’t have the best track record of solving our problems, especially with the griffons, but that doesn’t mean we don’t try to find peaceful solutions,” I told her, hoping she would believe me. I mean, I would have definitely tried to find out whether or not they were acting with malicious intentions before jumping to conclusions... not that I had the best track record, so far.

Chrysalis grumbled under her breath and I was momentarily confused as she started to laugh. “So, you just go around stuffing them full of drugs so they get more compliant with 'your' viewpoints, and when that doesn’t work anymore, you get rid of them?” she spat. “That’s what you’re going to do with me, isn’t it? You're going to make me your loyal pet.”

“No!” I denied, wilting under her smoldering gaze. “No, we won’t. I promise you're going to be treated as our equal until you are well enough to leave if that is what you truly wish to do. We won’t keep you or your subjects.” Luna frowned next to me, but I decided to ignore her. Her being vindictive right now wasn’t helping things and provoking each other would only lead to more hurtful words. "Believe me, I’m not proud of what we had done to King Gregor, and if it could have been avoided, I would have taken that chance without an ounce of hesitation. As for dethroning a tyrant that forces his subjects to die for them? Excuse me, but that bastard had it coming for him. The abuse the griffons had to suffer under his rule was too much for us to ignore.” That, and he started it. It’s a petty argument, I know, but what were we supposed to do? At least Chrysalis didn’t seem to want to argue that point with me.

“While we could have dealt with it better, Summer isn’t the monster you think her to be,” Luna sighed. “What have our ponies done to you that you are so mistrustful of us?”

“Besides hunting us? Those stupid bats of yours treat us as delicacies. What choice did we have other than to resort to more aggressive methods?” Chrysalis asked and I gave her a horrified look. Our ponies have done what?! “Have you ever felt like you were going to die of starvation?”

“Please, let us help you,” I whispered while shame and worry flooded my entire being. “I don’t want to see you suffer any longer. Believe me when I say we had absolutely no knowledge of this. I'll see to it that this behavior is going to be punished accordingly.”

“Again with the pity,” she growled before standing up on unsteady legs. “Give me a reason why I should trust you. Why you won’t stab me in the back.”

Luna told the healers to leave the room and used her magic to put a soundproof bubble around us for good measure. It was probably overkill, seeing that our room was already sound-proofed, but it made me feel safer and more comfortable about what we were going to tell her. Luna gave me a nod while Chrysalis gave us a curious, if apprehensive, look.

“Because I want to give you a chance,” I answered, smiling slightly to show her I was being entirely genuine with what I was going to propose to her. “Not only for your species but you in particular. I’m sorry if I’m going to sound a bit forward here, but... would you be against the idea of joining our herd?”

Chrysalis blinked at that. “A... herd?” she asked, sitting down in confusion and disbelief. “What? I didn't mishear you, right? Aren’t you two sisters?”

“Well, yes...” I told her while rubbing my foreleg awkwardly with a hoof. “You don’t have to answer and I would understand if it makes you uncomfortable. Just, please, give it a thought?”

“Why would you even give me a chance after everything I have done to your ponies?” Chrysalis shot back, narrowing her eyes in mistrust. At least, I think it was mistrust. She seemed to think it was utterly outlandish that somepony could actually love her. “I’m not even a pony, doesn’t that disgust you?”

“Not for the reasons you would think,” I answered in a mutter. “We don’t have anything against you based on your race if that is what you are concerned about. It's just... I have had an irrational fear of insects since I have been little and... I hope that with your ability to shapeshift, I might get used to, well... you. I’m sorry, it’s stupid and you must think I’m an idiot.”

“No, I... I understand,” Chrysalis whispered. “At least you’re honest with it. I... I guess I should be honest with you, too. I've been using the way we've been treated in the past to justify my actions and not feel bad about hurting others because of that. I've become addicted to taking love from racist assholes, so... I guess I acted like a monster on purpose. I wouldn’t blame you if you hated me for it. I would hate me, too, if I were in your position.”

“Oh...” I said, not knowing what to say to that. So, she tried to deceive us into giving her sympathy even though she insisted she didn’t want to be pitied? That... it did hurt a little, but I would get over it. It wasn’t like I hadn’t lied my flanks off in the past to get what I wanted (mainly my mother's cookies but also to avoid hurting a pony's feelings). “Thanks for being open about that? This is going to take a while, isn’t it? Building trust between us, that is.”

“It’s hard being honest with others if all they see is a monster, even with yourself,” Chrysalis muttered and I wanted to hug her and tell her I didn’t see her like that, but the way she sat there, I don’t think she would have appreciated any kind of contact. “And this damn hunger is driving me up walls. Sometimes literally.”

She chuckled and I wondered if she actually meant that. What would it be like to be able to walk on walls? I mean, maybe I could rework my gravity spell so that it actually lets me set a direction gravity pulls me toward instead of just increasing the pull...

“If you want to give us a chance, I’m sure we could find a solution to that,” Luna told her and Chrysalis gave me and Lulu a cautious look. “Have you ever been given love freely? Without having to take it by force? Without it being directed at somepony else?”

“...no,” she admitted, looking thoughtful. “Would that... would that help? Make me full? I... I would like to give this a chance if I won’t ever have to feel like this again, please! I would do anything for that! And... maybe this will actually work out between us? You seem like you are actually genuine about this, much as it surprises me.”

“As long as you don’t mind us being sisters?” I smiled, a tiny bit of hope flaring up in me. “And please understand that we won’t instantly love you with all of our hearts. Let’s get to know each other more first and go on a few dates. The rest will happen on its own.”

Chrysalis tilted her head as she scrunched up her muzzle. “You ponies have weird views on incest,” she said with an indifferent shrug. “Changelings don’t care either way, as long as plenty of love and more comes our way. You don’t have to worry about that, I was just... surprised the rulers of Equestria were, you know, together.”

“We don’t make it a habit of telling everypony,” I said while fidgeting awkwardly. “So, I take it that's a yes?”

“Yes,” Chrysalis nodded, a small and genuine smile starting to appear on her muzzle. “I understand that it might take a while for you to actually love me like that and I also understand that it might be a difficult path ahead with our differences, as well as your need to learn how to overcome your irrational fears. I’ll try to be patient just like I have no doubt you will have to be patient about me and my own flaws.”

“Don’t think you’re the only one with those,” I smiled gently, despite feeling a pang of shame rise up within me. “I have more than I would like to admit. Sometimes I lash out when I really don’t want to, a portion of which you have regrettably already been subjected to. I’m so sorry for what I’ve done to you...”

“I would lie if I said it doesn’t bother me and that I’m not... 'scared' of that part of you, but then again, I must admit that I also have the same problem,” Chrysalis admitted, looking down in shame herself, and I gave her a surprised look. Okay, maybe not entirely surprised, considering how we met. She must have her own anger issues, then. Nopony could just go around destroying cities like that and not have something like that weighing them down. Especially since she used the injustices she had to face to justify her own actions. “And here I always thought the Princesses of Equestria were flawless... I suppose everypony has their dark sides.”

“Oh, you haven’t even seen those yet,” Luna chuckled darkly and I giggled as Chrysalis looked on in awe as my sister’s eyes flashed briefly to those of Nightmare Moon’s. “Believe me when I tell you that you have a lot to learn about us. Just as we have much to learn about you, no doubt.”

"Wow, I... uh... I didn’t expect that,” Chrysalis stuttered, and much to Luna’s and my own surprise, she blushed a dark green while her tail swished behind her. It seems she likes slit eyes quite a lot. Or dark and mysterious mares. “What else is there to know about you? Any more surprises? I won't lie, that... that fucking turned me on.”

Ahem... uh... alrighty, then. A bit forward, aren't we? I guess I can't blame her, we did just spring this whole herd thing out of the blue on her. Turnabout is fair play.

Instead of commenting on her 'preferences', I gave my sister a questioning look and she shrugged back at me. I frowned unhappily before nudging her expectantly, silently telling her to decide whether or not we should tell Chrysalis about our... most closely kept secrets, such as our origin. She let out a suffering sigh, rolling her eyes as I chickened out of making that decision. “There is one thing that you might probably think us crazy for, but I assure you it is the complete truth.”

Chrysalis raised a brow in curiosity and what I suppose was skepticism. “And that would be?”

Luna shifted on her hooves before giving me one last, uncertain look. “Summer, are you sure we should tell her?” she asked and I simply nodded timidly. If we really want to do this, then we have to do this in the right way, and we could only do 'that' if we didn’t hide such big parts of ourselves from the one we sought to add to our herd. “Fine. You are such a foal, you know that? You owe me a month’s worth of cookies for this, sister. Okay, let’s see... how to say this without sounding too crazy...”

I pouted at my sister. “Lulu, just tell her,” I said with a nervous frown while fidgeting with my wings. My heart was hammering in my chest and I think I was actually excited for somepony else to know about this. Somepony unrelated to my family. Well... not yet, at least.

My sister opened her mouth before I noticed an odd glee in her eyes. “We’re reborn, Summer was born a male in her past life, and...” she blurted out and I quickly used my magic to silence her as my muzzle was alight with embarrassment.

“Not that part!” I whined and Luna knew that, as soon as she looked into my eyes, she wouldn’t be getting any cookies from me for telling Chrysalis about the male thing. For the love of my sun, I wished I could just forget that part entirely.

“Uh... what?” Chrysalis asked, at a loss for words as my sister mumbled incoherently at me to let her lips go with my magic. I gave Luna a warning glare and let her slowly go, smiling sheepishly at Chrysalis as I tried to think of some explanation to tell her that would make Luna’s blunder sound like a joke.

Who am I kidding, that won’t ever work. Besides, Chrysalis should know about it if she was to join our herd. No big secrets, after all.

Ugh. This is going to be a pain in the flank to explain. So... to make things short and painless (mostly for me), I rattled off everything that led up to our reincarnation and told her to forget that I had ever been a male human in my previous life. Luna was laughing her flanks off and I swore to myself she wouldn’t be getting any cookies from me for the next decade or so.

Eventually, we came to the parts about our history that Chrysalis knew about and she began to explain how she came to be. Apparently, there was a magical acorn that started to grow into a tree within a cavern after a squirrel threw it away in disgust. I had no idea how she knew how the tree came into being and simply decided to ignore it. She was quite good at storytelling, I had to give it to her.

Then, she got lewd about it, saying how Mother Nature (the tree) and Starswirl the Bearded had a brief fling with each other (Starswirl ‘penetrated’ the tree with a ‘fierce thrust’ of his ‘nail’ using a ‘wild swing’ of his ‘hammer’ and thus ‘pierced’ dear mommy so that ‘she’ later gave birth to Chrysalis and her hive), which basically meant Starswirl was her daddy. Yeah... I think I haven’t ever craved Luna’s moonshine as much as I have at that moment in particular.

There was more to it than that, though. It seems whatever underground lake the acorn grew in was of a magical nature and it used a fly, a unicorn’s horn (apparently a pony had died in that cavern), and the bones of the deceased pony to create a template for Chrysalis’ species. At least, those are the ones she's aware of, she also had the suspicion she might be part termite, but she wasn't so sure about that.

Her lonely 'birth' with nopony to take care of her and show her right from wrong meant she had to figure the world out all on her own without anypony there to guide her. She told us that only her instincts were her teacher and hunger was her motivator. A hunger that had almost driven her hive to extinction. She basically stumbled upon the ability to change her appearance with her unique magic that only changelings could use, saving what was left of her hive and ushering in her more deceptive nature (while also going on a warpath with bigoted pony states, go figure).

Changelings were the ultimate infiltrators. They could literally become anything they wanted to be. They also... technically didn’t have a singular biological sex and were (more or less) hermaphroditic in their base form. The only exception being that they can't reproduce in the conventional sense of the word (aside from Chrysalis, that is).

I mean... sure, they can still have offspring, but it's a bit more complicated than 'lay an egg and be done with it'. For one thing, Chrysalis was the only one that could lay fertilized eggs if she so chose to. She is, in that regard, like a queen bee, I think. The rest of her subjects were unable to produce 'female' variations of their species. Female variations as in 'able to lay unfertilized eggs'. Even if they do try to get them fertilized (and they have tried, according to her), it simply doesn't happen. Chrysalis called it her 'Queen's Authority', which was basically her admitting she had no idea why she was the only one that could do it.

I... uh... I really didn’t need to know she could do that. Seriously, it was giving me shivers and I had no idea how I should have felt about her laying thousands of eggs with each yearly cycle (for some reason, pony reproductive habits still applied to her in that regard). Without her, her species would die out entirely, so I tried to get over my squeamishness for her sake. We needed to make absolutely certain she was safe. I wouldn’t let her and her hive die out.

I was thankful that she could withstand the full brunt of my alicorn magic or I would have already been drowning myself in Luna’s moonshine in guilt and sorrow. Sure, I felt more than guilty enough about that already, but nowhere near what I would have felt knowing I erased an entire species from the face of Equis without giving them a chance to change for the better.

“So, what now?” Chrysalis asked once the lull in our conversation started to drag on uncomfortably. “How are we going to do this going forward?”

“We still need to decide how to further integrate you and your hive into our society,” Luna answered, rubbing her chin with a hoof in thoughtful contemplation. “You can also shapeshift into a pony that doesn’t actually exist, am I correct?”

“That would be a lot more difficult without a template to mimic, but yes,” Chrysalis nodded. “Should we look a certain way? To ease my hive into society?”

“I would like to say that wouldn’t be necessary, but if ponies truly fear your appearance so much, it would probably be for the best if we let them get used to the idea of your existence slowly,” Luna sighed. “It might take a while for that to happen, but I promise we will do our best to make it happen as fast as possible. Summer has her ways to be convincing if she needs to be.”

“You know I don’t like using that ability of mine,” I said while my ears pressed themselves to the back of my head. “My stare might intimidate the nobility enough that they won’t make a fuss about this, but I can’t go around Equestria and use it on everypony.”

“The nobility is probably the only faction we need to worry about, anyway,” Luna muttered and she kinda had a point there. If the nobility was on our side with this, the rest of Equestria shouldn’t take too long to come around, afterward. “Besides, it can’t hurt to have a ponified version of yourself, Chrysalis. What do you think, Summer?”

“A pony with a dark coat isn’t exactly all that common, but I think that our ponies would be more at ease if they knew for certain that their neighbor wasn’t secretly a changeling in disguise,” I answered, shrugging helplessly. "Maybe... no, a thestral would be really insensitive to you. Can you do a partial transformation? If you can, then looking like a unicorn with insect wings might be the best option."

“Hmm. I do like the idea of still resembling myself,” Chrysalis agreed, and then green flames began to envelop her form. An instant later, a dark mare with a black coat (not unlike the one of Nightmare Moon) was in front of me and Luna. Chrysalis’ mane and tail were a lot thicker in volume than what it regularly appeared as in her base form. She had decided to stick with her fangs and slit eyes, although they looked softer and less threatening in this form. One thing that made her stand out from us, though, was that her fur was a bit longer and... 'fluffy', I guess would be the best word to describe it. It wasn’t shaggy in the slightest, and if I had a comparison right next to her, she would have looked like a big cat. She appeared in her altered form similar to us (just with dragonfly wings instead) and one could have mistaken her for Nightmare’s twin sister, to be honest.

I couldn’t help the blush from appearing on my muzzle, blazing brightly for her to see and I think she enjoyed seeing me so flustered, as well. Damnit, please don’t let her turn out to be a massive tease like Celestia...

“It seems my sister certainly approves,” Luna snickered and I pouted back at her. I could see her approving of Chrysalis just as much, if not more so. She did still look like herself and I felt like I wasn’t talking to a mask while she was like that, so that was a nice bonus. Both her natural form and this ponified form felt like 'Chrysalis' on a fundamental level and that was the most important thing for me. This way, I could hopefully overcome my fear of insects if she could just change into this if I started to panic and whatnot. Eventually, I would hopefully not have to rely on this crutch, it wouldn’t be fair to her otherwise.

“Thank you, I do like how the fur feels like this,” Chrysalis commented while rubbing a hoof over herself. Much to my eternal embarrassment, my wings shot out unintentionally at how sensually she made it look. She smirked at my reaction and I felt like dying as Luna began to roar with laughter. “Like what you see, Princess Summer~?”

“Please, just Summer,” I answered as I tried to get back control of my wings, flustered. Damn her for looking so sexy. And for being fully aware of it, making the most sensual moves she could possibly do just to rile me up. I guess a species dependent on love and other emotions would have way fewer inhibitions in regard to things like that. Or none at all, as I would later find out, much to my own chagrin (and that of our castle staff).

Chrysalis gave me a mischievous smirk. “Whatever you say... Princess,” she said, completely unbothered by the glower I sent toward her. She was definitely doing it on purpose, the little minx. The very, very sexy little minx... Damnit, mind out of the gutter, Summer. “Though I would like to have another form to fall back on. Any ideas?”

“I suppose I might have one that you could use. It’s not of a pony that exists, at least not in the sense you would think of. The form I’m thinking of was originally from a dream I had. As you are aware now, due to the circumstances of our reincarnation, I wasn’t certain that my twin was Catherine, and I... dreamt about what she would have looked like,” I began, giving up on getting my stubborn wings to comply with me and Chrysalis wasn’t doing me any favors in getting them under control anytime soon. Both Luna and Chrysalis gave me curious looks, and by the way they were smiling, they clearly knew it wasn’t an entirely 'innocent' dream that I had. “And uh... you know... stuff happened.”

“So... you had sex with her?” my sister giggled and I groaned. Leave it to her to come to that conclusion before anything else. Not that it was that much of a stretch...

“No, we didn’t have sex. By ‘stuff happened’ I meant that the dream got... kinda weird before we could get to that,” I muttered, slightly grumpy. “And why are you always assuming I only dream of sex? You’re being mean to me...”

“Because you mostly do,” Luna shrugged and I pouted. Damn it. Stupid dream princess. “And with us dreaming together now, I get to see every raunchy bit of it, all the time.”

“S-shut up,” I shot back and Luna began to laugh again while Chrysalis was now giggling, too. I just knew they were going to team up on me to tease me whenever it was possible now. Suns forbid what would happen once Celestia gets to know Chrysalis...

“Okay, our naughty princess had a wet dream, fooling around with her dream wife. What I want to know is: how did she look?” Chrysalis asked and I fidgeted with my hooves. All of a sudden, I didn't think this was a smart idea to bring up, in the first place. Why did I open my damn mouth..?!

Sighing, I muttered the description out, barely above a whisper, and Chrysalis used her magic a moment later to change into the shape I described to her. Though, she had done a few changes to make it more her own instead of copy-pasting it.

“Like this?” she asked, and sure enough, there she was as my wet dream brought to life (there's no use in denying it any further, is there?).

I nodded shyly, eying her up and down. Her chocolaty mane flowed like a river in an ethereal breeze like Luna’s and my own mane, although I could see it pulse slightly with other colors every once in a while. It looked very much like her mood affected the colors of her mane. The pastel colors were blending back and forth from a soft red back to the chocolaty brown it started from. She decided to stick with the slightly longer fur, now beige in color, and her eyes were still the emerald ones of her original form, dancing with mirth as I ogled her with poorly disguised desire. Not that I’m going to act on it without getting to know her better first.

Ugh, now I'm horny. That's what I get for telling her about my fantasies... stupid Summer.

Anyway! The primary feathers on her wings had a slightly faded effect, transitioning from beige to a faint brown color with the barest hint of a coppery, orange tone to it. Her horn was just as long as Luna’s and mine and on her flanks was the depiction of a stylized outline of a ‘thorny’ heart I knew all too well. It was the tattoo and chosen emblem Catherine had on her arm back on Earth, something that oddly made much more sense for Chrysalis.

Chrysalis was dependent on emotions, mainly the feelings of the heart. Chief among those was love, and what better way to depict her ability to consume emotions than the Cutie Mark she now had? She could have been mistaken as our cousin or long-lost sister like that. Aside from that, her voice sounded slightly deeper than mine but still managed to resemble it quite closely.

Luna licked her lips with half-lidded eyes. “Mhh. Me like,” she commented while Chrysalis was looking at herself, as well. Although, it seems she lingered on her new Cutie Mark with surprised eyes. Luna noticed her baffled expression before I did, giving the queen a nudge with her hoof. “Everything okay? Do you not like yourself like this? If this is about pretending to be Summer's wet dream come to life, then...”

“No, that’s not it,” Chrysalis interrupted my sister as she turned her head back around. “I didn’t put that mark there.”

“You didn’t?” Luna asked and I raised a brow at that. Why wouldn’t she want that mark on her flanks? I mean, I could understand not wanting it because it originally belonged to Tia, but that doesn’t mean it has to stay that way. It suited her.

Chrysalis shook her head and with a quick burst of flame, she was back in her natural form... only the Cutie Mark stayed with her and her hair still moved in the ethereal breeze. That was... unexpected. “That never happened before. How do I get rid of it?”

“Why would you want to get rid of it?” I asked, feeling alarmed. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like without my Cutie Mark and I felt horrified that she would want to have it gone. “Liz, that’s like... ripping out your soul! Like... I don’t know, denying a part of yourself! That’s terrible!”

Chrysalis blinked. “What?” she asked in that slightly ignorant tone that told her she had no idea what I was talking about. “That thing is a pony thing. I don’t like it. And what's up with that 'Liz' thing? Are you giving me a nickname already?”

“Well, technically you are two-thirds pony,” Luna said. “It shouldn’t be that surprising to you that you could get a Cutie Mark. So... if you have a Cutie Mark now, how did you get it when you didn’t even want to put it there?”

“Obviously it has something to do with her changeling nature, Lulu,” I commented dryly. Luna rolled her eyes at that and Chrysalis looked like she wanted to snap at me for being a smartflank. “What do you think, Liz?”

“Again with that ridiculous nickname,” she grumbled. “How should I know? You’re the pretty pony princess here, not me.”

“How can you not know what you did to get your Cutie Mark?” I asked, bewildered. That was... so incredibly sad. Getting your Cutie Mark and not knowing how and why you got it was the worst thing that could happen to a pony!

“World domination? Never starving again?” she snarked. “There you have it, now stop pestering me about it. You ponies and your all-important Cutie Mark obsession is nauseatingly disgusting. Why are they even so important to you?”

“But... but...” I stammered and Luna put a wing over my back reassuringly. Chrysalis had a lot to learn, it seems.

We continued our discussion well into the night and it didn’t stop with that day. No... it took an abysmally long time for her to get used to the idea of having a Cutie Mark and not having to hunt for love anymore. Despite her... slightly (overly dramatic) behavior that was sometimes a bit off-putting to deal with, we started to grow closer together. She wasn’t that bad once you got to know her. She even had her own particular brand of snarky humor that made me giggle quite often. I think she started doing it more to hear me laugh, she always had that smug, satisfied grin on her muzzle when she did. And to be honest, if you ignored her overly flirtatious manners and slightly megalomaniacal tendencies, she was quite charming to be around.

Eventually, I even started to get used to her going au naturel in her changeling form and we found out what her special talent was. No, it wasn’t world domination, much to her disappointment and displeasure.

It was actually empathy. She got her Cutie Mark because, as she first assumed her alternate disguise, she did that out of a sense of empathy towards me. She unlocked her very potential by looking past my transgressions and by accepting the help I so desperately wanted to give to her and her hive.

The first time she felt absolutely full, she started to get that urge Luna and I normally felt when it was time to raise and lower the celestial bodies during dawn and dusk. Instead of doing what we do, though, Liz (I really love that nickname, by the way) brought about an end to her hive’s starvation, feeding them all at once. She almost overexerted her magic to the breaking point right then and there and needed to recharge her energy (or her ‘love storage’, as she called it). That was the first time we got intimate with her.

And by my sun, she was an absolute beast in the bed. Having a changeling for a lover was... it was unlike anything I could have compared it to. Just having her feed on me as I climaxed felt like my nerves wanted to explode in pleasure. Naturally, she took a lot of pride in that, glowing like she just scored the jackpot.

I happily snuggled her after we were done with one of the most mind-blowing sex I ever had. Luna was even purring against my back from being thoroughly satisfied and Liz was humming in that happy way when one felt they were almost full to the brim with food.

This moment could have only been better if Tia had been here with us and I couldn’t wait to introduce Liz to her. They would get along swimmingly, I just knew it. Our little ponies were coming around to the idea of changelings, too, and for once, I felt everything would work out in the end.

Her behavior could do with a bit less smugness, though. And fewer anger issues, but she wasn’t the only one with those in our little herd.

Only some odd thousand years left until Tia is finally free... Platinum won’t see her defeat coming, I was certain of that. I'll do everything in my power to make it happen. Just wait, Bitchface. Just wait...

Chapter 017 - The Times They Are a-Changin'...

Author's Notes:

Reference - Twilight Sparkle and the Crystal Heart Spell (I haven't read the book, so you don't need to either)

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Centuries. On paper, they don’t sound like much. In real life? They felt like Tartarus was a kindergarten. The first century after Tia had been banished along with Platinum could have been a lot worse if Liz hadn’t entered our lives. Luna and I started to feel like the universe wasn’t actually out to get us for once and Liz was the reason for that.

She still hated that nickname but she let me call her like that despite her misgivings. Only me, though. Luna called her her Cuddlebug, which probably managed to annoy her just as much (if not more so). I could tell that Chrysalis secretly liked it, though. She always buzzed her wings cutely when she tried to act annoyed. That, and her gray blush gave her away immediately.

We also found out she could go to the Realm of Ascension. She somehow managed to get lost in there and we had to get her back out. That only cemented her role as the Guardian of Emotions now, just like Luna was the Guardian of the Night and I the Guardian of the Day (together with my twin... once she got back from her exile, that is).

Changelings now lived openly among our ponies and none of them thought it was weird to have them there. Chrysalis actually started to include ponies in her definition of her hive and I couldn’t have been prouder of her for how far she had come after that first century with us.

Luna and I actually introduced her to the alternative version of my ‘twin’ and we learned about the alternative Liz in her version of Equestria. Apparently that Liz was her actual sister and didn’t need to eat emotions at all. Celestia was understandably surprised that our Chrysalis was a member of our herd now.

Haah... I feel like I was rubbing the whole incest thing under her nose a bit too much. Oh well. It's not like I was doing it on purpose (with Liz, I mean).

Aside from the occasional visits to Celestia's parallel Equestria, nothing much happened during that first century that was worth mentioning. I was just glad things were quiet and calm for once.

Actually, there was one thing that had me prancing around for a few months straight, and that was my discovery of how to transform myself into different species on a temporary basis. Chrysalis had been a lot of help with that spell and I was happy that I didn’t have to scrap my earlier experiments, after all. The downside with that particular spell, though, was that I needed the species I wanted to copy as a template to scan every time I used the spell.

Unlike changelings, I couldn’t copy everything that caught my fancy and I was very much limited to organic lifeforms. Obviously, the first template for using that spell was a changeling, so... I could have caused a lot of mischief that way. 'If' I also had changeling magic while looking like an albino version of a changeling queen, that is.

At least Chrysalis enjoyed seeing me in a similar form to her for a little while. And by that I mean she really enjoyed it. I couldn’t walk straight for a while after my first success with the spell because of how much she enjoyed it. I was just glad that changelings weren’t overly insectile in nature or I’m sure I would have fainted on the spot right then and there. As much as I've gotten over my fears of insects with her help, I’d rather not think about copying actual, tiny creepy-crawly insects.

Aside from my success with the spell, it was nice that no major threat popped up to make our lives miserable for once. There were still a few wars here and there, but nothing on the scale that actually threatened Equestria as a whole.

Enjoying the peace and quiet was almost like a vacation for us. After the second century, though? I started to... kind of miss those times. Was it bad that I missed the danger of conflict and the uncertainty of how the next day would look like?

That second century after Tia’s banishment was... mind-numbingly boring. Nothing at all happened to draw our attention away from the monster that was paperwork. Nothing! It was driving me crazy that we had nothing, no threat at all, that we could just defeat for the good of the world. Not one wannabe demon lord got it into their head to cause trouble. Not one!

Chrysalis was pretty much of the same opinion as us. She had started to enjoy going out with us to deal with a few minor villains that thought they had a good shot at overthrowing Equestria, taunting them for being the pathetic failures that they were.

But minor villains were just that: minor villains. None of them proved themselves to be a challenge and it made me feel like the universe was mocking us with nothing that was able to make us work up a sweat. And since the ones strong enough to make us go all out were locked up, we let others handle them. Perhaps that way an ordinary pony might ascend to alicornhood, not that I was very confident it would happen after living more than three centuries of none doing so.

Chrysalis didn't count since she was already kinda immortal, to begin with. As long as she had energy in the form of emotions in her, she could always return from the Realm of Death (which led to us learning about her more reckless youth and the reason why she had to learn how to shapeshift in the first place).

Anyway, Luna and I eventually succeeded in making Liz agree to be crowned as a Princess of Equestria. She has been helping us rule our nation for quite some time anyway, so we saw no reason why she shouldn’t also be a princess. She was officially the Princess of Empathy now.

One would have thought that changelings and empathy were mutually exclusive, but that was far from the truth. While yes, they do depend on emotions to sustain themselves, one has to be an empath in the first place to evoke and sense those feelings in order to consume them. And it wasn’t like they needed that much to function properly. After Liz found her calling, their hunger was reduced to nothing. Well, almost nothing, I should say. Their insane level of hunger was reduced to manageable amounts that are reasonable for an individual alone.

In a way, before Chrysalis got her Cutie Mark, their empathic sense was on a feedback loop that caused them to feel the hunger of their hive as a whole. And since Chrysalis needs a lot of energy as their queen for reproductive reasons, her hive mainly suffered due to the large amount of eggs she would lay, no matter what.

Essentially, Liz gave her drones and workers a way out of having to share their energy with the whole hive as a collective, granting them an even greater individuality than they had before. Due to that, they actually started to feel full just by being in the proximity of ponies and the ‘emotional residue’ they left passively behind.

But I digress. Their integration into pony society as a whole brought with it many benefits. For one thing, changelings were great psychologists and generally wanted to lend their ears to help out with any problems a pony might have had. They also made for great secret agents, working extremely well together with our thestral agents.

Obviously, there were a few bumps along the road, particularly their animosity with the thestrals. It took a lot of work, mostly on Chrysalis' part being unwilling to forgive them for the crimes they committed against her hive while she was young, but even a grudge could only last for so long. Their ancestors have already paid the price tenfold for leaving Liz as an only child, her brothers and sisters having long since been avenged while she went on her 'crusade against the assholes of the world' (her words, not mine). There was only so much she could hold against those that had no part in it.

And, well... Liz couldn't deny that they were incredibly cute, even as adults. It's hard to hold something against them when they acted like super serious ninjas all the time but were reduced to purring cats on catnip when offered their favorite food. It didn't hurt that their skills for espionage meshed so well together with changelings. Thestrals were the ruthless, sadistic kind to hunt you down from the shadows while changelings were long gone with all your secrets before you knew it.

Now that I think about it... maybe that was the reason why nocreature wanted to enter a war with us anymore. Having changelings as part of our military made it next to impossible to actually try anything with us. When your opponent could literally look and act like your own soldiers, how could you ever stand a fighting chance?

But enough of that, there were far more pleasant things to focus on than the history of changelings and thestrals making up over a shared kinship of eviscerating your enemies during a single night.

For one thing, there was that one time during the third century when Starwirl stumbled out of a time vortex that brought all kinds of shenanigans and chaos to Canterlot. He sadly wasn’t there to stay with us, as it was during the testing phase of his time-travel spell. It was nice to see him again, regardless. It still had us puzzling over his whereabouts after he seemingly disappeared so very long ago now.

It was funny to see Liz call him daddy, to be honest. The face Starswirl made was just priceless. He totally never expected to become a father, did he? At least we made him sputter for a moment, he totally deserved to be caught off guard for once in his life.

How's it feel to be on the receiving end of a centuries-old immortal teasing you now, huh?! Take that, mean, old bastard! The student has become the master, ah hah hah ha!

...I'm also happy to say that we got even more homework to work through now. Yay. The old coot just couldn't help himself from torturing us some more, could he? That's what I get for getting cocky, haah...

Anyway, moving on! After Starswirl returned to his proper time, things went back to the same old boring routine as more and more time passed on. At some point, it started to blend together as peace was now a constant staple.

Decades upon decades flew by and I actually didn’t want to complain about life becoming calmer. And by that, I meant a lot calmer. Maybe I had become addicted to the threats against Equestria that had popped up in our youth, but the lasting peace gave me some time to actually appreciate what we had built up.

Life was great and once my twin was back and in control of her own body again, it would only become better. The closer we got to that date, though, the more I started to panic. We still had no idea how to separate Platinum from Celestia, and in all those centuries, there was no sign of the Elements ever reawakening from their stasis.

'If' they could be reawakened, that is. I dearly hoped there would come a time that they listened to my prayers and new ponies would take up the mantle of wielding them, instead. I didn’t trust myself with them anymore. I had betrayed everything they stood for by abandoning their ideals when I needed to stay true to them the most. I had wanted to use them for selfish reasons and forced them to work when I had no connection to four of them. I had used them in hatred and I suppose it was my just punishment that they abandoned me for that.

It took Luna and Liz a great deal of effort to get me to stop panicking so much and concentrate on the things that I could actually do. And as I have come to enjoy it very much, I liked teaching quite a lot. Luna wasn’t any different in that regard, so we paid more attention to what was going on in our own School for the Gifted. Every once in a while, we would offer one of our ponies to learn directly under us, making them our personal students. It didn’t happen often, but sometimes it was nice to have a pony there to focus our teachings on and help them grow.

It always left a bitter taste in my mouth to see them grow old and die, though. We relished the time we had with them, so it wasn’t all bad. And their memory lived on, either through their own accomplishments or through the little memory balls Luna made (she has made quite a lot of those over the years, we even have a whole tower filled with nothing but them). Some even were the creators of famous spells, like one of my new favorites that allows a pony to enter a book and experience it like it was a play moving right in front of them.

Chrysalis... she wasn’t much of a teacher and I explicitly forbade her to teach a sex-ed course at our school by actually demonstrating it right in front of the students. Changelings had absolutely no shame at all and I dreaded the thought of her and Celestia getting up to shenanigans of that kind once my twin returned (and was actually free of Platinum... which I was still panicking about, 'cause... you know... time is running out, damnit).

Sometimes, I swear. That changeling could have been my sister’s twin instead. She primarily wanted to rile me up with those things in good-natured fun, though. I was thankful for that because otherwise, I would have started to consider sending her into time-out within that volcano for a day or two (not that I would actually do that to her, I loved her too much for that).

Liz had laid quite a few eggs over the centuries, too, so that was... a thing. Are they technically also my children? Since they came to be through our love for her, I mean. I have no idea and I don’t want to seriously consider the idea of having thousands of 'lings as my offspring, either. That... was a bit too much, even for me. As much as I actually wanted to have a foal of my own someday (I was still debating whether to risk it with Luna or not), considering myself the mother of that many changelings... thanks, but no.

Then again, Liz didn’t consider them her children as much as she thought of them as her subjects, so that left me quite confused. I chalked it up to her being a changeling and decidedly ignored everything else, lest I go mad in trying to figure out how changeling families work.

There was that time her heir abandoned us, taking a few dissenters with her to never be seen or heard from again. It hurt Liz to see her first successful attempt at creating a changeling princess turn out to be so... bitter. Ocellus... she was... a difficult topic for Liz. So much so that she avoided talking about her by pretending she died instead. For all we know, she might have starved herself to death in the wilderness, disgusted by the idea of ponies to even feed off of some for her own survival.

My sweet Liz never tried to have another heir after that. I could understand her fear, I didn’t want to have to go through such a thing again, either. I just wish Liz could get over her loss, I hated to see her hurt so much because of that betrayal.

After the halfway mark of Tia’s banishment, I had started to pick up... let’s call them 'hobbies'... in order to distract myself from the thought of what would happen if we couldn’t defeat Platinum (and various other, lesser, things that plagued my mind from time to time). Most of those hobbies didn’t stick around long enough for me to actually become good at them, but that wasn’t the point of picking them up in the first place.

Among those I kept dabbling with, I had to admit I was quite good at the art of masonry and sculpting. Shaping a body was a relaxing task, and I totally only did it because I wanted to honor my first friends in this world. Yep. Totally. The secret statue of my twin I put in the hedge maze wasn't at all the reason why I picked up this hobby in the first place. Nope. And I totally didn't get the proportions right because I kept groping her butt and strong legs. Nope. Definitely not. Who do you think I am?! A pervert?

Ahem. Anyway, there were a few (meaning: a lot) more statues in our garden now, giving Discord a bit of company (not that he deserved it). It was nice to have something to remember my friends' faces by. And it served as an incentive for other ponies to do good in society since I occasionally honored particularly noble and heroic ponies with a statue of their own. It kinda was my own version of the Nobel Prize.

I might have also gone a bit overboard in growing the Royal Hedge Maze, but what can I say? I got bored. When you are (almost) immortal, you start to do all sorts of crazy things to keep the boredom away. Luna had started making tiny figurines of random ponies she saw so that she could give them to them while in disguise (for free, duh), so eh... she wasn’t any better off than me in that regard. I do like the one she made of me, though. It’s cute.

If we didn’t have each other, I think I might have gone off the deep end after the first century. I suspect that Celestia from the alternate Equestria visited us so often because she was lonely herself, her Chrysalis was apparently too busy to entertain her for long (or at all, really). Alt-Liz was, as I understood it, the Fairy Queen or something. Celestia didn’t really elaborate all that much about her sister.

I wonder if they live in trees and dance around all day... Nah. She actually sounded like she was that strict but fair ruler, surely they weren’t the little foal’s version of fairies. Even though my inner filly wanted that to be the case, so very much.

Things started to get exciting again during the seventh century without Celestia (ours, that is) after we figured out how to modify the spell Starswirl and Tia had used to change the destination of the prototype mirror. Luna made me promise not to visit the dinosaurs again, though. Liz was of the same opinion after Luna told her what a dinosaur was. Spoilsport.

There were a few... interesting worlds we went to. One was a version where we were all opposites in a weird way. It was... something, alright. My ‘evil’ self there thought that it was cruel to steal the ice cream from foals, seriously. I mean, yeah, that is not nice, but not exactly the ‘Ultimate Evil!’ type of thing. Suffice it to say, we never visited that world again, even though there was a good version of my twin running around (and a good Sombra, but he wasn’t important).

So... that happened. Never going there again. Definitely not. Maybe. Okay, no, I’m seriously not going there again just because my (not actually) twin is there and I’m not replacing her with an alternate version, damnit. Besides, one alternative Celestia is enough for me and that one was actually a delight to be around. In a sisterly way, not in a romantic way.

I still feel guilty that the Celestia of Evil!-Equestria kissed me...

Moving on! One of my favorite worlds we went to was a giant theme park world. And I mean that literally. It was a world that was a giant theme park with entire continents dedicated to one theme. That world was absolutely amazing. They had so many rollercoasters and other (thankfully slower) rides there (not to mention the overwhelming amount of games! Eee!), I couldn’t decide what to do first. Turns out, changelings get drunk on adrenalin if exposed to it for long enough. Or Liz was just that much of an adrenaline junkie.

Considering we went there multiple times... my money was on the latter and I couldn’t blame her. She won me a whole army of plushies which managed to appease me enough to go on rides with her that I wouldn’t have otherwise. And it was fun seeing her act like a drunk fool, so that was also a plus in my book. She was that giggly type of drunk which was really cute to watch.

Sadly, for as long as we searched through other dimensions, we never managed to find our original homeworld, Earth. We came close a few times, finding a few ‘Earth-like’ planets (as in, they looked like it could have been Earth, but were nothing like it in various and surprising ways... things like different species evolving to be the dominant race on the planet), but we had yet to find a version of Earth that was close to the Earth Luna and I had been born on as humans (like finding a version that actually had humans in the first place).

I began to make contingency plans for the worst-case scenario where we were unable to deal with Platinum as the ninth century came around, and honestly? I don’t think any of them would work. Anything short of killing her, that is. But that would also mean... killing my beloved. In no way could I do that and if I had to sacrifice Equestria instead... I don’t know what I would choose.

How could I choose between Celestia, my twin, my wife, my everything, and the rest of Equestria and the world? Both of those were the most important things to me. This wasn’t an easy choice to make (but if I was honest with myself, I knew what I needed to do, and... I didn’t like it one bit). In the end, it would be a choice Luna, Liz, and I have to make together and we would have to make it as the Princesses of Equestria and not as Celestia’s wives.

Time started to run out for us and we were no closer to a solution than we had been at the start of this mess. All of these centuries building up our nation, ushering in a golden age, making life easier for everypony... it was all about to come crashing down on us because nothing we could think of would work. Nothing short of the Elements or killing Platinum and my sister with her.

Damn this universe, making me choose between my twin and the world. I started to feel resigned to my (and Celestia’s) inevitable fate. If that damn prophecy was going to come true, and I dearly hoped it would be, there might still exist a chance of the Elements returning from the dead. But if they don’t... I would have to do what is necessary. For the good of Equestria and all our little ponies. For the sake of the world, I couldn’t risk Platinum destroying everything we've built up.

Then, a little glimmer of hope arrived in the form of a pink pegasus filly that suddenly found herself in the Realm of Ascension one day. It was like there was this... 'pulse' that went through the fabric of reality and it drew the attention of my wives and I to it. At that moment, I knew something monumental had just happened and we would be finding out exactly what it was soon after. Or rather, who it was.

“Hello?” the soft melodic (and quite frightened) voice of a young foal rang out all throughout the space of the mystical plane of existence she had managed to enter. I smiled gently as she craned her neck up to look me in the eyes. In them, I saw the same awe I have seen in so many other ponies throughout the centuries. “P-Princess Summer! A-and... oh my dear fluffy bunnies, am I in Heaven?”

I raised my eyebrow in surprise as she asked us that and Luna quietly snickered to herself. That... how does this filly even know about Heaven? I knew for a fact that ponies believed in the cycle of rebirth and not some eternal afterlife (I might have been an influence on that belief since I openly expressed my viewpoint on that from time to time when asked). “No, you are not, my little pony. As curious as I find such a young filly assuming they've been brought to the afterlife, there's something else I want to know. Tell me, what happened to bring you here?”

“Uh...” she stuttered, trying multiple times to get over the fact her princesses had just appeared in front of her out of nowhere. Not that her reaction was all that surprising to me. I have dealt with these kinds of situations enough by now to know that giving her a little time to collect her thoughts would work best. “I don’t know... there was that bright light and then I was here. There was this mare in our village that was being mean and I couldn’t just... not do anything about it. Where is here, anyway?”

“A very special place, young filly,” Luna answered with a smile. “This is where we will see if you are worthy of the gift that will be bestowed upon you. What is your name, young one?”

“C-Cadance,” she said before she looked a bit startled and quickly moved into a deep bow. “Y-Your Highness!”

I let out a sad sigh that this young pegasus bowed to us like so many other ponies and that I had gotten used to it, even if I wanted nothing more than to have them stop doing that.

“There is no need for you to bow,” Liz laughed gently, putting her hoof underneath the chin of Cadance, making her look up to her sparkling eyes. “Not to us, do you understand? There is no need for you to do so anymore, You who is touched by Love.”

“I... I don’t understand?” Cadance asked, baffled. “Don’t ponies need to bow to you? I mean... uh... there's gotta be a rule for that. I don't want to get locked up by guards because they found out I was being disrespectful to you!”

I giggled. "There's no such thing. You don't have to worry about that anymore, my little pony,” I told her before giving her a nudge with my wing tip. “Come, walk with us.”

Cadance didn't need to be told twice as she quickly followed me. “Can I ask you something?” she whispered shyly and I gave her a nod. “What’s it like? In Canterlot, I mean. I have heard it hangs off the side of a mountain! The view must be so great there. I can't think of anything more romantic than that.”

Liz snorted at that before giving Luna and me a look. "You would believe that," she said, her lips quirking up into a smirk. “And in my opinion, it is the biggest hazard our ponies could've come up with. Seriously, why did you let them build there of all places? I don't know how many already have tried to jump off the edge there.”

My sister gave her a glare for the morbid comment. “Canterlot was already built before we moved there, Liz,” Luna told her with a roll of her eyes. “And it's not like Canterlot is unsafe. It is practically chock-full of wards and enchantments to keep it from falling down or ponies from jumping off the edge. Even if something were to go wrong, the failsafe would teleport everypony to safety. You're just mad the hive would get damaged in the unlikely case it drops off the mountain.”

“Can you two stop the argument before it gets out of hoof again?” I interjected, feeling the urge to rub the side of my head with a hoof. The nature of Canterlot always manages to get them going and I’d rather avoid it with our little guest present. Even with everything Luna said being true. Heck, if we wanted to, we could probably keep it afloat by ourselves. It wouldn’t even be that hard for us to do. And since the archmages of Dalaran on Azeroth had done exactly that with their city, I saw no reason why we couldn't (not to mention, they didn’t have goddesses to do it for them).

“Are you together?” Cadence asked and I sputtered in shock at the question. We gave her an incredulous look and she looked at us innocently.

“How did you get that idea?” I whispered, my heart hammering away in my chest as she just friggin’ guessed that. How?! Just... how?

“You behave like a married couple! A married trio? A herd, I guess,” Cadance answered. “That’s what they are called here, right? I've seen them around in the village I live in.”

“I don’t believe this,” I stuttered, flustered. “A filly just... are we really that obvious?”

“I suppose we let our guard down,” Luna shrugged. “Besides, she doesn’t seem to mind it.”

“Just for the record, this time it wasn’t my fault,” Liz snarked. I glowered at her and she stuck her tongue out at me with a little grin. “So, Cadance... Would you like to become a princess?”

“But... I’m not royalty,” Cadance said. “Wait, that was stupid. Of course, I’m not royalty if you are asking me if I want to be a... H-hold up, did you just ask me if I want to be a princess?!”

“Oh, she is a bright one, I can tell,” Liz snickered and I tugged harshly at her ear as I glared at her. “Ow! Stop! Summer, ow! Why?! What did I do no—ahh ow, ow, ow, ow?!”

“Don’t make fun of her,” I warned her. “She is... how old are you, Cadance?”

“Twen... uhh, four!” she laughed, grinning innocently back at us. Luna narrowed her eyes at her in suspicion and I can’t say I didn’t feel the same way. Not to mention, her behavior was unlike that of a filly of her 'supposed' age. She couldn’t actually be four, right? Besides, she was about to say twenty... Was she reborn? And she remembered it? That initial fear she had, of being in Heaven... had she been a human? That's the only explanation that would make sense.

“Four... right,” Liz said in a way that made it clear she didn't believe her at all. I saw it from a mile away that she was about to get snarky again, so I used my magic on her to keep her mouth shut before she could get started. From a megalomaniac to a snarky bitch, yay...

Haah. Where did we go wrong with her? I do love her for it, but sometimes she really needs to learn that there's a time and place for it.

My dumb bug of a wife gave me a look and silently promised me to not do what she had been about to do and I let her go with a reluctant sigh. I trusted her enough to actually keep her promise, she was well aware of the consequences if she did not. And by that, I mean no sex and cookies for a year straight.

Before I could say anything, Liz skipped ahead and turned around with a dramatic flair, a mischievous smile on her muzzle. “Let us see what your past says about that, little one.”

Cadance was about to ask what she meant and then began to panic as the little memory bubbles started to appear the further we traveled down the path of lights.

The first memories we saw were the typical foalhood memories I had been expecting. Things like learning how to walk and her first words, the first time she managed to fly. Her first crush on a teenage filly living next door. A big birthday party with all the foals in her village.

The more I saw, the more I learned. And there was one thing, in particular, I got furious about. She had been abandoned... in a forest... at night... in the middle of winter. I suppressed the flicker of rage welling up within me and kept myself calm as we continued down the path.

The little filly had been discovered by kind ponies living nearby and found a new home in the orphanage in their little village. There was no sign at all of her birth parents in those memories and I had no idea whether to feel sorry for her or even more angry.

Alright, Summer. Focus on the good memories. Throwing a tantrum can come after you're alone. Deep and calm breaths. Relax.

From what I could glean from the memories that followed, she was very much involved in trying to bring ponies together as special someponies, playing matchmaker whenever she felt like it.

Hers was an admirable goal, bringing love to everypony that wanted it. I gave the Cutie Mark on her flanks a knowing look and knew the importance it would one day have. It seems the Crystal Empire wasn’t lost for eternity, after all. I had been hoping that it would return one day. With Amore gone, it would need a new ruler. A kind and loving ruler. Should it really return, then we also need to make sure Sombra wasn’t coming back with it.

Knowing my luck and the cruel tendencies of the universe, that's one thing I can be certain of. Sombra was also going to be coming back at some point. Platinum wasn’t the only threat to ‘look forward to’ as it seems. What else do we have to prepare for, I wonder? Discord? That possibility alone made me shudder with fright. It would be the worst thing that could happen, actually.

One of the most recent memories we saw of Cadance was the event that led up to this. Her ‘fight’ against Prismia was... interesting. She somehow managed to reverse a twisted love-stealing spell and I could tell that the necklace around Prismia’s neck was one of the dark artifacts that must have escaped our notice a millennia ago. There shouldn’t be many left, though. We had rounded up the worst of them, at least.

Then, we came to the memories that Cadance was so fearful for us to see. And... I don’t know how I should have reacted to them as an overwhelming sense of hope and relief washed over me.

“Please, don’t banish me!” Cadance cried, whimpering as I saw a young woman go through life with wonder and excitement in her silver eyes. Eyes that looked so familiar to me even though I haven’t seen them in a millennium... “I didn’t steal a newborn’s place, you have to believe me!”

I wanted to hug her, I wanted to dance around in joy, I wanted to cry for her that she died like us and I... I just wanted to comfort my daughter. I had almost forgotten the promise Magic made to me, the spell she had cast. Cadance was... is, my daughter. From a past life, granted, but here she was... back home with her family. And...

...and she was about to be judged worthy of becoming an alicorn. Oh, ponyfeathers. I-I... I have to make sure she wants that. I couldn't just force her into this. She has to make that decision on her own, fully knowing what she would get into. She has to make an informed decision without any of our bias (which might as well be impossible since pretty much everypony looks up to us with an almost fanatical zeal). Heck, she looks up to us like we were actual, genuine goddesses.

Would she choose a normal life over an (almost) immortal one? What... what would I say to her in that case? I... I don’t want to lose her again. Even if I wanted to stay unbiased and give her all the facts she could possibly want, she was still my daughter. I couldn't just ask her to forsake her mortality and choose a life of eternity for my sake. She wouldn’t ever find somepony that would share her path, be there for her in a romantic sense for the rest of her however long life...

But... I still want to keep her with me. I still want her to become an alicorn so that I would never have to lose her again. And... I want to be a mother again. An actual mom, instead of 'Super-Dad' as I'm sure she no doubt remembers me as.

Could I ask that of her? To stay with me and Luna, Liz, and (once she was back) Celestia? This was a lot to ask of her and if I didn’t give her that choice in the first place, would she hate me for forcing it on her? I can’t do that, as much as I wanted to. That wouldn’t make me any better than Magic, and to a lesser extent, Hope.

What Hope and her siblings had done in their desperate search for new defenders of Equis wasn’t okay. Far from it, even. While I knew it was necessary, much as I hated to admit it, I cannot follow them in their hoofsteps and make that choice for Cadance. I won't.

She was so young and I don’t believe she would understand the weight of such a decision. Even if she agreed to this burden, how would she react once everypony around her started to wither and die while she stayed forever young? Would she eventually start to resent me for it?

By my sun, I don’t even know how I should tell her I was her... well, mother now, I suppose. How would she even react when I told her that her 'Super-Dad' was now her 'Super-Mom'? Technically, I wasn’t her actual mother anymore, though. Then again, her 'biological parents' forfeited that title as soon as they abandoned her within the woods without ensuring she was safe from predators or bad weather conditions. Or give her a chance to survive... like at all...

If I ever find those disgusting demons, I swear, I'll do unspeakable things to them. How could they leave my poor petal in the woods all by herself as an infant?! Poor thing must have had abandonment issues ever since then considering how much she was shaking at the mere thought of being banished away from Equestria.

Liz was quick to correct her of that notion, though. “We aren’t going to banish you,” she giggled, shaking her head in amusement as Cadance was about to start begging to be spared of whatever ridiculous fate she could conjure up with her imagination. Sadly, we weren’t strangers to ponies assuming they had displeased us to such a degree that we would consider doing something like that. Sometimes it was amusing to hear what they could think up, though.

“You’re... not?” Cadance whispered, confused. The little filly lifted her forelegs away from her muzzle in order to stare at us with puzzlement. “But I’m not really a pony! I... I don’t even belong here!”

I suppressed the shudder that wanted to force itself out of me, horrified that she would think that. “But you do, dear Rose,” I told her and gave her a hesitant, but nonetheless loving, smile. If nothing else, I would make sure she would always have a home to come back to.

“How do you...” Cadance began before her eyes widened. “...Mom?! Is... is that you?”

“Yes, my little petal,” I nodded, and as soon as she started sniffling, I already held her in my forelegs. I made a few calming noises as she sobbed heavily into my chest, rocking her up and down slightly and telling her that everything was okay. She was such a sweet little filly, so vulnerable, that I’d love nothing more than to keep her safe from everything and everypony.

She deserved at least that much. No matter what she ends up deciding, I'll support her. Always.

The little filly started to hiccup in my arms as she cried her heart out. “I-I m-missed you s-so much!” she exclaimed, rubbing at her eyes with those tiny hooves and I smiled gently as I gave the top of her head a small nuzzle. “After you and D-Dad...”

I hummed, not needing to hear more of what she was going to bring up. “It’s okay, Cadance,” I told her. “It’s okay. I’m here. Although, there is one thing you should know...”

“W-what?” she sniffled, looking up at me as I gave her a mischievous smile. This was going to be so awkward...

“I’m your father, Luke,” I said with a fake gravelly voice and Cadance started to snort with laughter, only interrupted by a few hiccups.

“Really, Dad? Star Wars..?” she giggled. “Or is it Mom, now?”

“Mom is just fine, dear,” I answered, relieved that she was so accepting of this 'change'. “I feel more comfortable as a mare, little petal. I’m sorry your mother and I left you and your sister alone so suddenly. I wish I could have done something, told you one last time how much I loved you...”

“I understand, Mom,” Cadance said, sighing forlornly and in happiness. “I know how highly both of you thought of Tabby and me. I’m glad to have you back, Mom.”

“You have no idea how much I missed you, dear,” I smiled, mussing up her mane with my muzzle, causing her to giggle and try to swat me away with her hooves, but I was having none of that. I needed to shower her with all my motherly affections, now that I had her back. “How have you been, little petal? You must have so much to tell me.”

Cadance grinned up at me. “Not as much as you, I imagine,” she said, giddy. “You’re a princess! How did that happen? And do you really move the suns? Why are there two suns? How old are you?”

“One question at a time, little one,” I giggled. “That’s a story for another time, I fear. I would gladly tell you all about it once we’re done here.”

“Okay,” she nodded. “I suppose it would be too long to tell in one day, huh? You must have done lots of cool things and met all kinds of people. Oh, oh! I heard you even have a sentient sword! How did that happen? That's so romantic! He's like your own personal knight!"

"..." I blinked, momentarily overwhelmed by the barrage of excited babble from her. Of course, Rose would have heard about my sword despite it being more of an obscure, lesser-known fact. Remorse was... a difficult subject to explain, especially to somepony like her. "My sword has been asleep for a while now, I didn't think you would know about him."

"But he's a sentient sword!" she pouted. "Of course, I would know all about that. That's like... ten times better than Excalibur!"

...Excalibur? Wasn't that the sword in some human myth about a wizard and a king? I guess they were kind of similar in that regard. Our swords were gifted to us by the old king while we were trained by Starswirl to rule Equestria.

"You can try to wake him up if that's what you want," I told her with a shrug. The lazy bastard never got very talkative after he gained awareness a couple of centuries ago. Nor did he stay awake for long. "But that's a topic for a later time, dear. I want to hear about you."

"I..." Cadance began while hesitating for a moment. "Nothing much happened to me after..."—she fidgeted, looking away—" after you died and auntie disappeared. Tabby was the one that was really successful, Mom! She was about to become a professor!”

“Really, now?” I asked, intrigued. “So... she hasn’t stopped her academic pursuit at all? Did she at least make some friends?”

“No...” Cadance said, sighing sadly. “She was always too busy with her research and whatnot. She seemed a bit obsessed with it, really.”

Luna snickered at that. “Typical little Miss Bookworm,” she said. “I’m not surprised.”

“Luna...” I said with a chiding tone. “Don’t make fun of my daughter.”

“... is Luna?” Cadance asked in uncertainty and I smiled softly.

“Your aunt? Yes, she is Rebecca,” I answered. Luna offered Cadance a bright smile of her own and my little petal sent one right back.

“Auntie?” Cadance mumbled timidly, prompting Luna to quirk a brow at her. “Where did you go? The police gave up searching for you after three months and... Tabby secluded herself in her lab, afterward. She... I don’t know, she said she wanted to test a theory she had...”

My sister grimaced at that. “It’s not something I’m proud of,” Luna admitted, looking away in shame. “You know how bad I got when your..."—she stopped, gesturing vaguely in my direction—" Well, Summer died. Suffice it to say I did some questionable things and ended up owing the wrong people something that I couldn’t repay.”

“That’s... I... "—Cadance sighed, frowning sadly—"At least now I know what happened,” Cadance said while rubbing a hoof against her other foreleg. “I wish we knew. We could have helped you.”

“It’s okay, little one,” Luna said, smiling slightly. She lifted Cadance’s chin up so she could look her in the eyes. “Besides, it worked out better this way. Had I not made these choices, I don’t know if I would have been reunited with my sisters.”

After hearing Luna’s reassurances, the eyes of my little petal wandered over to Liz next. I could already predict what she was going to ask and I shook my head sadly. “No, Liz isn’t Cath, little Rose. Your mother, she... I’m sorry, but I suppose I’ll have to tell you at some point. There was a monster worse than what you have faced, a thousand years ago. She... she took your mom and we had to banish her to the moon.”

“Wait, you mean the Mare in the Moon is Mom?!” Cadance asked in shock and I nodded sadly in reluctance. “I thought Nightmare Dream was only a myth!”

“I still can’t believe our ponies started calling Platinum that,” Luna muttered with a slight growl showing through in her voice. Her mane turned slightly misty as her eye color started to change. “She drags the name Nightmare through the mud. Little miscreant...”

“Uh... why is Auntie so... upset?” Cadance whispered to me while Liz snickered as Luna had her... moment.

“Let’s just say that there is a lot more to us than what you remember,” I told her. “I’d rather not show you right now, but Luna and I have... let’s say alter-egos. Mine is a bit more... violent than Luna’s. I don’t want to frighten you with how... heartless, I suppose, I can be as Fallen Star. See that miasma Luna's mane turned into? That's how her mane looks like when she is Nightmare Moon.”

“Can you still show me?” she pleaded with me and I bit my lip. Liz put a hoof on my shoulder and I turned my head towards her, seeing the kind sparkle in her eyes.

I sighed, uncomfortable. “Liz, do you really think it wise? Nightmare Moon is one thing, but Fallen Star?” I asked and she smiled back at me.

“Changeling, remember?” she told me, the snarky tone in her voice muted to the barest minimum but still showing through. “You don’t have to show her if I can.”

I suppose she had a point there, she had seen me enough times as Fallen Star. If she were to shapeshift into my alternative form, she wouldn’t have the same... ahem, personality problems that I would have. While I wasn’t 'that' bad as Fallen Star, I also wasn’t gentle, either. I’d rather not risk snapping at Cadance if I could avoid it.

After I gave her a nod, green flames enveloped the form of my wife and Cadance watched on curiously as Liz was replaced with a facsimile of Fallen Star. Her orange fur gave off an illusion of heat and the deep red flames that replaced her mane whipped around in a fiery storm as she opened her golden eyes, the normally cruel slit eyes looking almost kind on her instead.

“My flanks are not that fat,” I pouted and Liz cackled with that raunchy voice that sent tingles down my spine. Damnit.

“They are,” Luna commented and I shot her a glare, too. “You have let yourself go, sister. Perhaps cut back on those cinnamon rolls and cookies?”

“I’ll end you, Luna,” I growled. “Don’t you dare. I won’t make you any cookies anymore if you put me on a friggin’ diet!”

“I wonder which flank is bigger, yours or Tia’s?” she laughed teasingly and I was about to chase after her were it not for the giggling foal in my forelegs. Cadance was having a great time, it seems. “Let’s get back to the matter at hoof, sister.”

“Right. Don’t think I’ll forget this, Lulu,” I said, sending a warning look her way. “But before we get to the important question, my little petal, there is one thing I want to know...”

“Ask away!” Cadance smiled and I felt bad for having to ask her what I was about to ask and turn that smile upside down. But I needed to know.

“How did you die, little Rose?”

Her ears splayed back as she realized that fun time was over and we had to get back to the seriousness of life, and with that, what brought an end to her previous one. “Do I have to tell you?”

“Please, my little petal,” I whispered gently and gave her a gentle nudge with my nuzzle apologetically.

“I...” Cadance murmured, fidgeting slightly. “I had a brain tumor and the doctors said it might have been hereditary. Tabetha might have had it, too, but I don’t know for certain. I died while in surgery.

"Next thing I know is that I woke up as a pony in that forest you saw. I don't really remember a lot of my rebirth, just that I slept a lot and that it was cold. Had I not cried out for food, I don't think anypony would have come looking for me...”

A tear escaped my eye and I heaved a heavy sigh, trying to keep myself from openly weeping. Oh, my sweet little filly, you poor thing... I’m so sorry you had to go through that. I squeezed her tightly to my chest, whispering reassurances I wasn’t certain were for her or for me.

Eventually, I found the strength to go on and put my little filly on my back as we traveled further down the starry path and I saw more of what had become of my daughter after Tia and I had left our children on Earth. Much to my surprise, she never married anypony in her past life. If I would have thought one of my daughters would have married for sure, it would have been my little Rose.

Soon enough, we were at the end of the path. Going any further this way would mean she has to make a choice. Stay like she is or become something greater. I set her down on the ‘ground’ and readied myself for what was to come. No further delay anymore, Summer.

“Cadance, where you are going now is somewhere we can’t follow you,” I whispered softly and she gave me a quizzical look. “A choice needs to be made. Embrace your destiny or forsake it. I can’t make it for you, little petal. What awaits you down that path might frighten you and... and it might not be what you want.”

“What do you mean, Mom?” she asked fearfully. She looked so frightened and it broke my heart that I had to make her choose between staying with family for eternity or living as a normal, regular pegasus for the rest of her mortal life.

“You asked us what this place was,” Luna said, coming over to stand beside me as we looked down at the young filly in front of us. A young filly that turned out to be my daughter from another life. Cadance nodded hesitantly and Luna smiled softly. “This is the Realm of Ascension. Every alicorn at some point passes through this realm to be judged worthy of their destiny. It is here they are granted their domain and immortality.”

“A-alicorn?! But I’m n-not an a-alicorn!” Cadance stammered and I leaned down to look at her from an eye-level point of view. “Mom, w-what’s going on?”

“Cadance, we asked you if you wanted to be a princess,” I said, forcing my voice to be as calm and serene as I could make it. I wasn’t at the level my twin could have pulled off serenity, but it was close. “If you so choose, you can be one. Guide our little ponies alongside us and make their future a little bit brighter than it has been. Down that path, you can take up the mantle that you rightfully deserve for your accomplishments this day. Or... you can decide to fight against it, demand to be in charge of your own destiny and put the life of an alicorn behind you, stay like you are, and live the rest of your life growing old like you have been denied in your previous life.

“Should you embrace your destiny and take up the mantle of your new domain, you will live eternally young, never to die of mundane causes. Be warned, though, such a life is not an easy one. You will be faced with many challenges and be forced to make choices that might leave regular mortals utterly broken. An immortal’s life is never easy, little petal. We should know, we have gone through many hardships over the many years we have been around.

“But don’t think you will be all alone with that burden. There will be others that will accompany you through your journey. While, yes, many will eventually leave you due to old age, others will stay. We ourselves are always here for you, no matter what you choose, little petal. And in a few years, hopefully, Celestia will also be here with us to support you. You have a family here, don’t ever forget that.”

“Don’t make that choice lightly, though, young one,” Luna said gravely, drawing Cadance’s attention away from me to her. “Eternity is a curse to endure alone and if you really choose to take this gift, then know that anypony you come to love will eventually leave you. We can’t promise you that you will find somepony that will live as long as you do, so bear that in mind when you go forth upon this path and are confronted with what your destiny holds for you.”

“And should you, despite these warnings, still go through with this,” Liz whispered harshly. “And fall into the deepest depths of despair, then know that we will have to deal with your darkness accordingly, as much as it would pain us to do so. You won’t be completely invulnerable, an alicorn can be killed. We won’t allow you to become a threat to this world.”

“That, while possible, is not something that just happens, though,” I continued on. “Only a being of equal power to an alicorn will be able to slay you. The other possible way for you to die is for you to choose such a fate by relinquishing your hold over your alicorn domain. When your time comes, and it will come at some point, make no mistakes, you can move on from this life. Whatever consequences that will bring with it.”

Cadance stared at us utterly overwhelmed and I didn’t fault her for that. I wasn’t better off after I learned the true nature of my particular pony 'tribe' and Liz had to learn that lesson by herself, too. She still didn’t talk much about what she had learned of her destiny as she was lost within this realm. I could make a good guess, though, and the fate in store for her wasn’t going to be any better than Luna's and my own. Or Celestia’s for that matter. She has a close tie to emotions and I shudder to think what a world would look like with a lack of those. It would probably be a worse thing than destroying the world.

Until we actually destroy the world, that is...

“I... I won’t die?” Cadance asked, sounding strangely hopeful. I frowned back at her, dreading that she would let her own fears control her decision. “Not if I don’t want to?”

“No...” I answered, keeping the glare to a minimum and the disapproval out of my voice. “That shouldn’t be the reason why you make that decision, though. Believe me, after the first century passes, after you see everypony around you wither and die, this will become more of a curse than a blessing. This gift that lies down that path... you should be fully aware that it will bring much pain and suffering to your heart. But it will also bring you the greatest wonders and joys you could possibly imagine.

“Becoming an alicorn shouldn’t be influenced by your own fear of your mortality. It should be influenced by what you could do to improve the lives of others. You will become a shining beacon for all of those around you and selfishness can’t be a deciding factor in that choice.

"You will have to set an example of all that is good in life and embody that, do you understand? You will be tasked with keeping the balance between those that seek love and those that do not deserve it. I'm sure you know what kind of ponies I mean by that. It is no easy task and failing to do so will result in dire consequences.”

The little filly in front of me withdrew behind her long mane, chastised. She bit her lip thoughtfully, fidgeting nervously on the spot before peeking out from behind the violet, rose, and pale gold strands of hair with her light purple eyes. They sparkled with determination and I couldn’t decide whether to be proud of her or weep for the choice she was about to make.

“I understand,” she nodded with a resolve that was out of place on such a young face. “I will do my best, for everypony! I will stay true to myself and be the best pony I could possibly be.”

“That is all that we ask of you,” I smiled gently. “Go now and don’t be afraid of what you will face.”

“Is... is it going to hurt?” Cadance asked shyly and we looked at each other before turning back to her.

“It shouldn’t,” Luna answered truthfully. “But we haven’t ever borne witness to an ascension from mortal to alicorn. We can’t tell you for certain.”

“Okay...” she mumbled anxiously as she worked up her courage to go forth. “Okay, I... I can do this. Just... don’t chicken out, Cady.”

“I will come to your village first thing in the morning, little petal,” I told her and Cadance seemed to draw strength from that reassurance. We watched her give us one last wobbly smile before she disappeared down the path. I was about to hyperventilate with worry, but Luna and Liz were quick to embrace me tightly in a blanket of fur and feathers.

My sister nuzzled me softly before giving me a kiss. “She is going to be fine, sister,” Luna told me and I wish I could have believed those words without hesitation, without doubt. My little petal was about to make the most life-altering choice she could possibly make and I wasn't certain whether or not she truly understood what that would mean for her. We did our best to give her as much knowledge as we could, but I still felt like I forgot to mention something very important to her...

Wait a second... did we ever tell her what 'being' a princess means?

“We didn’t even tell her how mind-numbingly boring being a princess truly is,” I exclaimed while trying to break out of the embrace in order to race towards Cadance before she could make an uninformed decision like that! She would hate me, I just knew it! I would have hated me for not telling me that! How could she not?! “Or social events! The nobles are gonna eat her alive! I can't let them corrupt her with their nonsense!”

A tongue invaded my mouth and my panicked thoughts came to an abrupt halt. I melted against Liz and hummed approvingly as she played around with my tongue while Luna giggled next to me.

“I don’t think she knows anything about being a princess, you dolt,” Luna snickered. “Isn’t that the point? To show her and guide her towards becoming a princess who is worthy of her tiara? She has all the makings of becoming a fine princess, so don’t you worry your pretty head, sister.

"She will make mistakes, just like we have done, but I doubt they are going to be as grievous as you fear them to be. And neither will we throw her in the deep end with important events and court.”

“I... you’re right, of course,” I sighed. “Everything will turn out to be okay, no need to worry.”

“We will teach her everything she needs to know,” Liz said and I felt myself calm down considerably. Yes, that’s true. With my wives at my side, we would prepare Cadance for everything she needs to know. And if my suspicions were correct, we will prepare her for the return of the Crystal Empire, too. She won’t be defenseless and we will be there to help her should she need it.

I’m not going to risk her to that mad monster.

That day, the weave of destiny accepted Cadance as the first alicorn to ascend since the founding of Equestria, a monumental moment in history. And I couldn’t have been prouder for her to take up the mantle, despite it meaning she would have to go through life without aging beyond a certain point.

Luna, Liz, and I returned back to the physical realm once we felt her ascension complete itself and lowered the suns to bring about night once more. As I had promised my daughter, I didn’t wait to make the trip over to the little village near Vanhoover, sacrificing a night’s rest so that I could meet her as soon as the first rays of sunshine touched Equestria for a new day.

It felt nice, being reunited with her. Despite all my fruitless searching for Earth, I finally had her back. And seeing that horn on her head, it warmed my heart. She would stay with me, with us. I wouldn’t ever have to lose her again. It lifted a massive weight from my back, knowing she was here and that she would stay here.

Cadance brought back my hope that the universe wasn’t going to take everything away from me. Perhaps temporarily, but never forever. What was lost can be found again and that much was true for my daughter.

“So, how old are you really?” I asked her as we rode in the carriage drawn by a pair of pegasus guards. I would have flown by myself, but apparently, I wasn’t allowed to leave the castle without an escort nowadays. Suns forbid I have to fly with my own wings!

Well, to be truthful, it had a certain luxurious feeling being chauffeured everywhere, but still... with how our ponies sometimes treat us, you would expect we were made out of porcelain instead of being ‘goddesses’ (as much as I hated to admit that).

“I’m sorry for not having been honest with you about that,” Cadance whispered back, ashamed. I smiled softly before taking her into my forelegs and cuddling her for all that she was worth. “Physically? I turn five in a few months. Before? I was a bit over twenty-two when I went to the hospital for the surgery. So... that would make me about twenty-seven years old? Mentally, that is. Though I don't know how much of that counts since I barely got any life experience past my previous age. And honestly? I never really got the chance to do 'grown-up things'.”

I let out a laugh as her muzzle took on a deep red color. If I didn't know her so well, one could have mistaken that statement to be about naughty things. That's just silly now, isn't it? My little Rose would never think about doing it with some unworthy colt, right?

Pfft. Nah. She was clearly talking about driving too fast on the highway and paying taxes. Totally normal, adult things that are in no way related to what growing adolescents do in private. Yep, that's it. Totally.

Anyway, that's enough of that. There's no need to worry about something that has never happened and never will, right? ...right?

Okay, maybe I'll ask a guard to keep an eye on her so that they can keep any potential 'risk factors' away from her, just in case. She's far too young to think of such things. My little petal was barely a foal. Twenty-two is nothing compared to how old she will get. She can wait a couple of decades before thinking of kissing somepony, can't she? That's a reasonable time, right?

...right?

I shook my head, unhappy with my heart telling me I was being too protective of her. What does that shriveled thing think it's doing, trying to dictate what's good for my poor, innocent filly, anyway?

Ugh, I'm such an old hag. Still, two decades and some odd years was not much, was it? I could still tease her about being young and small, at any rate. “So, you didn’t lie about your current age, then,” I commented with a mischievous glint in my eyes and a smile tugging at my lips. “You’re so very young, petal! Barely out of the age of a wee-little foal.”

“I’m an adult, Mom!” Cadance shot back indignantly and I snorted, grinning in amusement. ”In a few years, I’m going to be thirty!”

“As I said, barely old enough to not need your nap time,” I said and she pouted cutely. “My little Rose, when you are as old as me, everypony else is but a foal to you.”

“How old are you?” she asked curiously and I smiled cryptically.

“Old.”

“But how old?” she whined and I chuckled as she tried to get out an exact number from me. “You must be ancient if you were there for the founding of Equestria!”

“Then I’m ancient, little petal.”

“Come on, Mom!” Cadance insisted, wiggling around in my forelegs. “Please?”

“Does it matter, little one?” I whispered back, taking delight in her sulkiness as she tried to futilely get a truthful answer out of me. Haah. This is what Starswirl must have felt, right? I can see why he did this. “I don’t count my age anymore, Cadance. Believe me, you won’t be doing that, either, once you get past your first millennium.”

“How come you, Mom, and Auntie were reborn so far back in the past?” Cadance asked and I hummed with the barest hint of sorrow. My daughter looked at me with concern and I smiled reassuringly. Might as well tell her the reason why her parents were taken away from her, right?

“There was..." I began before halting for a moment. "Hmm, how to best explain this..?” I mused with a grimace. I should probably keep this simple. There's no need to mention the eldritch horror for now (especially when there were prying ears around). “Let’s just say the alicorns of old needed somepony to keep the world safe while they couldn’t. Your mother and I, as well as your aunt, were ‘fortunate’ enough to be the ones they brought here.”

“Wow...” Cadance whispered, sounding slightly in awe but also a little bit upset for my sake. “They summoned you like heroes! What were they like? Are they still around? Can I meet them?”

“No, petal,” I answered, sighing both in relief and in sadness. “They aren’t around anymore. Not in the sense of how you would expect them to be, at least. And even then, I’m not entirely sure. They were... virtuous, I suppose. Shining examples of what we all should aspire to be. Except for Magic, she was... unpleasant to be around, to say the least. You would have loved Hope, she was always looking out for the best in others. Even when Magic was... 'difficult' with her opinion of us.”

Her ears wilted slightly as her brows furrowed in thought. “What happened to them?” she asked.

“They sacrificed themselves,” I told her. “They made the ultimate choice and stood against the greatest threat this universe has ever seen.” I guess that's as vague and accurate as I could describe it. "They lived on as powerful artifacts for a while. Now they are nothing more than petrified stone orbs, I fear."

“That’s... sad,” Cadance mumbled and I agreed with her. If not for the Elements, this universe wouldn’t exist anymore. Without them, all of these wonders would have been lost, wonders I learned to appreciate for what they are. Life itself was the greatest one of them, despite it being so fleeting. “So... two suns?”

“Two suns,” I agreed, smiling again. “They are sentient, you know.”

“Seriously?” Cadance asked in awe and I grinned. Oh, how very happy it made me to see so much wonder in her eyes. “What are they like? Can they talk to you?”

“My sun is very excitable, almost child-like, and always happy,” I explained, enthusiastic to talk about my special connection to the Summer Sun in the sky. “Celestia’s sun is very stoic and doesn’t trust anypony very easily. I suppose we have our own ways of communicating with them, but we don’t talk with 'words', rather with sensations and feelings.”

Cadance looked almost as giddy as I felt when I talked about the suns, sharing my enthusiasm with that sparkling wonder in her eyes that I couldn’t get to see enough of. She was so young and had so much to see, to experience, it almost made me jealous that she had such an innocent outlook on life. Ah... to be young again, it must be a blessing to know so little about the world.

“Did you become a princess for raising the sun?” Cadance asked and I started laughing amusedly, confusing her as I genuinely felt like laughing for a few minutes. Oh, how I wish that would have actually been the case. So many ponies could have avoided losing their magic to the ritual had we discovered our special talents earlier.

Maybe Platinum might have even respected us had we presented ourselves as goddesses instead of 'lowly farmers'. Instead, she resented us for the audacity of being crowned as princesses when we did nothing to 'earn' it.

Alas, things turned out the way they did and there was no changing it. I shook my head as I focused back on the pouting filly in my forelegs. I gave her a slight squeeze in apology, it was kinda insensitive of me to laugh like that.

“No, dear. We were already princesses by the time we started guiding the celestial objects over the horizon. That was the day we learned of our alicorn nature if you can believe it. That and we figured out who we were.” I winked at her and she giggled.

“Then how did you become princesses?” she asked. I smiled before giving her a quick nuzzle and a soft kiss on her forehead just below her new horn. I couldn’t wait to teach her how to use her magic (together with Luna and Liz, of course). I know she will love it.

“That... is perhaps a story for another time,” I said, directing her attention to the mountain in the distance. Her eyes widened as she beheld the shining jewel of Equestria, Canterlot. It looked very picturesque from the distance, framed by the shimmering rays of sunshine.

“It’s even more beautiful than I imagined,” she exclaimed, wiggling out of my forelegs as she held onto the very front of the carriage while trying to get the best view possible. I wasn’t concerned about her falling out, I had pretty good reflexes with my telekinesis and it wasn’t like she couldn’t fly (or at least glide).

Cadance looked at everything with amazement as we got closer to the city, asking me questions about various buildings that looked interesting to her and I answered each and every one of them with as much accuracy as I could. It wasn’t that hard to remember the history of every building in Canterlot when the majority of them weren’t as old as I was.

The awestruck sparkle in her eyes as we neared the castle was the most beautiful thing I’ve seen in them (and her joy was very much contagious, uplifting my own spirit in a refreshing way).

“Welcome home, little petal.”

Chapter 018 - A princess you are going to be.

“Everything okay, little petal?” I asked the little filly currently fretting over her mane. Cadance’s eyes found mine in the mirror and I couldn’t help but giggle as she pouted cutely up at me. “Your mane looks fine if that's what you are worried about.”

“But isn’t it... too simple like this? Shouldn’t we put it up? How do I have to look?!” she asked, fidgeting nervously. “Do I need make-up? What about nail... no wait. Hoof polish? Is that a thing? What about clothes?! Do I have to wear a dress or something? Do I have to use perfume? How do I even have to behave?”

I laughed, shaking my head in amusement. “Just be yourself, Cadance,” I told her as she started to worry needlessly. “You’re still a little filly, dear. Nopony is going to think less of you for how you might behave, certainly not with us there. And you look beautiful just the way you are.”

Cadance blushed softly as she looked down into her lap with embarrassment. “Do you really think so?” she asked and I nodded with a soft smile. I didn't even need to say anything to calm her down as she put a gold-clad hoof on her chest before breathing in deeply and letting it back out slowly. Then she gave her shoes an unsure look. “Won’t I outgrow these shoes within months?”

“I thought you liked them?” I asked with a raised brow.

“I do! They make me look pretty,” she answered, scuffing her hoof on the golden, red-cushioned stool she sat on as her blush returned brighter than it was before. “But isn’t it expensive to refit them? They are made out of gold!”

I shrugged, not seeing the reason why she was so worried about some little shoes needing to be refitted every once in a while. “Gold isn’t exactly very expensive, Cadance. Was that different on Earth? I... don’t remember, it has been such a long time.”

“Oh...” Cadance mumbled. “That explains all the gold coins, then. I just thought Equestria was really rich...”

“While we are quite well off as a nation, gold has nothing to do with that wealth,” I giggled, holding a hoof to my muzzle. “Now come. I think you have delayed long enough. Everypony wants to see their new princess.”

“I can’t believe I’m going to be royalty,” she said, breathing in dreamily. “A princess! Eee!”

“Don’t get too excited just yet, little petal,” I told her, smiling mischievously. “Being a princess isn’t everything it is cracked up to be.”

She pouted back to me, giving me a tiny glare over the mirror. “Don’t ruin my fantasies, Mom.”

“As you wish, little princess,” I giggled, nudging the side of her head with my muzzle. “Love you, my little Rose.”

“Love you, too, Mom,” she smiled, nuzzling me back happily.

Cadance followed me to the adjacent room of the throne room where she would wait until it was time for her to come in and be crowned a Princess of Equestria. I almost didn’t want to leave her there and just hold her all day long in my forelegs, but as hard as it was to let go of her, I needed to be at the side of my wives so that we could officiate the ceremony together.

I never thought the day would come when I would be the one to crown another alicorn princess. And my own daughter, no less! This was... it was a little overwhelming, to be honest.

As she walked down that deep red carpet toward us, I could see the nervousness in her eyes. I was so very proud of her for not letting it show in her posture, though. We had rehearsed this moment so many times, it was probably the only reason why she fought through the mass of eyes staring at her with awe (and some in envy) without letting it affect her.

Luna, Liz, and I smiled serenely as Cadance came to a stop before us and the gathered crowd in the throne room waited with bated breath as we began with the main part of the ceremony after the music died down.

“Today, we are gathered here for a historic occasion,” I spoke loud and clear, and most importantly, very proudly as I looked over the ponies here to witness my daughter being crowned. I didn’t do it just for the sake of appearance, though. No, my eyes continued to scan the crowd for anypony that would dare to do something foolish. Thankfully, this time it was just my paranoia wanting to make sure nothing happened to ruin this day for my daughter and Equestria as a whole.

“She has accomplished something nopony has for more than a thousand years,” I continued on, my eyes lingering on a grey stallion with a fedora and a suit for a moment. It felt like I had seen this exact stallion somewhere already (and not any time recently, that is), but I couldn’t put my hoof on exactly when and where that was. “Through the kindness of her heart and the love and joy she brings to those around her, she was able to defeat a despicable witch using magicks most foul.

“I’m proud to present to you the first pony to ascend to alicornhood since Equestria has been founded,” I announced, throwing my wings wide open dramatically. “Princess Cadance!”

Luna presented Cadance with her crown-like tiara and Liz floated over the sword we had forged for her. Like ours, Cadance’s sword had a mana gem in the crossguard in the form of a pink heart. While the sword was comically huge for her now, she would eventually grow into it. The blade was a light silver and had a few ‘thorns’ in allusion to her past near the crossguard. The pommel of her sword had a little keychain attached to it with a depiction of a rosebud.

“Henceforth thy royal title be that of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, the Alicorn of Love,” I said, kneeling before her. My sister and Liz followed my lead, and soon, everypony in the room was showing their respect for the newest princess. Cadance looked around flustered, utterly speechless that I was bowing to her and I couldn’t help the little grin that wormed itself onto my muzzle. I rose back up and motioned for her to turn around and face her new subjects. “Say something, little petal.”

Cadance squeaked fearfully, stuttering for a moment before she breathed in deeply to calm herself down. “I... uhm.. hi? I-I’m honored and... and I appreciate you coming here for this special day. I promise to always be fair and kind, to never abuse the power that has been vested in me by the Princesses, and to never be selfish with those that need generosity the most. I’ll uphold the ideals of Equestria even if it means I have to breathe my last breath. Uh... thank you!”

Well, that could have gone a lot worse... I’m so very proud you haven’t forgotten your speech entirely, my little Rose. May your reign last until the end of time. You will do great, I know it.

The gathered crowd cheered, stomping their hooves loudly and I smiled as the little blush on her muzzle exploded into a bright red. Cadance looked so adorable, it was the cutest thing ever. Nothing could top this moment, I thought with a warm feeling in my heart.

The nobility, of course, had to swear their fealty to their newest princess, even those brats of House Blueblood. I still can’t believe they somehow managed to trace back their lineage to my father’s brother and could thus prove their relation to my sisters and I. Mhh. I could do without them in court, seriously. I have never seen such arrogance since the days of Platinum.

Eventually, it was time for the meet and greet poorly disguised as a party that was (of course) mainly attended by the nobility, the rich, and the celebrities. Cadance tried multiple times to hide shyly behind my legs but wasn’t very successful with it. Either because there were too many ponies around us or because I shoved her out from underneath me with a gentle nudge. As much as I hated to do it, she would have to learn to live in the spotlight sooner rather than later.

Of course, the minefield that was the nobility wasn’t easily navigated and I helped Cadance wherever I could. I would never trust the nobility to not try to take advantage of my little filly, and as much as I knew Cadance was 'technically' an adult, she didn’t know how to pick up the subtle clues as to what they truly meant with their honeyed words (watered down as they were).

As much as I would have loved to lecture these idiots that tried to pull their pathetic schemes with me being present, they wouldn’t ever learn their lesson. It was a futile effort to beat the stupid out of these kinds of ponies and I have long since given up trying to do so. Thankfully, Cadance wasn’t trusting them as far as she could throw them, either.

It did help that they genuinely thought she was the age she appeared to be, but try as I might, even their foals were as horrible as they were. The new generation was already off to a great start, I see.

There was one favor I could do for my brave little Rose, though. The refreshment table was always a good way to change a conversation to a more manageable and relaxed level.

“Are all refreshments so... tiny?” Cadance whispered over to me and I giggled as she gave the hors d'oeuvres a skeptical look.

“They are,” I nodded, picking up a canapé with a smile, showing Cadance that they are meant to be eaten more or less in a single bite (two if they were on the larger, more decorative side). “They don’t interrupt conversations too much, so they are a great snack at parties.”

“My definition of a party isn’t this... boring,” Cadance muttered, on the verge of frowning. I nudged her and gave her a warning look and she put a tiny smile back on her face.

I sighed, feeling disgusted at myself for having to force her to go through with this. “To be honest, it isn’t mine, either. You sadly get used to it, little petal.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” she retorted. “You must have gone to so many parties like these already.”

“I did warn you that being a princess isn’t all sunshine and rainbows,” I giggled and Cadance’s smile looked a bit thinner with regret. I leaned my head down to her level so that I could whisper into her ear with a bit of humor in my voice. “Believe me, I’d rather deal with paperwork than entertain these ponies for a minute.”

That didn't seem to reassure her much, but she did seem to draw a bit of comfort from it. “How did Mom deal with this?” Cadance asked me shyly and I gave her a melancholic smile. “I can’t exactly see her finding this entertaining at all.”

“Oh, you would be surprised,” I snorted. “She excelled at drinking up all the attention.”

“I guess that’s true,” Cadance giggled. “She could never resist being the center of attention.”

“Yes...” I sighed sorrowfully, hiding my frown as I drank from the alcohol-free champagne I got. The drink wasn't by far my favorite, but it had its uses in situations like these. “It was ultimately her downfall, gaining the wrong kind of attention. If she hadn’t been so popular, I don’t think Platinum would have considered making Celestia her puppet. She was everything Platinum wanted and when she ran right into her hooves, she sprang her trap...”

Cadance and I found ourselves at a secluded spot on the balcony overlooking the majestic city that Canterlot has grown into in the past millennium. I could still remember the days when it was but a fraction of what it is now, a small (almost humble) city nestled against the mountain (if humble could ever be a thing with the nobility, that is). My daughter gave me a curious look and I smiled back, encouraging her to voice her thoughts out loud. “What did she look like? Mom, I mean?”

“Gorgeous,” I smiled. “Like a thousand sunrises couldn’t compare to her sheer beauty. The vibrancy of her mane, the sparkling magenta eyes, the brilliant smile...”

“Sounds like you’re describing yourself, Mom,” Cadance laughed, leaning against me as she looked up at me with that child-like wonder in her eyes. I dearly hoped it would never leave her eyes, it suited her quite well.

“Well, we are twins in this life,” I answered back with a wink. “It didn’t stop her from seducing me all over again, even though she wasn’t certain I was who I was.”

“For some reason, that doesn’t surprise me,” Cadance snickered and I shared in her amusement with a tiny laugh. “It must have been so confusing to you to feel that way for your own twin...”

“I only remember a few snippets of my struggles to come to grips with it nowadays, petal,” I said before thinking back to one particular memory that was still clear as day to me. “But I could never forget the moment we realized who we were to each other. Right before our estrus, too.”

“What’s estrus?” Cadance asked me with a confused tone and I blanked out for a moment. Oh, for everything holy about my sun, that was not a conversation I was going to have with my little filly anytime soon. She was too young to know, anyway. Must. Preserve. Her. Innocence!

“Something only grown-ups need to concern themselves with,” I told her with as straight a face as I could manage. “You do not need to worry your pretty little head about that just yet.”

“I’m almost thirty, Mom!” she whined and I gave her a glare.

“Exactly,” I said. “Still a foal, so stop asking.”

“You’re a meanie,” Cadance pouted, angrily crossing her forelegs in front of herself and I suppressed the urge to growl, keeping my emotions as positive as I could so I wouldn’t start transforming into Fallen Star. I had almost forgotten how... agitating it could be to deal with one’s own daughter and their childishness. Even if they 'claim' they were an adult. “I bet other mothers would be a lot more understanding of the significance of my age...”

“Other mothers aren’t alicorns and have a reborn daughter as their foster child,” I shot back, staring down at her disapprovingly. Her ears splayed back against the back of her head and she looked away from me, sniffling slightly. Judging by how sharp my vision had gotten, she had just seen exactly how cruel the golden, slit eyes of my other half could be when I felt slightly angry. I let out a sigh as I felt bad about how I had treated her, reprimanding myself harshly within my mind before extending a wing over her back. “I’m sorry, little petal. You didn’t deserve that. I... might be a bit rusty at being a parent.”

“It’s okay,” she whispered back dejectedly. “I understand that I’m not really 'your' foal anymore...”

“You are, my little Rose,” I insisted, snatching her up within my forelegs. I nuzzled her affectionately and she squirmed slightly in my embrace, a tiny smile worming itself back onto her muzzle. “Just because you didn’t come from my womb doesn’t mean you aren’t still my daughter, Cadance. That will never change, do you understand? It will absolutely never change. I promise to always love you like my own flesh and blood, even if we don’t share that anymore. Such a bond like ours transcends that.”

“You really mean it?” she asked and I squeezed her a bit tighter in reassurance. Oh, my little petal, I will always mean it.

“Of course,” I answered as I nuzzled the top of her head, mussing up her mane with a happy smile. “And that is also true for Luna and Liz, you know. They are as much a part of your family now as I am and I know for certain that Luna would love to hear you call her your mother. Liz might grumble a bit here and there, but she also would enjoy hearing you call her that. She is a bit silly about openly showing affection if you ask me.”

Cadance smiled back at me with a content sigh and simply snuggled herself against me, a cute yawn escaping her lips. “Love you, Mom...”

“Love you, too, little petal,” I whispered back to the lightly snoozing filly in my arms. “And I always will, I promise. It might sometimes seem like I don’t, but I will always love you no matter what. I might say some hurtful things without meaning to and I will regret them as soon as I utter them, but that won’t ever change how much I love you, you silly little filly...”

The sleepy filly in my embrace smiled a little brighter as I gave her my promise. I suppose it was high time to retire for the day, huh? I deposited her on my back, bringing her back into the castle. The party was about to wind down anyway, so I excused myself politely, stating that I had a very precious package to deliver to her bedroom, and began to ascend the stairs towards where her room and mine were located.

Smiling, I opened the heart-emblazoned doors to her room and tucked her gently into the bright pink bed. I felt like cringing a little bit at the decor, but if it made her happy, it made me happy. Who was I to complain about the blatant gender stereotypes if she was the one that wanted her chambers decorated so... sickeningly... pink. I was glad she didn’t know my natural hair color, that would only lead to... ahem, things. Whatever those things were, I had no idea, but they couldn’t be good, I’m sure.

Leaving the door slightly ajar, I told the guards to alert me to anypony that was not authorized getting within a hoof’s length of her room. By my sun... I might be becoming as paranoid with her as my mother was with me, I realized with slight unease. Well... I guess Mom did have a point about one thing in particular. I will definitely have to make sure that no colt dared defile my precious little Rose.

Nopony will take her innocence away from her if I have a say in the matter. The poor colt that inevitably catches her attention will have to deal with me first. That, I swear.

For the sake of my poor, innocent filly, I might even have to burn his dick off before he could get her pregnant with his filth...

Ahem, anyway! That's enough of that, Summer. It wouldn’t do to chase away every potential suitor. And besides, she is still a little foal. There is no cause for concern just yet. I don't need to make plans right now. Perhaps I would get lucky and she finds herself a nice mare, instead. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about her getting pregnant with the hellspawn of some unworthy colt. A colt that would eventually grow old and die, leaving her alone to grieve her lost love.

I couldn’t allow that. Not to my little petal. A mare would have to do. I could probably get her to ascend to alicornhood so my sweet, little Rose won’t ever have to go through such heartache. Yes... a mare is the only option. Eh heh heh...

Then again... if my little filly does fall in love with a colt (and he survives my Trials of Worthiness™ with his dick intact)... perhaps there is a spell to change his sex permanently? Make them a mare so I could then turn them into an alicorn? Hmm. That might actually be worth looking into. I’m sure Liz would help me without asking any pesky questions...

“And what are you cackling about?” Liz asked and I jumped almost up to the ceiling in the darkness of our bedroom.

I let out a tiny growl, throwing open the curtains to let the last hour of sunlight in before the night was about to replace the day. “Must you always seclude yourself in the dark like that?”

She shrugged back at me, grinning slightly with that insufferable smugness I couldn’t help but lose myself in from time to time. “It’s not like we need the light to see, Sunflower.”

I blushed as she stretched out like a cat, giving me a smoldering look with her emerald eyes. Liz levitated a stack of papers away to the nightstand and patted the space next to her invitingly. With an eager grin, I jumped up on the bed and my wife took ahold of the wing I presented her with, taking it into her mouth so she could bite gently down on the joints with the smallest amount of pressure. I moaned happily and melted on the spot as she started to play with my wing.

Liz really knew how to work my wings to get me into a state of bliss, her strange fascination with feathered wings had not diminished at all over the past millennium. “Where’s Lulu?”

Liz shrugged. “No idea,” she said before she moved on to each individual feather with a happy and eager hum. “Definitely not at the ‘party’, you know how much Lulu and I hate those. My guess would be that she is going over tax reports or something.”

I sighed in contentment before giving the stack of papers a glance. “And what were you working on?” I asked, causing her to stop giving my wing the attention it craved for a moment.

“Adoption papers,” she answered and I gave her a stare, baffled. “What? You didn’t seriously think you could take in a foal just like that, did you? She is an orphan, Summer. There are rules and regulations for that. At least you didn’t steal a mother’s little filly. Sometimes you really are an idiot, you know that? Luna should tell you that more often, in my opinion.”

“You’re being mean,” I pouted, blushing in embarrassment. “Of course, I knew she needed to be adopted, who do you take me for?”

“An idiot, like I said,” she snarked and I swatted her muzzle with my wing. Sadly, I did not manage to wipe that insufferable smirk off her face. Stupid bitch.

“Seems I need to make the same ‘no cookie’ threat with you,” I muttered and she just giggled. “I’m glad you thought of it, though. You’re... 'awkward' with family matters at the best of times.”

“Summer, I have had hundreds of thousands of ‘children’ since we started living together,” she snorted. “If I would care for each and every one of them like you ponies do with your offspring, I would have been driven mad with the sheer loss of them dying of age. I lay my eggs, maybe feed one or two, and that's it. The little shits are way too eager to hiss and bite at you, I'm not gonna deal with that if I don't have to.”

“I guess that's true...” I sighed, still feeling saddened that she thought so... indifferently of the lives she brought into the world. I suppose after Ocellus, I couldn’t really fault her for thinking like that, though. “When do you need to lay next?”

“Not for another few weeks,” Liz whispered absentmindedly, plucking a loose feather and spitting it out onto the pile right next to her. “If you’re concerned I don’t have enough love in my reserves, don’t be.”

“I still can’t believe you just... fertilize them with the love you gather from Luna and me,” I said, feeling the strange warmth in my heart well up whenever the topic came up. Liz chuckled in that weird way she always did when talking about this before nibbling my wing joint affectionately, going right back to preening me. “So... what do you think of Cadance?”

“She is utterly hopeless,” Liz commented and I glared at her. The stupid bug merely giggled cheekily back at me. “Hopelessly optimistic and a romantic to boot. She certainly reminds me of you, Sunflower. Both of you have a bleeding heart, even if yours doesn’t show as often anymore after... you know, the whole ‘banishing your sister to the moon’ thing. I’m lucky you decided to grant me mercy for all I have done in my hungry craze.”

“You and your subjects weren’t really in a craze,” I argued and she rolled her eyes.

“Yeah, sure, whatever,” she said. “It’s not like I wiped out entire cities to feed my hive.”

“I’m sorry, Liz,” I sighed. “I know you don’t like to be reminded of that time and that you’d rather think of it as the madness of a starving bug monster...”

“Well, it’s true, so shut up,” Liz shot back and told me to turn around so she could get at my other wing. I rolled over onto my back and gave her a sad look. “Okay, maybe I was entirely aware of my decisions and a bit of a megalomaniacal bitch to boot, but can you deny that it wasn’t a bit mad of me to do what I did? I hurt innocent ponies because a few of them were total dickheads. There's nothing good about that. There were so many other different ways to go about it and I’m glad you found me when you did. I don't want to know what kind of monster I would have become had you not been there to change me.”

"Aww," I cooed, smiling. “I'm glad I found you, too. I love you, Liz,” I told her before giving her a big kiss to show her just how much I meant that statement. She laughed into my kiss, pushing her tongue into my mouth to wrestle with mine. My stupidly sexy wife had me subdued in no time and I felt my heart flutter and marehood drip with wetness.

“Wow, somepony is horny today, isn’t she?” Luna commented as she came in from the balcony and had the perfect view of my glistening, weeping marehood. “What brought this on?”

“Liz being totally sexy for thinking ahead about adopting Cadance formally,” I answered. “Where were you? We missed you.”

Luna rolled her eyes. “Celestia came over for a visit,” she told me before hopping up onto the bed next to me. She pouted at seeing the wing on her side already fully preened and Liz stuck her tongue out at her with a self-satisfied grin. “Something about gaining a new niece. Sound familiar?”

“She isn’t adopting the Cadance of her world as her daughter?” I asked, confused. “Why?”

My sister sighed tiredly. “I would like to know that as much as you do, Sunny,” Luna shrugged. “Maybe she doesn’t feel worthy of the title?”

I grumbled out a sigh. “Ugh. It seems like we need to have a serious word with her if that is the case,” I said, saddened. “She can’t just..."—I frowned in frustration as my tail swished around in agitation—" why must she be so stubborn? She constantly denies herself the happiness she truly deserves.”

“I don’t think we should pressure her into these things,” Liz commented, spitting out a feather as I frowned at her... her-ness. “She already feels guilty enough for ‘replacing’ her Luna with us, and as much as she tries to hide this from us, I can smell her emotions quite clearly. We just have to hope Luna manages to get her out of her funk when she returns.”

“I really would like to help her with that, but considering that Tia is going to come back at the same time...” Luna sighed. “‘Tis frustrating.”

“I’m glad we decided to embrace our darker sides, Lulu,” I whispered, brushing through her starry mane with a hoof. “I’d rather not think about what would have happened otherwise.”

“It’s quite clear 'what' would have happened,” Luna snorted derisively. “The same thing that happened to her Luna. Nightmare going on a rampage in a jealous fit.”

“And without you and Tia here, I would have never been tempted enough to give Liz a chance and I would be feeling just as guilty as Celestia,” I muttered, not feeling in the mood for sex as much anymore. And here I had been looking forward to some intimacy after dealing with the nobility all day long...

Chrysalis huffed in annoyance and stuck her tongue into my ear, sounding only slightly disgusted for doing it, and I shrieked in surprise. Luna invaded my other ear, making me shudder as the pleasant tingles of arousal picked up again while I moaned quietly in approval.

“Seriously, Sunflower, every single, damn time. We need to stop talking about these things in bed or I’m going to be pissed off at not getting any action,” Liz growled, throwing herself on top of me and shooting me a mock glare. “Don’t you dare stop soaking the bedsheets with your fluids until I’m through with you. I hate it when you get all depressed over things that haven't even happened.”

I smiled up at her, blushing warmly at her concern (perverted as it was). “I’m married to nymphomaniacs.”

“And you love it,” she shot back with a self-satisfied grin.

Nodding, I giggled as I looked deeply into her vivid green eyes. “Yes. I love it. Say... won’t you change back for me? As much as I like seeing you like this, I’d rather have the real you fuck me silly.”

She shrugged and her green flames burned away her alicorn disguise. “I consider that form my real form as well, you know? I don’t know how often I’ve told you that already, but you continue to be an idiot about it.”

“Shut up and make my pussy burn with pleasure, Liz,” I ordered her and she grinned back wickedly, buzzing her wings in eager anticipation. Luna, on the other hoof, was abandoning my ear and went for my horn, instead. Liz was not one to be outdone and started to grind her rear against mine with a vigorous fervor, the soft plates of her chitin almost completely gliding against me without resistance and her hindleg rubbed itself against my marehood in the most pleasant way possible.

A millennium had made her an expert in getting me to sing as soon as she started having her way with me and I didn’t care that I almost made the room vibrate from the volume of my voice. At least Cadance won’t be hearing anything of it, the silencing charms on the walls and doors were doing their best to not overload from what we subjected them to on a weekly basis.

Chrysalis chuckled each time I weakly bucked myself against her and we battled with our tongues between panting breaths, all the while smearing our fluids all over each other and the bedsheets. The holes in her hooves gave her a better grip on me and Liz definitely knew how to take advantage of that.

Where Luna was more of a slow, gently grinding type of pony, Liz was the total opposite. She couldn’t content herself with taking her time if her life depended on it. For her, it was the faster the better. Well, as long as we stuck to regular sex without getting kinky with all sorts of additional toys or transformations. Then Liz suddenly became the most gentle changeling that has ever lived while having sex with me.

Whatever it was, I had long since given up trying to figure out her... 'quirks'... in bed. Maybe it was just a changeling thing that went over my head or she simply didn’t want to hurt me in any way, I enjoyed both sides of her in bed. And, well... she's an empath. She would definitely pick up on emotional fluctuations even I might not be aware of I might have had.

But that's a thought for another time, perhaps. Right now, all I wanted was to be fucked silly. As much as I have grown my endurance over the last centuries, Chrysalis (when she really wanted to) could bring me to orgasm after orgasm within minutes without much trouble. Every time I thought I knew how to hold myself back for sure, she proved to me that she was a dirty cheater and brought me over the edge anyway. Damn her wings making her body vibrate so much, making me feel so... damn... good!

My vision went white for a few minutes as she and Luna giggled, licking my marehood clean of my leaking fluids while I couldn’t keep myself from cumming multiple times in a row. Not that I would want to, but by my friggin’ sun... it felt like I was losing a game against them each and every time. And they always were incredibly smug about it, too.

Haah. Damn this addiction to feeling good. I couldn't even be mad about it to them. Stupid bug waifu and sexy sister being so friggin' hot. I loved even that damn smugness of theirs.

I'm such a sub, aren't I?

Luna, while incredibly gentle in her methods of having 'regular' lesbian sex, had become the one among us that was incredibly difficult to get over the edge due to her almost inexhaustible endurance. Even when both Liz and I teamed up on her and had her marehood almost fucked raw from Liz shapeshifting into a stallion version of herself (something that Luna found sexy beyond measure, me not so much), she could keep herself from an orgasm for hours if she really wanted to make us work for it. Her orgasm, on the other hoof, had her passing out from pleasure nowadays, though.

Sometimes I felt jealous that she could just... explode... from all the pleasure that she was unable to keep herself conscious afterward. While I might devolve into a twitchy (and giggly) pile of orgasmic delight, I seldomly found myself passing out after a single round of sex.

Liz was perhaps the perfect middle-ground between Luna and myself. She could reasonably keep up with my sister for a while, but without me helping things along, we could keep at it for the whole night trying to get Lulu off on our own. My running theory was that Luna’s body temperature had something to do with it, but I wasn’t too sure about that.

As I felt myself get more aware of what was going on around me, I watched Liz and Lulu go at it with reckless abandon, shaking the whole bed back and forth with their movements. Liz had shapeshifted into a male copy of Nightmare Moon and was plowing into my sister with heavy thrusts that, if she were to do that to me, I wouldn’t have been able to keep up with her. Heck, I'm sure she would've utterly broken me like that.

Luna had this weird fetish of having her Nightmare self, well... have her way with her. Liz found it extremely sexy and had no qualms about using her shapeshifting in that way to satisfy all of Lulu’s desires. And to be honest... the image was fucking hot. It was like that one time Tia had made out with herself, only... lewder. In a way, it was like watching twins have sex with each other without them actually being twins if that makes sense.

I could still feel the tingles from my orgasm running through me, so I contented myself with watching them, a fond warmth in my heart. It was almost cute, now that I thought about it. Them fucking their brains out after having reduced me into a puddle of bliss.

Luna’s moans and pants were muffled after I found what I searched for in the nightstand and I began to lick her horn like an overly long candy cane, making her go cross-eyed from the additional source of pleasure. There was only one weakness my sister had that could actually get her to cum far sooner than usual and that was by overwhelming all her senses at once while at the same time appeasing some of her fetishes.

That gag in her mouth? Tastes like vanilla taken to an extreme due to an enchantment. Hearing and touch, as well as sight, were pretty much already covered as it was. That left smell, but I suppose the overwhelming smell of sex was covering that front, too. So, the only thing I had to do now was to get her magic sense overwhelmed. Judging by the pleading look she gave me, she knew what I was trying to do by licking her horn.

She never stood a chance once her magic started to react to my ministrations. All of that combined, together with Liz playing mischievously with her wings while hammering her (or his) cock into Luna, made Lulu fall into unconsciousness from an overload of sensations.

Holy flying penguins, wow. This might be a new record. She was out cold before we even had to lower the suns... and... the moon... still needs to be raised, damnit. I should have thought that through more, I groused to myself. Pouting, I gave Liz a pleading look and he let out a suffering sigh for also having forgotten that we still had a job to do or the world would suffer for our little blunder.

“Fine,” Liz sighed with a grumble, flames burning away his ‘Nightmare Moon’-esque look, shifting back into her alicorn form, her mane shifting back and forth between an almost glowing pink and a gentle red color before it went slowly back to the usual green one of her natural form. “You owe me a month's worth of cookies, Sunflower...”

I smiled happily. “Thanks, Liz,” I said, a skip in my step as I followed her onto the balcony. Together, we reached out to the suns and guided them over the horizon (a task that I felt like I could do in my sleep by now... if only that was true).

I peeked over towards my wife and saw her concentrate with a grimace on her pretty muzzle. She looked way too cute like this, the slightly scrunched-up look of focus suiting her well. The moon slowly rose, and with it, the image of the alicorn head on it.

Oh, Tia... have a little bit more patience. We will find a solution, I promise.

Liz nudged me with a knowing (and pained) look in her eyes, empathy evident for my plight in her gaze and posture. “Come, Sunflower. Tomorrow is a new day and we still need to adopt Cadance into our family.”

I nodded, giving one last sorrowful sigh as I looked up at the moon and followed her back to our bed. Luna unconsciously snuggled herself to my side and Liz did the same for the other half. “Night, Liz...”

“Night,” she whispered back, placing a loving kiss on the tip of my muzzle.

That night in the dream realm, Luna and I had the... pleasure... of getting an unwanted visitor in the form of the mockery our sister had been transformed into due to the mind currently in control of her body.

“Platinum...” I sighed, unable to keep the sneer away.

The mare in front of us looked as sinister as ever and the mocking attempt to give us a ‘genuine’ smile looked entirely out of place on her muzzle. “Summer! What a nice surprise to see you here! How long has it been?”

“Not long enough,” Luna muttered next to me and I agreed, shooting Platinum a glare.

“I wasn’t talking to you, plebeian,” she spat. “Truly, nopony nowadays understands the value of being courteous to each other...”

“Like you have been with Tia?” Luna growled. “Taking her body and parading around in it? You worthless, unworthy bitch!”

“You say the most flattering things, dear,” Platinum said, making a swooning gesture back at Luna. “I’m sorry, but incest isn’t really my type of thing. To debase oneself to such degenerate things... you really must be desperate. That you lower yourselves to the standards of primitive ponies and their incestuous herds, I pity you. Truly."

“Shut your foul mouth,” my sister snarled. She was about to throw herself at Platinum in her rage, and as much as I wanted to do it too, it would be a waste of time with her. “You drag the name of Nightmare through the mud, you little brat. It’s bad enough that we had to erase Tia’s name from history for her protection. What do you want, Platinum?”

“My, my,” she giggled with glee. “'Erase her', you say? What... loving... sisters you are. Anyway, I have come for information and I will get it one way or another. I felt that pulse and I want to know what it was.”

I tried to keep the angry snort contained within me, but a puff of flames escaped my nostrils despite my best efforts. Don’t let her words get to you, Summer. You know it was for the best. All the horrible things our ponies said, I couldn’t let it continue on like that and Luna was of the same opinion as I was. Better have it this way than letting Tia come back to such... toxicity.

“You won’t get any information out of us, witch,” I glowered, the raging inferno of my emotions managing to partially transform me to Fallen Star, my fiery gaze burning into her cold and dead arrogant one. “All you shall learn from us is the certainty of your impending doom. Know that when your prison finally breaks and the shackles that hold you loosen, we will be there to strike you down.”

Platinum smiled like a shark, a mad gleam in her eyes. “Such confident words,” she said, laughing in a way that indicated she didn’t take them seriously at all. “While you sat on your fat little flanks, I have been honing my skills. Let’s just say the suns make a lovely vacation spot for you and your... miscreant of a sister.”

“Don’t think we have been idle, monster,” Luna growled. “You are but one alicorn, a thief at that, what do you hope to accomplish?”

“Take my rightful place, of course,” Platinum stated matter-of-factly. “And it matters not that I am alone, you won’t touch me. Your precious sister could get... hurt.”

I felt a stab of emotional pain unlike anything I had ever felt before going through me as she laughed triumphantly while Luna and I grimaced. Yes... she could get hurt, die even... but the alternative was seeing Equestria ruled by an imposter, a foul thief unworthy of the position. That would be a future even worse than having to release my sister of such a terrible fate by having to ultimately put her down. She wouldn’t want to be used as a puppet, that much I knew for certain.

If that was me in her position, I would expect nothing less of her. I couldn’t live with myself to be used in such a manner. While I haven’t given up on finding new bearers for the Elements of Harmony, I need to prepare myself for the possibility we won’t ever find them in time. Should that be the case, then we can’t let our feelings get in the way of what needed to be done.

Oh, Tia... I wish you hadn’t run away in fear all those centuries ago. If only we had searched for you with more fervor, with more zeal...

“Don’t believe yourself safe from us,” Luna answered in a deathly whisper, her icy eyes drilling into Platinum’s deep blue ones with unfathomable hatred. “Your downfall comes, witch. Should we need to sacrifice Tia for the safety of this world, we will do so.”

Platinum cackled back at us with that mad gleam in her eyes, grinning toothily with those... disgusting, monstrous teeth. “Your sister says hello, by the way. Such a shame she feels even more betrayed now. Oh, such lovely irony. You know, she blamed herself for betraying you, when it was you who betrayed her. This torment, this pain she is in... Mhh... it’s so very delicious~.”

Magic erupted around us as Luna flew into a rage and I wasn’t far behind her as Platinum’s laughter echoed around us while her body faded away from our dream. The attack never managed to reach that monster, sadly. I could have used a punching bag, for once.

“Now... to get back to tormenting that so-called ‘daughter’ of yours...” Platinum whispered with glee as her presence faded entirely and I gasped in fear. How did she even know of Cadance?! She couldn’t possibly know she is my daughter from another life!

Luna was quick to open the door to the dream realm for us, breaching the spell barrier that kept the rest of Equestria safe from Platinum. Our frantic search for Cadance’s dream was thankfully quick, and much more importantly, Platinum wasn’t there to torment my little petal. It was just a bluff. Oh, flying penguins, it was just a bluff, thank goodness. By my sun, I don’t know what I would have done had she actually been there causing nightmares for my daughter.

The shielding we put on the minds of our ponies must be getting weaker or Platinum was getting stronger the closer we got to the date of her return. We couldn’t let her torment our ponies again and we definitely couldn’t let her run free once she got released from the moon.

But for now... I can keep my daughter safe in her dreams and be the mother she deserves. The rest of the night was spent playing around with my little Rose in her dream, allowing myself a rare carefree moment in her presence, knowing she was safe with Luna and me present.

Alas, all good things come to an end eventually. While that was only the nice dream we had with her for now, I know she won’t exactly appreciate all the private tutoring she would need to go through to become a proper princess. But first, as the new dawn ushered in a beautiful day, I would show her a few things that were sure to bring a smile onto her muzzle.

“Where are we going, Mom?” she asked and I smiled warmly back at her. We were on our way to a very special tower of great importance to Luna, Liz, and me. My little filly stared at me with those twinkling eyes that could have been mistaken for my own when I was her own age. It's curious that we still share a similar eye color, isn't it?

“A place where we store our most precious things,” I answered, opening the door to the tower. I went in with my petal securely on my back. As soon as the first shelf came into sight, I watched with mirth as her reaction changed to one of awe.

On many of the shelves around us were little glass orbs with little flashes of moments long gone. I floated one in particular closer to her and I couldn’t have been happier as she gave me a bright smile, a lone tear traveling down the side of her head.

In the memory ball was the moment of our own coronation depicted, and while I would have liked to keep the fact of my natural hair color away from her forever, I couldn’t keep this memory away from her in good conscience. Tia, Lulu, and I were standing around perhaps as awkward as my little petal had been at her coronation, and off to the side was our mentor and honorary grandfather.

I floated another orb over to us, showing her the memory we made while in the dream realm: our second marriage. Cadance couldn’t keep her tears at bay after seeing that memory and my own melancholic tears joined hers as I gave her an affectionate nuzzle.

“Thank you,” she whispered tearily. “You were right. Mom seems so... absolutely perfect and pretty in every way. Like life itself couldn’t drag her down. You look so beautiful in those dresses and Mother looks stunning like that...”

I giggled, breathing in shakily as I shook my head warmly. “Of course, dear. I don’t come here often, but for you, I suppose I can always spare a moment to open the locks. I'll teach you how to disable them so that you can come and go whenever you want, little petal. Provided that you aren’t currently being tutored and have no other pressing matters to attend to.

"Take a look at all of the memories we have of her here, ask me any questions that you want, I will not keep this away from you. You deserve to learn as much as you can about your mother.”

Cadance nodded, hugging my neck as she started to sniffle gratefully and I made a few reassuring noises, placing a tiny kiss on her head with a smile. She tried to tell me how thankful she was for this, but her emotional distress was making it difficult for her to get a coherent sentence out, not that she needed to tell me that in words.

We stayed in the tower for the better part of the day, going through one memory after another and I answered as many of her curious questions as I could. While we went through quite a lot of memories, we barely made a dent in the sheer mass of memories we had stored here, and at one point, Liz joined us with a tea set in her magical grasp.

I felt immensely glad that Cadance and Liz were getting along so well, and as much as I wanted to get mad at Liz for telling my daughter a few not-so-innocent occasions between us (much to my eternal embarrassment), it did manage to get them to become fast friends over one of their mutual hobbies: playing match-maker.

Cadance couldn’t get to hear enough of all the little stories Liz had about playing Love’s Advocate with our subjects and her changelings. Of all the things that could have surprised me, this was not one of them. We had two love-crazy alicorns running around now, even though one was only partially an alicorn (we found that little tidbit of information out as soon as Liz managed to get lost in the Realm of Ascension).

By my sun, I think I might have made the greatest mistake in the history of Equestria... Liz and Cadance bonding over how to best shoot Love’s Arrow at random ponies to see what came from it. There won’t be a single pony left without a special somepony by the end of the decade, I swear. Not that that would be a bad thing, per se, but... I’d rather they don't experiment on our subjects like that. Not every relationship is meant to bloom into true love, as much as it pains me to admit such a thing.

That's going to be a painful lesson to learn for my daughter, I’m sure. I mean, I am reasonably sure she knows love doesn’t work like that, but she is still a filly and I don’t want her to be disappointed. Perhaps I should stop thinking of her as a naïve little filly and stop lying to myself that she needs to be taken care of in such a way. She is a young adult (in mind), after all. But... my motherly instincts continue to scream at me to coddle her for a few centuries and ensure nothing could break her delicate heart.

Was it wrong of me to not want her to be all grown up and independent? By my sun, I’m pathetic, aren’t I? This was my Rose Petal I was thinking of, she couldn’t be all grown up already, could she? It feels like I have missed half of her life, I don’t want to miss another second of it. I have all the time in the world with her, and instead, I want to coddle her right now at this moment.

At least... at least I have a few years where I could legitimately treat her as my little filly and carry her around on my back like any mother does, right? She doesn’t seem to mind at all. Sure, she might grumble here and there, but I know she enjoyed having her mother back just as much as I enjoyed having her back. There was no harm in thinking of her like that, was there? In relation to the lifespan of an alicorn, she truly is still a newborn...

Why was I even worrying so much about this? Summer, you old fool, get a grip on yourself and just enjoy life as it comes at you. Be there for Cadance while you can and don’t... don’t think about what could happen to you should Platinum actually prove to be stronger and...

No, that won’t happen, stop thinking such dark thoughts. Everything will turn out fine, you’ll see. Nothing is going to go wrong. Definitely nothing.

Oh, who am I kidding? I’m such a worrywart. A dolt, really. Luna and Liz are right, I get worried over the littlest things, nowadays. Panic won’t help me, and if one part of that damn prophecy can come true, then so can the second part. I’m too old to keep worrying over these things, but neither am I so naïve to think everything will solve itself without ensuring that it actually does.

So, that’s what I’m going to do. I’m going to raise Cadance into the strong mare that I know she can be and make her a princess that everypony can look up to. I’m going to bring Tia back and ensure Platinum won’t ever take her away from us again by finding the next bearers of the Elements of Harmony. They have to exist, somewhere! Or at least they will exist over the next decade or so. Hopefully.

If I have to, I’ll beg them to return. I’ll grovel before their hooves and plead with them to give me back my twin. I’ll even apologize for all the things I said to them after they... uhm... 'abandoned' us.

I’ll even pray to God if it helps! Just, please, don’t forsake us again, Harmony. Please, Hope. I can't do it without you and your siblings.

Ugh. I’m not going to enjoy teaching Cadance all of our knowledge, not because I don’t think teaching her will be a bad thing... but because of the nature of the things that we would have to teach her. Things that could kill another pony. If she was to be as prepared for the future as she could be, though, that was one thing we can’t just not teach her.

Cadance needs to know how to defend herself. Either for the possibility of us... not making it through the return of Platinum... or because of the return of the Crystal Empire. A very likely possibility, considering her Cutie Mark has the Crystal Heart in it. Fate was at work and for better or for worse, we have to make sure that she gets through it unscathed. If that means teaching her... 'those' methods, then so be it.

The first week with Cadance here living with us... it was like I couldn’t stop smiling. Not even the nobility could put a dampener on my mood, and with Cadance officially adopted by us, none of them could try some of their more stupid schemes to get rid of her. Not that there were many that tried to act on their jealousy.

I’m kinda glad that I decided to go through with that old law that automatically made an alicorn a princess. It backfired so hard for the nobles, I found it funny that I pretty much predicted that a commoner would be the one to ascend instead of a noble. And I rubbed it so much under their brownnosing muzzles, my glee found no bounds.

There was one very memorable moment that happened during the second week Cadance was here and I wanted to introduce her to two special individuals. So, after she was done with her lessons for the day and Cadance had watched on long enough in court sitting next to Luna, I quietly stole her away with a giddy eagerness. Lulu probably knew what I wanted to show her and the only thing she did was roll her eyes at me.

I kept my mouth shut the whole way, only making her more curious about why we were in the Royal Gardens. I had told her to keep quiet until we actually got to the spot where I suspected my darling was staying around. The animals living here were a bit... skittish at the best of times. If I didn’t have my gift with animals, the animals would probably be as skittish around me as any other pony.

“Yu’la?” I whispered, calling out to the heavenly cloud serpent and getting a happy chirp back in response. “I have somepony that I want you to meet~.”

The shimmering light of her form burst out of the trees, flitting around me with that playful enthusiasm that never left her. I giggled as Yu’la snaked herself around my neck, sticking her head out of my mane so that she could look at Cadance with a curious tilt of her head.

“What... what type of creature is... she?” Cadance asked with a staggering amount of awe, offering Yu’la a hoof. My little petal started giggling as Yu’la started cooing happily as she scratched her head against the hoof of my daughter gently.

“A one-of-a-kind being,” I answered, smiling fondly at my darling and my Rose Petal getting along so well. “Her mother entrusted me with her care a thousand years ago, give or take a few years.”

Cadance hummed thoughtfully, marveling at the tingling feeling that tickled her hoof from the powerful aura that Yu’la exuded passively. Depending on my darling’s mood, it gave somepony different sensations. Most of the time it was a calm, comfortable feeling. When she was in a playful mood, though, it turned into an excited tingle.

“So, is she a dragon? I thought dragons were... bigger,” Cadance asked, looking at me with hesitant confusion as if she was afraid she had just asked something stupid.

I laughed disarmingly, giving Cadance a gentle smile. “She is a type of dragon but one you wouldn’t find on Equis. Yu’la is technically a spirit being, a living statue that got life breathed into it.”

“I..." Cadance began before blinking perplexedly. "...what?” she asked uncomprehendingly. “A statue? But... she looks so..."—she bit her lip, scrunching up her muzzle—" well not exactly fleshy, but also not... you know, stone-like. How could she move so fluidly if she is made of stone?”

“You feel her power, don’t you?” I asked and she nodded. “The little piece of her mother’s soul that she breathed into Yu’la’s statue made her into her own being. Yu’lon and Yu’la are two different beings, even though both of them share the same soul and the statues Yu’lon uses for her rebirth are made of jade. She does bear a resemblance to that, doesn’t she? The power you feel coming from her makes that jade more life-like, but not entirely. That is also the reason why my darling doesn’t grow larger, it’s because she quite literally can’t. Not without a new statue to breathe life into, but that would mean she would cease to exist in the sense of the new Yu’la replacing the old Yu’la.”

“That sounds so confusing,” Cadance said, idly scratching Yu’la behind her horns. Yu’la let out a chirping laugh, amused by my petal’s curiosity, and I giggled myself.

“Now, now, Yu’la, I know of a little dragon that didn’t feel that differently about it when I explained it to her, so be a dear and be a bit more understanding of Cadance, okay?” I gently chided my darling dragon and Yu’la let out an apologetic chirp while Cadance looked even more confused than before.

“You can talk to her?” Cadance asked in awe and I nodded with a smile.

“Yes,” I confirmed. “An alicorn develops a gift as they grow older. Luna, for example, can enter the dreams of other ponies at will and put them to sleep with a single word. Let me tell you, that has caused us a lot of grief in our youth. It was quite annoying to see her try to shirk her duties by causing herself to fall asleep whenever she felt like it.

“Liz, on the other hoof, has the gift of empathic compulsion, not unlike myself. While my gift focuses more on animals and their feelings, Liz can sense the emotions of other ponies and influence them accordingly. That gift of compulsion that we share... it isn’t something we like to use overly much. Liz has fewer qualms about using it than I do, but we don’t use it lightly. My version of the gift for compulsion is also the reason why I can talk with animals. Or perhaps it is just more of a gift of understanding. I’m not quite sure how my gift works, even after having it for a thousand years. It’s a complicated thing to understand, I suppose.

“Celestia has... a problematic gift that has caused Luna and me quite a lot of sorrow. Your mother’s gift... she can sometimes see into the future. She has the gift of foresight and... well, it ultimately led her to Platinum in fear of what she had seen would come to pass. Being able to see glimpses of the future, of what could come to pass... sometimes I think her gift is more of a curse.”

“That’s... oh my gosh, that’s so... I have no words...” Cadance whispered, utterly stunned. And judging by the way she was worrying her lip, she felt saddened for how big a part Tia’s ‘gift’ played in her downfall. “Am I... when do alicorns develop these gifts?”

“You should see first signs of it appearing just before your sixteenth birthday, little petal,” I told her. “It is rare for non-alicorns to develop these types of gifts, but there are a few cases here and there that I know of. I’ve known of six ponies in the last century that had been able to talk with animals. Dreamwalking is also one of the more common gifts to appear among thestrals. Future sight rarely appears among our ponies, but it usually happens with earthponies and unicorns.”

“So I could be able to talk with animals, too?” she asked excitedly and I giggled amusedly. “That would be so cool!”

“Hmm. Yes, I suppose it would be ‘cool’, as you say,” I said, shrugging my wings. “Don’t get too excited about it, though. You might get a gift completely different from what we have. There are pegasi that can charge their wings with electricity, for example. I also know of a unicorn a couple centuries back that had natural telepathy. They decided to live a rather secluded life. Understandably so.”

Cadance let out a thoughtful hum. “So... is there a gift that could, say... make ponies fall in love with each other?”

A fearful whinny escaped my lips and I stared at her with horror. Cadance laughed while Yu’la joined in with the laughter. “Don’t you dare, little missy. Playing matchmaker with Liz is already bad enough, forcing ponies to fall in love... by my sun, I dare not think of what my little ponies would think of you in that case.”

“Aww, that’s cute!” Cadance giggled and I gave her a perplexed look, mystified how she could think my worry for her safety was cute. “You are swearing on your sun. I think that’s really cute, Mom.”

“Please, Cadance,” I sighed, exasperated. “Promise me you won’t do anything foolish. No forcing other ponies to love each other, okay? Love magic is an incredibly fickle thing that only works on emotions that are already there. What you are suggesting is... it is very dark, indeed. Forcing such emotions on another is worse than mind control. Trust me, I have learned my lesson with mind control in my youth, I’d rather have you not follow in my hoofsteps.”

“Mind control?!” she asked, aghast. “Mom! What could possibly make you think that’s a good idea? That’s... oh my gosh, that’s really disgusting. I’m disappointed in you.”

“What?” I shrugged. “Enchanting a few éclairs to make a griffon king drool all over them and crave more is hardly the worst thing I could have done to him. It wasn’t my proudest moment, but still the better alternative to war. To be honest, in hindsight, he deserved far worse than me getting him addicted to enchanted éclairs. He wasn’t even the least bit remorseful for trying to kill your mother. Not that it didn’t come back to bite me in the flank later, I suppose.”

My daughter gave me an incredulous look at that. “You... made him want sweets?” Cadance asked, suppressing a snort. “Wow... when you said mind-control, I thought you meant things like actual mind-control. Like Nightmare Dream, or what was she called again? Platinum?”

“Oh dear, no!” I shook my head back and forth, suppressing the urge to throw up at that thought. “Not to that degree. By my sun, no! I wouldn’t ever actually puppeteer somepony around like that. The subtler mind arts are more along the lines of mind control that find actual uses in society. Like altering the memories of a criminal to align their personality to a more favorable one so they won’t murder again. That’s far more preferable than sentencing them to death or throwing them into prison for life.”

“Ponies have really weird morals,” Cadance muttered and I gave her a confused look. I’m missing some human thing again, aren’t I? I guess a thousand years aren’t too kind on memories you would rather forget entirely. Not that there weren’t memories from this life that I wanted to forget with a fierce passion, either. If anything, there were even more of those than there were memories of my past life that I wanted to forget. “But I suppose I can’t really complain if it works, huh? Might take me a while to get used to this... mind-altering magic thing being okay and not... you know, totally despicable. I guess the idea of making ponies fall in love with each other blinded me more than I am comfortable to admit.”

“We don’t make it a habit, Cadance,” I sighed, feeling the urge to rub my eyes tiredly. “Only when there really are no other solutions left to exhaust. As forgiving as ponies tend to be of criminals, some just require a different approach in order to reintegrate them back into society as a functioning (and decent) member of it. It isn’t even my decision to make in the majority of those cases. It is either the Mage Order that makes those choices or relatives concerned for the well-being of their kin.”

“If you say so...” Cadance said unsurely. “I suppose even in magic pony land there are bad apples, huh?”

“Don’t let the Apple Family Clan hear you say that~,” I giggled. “They are a proud lot. I remember the time when they were still traveling seed merchants. Don’t tell them this, but I go to Ponyville every year for cider season in disguise. Their cider is simply to die for.”

Cadance giggled with me and Yu’la made a few chirps, sharing in our amusement. “So, where are we going?”

“You’ll see,” I told her cryptically. I think I understand now why Starswirl loved to be so cryptic. It was fun to be as cryptic as possible and seeing my daughter pout just made it that much more enjoyable to me. “Although, if Yu’la would be a bit more helpful instead of lazing around on my neck all day, I’m sure we could have found her already. Won’t you tell me where that pesky bird of your sister is, darling?”

Yu’la snorted with a huff, shaking her head and I pouted at her. “Come now, Yu’la. I’m not going to start a fight with her again. Please?”

My darling let out a disbelieving growl and I gave her a glare. Cadance watched us bicker with a little smile, and if Yu’la hadn’t been so stubborn about this, I might have smiled back at her with a roll of my eyes. As it was, I was a bit put off that my darling didn’t trust me around Philomena and I can’t say I took offense to it too much.

Celestia’s pet phoenix and I didn’t get along all that well, after all.

It wasn’t like I hated Philomena, it’s just... she could get on my nerves quite fast with her antics and her stealing from my secret stash of sweets didn’t make it any better. I swear, that bird wants me to strangle her sometimes.

...she probably has a kink for that, now that I think about it. Half her pranks were about hanging from a noose, playing dead. I have no idea where she picked up that kind of humor, seriously. Probably because dying and rising from your own ashes has become such a normal thing for her, she doesn't care much if her gallows humor scares the castle's staff and visitors.

Yu'la should know better than to always take her side. Alas, I guess she was just as kind-hearted as Yu'lon was.

Well... there is one thing I know will make her change her tune in no time... “I’ll make you cookies with jade sprinkles~,” I sing-songed and grinned immediately as Yu’la perked up attentively. “But only if you show us where that bird is hiding, okay? I want to introduce her to my daughter, I won’t do anything else, I promise.”

Yu’la cooed hesitantly but gave me a nod with a chirp. “Yes, yes, I love you, too. And despite what it might look like, I love that pesky bird, as well. You know I can’t ever stay mad at your sister, right? Especially not when Tia might take exception with us constantly fighting, but Philomena isn’t entirely innocent, either, and you know that.”

She hummed and gave me a small, loving nuzzle that I returned straight away and led us through the garden to the middle of a clearing. A scratchy cough caught my attention to one of the trees and I spotted a small nest in the branches. Being careful with Cadance on my back, I flew up and found Philomena looking positively miserable.

“Hey, you stupid old bird,” I whispered and grinned as Philomena shot me a pouty glare. “How are you holding up? Shouldn’t be too long now until the last feather falls out, huh? You’ve almost made it, I know you can do it.”

Philomena let out a cough and squawked indignantly. “Now, don’t be like that. I’m not here to ‘laugh’ at you, you know I wouldn’t do that. Besides, I have somepony for you to meet, so behave yourself.”

Cadance was watching our exchange with equal parts curiosity and concern. It wasn’t that surprising to me that she showed so much pity for Philomena, she hadn’t ever encountered a phoenix before in her life and I’m pretty sure there weren’t any on Earth. I think.

Were there phoenixes on Earth? I can’t remember. Eh, it's not like it is all that important, anyway.

“Is she ill?” Cadance asked, squirming in discomfort as Philomena let out an exaggerated cough and I gave the bird a warning glare. “Who am I kidding? Of course she is ill. Can we do anything to help her? I feel sorry for her...”

“No, she isn’t ill,” I told her with a roll of my eyes. “She is being a diva about it, though. Philomena, may I introduce you to my daughter? Rose, meet Philomena the Phoenix.”

“Phoenix?!” Cadance squealed excitedly. “You’re not joking, right? Please, please, please tell me you aren’t joking.”

Instead of answering her question, the last feather of my proverbial long-term patient fell out and Philomena burst into a quick-burning flame that consumed her mortal body entirely, leaving only a pile of ash behind. It was a good thing her flames didn’t burn long enough (or too hot, for that matter) to set her nest aflame. I could have dealt with a burning garden by myself, but I’d rather not have Cadance here for such a thing.

From the ashes, a tiny whirlwind of magic rose up into the air, and after a brief flash of light, Philomena flew around us with a musical trill, restored to her original glory. Cadance’s eyes sparkled with fascination and glee, watching the majestic bird fly enthusiastically through the sky with renewed vigor.

Yu’la was right beside Philomena and the two adoptive sisters flew around with happy chirps, making the rest of the animals sing along with their semi-parents (Yu’la considered practically every animal in the garden her ‘child’ nowadays and Philomena wasn’t any different in that regard).

After that day, Cadance spent much of her free time either with Yu’la and Philomena in the garden or going through the memory balls in our tower. I couldn’t take the few joys she had away from her when we had to force so much knowledge into her head that was better left unknown. Her foalhood shouldn’t be spent learning how to best deal with the nuisance that was the nobility and how to govern a nation, not when she was still so young.

Sadly, if we wanted her to be as prepared as she could be, we needed to show her what being a princess was all about. I got my joy out of watching her try out the first spells we taught her and felt immensely proud when she got the hang of the levitation spell and the little floating light spell for the first time after a measly few weeks of cramming magic theory into her head.

She was, much like myself, a pony that used her emotions for casting spells. Luna was sufficiently skilled with both rational and emotional magic, but not a master of either. I, on the other hoof, was perhaps the most knowledgeable pony alive with a vast understanding of emotional magic that was only rivaled by Liz. Celestia, of course, would have no doubt become a master of rational magic that even Starswirl couldn’t have hoped to emulate. I feared Platinum had the same proficiency with rational magic by now and that it would come down to the question of which kind of magic was ultimately stronger in the end.

At least I could teach Cadance everything I know with the knowledge she wouldn’t have too much trouble getting proficient in that type of magic (if not master it eventually). Cadance was like the student I could have only dreamed of and the fact that she was my daughter made educating her even more enjoyable to me. I mean... sure, she could get a bit frustrated from time to time (and throw a hissy-fit here and there, bitching about this and that), but that was hardly a bad thing considering the pacing we set for her.

She was like a sponge soaking up everything that used positive emotions in spell casting. While she might have had a few difficulties at first with getting specific combinations of emotions together before casting a spell, she was determined to work for as long as she could to get it right (oftentimes even practicing when she should have long since been asleep in bed, not helping her argument that she was technically an adult).

There was one thing she was totally incapable of doing with her spells, though. Cadance couldn’t work with negative emotions if it meant saving her life, further enforcing my belief that her soul was just too pure to evoke genuine feelings of hatred and so on. While I was extremely relieved by that fact, it also left me worrying quite a bit.

Combat spells that were meant to inflict harm on another were entirely reliant on such negative feelings, of truly wanting to hurt somepony else. As much as I wished she wouldn’t ever need those spells, I know a day would come when it was inevitable that she would need those. No battle was ever won by being passive and playing the defensive game.

So, instead of teaching her combat spells, Luna and I resorted to the teachings of our mother. I wish we didn’t need to make her go through that kind of torture, truly... but it was necessary. Cadance... oh, my sweet little petal, I dearly hope you won’t hate me for hammering these lessons into your head about how to dispose of a pony with any object imaginable in the most efficient way possible (and get away with it).

Alas, life wasn’t fair, not in the least bit, and that was a harsh lesson Luna and I had to teach her over and over again. Even Liz was reluctant to show our sweet little filly the art of poisoning a foe without getting caught.

The worst part about this? Cadance wasn’t even mad at us for showing her all those things, for making her go to bed with aching limbs after a long day of training. She was understanding of it, even. My little petal was happy as long as she could spend more time with her mothers (something I’m very happy to say that she also considered Lulu and Liz to be in that definition). In a way, she used her training as a way to distract herself from sitting in court with us or learning about taxes, laws, and diplomacy.

While there weren’t so many different languages she needed to learn in order to deal with foreign diplomats, there were a few that caused her quite a lot of grief (one of those being German and Luna wasn’t the best help in teaching her that, Liz was the only one among us that was actually competent in teaching other languages) and Cadance always let her frustrations out on us when we taught her how to fight with blades and everyday objects alike. She was quite surprised to find out that a toothbrush of all things could be deadly. Well, anything was deadly with enough force, I suppose.

A year into her training to become a fair and just ruler, she was already regretting her decision to become a princess. Despite that, though, she powered through everything we threw at her with admirable determination. I’m glad she didn’t let the dullness of paperwork dissuade her from doing her best, though. I know we had our own difficulties when we learned all of this in our youth, so I was quite proud of her for not letting it drag her down.

When she finally turned six and had a somewhat sufficient knowledge of holding court, we let her try to decide what was best in a few cases that our ponies brought to our attention. Minor things like funding problems that we were sure she couldn’t possibly make a wrong decision about and one or two more serious cases of two parties fighting over one thing or another.

With each case that she handled in the correct way, I felt reassured that everything would work out. And that was only after such little time of us teaching her, there was no doubt in me that she would perform admirably once she had to handle such things on her own one day.

We also started to teach her more combat with the blade that we gifted her on the day of her coronation. While we were still teaching her with dummies that couldn’t fight back, the day would arrive all too soon where we couldn’t avoid having her fight against a training opponent. Usually Luna or Liz, but I didn’t refrain from teaching her myself from time to time in the art of the blade.

Before long, I had to ask myself whether it was a good idea to have her attend a public school on top of her homeschooling. I tried to delay that decision for as long as I could, feeling nervous about how she would fit in with other ponies and whether or not she would be able to make genuine friends at such a school. I would have considered perhaps enrolling her in our own private school, but I felt like Cadance wouldn’t get as much out of it by attending an elite school as I would have liked.

Elite schools were... I don’t know. While I certainly felt like our own school was the best one that a parent could send their foal to, I also don’t think everypony needed to go to one of them to become the best possible pony they could be. And the fact that our school was full of foals from rich families dissuaded me from considering sending Cadance there for the sole reason of making friends.

I’d rather not have them poison Cadance with things like tribalism and feelings of superiority. While I’m sure such things exist in public schools, too, it would be to a far lesser degree there than in Canterlot’s Royal School for the Gifted.

Cadance was as excited as she was nervous about the prospect of visiting a school so that she could socialize with ponies her (physical) age. She was approaching the age of fourteen and... by my sun, I forgot to warn her about how... ahem, bothersome... estrus could be the first time around. Or any other time, for that matter. It would take half a century for the effect it has on her to become bearable and as much as I would like to say it would go away completely, an alicorn had the unfortunate ‘fortune’ to never get rid of it.

Could I get away with simply not telling her anything? Just lock her in her room for a little while and deal with the fall-out afterward? It would be a little mean, to be honest, but... she could complain to me afterward, right?

Damnit, I’m sure Tia would have loved to explain everything estrus related to our daughter and I’m not going to ask Liz to do that because of reasons. What am I going to do? Ugh.

Damn my obsessive need to keep my little petal innocent from all things sex. I don’t want to have her all grown up. Now that I think about it, wasn’t there some crazy stallion a few centuries ago that experimented with age spells? Oh, wait... that was Starswirl, wasn’t it? Right, uh... I could make her a little foal again. That would be nice, right? She definitely won’t hate me for that. I’m her mommy, I can’t let her grow up into... into a strong, independent mare...

Oh, Summer, you foolish old hag. Stop thinking like the world is going to end just because your little Rose is growing up. It’s not fair to her and also not fair to you, either. Get a grip on yourself. Everything is going to be okay, everypony has to grow up eventually. Don’t make this harder on yourself than it has to be, Summer.

By my sun, I can’t believe she has grown so much already. Gone is the little curious filly, having become this kind and beautiful teenager that was about to embark on her first mission to become a proper adult. A mare in her own right and nothing I could do would stop that from happening, would it? I suppose it was time for me to acknowledge that she wouldn’t stay a little filly forever.

Now, how to explain... that... to her? It’s probably better to rip the bandaid off in one go than drag it out unnecessarily.

“Mom?” Cadance asked, looking up from the book we had assigned to her reading list. I’m not surprised that she was already halfway through with reading it (she was her mother’s daughter, after all), we would have to see how much of it she had actually read and not just glanced through (or sketched silly doodles in her notebook again). She wasn’t safe from taking tests just because we were her mothers, after all. “Is it time for lessons? I... might have forgotten to do my homework, but I’ll do them when I have the time, I promise!”

“No, Cadance,” I smiled, a bit rueful of what I had to... ugh... teach her about. “And your homework isn’t due for next week, remember?”

“Right, sorry,” Cadance giggled, although her laughter ended quickly and her expression changed to one of concern as I stood there awkwardly with a hesitant smile on my muzzle. “Is everything okay? It’s not about your decision to send me to school, is it? Mom, I need that! You have no idea how boring it is to constantly be surrounded by older ponies. It’s like nopony around here knows what the definition of fun is! It’s driving me crazy! And don’t even get me started on Kibitz, he is the worst one of them with ‘Your Highness, your schedule’ bla bla bla. I swear, he's got a stick up his...”

“No, I haven’t changed my mind about that, little petal,” I said before she could go on any further with her tangent. I suppressed an amused smile as I sat down beside her, knowing how much of a bore our chief aide could be at times, and I extended a wing over her back with a heavy sigh. Here goes, I guess. “It’s... you know about that one thing I said was for older ponies and you didn’t have to concern yourself with it?”

“You have to be a bit more specific than that, Mom,” Cadance said, rolling her eyes. “You say that like... every other day. I’m not a little filly anymore, I don’t need to be coddled. When are you going to get that through your thick and ancient skull? I swear, there is only dust left up in there.”

“I don’t appreciate that tone, young mare,” I scolded her and she merely huffed. “But I suppose you’re right, as much as it pains me to admit it. I have been coddling you too much. I just... don’t want to see you all grown up already, Cadance. One day you’ll understand and feel no differently about it with your own foal, of that I have no doubt.”

Cadance crossed her forelegs over each other. “If I ever get a coltfriend, that is,” she muttered and I gave her a tiny, pouty glare. “Don’t give me that look. I don’t want to be a friggin’ virgin forever, Mom. I barely got any fun as a human, and that was hardly a great time since stupid college jocks don't care if you finish or not. I had more fun with a silicon toy than I did with the real deal. I'm not gonna be the princess locked away in her tower forever, okay? I'm the Princess of Love, Mom.”

"I..." I sighed, biting my lip with a sharp fang while keeping the angry remark back that almost fought its way out of my muzzle. Just... stay calm, Summer. No need to go all 'she-demon' on your daughter. “I’m sorry, Cadance. I’m just concerned for you, okay? Please, understand that. I don’t want to see you get hurt over losing a lover a few decades down the line, but... I guess it wouldn’t be fair to keep you away from finding love, either. It’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”

“It’s okay, Mom,” Cadance reassured me with a small smile while nuzzling my side and I bent my head down to shower her with my own affectionate nuzzles. “I’d be disappointed in you if you weren’t looking out for me like that, but I’m old enough to make my own decisions.”

“That you are,” I nodded. “And that brings us to what I wanted to talk with you about. There comes a time in a young mare’s life in which her body goes through a major turning point that paves the way into adulthood...”

“Are you...” Cadance whispered in shock, leaning away from me. “Mom, are you seriously giving me the talk?! I know about sex, damnit! You had that talk with me twenty-five years ago!”

“I, uh...” I stuttered, blushing profusely. “I did? I thought Tia was the one that talked with you and your sister about that. I honestly don't remember.”

“You both gave us the talk,” Cadance huffed, her muzzle getting as red as mine. “And Mom made it sound extremely pervy.”

Of course, she did. “Well, now that you mention it, I think I remember it now,” I giggled. She really did make it sound extra perverted because of how nervous she was, talking about naughty things with our daughters. “But no, I’m not here to talk with you about the bees and the birds. Well, sort of...”

“I don’t get it,” Cadance said and I booped the tip of her muzzle with a hoof. “What is this about then?”

“Well, you once asked me what estrus meant,” I said, a mischievous smile starting to spread on my muzzle. Haah... I might have to channel my inner Tia in order to get it over with without beating around the bush too much. “On the day of your coronation, remember?”

“I... think so? You were being mean about it, weren’t you?” Cadance said and I cringed slightly. “Every time I asked, you got all defensive about it and whenever I tried asking the servants, they kept stuttering around like it is something taboo.”

I blinked. “You tried asking the servants?” I asked and she grinned back innocently. “How many times have you tried going behind my back, exactly?”

“A... few times?” she giggled and I narrowed my eyes dangerously thin at her in disapproval. “Can we get on with this? What was I supposed to do...”

“Take my word for it?” I offered with a glower. “Anyway, I suppose explaining this will be punishment enough. So, let’s do this again...”

And so I talked lengthily and with very detailed explanations about how a young mare goes through heat, practically going sex crazy for the sole purpose of reproduction. Meanwhile, Cadance drew more and more into herself as I drew a small amount of pleasure from seeing the look of horror on her face as the realization started to set in.

Suffice it to say, my little Rose was thoroughly disturbed and didn’t leave her room for a few weeks after our conversation. A month before her birthday, she was getting desperate and tried talking me into using that age spell I had briefly considered using, but I was having none of it and neither Liz nor Luna wanted to grant her that wish, either. For better or for worse, Cadance would have to go through her first estrus and we would make sure there was no secret coltfriend with her (we weren’t as naïve as our mother, not trusting our daughter with this at all).

As an apology, I promised to teach her how I made my cookies and it was the only thing that kept her sane enough once that time came around for her.

I didn’t give her the lie that it would get ‘better’ in a few years, I wasn’t as heartless as my mother was with us. But my little petal chose to stay eternally young and she would have to live with those consequences, one way or another.

She was shaping up to be a fine princess, despite the few odd quirks she had. We weren’t different in that regard, I suppose. Nopony said she (or we) needed to be perfect, after all.

Let’s hope she can make genuine friends at school, then. She would need a few of those to keep herself grounded. That, and she did have a point...

Kibitz does have a stick up his bum.

Author's Notes:

So... uh. Just a warning, the next chapter is going to be long (even longer than chapter eleven).

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Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Chapter 019 - A Shining Beacon of Hope from the Last Remnants of a Broken World burns the brightest...

Author's Notes:

I'mma eat cake while people cry about cliffhangers, word count, crossovers, or whatever it is they cry about. Maybe too much cuteness of seeing... double. *puts on sunglasses*
Anyway, if you haven't noticed, obvious crossover with RWBY.

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Two years later... I'm still eating my cake. Eh heh heh heh...

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

I blinked my eyes open rapidly, keeping my breathing as calm as I could even as my mind struggled to free itself from the completely blank state of incomprehension I found myself in. Fear was starting to drown out most of my senses. My legs felt numb and my tongue had the taste of ash on it that could only have come from a misfired teleportation spell. My thoughts were... a bit sluggish and jumbled as I slowly but surely began to grasp the impossibly wrong situation I had ended up in. I could just barely remember what happened moments before I had lost consciousness.

Instead of teleporting back to me from the other side of the training room, being careful and absolutely focused on the task like I had explicitly instructed my daughter (about ten times, really)... Cadance had ripped open a tear in the universe. I wanted to say that it should have been impossible, but sadly, I knew better than that.

Under any other set of circumstances, I would have been very proud of such an extraordinary feat, surprising as it was... but right now? I'd rather turn back time than deal with the inevitable fallout this would bring with itself.

If only I wasn’t feeling so numb and exposed and weak and, a-and... I mentally told myself to calm down, fighting back the oncoming panic attack at being essentially trapped in my own body for the time being.

Even worse than that, though? I was unable to feel my connection to the Red Sun. And on top of that, my body felt wrong. Familiar, sure, but... different. Altered. Like something was missing from my body. It was difficult to say, but my spine was... changed... in a weird way, too. A little thought in the back of my mind insisted that I had felt like this before, once upon a time.

There could only be one answer to that, couldn’t there? It was obvious, really. I had been turned into a human again, a feeling of resignation washing over me. At least I was turned into a human and not into some sort of tentacle monster because if that had been the case, I definitely wouldn’t have been happy about this. I could live with being human, as much as I missed the comfort of my own wings.

I wish humans had wings. I certainly could use the reassuring presence of fluffy feathers to hug myself with.

Sudden (and most certainly forced) transformations never meant anything good. Because that meant I wasn’t on Equis anymore and that meant danger. Or somepony foalnapped us mid-teleportation from a tear in the universe, but that was a ridiculous thought in and of itself, wasn’t it? Nopony but Discord possessed that kind of power.

Damnit, Cadance. Where in Tartarus am I? This is your fault, petal.

Groaning, I sluggishly rolled onto my side with a significant amount of effort before I immediately felt the distinct shape of my weapon dig into my side.

Ugh. This was the worst case of pins and needles I have ever had the displeasure of feeling in over five hundred years. Probably even longer, to be honest. Sue me, I couldn't be bothered to remember correctly, who gives a flying penguin? I don't.

Anyway, moving my foreleg... I mean forearm (this is going to take some time to get used to, isn’t it?), I almost slapped my own face because of the way my body refused to obey my commands.

I felt like whimpering pathetically as I started to lose the fight against my panicked feelings. I never once got over this damnable fear in over a whole millennium and I doubt I ever would. All kinds of scenarios were running rampant through my thoughts at what could happen while I was incapacitated like this.

The crunching of boots on snow alerted me to the approach of either a friend or a foe and I desperately hoped I wasn’t about to be taken advantage of in my vulnerable state. My heart began to beat frantically within my chest in complete and utter terror. Please, please, please, don't let it be a murdery old hermit with a rusty ax!

Scared, I slowly opened my eyes as the crunch of the snow stopped next to me. Thankfully, a smallish (and very much familiar) girl with black hair and subtle red accents came into my sight and I blinked owlishly back at her as her silver eyes stared at me sheepishly, calming down my heart considerably. At least I wasn’t alone here... wherever here actually was. For all I know, this could be a world devoid of sentient life.

“Mom? I think that spell went wrong,” my daughter said, rubbing the side of her arm uncomfortably. “And we... kinda look like our old selves? Only... slightly different.”

“Uhn ah kuhl yu, Rowf,” I mumbled incoherently and cursed my numb mouth for its inability to threaten my daughter properly.

“Sorry!” she giggled nervously, clearly feeling the white-hot fury I directed her way. “I didn’t mean to do it, honest! My mind wandered to this cute colt at school and then you just had to tempt me with those cookies and I... uh... it just happened. It’s your own fault, really. Besides, Mother never promises me cookies at the end of... her... lessons... so... uh... yep. It's definitely all your fault, Mom. That's it. I was in no way thinking of asking a stallion out on a date. Totally."

“I’mma kuhl... kill you, pehal,” I growled, flopping around uselessly in the snow while glaring at her with as much disdain as I could muster. I despised being unable to move and she should know that. While this wasn’t the absolute worst situation, it wasn’t optimal, either. At least I was able to move a little bit, even if my ability to do so was severely impaired by the numbness.

Her hands fidgeted with the red cloak she was wearing and I let out a huff, causing her to bite her lip while thinking of a better apology. I mean... she wasn’t wrong but... I’m rightfully mad at her. First, I expressly forbade her from wasting her time swooning after a colt in high school, and second, the promise of cookies is never an excuse to slack off. Never. Not in my castle, at least. “Tabby would know what to do..." she said, biting her lip while wringing her hands. "At least, it seems like you’re slowly getting back control of your body, so that’s good? I think if you hadn’t shielded me from the feedback of the spell, I would be lying around numbly where I woke up, instead. We will just have to... wait, I guess?”

“Ef Lufha hew whih uf?” I mumbled, feeling frustrated at botching up my speech again so much. Most of that was the fault of the paralysis, but having a different tongue played perhaps just as much a part in that. I have no idea how humans speak with no muzzles.

Cadance shook her head and I let out a pitiful groan in despair. Well, at least Luna knows what happened to us, so it shouldn’t be too difficult for her to find us by examining the spell residue. Hopefully...

I’m never again promising my daughter cookies for a lesson well done, damnit. Stupid, horny teenage daughter. I'll find that colt and teach him a lesson to not seduce my poor Rose Petal...

“Mom?” Cadance whispered, sounding slightly afraid. Whether that was because of what she wanted to ask or how she thought I would react, I didn’t know and I simply hummed back questioningly. “Do you think we will get home? My magic feels... weird. I don’t think it is gone, though. Whatever I’m feeling, it doesn’t feel like how my magic usually feels.”

I let out a thoughtful hum and felt for my own magic only to cry out in pain as my vision went white. Cadance tried to calm my delirious self down while I writhed around in agony as I felt like my eyes had just incinerated themselves.

Not only did I feel like clawing my eyes out, but the curious poke at the odd magic brought all kinds of bad memories to the forefront of my mind. It felt like whatever it was that caused my eyes to do what they just did, it seemingly used those types of memories as fuel. The more traumatic the memory was, the more fuel was added to the metaphorical fire. And I had a lot of bad memories it could use.

Having lived as long as I have, most of those were of loss. So. Much. Loss. I’m fortunate to have my wives there with me or I would have already been driven mad ages ago. It was never easy, though, seeing ponies disappear so very often from our lives, and... we could do nothing against it.

There were quite a few ponies that I wish were still around. Most of all, Clover, Pansy, and Cookie. Starswirl. Night Fang. Mom and Dad...

I was thrown out of my sorrowful thoughts right after my eyes played havoc on my body, a distant howl echoing out in the distance. It managed to make the hair on the back of my neck stand up straight and I got a sense of foreboding that felt... dark and sinister. Evil.

“Oh, fluffy bunnies...” Cadance stammered and I heard her draw her blade shakily. “N-now would be a great time to get your shit together, Mom!”

I wanted to scold her for swearing out loud, but the panic in her voice made it hard for me to stay mad at her. Instead, I found myself forgiving her little slip-up and focused on what was really important. This would be the first time my little petal would see actual combat and I wasn’t about to berate her for her language. I wasn’t even going to let her do the fighting if I had a say in it. Wild animals fight much more differently than ponies do (or humans, in this case).

And judging by the fact that I was unable to understand what the howl meant, I could only guess what type of animal we would be facing off against. It was rare indeed for me to be unable to understand wildlife and it was always a bad sign. A very bad sign, indeed.

Understanding what animals were saying is like... an instinct, I suppose. If you had the gift for it, you just knew what they meant by the various sounds they made. A grumble could be a stoic reassurance but also a ferocious warning. It all depended on the infliction of the voice, how deep or light it reverberated through the air. The voice isn’t necessarily the only thing that mattered in understanding an animal, though. The animal's body language could also play a huge part in it.

Most of the time, understanding the wildlife around you was very much instinctual, but I also learned what to look out for over the many years I have lived in an effort to understand my gift more. Much of what I had learned would be confusing to teach to other ponies and only those with this gift would actually get what I mean when I talked about the things I had learned.

After all, even a small twitch of a feather could be part of the language of a bird, but only if it was combined with other tells of it wanting to communicate with you. Not every twitch automatically meant it was throwing insults at you (some birds really do have the bad habit of using the wrong type of language).

Philomena had the art of insulting somepony down to a tee and that was the main reason for the majority of our fights. The prettier the bird, the worse the language gets...

Yu’la’s melodic humming and chirps were much more dignified in that regard. My darling would never stoop so low as to use... that type of language. And I’m immensely glad for that. I don’t want to imagine what Yu’lon would have thought of me if Yu’la had started to adopt that kind of language from Philomena. Her being disappointed in me would have been the least I could have looked forward to.

The thing about howls, though, was that they never come alone.

Wolves weren’t the lone animals wandering through forests as you would expect them to be. A lone wolf is only on their own for so long until they find a new pack, after all. Wolves are social animals and that sadly meant that the howl we heard was but the prelude of something I would have rather avoided altogether with our current situation on our hooves... hands, damnit.

The distant howl had attracted similar ones of its kind, as I had feared would happen. Soon enough, the sound of stampeding predators closing in on our location could be heard, crunching the snow noisily in pursuit of their new prey. Whether I was ready for it or not, I would have to force my body to move despite the numbness.

My vision was still extremely blurry from my foolish attempt at using my magic to find out in which way it was different (and that wasn’t even mentioning the pitiful control I had of my limbs), but I pushed my body’s severely limited abilities past its comfort zone so that I was able to move despite it fighting back against me every step of the way. Cadance needed me, I would not fail her. Not my petal.

It says a lot about the skill level of a pony... human, I mean, ugh... when they could still fight when their body was at anything but peak condition. I have lived centuries, lived through a few minor wars here and there in order to defend our friends and allies, had my fair share of movement-impairing conditions through various (sometimes stupid) reasons, and had quite possibly come close one too many times to the dreaded alicorn-hibernation. It was no wonder that despite my current handicap (further added to by finding myself in a human body instead of having my familiar pony body), the abominations that dared threaten us were quickly cut into tiny little chunks.

I was a whirlwind, dancing around with my blade in a deadly storm of motherly fury, protecting my child from ever coming close to harm. It was exhausting to force my body to work through the sluggishness, but thankfully, it wasn’t too numb that I couldn’t move at all. Each and every move was precise and used the least amount of effort on my part to reach the maximum amount of efficiency in my quest to eradicate the threat that dared to stand against me. Some type of... innate ability was even helping me with moving around. My very soul was my aid and these monsters stood no chance against it.

What a long way I have come, haven’t I? I vaguely remembered the pessimistic outlook I had on the nature of the soul from when this crazy new life started. To think that I had believed a pony’s existence was merely their brain. Existence was so much more than the worldly coil that tethered one to the physical realm, the Realm of Ascension was very much proof of that.

One does not simply exist only on the physical plane of existence. No, that much I have learned by now and it made life so much more fascinating to me. It was like... a pony existed on multiple planes of existence at the same time, occupying the same space in each one of them, but at the same time... not really. Physical existence was only one facet of your being, the soul that existed in... I suppose I would call it the astral plane, for lack of a better word. It exists in direct correlation to where your physical self exists on the physical plane, ensuring that no soul exists in the same place at the same time. Normally, that is. There was one pony that was intent on destroying the sanctity of that link between the two planes of existence.

Platinum was the prime example of how one should not mess with the link between the physical plane and the astral plane. She defiled everything she touched and it irked me to no small degree.

Magic, too, existed much like physical things and astral things. The difference is that arcane energy suffuses all planes, and thus, doesn’t have a realm of its own. I could be wrong about that and I’m positively sure there are a lot more planes of existence besides those few that I know of. Life is infinitely more complex than what one can observe on the physical plane and that isn’t even taking the multiverse into account on top of that.

An infinite amount of universes, each one being different from each other in some way. What had once only been a theory to my sisters and me was now very much our reality. Exploring the entirety of the multiverse is practically impossible and the chances of us actually finding the version of Earth we had come from? It was abysmally small. Hope and her siblings had plucked us from one version of Earth out of an infinite amount of realities containing the planet and we sadly didn’t have the spell that they used to bring us here so we could actually hope to find it. Searching for our version of Earth would be like searching for a specific dust speck in a pile of infinite dust specks. Utterly impossible without an anchor. And even then, you have an infinite amount to go through and you could never be sure you found the one you were looking for.

Well, that is the beauty and insanity of infinite worlds, isn't it? You always find something new, and thanks to Starswirl's invention of an anchor, you can always find your way back home.

Dimensional anchors are a magnificent thing, aren’t they? If you don’t have an anchor to lead you back home, you might as well be stuck. No, not stuck, lost. Without the mirror acting as an anchor, I’m sure Starswirl wouldn’t even have considered going through with our crazy idea to create portals to other worlds. Seeing that our dimensional anchor was pretty much of a magical nature... Cadance and I couldn’t just snap our fingers without a proper understanding of how magic works in this reality. Azeroth and Equestria are quite different from this reality, it seems. On Azeroth, we could still access our magic in the ways we could on Equestria, even though Azeroth has a few differences from our own magic.

Equestrian magic came from within and the environment, from the bonds we share with others, and from our hopes and dreams. From Harmony itself, even the darker aspects of it. Azeroth’s magic wasn’t... entirely different. As far as I understood it, Azeroth’s magic came from the planet’s ley lines and was, much like Equestrian magic, influenced by strong enough emotions.

Our magic differed from that of Azeroth’s in the way that it was everywhere and came from everywhere, whereas Azeroth’s magic mainly stemmed from powerful wells and the ley lines cursing through the planet, something that our world simply didn’t have. The Equestria of the alternative Celestia, on the other... ahem, hand... was much closer to Azeroth in that regard. That's as much as I understood from what my best friend and honorary sister told me.

Magic, it seemed to me, worked in completely ridiculous ways depending on where you are. It never made sense, even though it was basically the same fundamental force everywhere. It acted on mere whims and was always different between realities, if only in the teeniest tiniest ways. One could never be certain of the true source of magic in any given reality and I doubt even Starswirl could have ever solved that mystery with the time my wives and I had available to us.

Wherever Cadance and I currently were, magic came from an unusual source. The magic in this world worked far more differently than in our Equestria or that of Celestia’s world and it is clearly closer connected to the astral plane here. If only I knew in which way...

Hmm. It almost felt like this dimension was closer to Earth than it was to Equestria...

Whatever magic I still possessed in this realm that Cadance and I found ourselves in, it was mainly linked to our souls. Heck, there was even more to it than that and I was driving myself crazy trying to figure out what it was. That innate ability that helped me move around the battlefield was... something tied to the soul but not magic. It let me move around in a way that was not unlike teleportation, so that was at least something beneficial. I don’t think this innate ability that stemmed from the soul was harmful to use.

That it left little rose petals behind told me that much. Nothing that is harmful to you could be so... beautiful...

Okay, sure, there are lots of things that are too beautiful for your own good, but this wasn’t one of them. Probably. Maybe. I hope..?

Well, so far it hasn’t actually hurt me. It can’t be that bad, right? Besides, it comes from the soul and if it was harmful, I would have noticed. Ugh, I’m worrying over this way too much again, aren’t I?

Whatever this is, it isn’t magic. It is... heck, I have no idea. Not knowing what it was made me growl internally with frustration. The only thing I was certain of was that it wasn’t harmful (I think) and that it had something to do with the soul. On top of that, there was that subtle thing within my eyes that I had somehow tapped into and unleashed without meaning to.

That eye thing felt like magic, though. Pure, unfiltered, and devastating magic. I didn’t exactly know what type of ocular magic this was, although I could tell that it felt positively ancient. Primal, even. And judging by how the brief use of it managed to attract so many of these black, inky wolves with their ominously glowing red eyes, they feared it so much they felt the need to immediately throw themselves at the source in the hopes of snuffing out the threat to their existence.

Just what effect would this magic (if it was indeed magic and not some weird obscure thing that I was confusing for magic) have on these creatures? If they reacted so aggressively just from it being used in their vicinity, then it must be powerful, right? I never heard of creatures that would willingly throw themselves at something on the off chance that they might be able to kill it before it manages to kill them.

Those monsters... what are they? The sheer malice that radiates off of their bodies couldn’t be natural. It was almost like they were... pure beings of darkness. I imagine the Devourer of Life and Death must have felt similar (if not a whole lot worse, judging by how Platinum felt). Could it be that they are somehow related to each other? The implications of that are staggering if that were to be the case...

There were a few of these wolves that had bony white protrusions from their bodies that seemed to act as some sort of armor or even weapon, more or less. Not that it kept them safe from my sword going through it like butter. Those bone plates weren’t even always in the best places to offer protection against natural enemies and so on, it looked more like a mark of age thing than anything else.

Where in Tartarus were we? I had little hope of actually finding any sort of civilization if these monsters could just throw themselves at us in numbers that couldn’t have possibly been reasonable. Did these things have no natural enemies and could just breed like horny rabbits all day long? If so, then I pitied every other species on this suns forsaken planet.

Once I was done slaughtering the mass of monsters, something peculiar happened that I had no explanation for whatsoever. As I slumped down to the ground, breathing heavily from exertion and feeling the pleasant burn of awakening muscles, the leftover pieces of these weird animals started to simply... dissipate in the wind. Dissolving into little particles of inky black ash that vanished mere moments later, not even leaving behind any kind of dusty residue as if they had never existed in the first place.

“Are you okay, Mom?” Cadance asked and I gave her a tired smile. Without my sun here to give me a boost (something I think I might have become dependent on to function normally), I would be finding myself more easily out of breath. Something to keep in mind, for however long we are trapped in this reality.

“We should find shelter,” I said, forcing myself back on my feet with a wobbly balance (partly due to the lingering numbness and the change from quadruped to biped). “At least we have some clothes (as much as I hate them) to keep us from freezing to death, but staying out here... especially with those things running around... who knows how long these bodies can last in the cold. I don’t feel my sun, so I don’t think my fiery aura will keep me safe from turning into a popsicle indefinitely.”

“In which direction should we go then? North?” Cadance asked, helping me move around by providing herself as my walking aid. “I think I heard water in that direction, but I could have mistaken it for the wind.”

“Maybe we will get lucky and find a river, then,” I sighed, rubbing at my burning eyes. “It shouldn’t be too hard to find something resembling civilization if we follow that. If there is any kind of civilization on this suns’ forsaken planet, that is.”

“I’m glad you’re here with me, at least,” Cadance mumbled, leaning into my side a bit more for comfort and warmth. “I don’t know what I would have done here if I were completely alone, Mom.”

“You would have figured something out, petal,” I smiled. “As you always do. Both you and your sister have some of the most ingenious ideas I have ever had the pleasure to witness. And that is saying a lot, coming from my old age.”

“Thanks,” Cadance smiled back, lighting up with a flustered rosy tint.

“I must say, I do like seeing you like this again. I never expected to see the old you in the flesh like that after never having found Earth,” I said, gently rubbing her side with my arm. “I’d like to see what I look like myself, but without a reflective surface, I’ll have to content myself with a description of ‘like our old selves but not exactly’.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” my daughter pouted. “You do look like your old self, just... as a female instead. You aren’t as tall as I remember, but I think it suits you just as well. Your hair is obviously longer, transitioning to a faint red at the tip that doesn’t look like it is dyed. It looks almost like how you had dyed it in your previous life, having that subtle hint of color, I suppose. It’s pretty much exactly how we had dyed our hair back then, only... more natural, I guess. Aside from that, there are your eyes, as well. They are a lot more silverish in color than the dark gray they had been. I don’t know what you did that made them glow like that, but they shined like friggin’ searchlights.”

“I’ll take your word for it, then,” I said with a giggle. Despite my blurry vision, I could make out her eye color quite well. “You also have more silver-ish eyes, my little petal.”

“I do?” she asked, astonished. “Can I do that thing you did, too?”

“You’d better not,” I warned her with a tiny glare directed her way from underneath my hood. “Dealing with these wolves took a lot more out of me than I care to admit. Dealing with another few hundred isn’t something I want to entertain right now. Much less so without having had time to regain some of my strength from having to shield you from the feedback of that ‘teleportation’ spell of yours. I kinda need you to be my eyes for a while until I can see clearly again, so no turning on the flashlights, okay?”

Cadance groaned in that suffering way that made me want to scold her again. “Sorry, it was just a thought,” she shot back. “Sheesh, you always take things way more seriously now than what I remember from Earth.”

“Well, that me might have been a completely different pony... uh, person, by all rights. Ponies change a lot over the years, petal,” I told her, letting go of her as I finally felt comfortable enough to move around on my own without having to fear falling flat on my face in the snow. “Now come on, I think I see the treeline up ahead.”

Cadance nodded, following after me while playing with the hem of her skirt awkwardly. To be honest, I think I would have done the same with mine if it weren’t for my need to appear strong for my daughter. I didn’t want her to worry overly much, that job was usually my own, and our current situation demanded nothing less of me than to give her all the confidence she could use (apart from the friendly teasing, that is).

Traveling through dimensions has always sort of been a hobby of mine, so I decided to treat this unwanted vacation as just that. Just another adventure to get through before finding our way back home. I’m sure it won’t take us too long to get back to Equestria with Luna working from her end to connect a mirror portal to this world.

At most, we would be stuck here for a few years... not that I think my wife will take that long to trace our location. The minimum time she would need to rewrite the access spell to this world would be a few months, and if we were a bit unlucky, Lulu might finish it in a year or so. That’s assuming time moves at the same rate between this dimension and back home.

I have enough experience in traveling the multiverse to say that could be a very likely possibility. Time is always that variable that isn’t the most 'constant' between realities, sadly. And there would be no telling if that is actually the case because once you find yourself in a different reality from your own, telling the difference would only be possible once you compare how much time has passed in your original reality. You basically become a part of the time flow of that reality as long as you stay there without going back.

Cadance hummed along as I explained this to her, but I could tell she was only half-listening to what I was telling her, probably bored out of her mind by all the theories I quoted at her. I didn’t take offense to that, I could be just as bored with it if I wasn’t interested in it, to begin with. I could have explained it in laypony’s terms and she would still have been bored out of her mind. She wasn’t a scientist like her sister or Tia had been.

Not that I was that much of a scientist, either. I dabble here and there, but I mostly stick to what I know I’m good at. Despite most of my misgivings about politics, I have to say I never thought I would excel at it so much. If I went back in time to tell my younger self that I would become a benevolent dictator that was loved by her subjects, my old self would nod dumbly along and secretly doubt the truth of that. And then call the psych ward depending on whether or not I came across my human past self (not that they would believe me that I was them and not their long-lost twin sister).

Heck, it was my plan to become a benevolent dictator since I became a princess, so I don’t think my past (pony) self would have questioned Future-Me that much. Ponies were like little sheep that needed to be guided and I was happy to play the shepherd for them. Sometimes they just... needed to be forced in the right direction to reach their happiness and it was my duty to ensure they stayed happy and healthy.

The alternative to that was eternal winter, so I don’t think anypony would be that mad about me forcing them to their happiness. Sure, there was one pony that would raise a fuss, but that pony was currently on the moon for possessing my wife. She had lost any right to have a say in the matter and I’m pretty sure that each and every pony in Equestria would demand for her head as soon as we somehow managed to separate her from Tia. And for once? I would be the first in line, eagerly waiting to take my revenge on her.

Nopony takes my wife and gets away with it. I don’t care if I fall back into that cycle of hatred, she fucking deserves a fate much worse than what I could possibly imagine. Platinum forfeited her right to live as soon as she dared to lay her dirty hooves on my wife and I would make sure she couldn’t do anything to my subjects, either. I’m their guardian and I would take that responsibility seriously. A responsibility I should have realized the significance of as soon as we met that cockroach in pony's clothing.

I should have let Luna freeze her solid and shatter her to pieces. But even that was too kind a fate for the likes of Platinum.

It was the biggest mistake I've ever made, letting Platinum get away with foalnapping our mother and offering her too many chances to better herself. To be the better mare and offer that wretched being forgiveness for causing our mother’s death. Even in the unlikely event that she genuinely had no idea what her actions had caused, I should have held her accountable for it and done something to make her pay for her crimes.

But... that didn’t mean I was going to forsake my ideals again because of that monster. It would be the last time I would let myself lust for vengeance. After that... I would absolutely never ever follow that path again. I was better than that.

Okay, maybe... maybe... if I encounter another pony as remorseless and irredeemable as Platinum would I resort to this again, but I seriously doubt that is going to happen.

In all of my years alive, I only encountered two beings that were that lustful for power and one of them sits in a cell within Tartarus while the other will get annihilated as soon as she returns from the moon.

I needed to put the well-being of my subjects first. I have to put aside my own wants and needs for the greater good of the world. If I let Platinum run rampant, my subjects would pay the price. A price that would be too steep to pay. A price that would demand hundreds of thousands, no... millions of innocent lives if I do nothing to prevent it. And not just my ponies, at that. All of the races on Equis will suffer. The hippogriffs, griffons, yaks, minotaurs, abyssinians, deer... heck, even the breezies, and they live in a quasi-pocket dimension, so they would be cut off from making their supply runs if they want to stay out of Bitchface Supreme's sight.

I like to think that a princess is nothing but a servant to the needs of their subjects. Whether or not Cadance will adopt the same worldview was up to her and I think I know her well enough to say she will be nothing less to her own subjects. I’m sure the crystal ponies will love her, she is practically the spitting image of Princess Amore. If I didn’t know better, I would even assume Cadance was Amore reborn. While that would be a far stretch, the possibility was there.

I suppose there were worse things than for your daughter to be the distant rebirthed version of one of your best friends...

Anyway, our trek through the forest came to a halt as we breached the treeline and were confronted with a wide cliff and a vast ocean. “Great," I muttered, dragging a hand through my face. "Cadance, whenever you suggest a direction, I’ll go the opposite way from now on.”

“How could I have known this would lead us to the ocean?!” Cadance pouted and I smiled back at her in that teasing manner that told her I was merely joking with her. “So, what now?”

“We go the opposite direction?” I shot back cheekily and earned myself a slap to the shoulder. “Okay, okay! No need to get grumpy, dear. Let’s see what that is, then. It looks like some sort of memorial.”

I pointed towards the slab of stone at the edge of the cliff and Cadance shrugged, seeing no point to not investigate. It was a sign of civilization, at least. And where there was a sign, there was an actual civilization not too far behind. There’s probably a town somewhere around here, wherever 'here' actually is.

“Uh, Mom?” Cadance whispered in shock and I numbly looked down on the tombstone. My vision was less blurry now, but I wasn't sure if I was seeing things correctly. “I think you missed your funeral.”

I snorted with no actual amusement. “Hardy-har-har, petal,” I said in a dry tone, throwing a mock glare her way while slowly kneeling down to brush the little bit of snow away from the tombstone. “I... I don’t know what to think of this, petal.”

“How about: ‘May you rest in peace, alternate me’?” she suggested and I sighed. The tombstone read ‘Summer Rose - Thus Kindly, I Scatter’ and had the rosebud emblem I associated with my daughter on it. I guess they made it their family emblem in this reality, then. “She could be somepony else for all we know, though.”

“No...” I shook my head, worrying my lip. “My human mother’s maiden name was Rose, and had I been born female, she probably would have also named me Summer like... like Mom did...”

“You named me after your mother’s maiden name?” Cadance asked, blushing slightly. “I... didn’t know that.”

“Have you never asked your granny what her maiden name was?” I asked, curious. “I thought you lived with her after... you know.”

“I guess it never came up,” Cadance whispered. “And we had just moved out after... well... Luna disappeared, too.”

“I’m so sorry, little petal,” I said and she smiled sadly back at me, hugging me tightly as I stood up to comfort her. She assured me that there was nothing to be sorry about. “It’s a bit ironic, seeing this tombstone. I feel like I need to apologize more for having abandoned you and your sister like that...”

“Mom...” Cadance sighed and gave me a sad glance. “We don’t fault you for that, don’t beat yourself up about this. Please.”

“That’s easier said than done, Cadance,” I muttered, once more looking sorrowfully down on the tombstone. Somewhere, in another reality, there was one that spelled out my old name and it made my heart ache fiercely. And next to it probably rested the grave of my daughter. “You know... I never thought that would be the phrase on my tombstone.”

“Why? What does it mean?” Cadance asked curiously.

I hummed. “It’s from a poem,” I answered. “One your grandmother was particularly fond of if I remember correctly. It’s a sad one, about loneliness and saying goodbye, but your granny loved those the most. I remember her once telling me that she would have named her daughter after it...”

Cadance looked up to me, her twinkling eyes begging me to tell her more. “What was it called?”

I smiled a bit wider, finding a sort of irony in it that my daughter was sure to enjoy, too. I am glad that there were some things I still remember from Earth, especially of my old family. “The Last Rose of Summer.”

“Oh, wow,” Cadance whispered and smiled slightly. “It sounds very poetic. And with our names...”

“Indeed,” I sighed, placing a tiny kiss on her forehead with a fond warmth in my heart. I looked down on the slab of rock with saddened eyes and started fidgeting with my cloak’s red inner lining. It was a bit coarse and worn out, but still in good condition over all. I still like to wear it from time to time... it reminds me of better times.

Speaking of better times... “I wonder what happened to her. Has she been summoned to another Equestria like my sisters and I were?”

“We’ll never find out without asking her relatives,” my little petal said and I grimaced at the thought of appearing before them as their dead mother. I wonder if Catherine was around here, somewhere. The lack of a second tombstone was telling enough and the thought of giving Tia’s counterpart such hope would surely crush her. And me, for that matter.

“Well, if my tombstone is here, then alternate Cath’s house can’t be too far away. Let’s see if the version of my wife in this world is in the mood of speaking with her dead wife...” I muttered, feeling dread well up in my gut. This can only go pear-shaped, can’t it? “If we’re lucky, she will faint as soon as she sees me. What a joy...”

“With that attitude, you will make her think you’re a ghost,” Cadance shot back with a cheeky grin and I pouted petulantly. “What would be the better alternative? Pretending to be this world’s Summer or telling her the truth?”

“We’re not going to lie to her so that her feelings might be spared the heartache, petal,” I said grumpily. “I can’t do that to her, as much as I would like to give her hope and spare her the pain, it would be wrong of me. And wrong to Tia, for that matter.”

The snap of a twig behind us stopped Cadance from replying and had me thinking the worst. I brandished my sword as I turned around to deal with the foolish black werewolf-like creatures, only to see another little girl with a red hood staring at me in shock and... hope. Oh, dear... this was exactly the thing I wanted to avoid.

Well, at least now we knew that there were still humans around with... whatever nightmarish monsters those wolves were supposed to be running amok in this world. I forgot how... resourceful humans could be in their need to survive. Kinda made me wish we had humans within our guard, now.

I'm pretty sure if I let loose a couple of those monsters in my world, there would be no civilization left by the end of the first decade. Not that I would ever do that, but it just goes to show how peaceful our nation had become with my wives and I keeping it safe from similarly bad monsters. We're lucky none of those have ever bred out of control, seriously.

The only place that was even remotely close to this world back home was the Everfree Forest, but that's because we kinda abandoned it to nature and only kept the borders safe from predators. The numerous warnings of 'parents are responsible for neglecting their children's safety by letting them wander into the murder forest' are there for a reason, you know. Besides, nopony is foolish enough to willingly go into there. Most ponies are kinda superstitious of nature acting as nature does (which is ridiculously hilarious, in my opinion).

Anyway, the doppelganger of my daughter got over her initial shock of seeing me alive and well, stepping closer to me in disbelief.

“...M-Mom?” Not-Cadance asked and I saw the wetness around her eyes as her tears came free. I let out a shaky breath as I felt tears of my own gather in the corner of my vision before squashing the overwhelming need to shower the alternate version of my daughter with affections. I turned to my petal with hesitation, completely at a loss as to what I should do. “Is... is that you?”

My daughter gave me a nudge while I was rooted to the ground. “Go on, give her a hug, Mom,” Cadance whispered to me and I bit my lip. The little girl in front of us gave my daughter a curious and very confused gaze as she, too, seemed to hesitate where she stood. She looked like a sad little puppy and it broke my heart. “Just look at... well, me. She needs it.”

“I...” I whispered, playing with the edge of my white and red cloak unsurely. By my sun, this was such an extremely uncomfortable situation to be in. Instead of standing around like an idiot doing nothing, I decided to heed the words of my daughter. I gave the alternate Rose a teary smile and within seconds, I had a sobbing girl in my arms. I blinked in surprise at the red rose petals fluttering away in the wind from the impossible mad dash she had just performed to get over to me. I awkwardly put my arms around her and stroked the back of her head comfortingly. “Hey there, little petal.”

“Mom..!” the little girl cried loudly, looking up at me with a face twisted with anguish, her lips quivering heavily as she bit back another sob. “I-I m-missed you s-so much!”

“It’s okay,” I whispered, shooting my own daughter a sideways glance. It was... like a replay of our own reunion happening all over again. Might as well go the whole route and destroy her hopes in one go... “It’s okay, little petal, I'm here. There's something you should know, though... I..."—I bit my lip as my heart dropped, unwilling to continue and crush all her dreams in one fell swoop—" Oh for the sake of my sun, I can’t do it! I can’t break your heart like that, damnit...”

“M-Mom..?” the girl in my arms asked confused and scared and I bit my lip hard enough I feared I would draw blood. Oh, little petal... I’m so sorry...

“Uh... this is going to sound crazy, but...” Cadance spoke up, drawing the attention of the girl in my arms away from me and over to herself. “We aren’t... really, uh..."—she blinked, stumped—" Wow, how do you explain this without sounding completely crazy?”

“Welcome to my world, petal,” I snickered. “How about ‘we are from a different reality’? I’m sorry, but... I’m not your mother, little Rose. I truly am sorry...”

“...W-what?” Rose stammered, looking perhaps even more confused than before. I would have also been, were I in her shoes right now. Well, not anymore these days, but that's only because of how often I have gone to other dimensions by now. “Mom, you’re not making any sense. Other realities? I... I'd assume you've hit your head pretty badly coming back from the dead, but seeing another me next to you... maybe I’m hallucinating? That must be it... I must have drunk too much milk recently...”

“Cadance? Tell yourself that you’re not hallucinating,” I smiled mischievously and my daughter rolled her eyes, well aware of the irony behind my request. Would you actually believe another you if they told you that you weren’t going crazy and seeing things? It reeked of madness to go along with such a thing instead of believing the actual truth because of how unlikely it sounded. As long as you’re not aware that traveling between dimensions is actually possible, that is.

“...Cadance?” Rose mumbled confused and my daughter gave me a tiny glare for confusing her alternate self so much, letting out a suffering sigh in the process.

“That’s my name,” my daughter told her, smiling ever so slightly. “Mom and I... we reincarnated into a magical land where we are... ponies if you can believe that.”

“Wait... you are telling me that you're actually ponies, instead?” Rose said, leaving my embrace to study Cadance from up close. “Can you turn back? I’ll believe you one hundred percent if you turn back into a cute little pony.”

“Believe me, I would if I could,” Cadance told her, giggling. “And Mom isn’t exactly 'little'.”

“You forgot to mention that we are also princesses, petal,” I commented and heard one excited squeal and one exasperated groan in return. Ah, being a mother had such nice perks... annoying your daughter chief among them. Especially when you suddenly have two of them in front of you. Eh heh heh...

“This sounds too good to be true,” Rose mumbled dreamily. “Either I’m dreaming and Uncle Qrow will wake me up any moment now, or this is the best day ever...”

“Uncle Qrow?” Cadance asked, confused. She gave me a look and I returned it in kind. This... wasn’t what I was expecting. Either the Catherine of this dimension never had a sister or... Lulu is a man here. Oh, dear, that image was just hilarious. “Could we meet with him?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, sure. I’m pretty sure he will want to see you two and if this isn’t a dream, he would get all grumpy about me not bringing you to him. Is that okay, Mom? I can still call you Mom, right?” Rose rambled, looking disturbingly nervous about how ‘grumpy’ her uncle could get. I’m pretty sure what she meant was 'drunk', which... wouldn’t really surprise me. At all.

“I won’t hold it against you, little petal,” I replied, squeezing her against my chest tightly once more. “I hope we don’t impose too much. I’m certainly interested in meeting this Qrow. We should probably compare all of the differences between our families in that case...”

A little nagging thought in the back of my mind told me I wouldn’t like what I would learn and the fact that Rose was still the biological child of my counterpart in this dimension didn’t bode well for my sanity. Did Alternate-Me get together with Qrow instead of Cath, or... was Cath..?

Rose hummed happily and nodded, throwing me out of my thoughts. “I really want to hear more about you being princesses. What’s it like? Do you live in a castle? Why is my name different from where you come from?”

“It’s the name I was found with,” Cadance replied. “Well, actually, it’s an abbreviated version. My full name is Mi Amore Cadenza but I don’t like it. It’s such a mouthful...”

“That is... interesting,” Rose mumbled. “What was it before you were... reborn? What’s it like being reborn? Is dying painful? What am I saying? Of course, it must be painful... I think?”

“Uh...” Cadance mumbled, completely overtaken by the... ahem, 'Cadance-ness'... of her own counterpart. Or was it Rose-ness? My daughter turned to me, biting her lip self-consciously. “Am I like that?”

“Sometimes,” I snickered and she pouted back at me.

“Thanks a lot, Mom,” she grumbled before turning her attention back to the girl firmly ensnared in my arms. “My former name was Rose Baker and being reborn is like... I guess it's like growing up again? Dying isn’t necessarily painful, I died because of a brain tumor and didn’t wake up from surgery. I’d probably take precautions if I were you.”

“Oh...” Rose said, looking down with a disturbed and haunted expression. "That's... I’m so sorry for you! For me! For us! I, uh..."—she fidgeted unsurely—" what’s the best way to refer to... you know. You and me. Are we like... twins, or something? Are we the same person? Ugh, this is so confusing!”

“I can empathize,” Cadance said with a shared suffering kind of voice. It must be a novel experience, seeing and hearing yourself act the same way you yourself do. To a certain degree, at least. Cadance has tempered her word vomit of questions quite a bit since her foalhood days. I guess etiquette lessons with a no-nonsense aide does that to you.

“So..! Are names different from where you come from?” Rose asked and I raised an eyebrow at that question. “Because your name is... was different from mine.”

“Truly?” I asked. “What is your name then, little petal?”

“Ruby,” she answered and I felt a little smile growing on my face. It was the second choice for my little petal if Catherine would have had managed to convince me of it. I suppose it makes sense for Ruby to be named like that if Rose was already part of her name from the get-go.

“A wonderful name,” I said, letting go of her. “Now, I don’t like standing around in the cold. It feels... weird. How about we go back to your house?”

Ruby nodded before turning to Cadance with a perplexed look. “Why would it feel weird?” Ruby asked my daughter, confused. My little petal rolled her eyes and explained to her that I wasn’t exactly 'normal'. Ruby got that ‘huh’ expression as we started to go through the forest again, listening to Cadance with fascination.

It was... nice, passively listening in on them as they talked about this and that. Cadance and I learned the name of the weird wolves and their general species from Ruby as she started to gush about people that made it their profession to slay them, romanticizing them for being heroes to their people.

I felt like rolling my eyes because of course she would romanticize them... and I could already see Cadance start doing the same thing, too. Liz was right. My daughter really was hopeless, wasn't she?

Anyway! Remnant (that's the name of this world, by the way) is neck-deep in all kinds of, ahem... unmentionables. Be it the Creatures of Grimm with their normal small-fry variants like the beowolves (of which the older, more experienced ones were simply called alphas) or the criminals that still thought working against the rest of humanity was a better idea than uniting against a common foe, this world was quite literally a hell-hole of the worst kind. Tartarus looks like a playground in comparison to this and that’s me still understating the significance of how screwed up this world truly is.

I felt bad for the lone four kingdoms in this world, for they had to live behind walls in fear of major Grimm incursions. Without these huntsmen and huntresses, Remnant would have been lost millennia ago to the forces of darkness.

The fact that my little Ruby wanted to become a huntress didn’t sit well with me. She was such a bright child, looking at this world with wonder instead of despair like I was tempted to do. This, what they call 'living' here, is merely survival at the best of times. I was unable to understand how Ruby could stay so positive, faced with all of these dangers and threats to humanity that were constantly endangering their livelihoods and their very existence.

While we traveled through the forest and listened to Ruby’s explanation, she spoke with such a fervor that it gave my motherly instincts shivers of fear. At the same time, I wondered whether or not there was a meaningful and effective way to help them out with their predicament. Surely I could do something to make this world a bit more bearable to live in, right?

But... if hundreds of generations of huntsmen and huntresses couldn’t change a thing about the Grimm, what could I do? Whatever it was that allowed the Creatures of Grimm to stay so numerous despite the best efforts of these monster slayers, it had to be something more than these ‘Grimm-Pools’ (whatever those things are, they can’t be good).

My alternate self was apparently... or rather, had been... a huntress. A good one, according to little Ruby, but as I thought about it, not good enough. The actual status of my alternate self wasn’t officially declared as ‘Confirmed Dead’ (more like ‘Missing in Action’), which, after numerous years of absence, might as well have been the actual status instead. Hence the tombstone.

It was a little bit eye-opening to me. Even if Magic or some other entity hadn’t summoned me, there were still plenty of different versions of myself that didn’t have that high of a life expectancy, it seems. Well, not counting the rebirthed versions of me, that is. Then it suddenly became the opposite.

I wondered whether or not Cadance had inherited that brain tumor from me (if it was indeed something hereditary)...

Anyway, I was brought out of my musings by a loud bang right next to me, throwing me for a loop at the sudden sound that was almost alien to me. I never expected to hear high-caliber gunfire in my life, but here I was. And the reason for that left me a bit gaping at the sight of my daughter dancing around a group of juvenile beowolves...

With a friggin’ scythe.

It quickly became apparent to me that the person in front of me slaughtering the wolf-like creatures was Ruby and not Cadance. The little black-haired red-head next to me was my actual daughter while the alternate version of her let herself get thrown around the battlefield by the recoil of her weapon. A recoil that should have by all means ripped her arms off. I had no idea how her arms could even hold the weight of the massive scythe in the first place and I didn’t appreciate how... close... she got to her enemies a few times here and there.

A lot of those artful movements she made, jumping around here and there, flipping over enemies and such... they were entirely wasteful to my watchful eye. I have no idea whether huntresses in this world fight like my little petal does, so I couldn’t actually tell if it was a Ruby-specific thing or not. If it wasn’t, my opinion of huntresses just reached rock bottom.

Fighting like an acrobat was risky and quite frankly, useless. You left yourself far more open to counterattacks and such. Not to mention how quickly your stamina would dwindle by overexerting yourself like that. Fighting was an art that, much like lightning, sought the path of least resistance. At least, that's how I liked to view it. The less stamina you use to dispose of a foe, the longer you are able to fight on. The longer you can fight without tiring, the likelier your chance to survive becomes.

Suffice to say, I was mad. Not just mad, though. Majorly mad. Furious even. My sword reacted to my will and the stored mana within it made it blaze brightly with solar flames. I have had enough of this, these monsters need to go extinct. Yesterday.

Seeing the alternate version of your daughter fight so effortlessly... it made my heart weep with despair and rage. The despair of that came from the fact that she had to learn to fight monsters like these and thought it ‘romantic’, and the rage from the fact that she had become so good at it at such a young age. The world had basically forced her into such a position and it pissed me off. Perhaps most of all, my heart wept for the fact that she wasn’t all that different from my daughter in that regard.

Cadance needs to learn the art of war because of what might be awaiting her at the Crystal Empire (if my daughter doesn’t have to fight Platinum once that monster kills me, that is) and Ruby had to learn the art of war because she has no other choice but to face the threat to humanity if she ever hopes to find out what happened to her mother.

The rest of the beowolves were incinerated to ash not a second later as I dragged Ruby away by her ear, berating her for her recklessness. This wasn’t how I wanted her to live her life, damnit, but I could see the need in it. I just... it was hard to not start to coddle her like my own daughter. While Cadance was right that I was perhaps a teeny weeny bit too overprotective of her at times, I shouldn’t start to include Ruby in that, too.

But... seeing her fight so wastefully was bringing out the teacher in me and I wanted to correct her way of fighting so damn much. I don't care if it has worked out perfectly for her so far, it's going to change.

Cadance gave Ruby an apologetic smile as I started to lecture both of them on the importance of conserving as much strength as possible in a fight, lest they find themselves too exhausted to continue on.

That made Ruby argue back at me with a petulant pout, stating that with her aura unlocked, she wouldn’t have gotten hurt anyway. After a short explanation of how one could essentially unlock an aura by ‘freeing the soul’s shackles’ or something, I berated her even more for it.

Just because one has a shield (a quite useful one as far as I understood this soul aura shield thingy), doesn’t mean you are invincible. Heck, having a shield like that just makes it more important to make sure it never breaks. One shouldn’t become dependent on a shield to save their flanks in dire situations if skill alone could prevent damage in the first place.

It was as much a lesson for Ruby as it was for Cadance. I knew my daughter was a lot more nervous fighting opponents with lethal weapons and prefers playing the defensive game, but that is exactly the point, isn’t it? Both Ruby and Cadance were dependent on their little shields keeping them safe that they lost the bigger picture.

Fight efficiently and don’t give the opponent openings that they could exploit. Don’t rely on one strategy alone. Don’t become complacent. That is what both of them need to learn.

The little bit of acrobatics Ruby had shown off in her fighting style were just that, showy. It wasn’t in any way efficient and it gives your opponent too many opportunities to exploit and hurt you. Ruby relies too much on her speed and weapon as it seems. Once you take both of them away (something that can happen quite easily on a battlefield), she would be next to useless.

Speed doesn’t help you in tight confines, especially with such a large weapon. An excessively huge weapon that was more often than not a hindrance. Not to mention, I knew quite a few ways to disarm somepony of a big weapon, too (even without using magic). There is a place and time for it and you have to be aware of it. Not every environment favors every type of weapon equally. You can specialize, sure, but it never hurts to have a back-up (even if that back-up consists of your hands and anything you can find lying around you).

And then, there was the thing about complacency. Ruby was entirely too happy to stick with her way of fighting, getting up close to her enemies, even taunting them, that she thought herself safe because she hasn’t ever lost her aura in a fight (or run out of it, I was still a bit confused about that... how can one run out of soul?). The thing is, she hasn’t run out yet. That is what is so dangerous about complacency. So long as something works, so long as you think yourself safe, you don’t improve. You don’t think outside the box, trying to find new ways to defeat your opponent.

You start to rely on things that could very well cost you your life someday.

Ruby was still young and so was Cadance (thank the suns for that), so at least it wasn’t like she couldn’t still learn from her mistakes. Both of them, I suppose. I might have berated them all the way back to Ruby’s home and I might have cried a little bit, begging them to take my words to heart and... and...

By my sun, I’m so pathetic, going into hysterics over the off-chance that they might get seriously hurt while they are still in training. Heck, even if they knew everything I could teach them, I would still worry needlessly. I’m such a worrywart, I can’t help it. The future has never looked so bleak before and it brought out the worst in me, trying to keep everypony safe from even the littlest things (like a papercut, for example, which I haven't totally cried about before... nopes... eh heh heh).

While I might be justified with my criticism of Ruby’s fighting style, I couldn’t just forbid her from doing what she loves most. Judging by how complicated her weapon is, something that I am struggling with myself to comprehend the mechanics behind what makes it work, she was serious about becoming a huntress. So serious, in fact, that she would give her life to save an innocent bystander, not unlike how Tia, Luna, and I would have acted ourselves in our youth. I mean, I would still give my life for my nation, but I know by now that giving my life is only an option that I should consider if it saves more lives than if I continue to live.

Sort of like Hope, sacrificing herself for the continued existence of the universe. If I just throw my life away for a random bystander, it would help nopony if the result of that decision is more suffering. Suffering that I could have prevented by living on.

If I have to sacrifice myself to stop Platinum in order to save my nation? I would do so without hesitation. Should nothing work against her and that damnable prophecy doesn’t come to pass, sacrificing myself might become a necessity to defeat her. It was very scarce knowledge, knowledge I’m unsure of if Platinum is even aware of it, but death curses do exist...

I’d rather avoid using that sort of magic if at all possible. Death curses are incredibly sinister dark magic that taints the soul, and as the name implies, it uses the remaining life force within the body to kill the opponent (almost) no matter what. I would only resort to such methods should Platinum be about to win against Luna, Liz, and myself in the last hope of preventing her rise to power. Only then and only if it is the last thing I can think of or do. Only then...

My death would be far more preferable than seeing her succeed and ruin everything. Maybe it was my hatred speaking, but I wanted to see Platinum dead, no matter what. But... leaving my daughter all alone, though? I don’t want to do that.

I've been worried the whole time during the past millennium over what would happen once Platinum returned from the moon and in all that time... I never considered I would have to leave my daughter behind again. It always boiled down to either me killing Platinum (and with her, Tia) or dying at the hooves of that witch, killing her with my last breath. Now, though? Now I couldn’t keep worrying over what would happen afterward.

Cadance needs me. I can’t just... leave her. That was reason enough to teach her all that I can and try to find new Element Bearers. For once in all of those thousand years, I couldn’t allow myself to think Platinum will be the end of me. I need to believe that everything would work out in the way that I wanted it to. And I have to hope the Elements of Harmony would return, and with them, worthy ponies to wield them.

Still... worrying so much over my daughters (I guess I'm already counting Ruby as my daughter now, too), it’s... exhausting. I can’t keep them safe forever, as much as I wanted to do just that. At one point, they have to learn to take care of themselves (which they already obviously can, but I like to pretend otherwise...). If I can keep Cadance safe from Platinum... I would do everything that I could. Even if it does mean having to leave her again, I suppose.

Ruby and Cadance understood my worries, thankfully. It was heartwarming to see them try to calm me back down after I got so passionate with them and I couldn’t have been prouder of them.

I suppose I know what I should do with my time during my stay here, then. I will make sure Ruby is the best-trained huntress on this damn planet if it is the last thing I do. I might not have much time to do so, but... Cadance does need a sparring partner aside from myself and why not consider her alternate self for that position? They could push each other to improve themselves and if they begin to struggle with something, the other would be there to help them understand and learn.

As we entered the wooden block of a house, a little corgi all but threw itself at me, barking cutely up at me as I caught the little dog within my arms, pleasantly surprised. “Why, hello there, little one. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I’m not the one who you have mistaken me for.”

“Zwei, get off of Mom!” Ruby squeaked and I giggled as she started to fuss over her pet. “I’m so sorry, he can get a little bit overly excited sometimes.”

“No need to apologize,” I reassured her, throwing the hood of my cloak off. “He is a gentle one, quite well-mannered. You must have taught him well.”

“Well-mannered?” Ruby asked in confusion and Cadance explained to her that I could talk to animals as we moved further into the house and I spotted the kitchen. The rest of the house seemed empty, though. Of other people, I mean. I shrugged, looking through the cabinets for the things I would need as I listened to my daughters converse about the fascinating nature of alicorns and how ‘cool’ it was that I could talk with animals.

It was neat, but it wasn’t the massively world-altering thing they made it out to be. It just... gave me more conversation partners, I suppose. Luna had honestly won the lottery with her dream-walking ability. No, I am still not jealous of her. And I never was, for that matter. Nuh-uh.

Damnit, I totally am...

Anyway, it became quite obvious to my daughters what I was doing with the mixing bowl and the mountain of ingredients as I expertly maneuvered through the kitchen like an old friend. The house does faintly remind me of the one my old parents owned, so it wasn’t all that hard finding my way around it.

Before long, the overwhelming smell of cookies permeated the whole house and my daughters eagerly watched the little treats in the oven through the glass with watering mouths. Little cookie fanatics, both of them. Can’t say I was any better than they were, though.

They probably inherited their love for cookies from me and their granny. I’m sure Mom would have also spoiled them rotten with her special brand of cookies, but I was rather reluctant to open that cookie jar we had enchanted such a long time ago. Hmm. Maybe when Tia was back and free...

“I...” a voice behind me brought me out of my musings and I turned around inquisitively as it sounded... familiar but not exactly. “Summer? Is... is that really you?”

Before me stood a tall man with blonde hair and slightly worn out clothing. The deep blue eyes catapulted me back into the past for a moment, having stared into them many times on a similar face to his that looked much more feminine and was framed by long locks of golden hair (or chocolate hair, once my wife started dyeing it). There was no doubt in my mind about who this was. Before me stood the alternate version of my wife... as a man... looking at me like he just saw a ghost...

Oh, dear.

“This is... awkward...” I mumbled, lost for words. The man in front of me was just as stunned as I was as we stared at each other for what felt like an eternity. On his right arm, I could see the same tattoo that I knew Rebecca had given my wife once upon a time and his clothing wasn’t that much different from what I remember Catherine having worn almost all the time. Well, instead of the vest she had worn a leather jacket and way shorter pants (like... extremely shorter).

“Mom, the cookies are done!” Cadance called out from behind me and I jumped a little bit startled as I felt like I had been frozen in time as the alternate Catherine and I hadn’t looked away from each other for a single moment. I really needed to learn his name, it was a bit silly to refer to him like that, wasn’t it?

“Ruby, what is... going... on...” he said and started to gape as both Cadance and Ruby came into view from his position at the door. “For that matter, why are there two of you?”

“Dad?” Ruby said, stunned. “I... uh... it’s a bit hard to explain...”

“This is so weird...” Cadance mumbled as she also stared at Ruby’s father, stunned. I can’t say I blame her, I didn’t feel any different than her and I already had the suspicion that something like this was the case in this reality. This was like the ultimate role reversal to my original homeworld and I can’t say I was liking it. Still... he does look sexy. For a man, that is.

He almost made me rethink my sexuality. I mean, damn, those muscles looked sexy~...

I have to give it to humanity, stallions don’t hold a candle to a man that works out. I... uh... I might actually be bisexual, now that I think about it... or I was just into Cath a lot. He does remind me of my wife when she was into her badass lesbian phase (which in all actuality wasn't a phase as it turns out... surprise~).

Still, seeing my wife as a man was not what I expected. That's like... if my twin had a twin in her past life without ever telling me and then finding out that he's just as sexy as her. My daughter nailed it with her comment: it was weird.

“Tell me about it, little petal,” I retorted. I gave the man in front of us a tight smile and motioned for the kitchen table. He nodded numbly as I went back to the oven to take out the cookies. My hands were strangely sweaty as I put the tray of Divine Cookies™ on the counter to let them cool off as I started to make tea with the herbs that I could find.

“So... I would like an explanation here,” he started as I set the teacups down on the table, leaving the tea to draw as I sat down awkwardly next to Cadance. I gave him a nervous glance, trying not to picture him naked (or as a female, for that matter).

Okay, let’s face it, I was craving the touch of my wife and he was the closest thing I could get to her original form which... didn’t make it easy for me. At all. Thankfully, I definitely (absolutely maybe not) wasn’t into males. If that were the case, I’m sure I would have had more trouble with trying to keep my mind out of the gutter. Like... eh heh heh... a little fantasizing couldn’t hurt, right? It's not like anything will come from it.

“Why is there a second Ruby and how come you never returned home, Summer?" Mr. Sexy Tiger... I, uh... I mean 'Guy that looks like Cath who I totally don't have the hots for' asked and I squirmed uncomfortably, feeling my heart drop. Right. The 'I'm not dead' thing I've been dreading talking about. "We searched everywhere for you! Raven... I even tried getting her help! Why didn’t you come home, Summer? Don’t... don’t you love me anymore?”

“I...” I whispered, feeling slightly hollow as I saw the tears fall from his face as he got increasingly more... angry? Frustrated? Ruby was about to say something, but I stopped her because... this was between me and him. I have to do this on my own, even though this wasn’t my ‘Catherine’. “I’m not your Summer, dear...”

“What?” he asked and I fidgeted anxiously with my cloak’s hem as he stared at me with total confusion. Ugh, I really hate breaking somepony's heart. “That... Summer, that doesn’t make any sense. What is going on? Have you forgotten me? Is that it?”

“It’s slightly more complicated than that...” I laughed bitterly, feeling like a monster as I was about to crush all of his hopes. I couldn’t pretend to be his Summer, that would be far too cruel to him. “In my reality, you’re a woman.”

“Okay... that, wow...” he whispered while dragging his fingers through his hair, utterly stupefied. “You must have hit your head pretty hard, Summer. Different realities? That is your excuse? Have you gone mad?”

I sniffed indignantly through my nose, trying to keep the sarcastic remark back as I felt a little bit insulted that he would think I would lie about something like this. Maybe Liz was rubbing off on me if my first reaction was to snark back at him. “You don’t have to believe me, Catherine. I’m sorry, but... you are making this harder for me to explain than it has to be. I don’t know what to tell you so that you will believe me.”

“'Catherine?'” he asked, raising an eyebrow at me. “Wow. That’s a stupid name.”

Ugh. “I don’t believe this...” I muttered, dragging my hand through my face with an exasperated groan. “I need my tea...”

Cadance and Ruby watched me with trepidation and a little bit of concern as I took the teapot and filled my cup to the brim, only to ex the hot beverage without a care in the world. I was perhaps a bit too hasty with that as I felt the burn in my throat and I had to cough. Cadance was at my side not a moment later and so was the male version of my wife.

“Mom!” Cadance exclaimed as I sputtered and winced with every breath I took. “Are you okay?”

“Obviously not, Ruby,” Ruby’s father commented, confusing my daughter for his for a moment. “Why would you even do something like that, Summer?! You couldn’t have hit your head that hard to have forgotten that drinking hot tea without being careful would be a good idea...”

“Dad, that really isn’t...” Ruby began before failing to finish her sentence. Clearly, she was reluctant to say it and I couldn't fault her. I've been considering her as my own, too.

Both Ruby and her father looked on in concern while my daughter fretted over me and I motioned for my sword. Thankfully, Cadance got my intended meaning and brought Remorse over to me from where the lazy bum was leaning against the wall (stupid sword ignoring its mistress). I didn’t have the necessary focus to summon him over to me and I was thankful that she didn’t wonder what I meant with my wild gestures.

Once I had the grip in my hand, I reached out to the stored mana in the gem within the hilt and felt the pleasant comfort of my solar magic, activating my fiery aura for a moment and soothing the burn in my throat like nothing happened in the first place.

“What the..." Ruby's father muttered, stunned out of his mind. "Are you using magic?! And..."—he blinked, rubbing his eyes in disbelief—" are those pony ears..?” he asked and I sighed happily as my throat healed up completely and my hair started to float a little bit through the ethereal breeze, changing to the familiar deep red color of my mane. I might have to dye it for the remainder of my stay here, it felt wrong to not see it in this color (there sadly wasn't enough mana in my sword to keep this appearance up indefinitely, as much as I liked having normal pony ears again). And, uh... I definitely need to be more careful from now on, it seems. Drinking hot tea in one go was a really bad habit that I had gotten into when I was frustrated enough, enough so that I drank it without even thinking that I didn’t have my fiery aura here by default. Let’s hope I don’t repeat that mistake again. “I... Summer, what is going on? I don’t know what to believe anymore...”

“Well, then,” I said, showing him my utmost regal posture. “Introductions are in order. My name is Summer Sol of House Luna, Second Crown Princess of Equestria, Archon of the Summer Sun, the Bringer of Dawn, the Eternal Guardian, Queen of All Things Cookies, and Deity of the Red Sun"—I gestured to my Rose Petal next—" and this is my daughter, Cadance, Heir to the Throne and Love Incarnate. Also the current holder of the Mistress of Cuteness title.” I nodded sagely.

“...what?” he asked, sounding even more confused and lost now. I wasn’t going easy on him with this, was I?

Eh, I might have gone over the top there for a bit, using the more flashy titles that my little ponies had given me (including the damn deity part, but it sounded sort of nice...), but I can show off every once in a while, right?

The Queen of Cookies title wasn’t actually a title my subjects gave me, but Liz liked to call me that since that time I had used the shape-change spell with her (I know she only does that in the hopes of getting me to make her more cookies for her without having to share them with Luna).

Cadance was happy to know she had been promoted to Mistress of Cuteness since that was an objective truth nopony could argue against. And anypony that denies the truth... let's just say 'unlucky things' happen to them.

Since it was unlikely for Luna or I to ever give birth to an heir the natural way, Cadance was also next in line for the throne now. I mean, it's not like we needed an heir, but... Platinum. I think that should be reason enough, but fat chance of me willingly abdicating my position to anypony but Cadance. The nobility would run our nation to the ground if left unchecked. Besides, if we survive Platinum's return, there won't be any need for an heir, anyway.

...aside from me wanting another foal to look after to fill the inevitable void Cadance will leave behind once she rules the Crystal Empire. Maybe I can work something out with a donation of... I don't know... a certain good-looking human?

Pfft, nah. That would be cheating. Besides, I would have to foalnap him to Equestria, make him a prince, marry him, and then turn him into an alicorn because, hah! I'm not gonna lose Mr. Sexy to old age. Not after he puts a baby in my oven.

I, uh... I'm definitely not into him and those were just theoretic thoughts of what life would be like with the possibility of being pregnant. There's no way I would ever do something like that! Aside from maybe turning him into the first male alicorn to exist and introducing him to Tia. Eh heh heh...

She would totally be on board with that, wouldn't she? Luna would roll her eyes, sure, but she actually was bisexual and wouldn't throw a fuss once she sees him. Ah, then again, there was still the matter of this world's Summer... he wouldn't be open for that unless he knows for sure there won't be another sudden surprise visit of his supposedly dead wife. Not to mention, if she was summoned to another Equestria... I... I don't want to think about what he would do to reunite with her.

Ugh. Stupid Summer, stop thinking about this. How old is he, even? Much too young, that's how old he is. Don't let his appearance fool you, he's a mortal and you're a centuries old hag. That's jailbait if I've ever seen one.

“They really aren’t from around here, Dad,” Ruby told him. “They are also ponies in their reality! Can you believe that? That’s so... cute!”

“I need a drink...” he said and sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “This day has barely even begun and I feel like an entire year has passed...”

“Dad!” Ruby whined, hitting him on the shoulder that wasn’t covered by a pauldron. That's probably the only armor he wore fighting against the Grimm and it left my protective instincts crying in a corner. “Don’t make jokes about drinking. Uncle Qrow is bad enough with it already and I don’t want to see you like that again...”

“...has the death of my counterpart?” I whispered and I saw the sheer despair in his eyes as I asked that. I didn’t need to hear his answer because quite frankly... I knew what he would tell me. My death must have hit him quite hard and it wasn’t that surprising that he fled to the first source of comfort, even if that source was perhaps not the best choice. It was preferable to the alternative, though. I’m glad he didn’t decide to take his life instead.

I wasn't much better after we banished Tia to the moon, to be honest. That was the only time where I was drunk on a regular basis and I certainly do not wish to repeat that. I hope I won't, but... Platinum.

“It... your..."—he sighed, dragging his hand through his blonde hair—" the death of 'our' Summer hit us all pretty hard,” he said, leaning against the table with his arm supporting his head. He stared forlornly down to the ground and I couldn’t help but do the same thing as he sounded so... defeated. Or depressed, I suppose. He was tugging at my heartstrings something fierce, wasn't he? What the flying penguin was I supposed to do with him? I can't just... start falling for him. That's all kinds of complicated, even without taking his age into account. “I mean... we aren’t even sure she is dead for certain, but... after so long? Seeing you... I wanted you to be her. I still want you to be her, even though I know you have your own life as a... wait, 'princess'? How did that happen?”

“It’s... a long story,” I answered with a sigh. Stupid age gap, now I was feeling bad for him, too. He's like a poor puppy that lost their life-long mate. How could I not pity him? And from the looks of it, even he was struggling with separating me from his wife in his mind. It must be even worse for him since... well... I wasn't a stallion. “You wouldn’t even believe half of it. If I hadn’t lived through it myself, I wouldn’t believe it, either.”

“Okay...” he sighed, scratching his chin lightly. “I’ll take your word for it, then. So... what’s up with the different names? What happened to Rose?”

“Mom never had Rose as her last name,” Cadance answered, drawing the attention of the man in front of me over to her. I should probably ask for his name soon, this was getting a bit ridiculous. “And she named me after gran's old maiden name Rose before I got reborn. Both of us got reborn, so there is that...”

“Somehow that is more believable than the pony thing...” he muttered, laughing humorlessly before taking a contemplative sip from his tea (after making sure it wasn't too hot, obviously). “So... you were reborn, huh? Who were you before, then?”

“Uh...” I stammered, blushing furiously. This wasn’t what I wanted to talk about, like... at all. “Can I get your name before we get to that? I can’t just continue to refer to you as ‘Almost Catherine but not really’. That wouldn’t be fair to you or my wife...”

“Right, that ‘female in another reality’ thing. I’m Taiyang,” he said, giving me a faint smile that barely reached his haunted eyes. I wish I could give him this, but I can’t pretend to be his wife. Not only because of the whole male thing, but I also still need to return home at one point. Hopefully, Luna will get that portal up and working soon-ish. “Taiyang Xiao Long, it’s nice to ‘re-meet’ you. So... were you human before the, uh, pony thing?”

“Yes, we were,” I nodded, biting my lip nervously. “But I suppose humans are a bit different here than from where we came from.”

“In which way?” Ruby asked curiously, her eyes sparkling with that enthusiastic wonder I knew from my own daughter. I smiled at her enthusiasm to learn more about her alternate mother, it was very heart-warming to me.

“Well, for one thing, we didn’t have our auras unlocked,” Cadance said, causing Ruby to let out a gasp in horror. “And we didn’t have Grimm running around. Our original planet was also named differently. I haven’t seen a map yet, so I can’t tell if they look the same.”

“Oh! I can show you on my scroll later if you want!” Ruby smiled, fidgeting eagerly on her chair. Cadance nodded with a smile of her own, also getting excited from Ruby’s infectious mood and Taiyang shook his head good-naturedly at their behavior.

“Scroll? I feel like I’m missing something here...” I muttered, giving Cadance and Ruby a thoroughly confused look. I knew for certain that humans didn’t go back to using scrolls of all things in favor of computers...

“It is... or was a new type of smartphone on Earth, Mom,” Cadance answered. “It used incredibly advanced technology and was extremely lightweight. You could see through them! Uncle Toby worked on them, you know. He said they were decades ahead of every other company with the development of technology at Massive Dynamic and they were already working on a version that works with hard-light of all things! Can you believe that?”

“How can a phone be smart?” I asked, perplexed and Cadance groaned in that typical ‘You can’t possibly be my actual mom’ way that had my eyelid twitching. I knew my brother worked on all kinds of things at... 'that' company, but out of all the things he could have worked on, I wouldn’t have thought he worked on developing phones. Although, knowing him, it had something to do with weaponry in some way. “What? Don’t give me that look, little missy! I can still withhold those cookies from you, so behave yourself.”

“Mom!” Cadance pouted and I glared back at her.

“Don’t you ‘Mom!’ me, either,” I told her and Taiyang let out a laugh while Ruby gave Cadance a sympathetic look. “Just because I’m a thousand years out of date, doesn’t mean you can give me that look that screams you think I’m an embarrassment to your existence.”

“But I didn’t!” Cadance grumbled. “At least... not really? It’s not like I did it on purpose... that much.”

“A thousand years?” Taiyang asked and I sighed in despair. So much to explain and every answer just gives them more questions... I’d rather listen to the nobles prattle on about unimportant things for a week straight than deal with this. At least with them, I could just nod my head and pretend I was interested in what they were saying. “Sounds like there is a story there.”

“Oh, you haven’t even heard the beginning of it, yet,” Cadance snickered and I sent her a warning glare. She just gave me a mischievous smile and I could tell she had been hanging around Liz perhaps a bit too much lately. “She was a male in her previous life!”

“Cadance!” I screeched, trying to grab her as she ran around the table giggling like a maniac. “You’re so grounded! I’mma lock you in your room for the next decade! Nay, for the next century! You can say goodbye to your plans of ‘foal-sitting’, missy!”

“Worth it!” Cadance giggled, evading me by slamming the door in my face. I growled in rage and felt like ripping my hair out. Why must my daughter be so... so her? Where is the little innocent filly that I remember riding on my back? Where did I go wrong with her?

Most likely by letting her become Liz’s best friend, now that I think about it.

I smiled ruefully as I sat back down at the table in complete exhaustion and filled my teacup back up to the brim, this time not drinking it in one go (much to the relief of Tai and Ruby). For good measure, I refilled it again and sighed happily as I finally started to relax. At least somewhat.

“Male, huh?” Tai commented and I let my head fall to the table in total embarrassment. Why? Just... why? “I suppose that makes sense with the other me being female. So... what’s it like? Being female, I mean.”

Fuck me sideways. “'That' is the first thing you ask?” I groaned, shooting him a pouty glare as Ruby silently excused herself to go look after Cadance, instead. Not before she stuffed her face with some of the cookies I made, though. I wasn’t going to berate her for indulging herself, at least not when the whole house smelled so overwhelmingly of their sweet, heavenly goodness. “For your information, I was transgender. Or... am. Was? Let’s just say I realized I was meant to be female once I got reborn as a pony and leave it at that.”

Taiyang smiled faintly as he sighed wistfully. “You have the same pouty glare as her...” he commented and I winced. So much for not trying to remind him of his lost (and possibly dead) wife. “It’s cute. At least, as long as you don’t get angry. You’re perhaps even worse with your motherly instincts than my Summer had been.”

“What was she like?” I asked, feeling oddly anxious to learn more about his dead wife. I kinda wish I could have met her instead of finding myself in this awkward situation. At least then the temptation wouldn't have been so great to mess things up.

“Upbeat,” he answered and I could see a reminiscing look enter his eye. Tai smiled nostalgically as he seemingly got lost in the memories of his Summer and their time together. He looked so happy, thinking of her... “Like nothing in the world could bring her down. She would try her absolute best to help everyone, even if the missions we went on weren’t the most rewarding in payment. She was the biggest bleeding heart I have ever known and I loved and hated her for it...”

“Oh...” I whispered, feeling a painful stab in my heart as it sounded perfectly like me. Well, she was me, but also not. And it was more like the past-me that he described... before Tia was taken away from me. Before I decided to let my decision to keep what is mine utterly consume me. I wish I could go back to those simpler times, where I could... I dunno, do something to prevent all of these mistakes I made in my foolish attempt to be a paragon of kindness to those that did not deserve it. Platinum most of all. “She must have been a sight to behold...”

I would have loved being able to have a chat with her, find out in which ways we truly differed from one another. Aside from her having had the fortune to be born female from the beginning, that is. But... if she truly was my counterpart... could she maybe... not have been as happy about that?

“She was a grand sight to behold. And not only on the battlefield, at that,” Tai nodded, laughing silently to himself. “She would drag us along in all kinds of situations just to save an animal from the Grimm or other similar situations. One time we even defended a small remote village from a seemingly endless horde of Grimm, and she told us in no uncertain terms that giving up wasn’t an option. That losing against the Grimm wasn’t even in her dictionary or something. She always said she would one day save the world and be a hero. And Ozpin let us do all of this, even if the missions we wanted to do were for higher semesters than our own, without telling us off even once. He didn’t even bat an eye when we did something stupid or broke a rule or two.”

“Ozpin..?” I asked, unfamiliar with the name.

“The headmaster at Beacon Academy,” Tai answered, rubbing his arm nervously, an action that didn’t reassure me in the slightest. He looked like he wasn’t the greatest fan of the man, whether that was because Ozpin had been his teacher or something else, I had no idea. “Qrow still works with him when he isn’t busy with his actual job...” Then, he seemed to mutter under his breath about a stupid drunk bird not taking that job all that seriously.

This world's Luna has the same aversion to work as my sister had in her youth, huh? Why am I not surprised?

I hummed, absentmindedly shoving a cookie into my mouth as I stared into my teacup. Interesting, indeed... “What is it that you do?”

“Qrow and I teach at the local combat school here on Patch, Signal Academy,” he told me and I hummed with even more interest. I suppose if Tia and I had been born on Remnant ourselves, we would have become teachers, too. I mean, I kinda am a teacher, but not in the sense of what Tai and Qrow are doing. “So... you are a princess? What is it that you do as a princess?”

“Keeping my nation in one piece, mainly,” I rolled my eyes, grumbling lowly about stupid nobles. “I do teach students from time to time in the arcane arts, though. I specialize in emotions and communicating with animals.”

“Right, magic...” Tai sighed, rubbing his eye. “You should probably keep that a secret around here. There are some... unpleasant... individuals that seek that power for themselves.”

“How so?” I asked, slightly confused. He seemed pretty surprised to see me do actual magic, I would think it would be a myth in this reality in that case, but... “Do people know of magic in this reality? I mean, if the people of this world are under the assumption that it does not exist here, why would they try to steal it if they have no idea it exists?”

“Oh, they definitely know,” Tai growled. The tone he used didn’t leave much to the imagination. I’m pretty sure he had come into contact with magic before. If only by word of mouth, at the very least, I suppose. Did he know of somepony... I mean, someone... that knows magic? “And there are... not so good people that would stop at nothing to get a piece of it for themselves. Or snuff it out in a misguided attempt of getting rid of the extraordinary. Raven ran away as she got scared of something in Ozpin’s war and I retired here on Patch after you... after our Summer disappeared. Qrow still thinks he can accomplish something together with Oz, but I have to look after my daughters... I can’t leave them alone while going out on extended missions for him.”

“Is Tabby also trying to become a huntress?” I asked and Tai gave me a confused gaze. “Oh, uhm... is she named Tabetha here? How old is she even? I can’t imagine her being old enough to enter combat school if Ruby is barely fifteen.”

“I... uh...” Tai mumbled, scratching his chin slightly. “No, Yang isn’t named... Tabetha. What kind of name is that? I’m getting the impression here that your names are different from wherever you come from...”

“It’s a cute name,” I pouted, feeling indignant that he was being a little bit rude by constantly questioning the names of my loved ones. “For that matter, did you name our daughter after a part of your name?”

Tai grimaced. “This is going to be a pain in the ass to explain, but... Yang isn’t ‘your’ daughter, Summer,” he said with a nervous smile and I narrowed my eyes on him. “I... uh... before my Summer and I got together, I was... uh... I was in a relationship with another woman?”

“Tai...” I said, giving him a warning glare. I shouldn’t be getting jealous over whom the alternate version of my wife... husband, whatever... loved, but... damnit, it hurts to think that there are versions of ourselves that haven’t been together from the get-go. “Who’s daughter is Yang?”

“...Raven,” he mumbled and showed me a picture of their former team when they had been students at Beacon. I... okay. This was slightly awkward. I honestly felt like drowning myself in Luna’s moonshine. I might still do that in order to forget ever visiting this damn reality. Ugh, this reality was just so fucked up, I couldn’t even put it into words. It was like it was a friggin’ mockery of Earth, in a weird sense. I pity the humans living here in a world that was seemingly drowning in darkness.

“This is... awkward,” I sighed, feeling a little bit queasy. “She isn’t your sister, right?”

“W-what?!” Tai sputtered and I fidgeted with the hem of my skirt. Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have asked that. I wasn't one to talk, anyway. “Summer, you can’t possibly insinuate I would... I’m an only child! Why would you think... Wait. No way. You've gotta be kidding me. My counterpart has a sister and that sister is Raven?! How does that even work?!”

“Well...” I muttered. “This is an interesting difference between our realities. Of all the things that could have been different...”

Taiyang growled. “Summer, you can’t be serious,” he said, angrily stuffing a cookie in his mouth before moaning with delight at the taste. “Oh, damn... I missed these so much...”

“I’m glad you like them,” I smiled slightly, seeing him float metaphorically on cloud nine after having tasted the Divine Cookies™. The secret is the extra chocolate mixed in with the dough. “And I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I am serious about this. My Catherine has a younger sister that also reincarnated along with us. Her name was Rebecca and your last name wasn’t Xiao Long.”

“More weird names,” Tai commented and I rolled my eyes. “I suppose you guys never had the color-naming custom we have here, huh? That would make sense, I suppose. Different worlds, different customs. So, what was our last name, then? Can’t believe Raven is my sister...”

“Before we married, Rebecca and Catherine’s last name was, uh... Raven...” I answered, fidgeting awkwardly as he gave me an incredulous look. “And... oh dear, how should I say this...”

“What?” he asked, giving me a concerned gaze as I bit my lip nervously. “C’mon, Summer. You can talk to me, I won’t judge. Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad for you to be so nervous.”

I swallowed thickly. “Did your parents...” I started, wincing in fear for what I might hear. “This is going to sound a bit insensitive and probably too personal for your tastes, but... did they ever... touch you?”

“What do you mean?” Tai asked with a cautious voice, giving me a narrow-eyed look. “Summer, are you asking me if my parents... raped me?”

“I...” I mumbled and trailed off, too afraid to speak. I gave him a tiny nod instead, not trusting my voice to confirm his question.

I watched as Tai flexed his muscles angrily, seeing a slight shimmer of his aura as he pressed his nails tightly into his palms. If he hadn’t been so angry, I would have probably blushed a bit too heavily while staring transfixed at those... muscles. Ugh, why does he have to look so friggin’ sexy? It was extremely aggravating to me. They just looked so... damn... juicy~. “Summer, don’t tell me my counterpart was raped. Don’t tell me that her sister...”

“No, Luna... I mean Rebecca wasn’t...” I whispered, thrown out of my... musings... after he asked me that, and despite the topic being so somber, I was thankful for the distraction. “Cath killed her own parents because of what they did to her. Mainly her father for doing that to her...”

“This is disgusting...” Tai growled and I completely agreed with him. Rape shouldn’t be taken lightly and the fact Tia had a fetish for it... it caused me no small amount of grief. I tried rationalizing it as a weird roleplay thing whenever she had asked us to do that to her, but it always left a bitter taste in my mouth. “To think that... damn. I mean, I hadn’t known my parents for long, but to think that they could have been capable of that? I can’t even judge your wife for killing them. If I had been in her position? I probably would have done the same thing. Heck, she is my counterpart, I would have done the same thing with a smile on my face...”

“I’m glad you didn’t have to go through that,” I said, watching him reach a hand out to another cookie, munching on it half-heartedly as he bit into it. “Although, that does give me a few things I have to put into question...”

“And what would that be?” Tai asked. I hummed for a moment, trying to order my thoughts before voicing them. There was just... something not adding up here.

“If you never had a sister and this Raven had been together with you...” I started, swishing the teacup in front of me back and forth for a moment, watching the little bit of liquid within with a forlorn expression. “Were Cath and Becky even sisters? I always thought it was strange that they looked so different from each other, but I never questioned my wife why that was. I don’t know if Lulu even knows and Tia is... unavailable currently. For all I know... Celestia could have been adopted...”

“I suppose those are their pony names?” Tai chuckled. “Do you have a pretty pony princess name? Oh, wait, Summer is your name now, right? This is still... confusing to me.”

“You aren’t the only one that feels this way,” I smiled, sharing in his mirth slightly. “I have been alive for a long time. After a few centuries you get used to the difference between alternate versions of yourself.”

“That... that was actually for real?” Tai asked, astonished. I giggled, his flabbergasted look reminding me very much of my wife. Oh, how I miss her...

“I’m old, Tai,” I told him with a tiny smile. A smile that barely reached my eyes, to be honest. “And so very tired. But I still continue on. Besides, in the grand scheme of things? I’m not that old. There are far older beings out there, Tai. Beings that would make you shiver with fear and awe by just standing in their presence.”

A being like Discord, for example. Still, I had to wonder if he really was as mad as I thought him to be. He always seemed like... there was more to him. He can’t just be evil for the sole reason of being a mismatched dick noodle. Somepony like him wouldn’t do what he did just because he could. Although... perhaps it was just boredom that made him do what he did. I know I have done some weird stuff over the years because I have been bored out of my mind. Then again, Discord almost appeared to follow some sort of... agenda? At least, it seemed like he was trying to accomplish something only he knew the specifics of.

What could somepony like Discord want to do by seemingly causing chaos at random? What goal was behind his motives? I never could figure that one out, not even after a thousand years.

One might assume he did all of that to prepare us for something only he knew the specifics of. I still have the nagging feeling in the back of my mind that he did all of that to prove to us that the future could not be avoided, that there ultimately was no choice but to accept fate and face the reality of actual soul-crushing loss so that we would have been ready to... let go of each other. But... that would mean he knew exactly what would have happened after he was sealed in stone.

I doubt that that was the case, though. He wouldn’t have let himself be turned into stone if he knew he would be stuck like that for more than a thousand years. Maybe I was reading too much into things...

“I think I know what you mean, Summer,” Tai murmured, scratching his chin lightly with a sigh. I gave him a curious glance, very much interested in how he knew this feeling. Were there deities here on Remnant, as well? “I’m rather reluctant to introduce you to Ozpin, though. I don’t think it would be a good idea to let him rope you into his secret war, but he... he might be able to help you reach your home.”

“Oh?” I hummed. “It looks to me like there is more to this Ozpin than you let on.”

“He is... a complicated man,” Tai told me. “But he is a powerful wizard, so... he might know a thing or two even you might not. If there is one person that could help you get back home, he would be the one.”

Hmm. While I doubt he knew exactly how to do that... “It should be interesting enough to learn about Remnant’s magic if anything,” I shrugged. “I doubt he knows more than me, though. Not if he isn’t older than he would like to admit.”

Tai laughed deprecatingly to himself, muttering something along the lines of ‘you might be surprised’ and left it at that. We stayed silent for a while longer and I saw the sun start to slowly peek over the horizon through the window, mulling over the things I had learned so far about this world.

From what I have been told of this Ozpin, I could tell that it might not be the greatest idea to trust him with my life. But that’s the thing about leaders, isn’t it? You have to have faith in them that they won’t abuse your trust utterly. Some of my previous students had openly told me that they didn’t trust me and that was fine, I wouldn’t think any less of them because they felt like I was withholding information from them.

And they were absolutely right to not trust me. I was prone to withhold information from my students if I thought they couldn’t be trusted with the knowledge that I could impart on them (the desire to become an alicorn sadly being among one of the more common goals my students expected me to teach). Only if I was absolutely certain that they wouldn’t let it go to their heads would I show them some of the things I knew they could benefit from. Not everypony needs to know everything I could teach them, after all.

I suspect that this Ozpin wasn’t too different from me in that particular regard. Whatever secret war he was engaged in, I’m certain that there's a lot that he couldn’t tell his followers for their own safety. It might be frustrating to deal with, but sometimes it was necessary to do that in order to not lose the fight on a grander scale.

I won’t make excuses for his behavior as long as I don’t know him, though. So far, I could only empathize with his viewpoint and that's it. I can’t judge if it is actually necessary to withhold the information he is aware of or not. Not without knowing what it is that he is hiding. If it is vitally important to his cause and he still withholds information like that? I might be disinclined to trust him.

There would be little he could say to convince me otherwise. He would need a very good reason for making a decision like that because not telling the ones under your command what they should know will hurt the end-goal of your mission more often than not.

Well, at least so long as you don’t set the game-board up in your favor, controlling every possible variable. Which would be utterly impossible, ponies (and humans) are unpredictable at the worst of times, after all. Relying on setting up the stage in your favor is just asking for trouble to bite you in the flank.

There are very few reasons where I would withhold information to such a degree and all of those have something to do with the Realm of Ascension. There was nopony, not a single one, I could or would trust with the knowledge behind the process of ascension. The implications of making that knowledge public could destroy society as a whole and I’d rather not risk that. Even if that means fewer ponies living long enough to keep me company.

A few of the nobles had started to bitch about it to Luna, Liz and myself to make the process behind ascension public knowledge because they felt entitled to that information for entirely too selfish reasons. I couldn’t have completely kept the fact that ponies could ascend a secret because, quite frankly, after Cadance had earned her horn? It would have been impossible to keep that a secret. It wouldn’t have taken much research to find out she had been an orphan pegasus before her ascension and ponies would have started to question me about it anyway.

I was thrown out of my musings as a young, feminine voice called out to Taiyang with a 'Dad..?', sounding a little freaked out. “Why is there another Ruby?”

The door to the kitchen opened and a girl with long blond hair entered the room. She was still obviously wearing her sleepwear, looking like she just stumbled down the stairs in a rush. The new girl came instantly to a stop as she saw me. Her lilac eyes stared at me with disbelief and I couldn't help but to compare them to my own in my reality. To be honest, I would have mistaken her for a teenage Catherine if I hadn’t known Tai had another daughter. Well, another daughter that wasn’t a different version of my own, that is.

“Hello,” I smiled, giving her a little wave with my hand. “You must be Yang, then.”

“This is... I, uh... what?” she stammered and Tai went over to her before throwing an arm around her shoulder. “Dad, what is going on?”

“Aliens,” Tai grinned, gesturing weirdly with his hands. “They are everywhere.”

“Dad, as much as I like your jokes, this isn’t the time,” Yang groaned, dragging a hand through her face in annoyance. “Why is Mom back and why is there a second Ruby? And why did one act like we weren’t sisters, like... ever? And for that matter, what’s wrong with Mom? She can’t have hit her head that hard to have forgotten me, right?”

I let out a groan. “Seriously, why does everypony assume I’ve hit my head?” I groused, frustrated. “I’ll have you know, I take perfectly good care of my head. Perhaps it is you all that have hit your heads, instead? I can’t possibly believe there exists somepony that actually thinks Cath’s jokes... I mean, Tai’s jokes are funny.”

“Hey! I am funny,” Tai shot back and I stuck my tongue out at him with a cheeky grin. “Nobody appreciates good humor nowadays...”

The long-haired blonde gave both of us a weird look, instead. “Did Mom just say ‘somepony’?” Yang questioned and I let out a suffering sigh, readying myself for another lengthy explanation trying to convince her that I’m a magical pretty pony princess from another universe. I just know I’ll have to repeat this conversation at least a dozen more times...

And so, history repeated itself and I explained the intricacies of dimensional travel to a seventeen-year-old teenager that was bored out of her mind after the first minute of me explaining to her that yes, I am an alien in the strict sense, and no, I can’t change back into a cute ‘little’ pony without going back to my home reality.

It took me the better half of the morning to get her to believe me. Tai wasn’t helping me in the slightest by asking more questions than his daughter and my own was off doing who knows what with Ruby. Besides me explaining all of this to Yang, I finally got to see what exactly a scroll was and. Oh. My. Gosh. What else have I missed in the advancement of technology? These tiny things could do so much more than the clunky computers I faintly remember from my time alive as a human!

You could listen to music with a telephone of all things! And... and watch videos! Videos that had even better quality than I could have ever imagined! And then there were the games... I felt like I was in Heaven all of a sudden. It was like somepony took a look at the Game Boy and thought ‘I could do better than that’ and did. It was simply mind-boggling.

Suffice to say, Yang and I stayed rooted to the extraordinarily flat television screen in the living room afterward, playing every available game that they had access to. My inner nerd couldn’t stop giggling like a little filly, marveling at the capabilities of these scrolls and how utterly magnificent the graphics of the games looked.

I mean, Equestria was finally starting to develop arcade games after an unholy amount of time without anything remotely close to video games since I had last had the pleasure of gaming to my heart’s content. Luna had rolled her eyes as I giddily remodeled the recreational room within the castle into an arcade to satisfy my guilty pleasure of playing games well into the night (sometimes even losing myself in them so much that I was surprised that I had to raise the suns).

But these games? They were even better than the games that had been available to the video game consoles I remember from Earth. They were on a wholly different level compared to what I was used to. I had no idea how much effort must have gone into programming those and all I wanted to do was to learn how complicated the code was to allow these games to even exist. My past occupation as a programmer for an indie games company demanded nothing less of me. I needed to know more and I was exuberantly happy to search the internet (it was named differently but worked essentially in the same way... but faster) for what I wanted to learn after having had my fill of awesome games.

I was a gamer at heart and Remnant only provided more fuel for my addiction. Tia had been a massive enthusiast for cars and I had been a massive enthusiast for all things gaming-related (and cookies, of course). I had to wonder whether or not Earth had advanced similarly in that regard. There was no way that Remnant could just develop these when they had so many other things to worry about (mainly the Grimm).

I... I need a scroll of my own or I will be damned to let an opportunity like this slip through my hooves... I mean hands. Just thinking about all the possibilities they could open for Equestria made my heart race faster with joy. All the games my little ponies could make for me... I-I mean, for my subjects, of course. I could die a happy mare...

Anyways, after Yang and I had our fill of trying to beat each other in various games (most of them fighting games because Yang liked those the most, but we also played a few other games that were more up my alley), I stretched out my limbs with satisfying pops and went to search for where my daughter had run off to with Ruby.

It wasn’t that hard to find out where Cadance was. I just had to follow the giggling up to what I presumed to be Ruby and Yang’s bedroom. Both of them were sitting on the bed with the red pillows while one of them did the hair of the other.

“Hey, Mom. What do you think of Ruby’s hair? It looks really cute, right?” ‘Cadance’ asked, smiling towards me as she spotted me standing there in the doorframe. I could see the nervous glint in her eyes and the poorly disguised glee in my actual daughter as they pretended to be the other person.

“It looks nice, I like the style. It has that ‘huntress’ vibe that just screams danger to everything that dares stand against you,” I answered, smiling gently. If they thought they could fool me of all ponies, they thought wrong. “Although, you both might want to wrap this up. Just because we aren’t in Equestria, doesn’t mean your lessons are over, ‘Cadance’.”

“Lessons? But... Mom,” ‘Cadance’ whined and for a moment, I actually doubted whether or not I was right with my suspicion. “It’s always lessons, can’t we have a little bit of fun while we are here?”

I chewed on my lips as both of them gave me puppy dog eyes. If I had not lived for as long as I have, I might have even given in and let them have their will. Alas, I have not forgotten what my daughter had done a few hours ago and a little payback was in order to teach her that, despite me being her mother, I would not stand to be humiliated by her. Only a mother had the right to humiliate her children and that was a right that one had to earn by becoming a parent.

“No,” I answered, giving them my best unamused stare. “But I suppose we can soften up the lesson plan a little bit.”

“Oh, thank you!” ‘Cadance’ sighed with relief. I smiled mischievously and my actual daughter suddenly looked paler than before as she felt the sheer malevolence in my smile. “Anything but politics!”

“Yes... 'anything' but politics,” I agreed with glee. “And to make things more interesting, ‘Ruby’ will also participate.”

“What?” both mumbled confused and my daughter shivered with fear as I motioned with my fingers for them to follow me.

“And lessons will begin immediately,” I grinned. “From now on until we are back home, we will concentrate wholeheartedly on combat lessons.”

“Oh, thank goodness,” ‘Cadance’ smiled, lulling herself into a false sense of security. “And here I thought we would have to do boring things...”

“Ruby, stop!” Cadance whispered, tugging urgently at her doppelganger's arm while I giggled silently to myself. Aww, this was almost cute... “You don’t want combat lessons from Mom! This is worse than lessons on politics! Heck, I would have taken lessons on manners over this!”

“Pfft, c’mon, Cadance,” Ruby whispered back. “There is no way I would ever miss lessons on combat from Mom of all people! Do you know how often I have dreamed of this moment?”

“Ruby, I’m not joking!” Cadance hissed. “Look at her! She is swaying her hips! She only does that when she is giddy to do something only she enjoys or if she wants to provoke a reaction out of Mother!”

“Eh?” Ruby mumbled before pausing, most likely paying attention to how I walked, and judging by the silence that followed, she realized her mistake in assuming that I would be going easy on them and refrain from hurting them. They were in for a world of hurt and I couldn’t wait to beat them to an inch of their lives after what Cadance had divulged to Tai...

I wouldn’t actually go that far, but I had to instill some sort of existential terror into my daughter for mentioning the unmentionable. I wasn’t above petty revenge of that kind and my daughter made the biggest mistake in her life by defying me like that. If she couldn’t learn to keep her mouth shut with such secrets, it could very well cost her her life at some point and I’d rather not have that happen to her.

It was better she learned this lesson now before she might do something stupid. You know, like listening to Liz about love advice... I shudder to think what my wife could tell her to help along in the love life of my little petal. Knowing her, it would be something extremely unbecoming of a princess.

I swear, that changeling is going to be the next one on my list of targets for... disciplinary actions~. And I wouldn’t stop until I was certain I had hammered in the lesson into her thick skull quite thoroughly that she couldn’t walk for a year straight. Heck, I would make sure she couldn’t even sit properly without a grimace gracing her lovely muzzle. Once she was thoroughly disciplined, I would taunt her with having sweet, loving, and delicate sex with my little sister until she was frothing at the edges of her mouth, begging me to join in and make her feel all better... and I would deny her that request as her punishment for corrupting my daughter.

But first... I had to get that bad behavior out of my daughter and judging by how nervous the grip on her sword was, she knew she stood little chance against me. This is going to become just one of many lessons on how to properly evade your enemy, even while in an unfamiliar body. Well, mostly unfamiliar, I suppose. She still had most of her memories as a human since her rebirth was quite recent. By my standards, that is. Another decade or so and I would have expected her to struggle with muscle memory.

She was lucky that I wasn’t entirely used to a bipedal stance, but that only impeded me so much. Ruby quickly learned the folly of her enthusiasm from a minute or so ago and Cadance did as well for trying to deceive me with their little ‘twin’ ploy.

While I hadn’t had the opportunity to act in sync with my twin for a very long time now, I wasn’t an idiot (most of the time). I knew quite well how a twin bond worked and I wouldn’t be fooled by such a pathetic attempt. They had asked for it with their behavior and now they paid for it with pain.

I berated them for every wrong step, for every time they tried to parry my powerful blows straight on instead of deflecting my blade to the side or doing the smart thing and dodge. And most importantly, I scolded Ruby with glee as she tried to get away from me with her flashy movements despite what I had told her about them.

The whole time, Tai and Yang were watching from the sidelines, trying to cheer on Ruby and my daughter. Besides the more obvious observers, I noticed a dark bird with unusual red eyes sitting in the branches of the trees not too far away, watching with poorly disguised fascination at what was going on down on the ground.

My little torture session... ahem, I mean ‘training session’... with my daughters lasted for an hour or two until they were too exhausted to even lift up their weapons anymore. I told them to go rest up, and before they could get too excited to have their little slice of hell over and done with, I told them to be up bright and early the next morning to continue with their lessons.

All things considered, I went pretty easy on them. I only used minimal force instead of going all out. I didn’t want to actually hurt them, after all. Still, even minimal force was enough to make their muscles struggle to keep up with the assault. They did admirably, though. Much better than I had initially thought they would after having seen the disaster of Ruby fighting the wolves in the forest. Both of them were quick learners in their own right.

I accepted the steaming cup of tea from Tai and gave him a small smile as he went back in with his daughters to prepare dinner for today. I was thankful for his hospitality and gave him my promise to reimburse him quite handsomely once I had access to a portal back home. He was about to argue that it wasn’t necessary, but I gave him one of my patented stares that wasn’t of the magical variety in order to shut him up and tell him there would be no arguing against me.

So far, only Granny Smith of the Apple Family Clan has been able to tell me to ‘shove it’ with my attempts of giving her ‘unwanted donations’. One day, I swear... one day I will be successful with reimbursing her family for all they have done, as they deserve.

Now, then. How to address my little spy? Hmm. I know... “A little bird once told me the story of the infinite sky and Mother Earth,” I said while sensing the eyes of the 'supposed' bird on the back of my head. This is going to be enlightening if nothing else. Now, how did that tale go again? Ah, yes. I gently blew on my tea before I started speaking. “The traveling bird spoke of the wonders it saw in the sky but was confused to hear about what it missed on the ground. Mother Earth showed it what it missed by merely grounding the bird for a week. And in that week, the bird grew to love the honest way of life that it never learned to appreciate from up high in the sky. It learned to love the simplicity it knew of the open air and the complexity of life that Mother Earth opened its eyes to.”

“And what is this story supposed to teach?” the bird asked, but as I had suspected, it was not that what it appeared to be as it landed in front of me. “The sky is freedom, why would it not stay there?”

“Honesty,” I answered with a smile, drinking from the calming tea. I got you now, my little interloper. Do try to escape me now with Remorse in my reach. But first, let's see what they have to say for themselves... “In the sky, it never appreciated what life had to offer. It grew distant from it. Mother Earth showed it that life was something to be cherished and that living on the earth below meant that it couldn’t stay aloft of the troubles that life is constantly being challenged by. That by dishonesty, it would never reach its full potential. That it would never learn to love.”

“I fail to see how it learned to appreciate life by simply living on the ground for a week,” the bird shrugged and took the offered crumb of the cookie I had been contemplating whether or not to eat. But as my past self would undoubtedly say, sharing is what makes life worthwhile. “And certainly not how it would start to appreciate honesty more.”

“Perhaps you have a point there,” I shrugged. “I never understood birds, anyway. They swear too much for my taste.”

“That’s discriminatory against birds,” the little crow mentioned and I laughed gently.

“I suppose it is,” I nodded. “Then it is a good thing you are no bird.” I glared at it. The bird in front of me tilted its head, and, as I blinked, I was staring up into the reddish eyes of a scraggly man. He wore a white and gray dress shirt with a long tail and black dress pants. All in all, he looked like a gentleman, were it not for the way he held himself.

“How did you know?” he asked and I smiled secretively. “I’m pretty sure Tai hasn’t told you that I could turn into a crow, Summer. If that is your real name.”

“It is,” I told him. “Though, not in the sense that you think it to be. While I certainly am a Summer, I’m not your Summer. From the stories that I have heard so far, I’m afraid that that Rose has already wilted.”

The man in front of me grunted, giving me a displeased look himself. “I don’t appreciate people going around wearing the skin of my friends,” he said with a frown and I watched his fingers as they inched closer to the blade on his back. “What type of Grimm are you? Salem can’t have created something with a heart, so you must be different...”

“I am no Grimm if that is what you fear. Otherwise, I’m sure you would have already attacked me, Qrow,” I answered while going out on a limb and guessing that this was Ruby's uncle. Said man raised a brow at me doubtfully and I smiled in a disarming way. “And no, I am not a ‘body-snatcher’ or whatever nonsense you could come up with, either.”

“Then what are you? There is no way you can look like her and not be some kind of monster that lurks in the shadows,” Qrow growled. “Perhaps Oz would know, but I’m sure you won’t come with me without a fight. You think you might be clever with that sword of yours, but I assure you I'm better.”

I rose a brow at how brazenly he told me that. I suppose in a world that never had to worry about threats from the outside, one would never think it possible that there could be more. Not when you constantly had to worry about the threats on your very world, threatening you with extinction. “You wouldn’t need to fight me to have me come with you willingly. I kept my sword in reach as a precaution, I don't mean you no harm if you mean me no harm. And just to be perfectly clear here, you were spying on us.”

“No, I was keeping an eye on the pipsqueak. You weren't exactly going easy on her, you know?” Qrow corrected me and I rolled my eyes.

"That doesn't change the fact you were spying on us as a bird," I argued. "I wonder how you came by that ability."

"Not by killing a maiden, that's for sure," he said, giving me an accusatory stare. I stared blankly back at him. "Right, forget I said anything. If you are so willing to come with me, then I suppose you would also let me drag that Ruby clone of yours with you to Oz? You still haven't given me an answer. Is this some kind of genetic experiment by Salem? Is that witch trying to lull us into a false sense of security? Make us fight each other in paranoia?”

“I wouldn’t know,” I smiled thinly while keeping my eyelid from twitching in irritation. By my sun, he was starting to get on my nerves with his constant accusations. If he starts to threaten my daughter, I'm definitely going to lose control of myself and I can’t guarantee what would be left of him by the end of that. “I haven’t ever met this Salem you keep bringing up. And to be honest, she doesn’t sound like the best kind of company. Well, I suppose I know another witch that might become fast friends with her, but I’d rather see her dead than introduce her to a like-minded individual.”

“Uh-huh,” Qrow grumbled, rolling his eyes. “Sure you do. Lady, just tell me who you really are and who sent you. Then I sent your head back with a note telling them to fuck off.”

“Such uncouth language,” I remarked haughtily, smiling with disdain at him. “Are you sure you’re not related to birds? My pet phoenix would love you. Maybe you can make a little chick with her...”

“Shut your mouth, you little brat,” he growled, his red eyes glaring hotly into my silver ones. “Don’t talk down to me like you’re something better. You haven’t given me a reason to trust you yet, either, and you have the guts to belittle me? Something tells me you have a death wish.”

I snorted. “If only,” I lamented, watching his glare turn into a confused frown. It was fun teasing him while it lasted, I suppose. Serves him right for dragging my daughter into this. “You’re welcome to try and take my head, by all means. Try your luck and see where it gets you. I would prefer a peaceful solution instead of having a senseless fight with you, though. And you aren’t exactly making it easy for me to stay calm with your attitude. Could it be that you are drunk? You smell quite heavily of alcohol, dear.”

“Lady, I’m always drunk,” he grunted. He looked a bit miffed after I snidely called him ‘dear’. I suppose I could have been a bit kinder with him, but he was simply begging me to rile him up some more. It wasn’t like I had anything against him... far from it, even. Qrow already seemed like someone I would call family without hesitation and expect him to do everything in his power to defend his kin. Besides, he seemed to understand that this was only friendly-ish teasing, judging by the tiny smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth. Whether or not he would start to see me and mine as an extension to his family remained to be seen, though. So far, he was rather cold and cautious and I couldn't blame him for it. I was being a 'brat' to him since he was being a dick to me. “If you really do prefer the peaceful solution, something I’m rather reluctant to believe with you, you wouldn’t mind handing me your weapon and coming to Oz with me? I'd rather hand you over to him and see what he decides to do with you and that Ruby clone of yours. Maybe you can be useful to us in some way.”

Sighing through my nose, I suppressed the angry retort that almost forced its way out of my mouth and gave my weapon a glance. Okay, maybe I was a bit too hasty into believing him to be a decent person, but then again, I was understanding enough of him to realize that he needed time to look past this clone nonsense. What I have to ask myself instead, though, was if I could trust him with my daughter? He seemed like he was the overprotective uncle in the family and wanted to get us as far away from them as he could, but my fears did not rest with him.

No. Qrow was the least of my problems. What I was more hesitant about was believing that Ozpin could be trusted with my weapon, my daughter, and myself. The knowledge I hold and what I and my daughter might represent to this world could change the very course of this world, and not always for the better. He could do any number of things with that knowledge and I feared he would see us as tools to use against this Salem, to be discarded as soon as we become a liability to him.

Him dragging Cadance and myself to an unknown person with who knows what intentions? “I would mind it very much,” I answered. “My daughter is very precious to me and I don’t appreciate you calling us ‘clones’, Qrow. Rest assured, we won’t be a threat to you and yours as long as you aren’t one to me and mine. Regarding Ozpin, though? That remains to be seen. I would like to meet him if only to learn about his type of magic and whether or not it could speed up the process of my daughter and I returning home. So, please, if it is at all possible, leave her out of it.”

“You know I can't do that," he told me, frowning (albeit reluctantly). "I have to make sure you're not a threat, and to do that, I can't leave you alone. I am willing to give you a little bit of trust if you can answer my question, brat. If you aren’t clones, what are you?” Qrow asked, giving me a stern look. I could tell he wanted to trust in my words, if only hesitantly. And as I peered into his eyes, I could see that he knew 'I' would do anything to protect those I considered family, too. I guess that's one thing we had in common.

“Ponies,” I answered with a simple smile.

He snorted and a tiny smile wormed its way onto his face. He stared doubtfully at the flask hidden in his pocket. “I’m pretty sure I’m not that drunk to have misheard you. Ponies? Are you for real? How come you look like my dead teammate, then?”

“Because I am her,” I told him with a shrug. “Not exactly her, I suppose, but I am Summer in the flesh and blood. Are you aware that your universe is just one in an infinite amount of other realities?”

“Other realities?” Qrow shot back, quirking a brow at me in disbelief. “C’mon, now I know you’re lying to me for certain. There is no way that can be true.”

“Believe it or not,” I shrugged. It was quite far-fetched to believe, wasn’t it? If your dead friend suddenly appeared on your doorstep, would you believe an explanation like that? In my past life, I don’t think I would have. I would have deluded myself into believing that I was granted a second chance. I never would have even considered that it was anything but that. “It is the truth, though. Nothing but the honest truth. I don’t wish your world harm, Qrow. I have... rather grown attached to it, as much as it pains me to admit that. Before meeting Ruby, I would have rather gone home and turned my back on this Tartarus cursed world. Now, though? I don't know. I want to help. I want to save this world from whoever this Salem is. I want to see the Grimm gone. Ruby shouldn't have to learn how to become a huntress because this world demands it of her and so many other people. It is not fair to any of you to live in constant fear. If I can do anything to help, I will.”

“Damn,” Qrow muttered, scratching his neck as more of his resolve began to falter. “You even sound like her. Massive hero complex you have got going for you there.”

“What can I say, I can’t help it,” I said, smiling slightly and he scoffed, the smile on his face finally starting to look genuine. “My bleeding heart doesn’t show itself as often these days, but I still try my best when I can. I owe it to my wife. To her, to Ruby, Cadance... you... Tai. All of you. My arrival here was an accident, but... I think that it might have been fate leading me here. I want to do what I can to make this place less dreary for you.”

“Either you really are what you claim to be, as crazy as that sounds, or you are an elaborate trap set out by Salem to catch Oz off-guard...” Qrow muttered.

"I really am not," I told him. "I might not be the most honest person out there, that title belongs to my wife, but... I am genuine. Do I look like I want to stab you in the back? Do you really take me for a monster like that?"

"I don't know," he grumbled, frowning. "Look, Lady. I'm a straight-forward guy that stabs the bad guys and that's it. I have bad luck trusting people. As soon as I turn my back to them..."—he rolls his hands, leaving out the words—" you get the idea. Tai, the pipsqueak, Yang... they are the only people I trust. I know they'll always have my back and I'll do the same for them. You, however? You come in here looking like that and telling me all these crazy things..."

"I understand," I said gently before giving him a hard stare. "But I am not crazy. I cannot prove it to you right now since I'm stuck here for the time being, but my reality is a stark contrast from this one. If you ever decide to trust me, I have much to show you. I like you, Qrow. You and your family. I really do. Let me help you. Forget about Ozpin and Salem and look me into my eyes. Do I look like I'm lying to you right now?"

Qrow did as I asked of him and he seemed to fight with himself for a moment as his internal struggle showed itself clearly on his face. “I... damn, I really want to believe you," he said, scratching at his jaw. "I have no idea what that wife thing is about, but I don’t think a clone could have come up with the alternate reality pony thing."

"That would be pretty crazy for anypony to claim, wouldn't it?" I asked with a tiny grin.

"Yeah..." he said, giving his flask a contemplative look. "Even for Salem, that would be an uncharacteristic move." He let out a sigh before taking a swig of whatever poison was contained in his hip flask. It couldn’t be as bad as Luna’s moonshine (I hope). His liver must look like her moon's craters, I'm sure.

Here’s a terrifying thought I never want to see become a reality: Qrow and Luna drinking her ‘famous’ moonshine until one of them passes out, half-dead. I certainly don't want to explain to Ruby how her uncle died of liver failure if that ever happens. One glass and he would be done for.

"Okay. You got me on that, I give it to you. You seem like a decent crazy person. Still a crazy person, though."

"Thanks," I rolled my eyes and he chuckled.

"Yeah, you definitely are 'a' Summer," he teased me with a smirk and I pouted. "But that leaves me with more questions than answers. You are similar enough to her, it's giving me flashbacks to the good ol' times. Just 'cause you are 'a' Summer, though, doesn't mean I can just ignore my instincts. I don't know you, I have no idea what you might be capable of, and I can't just let you run around without bringing you to Ozpin first. So tomorrow, we go to Beacon and have him take a look at you. If he thinks you're trustworthy, we can do the whole 'bonding' thing and go from there.”

“Fine. I guess Cadance can..." I started but he interrupted me.

"This 'Cadance' girl comes with us," he said and stopped me from arguing more. "I'd prefer not to fight with you if I don't have to. Just... make sure she behaves. If she is another Ruby, I don't want two of them causing chaos here while we're gone."

Ugh, he had a point there. I'd rather keep Cadance near me in case things do go sour with this Ozpin. Still, if we're both going, I want to set the rules of this meeting. "Alright, but your weapon stays here,” I told him and he was about to argue with me. I gave him a warning glare and stood up. It really was a bit nerve-wracking to be so short when I usually tower above everypony with Luna and Liz. “They will stay here, Qrow. No arguments, no hidden weapons, nothing. Same thing for Ozpin. If he even thinks about doing something, I'll tear you apart.”

“If you insist,” Qrow grunted. “If we are doing it this way, though, I want to hold you to the same condition. That way you can’t cause any harm, either, you little brat.”

I smiled mischievously, amused that he would think I would pose less of a threat without my blade. While I would like my weapon at hand for a possible fight only for the reason that I have no access to an overwhelmingly large mana pool (and because it is easier to fight with a sword while in human form), I am far from harmless. I might be the most deadly being on this planet, even. I had no idea how powerful this Salem was (or even Ozpin), but I was reasonably sure that, if anything, we would be evenly matched.

Okay, maybe I was a bit petty about this and didn’t like the idea of being a bit powerless while in this reality that I let my ego get the better of me. That didn’t mean there wasn’t some truth to it, though. I am incredibly powerful... just not here. And to be honest? I didn’t like it. I liked to know I could deal with (mostly) anything without much effort (if at all) and having to rely on my sword for a much-needed power boost to even heal myself didn’t sit right with me.

As much as ponies love the peaceful lifestyle my sisters and I have worked so hard to establish in our early reign, sometimes it just made them feel safer knowing that we could literally call down the fury of the suns on our enemies if we really needed to. I’m glad the need for it has not risen up as of yet, but one never knows. Lulu, Liz, and I generally preached for peace, but we weren’t so naïve to think that that was only possible because we're... ugh... 'goddesses'.

At some point, I swear... at some point, I will be successful in eradicating that ridiculous notion out of the mindset of our ponies and sleep easily. For goodness’ sake, our ponies even swear on our names, nowadays. On our names! I mean... I have jokingly sworn on my own name in the presence of those that thought I didn't hear them and hopefully get them to stop by admitting I knew what they did, but... ugh... it’s just so frustrating to deal with.

I’m glad none of them have established a church in our name yet, but it probably wouldn’t be too long before even that started... there might the possibility that the upcoming fight with Platinum will make them think we actually are goddesses and start worshipping us with a dedicated religion. If they haven’t already started doing that in secret, that is.

Although... if we are fortunate enough to be graced by the presence of the Elements of Harmony again, I might just... divert all of the attention to them, instead. It might be a little bit cruel to put them in the spotlight like that, but... I don't give a flying penguin, I don't want no part in it.

Ugh, this is such a hassle to even think about. I was driving myself crazy with ‘What if’s’ again, wasn’t I?

I... what am I going to do? I don’t want to be friggin’ worshipped, that would just... go completely against everything that I believe in. Gods... well, they do exist, I suppose, but... am I a goddess? I can’t just... accept that, right? In my mind, a god is perfect and can do no wrong. I think. Probably.

Can gods do wrong? I mean, I always thought that God (the one the humans on Earth worshipped) was pretty flawed for doing all the things that were depicted in the Bible. So... does that change anything for me? For over a thousand years, I clung to this belief so that I wouldn’t see myself as something that I felt like I’m not. But... what if I have been wrong about that?

I always try to set a good example for my little ponies, to not let myself become too aloof of life and the struggles mortals have to go through. Immortals, too, I guess. Admitting to myself that I might be a goddess? That would be anything but setting an example to my little ponies, right? By doing that, I would start to put myself on a pedestal, and then what? Would I start to rationalize things that aren’t good by stating I’m a goddess and can do no wrong? I don’t want that.

Heck, I never even wanted immortality in the first place, but over time, I started to accept that I would just... live longer. Watch ponies die while I live on. Grieve each and every pony that managed to get close to me... mourn every loss of life, be it due to old age or during the few wars I had to go through... weep for every foal that didn't survive the sickness and hunger following those... I can’t let the possibility of me being a goddess change that. I can’t let my ponies start to see me like that for fear of what it might do to me.

The simple fact of the matter was that it was most likely true, even if I didn't want to admit it. No ordinary mortal, or even immortal, can do the things my sisters and I can do. Or Liz. Or Cadance, once she grows into her powers.

We were goddesses. No denying that, I suppose. Hope and her siblings had basically told us that, hadn’t she mentioned something along the lines of our purpose being almost god-like? That we were higher beings because we were alicorns? What else is a higher being but another way to say divine entity?

But we also are regular ponies, with our own wants and beliefs. We can make mistakes, that much we have proven time after time. That was good, though. It kept us from becoming something we are not. And I wouldn’t ever let anypony change that about us. I might continue to run away from the truth because admitting it will inevitably change me. In which way I couldn’t say for certain, but I won’t risk it being for the worst.

Sometimes, I wish I could stop philosophizing about things like this. It always made me question things in the worst ways possible. Luna would say that I’m being an idiot about it and was overthinking it too much, which I suppose I was doing right now, wasn’t I?

Was I... doubting everything needlessly again? Doubting myself like I had in my youth? I wish I could visit Yu’lon and ask for some much-needed advice, even though I’m pretty sure I knew what she would say. After all, I have been helping others through their own doubts myself for longer than I care to admit.

Was I doubting my ability to keep myself grounded if I admitted to myself that I am indeed a goddess and that there was nothing wrong with seeing myself like that? I mean, I still think it would be a bit pretentious of me to call myself a goddess and that is kind of wrong.

What to do, what to do. What to do, indeed. A question I often ask myself and I never truly know the best answer to it, I could only do my best to work towards the most favorable outcome.

So... I chose the best possible answer for my little dilemma.

I am me.

I am me, and that would hopefully never change. I make mistakes like any other pony, I might be a goddess, and I am a regular pony with her own wants and needs. With beliefs that might be flawed here and there, with choices to make that might not always be the best ones, and with a family to protect no matter what.

And I am a mother that has to teach her daughter to not make the same mistakes I have done.

It was a bit relieving, reassuring myself that I wouldn’t let the knowledge of being a goddess corrupt me. That I would always do my best to keep my family safe. That I would do my best to bring Tia back and erase that monster that stole her away from me without hesitating. Only twenty or so years left for me to wait, and I would finally be able to hold my sister in my hooves again.

Twenty years... that’s a really short time to wait compared to the last nine-hundred-and-eighty. It’s a really short time to find the next bearers of the Elements of Harmony, isn’t it? No need to panic just yet, they might still get born in time for Platinum’s return.

Oh, who am I kidding? I have next to no hope of that happening. Two meager decades would mean that they would be barely old enough to go about life on their own. Would it be fair of me to send them into danger? To let them confront Platinum and hope they won’t immediately die?

Because they would, wouldn’t they? Platinum isn’t that stupid to just let them waltz up to her and use the Elements on her again. She would do her utmost to prevent them from even getting them if they haven’t been reclaimed by the point of her return. I can’t send what basically amounts to little foals out there in order to fight against a monster like her. They wouldn’t even stand a chance against her.

Maybe it was time to actually panic, then. If I am unsuccessful in dealing with Platinum and she kills me without me killing her in turn, Equestria will be doomed. By my sun, I really need that moonshine to keep myself from going into hysterics. I’m such a worry-wart. Can’t I for once stop thinking like this?! What the flying penguin is wrong with me?!

Celestia’s life rests in the hooves of foals, that is what is wrong.

But... what if? What if those ‘foals’ are actually able to do what I couldn’t? The prophecy states that only the touch of true harmony will end the nightmare. A harmony I couldn’t ever achieve on my own.

And that was the crux of the matter, wasn’t it? I am not alone. I have my Moon, I have my sucubus bug, and I have my daughter. Together, we could keep those new bearers safe, couldn’t we? If Platinum was distracted by three serious threats, would she even recognize the true threat to her existence? If she never suspected other ponies to wield the Elements of Harmony (something that might very well be a likely possibility since she has only ever seen me use them), she wouldn’t expect other ponies to wield them.

Those ponies would prove to be her downfall, I'm sure of it. She thought herself safe, didn’t she? She even admitted as much to Luna and me in the dream realm. Platinum thinks we can’t purge her from Tia because the Elements sent her to the moon and why would they work differently the second time?

That was the definition of madness. Doing the same thing and expecting a different result. But I knew. I knew because of that damnable prophecy it would work differently. In the strict sense, they wouldn’t do the 'same' thing again for one reason alone.

The first time I used the Elements of Harmony against Platinum, I used them in the wrong way. I didn’t use them in true harmony at all. Platinum couldn’t possibly know that fact, and there was no way she would know it when she returns from the moon. She would think that, if she fails, she would get another chance in another thousand years. So on and so forth.

But this wasn't a fated battle of evil and good, always repeating itself until the end of time. No. Thinking like that, she would think wrong. It would prove to be her biggest mistake and my greatest triumph over her. Perhaps me using them in the wrong way the first time around was the right thing to do. It wasn’t the 'best' thing to do, but it also hadn’t been the worst thing. If I had done nothing, that would have been the worst thing to do. And if I had killed Platinum as soon as we met her, that would have been the best thing to do.

In hindsight, it was a painful lesson to learn. To know that one little mistake has cost me so much... it was utter agony. In the end, it was my mistake and Tia had to pay the price for it. I could only hope she would forgive me for being so foolish to believe Platinum could have ever changed for the better.

Maybe I will earn that forgiveness one day, but for now... I knew what I should do. I had the perfect plan to deal with Platinum, one that she would never see coming, and I had contingencies if it failed. It all depends on the execution of my plan and I would be damned to not give it my best to buy the new Elements enough time to deal with Platinum while she will be distracted by Luna, Liz, myself, and (maybe) Cadance.

And if despite all of that, we still manage to fail and each and every fail-safe proves to be a failure... I would make sure our world at least recovers from the loss of losing its strongest guardians. I’m sure that our honorary sister in the alternative Equestria would gladly accept the refugees coming over from the fallout of Platinum somehow winning against us. I knew she would take good care of my little ponies if it is the last thing she does. As long as the Nightmare Moon in her reality doesn’t also win, that is.

I stared into the almost empty cup, frowning at my reflection. That would be another possibility that I would have to consider. I prayed for it to not be so, begging the universe... no, the multiverse... that that wouldn’t happen. As much as fate has taken from me and Luna, it couldn’t keep on taking. I wouldn’t let it keep on taking what is mine. And I would reclaim what is mine and never let it go, that I swore with a vengeance.

“So... you gonna stare into that cup for the rest of the evening or what?” Qrow’s voice startled me out of my ruminations and I looked up to see him give me an almost (but not quite) indifferent stare. Say what you want about him, but he's a big softie at heart, isn't he? Kinda reminds me of Nightmare. “I mean, you can stay out here in the cold all you want, but I’m going to get myself some food where it is warm.”

“Right...” I whispered before giving my reflection in the teacup one last glance. Enough moping, I told myself and drank the last bit of tea in one gulp. Might as well stop thinking so much about this and concentrate on the here and now. Perhaps that's something I should do more often seeing that I tend to worry overly much about things that have yet to happen (or will never happen as Liz likes to point out). Besides, I have a plan now, something that I have desperately agonized over for the past thousand years, so it was high time I concentrated more on the present time instead of 'what ifs'. “Something to eat sounds positively marvelous right now...”

“Yeah, well... don’t expect too much out of Tai’s cooking,” Qrow grunted, taking another swig from his flask which reeked of alcohol even from where I had been sitting. Perhaps I should ask him for some of that if I'm going to be stuck here for a while. Not that I was particularly keen on feeling the consequences of that the next day, I wasn't particularly keen on dealing with my emotions and troubles right now, either.

I stretched out my limbs with a sigh, causing a few of them to pop satisfyingly while also getting rid of the numbness after having sat there for so long. “Don’t worry, I’m sure his cooking won’t kill me. Not permanently, at least.”

“Right...” Qrow muttered, walking past me to the entrance of the blocky home of the Xiao Long-Rose household. I was mildly surprised that he could walk straight for someone that claimed to always be drunk. Or that he speaks this coherently, I guess.

The rest of the evening was... interesting. After the lovely home-cooked meal that Tai prepared (with a little bit of help from his daughters), Qrow and Yang were practically glued to the television playing games while Tai showed Cadance and me to the guest bedroom. Both Ruby and Cadance were happy to get an early night’s sleep after the exertion they went through earlier this day.

I don’t blame my daughter for giving me a pouty glare before succumbing to sleep in her bed as I left her alone and went back down to the living room, quietly sitting down on the couch next to Yang and her uncle as the blonde tried her utmost to win in the battle they were focused on. While I wasn’t the biggest fan of fighting games, I could appreciate the skill they were showing off with their controllers that also were their scrolls. Go figure, the greatest piece of technology this world possessed also served as every imaginable input and output device.

Once the time arrived for the sun to set over the horizon, I quietly excused myself from their match and grabbed my cloak while leaving the cozy warmth of the Xiao Long-Rose household to go watch the sunset in this world.

It was... slightly weird, seeing a sunset that wasn’t of my own doing. Or seeing the broken moon in the sky, for that matter. Luna would have had a field day, seeing the sheer horrific sight of Remnant’s moon. Heck, 'I' was having a field day, trying not to drown in soul-crushing despair at seeing what had become of this world’s moon.

How? Just how did that happen? What sort of apocalyptic event must have caused it? Nothing short of a massive asteroid could have caused it, but then again... could it? It was so utterly broken, nothing could have caused it to splinter like that. Nothing that was natural, that is.

Heck, the only thing that I could think of that could do that was god-tier magic. But to do that, one would need an absurd amount of mana. An amount that my wives and I could bring to bear if we really put an effort into it. The added ‘weight’ of having to raise Tia’s sun in addition to mine had only furthered my arcane might, slowly honing my control over my magic to an even sharper edge. While yes, it was incredibly taxing at first, it had started to become less of a burden the longer Luna and I had done this.

So... that begged the question... what, or rather, who did this? I kinda had the feeling that Ozpin knows the answer to that. If the headmaster of one of the most prestigious combat academies was truly a wizard like Tai had claimed, then surely he had at least an idea about what could have shattered the moon like that.

But... if I were honest with myself? I could probably make a close guess as to what kind of being was behind this. Only a higher being could possess that much energy, that much raw and unadulterated power, to break a moon apart in a fit of rage.

I doubt the being that cracked open the moon like an egg would have done this on a mere whim. If that were the case, they were incredibly petty and honestly didn’t deserve the power they could bring to bear. Such a reckless display of force was beyond stupid and endangered the very life on this planet needlessly. Life struggled to survive on this suns forsaken hunk of rock as it is, it was irresponsible of any higher being to put it at risk like that.

The crunching of the snow behind me brought me out of my musings and I turned around to see Taiyang leaning against a tree not too far away from me. He gave me a small smile, silently asking me if he could join me in my stargazing. I felt my face heat up unbidden at the soft and kind eyes that I hadn’t seen in an eternity, cursing the fact that my body wanted nothing more than to snuggle up to him. It was frustrating me to no end, but in the end, I gave him permission to sit down next to me with a tiny nod. Flying penguins...

“Aren’t you cold?” he asked me despite the fact that he wore something that I would expect someone to wear in the summer months. Maybe he was just... more resilient than I gave him credit for. Cath hadn’t been that much of a fan of wearing winter clothes, either. Then again, she never got cold, anyway. She basically was like a furnace since she worked out a lot.

Oh, how I miss you, Tia...

“Yes,” I answered, feeling strangely giddy at the fact that I felt cold of all things. “It has been such a long time now that I have been unable to really feel it...”

“Why is that?” Tai asked, looking at me from the corner of his eye. For a moment, a ghostly figure of Catherine replaced his appearance and I fidgeted uncomfortably. I have to get these thoughts out of my head before I do something I would later regret.

“Something to do with my eternal duty,” I whispered back, staring stubbornly up at the stars and the shattered moon. “What happened to the moon?”

“No one knows,” he answered, looking up at the broken watcher in the sky. “Legend has it that the Brother Gods did it as punishment for something the people of old did in the past. Maybe Oz knows, but getting answers out of him might be a futile effort. He isn't very forthcoming about his knowledge of the past.”

“This Ozpin sounds more and more like a man I wouldn’t trust as far as I could throw him,” I said, getting Tai to laugh for a moment. He shook his head with a humorless chuckle and I raised an inquisitive eyebrow at him.

He gave me a little sad smile as he gazed at me with those haunted eyes that I couldn’t help but feel bad at. While it wasn’t me that caused such a change in his demeanor, I still felt responsible on some small level. My counterpart’s death... he must have never truly recovered from it. “Those were her words as well, you know...”

“They were?” I asked.

“Yes...” he said, gazing back up at the moon with me. “But Summer still did what he asked of her. She couldn’t sit idly by while the rest of the world suffered, and if following Ozpin’s orders managed to bring only the slightest amount of light back into the world, she would follow them to the letter.”

“I...” I sighed, worrying my lip slightly. That does sound like me, minus the ‘follow orders’ part. But I suppose that was only because I was used to giving the orders, instead. “I’m so sorry that she died, Tai...”

Taiyang gave me a soft smile in appreciation for my condolences, throwing an arm around my shoulder in a hug. “It’s okay, it’s been... a long time, now. I’m going to be okay, don’t worry.”

I hid my burning bright red face from him underneath my hood as I guiltily enjoyed being held by him. My body just couldn’t help but seek the small little bit of comfort from the gesture that I had been longing for. A comfort from Tia that I hadn’t had for over nine hundred years now, it was sort of easy to shut that complaining part within me up that nagged on that this wasn’t Tia.

“You know, you never answered my question.”

“Which one?” I asked back, confused at the sudden change in topic.

“What’s it like as a female?”

My thoughts screeched to a halt as he brought that up again. I wanted to groan and curse at my daughter for letting the fact that I had been male once upon a time slip, but the only thing I did was to sigh grumpily.

“You really want to know, huh?” I mumbled, feeling him nod in response to that. Well, might as well talk about something I never really talked about with anypony before, huh? “Just so you know, human females and pony females are very different.”

“If that is the case, then what’s it like as a pony?” Tai asked, chuckling slightly with mirth. I could tell that he thought the idea of me being a pony was still a bit ridiculous to him.

How do I even explain what it is like as a pony? I never even thought about it that much, to be honest. Why would I? “Like... I don’t know. Being a pony, I guess.”

“Smooth explanation,” Tai said and I could tell he just rolled his eyes at me.

“Oh, yeah, then how would you explain being a human to somepony, huh?” I shot back, pouting sulkily. “It’s the same thing. Do you ever think what it is like as a naked ape?”

“Naked ape?” he asked, chuckling. I felt my face heat up in embarrassment, not at all liking the fact how easily he managed to rile me up. I was more than a thousand years old, I shouldn’t be reduced to this blabbering pile of... whatever. I was behaving like a little filly around him and I didn’t like it one bit.

“It’s something we started to say in our youth...” I told him, fidgeting with the hem of my skirt. It was a silly thing and admitting it to Tai that we came up with such a degrading thing in the first place made me feel bad. How do you even explain to somepony that you only started saying something like that because you wanted to forget the majority of your last life solely based on the fact that you started hating your past self for having been ignorant of your gender dysphoria?

I hummed. “To get back to your question, what do you think it would be like as a pony? Because ultimately, I can never give you an answer that would give it enough justice."

"Good question..." he pondered, stumped.

"Yeah," I said faintly. "But... I suppose if you want to know the difference between humans and ponies, I would say that we ponies are as diverse as humans. We might have better stamina, strength, and speed, but sometimes I wonder whether or not humans don’t have it better. Humanity just has this... drive that we ponies lack. You created such wondrous things allowing you to do so many things we never thought of, and while some of us are blessed with the ability to fly, you created ways even around that. That is a very admirable thing, so much so that I am even a bit envious that my subjects aren’t such great inventors.”

“Fly? I suppose that would be great,” Tai commented, sounding thoughtful. “If I ever get reincarnated, I think it would be pretty nice to be a pony in that case.”

“I mean... there is so much more to being a pony than that,” I said, hesitating a bit before I turned my head around just enough to look him into his eyes. “But... I could show you if you want. When we get that portal working, that is.”

“It’s... Summer, you don’t have to show me your world because you feel bad about me,” Tai replied as he looked away from me. My heart ached as he tried to hide his depressed eyes from me. “Besides, I have a life here, daughters to look after, and... I dunno, keep Qrow from drinking too much.”

“You could come live with me?” I proposed. It was a spur-of-the-moment thing and I think the hormones running rampant within my body played a big part in that decision, but... would it be such a bad idea? Ruby could live a peaceful life in Equestria, she wouldn’t need to become a huntress and risk her life...

Could I ask them to really leave behind their lives here? To give up their human bodies forever? And... was I only giving him this proposition because of who he is?

“Summer...” Tai sighed, smiling ruefully down at me. “I can’t make that decision and you know why. I can’t replace her with you and I’m sure you wouldn’t want that, either. All that that would accomplish would be to make our lives needlessly miserable.”

Right... that. “I suppose so,” I muttered, looking back up at the stars as they twinkled serenely above us, uncaring as to what was happening down here on Remnant. “It would be too much to ask to abandon this world when it needs all the defenders it can get, right? I... I understand. Sorry I asked.”

“It was a thoughtful offer,” Tai said, giving me a squeeze. “So much so that I considered it for a moment. I would feel guilty, though. Getting to live a peaceful life in a magical pony land while the rest of humanity has to live in constant fear of the Creatures of Grimm..."—he sighed—" As much as I would love to know that my daughters would be safe and wouldn’t have to follow in our footsteps, I know they could never abandon Remnant like that.”

“I guess the rest of humanity needs people like Ruby, huh? People that try their best to make the world a better place,” I said, thinking about one particular pony that was also just like that. What would Starswirl think of this world, if he could see it? What would he do, for that matter?

Probably implore me to help them to the best of my abilities... but was that even possible? Saving this world?

I already thought it was a lost cause, didn’t I? It seemed so hopeless, I don’t think even Hope could have found a spark of hope in this world. But maybe that was what this world needed. A little spark of hope that could turn the tide in their favor. And maybe... just maybe... Ruby could become that spark.

She was like Cadance in that regard. I could see a great destiny awaiting her, and unlike others, I could see her changing the world for the better. It was very rare that a single pony (or person) could change history so drastically, but when I think of Ruby? I could see her become a person like that.

“So... being a female?” Tai asked, poking my side with a finger. I suppressed the giggle that wanted to escape my throat as he found a particularly ticklish spot and thought of what I should say to him.

How do you describe to somepony the difference of sensations that you would get as the opposite sex? I mean, if I really wanted to, I could cast the sex transformation spell on him and let him experience the more... ahem, 'carnal' side of having female parts (by himself... I won’t get intimate with him just because my body voiced its desires for that). That would deplete most of the mana stored in my blade, though.

Hmm. I suppose for now he will have to content himself with my description of it. Who knows what I'm going to need that mana reservoir for in the near future. I couldn’t just use it for frivolous purposes. If I have to use that mana, it has to be for something meaningful.

“I... hmm...” I hummed, having to think for a moment. This was more difficult to put into words than I initially thought. “It’s different, in the sense that you don’t have something hanging out from you? I... why does this have to be so hard to explain?! Okay, let’s make this really simple. Instead of having the sword, you have the sheath? No, that sounds too lewd...”

“Yeah...”

“Okay, let’s see here...” I said, noting that my hands were all sweaty again. Why was I so nervous trying to explain this?! Okay... Summer, there is only one way to go. Channel your inner Tia and Liz. “Imagine the clitoris feeling sorta kinda like the glans of your penis and that instead of the swelling feeling of your shaft when you get aroused, the vulva gets... excited... and you start to get wet, I suppose? Feeling needy is the best description I could give you and then there is the desire of wanting something to stuff you full... I... well... that’s what I always feel when I’m with my wives during estrus, at least. I uh... I’m not really doing this any justice, am I? There is a lot more to this than I could accurately put into words. I’m sorry, Tai.”

“I think I get the idea... as weird as that sounds...” Tai replied. I let out an awkward hum, rubbing my eyelids with a few fingers tiredly. “So... that’s the part of the sex covered, what about personality-wise?”

“Personality-wise?” I repeated, blinking. “I mean, yeah, there is the whole hormone thing that personally affects me mostly in the way that I tend to get more emotional, but that’s it for the most part. Personality-wise, everypony (or person) is unique in their own way. I already was a friendly and gentle person before my rebirth, so it’s not like my personality changed that much. I might have become overly gentle and kind with my rebirth, but my temper also tends to get more out of hoof. It’s like... I don’t know. I can only talk for myself in that regard, but I guess I tend to let my emotions affect me more easily if I’m not careful. Some of that has caused a few... uh... difficult situations where I did something that I didn’t want to do, but I don’t think that that is something that was caused by my change from male to female.”

“Sounds... interesting,” Tai said. “I guess that someone doesn’t really change all that much just because they have a different body than before.”

“Yeah...” I agreed, letting out a yawn. “I think while that is mostly true for the majority of ponies or people, some do like to distance themselves from their previous selves to differentiate themselves more. The thing is, I never realized I had been trans in my previous life, and when I suddenly found myself in the womb of my mother, I was happy that I got the chance to start over.”

“It must be hard for those that never get that chance,” Tai commented and I nodded sadly in agreement. “I can’t imagine what it must be like. To hate your body for being wrong...”

“I can...” I sighed. “But that's the thing. It's different for everypony and some are okay with it. It depends on what you are comfortable with. There are some that are entirely fine with socially being perceived as the gender they identify with while others like me... I don’t like the feeling of having a penis between my legs, it rubs me the wrong way. I even made a spell to help with that. It's not a complete fix, but it's a start.

"In our society, transgender ponies can try out many things to find the way they are most comfortable living with. It's still a steep journey to go all the way, but most ponies are encouraged to explore themselves with temporary spells before committing themselves to it. Some even prefer to walk the line in between or even completely outside the box.

"Living a happy life is heavily supported by the crown. Any psychological aid or medical health care is a basic right anypony should have access to, and I'm glad to say my ponies have come to celebrate that freedom over the last couple centuries.

"It took a lot of work on my part, but I did it. Equestria is a fine example of what acceptance can represent. It might be limited to my nation for now, but... I hope to see more of it some day. There's a lot more I have to work towards to make my nation a true paradise, sure, but it's a start. The nobles keep being a roadblock for the littlest things, I tell you. It's not even funny."

Tai gave me a stunned look, disbelief clouding his expression. “You made a spell? For that..?” he asked, amusement heavy in his voice. “Why am I even surprised by that? How did you even come up with that kind of spell?”

“I, uh...” I mumbled, blushing heavily. “Well, this is awkward...”

“Why?”

“You know that I reincarnated with my wife, right? And her sister?”

“Yeah...” Tai said, slowly tensing up. “Summer... what are you getting at?”

“I... might have left out that my wife is... my twin now?” I giggled nervously while rubbing my arm awkwardly. He is going to think I’m a degenerate now, won’t he?

“...” Tai said nothing and just breathed in deeply through his nose for a moment, before letting his breath out in one go. “Sure. Why not. Why. The fuck. Not.”

“Tai...” I said and he chuckled at me before he started to laugh in earnest. I was a bit confused as to what I should do, seeing him practically lose it.

“You know what? I don’t care! And you know why?” Tai chuckled, grinning brightly. His eyes didn’t look crazed or had that depressed look that they had before. If anything, his smile actually reached his eyes without a hint of pain in them. “I would have done the same, in your position. If I ever get reincarnated to a place where I’m with my Summer again? I wouldn’t care if she is my sister. I wouldn’t care if I would have to be her twin, be female, or whatever... I would be happy to have her back and that’s the only thing that would matter to me. So... I’m happy for you, Summer. That you didn’t have to live your life miserably alone, thinking you would never see your wife again.”

“Tai...” I whispered, not knowing what to say. What do you even say in response to that? Thank you? Wouldn’t that be rubbing it in, though? I could see it in his eyes, the desire to see his wife again, and... I got an uneasy feeling in my gut.

Did I just plant the idea into his head that he could see his wife in the next life again? That's exactly what I didn't want to do. Oh, flying penguins... have I just given him the excuse to fight more recklessly? Something that could very well cost him his life at some point? All so that he can be reborn? I didn’t want to give him that false hope, but... could I take it away from him? He desperately clung to this small spark and it brought that light back into his eyes that had been lacking.

Ugh. Was I cruel by letting him believe that? Or should I intervene as long as I still could? What do I do?!

Fuck. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that it was an abysmally small chance for it to happen to him, too. I can't tell him it's not going to happen because... I have seen it happen, time after time. With my sisters and I, with my daughter (even though that was by no small fault of mine), and with alternate versions of me. It was possible. It does happen, again and again.

It is very much possible, but also not something that's going to happen for certain. I couldn’t tell him if that wish would be granted, but I could let him live with that hope that he will see his wife again someday.

And I truly hope he will. He deserves it, even though my heart longed for him to view me like that. But I couldn't be that selfish. I was only feeling like that because I wanted my Celestia back. I desperately hoped to hold her in my arms again, to be held by her, that I was projecting these feelings onto him.

I have been hoping a lot these last few years, haven’t I? Once upon a time, I thought I had lost that ability. It was nice, having hope again. Hope for the future. Hope for the best in somepony. Hope for a wish to come true. Hope to be loved again by my Sunshine.

“Let’s go back inside,” Tai whispered before he stood up with a stretch. “It’s late and I think you need the sleep more than I do, Summer.”

I gave him a nod, smiling shyly as he offered me his hand to help me up. I guess it couldn't hurt to pretend for a little while, at least. Right?

I’m pretty sure Lulu won’t think too badly of me for allowing myself to fantasize a little bit about him. And if Tia were here with me, she would have already given him the bedroom eyes, as weird as it would be.

Now that I think about it, I should probably keep her far away from her alternate self once we have purged Platinum from her. Things would happen, I’m sure of it.

That night, after I quietly sneaked into the guest bedroom to avoid waking up Cadance, I struggled with falling asleep. Everything that happened that day... it was just too much to take in. There was just too much information floating around in my head for me to find any sleep at all. It felt like a whole year passed within the timeframe of a single day.

I suppose worlds of conflict had that effect on me. Azeroth had been no better in that regard, I distinctly remember my struggles there with a frown on my face. That was the first time I had to come to grips with a lot of things, most of them being the horrors of warfare. Remnant had me struggling with the sheer despair of a doomed world and my inability to change it. In the end, nothing short of purging this entire planet of all darkness could save it.

My mind wandered back to the vision I had seen in the Realm of Ascension a thousand years ago, burned into my mind like an after-image. To purge a world...

If a portal to Equestria opens and I was able to connect to my sun again, I could do something like that (as muddy as the connection would be, I suppose). But... I would never do something like that with the innocent people still living on this planet. Doing something like that would make me no better than the being (or beings) that had splintered the moon of Remnant. It would make me no better than Platinum.

The people of Remnant are barely living as it is, walled up in their four little kingdoms like livestock. This was a miserable existence and I wish I could do something that would give them a better chance to live a peaceful life. To not constantly have to live behind walls like prisoners in their own damn world. To be able to explore the wonders hidden by an untouched world (well, mostly untouched).

This world in which only the strongest and fittest could survive, was a prison.

A prison without escape.

A prison without happiness.

A prison that would inevitably become a mass grave.

If nopony does something, that is. I have two options to choose from here, don't I? Either I do something or I don’t. I already told Qrow I would help, but the question remained of how to do that. What do I do about the plight of Remnant’s people?

That's a difficult question, isn't it? What could a single pony do that an entire world’s population couldn’t? Well, I had some ideas, at least.

Firstly, I could help Remnant by giving them a new place to live in. An option that sounds good on paper, but was next to impossible to accomplish in reality. Not without major complications, that is. Another idea I had was to help Remnant by giving them a savior to bring about a lasting age of peace and harmony. Someone like Ruby, a person that saw even the faintest glimmer of hope as a roaring fire in a place that had lost the very sight of it. If I decide to go with the first option, it would no doubt lead to Equestria seeing a massive rise in population. A population that had no idea what to do with their bodies while they tried to adjust to an entirely new world.

The thought of bringing Tai, Ruby, and Yang to Equestria just didn’t leave me alone and I knew Tai would never consider doing this if the rest of humanity would be left behind. So, either I bring the rest of humanity back with me to my world... or I give Remnant a champion that would stand against the looming darkness and have them come out on top.

I had already decided I would make Ruby the best-trained huntress that ever lived... and despite my selfish desire to spare Ruby her fate, I'm going to make sure she becomes the person that Remnant so desperately needs. Equestria couldn’t take in hundreds of millions of people on a mere whim and my heart cried tears of despair because of that. Not only would it make both of our worlds miserable, but it would also endanger the people of Remnant to the return of Platinum. I could never go with the first option, as much as it pains me. I could never take Ruby back with me to Equestria and doom Remnant in turn.

So, I would make her my champion in this world.

I would teach her everything she needs to know in as little time as possible. Forge her into a righteous weapon to be wielded against the Grimm and every person that dares to threaten the safety of Remnant’s population. I would make her an unstoppable force. And I would have to live with that decision. I would have to live with the knowledge that I was turning Ruby into a tool to be used by humanity for the sake of their survival.

And I would hate myself for doing that to her.

Ruby doesn’t deserve this fate. My daughter doesn’t deserve to live in a world threatened by unimaginable darkness. My sweet little petal does not deserve to be turned into a tool.

It felt like ice was running through my veins as I got up from my bed. I stared numbly at my daughter, sleeping soundly next to me. Was I... was I a monster? Which option was truly the best one to take? Cadance, too, would at some point have to defend Equestria against a darkness that hasn’t been seen in over a thousand years.

I spoiled my subjects with peace, didn’t I? I worked so tirelessly with Lulu and Liz to grant them a place to live in that was safe, a place without any sort of conflict... I never thought what would happen if they came to see peace as something that was to be taken for granted. I suppose... I suppose my bleeding heart never once left me, did it? It was always there, trying its best to make me change the world into a better place. To change Remnant into a better place, too, I guess.

I wish I could turn back time and tell Cadance to not make the decision to become a princess. To spare her the destiny fate has set out for her. And the same was true for Ruby, as well. I wish I could just... snap my fingers and make their lives become miraculously better. Alas, that was a power I did not possess.

A strange sense of déjà-vu went over me as I stared at my hands. Out of wishful thinking, I snapped my fingers, not expecting anything to happen but still hoping something would. I've done this exact same thing before, haven't I? Back on Azeroth, I snapped my fingers, and yet, nothing came from it. Here I was again, expecting the impossible, hoping beyond hope to make a wish come true by merely snapping these weird, thin appendages.

They looked almost noodle-like, didn't they? I couldn’t help but snort at that thought. It was a silly thought, wasn’t it? Perhaps I need to stop thinking such dark thoughts and lighten up.

By my sun, I really need to stop doing that. I have to stop being so hopeless and pessimistic. My daughter was right, I have become way too serious and strict.

I let out a long sigh and gave the clock a glance, wincing at the displayed time. “You stupid old hag,” I whispered to myself, berating myself for having stayed up the whole night worrying over everything there was again. This has to stop, fast. I couldn’t continue on like this, always overthinking things.

How often have I told myself that exact same thing, I wonder? Way too often, I suppose. Way too often.

“This is going to be the last time,” I promised to myself, also feeling like I have told myself that way too often by now. This exact promise has been a constant companion that always went ignored in the end. But that's the thing. I couldn’t help myself, I was always worried. No wonder, considering all the problems I usually have to deal with. But this time is going to be different. No more empty promises, I decided. This time, I'm going to do something. Why hope for a miracle when you can do something yourself?

It was finally time to pony up and act. The time to worry has passed, now it is time to do things in order to put these worries behind me. Azeroth failed to break me and the same would be true for Remnant. And once the time has come, I'm going to make sure that the same would be the case for Equestria, too. Equis is my world and I won’t let my own nation become the thing that breaks me. Platinum will be dealt with and that's a promise. A promise I intended to keep even if it costs me my life.

But that's not going to happen, is it? I'm going to survive that damn promise. There would be no other alternative for me. I won’t use that stupid death curse for the simple fact that I won’t need to. I’m not the weak and pathetic mare I was in my youth who failed to save my own twin. I am more than that.

I am the Red Sun of Equestria and my wrath is unparalleled. Anypony that dares threaten what is mine will not survive to tell the tale. I will make sure Equis is safe from the things that lurk in the darkness and I will make sure that Remnant will be safe, too.

A spark within me ignited into a roaring flame and I felt a small smile begin to spread on my face. I looked down at the sword in my hand, staring into the glowing mana gem with determination.

There is one thing I could do with the stored mana in my blade. One thing I am absolutely sure will be worth the use of mana for. Silently, I left the bedroom, granting my daughter a few more moments of blissful sleep before I would wake both her and Ruby up for another training session.

I found the object I was looking for pretty fast, and, without alerting the owner of said object, took it with me down into the living room of the Xiao Long-Rose household. After searching through the drawers for a bowl and as many tealights as I could find, I began to clear the middle area of the room of everything that would get in the way of what I wanted to do.

It wasn’t often that I had to use ritualistic magic, but for my petal? I am going to do anything and everything in my power to know that she is going to be as prepared as she could be for the trials ahead. The ‘few’ candles I arranged in a circle around Crescent Rose were quickly lit and the bowl I took was placed right next to the weapon. Then, with a swift swipe of my blade over the palm of my hand, I let the bowl fill with my blood.

Blood that was faintly glowing a golden color as motes of mana began to float away from it. I would have to be fast with this before it completely dissipated, leaving it as regular blood inert of my essence. I had only so much mana that I could draw forth from my ever faithful blade and every little bit of it had to count or I risked failing the Ritual of Awakening.

“By the will of the daughter, thou shalt not betray thy master,” I spoke up in a whisper. “By the will of the sun, thy blade shall burn those of unholy origin to ashes. By the will of the mother, thou shalt protect thy wielder unyieldingly at all times. By the will of the moon, thy projectiles shall pierce every defense in thy way. By the will of the family, thou shalt sacrifice thy existence to save thy master from death’s door. By the will of House Luna, I order thee to awaken in thy master’s time of need!”

The blood within the bowl caught on fire and then began to creep over the weapon, engraving runes and magic circles all over the weapon in a golden aura. Once the fire extinguished itself, the compacted scythe almost seemed to have a presence of its own, no visible trace left of what I had done to it. It would grow the longer Ruby would wield it, of that I was certain.

“Are you sure awakening her blade was a wise idea, mistress?” a sleepy voice asked and I gave my sword a small smile.

“Yes,” I answered. “And look at who just woke up. I thought it would take another five hundred years for you to grace me with your presence again, Remorse.”

“A weapon’s duty is to protect the wielder from harm, not to converse with them,” my blade answered gruffly and promptly fell silent again. That might be true for most weapons, I thought sadly, but not for mine.

It had been a massive surprise to find out my own weapon had developed a ‘will’ of its own. The first time he spoke with me (and I was sure I wasn't just imagining things) the circumstances couldn’t have been worse than they were. The war with the griffons had me exhausted beyond belief, both in a mentally and emotionally way. I did not expect my sword to suddenly ask me if I was okay. Naturally, I panicked like a headless chicken and thought I had gone mad because I was the only one that could hear him. It was a difficult process to come to terms with the fact my sword could speak.

Lulu and I had known since we experimented with our regalia and weapons in the dream realm that they were much more special than we gave them credit for. Our regalia and weapons had become a part of us, which kind of, sort of, maybe gave them a personality? Well, not exactly, more like... an interface, I guess. An artificial intelligence? It was not exactly easy to put into words just 'what' our weapons were, but one thing was for certain: they weren’t living beings. And most of the time, they stayed dormant, too.

One could force a weapon to develop a ‘presence’ as I had just done with Ruby's scythe, or a weapon could develop it on its own given enough time with a strong-willed wielder and a little bit of magic. Its sole purpose, as Remorse had so eloquently put it, was to protect the wielder with its very existence and not 'chat with them'.

There were very few examples of weapons that were naturally like this, and all of them were incredibly powerful. The blades my sisters and I possessed developed these traits due to the mana gems within them and because we've been wielding them for such a long time now. If Ruby was to become my champion here on Remnant, she would need every advantage she could get. I have no doubt Cadance’s weapon will gain a ‘presence’ of its own, too, but she could afford to let it grow naturally while Ruby wouldn’t have this luxury.

With my work done, I cleaned my little ritual up without leaving a single trace. The last thing I wanted was for Tai to ask me why there was a mountain of burned candles and a bowl with bloodstains in it in the middle of his living room.

I gave my weapon one last glance, a bit miffed that he decided to ‘ignore’ me again, before going back up to Ruby and Yang’s room to put Crescent Rose back on the shelf that I ‘borrowed’ it from. Glancing at Ruby’s sprawled-out self upon the bed, I couldn’t help but giggle at the cute display. She truly was another version of my daughter, sleeping the night away without a worry. The sleeping mask over her face was very reminiscent of the Creatures of Grimm and I felt a little bit conflicted about how I should feel about the fact that there was merchandise for such horrible creatures.

Well... on Ruby, it looked kind of cute and harmless, I mused. There were worse things than that, right? It made the Grimm seem less threatening to the populace and with creatures that were attracted by negative emotions? The less threatening they appeared to the general populace, the better. And besides, I knew of one thing that was definitely worse than Grimm merchandise of all things.

I really, really, really don’t like Nightmare Night. That probably won’t ever change, will it? Deluding myself into believing that it was just a different version of Halloween could only do so much. I was content with simply ignoring that damn holiday and letting my ponies be happy with it as long as nopony dragged me out of the castle to celebrate it.

At least Cadance’s birthday was no longer on that accursed day...

Anyway, it was time to drag the peacefully sleeping girl out into the cold night air and torture... I mean, 'train' her. I almost felt bad about dumping her and Cadance into the snow as a wake-up call. Almost.

“Rise and shine, time for lessons!” I announced with a wicked smile on my face as both of the girls were screeching like frightened bats as they were suddenly robbed of their warmth without a warning.

“Mom!” Cadance growled, shivering in her borrowed pajamas while Ruby muttered incoherently with chattering teeth, trying to warm herself up by fiercely rubbing her arms against each other. “What was that for?!”

“You know what that was for, little missy,” I told her, making her grimace in regret. “Now, don’t bother getting your weapons for this lesson, we will begin with unarmed combat. For you, that is.”

“What?” Cadance asked, getting paler as my weapon appeared in a fiery flash. “Are you trying to kill us, Mom?!”

“No,” I answered. “This won’t hurt, dear. Come at me and try to disarm me and don’t get hit, it’s as simple as that.”

Cadance's eyelid twitched in disbelief. “Nothing is simple about that!” she retorted and I smiled in agreement. “You can’t possibly expect us to get anywhere near you while you have your weapon, Mom! There is no way we even stand a chance!”

“Get creative, dear,” I said, swinging my sword horizontally as Ruby thought I was distracted. “Nice try, little petal. Try not to make a sound the next time, okay?”

“H-h-how?!” Ruby exclaimed, stuttering as she stumbled back after she performed an awkward dodge, almost falling to the ground in the process. I was quite pleased she actually managed to avoid my weapon.

It wouldn’t have actually harmed her in any way, Remorse was quite capable of following my intent like that, thankfully. I would let them believe they were in for a world of hurt, for now. If I let them believe I was actually trying to hurt them, they would be a lot more cautious in their approach and it would keep them on their hooves... I mean, toes. Stupid human-isms.

“Think a bit about that, Ruby,” I told her. “The snow will make every step you take alert me to your position, even if I am distracted elsewhere. Now, how do you work around that?”

“My semblance?” Ruby asked and after I remembered the explanation she had given us about aura the previous day, I gave her a nod. Not the first thing I would have thought of, but then again, that was an even better idea.

Those innate abilities granted by the soul were quite the nifty advantage to have, weren’t they? Each and every semblance was unique to the person that got them, manifesting once they got their aura unlocked and after they came to a better understanding of themselves. It sounds quite similar to getting a Cutie Mark, doesn’t it?

It made sense, too, in a strange way. Cutie Marks have always been one of those few mysteries that even eluded Luna, Liz, and myself. They are obviously of a magical origin, but that's not all there was to them. Otherwise, it would be possible to give ponies their Cutie Marks with magic alone. It was also well-known that a Cutie Mark was unique to the pony that got them and that it was possible for them to be ‘kind of’ hereditary.

One such example was the Apple Family Clan or even my own family. The House of Luna always had the celestial objects in one form or another passed down as a Cutie Mark, with my sisters and I actually having them as our Cutie Marks in the purest form possible.

Of course, the exception to the Rule of Uniqueness were alternate versions of the same pony or shapeshifters that could just replicate them. While it was mostly a given that your alternate self had the same Cutie Mark, the possibility existed that that didn't have to be the case. Those differing versions were very special cases, though.

So, while Cutie Marks were mostly of magical origin, the soul also had a big part in it. How much I can’t say, and now that I knew of semblances and this soul aura shield (or whatever the actual term for it was since aura as a stand-alone description was kinda... too vague?), I had to wonder... does getting your Cutie Mark count as unlocking the soul? At least, partially?

There was only one expert about the nature of souls in Equestria and I would rather die on the spot than ask her anything in regards to that, considering the fact that she was currently possessing my wife. While I wasn’t keen on staying on Remnant for longer than I absolutely have to, I was very much interested in studying as much as I could about the soul that they had knowledge available of here.

But that's not important right now. I leaned slightly back as a red blur dashed past me, almost succeeding in touching my blade as I moved it out of reach. I was about to give Ruby some well-deserved praise for actually taking me by surprise with her swift movement when I felt a tugging on the hand that held on to my blade. My eyes widened as I saw Cadance try to pry my fingers open while Ruby gave me a little grin.

I let out a laugh as they tricked me. They hadn’t even spoken one word to each other and came to an instant agreement between them. At least I wouldn’t have to worry about that. Cadance and Ruby were excellent team players, each one of them showing qualities that would make them into great leaders in time.

While I was feeling immense pride for Cadance and Ruby, I wouldn’t so easily let go of my weapon. I lifted my arm and saw my daughter stubbornly cling on to me in an effort to disarm me of my weapon. Bringing her close to my face, I raised my eyebrow questioningly at her and all she did was grin sheepishly back at me.

I returned the grin with one of my own.

My daughter let out a nervous giggle. "I, uh... we can talk about this..?” she asked and I tilted my head for a moment. While I would praise her for considering the diplomatic approach, this wasn’t one of those times. This was meant to be a lesson for her and I won’t let it end there because she asked nicely.

With a flick of my wrist, I sent my daughter flying back to her alternate self and I returned to my relaxed stance. It didn’t take them long to get back on their feet and try a new approach. Ruby tried to brute force her way through to me and get within my guard while Cadance tried to use the distraction to her advantage.

Too bad I never said I wouldn’t fight back. Ruby quickly found out that trying to get into close-quarters combat without a plan was a very foolish thing to do. She clearly saw the fist coming but was too slow to react in time. As was the case for Cadance, although she was lucky enough to slip on the snow after her attempt to desperately dodge my sword.

I gave both of them a few seconds to get back on their feet and waited for them to try another approach. And each time they tried to approach me, they failed miserably to get my sword out of my hand. There were some very creative attempts that I honestly never expected them to come up with. Then, there were some attempts that were desperate and some that were just plain dumb. And others... others were dirty.

I praised them for the dirty ones the most since there was nothing fair in war and each and every advantage they could get would ensure their survival. Both of them got used to the low temperature of the crisp morning air and the cold snow underneath their bare feet once we got a routine going with me deflecting everything they threw at me and them running themselves ragged trying to accomplish the impossible.

They wouldn’t be able to ever disarm me and take my sword out of reach even if they somehow managed to free it from my hand. I hadn’t given them permission to hold my sword during this exercise, after all. This lesson was designed for them to think of creative ways to come close to me without getting hit and get out of reach with the least amount of effort on their part.

While normally I wouldn’t have them get so close to an enemy in the first place, it was still a useful method to know when all else failed. Seeing that I couldn’t just teach Ruby magic on a level that would be sufficient enough for her to disarm her opponent, teaching her unarmed combat for the purpose of getting rid of the enemy’s weapon was the only alternative I had left. And... well... fighting against opponents that were armed while you only had your own limbs available to you was a valuable lesson to learn on top of that. In order to level the playing field, it was important to get close to an enemy without giving them the chance to land a hit on you. Once the opponent was bereft of their weapon, the nature of the fight would quickly change and give you much more freedom in how you could go about defeating your opponent.

One of those ways was obviously stealing their weapon in order to use it against them (as long as the weapon wasn’t absolutely loyal to their master, that is). I like to think skill alone decides who the victor in a match is from the very beginning of the fight and that having a weapon wouldn’t change that one bit.

Obviously, there were many more variables to keep in mind that could change that dynamic, but it was a good base to start working with. After all, if you are able to outplay your opponent’s raw power, it's all but a given who would win the fight in the end.

Raw power could only carry you so far. Ultimately, it is the skill of the pony that gives them the knowledge and wisdom to make use of that power in the correct way. Fight smarter, not harder. There are very few instances that I could think of where you would be unable to fight against raw power with your skills alone and I prayed Ruby and Cadance would never have to fight against an opponent like that.

No amount of skill could save someone from things like pure unluckiness, unfair weaponry, or forces that could not be countered. Like... obliterating entire landmasses with magic, for example. Something Platinum was very much capable of with her stolen power. Not that she would actually resort to that type of magic as it would leave her quite open to a counter-attack after needlessly exhausting herself (or while casting the spell, I suppose). I’m also reasonably sure she didn’t know how to do something like that without Tia’s sun helping her along. Heck, even if she had that, I doubt she would know how to direct that much mana without blowing herself up in the process. Even I would hesitate casting a doomsday spell (not that I ever would, duh).

At least Ruby won’t have to fight against a stupidly overpowered ancient goddess puppeteered by a cockroach, so I don’t think she would have to worry about facing an enemy with overwhelming power she couldn’t hope to fight against without a game-changer of her own. I’m more worried about her having to fight against unfair weaponry, to be honest.

If your enemy possessed a weapon that could just eradicate you no matter what you do, how could you expect to win against them? That aura shield was a good counter for weapons like guns, but it could only keep you safe for a short period of time. Aura and skill alone won’t ensure victory, so something else was needed to help you win that fight.

While I don’t expect the Grimm to ever gain enough intelligence to start using unfair weaponry, I also don’t think Ruby will have to fight only against the Grimm in order to bring about a better world. No... that would be too good to be true, wouldn’t it? I knew that there was some sort of secret war going on behind the scenes with Ozpin on one side, and this Salem bitch on the other.

At one point or another, Ruby will have to face opponents that won’t just be the Creatures of Grimm and I can’t allow them to lay even one dirty finger on her if I had a say in it. And for that reason alone, I need to ensure Ruby could fight against them even without a weapon. Even if they have unfair weaponry at their disposal while she was unarmed and seemingly helpless.

Her semblance is going to be that game-changer for her and I'm going to make sure she would be taking full advantage of it. A gun couldn’t hit something that you couldn’t track with your eye, after all. Well... aside from shooting around yourself aimlessly like a maniac (as stupid as that would be). That just left unlucky happenstance that could harm my little petal.

How can you fight against circumstance, against the universe itself throwing one curveball after another at you? The simple answer to that? You don’t. Nopony could just stick the universe the middle primary feather and expect it to not retaliate in some way or form. But... you could cheat, in a loose sense. I rarely came across ponies that had a talent for pure luck and were blessed with fortune, but there were things that existed that gave you some form of protection against unluckiness.

I gave one of them to Ruby already, and if the worst comes to the worst, I could rest easy knowing that there was a lucky charm that would keep her safe. It was a one-time-only thing, but that one time? It is going to prevent something that would have otherwise not been prevented in the first place. For that reason alone I awakened her weapon, and hopefully, it would be enough.

Her weapon will keep Ruby from dying in the most dire of situations simply because she was unlucky enough to get hit by something she had no influence over at all. If she were to be caught in the blast radius of an explosion she otherwise wouldn’t have survived, her weapon would instantly sacrifice its very existence to keep her alive.

I dearly hope it won’t ever come to that, though. Not only because that would mean she would have died, but also because it would take away something that would, without a doubt, become a very close friend to her (well, closer than she already was with her weapon).

At some point during our training session, we transitioned over to Ruby and Cadance fighting against each other in unarmed combat. My little challenge for them to disarm me got pointless after they realized that my sword wouldn't cut them and redirect the force away from them before they could get hurt. I was quite proud of them for how long they managed to not get hit by my sword, so I decided to go a bit easy on them and let them fight against each other instead of me. I gave them pointers where needed and observed them with a keen eye, of course, keeping everything in mind that I would have to work on with them over the next couple of weeks.

Once the sun rose over the horizon and the rest of Ruby’s family slowly started to wake up, I gave Ruby and Cadance a well-deserved break from training. They were happy to finally get out of the cold (even though it wasn’t that much of a bother to them anymore at this point) and have a shower. That, and eat some breakfast that was denied to them due to my wake-up call before the day had even properly begun.

Qrow sat down in front of me as I was nursing a cup of tea. He gave me an expectant stare while I was waiting on my daughters to return so that we could continue with their lesson. Right, I thought with a grumble. I had hoped I would have a bit more time before he would drag me to Ozpin.

“Let me at least finish my tea,” I told him, ignoring the eye roll from him and the swig he took from his flask. He wasn’t kidding when he told me that he was always drunk, wasn’t he? I hope he grows out of this habit, if not for himself, then for his nieces.

“Mom, we’re done,” Cadance spoke up as she came back down with her weapon at her side and Ruby slightly behind her. Ruby was giving her weapon a confused stare, trying to figure out what was different from the day before and I could tell that she was getting slightly frustrated over it.

I might have underestimated the bond she shared with her weapon. If she could already sense that her weapon was developing a presence, then she must be far more important than I previously assumed. She practically had destiny written all over her and I couldn’t help but feel like the universe was a cruel mistress to have chosen her to play a major role in this world. That only proved to me that it was that vitally important to prepare her to the best of my ability for what has yet to come.

“Mom..?” Cadance asked and I broke out of my musings, humming interestedly back at her. “Is everything okay? You kinda spaced out there for a bit.”

“Everything is fine, my little petal,” I said, smiling reassuringly. Or what I hoped was reassuring. I was feeling a bit nervous, to be honest. A lot depends on how this talk with Ozpin goes. “Although, we need to cut our lessons short for today, dear.”

“Yes!” she cheered and I sent a glare her way, stopping her celebratory dance before it even started. I could see that Ruby was uncertain how she wanted to feel about that little tidbit of news. On one hoof... hand, damnit... she seemed like she has been looking forward to training together with Cadance and me, and on the other, she looked like she was relieved to get to relax after what I made them go through with my instructions.

“You, little missy, are coming with Qrow and me,” I told her, putting away my empty cup in the kitchen, after which she gave me a confused glance.

“To where?” Cadance asked, confused. “And... why?”

“Somepony important, I suppose,” I answered, getting her to pout at my crypticness. It was fun, answering questions as vaguely as possible. Especially if it annoyed my daughter to no end. “We will discuss the rest on the way there, okay? And leave your weapon here, please." She did as I asked of her, giving Ruby an uncertain look. They were becoming fast friends with each other, weren't they? It's very endearing (and not that much of a surprise considering who they were). "Now, come along, Qrow is already getting impatient.”

“Okay?” she said, fidgeting with her fingers and clothes awkwardly, following after me. “If you are sure...”

“It’s better to appear as non-threateningly as possible,” I whispered in her ear, eying Qrow at the same time as he led us out of the house and down the path through the forest. My daughter got the hint and started to tense up, giving me a nervous look. “Don’t worry, he is not the one we should worry about here.”

Cadance hugged her cloak closer to herself. “Then why are we whispering?” she asked me, her voice tinged with worry.

“Because he is already suspicious enough of us and doesn’t need to hear what we are talking about. If he knew we could summon our weapons regardless of where they are, he would cause a lot more trouble for us than is needed,” I answered, giving Qrow a disarming smile as he looked warily over his shoulder toward us. I was glad I had drilled Cadance in putting on a nondescript mask for the sake of politics and situations like these or I’m sure he would have already picked up on the nervousness of my daughter.

“So, where are we really going?” Cadance whispered over to me, her eyes begging me to give her a truthful and non-cryptic answer.

“To Beacon Academy.”

“Why there?” she inquired. “What could he possibly want there that requires us?”

“Think about who is in charge there and whether or not we should trust them, petal,” I said, causing her to scrunch up her brows slightly.

“The headmaster wants to see us and for whatever reason, you think he is more than he lets on,” Cadance muttered and I silently told her to go on. “Judging by how Qrow wants us to meet him as soon as possible, he works with the headmaster on a closer basis than should be expected. Qrow isn’t even a teacher there, which means he works in secret with the headmaster, right?”

“It doesn’t have to be in secret, petal, but you are getting there,” I told her. “Go on.”

“Okay...” Cadance sighed, trying to order her thoughts in a way that gave her insight into what I wanted her to realize. “So, the fact that Qrow works in some capacity with Beacon’s headmaster means that he does something the staff there couldn’t do without being questioned unnecessarily. You didn’t outright deny that he might be working for him in secret, which makes me think he does something that is too important to be public knowledge. Am I correct?”

“You are supposed to know whether or not you are correct, petal,” I told her, smiling mischievously. “It is your duty as a princess to make the right choices for the good of your subjects. That includes seeing through those that wish you and yours harm.”

“Mom, this isn’t one of those ‘I’m subtly trying to teach you stuff you should already know’ lessons, right?” Cadance grumbled. “I know how to differentiate whether or not a noble is truthful with his words, I don’t need that lesson again.”

“Yes, you know to keep yourself aware of the desires of the pony you are interacting with,” I nodded. “But what about their proxies? Ponies that work indirectly with those or against those you should be aware of? Those secretly working for unknown parties?”

“This isn’t about Qrow or the headmaster,” Cadance stated, not asking for confirmation. “Or rather, it is about the headmaster, but not because you think he is the true threat here. Something else is going on here and it involves the headmaster in some form or capacity.”

“Oh, how I missed you and your sister’s ingenuity,” I smiled wistfully. “You truly are magnificent, do you know that?”

“Thanks,” Cadance mumbled bashfully. “I take it I’m on the right track, then?”

“Closer than you might realize,” I answered. “So, with that in mind, why am I so cautious of Headmaster Ozpin?”

“This Ozpin is a chess master, isn’t he?”

I grinned, feeling satisfaction as my daughter got ever closer to the truth. Well, presumed truth, there always exists the possibility that I might just be too paranoid. There were a few times where I had been too suspicious of somepony that was completely innocent of my conjectures, but I was reasonably sure I had figured this Ozpin out.

“If Ozpin plays on a board with a much larger scale that requires his subordinates to do their work in secret, then there must also be an opponent, right?” Cadance asked and I motioned for her to go on. “And if there is someone that works against him, that means that there is a secret war going on that has been kept from the general populace.”

“Now, think about why that war is waged in secret,” I encouraged her.

“Because of the Grimm,” she whispered, her face going pale. I raised an eyebrow at her, wanting to see what she came up with. “Something, or rather, someone is behind the Grimm, isn’t there?”

“Oh?” I hummed.

“Mom, this... oh fluffy bunnies, this is bad,” Cadance muttered, horrified. “Someone wants to use the Grimm to wipe out humanity and Ozpin fights against that person? But... why would you be so cautious of Ozpin, then? Shouldn’t we help him win this war?”

“I don’t know whether or not you are correct with that thought about the Grimm being used, but the fact remains that Ozpin and his adversary are fighting a dangerous game,” I told her. “In a secret war, what do you think is the most important part of it?”

“To keep it secret,” Cadance answered. “What are you trying to tell me, Mom? I don’t understand.”

“Yes, keeping it secret is one of those things, but what else? What about those in charge?”

“They obviously keep things away from those they fight against,” my daughter said and I nodded.

“But how do they do that?”

“Uh...” Cadance mumbled and I could see that she had an idea about that, so I gave her an encouraging smile. “By keeping the information to those that need to know? So that in the event of their capture, they couldn’t jeopardize the mission?”

“Indeed,” I said. “What would you say if I told you that being overly cautious would be counterproductive, though?”

“I would assume that Ozpin is keeping away crucial information from those that need to know it the most in order to work efficiently,” Cadance answered, furrowing her brow as I confirmed it for her. “And you can’t trust someone like that.”

“There we have it,” I nodded. “A leader that keeps his subordinates in the dark with vital information. Why can’t you trust somepony like that?”

“Because they might use you in a way that they shouldn’t,” Cadance muttered, sounding angry. “They might sacrifice their pieces in an effort to gain an advantage.”

“Yes, that could very well be a possibility,” I agreed with her. “But it doesn’t necessarily mean that they keep the information secret because they want to use you. It depends on what that knowledge is and what it is used for.”

“What do you mean?” Cadance asked, confused.

“Sometimes, keeping crucial information a secret from somepony is necessary for their own protection or their growth,” I told her. “You already know one such secret, little petal.”

“The Realm of Ascension,” she said, stating it matter-of-factly.

“Correct,” I said. I could start to make out a little city ahead of us as we neared the exit of the forest. “Every bit of knowledge regarding that place could jeopardize the growth of the pony with the potential to ascend to an alicorn. For that reason, it is important to let that pony remain in the dark even though the knowledge of the Realm of Ascension plays a big role in the grander scheme of things. It is easier for somepony to go through their Trial of Ascension if they are unaware they are going through it in the first place. If they are only motivated to get to the Realm of Ascension in the first place, their Trial has already failed before it has even begun.”

“Okay,” Cadance sighed. “What could Ozpin be keeping a secret, though? Something that could make such a big difference?”

“That is the question, isn’t it?” I muttered darkly. “Something I intend to find out. I suspect Ozpin is much older than he lets on and somepony like that has many skeletons in the closet.”

“What about you?” Cadance asked and I gave her a warning glare.

“I have done many things I would rather forget, Cadance,” I shot back, icily. “Don’t pry further than that, dear. You really don’t want to know what we had to go through in order to ensure the safety of our nation. I'm not a saint, as much as our subjects like to pretend that's the case.”

“Mom, I don’t fault you for any of that,” Cadance reassured me. “But you have to admit that it is a bit hypocritical of you to fault Ozpin for something like that. You don't even know for sure he's doing what you think he might be doing.”

“You’re right...” I sighed, giving some of the people around us a generic smile as they stared at me as if they just saw a ghost. This world’s Summer must have been well-known in their little community. “But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be cautious with Ozpin, dear. Don’t give him any more information on us than what is strictly needed, okay?”

“Do you think he would use us, too?” my daughter asked shyly and I grimaced.

That was the thing I was most worried about and I would be a fool to let Ozpin do as he pleases with either of us. “The knowledge either of us holds might change things in ways we could not predict, Cadance. We can’t risk it falling into the wrong hooves... or hands, rather. The knowledge of our weapons alone might bring naught but ruin to this world, dear.”

“Right,” Cadance whispered in a mumble. “And the knowledge of us being ponies?”

“I hardly think that will be of any relevance,” I giggled. “What could Ozpin gain from knowing we are cute little ponies?”

“Yeah, ‘little’ ponies,” she snorted. “That, you know, could raise the suns and moon. Surely that isn’t going to change anything.”

“Don’t you get snarky with me, now,” I warned her. She definitely has been hanging around Liz far too much lately, I thought with slight disdain. Liz really wasn’t the type of role model one should look up to too much. “Tai barely trusts Ozpin and I don’t think he will endanger the lives of his alternate wife and daughter.”

“What if either he or Ruby slips up, though?”

Letting out a sigh, I worried my lip for a moment as Qrow led us further through the town to the port side of it. I told Qrow we were ponies as well, didn’t I? The question was... would he divulge this information to Ozpin? “Do you think they would?”

“I don’t know,” Cadance shrugged. “Ruby seems very excited about it, though. She might let it slip if she isn’t careful. But then again, she would probably gush about us being ponies and not... you know, ‘goddesses’.”

“I hate that description so much,” I groused.

“Then why did you mention it to Taiyang?” Cadance asked me, confused.

I... why did I do that? “I don’t know.”

“Maybe somepony is trying to impress someone?” Cadance giggled and I glared back at her. “Come on, Mom! You have to admit it is kinda funny seeing a male version of Mom.”

“I’m not trying to impress him,” I denied. Cadance started to smirk and I growled indignantly. “I am not. Stop giving me that look, little missy. He's much too young for me.”

“Aww~. S-u-m-m-e-r and T-a-i sitting in a tree~,” she began and I barely suppressed the urge to hit her over her head like the little brat that she was as she happily skipped next to me. Damn the universe for making her the Alicorn of Love.

“One more word and I won’t make you any cookies for the next few decades,” I threatened her and that managed to shut her up pretty quickly. I breathed in deeply and let it back out slowly, slowly managing to reduce the raging flames within me to an ember of its former intensity. “I swear, if you make one more joke at my expense, I’ll send you to the moon.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Cadance giggled nervously and I glared hotly at her. “I’ll be good! No more jokes, promise.”

Thankfully, after we came to an ‘understanding’ between us, the rest of the trip was spent in blissful silence (more or less). After we took the ferry to the mainland of Vale, Qrow led us to what appeared to be an airport of some kind. There weren’t any sky chariots there, that was for sure. Not that Remnant would have those, I suppose.

No, instead we got on a flying death-trap. Qrow said it was perfectly safe, but the pegasus side in me cried out in a desperate unwillingness of ‘Why the flying penguin are we trusting this thing to stay in one piece?’ as I followed him and my daughter into that monstrosity. Whatever made these bullheads float was unnatural and I didn’t like it one bit. The only good thing about these things was the eerie resemblance they had to vehicles from Star Wars. I might be misremembering things, though.

I was thankful to be back on solid ground and decided to ignore the eye-rolls of both my daughter and Qrow once I was free from those unholy things that had no right to stay afloat in the air. Seriously, I could not imagine a single reason why these naked apes thought it wise to stick a few glowy magic crystals in that thing to make it float in the air by manipulating the very laws of the universe, reducing gravity to their personal plaything.

Qrow adamantly insisted that these ‘Dust’ crystals were not magic, but I knew better. I could feel the perverted mana radiating off of those things, making my skin crawl at how... rigid it felt. It was like the mana had been forced to materialize into the physical plane in crystalline form and it reeked of something else that didn’t belong. Even the powdered form he showed us gave me an uneasy feeling.

Mana wasn’t supposed to feel like this and whoever did that had clearly no idea what they had done, trying to create mana gems. Or rather, mana crystals. They wanted to create a container for mana and did the exact opposite of that. Instead of storing it in a mana crystal, they made the mana the crystal. At one point, this world must have been used to pure mana flowing through it and it left me feeling sad for what must have changed something so fundamental like that. It was no wonder why these people thought magic wasn’t real when faced with this so-called ‘Dust’. Dust that wasn’t the dusty residue kind but a perversion to the mystic nature of everything arcane. Who came up with that name anyway?

I wanted to sigh and annoy Qrow a bit more about the disgusting nature of dust, all the while lecturing him about the intricacies of pure mana and the feeling it evokes running through your very being, but sadly, our little discussion soon came to an end as we entered the massive tower that was Beacon Academy’s main building, going into the elevator. I have to admit, the elevator in this tower was a lot smoother than the elevators back home that were more commonly seen in cities like Manehattan and so on.

The ride up to the top of the tower was over before I expected it, unused to such efficient elevators. The doors slid smoothly open with nary a sound, greeting us with the sight of something that was almost taken straight out of a fairy tale book. Well, a more modern take, but still very reminiscent of a fairy tale.

Massive gears turned on their axes up above, giving me the feeling that I was standing in the middle of a clock all of a sudden. Wide windows allowed the light of the morning sun to bathe the whole room in a shining radiance, reflecting off of the gears in a dazzling way. The reflecting light from the gears only added more to this mesmerizing majestic feeling Ozpin's office held. An oddly designed chair stood at the far end of the room behind a large desk that was just as strangely designed as the chair, giving me the impression that this ‘chair’ wasn’t just simply that. It felt more like a throne to me, honestly.

As we entered the office, I could see even more gears ticking away within the desk, covered by glass panes. Whatever their purpose was, I couldn’t even begin to guess. It couldn’t be a secret mechanism, the glass covering the gears all but made that possibility pointless.

Qrow came to a stop in the middle of the room, giving the man with greyish-white hair a look as he calmly sipped from a cup while staring out the window behind the desk. I could feel Ozpin’s eyes on me as he looked at me through the reflection within the window.

I felt my hairs stand up as something in me recognized his nature, subconsciously putting myself in between him and my daughter as an urgent feeling of protectiveness flared up within me. He wasn’t exactly a higher being, but something had left an imprint on him that gave off that feeling. It was a muddled feeling and there was another thing that made me keep my guard up around him. He didn’t exactly feel like any other being I have come across before, which was weirdly intriguing to me. I couldn’t put my hoof... or finger, I suppose... on it, but it felt like there was an odd feeling around his presence.

Ozpin refrained from turning around, instead taking another sip from his mug. “I must say,” he spoke up. “At first I thought Qrow was playing pranks on me telling me there was a Summer clone running around, but seeing you here... I would assume you to be her.”

“And what makes you think otherwise?” I asked him, smiling slightly with amusement. I could feel it in his presence, the fascination. The way he stood there and looked over the rim of his glasses... he felt lonely. Ancient.

He was like me.

Okay. Let’s play a game of cat and mouse, then. I look forward to who will lose first.

Ozpin smiles. “Seeing you with your daughter,” he says, turning around. “The bond you share is real. It would be hard for a clone to feel motherly feelings for another clone, wouldn’t you say so?”

“And what makes you so sure of that?” I shot back, narrowing my eyes at him, suspicious. He gave me a knowing look in turn, almost looking disarmingly harmless in the process before he sat down on his chair. It almost appeared like he was a king sitting on his throne. There's no doubt in my mind, I stood before a man that had seen many things in his long life.

“A feeling,” Ozpin answered, putting his empty mug to the side. “And your soul, of course.”

Hmm. “You are a perceptive one, aren’t you?” I stated, taking my place in a chair that Qrow brought over from a closet. I could tell the scraggly man was slowly letting his guard down around us, now that Ozpin was in the same room. Ozpin clearly didn’t see us as a threat or he would have said something to the overly cautious man already.

“It comes with time,” he told me, telling me something that I was all too familiar with. “Do you want something to drink while we talk?”

“A tea would be appreciated, dear,” I said, feeling like an opportunity was showing itself to me and I was happy to put this man to the test. We didn’t have to wait long as Qrow returned with a tea tray, frowning grumpily at the man sitting there with a calm look on his face. I could tell the perpetually drunken drunkard wasn’t pleased, reduced to playing Ozpin’s ‘maid’ for the time being. It was funny to behold, I had to admit. That begged the question, though, either Ozpin had foreseen this or he liked to be prepared for anything.

I gave him the teapot a cursory glance in interest before giving him my thanks as he poured Cadance and myself a cup of the steaming beverage.

Now then, let’s find out what the result of this little test of mine is going to be...

I hid the fact that I gave the tea a cautious sniff as I brought it to my lips, feeling a bit of paranoia well up within me. Either I’m going to wake up after a ‘little’ nap or I’m going to be pleasantly surprised. Surely a man like him would have prepared something to deal with an impostor in his nation, running blatantly around in the open without a care while in the skin of one of his deceased agents. And knowing the kind of teapot he used...

I know I would have prepared something, just in case.

There's no way he didn’t do something to this tea, but nonetheless, I drank from it without hesitation as I looked him straight in the eye. He gave me a blank look and I felt slightly irritated. Either he was the best actor in the world, or there was no poison in the secret chamber of that teapot.

Cadance gave me a subtle glance, asking me if it was okay to drink from it. All the while, I sat there waiting for a reaction from the man in front of us.

“Is it to your taste?” he asked me and I smiled thinly. Either this was slow-acting poison and I was going to die later today, or my paranoia managed to get the better of me, after all. Was this perhaps a test on his part, instead? I had no idea how to feel about that...

Who of us was the mouse and who was the cat? It was hard to tell and I wasn’t certain I liked the answer.

“Why, yes,” I answered and decided to blatantly accuse him of trying to poison me, only to see what his reaction would be. My conviction of him being someone that no one should trust began to waver and I wondered whether or not I was wrong about him and he wasn’t as bad as I initially thought. “A bit of poison couldn’t have hurt.”

“You would think I would poison you?” Ozpin asked me with a raised brow. He 'seemed' genuine, I’ll give him that. The tea was most likely not poisoned, then. Still, he seemed like he expected a response like that. I was sure I couldn’t be entirely wrong about him, perhaps a different approach was needed...

But... something in me wanted to give this man a chance. It was... strange... seeing him sit there in front of me and all I could see was somepony like me.

I... I can’t keep playing around like this, even though it was kind of fun, to be honest. Intriguing, even. It has been such a long time since I felt excited to be in a situation where I couldn’t tell what would happen within the next hour or so.

Perhaps it was better to be as straightforward about this as I could be and hope to catch him off-guard with that. Maybe he will prove to be a trustworthy man, after all. “No, but then again, you wouldn't be the first one to attempt doing so. I do recognize that kind of teapot, you know. Bringing an assassin's teapot to a diplomatic meeting is considered an act of war where I come from.”

“Oh?” he hummed, pouring himself a cup out of courtesy while Cadance gave the tea a hesitant sip. I could see she wanted to spit it right back out as she realized what I said. “I assure you, there is no poison in the tea. I keep it as a gag to pour milk into my cup." Somehow, I doubt the validity of that statement. You don't keep an assassin's teapot as a gag. "Though it seems like there is a story to that. I’m interested to hear it.”

“Let us stop this charade, Your Majesty,” I spoke up nonchalantly, hoping to see the reaction I expected to see from him. And as I had already suspected, I saw the tiniest bit of widening in his pupils as I addressed him like that, all but confirming what I knew must have been true from his presence alone. “I would think you of all people should be aware to never trust a stranger, much less foreign royalty, under such... 'unique' circumstances.”

“Who are you?” he asked me, his tone sounding a bit sterner than it was before. He was obviously wary of me now. “Clearly a paranoid person and far older than your youthful appearance lets on, but your soul feels like hers. Like Summer. And... you don’t carry around the feeling one of Salem’s minions has. Quite the opposite even, so I don’t think you are under her influence...”

I smiled cryptically. “That’s because I am Summer,” I told him, leaning back in my chair. “Though, not exactly your Summer. That drunkard over there barely believes me, why would you?”

“Try me,” Ozpin shot back, bringing his tea over to his lips, smiling slightly as we heard Qrow mutter lowly to himself at my jab. Alright, then. If he truly thinks he can’t be surprised by anything I throw at him, perhaps this will be worth a try. Whether he was trustworthy remains to be seen, though. He passed one test, how about another? How will he react to the revelation that is the multiverse?

“Are you aware that you are just one out of many...” I began with my question, only to see his eyes widen comically as he choked on his tea. I raised an eyebrow at the unexpected reaction, humming with interest as he tried to calm himself down from the coughing fit while Cadance gave me an uncertain look. I was interested in where this would go and silently told her to let me handle this situation in whatever way I saw fit. This just got a lot more fun all of a sudden...

“How do you know?” Ozpin asked with a shaking voice. “How?!”

“Whatever do you mean, Your Majesty?” I asked back, smiling behind my teacup. This wasn’t the test I had in mind, but perhaps it was just as good (if not better). The smell of secrets was in the air... and how lovely they smelled. My need for knowledge that was not mine to know crept up within me and I wanted to do nothing more than squeeze each and every last secret out of the man sitting in front of me.

“Did Taiyang tell you?!” Ozpin whispered, his eyes looking darkly at me. “Can I truly trust no one?”

“Taiyang did no such thing,” I answered simply, feeling a flutter in my chest as a bit of protectiveness reared its ugly head within me. While he wasn’t my wife, I would extend my protection to him no matter what. He deserved at least that much from me. “I only know of this Salem and that you are a wizard.”

“Do not lie to me,” he warned me. “I want to know who told you that I reincarnate! Tell me!”

“You did,” I said with a mischievous smile, not having expected that answer. Now that I think about it, if he remembers his previous lives, he would mistake my earlier question as me knowing that particular secret of his. I suspected something was amiss with his presence already, so it wasn’t like I wouldn’t have found that out in due time.

I watched as Ozpin slumped down in his chair in disbelief. Cadance gave the man a sympathetic look and Qrow shot me a glare from where he stood, leaning against the wall.

“Who are you?” he whispered, sounding afraid. I briefly felt pity well up within me and my belief in him being as bad as I was inclined to believe started to break. If he was like me, then what did that say about me? I was treating him no better than Platinum without actually knowing him, and... I felt guilty about that.

Guilty that my paranoia poisoned my thoughts once more, trying to protect my daughter from a perceived threat that was most likely non-existent. Now that I was taking a deeper look at his eyes, I saw the actual truth. Yes, he was a chess master that most likely hid many secrets that shouldn’t be kept secret, but he has a bleeding heart. He strangely reminded me of Starswirl, trying to save a (seemingly) doomed world.

Starswirl sought to protect the world from the wendigos and ensure the day and night cycle would continue even without him there. He constantly went on missions with his ‘not friends’ to ensure the safety of Equestria while my sisters and I learned to properly take care of our nation.

Ozpin... from what I could tell, he held himself like a king, looking out for the good of his people, doing everything that he can do to keep humanity safe. Apparently, he also reincarnated a lot and remembered every life he has lived. If I were in his shoes fighting against the Grimm, wouldn’t I do everything in my power to keep this world away from extinction?

“...I’m sorry,” I whispered back, feeling ashamed. Ashamed that I had played with his feelings so much. Here I was, acting like he would be a danger to my family and nation. I was paranoid he would use my world in order to win his little secret war against this Salem, and due to that, I disregarded the idea that he could be a decent man.

I had defaulted back to thinking exactly as I had as the War Princess during the war against the griffons oh so long ago now, thinking every other nation on Equis was only waiting for the opportunity to take advantage of our recovering country. We had lost our strongest princess to a nightmare and were ripe for the taking. Of course, I was paranoid back then. But that was no excuse to act like it now.

I swore to myself I wouldn’t ever think like that again, but here I was doing it. Did I not just promise myself to be better this very night? To return to that kind and generous mare I had been before my beloved had been taken from me? To stop this endless cycle of hatred, paranoia, and mistrust? Was I truly this weak that I couldn’t even keep a simple promise to myself?

“I am truly sorry, Ozpin,” I said, looking up at him from my lap. He looked back at me, barely having recomposed himself after he had played right into my hooves... or hands, rather. I’m never going to get used to this, am I? Hopefully, I won’t have to stay like this for too long. It's already getting on my nerves. “I shouldn’t have judged you before we met. I can see it in your eyes, you aren’t a bad man.”

“I... thank you?” he responded quietly, confused.

“You shouldn’t thank me,” I laughed hollowly. “I played with you like a toy, trying to find out everything there is about you without even thinking how you would feel about it. I am far from the kind and generous mare I was in my youth. I've lost so much, stopped caring, and mistrusted anypony but me and mine... but that ends now.”

"Anypony? Mare?" he asked, but I ignored him for now.

“I, Princess Summer Sol of House Luna, hereby offer my sincerest apologies,” I said, standing up and bowing my head to him. “I hope you can forgive me for my transgressions, Your Majesty. I am willing to answer any questions you may have for me in an effort to make amends with you.”

“Please, no formalities,” Ozpin sighed. “And what did you mean with ‘mare’? A princess? Clearly, you are one strange individual. From where did you come from..?”

“Oh, you don’t even know the beginning of it,” Cadance muttered and I grumbled a weak warning to her. I was tired of reprimanding her. Sadly, it was a futile effort on my part. “Sheesh, Mom. I won’t say anything, calm down.”

“One never knows with you, petal,” I sighed. “Anyway, let us return to what we originally talked about. You wanted to know who I am, right? I am going to answer that question with the absolute truth, but first, I need to explain to you my earlier question that you interrupted with such haste.”

“I feel like I won’t ever figure you out, but please,” Ozpin said, rubbing his eyes tiredly. “Do enlighten me.”

“Since you mistook my question earlier for something different, let me elaborate,” I said. I still wanted to know more about that reincarnation thing that he let slip, feeling a sense of connectedness with him over that, but that could wait. “Are you aware that you are but one version of infinite other versions of you? That your very universe is only one among uncountable others?”

“You are talking like that is a fact,” Ozpin commented, staring into my eyes as if searching for something that would tell him whether or not I was lying to him.

“I am and it is,” I smiled. I could already tell he was intrigued by what I was saying. “It is an absolute truth that I am telling you. Because, believe it or not, I am from another universe. A magical one.”

Ozpin sat back against his chair, studying me with scrutinizing, skeptical eyes. “And you have proof of this?”

“I do have proof, but this isn’t something I can easily divulge to you unless I know one thing for certain. If I show you what my world is capable of, can I trust you with that knowledge?” I shot back. While I was very much inclined to believe he wasn’t a bad man as I had first thought, I still hesitated to entrust the safety of my realm to him. I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt, extend a little bit of trust, and hope that he won’t betray my expectations of him. If he truly was a righteous man, he could become a friend.

It has been such a long time since I made friends... Chen and Li Li sprang to mind and a painful twinge went through my heart in sorrow. We never found out what severed the connection to Azeroth in the first place, and by now, I had little hope of it ever reactivating. They most likely had a fulfilling life, so I wasn’t too sad, but I wondered what had become of Azeroth. Was it still struggling with conflict? I do hope Yu’lon had a chance to rebuild the statue that would have become her successor.

“It is up to you to decide whether or not you want to trust me enough to tell me this,” Ozpin said, looking down at the cup as he slowly swished around the liquid within. “I wouldn’t...”

He looked so sad, but I could see the determination in his eyes. He was determined to keep this world safe.

“Then promise me one thing,” I spoke, my voice filled with authority that gave no room for argument. Ozpin waited for me to speak my terms and I gave him a steely look. “Promise me that once you learn this, you won’t take advantage of this information.”

“I...” Ozpin hesitated, thinking for a moment whether or not he could promise me that one thing. “I want to say yes, but such a decision... I don’t know if I can promise that to you. If it can help against Salem, I would ask you not to fault me for wanting to use that information against her.”

I narrowed my eyes, gripping the armrest of my chair tightly in frustration. “I won’t let you drag my subjects into this war against her, Ozpin! Answer me with a clear answer or I won’t tell you anything. I have a duty to my subjects and I won’t betray it out of a sense of guilt. So, please... I have to know that you won’t drag them into this. I do not owe you anything.”

“Subjects?” he smiled, though I suspect he already had a feeling he wasn’t the only member of royalty in this room. My posture alone gave that impression away, so I wasn’t too upset about him finding that one out.

I nodded. “They are very dear to me and I would do anything to know them safe,” I told him. “As I know you would do the same for yours. I won’t allow you to bring them into this conflict under any circumstance, Ozpin.”

“Very well,” Ozpin sighed. “I won’t endanger your subjects, that I will promise you.”

“Will you swear an oath on that?” I asked, hoping he would understand the significance that such a thing would hold. I saw him glare at me for a moment before he considered my question.

“What’s this about, Oz?” Qrow interjected, curious why this oath was so important to me. Judging from the reaction Ozpin gave me, he understood quite well what I meant. An oath sworn by magic must be abided or the offending party will be severely punished for breaking the oath.

Ozpin gave Qrow a sign that there was nothing to worry about and that was all the drunken drunkard got from him. Qrow gave me a frown but resumed his relaxed stance leaning against the wall, watching us attentively. Cadance fidgeted next to me, unsure what was going on while I continued to stare at Ozpin with an unrelenting intensity. My hand found hers and gave it a tiny squeeze and I noticed her starting to relax (at least somewhat) from that gentle reassurance.

“I swear on my being that I will not put your world willingly in danger or abuse your trust under any circumstance,” Ozpin told me, holding his hand over his chest. “Never shall I bring injustice upon that oath.”

“An honest man,” I smiled, happy with how he worded that oath. “My sister would like you. Let me give you an oath in return, then. I, Princess Summer of Equestria, Guardian of Ponykind, will offer my home to those that seek peace. Under the circumstance that they would otherwise lose their home, they will be granted safety within my nation. Heed my words, Ozpin of Remnant, I won’t let the people of this world invade mine for selfish reasons. Harmony must be maintained.”

Ozpin gave me a grateful nod as he accepted my oath in turn. “That is more than I could ask for.”

“You wished for proof,” I changed the topic back to what sparked these promises. “And you shall receive what you asked for.”

With a brilliant flash, my sword answered my call, causing Qrow to reach for his weapon, only to find it not there as per our agreement. Ozpin, on the other hand, merely stood up in shock at the unexpected appearance of my weapon.

There was a pitifully low amount of mana left in the mana gem after I sacrificed a majority of it to cast the ritual on Ruby’s weapon. But there was just enough mana left for me to access my hammerspace and bring out a small item. Thankfully, that was all I needed to honor Ozpin’s wish to see proof of my claims.

Within my hand appeared a clear globe of glass that quickly filled itself with a colorful cloud. I never stopped carrying these around with me in case I needed to fill one with a new memory.

“Are you familiar with these?” I asked, seeing Ozpin lean in closer to the orb in order to study it with quiet fascination. Seeing that I wasn’t going to use my sword to bring harm to his employer, Qrow started to relax hesitantly. I had to giggle in amusement, finding it humorous that he thought he would be able to stand a chance against me. Still, I’d rather avoid a fight with him. Cadance could easily get caught in the crossfire, and that was something I couldn’t allow.

If only I could have spared Cadance this life. Maybe I should have tried harder to discourage her from making the decision to become an alicorn, but... would that have changed anything? She still bore the mark of the Crystal Empire on her. Her life would have eventually led her there and then what? Would she have fought Sombra without being ready for it? Without me there to protect her?

The possibility of losing her to that monster would have devastated me, of that, I had no doubt. Damn it, I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Worrying about the future when it hasn’t even arrived yet.

“I can’t say I am,” Ozpin answered, throwing me out of my musings. He held his hand out, silently asking if he could hold the memory ball, and grateful for having been brought out of my troubled mind (I really need to get a grip on myself, these days), I placed the little sphere in his palm. “What is it?”

“It’s a memory ball!” Cadance explained to him, giddily standing up next to me. “Something that Mother invented a long time ago. She and Mom have a whole tower filled with those!”

“A curious thing,” Ozpin noted, turning the memory ball around in his hand. “How do you use it?”

“Well...” I mumbled, rubbing my neck slowly, feeling embarrassed that I couldn’t exactly... answer that. Not without appearing very silly. “Normally, we would hold it to our horn and focus on the memory. I have no idea how you would go about it, though.”

“Focus on the memory, you say?” he muttered, placing the ball against his forehead. It looked a bit comical, to be honest. The cloud within the memory ball started to swirl around, though. A moment later, the face of a beautiful woman came into view.

She looked back at the viewer with kind eyes and on her lips was an (admittedly) cute smile. I could tell that she was someone that had been dear to Ozpin, but the sorrowful eyes that currently stared into the orb told me that there was more to this than first met the eye.

“You said you reincarnate?” I whispered, watching him as he sat heavily down on his chair. He gave me a hesitant nod, sighing deeply as he rubbed his eyes, probably to get rid of the tears that threatened to spill. “I know how it feels to reincarnate. A past love?”

“Something like that...” Ozpin admitted, choking on his breath for a moment.

“I’m sorry for your loss,” I said, my heart aching with sympathy. “It must have been hard to live on while she didn’t.”

“It’s not like that,” he denied in a weak whisper and I wasn’t able to hide my confusion at his statement. “Her name is Salem. She... isn’t like how she used to be...”

“Oh...” I whispered. What could I say to that? I’m sorry you and your wife are locked in an eternal war? I still didn’t know the reason behind the war, but clearly, this Salem had become a person whose cruelty could only be matched by Platinum from what I have heard so far. Perhaps even worse than that monster. Ugh, I need more information...

“Qrow...” Ozpin said, glancing at the man that was in the process of emptying his flask of every last drop it was worth. I couldn’t help but frown, put off by his behavior in front of his superior. Obviously, Ozpin was used to the behavior of his field agent, as insulting as it was. My sister never was this blatant with her alcohol consumption... “Could you leave us for a moment? I need to... discuss something with Summer in private. If you see Glynda, could you tell her to meet with me later?”

“Sure...” Qrow grumbled. He had been curiously eyeing the memory ball and what was depicted within, I could tell he was reluctant to leave him alone with us and that he wanted to know why his superior was so sullen after looking at the memory, but nonetheless, he moved towards the back of the room where the elevator doors swiftly opened after he pushed the call button. “Anything else you want me to do, Oz?”

“For now you are dismissed, Qrow,” Ozpin stated, sighing heavily as he leaned back in his chair, turning the glass ball around in his hand with a pensive look. “Amber’s lessons aren’t scheduled to start up again until spring, so you have some time to be with your nieces and Tai a little bit longer.”

“Okay, then,” Qrow said, glancing back at us with contemplative eyes. “At least, with these two running around, things won’t get boring. I’ll see you two later, don’t do anything to get on Oz’s bad side or I’ll kick your asses from here to Atlas and back.”

“I’d like to see you try,” I smiled, curious about how good he was with his sword. If I had to guess, that weapon could shift around like Ruby’s, which would make things even more interesting. “But you don’t have to worry. I don’t think he and I will be at each other’s throats.”

Qrow rolled his eyes, and before he could retort with a witty remark that I wouldn’t stand a chance against him, the doors closed on him and he was on his way back down.

“Can I trust you?” Ozpin asked once he was absolutely certain there were no eavesdroppers that could potentially overhear our conversation.

“It depends,” I shrugged, ignoring the look my daughter gave me. I could tell she took pity on him after having seen him so distraught and I was inclined to help him wherever I could (as long as he wouldn’t use us in any way). Perhaps I really have become too paranoid as of late, there was next to no chance he could actually manipulate me into doing anything for him if I didn’t want to do so in the first place, so why was I putting my guard up so much around him? “Let me be honest with you, Ozpin. I barely trust anypony to do what is right without me forcing them on the correct path. I’m a hypocrite sitting on my throne, preaching for peace but being quick to bring down any idiot stupid enough to think they could exploit my nation. I’m a hypocrite that doesn’t trust anypony else but my family to be in positions of power because I know those idiots would abuse their positions while quite clearly abusing my own.

“If you want to trust somepony like me? Do so at your own risk. I won’t guarantee you that I will help you with anything as long as I will be suspicious of you planning something behind my back. You said I’m paranoid and that is true, but I also care. I care a lot about this world only because of Ruby and Taiyang. Tai doesn’t think too highly of you and my counterpart didn’t either. I want to know why and if you give me an honest answer, I might consider giving you my trust. I would like to consider you a friend, I truly do, but as long as I'm unsure whether or not you do the same, I cannot give you an answer. Don’t abuse my trust and I won’t abuse yours, it's as simple as that.”

“I see,” Ozpin said, looking back into the memory ball. “You are a hard woman to figure out, Summer. I... I don’t know what to do, in more ways than one. On one hand, you seem so much like me, it’s hard to give someone like me my trust and don’t expect them to trample all over it, but... on the other hand? Knowing that you are familiar with struggles so akin to my own? I can’t say whether that makes you more trustworthy to me or less.”

His words couldn’t be more true, could they? “Trust is such a fickle thing, isn’t it? You won't ever know you placed it with the wrong pony until they break it.”

Ozpin smiled at the pony-ism but nodded, nonetheless. “Wise words,” he said. “I want to trust you, Summer. I truly do...”

“Then what is holding you back?”

Ozpin adjusted his glasses with a strange frown. “It's a silly thing. For once in such a long time... I fear what others would think of me. Blame me for the things that I know but have no influence over,” he explained. “Making friends? I never truly get the chance to do something like that. Either because they would be dragged into this war with me or I would outlive them inevitably. I have to live with a terrible burden each and every time I reincarnate. I don’t want you to think I’m some sort of monster for giving the people of this world... hope, I guess. All the while knowing that that hope is nothing more than a lie.”

Hmm. That was... kinda sad, wasn’t it? It sounded almost like he had resigned himself to being alone for eternity. And because of the knowledge that he kept to himself out of fear, he thought he would stay alone forever if that secret would become public knowledge.

“Giving hope to those around you...” I muttered to myself, my heart crying desperately out in an attempt for me to listen to it for what I felt was right. “Perhaps it isn’t them that need that hope... but you.”

He gave me a look. “What do you mean?” Ozpin asked with his guard up.

“You are just going through the motions, aren’t you?” I asked, not waiting for him to respond to my question. “This war with Salem... you don’t think you could ever win against her, do you? If there was a way to stop this war, to end this conflict once and for all, wouldn’t you have already found a way to do just that during your long life? You are at a stalemate...”

Ozpin raised a brow at me. “And what gave you that idea?” he asked. I smiled while looking pointedly at the woman in the memory ball. His eternal nemesis. His love for her was still strong after all this time, as much as he tried to deny it to himself. It pained him that they were at odds with each other and it made me want to give him that light back. The light he lost so long ago. If there ever was a time to embrace my heart again, this was it.

“How old are you really?” I wondered, staring into his eyes. Eyes that looked young but did nothing to hide the ancient being he truly was.

His eyes were drawn back to the memory ball. “I don’t know,” Ozpin answered, uncertain. “It is difficult to keep track of time when so much of it passes between my reincarnations.”

“Is it truly that far-fetched to assume you are at a stalemate, then?”

Ozpin let out a humorless laugh, sounding more like a scoff. “You might have a point there,” he admitted.

“Alright," I sighed. "Let me tell you a story, then. A story of much heartache, of loss, and... of hope,” I proposed, gently taking the memory ball back from him. Cadance gave me a nervous glance as I smiled sadly at the magical artifact, bringing it to my forehead. “There once was a family living peacefully on a planet called Earth...”

I proceeded to show him the image of my old self standing next to the brightly smiling woman that my sister had been in her previous life. My little Rose was standing in front of us hugging her little sister, Tabetha. They were such bright children at the time and so innocent. I missed those times, being able to live a carefree life. A life without worry. A life sheltered from the horrors of the world. A life in ignorance, really.

“That peaceful life was not meant to be, though,” I continued on melancholically. “For another realm sought new defenders to keep it safe from a darkness only rivaled by the most vilest of beings.”

Without giving him time to study the memory for long (what can I say, one thing I definitely didn’t miss was my old body and I’d rather avoid hearing him ask questions about that), I changed the picture and from there, I showed him the young and optimistic fillies that would later set out to create a nation that, through dedication alone, would become the envy of the rest of the world.

“Wife and husband, now twin sisters, soon lost their father to the cruel greed of raiders scavenging for food in a world plagued by icy spirits of hatred,” I said, trying to suppress the quiver in my voice. “Having to take care of a newborn sister from that point on, one that had once been the sister of said twin, and a heavily depressed mare lost in her grief over losing her husband, they set out to find a land far away from the conflict that ravaged their previous home.”

Skipping forward a few years, I showed Ozpin and Cadance the event that changed our lives forever from that moment on. Platinum’s haughty look almost seemed childish to me now. If only I had known that immature reluctance to accept the fact her days as a princess were destined to end would turn her into such a monstrous abomination that would willingly corrupt herself in a petty attempt to seize the throne from us.

“Unwillingness to let go of something that would never belong to her, a young and foolish former princess, unfit to rule because of her inability to show compassion, sought to sabotage each and every effort of the orphaned mares to improve the lives of those under their care in a nation that had suddenly formed in the land they fled to.”

From Platinum to Sombra, I rapidly changed the memories to those few adversaries that stood out to me in all those years we had built up our kingdom from practically nothing.

“Others came and went, challenging the young princesses that wanted nothing more than to create a peaceful nation and reunite with lost family. Each adversary taught them valuable life lessons, and soon, they grew into wise and kind rulers that would do anything to protect their subjects from harm.”

As everything seemed to work out just fine after everything we went through, I changed the memory one more time to the moment I wanted to change the most about the past.

“But after they finally achieved their first milestone and managed to prove themselves against those that tried to bring ruin to their nation, one mare, still alive against all odds, seized the opportunity to enact her dastardly plan and possessed the eldest with magic most foul.”

From the swirling cloud within the ball of enchanted glass emerged the image of Platinum’s Nightmare Dream form. I glared darkly at the one that dared take away my love, wiping away the tears that threatened to spill.

“The vilest abomination that ever called herself a pony took away the eldest sister and paraded around in her body, fighting the younger sisters that reluctantly defended themselves, and, after everything began to fall apart, the twin of the possessed mare resigned herself to the duty she had to her nation, using a magical weapon she only had a partial bond with in order to bring a stop to the usurper.”

Lastly, with a sob, I changed the image one more time. The shadow of a head on the moon could now be seen in the background as my past self raged in denial, spouting insults at the petrified Elements of Harmony.

“A thousand years her sentence would be, trapped within her own body on the moon, leaving behind two mourning mares that sought comfort in the only way they could. Abandoning their home, they began to prepare for the return of the one they loved, not knowing what would ultimately happen once the sentence ends. Without their greatest weapon at their disposal, hope began to crumble until only a little ember remained of its former glory.”

I smiled sadly, emotionally spent. It hurt, talking about it, but I could see Ozpin give me a look filled with empathy. My daughter was holding my hand, and, seeing her sit there in a silent seething manner, I didn’t know whether to feel glad that she held no love for the one that took away a part of her family or... to feel saddened that she started to feel such dark feelings. Clearly, murder was on her mind as I had seen her stare at the image of Platinum with barely concealed rage, and as her mother, I felt worried.

I was worried that she would fall to the same depths I was willing to go to. To utterly erase Platinum’s wretched soul from existence. To deny her soul from ever reaching the Shadowlands, the Realm of the Dead, the Machinery of Death. I would rip her soul from the cycle and ensure she would never get the chance to be reborn. I didn’t trust whatever being was in charge of cleansing the taint from the souls that passed through the Shadowlands to do the job correctly.

Platinum’s soul was irredeemable. It is as simple as that. I don’t care if I am biased and shouldn’t get to decide that, she deserves nothing less. And as long as I had a say in it, I would keep Cadance pure and innocent. I won’t watch her get consumed by this darkness... this hatred... that I was feeling towards Platinum.

“The thousand years are almost over, aren’t they?” Ozpin asked quietly and, once I calmed myself down from the emotional high I just went through, I gave him a nod. “Your twin, I assume?”

“Yes,” I whispered, grateful for the tea that he refilled into my empty cup. “She's my twin. My... wife.”

“That must have been agonizing to see. To witness her be taken in such a way,” he stated and I sipped at my tea, a strange hollow feeling going through my insides. The beverage did nothing to reassure me.

“Yes...” I nodded (if only barely). One could hardly tell if I moved my head at all. “But I have hope.”

“...you do?” Ozpin asked slowly as if he thought there was none to be found in my tale. How could he think otherwise? It did seem quite hopeless, all things considered. So many uncertainties. So many unknown variables. To the rational mind, everything pointed toward a bleak future.

My heart knew better. My poor heart. My damn bleeding heart. I was almost certain of it. No... I was certain of it. The prophecy will fulfill itself, it has to.

“In the darkest times, we always could count on our family and friends to see us through,” I said, seeing my daughter smile brightly back at me as I gently squeezed her hand. “A prophecy foretold the impending doom that would befall one of us, but it also foretold the event that would come to pass once the prison’s chains would break. I intend to find the ones that will bring me back my beloved... and once she is back in my arms? I won’t ever let her go.”

“I wish I had something like that,” Ozpin muttered, staring into the memory ball that still displayed the last scene I showed to him. “A prophecy that tells me everything would turn out alright in the end.”

“You don’t need a prophecy for that,” I told him, causing him to look up at me with a faint glimmer of disbelief clouding his ancient eyes. “Hope alone... it helps to see you through even the most suffocating darkness, in the end. A wise serpent once told me that hope never truly dies. That it is our belief in it that does. And that belief? It is easily rekindled when you need it the most.”

“I...” he hesitated, looking at me with that desperate want for my words to be true.

“You don’t need to trust me, Ozpin,” I said, my voice filled with total conviction. “Frankly, you shouldn’t base trust on words. Rather, you should base your trust on actions. Those that prove to you their will to stay by your side... those you should trust. Trust in the people closest to you and trust in that glimmer of hope just waiting for you to believe in it again. I know I lost my belief in hope for a very long time. It is time we change that, don’t we?”

“Were those also the words of this 'wise serpent' of yours?” he chuckled, a light entering his eyes that hadn’t previously been there. “What a strange world you must inhabit. A fairy tale world with sentient ponies and serpents...”

“No, those weren’t her words,” I answered while blushing the faintest red that he would think so. Those could have very well been her words, couldn’t they? They just... tumbled out of my mouth. “And Yu’lon is... was a heavenly cloud serpent of another realm. A realm perhaps even more dangerous than this one, I fear. I dearly hope she is still out there, somewhere.”

“This still boggles the mind, truly,” Ozpin remarked. “Different realities... I would have never thought it possible to actually speak with a being from another world, let alone from another reality.”

My daughter giggled. “Once you get used to the idea, it opens up so many possibilities,” Cadance commented. “Just thinking about it makes you wonder what else could be out there. My mom and mothers have seen so many different worlds using the mirror portal, you wouldn’t even believe where they have been!”

“So... is polyamory a legal thing in your nation?” Ozpin asked with a curious eyebrow wandering up his forehead.

“Well, herding is,” I giggled nervously. “Incest... not so much.”

“You are breaking your own laws?” Ozpin smiled, a mischievous glint in his eyes. Oh, he was definitely teasing me now, wasn’t he?

“Nah, Mom has a stick up her plot,” Cadance said and I made a choking sound as my daughter of all ponies dared to say that while in my presence. “There is actually a law that allows sisters or brothers to be in the same herd as long as there's no chance for a pregnancy. Something about foals being more prone to severe magic surges if they are conceived through incest.” She shrugged.

“Wait, what?” I asked, hearing that little bit for the first time. I never made that law. Wasn’t that a thing only practiced in ancient times from even before the wendigos? Something purely survival-related? Since when was there an actual law for that?!

“Oh, yeah! It’s like... a really old law,” Cadance shrugged and my previous misgivings about her saying I had a stick shoved up my... well, 'there'... were completely forgotten. “I think it even predates the founding of Equestria, that’s how ancient that law is.”

“I... never knew that there was a law like that,” I admitted, feeling all sorts of strange feelings well up within me. That... I need to look into that law as soon as we are back in Equestria.

After I drowned myself in alcohol to forget this whole ordeal, that is. I really need something to relax and I didn’t care that I would get that through enormous amounts of alcohol that would kill an ordinary mortal. Then again, I probably need more than that to deal with this... nonsense law. I shudder to think what sort of nightmare I would unleash upon the world by trying to fix a mess that should have been fixed a long time ago.

“Wait... I thought you knew about it?” Cadance asked, giving me a confused look. “I mean, Mom had signed it to make it an official Equestrian law sometime after you became princesses...”

“She did that, huh?” I said in a deathly quiet whisper, my eye twitching madly. Tia... once you are back, I’mma kill you. I’mma kill you so dead, you will beg me to kill you again. And once you are dead dead, I’mma kill you one more time for good measure.

“How did you even come across that law, little petal?” I asked, trying not to give in to the urge to throw things around in a fit of rage. To think my wife went behind my back and made incest (partially) legal...

“It was in one of those dusty old tomes in the Royal Archives,” Cadance explained, shrugging helplessly. “I went to look some things up for one of my assignments from you, so I thought you were aware of it... I mean, you are in a herd with Mother, so... I just assumed you knew.”

“Does Luna know about this?” I whispered, gripping the armrest of my chair tightly. “Or Liz?”

“I, uh... I don’t know?” Cadance giggled nervously, prompting me to narrow my eyes on her.

“Cadance...” I warned her, not at all in the mood for this. “Do. They. Know?!”

“Maybe?” she admitted, shrinking back from me. “I don’t think Luna does, though. Mother would have told you, right?”

“I’mma kill Liz, too,” I grunted, breaking the chair’s armrest. “I will kill her and Tia. To think they would... those little... perverted... idiots...”

“Mom?” Cadance whispered, sounding afraid. “Are you... okay?”

“Oh, I will be,” I said, smiling devilishly. “Once I have sufficiently punished that perverted bug. Eh heh heh~...”

Both Ozpin and my daughter gave me a nervous look as I laughed to myself. Liz really had it coming for her now, that stupid idiot. Let’s see how she likes no sex for a decade or so...

I could make a good guess why she didn’t tell me and it only made me angrier with her. She probably didn’t think it was such a big deal, did she? I will hammer it into her thick skull and tell her that nothing good could possibly come from a law that made incest legal in any way. Once ponies thought it acceptable for siblings to be together in that way, how long would it take for them to think a sister-brother relationship would be okay?! What would happen then?!

I... I can’t allow this to spiral out of control. The possible implications of that were just... staggering. Nothing good could come out of this. Nothing. Nothing good.

Breathing in slowly, I let the air back out without giving in to the urge to scream like a banshee. The law could wait... I’ll talk with Lulu and we can fix this mess, no problem... Just breathe, Summer. Breathe.

Flying penguins, I really need that alcohol now...

Liz better have a good reason why she never told me about that law (if she does know about it). Chances are, she knew as soon as she entered our herd... probably. She literally has thousands of changelings at any one time that could do her bidding, there's no way she doesn't know about that law.

Not only did she corrupt my daughter, my sweet, sweet daughter, but she also withheld this from me. She will be lucky to get any action at all for the next decade.

Maybe a decade wasn’t even enough. Maybe a century would teach her a lesson. And I'm going to make sure she won't have any fun with Luna, either. She was a bad changeling and bad changelings don’t get sex...

This time, I definitely won’t go easy on her. She could beg me with her adorable eyes as long as she wants, this time I won’t let her get away with it. Definitely not. Absolutely one-hundred percent not.

...I’m going to go easy on her again, won’t I? Ugh. Those damn eyes of hers. I just... can’t resist them.

No! This time... this time for sure! No way, no how. I won’t let her manipulate me into going easy on her again. I won't!

“As... interesting... as this has been, I think you are trustworthy despite what your own opinion about this is,” Ozpin said, bringing me out of my mental ravings. I mentally told myself to not forget my promise to punish Liz and focused back on the man sitting in front of me. Hopefully, I won’t forget to actually go through with it. “Perhaps I can trust you to not think too badly of me when I tell you my own tale.”

“You don’t have to trust me just because I told you about my past,” I gently told him. “I just wanted to see that little bit of hope return to your eyes. You don’t owe me anything.”

“Summer, I would like to consider you as a friend,” Ozpin sighed while turning the memory ball around in his hand. He didn't look exactly happy about sharing, but it seemed like he made his mind up. “Let me tell you this if only so I could have a confidant to talk to. Someone that understands my own pain.”

“If you insist,” I reluctantly agreed. Just this morning I was eager to learn this man’s every secret, but now? I don’t think I even deserved to know the smallest detail about any of those. “Would you like to talk completely in private? My daughter, while certainly more trustworthy than I, doesn’t have to be within earshot if you don’t want to share your story with both of us.”

“It’s fine,” he said, receiving a smile from both Cadance and myself. “I don’t think I have to fear anything from your family and she seems quite mature for her age.”

Cadance pouted while crossing her arms in front of her chest. “I’m almost forty, you know,” she said. I rolled my eyes as that argument got brought up again. She barely was an adult in mind and her body still had a long way to go until she was mature enough to be considered an adult by alicorn standards. She has spent both of her lives growing up so far, her age really wasn’t that much of an indicator of her maturity.

“That is quite young,” Ozpin smiled, getting me to laugh and Cadance to pout even more. “Anyway, the tale begins in a land ruled by two gods...”^[1]

Ozpin held the memory ball up and filled it with a scene of a breathtaking castle in the distance and a young man on his way through what looked like guards defending it.

“Seeking righteousness, a young man braved the challenges laid out in a tower that only held one thing: A young princess secluded away from society, for her father was a cruel one and did not allow her the outside world.”

He changed the picture to that of both of them, free at last in a world ruled by many kings and queens, filled with magic and wonders. A hero and the damsel in distress, standing there looking at each other with nothing but love in their eyes. I knew something would happen to change that and felt apprehension build within my stomach at what it could be. Nothing good, that’s for sure.

“But the blooming love between the two was not meant to last,” Ozpin continued, his voice heavy with emotions. I watched with wetness in my eyes as he changed the scene from their happy selves to that of the man on his deathbed and the woman mourning over his weak self in sadness and grief. “For a sickness soon took root in the young man and took him away from the one he cherished most.”

The next memory was in a land of foreboding shadows and dark creatures prowling around. The same woman held the panicking and quite clearly resurrected man in her arms, two figures standing at opposite ends locked in what appeared to be an argument. Those... those were no ordinary beings. There was no doubt, those two were higher beings. Actual Gods, even.

They were also obviously forces of light and dark and I held no love for those two. My mind wandered back to the shattered fragments of the moon, convinced that they had something to do with that. There was no other way how that could have happened.

“The Brother Gods soon took exception to the deception that led to his resurrection, irked that a mortal would dare to disrupt the balance of life and death,” Ozpin said. “And they punished the woman accordingly for deceiving the younger brother, having tricked him into doing that which his elder had refused to do.”

“What happened?” Cadance asked, fearful. He smiled sadly at her and changed the picture to a scene that felt almost... surreal. As if living beings had no right to look upon it.

“The God of Light punished her with eternal life,” he explained. “And, once the young princess had tried everything, she despaired at being unable to join her beloved in the afterlife. In the end, she brought an army to their doorstep and tried to convince them by force. And this is where everything took a turn for the worst. For the gods declared their world a failure and left. Leading to this moment.”

I suspected that, should a mortal look upon this scene, to peer beyond the veil of life and death into the Shadowlands, they would feel even more queasy than I was. In it, the man was seen in a strange place with the God of Light in front of him. I was uncertain if this place was somewhere within the Shadowlands or in an entirely different plane of death, altogether. Perhaps it even was their own personally crafted afterlife, ruled by the Brother Gods and none other.

“He explained to the young man that his love traveled down a dark path and that he was needed to set things right. Ozma was told that there would come a time when humanity would be judged, and should they be worthy of it, be whole again. Have their gods walk among them once more, granting them access to a power that was all but lost to them. They would have time to come to peace with one another and live in harmony.

“Ozma, tasked with preparing humanity for that time, agreed once he knew Salem, his love, still lived and would never reunite with him in the afterlife, thinking that his love couldn’t have changed so drastically as he was led to believe. He would always reincarnate with a like-minded individual to ensure he stayed true to his righteous ways, and thus, would never be truly alone.”

Ozpin (or should I say Ozma?) changed the scene to the first time he reincarnated. And... what I saw made my skin crawl at what had become of the woman he loved. Both of them were seated at a table on a porch of a tiny little hut within the woods, their love for each other rekindled by their reunion. But... I could tell it would not last long. Salem... she looked twisted and wrong. She looked like a mockery of her former self.

Her skin was almost a sickly pale white while her eyes... they held a cruel darkness within them. A look I was all too familiar with. Although, where mine still held a semblance of kindness within them, Salem’s eyes stared back with poorly disguised malice. I had no idea how Ozpin could have ever thought to look into those eyes with love, ignoring the danger that lurked within them.

Perhaps the saying was true, after all. Love makes ponies blind to the truth. Or humans, I suppose.

“Reunited at last, both thought their lives would finally find that everlasting happily ever after,” Ozpin resumed telling his tale after a heavy pause, struggling with his voice as he gave the picture of his lost love a mourning look. I wish I could empathize with him in some way, but what he went through... it was far more tragic than what happened to Tia, wasn’t it? Tia hadn’t willingly chosen to become a puppet to dark forces and I had no idea how he must be feeling, seeing Salem start the slow descent into the horrific being she must resemble by now (a darkness only rivaled by Platinum, I fear). “Holding secrets from each other, they tried to unite humanity. But both of them had different ideas on how they should go about doing that, and once Ozma confessed he was to prepare humanity for the return of the Brother Gods, Salem and he could not agree on a... peaceful solution.”

The picture within the memory ball was changed once more by him, and this time, a scene most tragic greeted my eyes. A scene that could have only been a colossal battle between archmages unfolded before me, and in the middle of it all were four little girls. Ozma’s past self ushered them out of the castle that had been their home, only for their beautiful castle to become a battleground in their little ‘disagreement’. Salem quite clearly held a grudge against the creators of this world and would rather see herself in their place than bow down to them.

I felt conflicted about this argument between them. On one hoof, I would never trust those so-called 'gods' to do anything right after they cursed a foolish woman in a petty fit to eternal life, and from what I understood, they also (mostly?) eradicated the human race because they didn’t turn out like they would have liked.

What's up with gods and apocalyptic events, anyway? It sure does go to show they didn't deserve their position.

Anyway, I understand why Ozpin tries so hard to bring humanity together in a peaceful way. My sisters and I had accepted our positions as princesses only because we wanted to see Equestria united in a way that had never been seen before. To bring unity and a sense of safety to ponykind, we became a symbol for each tribe, and through a few trials here and there, we achieved our goals. We brought peace and prosperity to our nation. I want to see Ozpin be successful with his own vision of a united world. Because to me, it seemed ridiculous that a single race was so divided when they shared so much in common.

Well, maybe not exactly quite like that. I have seen the odd few people with animal parts on my way here with Qrow and something told me I wouldn’t like what the rest of humanity thought of those.

“In the end,” Ozpin sighed, staring darkly at the image within the memory ball. “That was the start of their war against each other. Two people, once having been so close to each other you would have thought them to be soulmates, locked in a bitter fight for control over the relics left behind by their creators. Each one struggling to make their own vision of how this world should look like become a reality while denying the other the victory in a game that shouldn't have ever existed in the first place.”

“And... with every reincarnation that Ozma went through, he became less the man he once was and more of a mix of those he has been. Always struggling to keep the world from falling into darkness, doing what he could. A fight that could never end for his opponent is unable to die. Immortal in every sense of the word, Salem would inevitably win the fight through attrition alone, should the man that had once been lauded as a hero falter in his fight to unite humanity and lose all hope...”

Ozpin leaned back against his chair as he left the memory ball in the center of the table with one last picture, a picture that was no memory in the ordinary sense. In the memory ball was a memory that showed each of his incarnations up to his current one standing next to each other in a blank space.

“Do you see now?” Ozpin asked, tiredly. “How can I ever feel hope to win this fight, this damnable war of beliefs... when I can’t ensure she won’t destroy everything that I work so tirelessly to achieve? Like a coward, I let my followers believe that they can, one day, bring an end to this when it is utterly impossible...”

“If it is impossible, why do you keep going?” I shot back, daring him to come up with some excuse he knew he didn’t truly believe. I knew he could win this in some way, nothing was impossible. I just have to make him believe that.

“I don’t know,” he told me, frowning sadly. I wanted to wipe that look from his face so badly, it didn’t suit him. At all. So hopeless, so defeated... he was barely holding on and it was such a pitiful sight to behold. He reminded me of myself at my lowest, overthinking mere possibilities out of fear. “I guess I keep on going because I owe it to those that I have already failed to protect from her. I owe it to people like our Summer. I keep going because otherwise, everything I have worked for would have been for nothing.”

“There is always a solution, Ozma,” I said. “It might not be obvious and it might not be the solution you would prefer, but there are ways for you to still win this and keep this world safe. Bring peace to it and... at some point, you can make it a place where your people don’t have to fear the Grimm anymore. You can reclaim this planet without relying on the whim of two inadequate gods.”

“And how do you propose I do that?” he grunted, rubbing his face in frustration. “What could I do that I haven’t already tried to do?! There is nothing that would put an end to Salem, she would only get stronger with everything I throw at her. Damn it, Summer, all of my agents that have tried to challenge her in a foolish attempt to prove to me that Salem could be killed are gone!”

“Is that how my counterpart died?” I asked, raising a brow. “Was she one of those 'foolish agents'?”

“I... no. I don’t know,” Ozpin sighed. “I told her not to risk it and she accused me of being a coward, content to play the waiting game. She knew full well she would never be able to best Salem...”

“She is right,” I stated, causing him to look up at me with betrayed eyes. “You are a coward.”

“Mom...” Cadance muttered in shock, unable to believe I would say those words to Ozpin after everything I did to make him have hope again. I smiled thinly back at her, standing up from the ruined chair. “I’m so sorry, Mister Ozma, I’m sure she didn’t mean it like that.”

I shook my head. “Oh, I did mean every word of that, little petal,” I disagreed with her. “He is very much a coward. But that is in no way meant as an insult.”

“What..?” Ozpin whispered, thoroughly confused.

“The weak, the cowardly, those that think they know they can’t fight and expect to win...” I began. “They are the strongest. They dare to imagine the impossible, they continue to hold on to hope. They think things through, considering each and every potential outcome of their actions. They try to find ways to outplay the opponent in the most efficient way possible, without ever having to take up arms. You said my counterpart knew she couldn’t possibly defeat Salem, right? Tell me, what words did she say to you when she went out to confront her?”

Ozpin frowned. “That she would stop Salem...” he answered. “Summer, I don’t understand. What are you trying to tell me?”

“Did she say she would kill Salem?” I asked, ignoring his demand for an explanation.

“Mom, now isn’t the time for one of your cryptic lessons,” Cadance interrupted Ozpin before he could answer my question and I rose an eyebrow at her. “Can’t you for once just say what is on your mind?”

“She never said she would kill Salem,” I explained. “Now, tell me, my Rose Petal. What did she mean by ‘she would stop Salem’?”

“I...” Cadance mumbled, rubbing her arm as she was suddenly put in the spotlight instead of the headmaster. “I mean, stop doesn’t necessarily mean kill. If Salem can’t be killed, wouldn’t it still be possible for her to be stopped without taking her life? Banishment comes to mind, it would be like what you did with Platinum, wouldn’t it?”

I smiled, satisfied. That was the solution to the problem, wasn’t it? If Salem was somewhere where she couldn’t try anything to sabotage Ozpin, he would be free to heal Remnant, in a sense. He could bring humanity together in a way like my wives and I had done for Equestria.

“You think I never tried something like that?” Ozpin laughed mirthlessly, gripping the armrest of his chair tightly. “She is too powerful to be contained like that. I would only be playing for time...”

“I hear that the moon is a lovely place,” I shot back with a mischievous smile. “But there are ways to negate the powers of even the most powerful of beings, aside from banishment.”

“And those would be?”

“If I had access to the Elements of Harmony, we could have tried to point them at her and hope for the best,” I said with a shrug. “But seeing that they are broken beyond repair, I suppose that would have to wait until I find a way to make them whole again, as impossible as that task seems to be.”

“Great,” Ozpin grumbled with a roll of his eyes. “So far, you are ruining all my hopes, you know that?”

“Don’t get pouty on me, dear,” I giggled. “I didn’t say those were the only things that could be effective against her. Besides, I don’t think you would like to petrify your former love, so another solution will have to do.”

Ozpin sighed. “I can see why your daughter doesn’t enjoy your style of teaching,” he said, giving me a pointed look. “Could you get to the point?”

“Dear, I’ll have you know I’m a great teacher,” I pouted. Although... he might have a point there. I have been enjoying my cryptic responses a bit too much as of late. “There are other ways to achieve similar goals. One thing I can think of would be to simply trap her in an environment she couldn’t escape from. The moon would be perfect for an immortal like her, but a simple room would do the job too, I suppose. Of course, the room would be anything but ordinary.”

“Okay,” Ozpin nodded slightly in thought. “How do you propose we make that room able to contain an immortal being? One that, might I add, could rip it apart with magic?”

“I would obviously need access to a few things,” I admitted, nervously rubbing my arm as I was sure he would call me crazy for... how expensive the amount of resources would be to construct a ‘cage’ like that. “I... uh... I don’t suppose you have access to large amounts of orichalcum and adamantium? Perhaps a little bit of star steel? Maybe mithril?”

Ozpin gave me a blank look. “I have no idea what those are,” he told me and I gulped heavily. Great. Ugh.

“Celestia will hate me for this,” I shuddered, not at all in the mood to go beg her for a chunk of star steel from her vaults. On top of that, nopony even knew how to forge with that metal. I could probably figure it out with enough time. Then again... I’m certain it would take me at least a few centuries to do so. If all else failed, using it in its raw and unrefined state might work, too. It wouldn’t be ideal, but it would be a start. “But I suppose if it helps a friend out, she won’t be too mad. Let’s hope the portal to her universe will be... amenable and not refuse to open. I swear, that mirror has a worse attitude than Luna in the morning.”

“I take it this Celestia isn’t your Celestia?” Ozpin asked and I simply nodded. Well, it wouldn’t be too much of a loss if she has none available... it's only going to make the cost of that cage end up even more astronomical. Heck, it would be way easier to create a rocket capable of space-flight from scratch, instead.

“Say...” I began hesitantly. “Have you ever tried reconciling with Salem? Maybe reforming her might be a valid plan instead?”

He raised a brow at me. “She would rather force me to give her the relics and kill me afterward,” Ozpin deadpanned and I winced. Okay, then... the cage it is. Let’s hope Luna won’t kill me for spending an exorbitant amount of resources on this, then...

Or maybe... maybe we could come up with a better solution to that. If I could create an alloy with the properties I’m looking for that are similar enough to those of adamantium and orichalcum, I wouldn’t need extreme amounts of those.

“It might take a while for me to create a cage that would ensure nothing breaks out of it. It’s doable but might be very, and I mean very, expensive. So expensive, you would think me mad, in fact. If we don’t come up with different ideas, that is,” I told him with a nervous smile.

“How expensive are we talking about here?” Ozpin asked me with narrowed eyes.

“Enough to buy an entire kingdom or two?” I admitted with a wince.

“Summer, I can’t ask something like that of you.”

“Ozpin, you are my friend now,” I said. “And an Equestrian Princess doesn’t go back on her word when she offers her help. I will find a way to help you.”

“Mom, maybe we don’t need a new cage,” Cadance interrupted us before we could continue this argument further.

“I..." I blinked, thinking for a moment. "Huh. Oh, wow. Cadance, you are right!” I said, smiling brightly as I grabbed her and held her tightly in my embrace. “Oh, look at you! So smart!”

“Thanks?” she squeaked, struggling to get enough air into her lungs. Not that she would actually die from a lack of oxygen. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have to worry about Platinum so much. Would have been nice to know she suffocated on the moon and couldn’t revive herself until her sentence ended. Still, breathing was nice. Couldn’t hold a conversation without breathing, after all.

And, on top of that, it was really unpleasant to substitute oxygen with mana. As much as it was a nifty little trick, it was absolutely, without question, an awful feeling. Bordering on torture, really. The constant feeling of suffocating while substituting oxygen with mana could drive any mortal insane.

As long as you don’t have a fetish for that, I suppose...

“Right! Where was I?” I said, feeling extraordinarily happy.

“The prison?” Ozpin reminded me and I nodded, beginning to pace back and forth in front of his desk.

“We could use Tartarus if we really need to. It should hold her without problems. Probably.”

“Probably?”

“Uh... I mean, I don’t really know her capabilities, and if she is as powerful as... say... Platinum, then that could prove to be a problem,” I explained, trying not to panic as that plan sounded like it was doomed for failure. “She could probably, maybe... blast her way out of there?”

“That would indeed be a problem. I take it this Tartarus is a prison of sorts?” Ozpin asked. Now that we were talking about actual possible ways to solve his problems, he seemed a lot more collected and hopeful again.

“More like... the prison of prisons,” Cadance answered him with an excited grin on her face. “Mom made that prison to hold the most dangerous creatures that have ever existed.”

I blushed. “Tia did most of the work,” I said, not comfortable with how my daughter made it sound like I was the only pony to create Tartarus. And it's not exactly something to be proud of, anyway. “Without her work, it would be nowhere near secure enough to hold the monsters incarcerated there.”

“It seems your own realm is quite a bit more dangerous than I was led to believe,” Ozpin remarked with a raised brow. “Monsters? Sounds like you could use a few huntsmen and huntresses of your own.”

“Luna, Liz, and I are quite capable of keeping our nation safe on our own,” I argued back. “I’d rather not risk the lives of my subjects should they get it into their heads that hunting monsters is something they are capable of.”

“If you say so,” he said, clearly thinking I was being too protective of my little ponies, sheltering them from every little thing (not that he would be wrong assuming that). If he knew what kind of monsters made Equis their home, though, he would probably rethink that thought. “What else could we do if Tartarus won’t be able to hold Salem for long?”

I hummed, thinking for a moment. That was the question, wasn’t it? If all else failed, we could still go back to the idea of creating a cage tailored specifically to her. I’d prefer not having to spend a fortune on that, though.

To be honest, the idea of using Tartarus made me feel queasy, anyway. I’d rather not house another supervillain in there. One that could, if worst comes to worst, break out of it without too much difficulty. If Salem was on the power level of an alicorn, Tartarus won’t hold her for long. A century at most, probably.

Too bad we couldn’t send her to the moon or petrify her with the Elements. I don’t even know if the Elements would work in a different reality, which would also put the new wielders needlessly at risk (once I've found them, that is). Something tells me I won’t just get lucky and stumble across their path.

What else was there that could ensure Salem can’t interfere with Remnant ever again? Sure, reforming her would be great, but I wasn’t sure if she could be redeemed. Maybe devouring her soul? I... no, that isn’t going to work, either. Not with me being so weak in this dimension.

Assuming this immortality is of divine origin, it would be an even harder task to accomplish. In Equestria, my wives and I might stand a chance of destroying her divine core, but at what cost that would come, I couldn’t possibly predict. I’m also pretty certain her immortality isn’t a malicious curse that was placed on her by a dark artifact, so breaking that in order to kill her is out of the equation as well.

Ugh. Perhaps this actually was as hopeless as Ozpin made it out to be? Aside from ruining every plan Salem comes up with, I can’t think of anything that would put an actual stop to her machinations. It seems like the only viable option was going to be that cage and I have no idea how long it would take for me to gather all those materials to craft it. Not to mention the time I would need to actually design and build it. It could take me decades if I was honest with myself.

Heck, it would be easier to just shove her through a mirror and call it.. a... day...

By the twin suns, it can't be that easy, can it? Holy flying penguins, how did it take me that long to come up with an ingenious plan like this? It should have been obvious from the beginning.

“I... I might have a solution,” I said, breathlessly. Never let it be said I can't have a stroke of genius in my old age. Hah! This dusty old brain of mine still does the unthinkable from time to time.

Ozpin frowned curiously. “I’m all ears,” he said, motioning for me to go on.

“I told you that there are countless other versions of you out there, right? That within the multiverse, your reality is only one among infinite other realities,” I began, getting him to slowly nod and I could see that the light in the eyes of my daughter had caught on to where I was going with this. It was heartwarming to see her work it out so fast, I was so very proud of her at that moment.

“Now, tell me... if you were to try and travel through the multiverse, how would you go about doing it?” I asked him, seeing his eyebrows grow closer together in thought.

“You said you use mirrors, right?” Ozpin inquired, stroking his chin with a few fingers. “Those are some sort of gateway, allowing you to create a path to another universe? A bridge of sorts?”

“Exactly,” I nodded, beginning to grin with giddy anticipation. “What you described is essentially the functionality of a mirror portal. You can travel back and forth along that bridge, basically ensuring you never get lost within the multiverse. The mirror acts as a type of anchor for those two dimensions to stay in close contact with each other. What if I told you that the mirror is not the only method to do it?”

“I would assume that there would be another method that would allow you to travel between dimensions without getting lost,” he responded and I nodded slowly.

“Right,” I breathed out, excited for what was to come next. “Starswirl actually developed one such method. A portal that doesn’t need a mirror. The downside to that is, you would need something else to guide you back home. A signature, if you will.”

“Do you have a signature like that?” Ozpin asked and I nodded again.

“Well, I can’t use it without access to a large mana pool, but luckily for me, I have an incredible wife that, without a doubt, is currently working on connecting a portal to this dimension after examining the residue of the spell that brought us here,” I explained.

“I’m glad you aren’t stranded here, then,” Ozpin smiled and I returned it with one of my own.

“Thank you, dear. Anyway, the point is, without a signature like that; a beacon, if you will,” I began, promptly getting an eye roll from Ozpin and my daughter at the pun of his prestigious academy. “You are essentially lost forever. There is next to no hope of ever finding your way back to your original world because of the sheer magnitude of the multiverse and the multitude of similar universes to your own.”

“Right...” Ozpin hummed and I could see that he got the same idea I had. “And without a bridge or a signature, Salem won’t be able to get back to Remnant. The only thing we would have to do is to somehow trick her into going through one such portal.”

“Indeed,” I nodded. “I will leave the details of that to you, I have two daughters to train. Their lessons aren’t over, yet.”

“In combat?” he inquired and saw my daughter gulp at the mention of lessons and combat.

“For the duration of my stay here, yes,” I said. “Suns know Ruby needs lessons in unarmed combat.”

“You are training the counterpart of your daughter, too?”

“More like torturing us...” my daughter grumbled and I glared at her while Ozpin raised an intrigued eyebrow.

“If it isn’t too much of a bother, I would like to introduce you to a friend of mine; Glynda. Is that acceptable to you?” Ozpin asked and now it was my turn to raise my eyebrow at him.

“Go ahead, we don’t have anything secret to discuss anymore. Right, Mom?” Cadance told him, looking back to me for confirmation. I merely nodded, interested in what Ozpin wanted this Glynda here for.

Considering where I currently was, I could make a guess and be reasonably certain that I would be correct in assuming what it would be that Ozpin wanted. He wanted to rope me into teaching combat here, didn’t he?

Well, if he truly wished for me to torture... I mean, ‘train’ his students, who was I to deny a request of a new friend? Hmm. This might just get interesting, too. And it's not like it won't be useful to me, either.

After all, gaining access to the technology used here to train new generations of huntsmen and huntresses would surely prove useful for Cadance and Ruby’s training. Eh heh heh...

Our wait for Beacon’s combat instructor and vice-headmistress wasn’t long at all, and once I saw the ‘young’ lady, I definitely knew this proposal they had for me was worth my time. Glynda was a rather strict woman, appearance-wise. If I was honest with myself, she would have been my type once upon a time. She just screamed sexy seductress to me.

Ahem! Anyway, once I stated my terms to them under which circumstances I would teach here, I was quite happy with the results. Most importantly, I was a very happy owner of a scroll of the newest generation and couldn’t help but giggle joyfully as I skipped back to the flying deathtraps they call transport here in this world, ignoring my daughter’s sulking pout as she walked beside me.

Qrow was already there waiting for us, having refilled his flask at some point. As I was already pretty much accustomed to his behavior, I ignored the way he greeted us with indifference and settled myself in a seat furthest away from any windows, quietly suffering the journey back to Vale. My scroll could only keep me so much distracted from the unnaturalness of this Bullhead’s engines. At least I could buy myself as many games as my heart desired from now on.

Haah... I don’t look forward to returning with those dastardly things tomorrow morning with Cadance and Ruby in tow, though. Well, as long as Ruby actually wants to accept this offer Ozpin gave me (much to the disgruntlement of Glynda, who thought him crazy to allow my daughters to attend classes there with me as their primary teacher). I don’t think she would actually say no to attending Beacon a bit earlier than her seventeenth birthday.

Cadance wouldn’t actually be part of any team due to the fact we had to return to Equestria soon. Until the spring semester actually begins, both of them will continue their private training with me. I’ll have to adjust the lesson plan a little bit to ensure Ruby doesn’t neglect her other school subjects in the meantime, teaching her everything she would have learned in her last two years of Signal Academy.

My little petal, of course, had no other choice but to attend Beacon, and thus, subject herself to my specialized combat training. I would make sure she and Ruby will be able to fight efficiently with every imaginable weapon for the rest of their lives, even if they might never take any other weapon into their hands again. I will only be satisfied with their training once they can kill Grimm with their toothbrushes. Cadance will, without a doubt, want to rely on her defensive strategies, but I'm going to make sure she will be as deadly with that as she will be with an offensive approach.

As much as I have berated her for being too passive on a battlefield before, I know a good defense is just as important as a good offense. While sometimes it is true that the best defense is going on the offense, having a good defense shouldn’t be totally neglected. My little petal liked to use shields, perhaps a bit too much, so I would just have to work with that.

Using a shield, whether through magic or ordinary physical shields, might prove to be her greatest strength even. If I could teach her to use those as weapons, too? She would literally turn into an unstoppable force. The question, on the other hoof, was what kind of shield would be the best in that case? Probably some sort of bladed kite shield...

I might be able to convince Ruby to craft Cadance a shield that (like her scythe) could shift into something with more offensive capabilities without sacrificing its defensive ability entirely. Knowing Ruby, she is going to be very enthusiastic about helping Cadance with this task.

Ruby does love weapons to an obsessive degree, doesn’t she? What would she think once I open her mind to the possibility that a shield can be used as a weapon as well? Now that I was thinking about it... she would probably drool happily while coming up with crazy schematics. Hopefully, we could come up with a design that would also work for Cadance back home. I would hate for Ruby’s hard work to go to waste.

Once we were back at the Xiao Long-Rose household, Ruby couldn’t stop gushing about how ‘cool’ it was going to be attending Beacon Academy together with Yang and Cadance while I would be teaching there. Tai was happy for her, but I could tell he was sad to see both of his daughters leave the nest earlier than he expected.

Not that I was feeling any different in that regard, just for other reasons. This would mean she would start her journey to become Remnant’s savior even earlier and I was worried whether or not I could prepare her enough. To make sure she is ready for everything this world could throw at her. With two fewer years of education, it was even more important to get her up to speed with those that already had that time.

I don’t want to be the cause of her being bullied for her special treatment. There will be those that are going to allow their jealousy to cloud their judgment and mistreat my little petal, no doubt. Both of them, for that matter. Her status as a princess won’t save Cadance here from that kind of treatment because, for all intents and purposes, her title had little to no meaning here. On top of that, Cadance is physically younger than Ruby, and... I worry for her. Others will look at her and see a little child and feel like she hasn't earned her place.

I couldn’t allow anyone to take advantage of that, and to ensure that, I would have to be even harsher with them in their training. Not only because it would help them more in the long run, but also to dissuade anyone from thinking they got it easier than them. If anything, it would be quite the opposite case.

I will have to keep in mind that, while for Cadance this wasn’t meant as an actual school experience, they are going to need social experience, as well. That's even more important for Ruby. She is still very much a teenager in every sense of the word (while quite mature for her age, she does goof around a lot with Cadance in the short time they have been around each other). She needs friends, genuine ones. Thus, Ruby will have to go through Beacon Academy’s entrance exam once the semester starts and I need to prepare her for that as well.

Quite a long list of things to prepare for, isn’t it? The entrance exam, the missing two years of education (which in and of itself is a long list of things I have to go through, as well, teaching her everything in a far too short amount of time), her missing skills in unarmed close-quarter combat, the need to teach her how to wield almost anything and everything as a weapon, preparing her to defend herself from jealous students (because there will be some of those that are going to try something foolish with her, I could almost guarantee it), creating a shield-weapon hybrid for Cadance and possibly improving her own weapon while we are at it, and to top it all off, I will have to continue teaching them advanced combat lessons during all of that.

Things like teaching Ruby to use her semblance to its fullest potential, using the environment to their advantage, cheating like no tomorrow, and strategy on such a high level, both of them could analyze the battlefield in their sleep (metaphorically speaking, of course). I would also have to teach them how to disarm someone of their weapon and other things I, myself, am not an expert in. Like, say... stealth. I wish Luna was here to help out with that part, but my limited knowledge would have to do. I’m not the most subtle pony on the battlefield and prefer the direct confrontation to be as short as possible (through overwhelming force most of the time, I admit).

And for all of that, I only have a meager two to three months' worth of time. Way too short to accomplish everything on my mental to-do list, but thankfully, I won’t have to do everything in that time. The most important thing was to make sure Ruby knows everything she needs in order for her to start her first semester at Beacon Academy successfully. For the lesson plan of Ruby, I could prioritize most of those things based on their importance for now. That left me with what to do for Cadance in the meantime.

I already know the first priority for that, don’t I? She wants to use shields, so that’s going to be our main focus for now. Shields, unarmed combat, and whatever else comes to my mind while we train. Once Beacon begins, we can concentrate on all the good stuff.

While we were doing that, I couldn’t sit idly by myself. I have to research everything I can about the soul, not to mention the things I need to teach Ruby that I have no knowledge of, whatsoever. Aura and Semblance Mastery I could combine with my own research. Grimm Biology is probably going to be close enough to what I already know about animals and their bodies, so I don’t think I will have to waste a lot of time on that. What I was more concerned about was Dust Studies and Herbology, as well as History and Remnant's politics.

I could hardly teach her magic theory and expect Ruby to know what I’m talking about, so I have to study the workings of dust first (without going mad, preferably). The same is true for the plant life of Remnant, it would only needlessly confuse her to teach her about Equis-specific plants when they don’t even exist here. Our history would be equally useless to her (unless she wants to visit Equestria, I guess), so I would have to go through Remnant’s history as well. And, well... politics is always good to have a solid understanding of. Don't want to piss off whatever constitutes the nobility in this world. That, and Ruby will have to learn how to conduct herself in official huntress business, as well.

Tai and Qrow were thankfully helpful enough to explain the basic things from Remnant’s history and the rest I could research in Beacon Academy’s library. And as I had already predicted, I didn’t like Remnant’s recent history. At all. It sounded way too close to what I remembered from my time on Earth and Cadance remembered a lot more of that than I did. We both unanimously came to the conclusion that our Earth had been influenced by this world. To what degree I couldn’t say, but there were clear similarities between both of our worlds. Well, our former world, I should say.

One such similarity was the Great War that had raged for several years on both worlds for similar reasons. Not everything was quite the same, though. One thing that led to the war was the right of expressing yourself through creativity. The Creatures of Grimm played a major role in that decision here, though, instead of a general hatred for art out of what could have only been immature jealousy. If the Grimm couldn’t sense your emotions at all, they would never attack, right? Too bad it doesn’t work like that. Without creativity, you might as well be dead. All that would be left of you would be an emotionless husk, an uncaring machine in the form of human flesh. That can’t ever be called living and insisting otherwise was just as abominable as killing the people yourself.^[2]

Another reason that was similar to the Great War was the fight over land and resources, of course. Earth had seen its fair share of that during our Great War which had left countless nations as nothing but ruins by the end of it. Remnant, on the other hand, though? They had the Grimm to deal with on top of the squabble between the four nations.

And nothing good ever came from those fights. Their war was apparently more important than leaving soldiers behind in their nations to keep the Grimm at bay and I don't even have to guess what happened because of that. Frightened villagers, entire settlements of despairing citizens... all wiped out. Thousands upon thousands of people lost their lives because they couldn’t leave behind their greed and petty hatred.

But the end of the Great War on Remnant wasn’t easily achieved. One last battle was fought and the King of Vale was the one to end it (almost single-handedly, at that). Ozma had tried his best to reach peace without having to fight, an admirable trait, but like me, he had little patience for stupidity.

The Great War was the single stupidest thing that has ever happened on both Earth and Remnant, but both of them also brought out the best in humanity (and faunus, the people with animal traits... they had it even worse than how some countries on Earth had treated their ‘unwilling citizens’). Ozma brought about a lasting peace for the kingdoms, not by forcing them under his rule, but by granting them mercy. An alliance was forged on neutral ground and the first huntsman academies were founded, all thanks to the former king.

To be honest? I was astonished Salem hadn’t taken advantage of the war to eradicate humanity and faunus-kind from Remnant. Ozma kept true to his righteous self and brought the world back from the brink of utter destruction, never losing his faith in the people of this world, even when they were at their lowest. That he continues to fight for them... he deserves to be praised for that, at the very least.

He might lie to his agents to keep them from falling into despair, but could I really fault him for that? His heart has seen so much suffering, I shudder to think what would happen if the truth were to come out that Salem was the one behind the Grimm, using them like stolen lap dogs from a failure of a god.

This world has seen too much death, it is high time that changed. Harmony must be restored to this world and that can only happen without Salem. I will help Ozma with Salem, and hopefully, he can rest easy once she is dealt with. Once this world is finally free of those vying for control over it, there will be a guardian left to ensure harmony won’t be disturbed to such a huge degree ever again.

Yes. This world needs a little red reaper. After all, only she can be trusted with such a burden. To be the Guardian of Remnant.

Let us get to work then, shall we?

Chapter 020 - ...and Legends are born from it.

A loud clang reverberated through the room as one weapon thundered against the other in a veritable blur of motion. Despite that, my eyes were keeping track of the incredible display of control my daughters brought to bear with their respective blades. Ruby’s scythe clashed once more against Cadance’s sword, parried in just the right way like I had taught her.

The start of the Vytal Festival was just around the corner now and that meant extensive training for both of them. Cadance wouldn’t be competing in the tournament, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t train together with her ‘twin’. Both of them got it into their heads that they should think of each other like that rather than the actual fact that they were more or less the same person. Well, slightly different because of their upbringing and their difference in ‘mental’ age (which really didn’t differ that much, let’s be honest here), but that didn’t make them too different from each other.

I smiled as Ruby used her semblance to ‘jump back’ in order to take a shot at Cadance with Crescent Rose. My daughter was quick to extend the mechanical marvel that was her shield to intercept the attack. She and Ruby had stayed up many a night to create a multi-functional shield that could compact itself to a more comfortable size while not in use. What they managed to create was nothing short of a miracle. At least, by Equestrian standards. Remnant has a lot of things we could only dream of achieving. In comparison to the rest of the technological wonders here, Cadance’s shield seemed almost ordinary. If there ever could exist something that Ruby made be ‘ordinary’, that is.

The shield, currently extended into its rather impressive ‘tower’ form (which was more or less a rectangular shape with a slight curve towards the lower end, it was still a kite shield by the end of the day, after all), absorbed the bullet’s impact in full without any sign of strain on Cadance’s part. Partly because she had trained herself to absorb impacts in the most efficient way possible (despite my grousing protests that she should avoid taking any and all attacks straight on) and partially due to the fact that her shield’s more advanced technology stored some of that excess energy for later use.

I have no idea how Ruby managed to create that mechanism together with my little petal at Beacon's own weapon forge (with a bit of help from their big sister, Yang, to make sure it wouldn't break after being hit by one of her empowered strikes).

The shield could basically store the equivalent amount of energy from a small to medium-scale explosion depending on how close it is (although it doesn’t absorb all of the energy at once... yet). It could then either release the stored energy in a counter-attack by splitting the lower end into a funnel not unlike a cannon, or use it to fuel a type of widespread ‘hard-light’ shield afterward (which could take on a number of preconfigured forms, either extending the reach of the shield like a wall or project it outward like a bubble shield).

As useful as it might seem at first glance, the hard-light shield can’t absorb a lot of damage. The flimsy barrier tends to break as soon as the stress of the damage exceeds the energy output it could maintain at any given point, but it does allow Cadance the opportunity to take a breather and set the battlefield up in a way that would give her an advantage, however slight it might be. And that's what she did, transforming her shield back into its compact form before activating the trigger for the bubble shield option. My Rose Petal let the bubble shield expand until Ruby had little room left to maneuver within the arena.

Ruby wasn’t so easily caged, though. I saw her take a few running steps forward towards the shield, her scythe poised to strike a gaping hole in Cadance’s temporary fortification, and I couldn’t help but smile as she transitioned over into a red blur using her semblance. Cadance was already preparing herself for Ruby’s attack, a determined frown firmly on her face.

I hummed quietly to myself, watching with rapt attention. This was certainly going to lead to an interesting outcome, wasn't it? Let's see if Cadance has improved with her own semblance, then.

The power of the soul has caused me many sleepless nights in the past few months, trying to figure out just why they granted someone here on Remnant the ability to do extraordinary things without the use of magic. The best I could come up with was the assumption that the soul is someone’s shield and weapon at the same time. You couldn’t purposely destroy your own soul using it as an extension of yourself, and much like Cutie Marks, they represented a person on a deeper, more intimate level.

I like to use swift and powerful attacks, only going into range of attacking my opponent when I knew I would land my hit with absolute certainty and could avoid being attacked back at the same time, thus my own semblance granted me the ability to move through the battlefield in the most efficient way possible by letting me teleport to the location I marked with my rose petals (of course my aura would take on the form of slightly singed, pinkish-white rose petals, go figure).

Sure, I could have used magic for that purpose, but here on Remnant? I had no way to separate my arcane energy from the silver eyes’ ocular ability of purification. And let me tell you, this little ability of mine has so far proven itself effective only against the Creatures of Grimm (in quite fascinating proportions, at that), so I wasn’t complaining about being unable to cast magic... too much.

Okay, okay! Maybe I was being a little bit too vocal about my displeasure, but it’s not like I’m going to be cut off from my magic forever. What is important, though, was the simple fact that both Ruby and Cadance were able to learn from my mistakes and could utilize their eyes just as well as I could now. It took quite the trial and error approach, but in the end, once I figured out in which way to evoke my own emotions in order to access the cheat-like ability (safely, that is), it was easy to teach my daughters how to use theirs, turning Grimm to stone left and right.

Knowing that actively thinking of sad or bittersweet memories negated the more self-destructive effect of them being used made using them a lot more bearable. Without an infinite supply of mana from my sun, though, it was more of a ‘last resort’ method, if anything.

That was one major advantage of a semblance, I suppose. The ‘soul well’ does not run dry (at least, as long as your aura stays unbroken), and thus, you could use your semblance to your heart’s content. As long as using it doesn’t tire you out physically or mentally, that is.

Ah, yes... that was another thing that had me stay up at night, puzzling over it. The soul’s own... 'energy', I guess... is practically infinite, but somehow it needs time to recharge your aura to full. For regular mortals, that is. An ascended soul functioned fundamentally differently, in completely mysterious ways even. I couldn’t even begin to understand the functionality behind why an ascended soul ‘recharged’ aura differently. Maybe the soul of a higher being was simply denser, and thus, charges the aura’s ‘reserves’ faster.

That doesn’t mean a higher being with an unlocked soul is invulnerable to damage, though. It required just a bit more... force... to affect their aura. A clash between higher beings would be no different than one between mortals, considering how their difference in power was closer to each other than it would be between mortals and higher beings.

Yes, it was totally unfair against Ruby, having to fight my daughter’s superior defenses, but it wasn’t like Ruby hasn’t proven herself to be able to power through that denser aura. I did train her to be this world’s guardian and that meant being able to deal with beings like us.

With bated breath, I watched as Ruby’s scythe collided with Cadance’s hard-light shield. I wasn’t sure whether to be proud or a little bit disappointed with the result of that clash. Cadance looked like she was straining herself as she held on to her compacted shield, pumping everything she has got into maintaining her semblance while her aura began to drain a little bit faster with each impact of Ruby’s scythe.

Ruby’s semblance was in the most simplest terms speed. In all actuality, it was much more than 'just' that. Her personality was cheerful, upbeat, happy, and whatever other word you could use to describe an optimistic and lively person. It was very rare to not see her be her positive self, the only exception being when she trained with us in the usage of her ocular abilities. Her semblance reflected that part of herself in the way that her energetic self allowed her to literally become a blur of red rose petals.

Cadance, though? Her need to protect her loved ones granted her the boon to empower anything she touched with her domain (while keeping to the whole 'rose petal' theme, making everything she empowers trail pinkish-red rose petals everywhere). Thus, the current predicament. Her insurmountable defense was pitted against Ruby’s unstoppable, lightning-quick force.

I was proud that Cadance could concentrate through everything Ruby threw at her, but it would only be a question of time before she slips and cracks would start to form. She has been doing her best to increase her ability to concentrate through stressful situations, but... progress has been slow going. I knew how hard it could be to remain calm while your body did its best to drown you with adrenalin, so I was understandably patient with her in that regard.

The slightly disappointed feeling welling up within me, on the other hand, came from Ruby’s struggle to break through. I would have expected her to power through the defense of my Rose Petal with the first hit, but apparently, she was too slow with her attack. She had given Cadance enough time to empower her shield, something that she shouldn’t have allowed in the first place. Maybe I was setting my expectations for her too high... and maybe it was a bit unfair of me to want her to surpass my expectations every single time we trained, but...

I just want her to survive in this damn world without having to worry for her safety once I returned home with Cadance. I was already worried more than enough that they would feel like the world was ending because they couldn’t visit each other every day of the week. Both of them had duties, some of them more important than others, not to mention they would be preoccupied with their respective training even after we go back to our world. Cadance still needs to learn many things about ruling a nation and I have been putting one particular topic off for quite a while now.

At one point I would have to tell her about the Crystal Empire. I wouldn’t want her to go in blind and risk something going wrong that could threaten the entire nation. Besides, turning the return of the Empire into a test would be a cruelty not only to her but also to the crystal ponies.

And I knew that once we leave for Equestria, Ruby would be too busy training with her team, and after that, working as a huntress. She would be too busy to catch up with Cadance because there was a destiny for her to fulfill. It would be a long and arduous task for her to accomplish all on her own, but... I had no doubt they would find time to ‘hang out’ with each other every once in a while. After all, you can't save the whole world in a single day, there will be days both of them can spare where they can do... whatever it is that they do, actually.

There will be even more time for them to do that once Salem was finally dealt with. Not to mention Platinum. By that time, Cadance might have to do her princess duties on a regular basis, but it's not like she will have to do it all alone (not if I can help it).

Too bad I can’t just push Platinum through a mirror and smash it afterward. I’m pretty sure she could just torture the information out of Tia in order to return to our Equestria. If she doesn’t already know, that is.

Hopefully, Cadance will be safe and sound even if we fail against all odds. She has quite literally become Equestria’s shield. Now we only need to find our sword to fight back the darkness threatening us once more.

“They have improved quite a lot, haven’t they?” Ozpin asked me, sipping from his mug of questionable content. I never knew whether it was hot cocoa, coffee, tea, or something completely different. The ass always delighted in my subtly twitching eyelid, trying to see the contents of said mug as he hid it just outside of sight. Damn my short body...

“Maybe,” I answered, not once taking my eyes off of my daughters’ movements. I was tempted to sneak a peek at his mug, intent to finally find out just what it was that he was drinking, although I restrained my curiosity. This wasn’t the time to find out. “But not enough. She should have broken through by now and Cadance shouldn’t be concentrating so much on maintaining her shield and go on the offensive, instead.”

“They are still children,” he reprimanded me and I glared balefully ahead of me, concentrating on the fight within the arena while I tried to suppress the angry retort that wanted to force itself out of me.

“Don’t you think I know that?” I asked him icily. “I know you know how much I would like to see them enjoy their childhood. But you also know just as much as I do that they don’t have that luxury. I need to prepare them to the best of my ability so they won’t die, Ozma. Sheltering them will only harm them in the long run and I hate myself for forcing them through this.”

“They could use one or two days of rest, though,” he stated and I grimaced. Maybe I have been too hard on them after... after what had nearly happened at Mountain Glenn and the break-in into Beacon. Ruby has already been exposed to one of Salem’s agents and it irked me that they got away with it. “The tournament begins in three days, they have trained enough for now, wouldn’t you agree?”

“Fine, if anything happens, I will blame it on you,” I shot back, staring impassively down into the arena at Ruby and Cadance, the latter having let go of her concentration as she succumbed to her exhaustion. It seems that this would be one more win for Ruby. I doubt Cadance could turn the fight around in her favor without being able to focus on her semblance.

The sounds of their clashing blades stalled any reply Ozpin might have had for me and we watched on as Cadance gradually lost ground against her counterpart, reluctant to use her full might to strike back a decisive blow against Ruby. Probably for the best, I mused. Even without her semblance helping her, she could have easily used enough force to shatter Ruby’s aura outright. The question was if she could limit her strength just enough to not kill her at the same time.

While we were severely limited in our capabilities here on Remnant, we were still higher beings. Our bodies could only be weakened so much by not being in our own reality. If Ruby would have been a higher being herself I would have had no doubt that she could have even killed me without any effort whatsoever. Well, as long as we had no active connection back home, that is.

That's another thing I've been getting restless over. I have to wonder how much longer it would take Luna to finally open a portal. We have been waiting for months now and I feared it would take even longer than I previously predicted. Having to wait a year or two might very well become a reality for us.

Damn, I really miss my Moon and Liz. I hope they are doing alright (and by that, I mean not drowning themselves in alcohol while they are desperately trying to open a portal to this world). Knowing my wife, she was probably tinkering on some sort of device in frustration while emptying her moonshine reserves of all that they were worth.

I know she will figure something out that will get the portal open, she's my genius sister, after all. Mom would have no doubt been impressed by how much alcohol was running through her veins by now. Or disappointed...

Eh, probably disappointed. Not that she was a great role model in that regard. Still, I doubt she would have wanted us to follow in her hoofsteps. That, or she would have asked Luna for some of her moonshine...

Anyway! With today’s training session pretty much wrapped up, I let my daughters know that they would have the next few days off from my torture. Cadance groaned gratefully to herself, dragging her abused body towards the locker room in order to put her sword and shield away. Ruby, of course, followed after her with a skip in her step, chatting with the tired form of a retreating Cadance, seemingly as happy as ever even as my daughter appeared to be not listening to her at all. They would no doubt enjoy their freedom with nice hot showers to relax, and as soon as their heads hit the pillows, they are going to be fast asleep and dream about whatever it is they dream of nowadays.

Probably about my torture... I mean training methods.

My day was far from over, though. While my daughters would surely enjoy a few days of rest and relaxation by lazing around, I would be going through everything I still needed to teach them. While I had made quite a bit of progress in teaching them everything on my mental to-do list, we have hardly made any progress at all in stealth and the like. They could utilize their environment quite admirably, but not to a degree that I felt like I was comfortable with.

It just wasn’t my forte and it showed in my teachings to them. Liz would have done a perfect job teaching them all things stealth-related. Even Luna would have been better at it than I was. As much as I gave credit to some of the teachers here at Beacon (the less said about ‘Professor’ Port, the better), they mostly taught honorable combat here, much less anything about stealth. Shade Academy would have been a better place to study things like that, although I was quite reluctant to bring my daughters over to the Kingdom of Vacuo for a semester or so for the sole purpose of teaching them something they would make little use of, anyway.

I knew both of them better than they did themselves and neither would make for a great assassin. They knew how to fight dirty but were as subtle on the battlefield as I was on a good day (meaning: not at all). The direct approach would have to do, I mused to myself.

That night, I found myself on the roof of the dorms (the one for the staff, not the students). As always, I was staring into the distance, thinking. The bright lights of the city looked nothing like what I was familiar with in Canterlot. They were... more vibrant here, I suppose. Almost like the people living there didn't care to turn in for the night and rest. It was quite a puzzling mystery to me. This world has proven itself far more tenacious than I previously gave it credit for. These humans weren’t like cattle caged within the tall walls of their kingdom. No... they were like a hive ready to defend themselves from the monsters foolish enough to come near them.

It astonished me that they found the will to live on in this world. A world whose gods had long since abandoned out of some misguided belief that humanity had been a failed project. As if they were a mere experiment to them. It irked me that they would leave their creations behind so callously. And the worst thing about them was that they were only willing to return once their creations had grown up enough in their eyes.

They were like neglectful parents leaving their children all alone without supervision. Those so-called 'gods' couldn’t be bothered to guide them into a better future and simply told them they would return once they were mature enough so that they didn’t need to raise them themselves.

What kind of parent does that? I couldn’t imagine doing that to my ponies, leaving them to fend for themselves like that. Not to mention, every little bad thing that had happened since their departure was mostly their fault.

They made Salem immortal out of spite, just because she couldn’t let go of her love. It was like they purposefully tried to turn her into the monster they perceived her to be. And they succeeded with that.

Everything Salem has done... it was because of what they had done to her. Their half-hearted attempt to fix it only doomed another soul to an eternal life of torment. The Brother Gods created this war between Salem and Ozma, they were at fault for all of this suffering.

Ozpin still believed they could make everything right again if he just fulfilled his duty. I don’t know whether or not he was right about that. I mean... I wanted to support him, if only so he could hold onto that little spark of hope and not fall back into that pit full of despair. I wanted him to succeed with his goal and believe that this world could be saved by their gods and that everything would go back to how it was before they left, but...

I knew better, though. The Brother Gods have failed in their duty as the guardians of this realm. They lost their path and were unfit for their divine purpose. Creation and Destruction, Light and Darkness, Life and Death... they should exist in balance, in harmony. And they actively defied their purpose, leaving this world on the brink of destruction.

But humanity and faunus-kind survived, against all odds. Truly admirable. I envied their will to survive in a world that did its best to bring them to their knees, to end their existence as if they had never been supposed to exist in the first place. My ponies wouldn’t be capable of that, I knew that. They needed a guiding hoof, lest they turn on each other as they had during the Era of the Wendigos.

Maybe I was at fault for that. I was so insistent on guiding them that they became dependent on it. Perhaps it was just as bad doing so as what the Brother Gods did with their creations. I took over all of the important decision-making on a national level. I didn't give them a choice in what laws would ultimately be passed since I still have the veto right for everything. I decided what was good for them and what their education should be focused on. It was I that decided which treaties and trade deals were favorable for my little ponies in the long run. The only thing I had no total control over anymore was the free press. I could still force a ruling in a court case if I saw fit to do so, but even there I wasn't above the law and the scrutiny of the public eye. Other judges could contest my decision if I was doing it out of selfishness.

Perhaps I coddled my ponies too much, and perhaps I carried the weight of the whole world on my shoulders, but my approach didn’t leave them struggling to survive. It didn’t leave them as a pile of misery, clinging on to life with everything they had. I was a servant to them, and without them, I would be nothing.

So, yes. I am better than those failures that thought it a good idea to abandon their world because of one woman questioning them and their integrity as gods. And yes, I am a hypocrite sitting on my throne, doing what I can to make my little ponies happy. I try not to control every aspect of their life, but I will put my hoof down if I think they are about to do something incredibly brainless.

It does go to show that the usual cause for my grievances are the nobles. For some reason, a lot of them seem to be missing common sense, and not just the old families, either. The 'high society brain rot' as I like to call it seems to infect up-and-coming ponies just as much. It's no wonder Liz and Luna avoid the Grand Galloping Gala as much as they do, it practically has devolved into a metaphorical dick-measuring contest.

Haah... where are the times when social gatherings were used to make connections and donate bits for a good cause? Nowadays it's just inane chatter with poorly disguised insults and ponies trying to take advantage of each other as much as they can. Why do I even still entertain these fools?

...right, because I have to keep them on track and gently remind them every once in a while to do some good with their massive wealth gathering dust in their vaults. What point was there in being rich when you do nothing but sit on your money like a duck? You are no better than a dragon hoarding shiny trinkets. More is not always better, especially in excessive amounts.

I wonder how Remnant deals with rich people being selfish. There was little to no excuse to amass wealth and not do some good with it...

I can guess how Atlas does it, to be fair. Their government puts all of their money into their military as if it was the only thing worth investing in and the Schnee Dust Company was happy to take advantage of it. I've heard more than enough people speak of Jacques Schnee with disdain in their voices. Heck, even his daughter didn't seem to have high opinions of him from what I've heard of Cadance speaking about her.

Aside from her elitist behavior, Weiss Schnee was a rather model student. Team RWBY, in general, was among one of the top-performing teams in class, only overshadowed by senior years and Pyrrha Nikos. As in, Pyrrha Nikos by herself. Her teammates were a mixed bunch with their weakest seemingly being their team leader, Jaune Arc. To be fair, he was rather good at giving orders, but aside from playing defense, he was even worse than my Rose Petal at fighting back against her self-declared twin.

So far, Cadance and Ruby were the only ones to give Pyrrha Nikos trouble. And that was only due to the fact I was teaching them personally, and whatever semblance the girl seemed to be using, it was ineffective on my daughters. There’s only one explanation I could reasonably come up with, and that was that Pyrrha might be trying to affect their weapons somehow. A futile endeavor with Cadance's sword and Ruby's scythe since they were entirely loyal to their wielders, either through enchantment or Ruby's scythe developing a presence of its own.

Then, there was Yang. Yang was kind of in a league of her own once she got serious. She might even give me trouble if she didn't see her lost mother in me.

Taiyang's first child with Rebecca of all people (or Raven, as she goes by in this reality)... she was a handful, to be honest. Not only does she have a temper similar to Tia and myself, but she also has to hold herself back or risk seriously injuring a fellow student due to her one-mare-army semblance.

Haah... our family is kinda nuts, isn't it? On one hand, we have Ruby and Cadance regularly destroying their surroundings when they spar, and on the other, we have Yang getting stronger and tougher with each hit she takes. Perhaps I should consider tutoring my little Sunshine, too.

Speaking of family, I idly scrolled through my contact list on my scroll before stopping at the entry of Taiyang Xiao-Long with a hovering finger. I bit my lip, fighting my desire to hear his voice lull me to sleep, talking about anything that came to mind. I understood why I wanted to hear his voice quite well and it had nothing to do with love. It was the selfishness in me that wanted to hear his voice and pretend to hear my wife’s reassuring words, instead.

What to do, what to do..? Flying penguins, I really should stop doing this, but for some reason, I always keep repeating my mistakes. He's not my special somepony, damnit. Luna would pull my ear for this, I know it, but... I did it anyway.

As always, I gave in. I was too weak not to. I suppose a thousand years does that to anypony. And like every other time, I pretended that this call went to Tia instead of Tai, imagining myself talking with her while she was still on the moon trapped in her own mind and that this was the only link I had to speak with her instead of the puppet master behind the wheel.

Once more, guilt welled up within me. I used Tai like a... like a damn drug to keep myself from breaking down. I desperately hoped Luna would find a way here before long or I feared I would become addicted to this... make-believe fantasy. I need her to comfort me so badly, to make me forget that I was being a bad wife by giving in to this bittersweet selfishness.

A small part of me even feared falling for this illusion. That I would replace Tia with Tai. That... that I would fall in love with him so that I could live this lie and fill the gaping hole left in my heart. If I... i-if I am l-lost in this world, without L-Luna and L-Liz... I... I don’t know...

I don’t know if I could continue to live with that loss.

“Summer?” I heard Tai whisper over the connection on our scrolls and I blinked multiple times, trying to clear my blurry vision. This... it just happened again, didn’t it? I lost myself in my panic and grief, swallowed up in those detestable feelings of helplessness. Judging by how concerned Tai sounded, I was out of it for quite a while. Luna and Liz were the only ones that could get me out of my funk, and stop it before it even happens... and they weren’t here for me. They weren't here to tell me I was being dumb and that I should stop hurting myself over this. And above all else, they weren't here to comfort me and tell me that it was okay. That I didn't need to feel guilty over liking someone that was essentially a different version of my twin. A version that was admittedly handsome and made my heart race like back in the day. A version that couldn't be more different and similar to Tia at the same time. “Is everything alright?”

I almost let out a sob as he asked me that. “Just...” I breathed out, forcing my voice to be as steady as it could be. I didn’t want to worry him even further. “Some things on my mind, it’s nothing. Sorry for being so quiet.”

“Hey, it’s okay,” he reassured me, his voice sounding so warm... I wondered how he did it. Keep on living without his Summer. I knew he still held out hope for the unlikely happenstance of her return, believing with all his heart that she might still be out there somewhere.

For all we know, she could be... I certainly hoped my counterpart was clever enough to somehow survive out there in the wilds. She might still live, even if only in captivity or something else along those lines. If she truly has not died after all this time, that would be the only thing I could believe is keeping her from returning home. From returning to her loved ones.

I knew it must be so. She was just like me, after all. Slightly different, sure, but I had no doubt that she would have similar thought processes to my own. If she was even remotely close to who I am, I knew she put family above everything else. Captivity wouldn’t ever change that. And I was in quite a similar situation (if not quite so dark), wasn’t I? I was also cut off from returning home and I hoped with all my heart that Luna would come to rescue me, to bring me home.

Even if I had to endure eternity, I would wait for her. For my Moon. My beautiful Moon...

Tai hummed skeptically on the other end of the line. “Are you sure that there isn’t something that is bothering you?” Tai asked me and I bit back a quivering sigh, breathing out of my nose slowly. Don’t start sobbing like a little filly now, Summer. She will come, just wait and see. A few months was nothing in comparison to how long you have already waited for Tia. You can do this, you old hag.

“I’m sure, dear,” I said, putting on a fake smile despite being aware of the fact that we weren’t doing a video call. The first time we did that, I was immensely astonished that the connection even allowed something of that scale with such good quality. My ponies could only dream of replicating this technology, and not anytime soon at that. I’m sure I could open diplomatic relations with the four kingdoms and set up some very beneficial trade deals once I could actually go back to being a princess.

Teaching advanced combat tactics to the students here in Beacon was nice and all, but... it wasn’t what I was truly good at. I can’t believe I’m even thinking this, but I am starting to miss my daily stack of paperwork back home. Heck, I even miss hearing Kibitz be his annoying self, reminding me to do a thousand things as if it was like clockwork. I yearned to talk with the nobles about the state of our nation and maintain our relations with the dignitaries from all of the other nations on Equis. I wanted to hold court all day long for a year straight even if my hindquarters might go numb from sitting for such a long time on my throne. And most of all? I missed taking care of my overly exuberant and vivacious Red Sun.

Even here, I still find myself trying to reach out to Remnant’s sun every morning and feeling hollow when nothing happens. I couldn’t even sleep in, even if I wanted to. Habits die hard, I suppose.

I'm so used to keeping a tight schedule, I still find myself going through my routine even if it was currently useless. But that's a topic for another time, I suppose. There actually was something I wanted to ask Tai.

“Are you coming here to watch the Vytal Festival Tournament?” I asked him, trying to get all of these thoughts out of my mind. If they continued on, I might cry with him still on the scroll call. “Ruby and Yang would love to know you’re there in the seats, you know.”

“I know,” he said. “Gods know I need to get out more. But I don’t know if I will be able to get tickets, what with everyone in the four kingdoms trying to get them. The first wave of pre-orders was gone within the first ten minutes and the last sale is surely going to be sold out even faster than that.”

“You know they reserve places for the parents of the competing teams, right?” I chided him and Tai chuckled back. “So, what is the real reason you won’t come?”

“Summer...” he sighed and I waited patiently for his excuse. “I... You know I can’t sit beside you for more than an hour...”

I winced, knowing full well what he meant by that. It was the reason why I didn’t go back to Patch for the weekends. He didn’t trust himself around me for long and I was inclined to agree with him. The calls every other day were already stretching things too much for my liking, I knew I would do something I would regret later if we were constantly around each other.

“We could take turns?” I proposed. Despite my better judgment, I keep trying to substitute my yearning for Tia with Tai. I have no idea how much longer I could stay faithful with this damnable temptation right around the corner. "Or maybe we could stay on opposite ends? That way we won't, uh... do stuff. You know, like... hold hands or something."

“I suppose that would be for the best, wouldn’t it?” he laughed and I felt my face heat up at that sound. "You're adorable, you know that?"

Flipping flying penguins, suns be damned. To be honest, I was already regretting even calling him. Not only because I was... using him... but also because of my body’s damn reaction to him. Were he physically here with me, I feared I would not be content with simply snuggling.

I’m not going to be unfaithful, damnit. No cheating, Summer, I told that to myself with harsh determination and a slap to the face. Look (and hear), but no touch. Well... no inappropriate touching. Maybe a hug or two and a snuggle here and there... hold hands and, uh... other typical couple stuff I won't do because it's cheating, damnit.

If he felt anything like what I was currently feeling, it would be for the best if we stick with scroll calls, wouldn’t it?

“Yes, it would be for the best...” I whispered to myself, answering my own question and his aloud. Stupid Tai calling me adorable.

“So... how are the girls doing?” I heard him ask and I began to smile genuinely, thankful for the sudden distraction. “Still in one piece, I hope?”

“They are doing fine,” I answered, not being entirely truthful with him. To be honest, it was more like a loose definition of 'fine', considering what my daughters had gotten up to since the start of their education here at Beacon Academy. I felt a little bad about withholding the specifics of the troubles they had already found themselves in, but I stubbornly told myself that he didn’t need to know that.

Ruby and her team were quickly proving themselves to be quite the troublemakers for the teachers. Not only during their classes but also in their free time... or when they skipped classes. Cadance had tried to keep Ruby’s activities a secret as best as she could, but that didn’t mean she could have kept it away from me forever. Especially after Ruby roped her into their shenanigans.

Their little investigations had caused me quite a bit of worry. If I hadn’t gone with them on the mission to Mountain Glenn to keep an eye on them, I don’t know what could have happened. That train would have caused all kinds of havoc on Vale’s population had they managed to get it going before we got to them and their little ‘battering ram’ chock-full of bombs. Ruby was lucky I only punished her with a heavier workload, even though she was the whole reason we found out about the little plot of ramming the train’s engine through the blast gate that sealed off the tunnels from Vale to Mountain Glenn.

I don’t want to entertain the thought of losing her to a lowly thief and an insane terrorist organization. Or to the massive horde of Grimm infesting the failed expansion project of the Kingdom of Vale. I don’t exactly know how many of these abominable beasts lurked in the underground city, but I know for certain that the train would have led a far too big number of Grimm to the very center of Vale, all but ensuring civilian losses in the high thousands.

I sighed, shaking these morbid thoughts out of my mind. It was only a feeling I had, but somehow, I knew that this failed attempt to breach Vale’s security was but the prelude to something much worse. Like it had just been a small prod to test what kind of force it would take to overwhelm the kingdom and its people.

Focusing back on what I initially wanted to talk with Tai about, I couldn’t keep the worried frown away from my face. I had to hope my little petals would be ready for the future with the training they got so far. “Ruby might come over to Patch in the next two days. I gave her and Cadance some time off so they could get a chance to relax before the tournament. They are as prepared as they could be, even though I wish I could have had a little bit more time to train them. Before the tournament, I mean.”

Tai let out a hum in relief. “That’s good to hear, Summer. Sometimes you worry too much, but I am confident that Ruby and her team will make it to the very top of the tournament. You did train them, after all,” Tai said and the smile was quite evident in his voice. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him that I was less worried about their placement in the tournament than I was about what I feared might happen after it (or even during the tournament). “Besides, she has Cadance there to cheer her on, they are pretty tight with each other.”

“They are, aren’t they?” I nodded, despite him not being able to see it. I really wasn’t used to talking with somepony over long distances, much less while being unable to see them. I might never get over it, to be honest. My ponies were starting to develop telephones to be more readily accessible, but I still preferred writing letters after having used them for so long. Old habits die hard, indeed.

Just like my tendency to worry over everything I possibly can. I told myself I would stop doing that, and yet, here I was doing it all over again. It wasn’t like my worries were unfounded, though. This feeling I had of the calm before the storm couldn’t leave me alone anymore, and the closer the start of the tournament got, the worse it started to become.

Without the comforting warmth of my sun, I don’t know how much help I would be in the end. My sword was pretty much drained of all of its stored power, so I couldn’t fall back on a nifty battery of solar magic. All I had were my skills with the blade and the ocular powers of the silver eyes. How much those would come into use, I couldn’t tell. Salem and her pawns seemed to like using the Grimm for cannon fodder while they wreaked the most havoc in the confusion and panic.

Numerous villages and cities were testaments to that disgusting tactic, and this time, I feared they had set their sights on the entire Kingdom of Vale. I hope with all of my heart that this was just my paranoia speaking, that I was wrong about my hunch... but the question I had to ask myself, though, was a very troubling one. Was it actually paranoia?

Ozpin seemed to be just as worried about this as I was. He knew something was coming, and judging by how one of his friends came to Vale with a veritable army, I had to wonder if such a large force was enough or perhaps too much. James Ironwood didn’t strike me as the type of man that would bring entire armadas with him if he didn’t believe he wouldn’t use each and every soldier to fight the enemy.

I wasn’t that big a fan of his methods. I preferred a small strike force, but to be honest? Back home in Equestria, I counted as an entire army by myself. Not that I took to the battlefield all that often. Those occasions had been quite rare, all things considered, and with peace reigning in our world, I doubted I would have to go back on the battlefield against another nation. Platinum and the Crystal Empire would probably be the only times I would have to get my hooves dirty again.

For more than half of my life, I bemoaned the fact that everything had become too peaceful... too easy, really... to deal with. That there was nothing that could put up a challenge for my wives and me to overcome. And now, when there actually was that challenge just around the corner, I was wishing that for once, everything was easier to deal with. Because now, it wasn’t just me that had to face that challenge.

The oncoming storm would be a test not just for myself, but for Ruby and Cadance as well. For her team and for the friends they made. For Yang, Tai, Qrow, Ozpin... everyone in Vale, really. It's not just my family and friends that will have to pay the price for Salem's machinations.

“Tai?” I whispered into the speaker, hearing him hum back at me a second later. It would be so easy to just tell him, wouldn’t it? Make him worry for the innocent lives of the people of Vale and for his daughters... only because I didn’t want to carry this burden on my shoulders by myself. I knew he would come running, too. He would do everything in his power to protect me, Cadance, Ruby, Yang... and put himself recklessly in danger so he would have that chance to be reunited with his Summer in the next life. “Do you think everything will be fine? I have this... bad feeling that something will happen and none of us will be ready for it.”

He would die if I told him just what my suspicions were. Tai would die because of the thought I had planted in his mind. He would die while fighting carelessly and it would be my fault. It would be my fault alone. “Everything will be okay, Summer. You will see.”

A tear rolled down my cheek. He sounded so certain of that, even though I haven’t told him anything. Tai knew of Salem and the war between her and Ozpin... maybe he already knew that those concerns of mine had something to do with exactly that. “You know, you remind me of Tia. Not only because of the whole ‘you from another universe’ thing, but also because you have a way of being confident about the things you put your mind into. Nothing could bring you down...”

I heard him sigh, sounding like he was frustrated and concerned. That, too, reminded me of her. “Summer, what is this really about?” Tai questioned me. His voice, on the other hand, spoke of something more. He knew. Tai has seen through me, he was aware that, with my question seemingly confessing that I feared Salem would try something very soon, all of Vale was in danger.

I gulped shakily. “You want me to say it, don’t you?” I asked back, the fingers holding the scroll to my ear turning ice cold. “Tai... I can’t. I don’t want you to do something that will... that will end badly. Please...”

“Summer,” he sighed. “You do know I know what happened at Mountain Glenn, right?”

My breath hitched, my heart skipped a fearful beat, and the palms of my hands started sweating... “I... how..?”

“They are my children, too, Summer,” Tai told me with a tiny chuckle. “What do you think I got up to with my own team during our years at Beacon?”

He... might have a point there, I reluctantly admitted to myself. He told me himself that they did whatever they wanted and never got reprimanded for it. That they got themselves into trouble time after time and that Ozpin looked the other way, never once giving them a punishment befitting of their transgressions. Kinda... kinda like me and my sisters, actually. Starswirl never gave us a harsh punishment aside from more homework. Homework that he more often than not forgot about, at that.

“Besides, Ozpin informed me of their little investigation into the White Fang and the dust thefts,” he said and I winced. Right. Of course, why wouldn’t he? Flying penguins. Tai was still a member of their secret club. I should have known he would find out all about the shenanigans Ruby got up to, trying to put a stop to the infamous thief, Roman Torchwick, and the terrorists threatening the peace in Vale. “I trust my daughters and I trust you. I know that everything will turn out just fine with you there. So tell me, what is it that this is really about?”

I hesitated, biting my lip. “I... I fear I will fail, Tai. I don’t have your confidence to tell me that everyone will make it through this. I think that Mountain Glenn was just a test and that Salem... that her pawns will try to destroy Vale during the tournament.”

“Have you talked with Ozpin about this?” Tai asked and I chuckled weakly. Of course, I had. It was everything we talked about within his inner circle nowadays. Heck, if it weren’t for him, Ironwood would have sent his whole fleet to Mountain Glenn, and who knows what would have happened then? They wouldn’t have stopped the train in time, that's for sure. Instead, they would have basically alerted our enemies that Ruby’s team had figured out where they were hiding. Ironwood was as subtle as I was on a good day, and going in guns blazing would have made them start their train as soon as they spotted the army on their doorstep.

I heard Tai breathe in slowly and I got the impression that he wanted to whack me behind my head for some reason. “Summer, I know you won’t fail and you know why?” he asked and I blinked, caught off-guard.

“Why..?”

“Because I believe in you,” he told me as if it was obvious. “You are hopeless, you know that? Do I need to beat the stupid out of you?”

“You’re being mean to me,” I pouted, hearing him chuckle at me in response. “Thanks, Tai.”

“No problem,” he shot back, his voice sounding cheeky. “Believe me, you can do this. Even without overwhelming pony sun-goddess powers. You have Ruby and Cadance there with you, and if you want, I’ll be there, too.”

I smiled, touched by the feeling of reassurance he conveyed. “You’re right, of course...” I said, nodding faintly to myself. “What can they truly do with literally four kingdoms attending the Vytal Festival? Ruby and Cadance know how to fight their way through thousands of Grimm and no agent of Salem’s would stand a chance against all three of us.”

“See,” Tai said, sounding a bit smug. “I’m always right, don’t you forget it.”

“Careful there,” I chided, smiling a bit wider. “Your ego is shining through, dear.”

“Nah, I just trust in your ability to keep this world and yours safe,” Tai said and I felt my face heat up from the surety in his voice. “You need to get back to your world in one piece, after all. I wouldn’t want to explain why their princess has died an embarrassing death.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?!” I pouted. “Just because I worry overly much doesn’t mean I will die to some lowly pawns of a deranged witch.”

“I’m only teasing you,” he laughed, even more so as I grumbled angrily to myself. Here I was, worried for the safety of this world, and what does he do? Laugh. He really could be as insensitive as Tia was in her youth, sometimes.

“Hmph. You’re a jerk,” I grumbled. “A meanie. Asshole.”

“I love you, too,” he chuckled and I was back to stammering like a little filly. Damnit, he really is as bad as Tia. A less perverted Tia.

“I’m going to hang up now,” I told him with my best threatening voice.

“Already?”

“Yeah.”

“Sure, go ahead,” Tai said and I growled at his nonchalant tone.

“Jerk.”

“Brat.”

“I’m a thousand years old, you’re the brat,” I shot back, my eyelid twitching.

“You’re not acting it~,” he said and I just knew his smile was even bigger now. Despite feeling angry, I was smiling, as well. He was an insufferable idiot and it just reminded me more of Tia. Tai teased with his words, Tia with her tongue. I wasn’t sure which one was worse. Nor was I ready to find out if he was just as good with that tongue of his...

Nope! Not going there, you dumb, horny hag. Stop thinking about it, Summer. Nothing good will come from it. Nothing. Good.

Moving on! “Can you promise me something?” I asked him, feeling like I needed to get it off of my chest so I could rest with a calm mind tonight (and any other night, following this one). I need to know he won’t do something to purposefully put himself in danger. Tai hummed inquisitively, and with a calming breath, I closed my eyes and focused my thoughts on the words that would make absolutely sure he couldn’t weasel his way out through some technicality I neglected to think of. “Promise me that whatever happens at the Vytal Festival or afterward that you won’t risk your life. Swear to me that you will live no matter what.”

There was a long pause after I spoke into the microphone of the scroll (I still can't get over the fact that this thing was also a telephone). The only sound coming through the connection was his breathing and the quiet tone of Zwei whining in the background. No doubt because the little corgi sensed the sudden shift in the mood of his caretaker. Sometimes I wondered whether Tai took care of Zwei or if it was the other way around. The tiny ball of fluff in the form of a dog seemed quite intent on keeping his family happy and content.

“Only if you promise me to do the same, Summer,” Tai demanded and his voice tolerated no dissent on my part. “You have to promise me that you won’t leave me, too, Summer. I can’t bear to lose you as well. I know we aren’t... you know... but that doesn’t mean that I don’t care about you just as much. You are like a second mother to Ruby and I know for certain that Cadance still needs you. Both of them do. Your world needs you. And perhaps, this world, too.”

“Tai...” I whispered, touched. It was... heart-warming to hear him say that. That he cared so much, even though I wasn’t the one his heart longed for. “I know that Summer, your Summer, would be proud of you. I know I am."

"Thanks, I..." he responded faintly. "I appreciate it. Hearing you say that... I could hear her say it to me, too."

I smiled slightly. At least he had that comfort going for him. I don't really remember the voice of my twin before all of this happened. Before we were reincarnated...

Ah, right. I still have to give him my word, too, don't I? "Then, as Summer as well as the Princess of Equestria, I promise you on my divine purpose, on my very being as a higher entity, I will do everything in my power to do as you asked of me. I will protect those that ask it of me, I will save those that need it, whether it be here on Remnant or on Equis... I will live to keep all those close to me safe at all cost. I promise you, I won't fail.”

“Then I promise to you as well that I will keep on living,” Tai spoke, his voice equally as serious as mine.

“Thank you, Sunny Dragon,” I smiled, referring to him with the nickname he told me about. I found it cute and it kinda suited him. It could have been a nickname for Tia if I had ever thought of it before. Her temper definitely matched that of a dragon when she was mad. I haven’t witnessed Tai lose his temper yet, but I suspected he could be just as fierce as my wife. “Good night, Tai. Get some rest, will you? I know you need it as much as I do.”

“You do as well, Sunshine,” Tai replied with a chuckle. “I know how often you have been staying up at night as of late. Sweet dreams, Summer.”

After he said that, he hung up on me. For a moment, I stared at the screen of my scroll, wishing that we could have talked a bit longer about anything that came to our minds before I compacted it with a wistful sigh and stowed it away in my pocket. Whoever thought of making pockets for skirts deserved all the money in the world. It wasn’t as good as having access to your own hammerspace, but seeing that I had no other way to put things away, it was oh so helpful to have them. If I already had to wear clothes twenty-four hours a day, then they should at least be useful and look good at the same time.

With one last glance at the shimmering lights of the city in the distance, I went back into the building, already feeling my bed call out to me with the sweet promises of blissful sleep.

Too bad that, instead of nice relaxing dreams, I was plagued with nightmares. Without Luna here to dream together with me, I had to sadly fight my way through them night after night. I would have taken Platinum’s snide words instead of watching myself fail, again and again, trying to keep my daughters safe from harm.

I guess my little Tantabus was as effective with its task as ever, having found its opportunity to torment me once more with Luna gone from my dreams. I should have gotten rid of it a long time ago, but... some things are hard to let go of. Moreso when it was a good reminder to not let my temper control me.

This night was different from the others, though. This night, a shining figure of a dragon was there to vanquish my fears made manifest by the Tantabus, and for once, I was grateful that the words of Taiyang helped me find a restful night. This night finally saw me sleep with a smile on my face and it showed itself in my mood the next few days.

Especially during the first match of Ruby’s team in the Vytal Tournament. She made short work of the opposing team together with her best friends and Cadance’s voice was hoarse by the end of it from cheering so loudly. So loudly, in fact, I would have thought she used the Royal Canterlot Voice. I was proud of Ruby as well, satisfied with her performance in the fight. She didn’t take a single hit from the team competing for Haven Academy of the Kingdom of Mistral, which wasn’t that surprising to me. I did train her to avoid any and all damage.

It was the only team fight that I watched that day. I was less interested in how the other teams of Beacon Academy fared despite the fact that I was one of their teachers. I did feel a little bit guilty about that, but I just wasn’t a fan of sitting all day long in a loud crowd watching sports. That was more Tia’s thing...

I never quite understood what her fascination with all things sports was. I knew she liked roping me into it so she could grope me in public to her heart’s content, but that never explained to me why she liked going to such events as a spectator. Probably to watch all those rippling muscles hard at work... I wouldn’t even mind going along with that if it meant I could have her back at my side. Oh, how I missed her...

As I wandered back towards Beacon Tower after I decided I had moped for long enough, glad to be on solid ground instead of in the floating colosseum that had no right to stay afloat in the air, I noticed a commotion ahead of me and a crowd watching in rapt attention to what could only be a fight.

Sighing, I drew Remorse from his sheath and glanced at the red mana gem in the hilt. “Let us see what this is about, shall we?”

“As you wish, Mistress,” he replied, succinctly. No words of encouragement or reprimands came from him, so I suppose he was curious himself. That he even replied was surprising to me. He seemed awfully ‘chatty’ as of late.

I pushed through the crowd, and lo and behold, Qrow was standing there next to a beheaded military robot, his sword extended. In front of him stood someone that looked awfully like the elder version of Ruby’s teammate, Weiss. Rolling my eyes, I mused to myself whether or not I should get in between both of them as their little spar turned into a full-blown fight. It would be for the best if I stopped their childishness before someone got hurt, but I was rather reluctant to stop Qrow from doing what he was doing. Despite our differences, he was somewhat like family to me. An annoying little brother, perhaps. Which, now that I was thinking about it, might as well be the case. Qrow was the twin of Raven and Raven was... well... kind of Luna in a sense. If she grew up idolizing her shitty parents, that is.

I still can't entirely wrap my head around the idea of Lulu's counterpart in this world being Qrow and Raven, in a sense. Unless Tia and my Moon neglected to mention they had another sibling, I could only make assumptions.

To be honest, Qrow does remind me a lot of her drinking tendencies when she didn't want to deal with some of our... nastier memories. That, and my sister wasn't exactly subtle in her past life that she had wished she could have been the one to marry me and give birth to our children.

Considering Qrow took to drinking a bit more heavily these past few months, so... I could make a good guess about how he felt about my counterpart in this world.

Now there's a thought. Maybe he and Tai could... uhh...

I shook my head, focusing back on the fight in front of me. That's a rabbit hole I really shouldn't travel down. Only madness lies down that road and I wasn't that desperate to hook up with my wives' counterparts because I was lonely. Nope. Nuh-uh. Not even if that image was seriously 'blush-inducing', to put it mildly.

Anyway, I really should figure out what to do with Qrow fighting against the woman who could only be Winter Schnee, General Ironwood's second in command in the Atlesian military. Or as Qrow calls her 'Tin man's lap dog' (he was quite vocal about his dislike of how Atlas did things, leaving Mantle to fend for itself underneath the floating nation).

Ugh, why does it have to be her? Stupid Ironwood moving an entire fleet of his toy soldiers to Vale. He has caused me nothing but headaches so far. My annoying, honorary brother has been on the dot so far about everything regarding the authoritarian state. Were it not for the likelihood of me having to deal with negotiations further down the line to establish my own CCT network in Equestria, I really would have given two flying penguins about being polite with my opinions of their government the longer he stayed here with his stupidly large fleet.

Ironwood was the kind of man that demanded respect and trust from those around him while giving none in return, all while pretending he 'knows better' and could do no wrong. That he happily accepts funding and resources from the Schnee Dust Company and does nothing to protect the people laboring for those very same resources paints a very clear picture of the kind of man he truly is. He doesn't care that the majority of the aristocrats in Atlas are fascists that endorse slave labor as long as it gets him what he wants.

...as soon as I'm done with this world, I'm so gonna sic Liz and her changelings on them to correct that line of thinking. The faunus deserve better.

Starting with the Schnee family and General Ironwood. Sorry, Weiss, but your sister was kinda trying to murder my brother here... “What do you think, Remorse?” I asked my weapon, only to get a huff in response from him. I glared down towards the sword in my hands and he let out a reluctant grumble.

“You have already decided what to do, Mistress,” he responded, sounding tired as always. Hmph. He's such a lazy sword. “Why are you asking me what I think? I am meant to be wielded, not to give my opinion.”

“Fine...” I grumbled, striding forward with purpose while letting go of his hilt. Remorse didn’t fall down to the ground, though. Instead, he began to float at my side as he used the pitifully low amount of ambient mana around us to levitate. “Deal with the Schnee, I’m taking care of the idiotic bird.”

Remorse didn’t say anything and simply took my orders to his metaphorical heart, speeding off after the white-haired woman while I used my semblance to appear directly in front of the scraggly man who was quite clearly drunk. Even more drunk than usual, if I had to hazard a guess.

Qrow blinked in confusion as I stopped his sword between two fingers, giving it an experimental tug. I raised an eyebrow at him. “Summer? I, uh... this isn’t what it looks like, I swear.”

Right. He wasn't inebriated and causing a scene, then. Nor were they trying to murder each other. “And what does it look like?” I asked him, hearing the clashing vibrations of Remorse as he kept Qrow’s former opponent away from us. “Because this doesn’t look like a friendly chat between colleagues to me.”

“Pfft, that Ice Queen is no colleague of mine,” Qrow shot back, trying to free his blade from my grip with a frown. He struggled a bit more before giving me a miffed look as I stared at him with disappointment. “Ah, c’mon, Summer! You can’t possibly take Tin Man’s little lap dog’s side over mine here.”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side here, Qrow,” I told him. As much as I didn't want to, it would probably be for the best if I gave Ironwood less reason to hate me and my family more. The man was all too happy to brand people he didn't like as 'criminals'. Him finding Winter run through by Qrow's weapon, Harbinger, was not what I looked forward to explaining. Although if she was anywhere near close to his attitude... “If I were to take a side here, you know which one I would take, as you can quite clearly hear by the sounds of her struggling to break through to us. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to let you continue with this little squabble between both of you. I'm only looking out for you here, so don't make it harder for me than it already has to be.”

His face went through a variety of emotions before he settled on an unhappy, frustrated sneer. “C’mon, let me at her, Brat,” Qrow slurred, wobbling slightly. “She started it.”

“Oh, because that makes it right, now does it?” I shot back, glaring at him disapprovingly. “Why are you here, Qrow? I would think you would have more important things to do than picking a fight with Atlas' military in the middle of Beacon's campus.”

“Need to speak to Oz,” he mumbled. “Something about our little infiltrator.”

I let my breath out slowly through my nose, rubbing my eyes tiredly. “Then let’s not waste any more time here and get to the tower..."—I gave a whistle and held out my hand—" Remorse, come.”

“And where do you think you’re going?” the white-haired 'lap dog' interjected and I sent a withering glare her way. How typical.

“Go back to playing soldier, Schnee,” I warned her. “I am not in the mood to talk with someone that has the intention of hurting my family.”

“Hmph,” she huffed, standing in between us and the path toward Ozpin’s office. “He destroyed Atlas Military property, he isn’t going anywhere.”

My eyelid twitched. How does that in any way warrant a response with physical force? A response that clearly aimed to 'cripple first, ask questions never'? She clearly was trying to take her aggressions out on him (which, granted, Qrow was an expert in baiting people he didn't like into fights, but still).

Besides, a worthless hunk of metal wasn't worth the well-being of a living, breathing person. Unless he murders an innocent person in cold blood, she would have to go through me first before I would let her anywhere near my brother. “Take it up with Ozpin if you have to, now get out of the way,” I told her, pushing her out of the way by the shoulder, only to come face to face with Atlas’ general himself. Flipping flying penguins. I let out a sigh. “Ironwood.”

“'Princess',” he growled back, his face a mask of stoicism were it not for the narrowed eyes. It's always such a pleasure dealing with him... “What is the meaning of this?”

“None of your business,” Qrow taunted him and I elbowed the unruly man in his side with a warning glare.

“You,” Ironwood said with a low tone, stalking up to him. “What are you doing here?”

I frowned, putting myself between them, but Qrow nudged me gently to the side. “I could ask you the same thing,” he stated, and if I hadn’t poked him in his side... again... I’m sure he would have spewed out an actual insult at the general. As much as I thought the man deserved it, now wasn't the time.

Before either side could do something they would regret later, Ozpin came into view with his secretary slash advisor slash combat teacher slash second-in-command... or whatever Glynda’s role actually was. I wouldn’t be surprised if she actually brewed his coffee for him. Or his tea. Cocoa? I still want to know what it is that is in his damn mug all of the time, seemingly never running out of its contents.

“If you want to watch a fight, there is one happening at the colosseum,” Ozpin said, addressing the crowd with a placating smile. “It has better seats and there is popcorn.”

Right... sometimes I wonder if he truly is as old as he proclaims himself to be. That, or he just finds humor in situations where none was to be found. Luna would love his attitude, I’m certain. Glynda, of course, was the voice of reason, telling everyone to mind their own business in her own (more polite) words while the General took his subordinate with him toward the tower.

“Uncle Qrow!” the voice of Ruby drew my attention away from glaring a hole into Ironwood's back over to the lovable drunkard whose arm Ruby was currently clinging onto. My Rose Petal was also here with another one of their friends. More specifically, the younger sister of the woman Qrow and I had just ‘fought’ against not even a moment ago. “It’s so good to see you! Did you miss me?!”

I couldn’t keep the smile from my face even if I wanted to. The scene unfolding in front of me was just too precious that I had to snap a picture of it with my scroll. I’m sure I could figure out how to properly use this technological marvel with my hooves once I'm back home. It would be a crime to not show this adorable sight to Lulu and Liz. I just know it is going to put a smile on their faces. Humans were remarkably cute when they wanted to be. Or it was just Ruby that was this cute.

Nah, despite his gruff behavior, Qrow was also very cute, so there has to be something about humans that made them cute in situations like these. Perhaps it was cuteness that made Remnant survive in this darkness... it kinda felt like it made sense, weirdly enough. You can’t argue against cuteness, after all.

“You’ll send me that picture, right?” my daughter asked me and I smirked, feeling like I had the perfect material to blackmail her with. Oh, I would make her work for it...

“If you behave yourself,” I told her while she rolled her eyes at me, already sensing my intentions.

Cadance pouted with her arms crossed over her chest. “You’re the worst mom ever,” she said and I giggled. “Please? I’ll do whatever you want for that photo, Mom.”

“'Whatever I want', huh?” I prompted and she groaned. “Be careful what you wish for, petal. Never make a deal like that with an immortal.”

“If I have to, I’m going to sit in court for a year straight and do your paperwork,” Cadance pleaded and I hummed with interest. “And I won’t complain so much about my lessons on combat and manners anymore, Mom. Just gimme that picture, please.”

“Certainly an enticing offer, dear,” I smiled. “But I’m afraid I will have to decline. I’m still mad at you for telling Tai about ‘you-know-what’.”

“Oh, come on! Haven’t I already apologized enough for that?” she whined.

“And how many times have you actually meant it?” I shot back. I immediately felt smug as I saw her eyelid twitch in response to that. “There you have it. Be genuine and I might yet forgive you. Then we can talk about the picture.”

“I hate you,” Cadance grumbled sulkily.

“No, you don’t.”

“Maybe I should, though,” she said and I rubbed her back affectionately. Despite her misgivings, she leaned into my affections. “Why do you and Mother always tease me so much..?”

“It’s our job as your mothers, dear,” I answered. “Now run along, I have business to take care of.”

Cadance sighed before giving me one last squeeze. “Okay. Have a good night, Mom,” she said before she went back to Ruby and Weiss. My daughter, ever the diplomat, listened to the endless chattering of her other half while I followed after Ozpin, Glynda, and Qrow. Despite her age, I couldn't help but think she fit right in with them.

I guess however you turn it, my daughter never got older than she appeared to be. Sure, she was slightly more mature than her self-proclaimed twin, but next to Weiss... you could think they all grew up with each other.

It was nice to see them share a bond like that. Their friendship reminded me of the old days, spending time with Clover and Pansy reading books and drinking tea between lessons. While I was sad I wouldn't get to do that anymore, I'm happy Cadance would get to make the same experience. Once you pass your first century, it would become awkward trying to make friends with ponies several decades your junior and it would only get worse as time passes on.

Even then, the dynamic I had with Ozpin was a far shot from what I had with Clover and Pansy. There was just a certain difference in the friendship we had that gave me a feeling of shared experience but no sense of greater bond a friendship between foalhood friends could have given me.

Perhaps I really do have grown too old for it. Making friends was for mortals, it seems. I rarely get the opportunity, and then it feels different to how I wanted it to be. Celestia from the alternate Equestria was the only one I felt on eye level with as friends while there was a gap (or chasm, rather) between Ozpin and myself.

We're similar, yet totally different from each other. While we share a bond of trust, even understanding, we do not have a deeper friendship beyond surface-level pleasantries. We are colleagues, at best.

And perhaps it is for the best, considering my own plans for this world...

The elevator ride was short and silent as Qrow refused to say anything about the information he had gathered before we reached Ozpin’s office. And considering what happened earlier this past semester, maybe he was right to be so secretive. Ozpin’s office was one of the few places that was completely secure from eavesdroppers and I knew for certain no one could have hacked their way into anything here without alerting him in the process. At least, I hoped so. Ozpin had assured me multiple times that the systems were looked after by a specialist and couldn’t be accessed from the outside.

Knowing the universe, that specialist knew how to hack everything he put his mind into. Whether that was a good or bad thing, I wasn't entirely sure. The attempted security breach of the CCT network had me rather concerned.

“What were you thinking?!” the Ice Queen started (I had to give it to Qrow, she really behaved the part), glaring at the scraggly drunkard next to us like he offended her with his mere presence. Not that I blamed her, he wasn’t always on his best behavior, but that didn't mean it gave her a free pass to assault him.

“If you were one of my men, I would have you shot,” Ironwood stated, cutting off anything his (presumably) second-in-command had to say.

“And I would behead you for hurting my family,” I muttered under my breath icily. That was one thing that would never change about me, I feared. I couldn’t take such threats lightly, ever. Family is the one thing that matters most to me, even if it wasn't by blood. And I get quite vicious to those that managed to hurt the ones I cared for.

I blame Platinum for that. Without her, I would have never gotten this bad with my temper. Nor would I ever entertain these vicious thoughts, but here we are.

As if knowing I just threatened to kill him if he so much hurt a single hair on my honorary brother, Ironwood gave me a glare. One I reciprocated quite willingly. “Are you sure we can trust this so-called ‘Princess’?” he asked Ozpin as the headmaster walked past him to his desk. “We don’t know for sure with whom her allegiance lies. She could be one of her agents.”

“I trust her with my life,” Ozpin answered him before sitting down tiredly. “She is not only a powerful ally but also a dear friend.”

“Thank you, dear,” I smiled, grateful I at least had one person placing their absolute trust in me (aside from Qrow, that is). Whether it was deserved or not was an entirely different matter. “How is Amber?”

“She will live long enough for us to find a candidate but we don’t have much time,” Ozpin said, turning his eyes on Qrow who was currently chugging down whatever filth he had filled his flask with this time. It certainly smelled strong enough to give Luna’s moonshine a run for its money. “Qrow, why are you here?”

“You have been out of contact for weeks,” Ironwood mentioned angrily, staring him down. “You can’t just go dark like...”

“He wasn’t out of contact,” I interjected. “You just never bothered to contact him because you thought he had been 'compromised'.”

“I’m not one of your little soldiers, Jimmy,” Qrow threw in his two cents and gave me a nod. “The brat here at least asked how I was doing, not like you care.”

“General,” Schnee corrected him, clearly mad that he called her superior by a degrading nickname, although the drunkard simply dismissed her. It was hard to earn Qrow’s respect, and so far, not many people could claim to have done so. If I didn’t look like their Summer, well... I’m not sure he would give me the time of the day, either. I somehow managed to make him warm up to me and I was still wondering what exactly it was that I did to do that.

If only he would stop calling me a brat, though...

“You sent me to get intel on our enemy and I’m telling you they are already here,” he continued on. “And worst of all? Only Summer bothered to tell me they infiltrated Beacon already doing who knows what. Thanks for letting me know, by the way.”

“You sent him classified information?” the General growled in my direction and I rolled my eyes. “Are you trying to alert them that we know they are here?!”

“You make it sound like they don’t already know,” I shot back. “Ruby ran into them, what do you think they would think she would tell us? That Santa Claus broke into Beacon?”

“Whoever that is, they don’t sound trustworthy, either!” Ironwood snarled while I let out a suffering sigh. Right, they don’t have that little mythos here. I’m sure the red-suited man exists in some world, though. Might find one someday, even. “Qrow might be compromised and everything we tell him could be at risk!”

“I know how to work around an information leak, General,” I stated, rubbing the bridge of my nose as my patience started wearing thin. “I have been playing this game for a very long time, do not lecture me about the importance of keeping secrets. I only told him what the enemy already knows, nothing more.” Then, under my breath, I made a comment about him not lasting a day against my wife if she got serious. That earned me another glare from him.

“And how are we supposed to believe those words?” Ironwood’s second-in-command asked me. “You might fight with strange strategies and an equally strange weapon, but that does not mean you are knowledgeable about everything.”

Qrow bristled at that. “Oh and you do, huh?” he argued, butting his way into this argument with a grumbling growl. “Seriously, who invited her?”

Ozpin let out a sigh. “If we all could calm down,” the headmaster interrupted us, tired of the heated words being thrown around. “Now, Qrow, could you tell us what you have learned?”

I was glad that Ozpin was at least one voice of reason in this room. I feared that if this argument had gone on any longer than that, I would have lost my temper at some point. I was unused to being belittled like this, my words having less weight than I was used to. Maybe I had become complacent with the nations of my world and their behavioral patterns. I knew how to talk with every one of them to keep the peace but this intolerable human jerk proved himself to be a pain in the bum to deal with. I understood why Qrow had little love for this man, to be honest. He was entirely too militaristic-minded to be reasoned with in an efficient manner.

“Your little infiltrator isn’t just another pawn,” Qrow revealed, making me go wide-eyed. What? But that meant... “They are the one responsible for Autumn’s condition.”

The infiltrator was behind the attack on Amber? That... oh, dear... that made everything more dire. Not long after I started teaching here at Beacon and learned of the true nature of Ozpin’s war with Salem, one of the four... let’s say, 'blessed' people holding magic were attacked. Those four maidens as they call them here hold tremendous amounts of magic that could rival that of an alicorn at their very lowest. And that was by far not a small amount. Even an alicorn with next to no mana left was incredibly dangerous.

If this attacker was behind the infiltration of Beacon's CCT, then that meant they knew Amber must be here somewhere. They were after the rest of her magic and once they had all of it? I would be hard-pressed fighting against them without my sun aiding me. To make matters worse, Remorse had none of my solar magic left stored in his mana gem, making this even harder for me. If I hadn’t used the majority of that magic for Ruby’s scythe, I might have had a fighting chance even if they knew how to use that stolen power.

This infiltrator seeking out the power of one of the maidens had to be one of Salem’s trusted generals. No mere pawn of hers would have the ‘honor’ of landing a devastating blow against Ozpin and this definitely had been one such blow. If she achieved her goal of gaining a maiden for her own... I’d rather not think of what would follow. Mountain Glenn was one thing, but this?

“Despite what the world thinks, we’re not just teachers or generals or the rulers of the nations,” Qrow mumbled, taking a swig from his flask while he was at it. “We here in this room? The two other headmasters of the Academies? We are the ones that keep the world safe from the things that go bump in the night, keep the scary little monsters away from their closets so they can sleep blissfully away while the evils of this world move in the shadows seeking nothing but the destruction of what we hold dear to our hearts. Our families, our friends... they all know nothing of this darkness because we keep it that way. For good reasons.

“It’s why we meet in secret behind closed doors, why we work without anyone ever knowing about it, keeping everything away from them. So you tell me, James. When you brought your little army here to Vale, did you even think for one second about being discreet, or did you just not give a single fuck? This is not how we work, what we try to accomplish. What is it that you do not understand about that?!”

Judging by the impassive stare General James Ironwood gave Qrow, he thought quite differently about how this war against Salem should be waged. And I couldn’t say I was a fan of that. Yes, keeping secrets wasn’t always the greatest thing to do, especially if they were vitally important, but keeping this kind of information away from the public was entirely necessary. If they knew what was going on behind closed doors, panic would follow, and with that, the Creatures of Grimm.

“Discreet wasn’t working.” Ironwood followed that statement by placing his extended scroll down on Ozpin’s desk, a program starting to load up before casting a hologram into the air. I was still quite impressed by that particular bit of technology. What we had to accomplish with highly complex spells and illusions, they had figured out to do without using magic at all. While you could still tell that it was not real, it was something my little ponies would be unable to replicate. Only a few would have the expertise to craft illusions this detailed and fewer still could make them seem entirely real.

In the middle of the room was the depiction of General Ironwood’s fleet and the three-dimensional map of Vale and Beacon while the Amity Colosseum floated above all of that. If I would compare its size to something else, I would say it was about as big as Canterlot’s noble district and the castle combined or perhaps a sizable fraction of what I remember the floating city of Dalaran from Azeroth had been. The colosseum certainly seemed bigger in person, though.

“I’m here because this”—he gestured at the hologram—” is what was necessary,” Ironwood stated as if it was absolutely obvious to him that what he was doing here with his army was the only approach that would be effective in keeping Vale safe.

On the one hand, I wanted to agree with him. A bigger force would be able to deal with the Grimm more easily. But on the other? That force could also be the cause of unrest that would draw the Grimm here in the first place.

“Tell me,” I began, frowning to myself. “What did you intend to fight with an army that large? At a peaceful event?”

“What?” Ironwood gave me a confused frown. “Her agents, what else? We need to keep everyone safe!”

“I’m sorry to burst your bubble, Jimmy,” Qrow interjected, earning himself another glare from Miss Schnee. “But you don’t need an army to fight against one individual.”

“Did it ever occur to you that bringing an army here to a peaceful event would cause people to wonder why it is there in the first place?” I asked him, curious about what he thought the people of this kingdom would feel with such a large force here.

“The people of Vale need someone to give them the protection they need, someone that would act and not sit behind their desk, waiting for something to happen,” Ironwood answered me, conviction deep in his voice. “When they look to the sky and see my fleet, they feel safe, and our enemies will know our strength and fear it.”

“You are a foolish child, that is what you are,” I told him, moving out of the way as Miss Schnee tried to slap me in misguided rage. I rose my eyebrow at her as the General held her back from doing anything she might regret later. I see I am not the only one that sometimes lets their anger get the better of them. She tried to play it off as coming to the defense of her General, but I knew I struck a nerve with her in particular somehow. “Everyone in this kingdom looks up to the sky and sees an army ready to fight something they have no idea of what could warrant it in the first place. They will feel uneasy, thinking that there is something out there that needs such a large force to counter it. And you know what? That feeling of uneasiness will bring those Grimm right to the kingdom’s walls. I know what it feels like to let your paranoia guide you in making decisions and that paranoia of yours will put everyone in danger.”

“Don’t you dare talk to the General like that,” Miss Schnee growled. “He is the only one willing enough to do what is necessary while all of you are content to do nothing.”

“And your fleet is the solution?” I shot back, feeling a spike of anger rise up within me. I really don’t like soldiers that backtalk, especially soldiers that aren’t loyal to me throwing in their unwanted opinions. “I haven’t been idle, I have been doing my best to give you someone that will be the answer to all of your problems but I can’t do that when this city goes up in flames!”

“Our army will be enough!” Miss Schnee argued back, convinced that her General would be able to deal with any threat against the kingdom by using his methods over ours.

Qrow threw in his two bits next, coming to my defense. “Do you actually think they are scared of a few ships and tin soldiers?” he asked, a mocking tone in his voice as he laughed to himself. “I’ve been out there and I’ve seen the things she has created, and let me tell you... they are fear.”

“And fear will bring the Grimm,” Ozpin said, standing up as the room felt a lot darker just by him voicing out that fact. “A guardian is a sign of comfort.”

Then his expression got even darker. “But an army is a symbol of conflict.”

“It is important we keep the citizens from panicking,” I sighed, frustrated. “Something we can’t guarantee now. Not with an army ready to defend the entire kingdom. I know what it means to be a guardian. I have been one for a very long time, keeping my nation safe from those that would seek its destruction. This, what you are showing with your willingness to move armies, is not how you keep your people calm. They won’t look up to your fleet and think themselves safe because all they see is a future of uncertainness, of war.”

Ironwood sighed, a conflicted look in his eyes. He walked back to the desk and took his scroll, stopping the hologram’s projection with it. “So, then... what would you suggest we do?”

“I suggest we find our guardian,” Ozpin stated, looking over his glasses.

“You know my opinion about that,” I frowned, giving him a look. He returned my frown with one of his own.

“And I still have my doubts about that,” he argued. “The criteria for our successor are not so simple, my dear. If she is not compatible...”

I raised an eyebrow. “What makes you so sure she won’t be?” I asked. “Cadance has proven herself for that same potential and achieved what no other had in over a thousand years. Ruby will be able to do the same, I have no doubts about that.”

“We will see,” Ozpin sighed, moving for the elevator. “For now, this meeting is adjourned. We will talk tomorrow.”

I suppose there is no convincing him. That didn’t mean I was giving up on this, though. Ruby was ready, I knew that. She has been ready for a while now, to be honest. I only need a source of magic strong enough to trigger the process and an event large enough for her to be worthy of ascension.

I kept my thoughts to myself as I went back to my own room, opposite Cadance’s. The... emptiness... of this room only furthered my desire to see myself return to Equestria, leaving Remnant in the capable hands of someone worthy of the charge of keeping it safe. Ruby had everything in her to be that guardian and I don’t care if Ozma disagreed with me on that.

Whatever his plans were for my daughter, I had to make sure they aligned with my own interests and hers. Ruby was prepared to fight for this world, wanting to see it rise from the ashes and shine like the beautiful diamond it could be. I wanted to grant her that wish, to give her that place she could call safe and be proud of for being the driving force that made it so.

My little petal deserved so much more than what this world could give her. And it pained me so much that she told me she wanted to become this world’s hero and that the only way for that to become a reality was for her to become something I feared would lead to her living a truly lonely life. Cadance had chosen this, as well. She and Ruby shared a similar fate, but Cadance would have Luna, Liz, and me. And eventually, Tia as well.

Who would Ruby have?

“Hey, Mom,” Cadance called out to me and I turned my head, seeing her stand there in the doorway of her own room in a nightgown. “You’re still up?”

“I...” I whispered, feeling a strange feeling running through me. They were close... closer than I would have ever expected them to be, honestly. “I just got back from Ozpin...”

“Oh, uh...” Cadance stammered, nodding thoughtfully. “You need that bathroom before going to bed? I kinda drank a bit too much soda and I haven’t showered yet. Ruby and I have been watching this super cute movie and we sort of forgot the time.”

“A movie?” I asked, smiling with interest. “Which one? Better to explain it to me, I probably won’t know anything about it.”

“Umm...” she blushed slightly, fidgeting with a few strands of her hair. She had let it grow longer, not only so it was easier to differentiate her from Ruby but also because she missed the length of what her mane was like in Equestria. Can’t really blame her, I have been dyeing my hair a deep red because it felt weird to not see it in that color. “It’s about this adaptation of a book. Someone gets lost in the woods after being betrayed by their friends and loses their memory and finds their true love while trying to find out who they are!”

“How am I not surprised you’re watching something about love?” I giggled. “Well, I won’t hold you up any longer, go to the bathroom before you burst.”

“Har har, Mom,” Cadance rolled her eyes, traipsing away towards the bathroom on this floor. “I don’t believe this, why is she always...”

Her words trailed off as she rounded the corner and I could only guess at what kind of insults she was throwing my way for teasing her this time around. I looked at the open door of her room, just ajar enough to show me the television screen with a scene on pause from that movie she was talking about.

A romance movie, huh? It probably was only my imagination but a part of me wanted my fantasies to be true. It would mean my little petals would never be truly alone. But... at the same time, I couldn’t help but frown sadly. Technically it would count as incest, wouldn’t it? They were the same person. Well, almost... but that would be enough for me to feel a bit queasy about it.

Cadance would basically follow in my hoofsteps and I had no idea how I should feel about that. I really wasn’t a great role model, was I? Or perhaps it was the lingering influence of Tia from Earth. It felt weird, entertaining the thought of my daughter being interested in... well, another version of herself. That thought eerily reminded me of what Tia had done with herself as she first tried out that time-travel spell of Starswirls.

Just what sorts of morals has my little petal inherited from my beloved? This wasn’t something you just adapted, Cadance knew how frowned upon incest was, whether on Earth or here on Remnant. Even on Equis, as much as I toyed with the idea of decriminalizing it in the past. So... why did I get the impression that she didn’t care? Was it because of Luna and myself? Or that law about sisters being in the same herd being legal? By everything holy about my sun, was I at fault for her viewpoint?

I... I can’t let it spiral out of control, but... I don’t want to forbid her from pursuing the only love interest she has shown in her entire life. Not only would I prove myself to be a hypocrite all over again, but I would also doom both of them to search for their entire lives for someone to love that would stay with them and wouldn’t die of old age.

I had no intention to let Ozpin ruin this opportunity for Ruby, and if she succeeded in her Trial of Ascension, I couldn’t in good conscience prevent their love from blossoming. I know Ruby would choose to ascend if she had Cadance there with her, they were almost inseparable already... it would break them both if I interfered in their own choices.

...that law has to stay. I cannot believe I was even considering this, but it has to stay. It has to stay so that my daughters can be happy. My intuition rarely failed me, and after I saw that blush on Cadance’s face as she told me about the movie they had been watching, I knew at least one of my daughters was entertaining the idea.

Cadance was the Princess of Love, it was only natural she would seek out the only individual she could love with all of her heart and not expect it to be shattered. I didn’t need to have Liz’s ability to sense the emotions of other ponies, it was blatantly obvious to me now. I felt like hitting myself for not having noticed it sooner, but both of them had gotten a lot closer to each other after spending so much time together training.

They did practically everything together nowadays. Heck, I wouldn’t even be surprised if they shared their showers after my torture... ahem, training sessions. Despite what Cadance constantly insisted on, she wasn’t as mature in mind as she pretended to be. And Ruby was remarkably mature and understanding for her age, one would think they had to be the same age not only physically, but also mentally.

Perhaps it was the result of their different upbringings. Remnant forced everyone to grow up faster than I felt comfortable with.

This was quite a dilemma for me. In immortal alicorn standards, both of them were basically the same age and I couldn’t help but view them like that. I had to ask myself, though, whether others would see it the same way. I wasn’t concerned about anypony discriminating against them for being in a same-sex relationship, Equestria had made a great many strides in regards to that. Liz, Luna, and I made sure of that.

Even Remnant had no problems whatsoever with things like that. The people living here treated sexuality as something that was to be lived out freely. The huntsmen and huntresses were doing that especially quite frequently. One never knew how long their life would be with such a dangerous profession. To waste any time with uncertainties of their sexuality was rather uncommon here.

I should have known this would happen. Ruby treated everything huntsman-related like it was a romance ready to happen and Cadance was even worse with that.

The best course of action would be for me to stay the Tartarus out of it and let them decide what happens with their lives. But as their mother... it didn’t feel right to not do something to help things along.

Ugh. Liz corrupted me, hasn’t she? Damn her and her changeling mindset. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was her goal all along. To make me question my own morals, and have me slowly accept incest as a ‘natural’ thing despite my own fears of what those risks might bring with it. Damn her and damn that law. Damn Tia, too, for that matter. And most of all, damn me for going along with it.

Fine. If Liz and Tia were so insistent that the law stayed legal, then I would accept that. I admit, maybe I was being a bit too harsh with my mindset and was a hypocrite to boot... but that doesn’t mean I would leave the law as is. Oh no, if it stays, then it will be under my conditions. I'm going to be the one that makes the rules, not Liz and certainly not Tia.

First of all, under no circumstances ever will I make sister-brother relationships a thing, and anypony that defies my wishes will pay dearly for that. I don’t care if I have to go full dictator on my ponies, I will make sure they keep everything safe. I will not allow incest to span multiple generations in one family. If you love your sibling that much, then you can fucking adopt a foal and not risk an unborn life to an extremely volatile, magical core.

Secondly, I will increase medical research into this particular field to make sure any mistakes, intentional or not, won’t cause any problems. If they are already forcing my hooves, I will need to be absolutely certain that future generations won’t suffer for the mistakes of their foolish parents. I might have to restrict access to the sex transformation spells to make absolutely certain there will be as few incidents as there can be.

Thirdly, it will stay with sister-sister relationships and brother-brother relationships. Under no circumstances will I allow mothers or fathers to molest their children. There won’t be any mercy for these kinds of transgressions and I will deal with the offending parties myself. And by that, I mean harshly. Very harshly. Death will be a mercy in comparison. I won’t let anything like what Tia had to go through happen to anypony else.

Lastly, any and all relationships like that will have to be officially registered with the crown. If I so much suspect that they are not genuine, I will intervene. Illegal relationships in secret or forcing their siblings into it will receive the same treatment as incest has been treated for the past few millennia. It would mean Luna and I would have to confess to our ponies about what we have been doing behind closed doors, but I can live with that if it meant my ponies treated this as seriously as I was doing.

I’m sure I will think of more rules, but those will be the most important ones to me. If I am allowing this, I will make sure to do it right. And Chrysalis would be the one to make sure those rules are being followed to the letter. No. Matter. What.

Haah... we will probably have to give a public apology on top of that announcement, won’t we? I’m not so naïve to think there haven’t been cases of incest between siblings in the past or that there were none whatsoever in the present. While I rarely heard of them, I knew there were court cases where sisters or brothers suffered because they had been found out. It never happened in my court, probably because our ponies didn’t want to bring it to our attention out of some misguided sense of feeling ashamed and being intolerant, wanting to keep those cases away from their ‘infallible goddesses’.

I know I couldn’t have condoned them for falling in love with their sister, at the very least. I would be a hypocrite if I held it against them and I know for certain Amore would have dragged me away by my ear if I let my misgivings get the better of me. Cadance, too, for that matter.

My daughter is a better pony than I am, and if there's one pony that has a right to say anything about who is allowed to love whom, it is her. After all, it is her domain. I would have to have a serious talk with her and give her the chance to voice her opinion before I go through with this decision.

It would be the first major act as a princess for her, wouldn’t it? I don’t know whether I should feel proud of her for that or not. Her decision would shape the future and I dearly hope it would be the right decision on her part.

I have the utmost faith in her to do what is right, to not let herself be influenced by my opinions, and listen to her own heart. Suns know I should listen to mine more often. My heart was telling me that this was the right choice to make, and for once, my brain had no say in the matter. I trust in my daughter and in my ponies to not take advantage of this opportunity for a great and long-overdue change. A change that should have happened a long time ago, if I were honest with myself.

How much suffering had I caused with my own reluctance to accept Tia’s proposal? I couldn’t tell and it made me feel ashamed of myself. Amore had accepted us and our love for each other, and Pansy would have had, too, if I had the courage to tell her at the time. Tia was right, our friends would have most likely understood our feelings for each other and it was my fear that kept them ultimately at a hoof’s length from my fragile heart. Now, that same heart struggled to break through the fortress I built around it.

I have come so far, but in a sense, I went nowhere. My heart should have the final say in the matter, I told myself. It always knew best, in the end. So why did I distance myself from it so much? Platinum might have been the catalyst for that, but what kept me from returning my heart to its rightful place?

Tia is going to return, I knew that for certain. She wouldn’t want to see me like this. Like this bitter mare that shut away her heart out of some misguided sense of fear. Luna and Liz kept it from going entirely cold and Cadance had managed to create a crack in the fortifications I built around it. Perhaps it was because I didn’t have my entire family here with me that caused my heart to drift away into the dark corner it hid in.

But enough is enough. Let’s hope then, that with Cadance and Ruby, it could find its way back into the light. I really should practice what I preach, shouldn't I? Even if it isn't going to be easy at times, I'll try my best. If not for my own sake, then for theirs.

Haah. It feels like I've been telling myself this for years. Is it really so hard to listen to what my heart tells me? I guess change doesn't come as easily to somepony as old as me. But that doesn't mean it is impossible. That much my daughters have taught me more than enough.

Alright. Let's give this bleeding heart of mine another chance to shine, shall we? Now... if only Ozpin wouldn't make it so hard on me with his choice for the next Fall Maiden...

The day after our little fight with Ironwood and his subordinate, I kept mostly to myself. Oh, sure, Ozpin was also here, but we didn’t really ‘talk’ with one another. We were both lost in our respective thoughts and I was throwing glances his way while he stared out the window with his brooding gaze. This time I actually knew what was in his mug, though. Small victories, I guess. If only that could have cheered me up.

He had his candidate and I knew for certain it wouldn’t be Ruby he would send up to his office today. It was aggravating, waiting for him to say anything. Anything at all, really. The silence was making me antsy and my eyes kept drifting to the elevator doors.

I had sent a message to Cadance, asking her to bring Ruby with her should she notice a student go to Ozpin’s office. Let Ozpin believe I had given up on this, I will put him in the spot of choosing between his little candidate to receive Amber’s last remaining powers and mine. To me, it wasn’t even a question of whether or not Ruby was worthy of the Fall Maiden’s power. No one else struck me as worthy and prepared as Ruby and I would make Ozpin admit that.

Ozpin’s candidate... I was pretty sure which person he had in mind and I disagreed with him. Pyrrha Nikos, four-time champion of Mistral’s Regional Tournament, might appear ready for the task of being Remnant’s guardian, but I knew better. To me, she appeared insecure even though her personality was everything Ozpin could hope for.

She would break if he told her of the danger we were all in. Of what he would ask her to do. Pyrrha was too kind-hearted to go through with the procedure of transferring Amber’s powers over to her. She would balk at the implication of the exact process, being directly responsible for Amber’s death so that her powers would be Pyrrha’s to command. And perhaps that would lead to the very moment I needed, as cruel as it sounded. I knew what Ironwood intended to do with his little machine down in the basement, ripping Amber’s soul out of her body and stuffing it into Pyrrha, even I wouldn’t put Ruby in that thing. But I didn’t need to.

All I needed to do is make Ruby aware that there is someone she could save, and if not, avenge. Our little infiltrator would be playing right into my hooves, as would Ozpin. I didn’t even need to nudge the pieces into the right position, he was already doing the work for me with minimal interference on my part.

I told myself that this was for the best, desperately hoping that, when the time came, Ruby would be in the right place to put a stop to Salem’s little general. Amber was as good as dead already, the only thing keeping her alive being Ironwood’s monstrosity of a machine. A machine that should be destroyed, its purpose far too horrifying.

A machine capable of killing a higher being, or ripping out their soul at least. I don’t think any of them realize this and I had to keep it that way. If I even for one second believed we could use it against Salem or even Platinum, I would have told Ozma about it...

But for that to be possible, they would have to be as good as dead, anyway. And I’d rather not risk them learning of the possibility of creating higher beings completely loyal to them and only them. Sooner rather than later, one of them would get it into their heads to create their perfect little super soldier and I knew which one would be first in line to get their hands on something like that. The fact that said man was the one that brought that technology here in the first place didn’t sit right with me. Ironwood couldn’t be trusted with that kind of power. Nopony could.

I was thrown out of my rather dark musings as the elevator doors opened and Qrow trudged into the room with a mug of his own. Probably coffee mixed with alcohol, if I knew him. “You know, he’s making you look like a damn fool.”

“Ironwood’s heart is in the right place,” Ozpin commented and I snorted. Yeah, right. His little metal heart had so much compassion in it, he would throw his soldiers at the problem with a smile on his face. That was the only thing he could do, after all. Throw his military at the problem until it ceased to be a problem. Sometimes I wonder whether or not he is more part robot than part human with all the prosthetics keeping him alive and functional. “He’s just...”

“Misguided? An idiot? A child playing with fire?” I snarkily butted in, hearing him sigh in response. Aww, Liz would be proud of me. And Luna would hit me behind the head for letting my emotions get out of hoof again. I suppose I deserve it, too. I haven’t been entirely accommodating to the General since he got here. He reminded me of myself right after Tia’s banishment. It was not my proudest time.

He's still a dick, though. Not that he had one of those anymore...

“One has to wonder if he even has a heart,” Qrow agreed with me at least. I really should give the General a chance if Qrow of all people was on the same wavelength as I. “So... your new guardian? Who did you choose?”

I watched as Ozpin turned around with his chair, throwing me a glance before turning to look at the undoubtedly drunk man still standing against all odds. “Maidens choose themselves. I simply believe we’ve found the right candidates.”

“Candidates?” I asked, a little stumped. I’m sure I haven’t misheard him, have I?

Ozpin nodded. “I have a feeling one of them will prove themselves worthy of the task,” he said. “The question remains, though. Are we both right... or wrong?”

“That remains to be seen, doesn’t it?” I sighed. I certainly was of the opinion I was on the right track with Ruby, Cadance was very much proof of her potential. Reborn or not, Ruby could do this. I have faith in her. So much depended on this feeling of mine, not only for Remnant but also for Equestria.

I know Cadance would become very much dependent on her if their bond continues to develop between them. The earlier I am able to find a solution for them to stay together, the better it's going to be. Not only would it ensure Ruby will survive this oncoming storm, but it's also going to keep both of my daughters away from the sheer pain of loss should this little plan of mine work. We don’t need another grieving alicorn. Definitely not one I was less than certain would be able to handle the pain.

Cadance was strong, incredibly so. But so was I and I have been struggling to keep it together these past few centuries. I could only hope she would be stronger than I am if the worst comes to the worst. She has such a caring heart. Both of them do, truly. I’d hate to see theirs turn out like mine. Bringing it back to its former glory... it would be an arduous task to make sure their hearts don’t crumble to dust just like that. I don’t even want to entertain what that would mean for the return of the Crystal Empire.

I could deal with Sombra, but bringing back the light into the Empire would be Cadance’s task. If all her heart holds is despair, though...

The door of the elevator opened once more and the room was quickly filled with giggling as both my daughters stumbled out of it, a bemused red-headed gladiator following after them. Pyrrha Nikos certainly looked the part of a guardian if one imagined her being from a fairytale. The ancient warrior keeping the land safe... it could become her destiny, for all I know.

This world needed a reaper, though. Someone to rid this world of the unnecessary darkness left behind by two incompetent gods. This world needs someone that can balance the scales, returning harmony where there was nothing but strife. A person that wouldn’t let their cheery self get completely swallowed up accomplishing such a task.

It’s time Ruby stopped believing in fairytales and legends and became one herself. It’s time that my little Rose grew her first thorns to conquer this world and safeguard it for as long as she sees fit to do so. It’s time for her to take that first step to become the guardian she was meant to be.

It was a little disappointing to hear that Ruby decided to let her teammates advance through the tournament instead of doing so herself, but perhaps that was for the best. It would give her the necessary focus to come to the right conclusion once the time was right. Ozpin did his little thing with the ‘Do you believe in magic?’ speech as he coaxed Pyrrha and Ruby into a state of mind that would make the next bit a bit more believable.

Ruby already knew that magic was a thing but Pyrrha had her doubts and I wasn’t going to tell her that there were entire realities brimming with magic, lest I totally broke her mind.

Cadance leaned subtly closer to me. “What is this about, Mom?” she asked me in a whisper and I hummed, not loud enough for Qrow to overhear us. The grumpy man was leaning against one of the pillars next to us, probably trying to look ‘cool’ or whatever.

“The Trial has begun,” I simply mentioned and saw her eyes widen comically.

“What!?” she whisper-shouted, briefly drawing the attention of Qrow before he focused back on the conversation between Ozpin and Pyrrha. Ruby seemed content with the knowledge the headmaster just dumped on them, believing it without a second thought. I mean, if she believes that I’m an overpowered sun goddess pony from another dimension, why wouldn’t she believe something as simple as the existence of magic in her own realm? “Mom, are you serious?”

“Not if you continue to make a fuss about it, petal,” I shot back, shooting her a warning glare. “I believe she has the potential. We only need to awaken her to it.”

“You really mean it? She would be...” Cadance whispered and I could see the excitement in her eyes. I smiled warmly and nodded. The following surprise hug wasn’t that surprising to me, considering I expected her to squee far louder than the little happy noises she was currently making.

“Now, now. It hasn’t happened yet, petal,” I giggled, patting the back of her head as she tried to squeeze the living daylights out of me. “You know that you can’t tell her anything about it, right?”

“Right, top secret,” Cadance nodded, going back to standing next to me like nothing ever happened. “My lips are sealed, Mom.”

Any further conversation between us was halted by the arrival of the General and Glynda Goodwitch. I could tell Pyrrha was overwhelmed by what was going on around her, barely keeping her composure together after learning that they could be next in line for the Fall Maiden powers. Not that I intended to use those powers for their actual purpose.

Those powers would be the only thing powerful enough to trigger the ascension process and substituting them with dust would be far more dangerous than I would like, so I have to take my chances with the comatose Amber and the thief in pursuit of the rest of her powers. I only felt mildly bad at viewing Amber’s remaining time alive as nothing more than bait for the infiltrator to spring my trap, but... ultimately, it was all so that Ruby could come one step closer to her destiny. To that end, I could care less about a woman that was as good as dead, anyway.

Was it heartless of me? Yes, incredibly so. But on a scale of saving one life and possibly risking the soul of another, I would choose the side that would lead to the death of a single person over that of the rest of the world. It's the same dilemma I've been agonizing over sacrificing myself against Platinum for the continued existence of my own world. The choice was all but an illusion, it would take a truly selfish pony to choose the other option over salvation.

Perhaps Ozpin realized what I was trying to do and was willing to let me try my luck. The only thing he cared for was getting his guardian, and one way or another, he would get one. One he wouldn’t be able to control as much as he would like, but Ruby’s life was her own. Her choices would be hers to make and even I couldn’t force her to go along with this.

I could only guide her in the right direction and give her the option to take up the mantle of a higher being, once she masters her trial and achieves ascension. Cadance and I could enter the Realm of Ascension here on Remnant, I made sure of testing that out before I even got the idea of setting Ruby on this path. In the end, it would be up to her to accept or reject this burden. The only thing I could do is to give her all the information she could possibly ask for and give her enough time to think it over. And if she so wished, Ruby could discuss it with Cadance once she arrives at the end of the path.

And who knows... maybe Pyrrha will prove herself, too. The amount of magic a maiden possesses would surely be enough to trigger two ascensions if done right. She would have to rid herself of her insecurities if she is serious about this, though, but I have no doubt Cadance and Ruby would be able to help her with that once the process is over and done with.

Two guardians are better than one, I mused to myself as we rode the elevator down into the basement’s basement. The secret kind. I suppose Starswirl’s old laboratory counts as Canterlot Castle’s secret basement, nowadays. Maybe I should show it to Cadance at some point, she would have loved the old coot.

Not to mention what her Tabetha would do in there. But, alas... it would take a few more decades before we would see her again, provided we all survive Platinum’s return.

The ride down into Beacon’s vault took far longer than what my daughters were used to. Not to mention, young Pyrrha Nikos seemed to get more nervous the longer we took to arrive. It was also a bit of a tight squeeze with all of us in one elevator. So that probably made her fidgety, too.

Once the doors opened, revealing the tall hallways of the vault (lit only by a dim green light), Ozpin took the lead, followed by Ironwood, and then by Qrow and myself. Ruby and Cadance walked between us while my Rose Petal couldn’t help but giggle at Ruby’s eyes flitting every which way in wonder. Behind us walked Glynda, who looked after the sullen Pyrrha.

“I still don’t understand,” Pyrrha mumbled, sounding as confused as she did when all of this began. I felt a bit of pity for her. It was a lot to take in, wasn’t it? Magic in a world that had forgotten its existence, Maidens that had such tremendous power they could influence the weather of an entire nation, and questionable rules of how said powers get passed on once the one holding onto them dies? I couldn't blame her for being overwhelmed. “You said Ruby and I could be the ones next in line for the Maiden’s power. What do you mean by that?”

“The Maidens have existed for thousands of years,” Glynda answered and I mentally added that it was all because of Ozma giving up his power after his fight with Salem escalated too far. I would have berated him for doing such a stupid thing, but he was already feeling guilty enough as it was. To be honest, I was kind of glad he did so because that meant Ruby will have the chance to ascend. “But much like in nature, the seasons change. No two summers are alike.”

I snorted and heard my daughters start to giggle next to me while Qrow chuckled himself. I could tell Ozpin was amused by that statement, as well. I’m reasonably sure Glynda didn’t mean to make it sound like that, but it did manage to lighten up the mood significantly. No two Summers are the same, indeed. If my counterpart was here with us, she would probably be as amused as I was about this.

Glynda continued on, explaining that after they die, the power of a Maiden would seek out another host. If it were as simple as that in this case, I would have already run my sword through Amber’s body to release her from this torture Ironwood was putting her through with his disgusting machine. Alas, if I were to do that now, our little infiltrator would get the rest of Amber’s Maiden powers and that wouldn’t do. Not now, that is. I would have to carefully time it to ensure that Ruby and Pyrrha are in the right spot at the right time to challenge the thief. It would be easier to lure her into the Vault and that was perhaps just as risky.

This general of Salem has to have a plan, something she wanted to accomplish after she absorbed the rest of the Fall Maiden’s power. That would be the point where Ruby and Pyrrha need to thwart her plans, earning them the right to walk the hallways of the Realm of Ascension. I was basically working on conjecture here, but I had to hope I was right with my predictions.

“So...” Pyrrha looked at each of us, no doubt wanting to know... “How does this power choose?”

“Through a series of stupid and convoluted rules,” Qrow grumbled and Ruby snickered next to him while I rolled my eyes. He was basically right, but he could have worded that a little bit better, to be honest.

Glynda gave him a reprimand for his behavior, earning herself a snide reply in return from him. I didn’t need to give him even more encouragement to continue on with this by voicing my own opinion of those ‘stupid and convoluted rules’ as he so eloquently put it. It was bad enough that the power chooses between those that were last in the thoughts of the Maiden or completely at random. Oh, and it was totally sexist, too. Not that that wasn’t the case for alicorns, as far as I was aware. Maybe it was actually possible for a stallion to become an alicorn, although I’ve yet to see it happen.

Considering nopony has ascended in the past thousand years or so before Cadance, it is entirely feasible that it is simply based on luck. Or the universe being a bitch, I guess. Setting up the events for an ascension was already incredibly difficult, so my money was on luck being the deciding factor. If Cadance had been born a stallion instead, I’m sure she would have ascended despite being male.

A thought for later, perhaps. I’m not going to start experimenting on my ponies. Though I really do want to see what Tai and Qrow would look like if they did...

“Why are you telling us this now?” Pyrrha asked while Ruby nodded next to her alongside her question. My little petal wasn’t as confused as the red-headed gladiator, but that didn’t mean she wasn’t curious herself why we brought them down here now of all times. They would soon find out just why time was of the essence.

If Amber dies too early, I could kiss my plans goodbye, and that wouldn’t do. So, despite my misgivings about Ironwood’s soul-leeching machine, I have to content myself with its purpose here. It kept Amber alive for long enough and that was all I cared about at the moment.

I never expected myself to sound like that. Haah. Remnant really does work wonders on your mood, doesn’t it? The first thing I will do once I am home is to raid Luna’s secret moonshine stockpile. I don’t care how long it has been gathering dust, if it has alcohol in it, I’mma drink it. And regret it immediately afterward, but that is Future-Summer’s problem.

Might even rope Luna into being my drinking buddy. Have a little fun and whatnot. Drunken sex sounds really stupid, but it’s not like anything could happen. Besides, magic fixes everything, even hangovers.

Qrow sighed next to me and I shook myself out of my less-than-princess-like fantasies, focusing back on the conversation being held around me. “Honestly?” he said, turning his head back in order to look at the nervous girl walking behind us. “We’ve run out of time. I don’t know if you have noticed, but the world is getting a lot more dangerous as of late. Not only because of the Grimm, kid. So, kiss your childhood goodbye because this peace you all have been enjoying so much? Pretty soon, that goes flying out the window and it won’t come back afterward. If it comes back, that is. Still iffy about that.”

Pyrrha hesitated. “Are you... talking about war?” she asked, her face turning pale.

“Not one that is waged between nations,” Ironwood stated, throwing me a glance. I knew I should have never mentioned the fact I was from another world around him. I really regretted the slip-up immensely. He was a suspicious man, and with me meddling in Remnant’s affairs so much, he definitely must think I was up to no good. Well... depending on how one views what I am trying to do, he isn’t entirely wrong.

I told Ozpin he shouldn’t trust me and I meant it. I was going to force Remnant to go through one of the greatest changes it has ever seen, and whether they think that's going to be a good or bad thing is up to them. Ruby was on the path to becoming a genuine God-Slayer. If everything went right (and if it was needed), she could contend with the Brother Gods over the right to be this world’s guardian, and should it become necessary, enforce that right. I was in no mood to let them walk back to Remnant and take credit for everything after Ruby was done cleaning up the mess they had created.

If her ascension doesn’t draw their attention to the Realm of Ascension, that is. I’d rather not face off against two gods on my own in a world that doesn’t recognize my true nature. Definitely not when it puts Ruby’s ascension at risk. I would stand next to no chance against them, and I’m uncertain whether or not I could convince them to kindly do a ‘fluffy bunny’ and not bother Remnant anymore.

I brought myself out of my musings as we neared the end of the hallway, looking sadly at the disfigured face of Amber through the little window of the stasis chamber she was 'sleeping' in. None of this would be happening right now if the Brother Gods weren’t such... flipping flying penguins. Ugh. It was really hard to keep myself from swearing whenever I thought of those two.

“Is that..?” Pyrrha whispered and Ozpin gave her a nod. Yes, this was just one of the latest victims in this senseless war between Salem and Ozma, paying the price for inheriting a power she never asked for. This greed for the power of others... I could only wonder what Salem’s general did to suck out her power like a leech. What sort of heinous crime did they commit to Amber that disfigured her face like that?

“She’s... still alive?” Ruby asked, going closer to the chamber currently standing upright in Ironwood’s nightmare machine. She looked back towards me with a haunted face, one that was mirrored by Pyrrha. Cadance had seen Amber already as Ozpin informed us of this, but the sight still left us uneasy. I doubt that will ever change because, for us, we could feel a wrongness permeating the air around her.

Already, I wanted to leave this suns’ forsaken place. I couldn’t stand being around her, it left my soul in anguish. Amber exuded a feeling of desecration and I have no doubt that should I find the culprit behind this, they would feel like Platinum feels to me. It was unholy. Wrong. Evil.

Nopony following this path could ever be redeemed. Once you destroy the sanctity of the immortal soul, you become an enemy of the universe itself. Higher beings like I will always recognize this wrongness and try to correct it. In a way, it is ingrained into our very core to not let this horror fester and grow.

A mortal is not supposed to exist like this. This was nothing more than a half-life. A cursed life of moving through the motions without having a feeling of one's own self. “Yes, she is still 'alive', petal,” I muttered, suppressing the whimper that wanted to force its way out of my throat. A shiver ran through me and my goosebumps got worse the longer I stayed near the current Fall Maiden. I understand why Ozpin didn’t exactly answer my question about how Amber was doing yesterday. She felt even worse than the last time I had been down here. It took all of my willpower to not summon Remorse and end her existence as it is. “To a certain degree of the definition, that is. Her condition is deteriorating, though. If we don’t do something soon...”

“She is stable,” Ironwood cut me off, most likely because he had a different opinion than I did about what counted as ‘deteriorating’. “We’re using state-of-the-art Atlas technology to keep it that way. But... there is a lot about this situation which is... unprecedented.”

“Call your technology whatever you want,” I huffed. “Because this is nothing but torture. It is wrong.”

“And you’re an expert on this now, too?” Ironwood shot back, raising an eyebrow at me.

“If this wasn’t necessary to keep her alive, I would go to war with you,” I snarled. “This is wrong and you know it. This technology is pure evil. You’re violating the rules of the physical plane and the astral plane. You are meddling in things far beyond your understanding, General.”

“And you have no proof that such a make-believe plane even exists, so don’t lecture me about this, ‘Princess’,” he growled. If we were in Equestria right now, I would have no doubt transformed into Fallen Star this instant and bared my fangs at him. He had no idea what he was doing with this thing and he had no qualms about destroying the sanctity of the soul realm. While every plane interacted with each other in varying degrees, they were never meant to be forced into contact like this.

And you know what's the best thing about his attitude? He didn’t believe a single word I said because there was no actual scientific explanation for this! He believes in friggin' magic because he could observe it, but when I tell him about multiple layers of reality, he doesn't believe me! He who knows souls are real and makes use of aura on a daily basis couldn't even grasp the concept of the Soul Realm existing hoof-in-hoof with the physical plane. Sometimes mortals just have a way to get on my nerves with their irritating opinions. Not that it happened often, but some of them just continued to spew out stupid.

Cadance rubbed my back soothingly as I quietly stewed in my rage. It took me more willpower than I cared to admit to not summon Remorse to my side so I could have a little bit of alone time with his oh-so-precious machine. It wouldn’t do if I destroyed it in a fit of anger right now.

“What do you mean?” Pyrrha asked. “Princess? Unprecedented?”

“Oh, Mom is from another universe where she is a magical pony princess,” Ruby answered cheerfully and I let out a groan. My little petal giggled bashfully, rubbing her arm while Pyrrha gave me an incredulous look. “Right... secrets. Sorry, Mom.”

I smiled tiredly. At this point, I was pretty much certain it wouldn't take long until the rest of the school would know. “It’s okay, petal,” I told her. “It’s not like everyone knows that about me already...”

My daughter looked away at that. “Sorry...”

Once a secret is out it becomes harder to keep, huh? Well, if Qrow wouldn’t constantly make fun of it, it would still be between me, his family, and Ozpin. Now basically every teacher knew it. Heck, for all I know, Salem knows it! What’s next?! The Brother Gods also know?!

It’s my own fault, but damn... I wish I could travel back in time and slap myself. Suns know my past self deserves it.

“So, why is this situation unprecedented?” Pyrrha reminded us and Ironwood explained the situation to her. We had absolutely no idea what would happen once Amber actually ceased to be alive. Her powers would either split off or they would seek out their other half. The second possibility being the most likely one, at that. A possibility that Ozpin sought to prevent with the help of Ironwood.

They wanted to transfer her aura, her very soul, into a willing host so that they may receive Amber’s half of the Fall Maiden’s power. I have no idea how they could even consider doing such a monstrous thing to her (and the one they wanted to put into that machine originally). It reminded me all too much of Platinum. I was actually counting on both Pyrrha’s and Ruby’s reluctance to go through with this. Not only because it made them better people than Amber’s attacker, but also because it meant my plan was working as intended.

Pyrrha and Ruby made an emotional connection with Amber’s situation and that would motivate them enough to do what they need to do. I could already see Cadance giving me a look that told me she wasn’t pleased with how I was planning Ruby’s ascension, but I also saw her accept my decision because she could see it working.

Besides, it was also the far more preferable method, using Amber as bait. Otherwise, it would mean Ruby could potentially go into the other pod, merge with Amber’s soul, and come out as anything but Ruby. And that's something neither of us would like to see. Neither would I want to see Pyrrha go through that, even though I barely interacted with her in class. I knew her enough from the descriptions of my daughters and from my own observations.

It would mean they would have to give up who they are and I knew Ruby wouldn’t ever want to do that, even as selfless as she could be at times. And Pyrrha would hesitate long enough until there was no more time left. Besides, I doubt she would want to leave her friends and team behind (certainly not her team leader if what Cadance has told me about how enamored they were with each other is true... as oblivious as they seemed to be of each other’s affection).

Pyrrha was understandably frustrated with the decision to keep everything secret and away from the public eye. But as soon as she understood the importance of why this information was kept secret, she knew revealing everything to the people of Remnant would bring nothing but panic. And with that, hordes of Grimm.

“I’ll do it,” Pyrrha stated grimly and my heart skipped a beat. Wait, what? No, no, no! You weren’t supposed to agree, damnit! What in the name of all flying penguins do you think you are doing?! “If you believe this will help humanity... then I will become your Fall Maiden.”

I... n-no... Ruby’s a-ascension... R-Remnant’s future... You can’t do that. You can’t, damnit. You can't... “Breathe, Mom.”

The words spoken by my daughter staved off the oncoming panic attack. Right. Panicking won’t help. Damage-control does. Have to stall her decision, somehow. Make sure she will hesitate long enough for my plan to work. Can’t let her make a rash decision, after all. Eh heh heh... “Sleep a night or two and think if this is truly what you want to do. And... if you do, say your farewells to your friends. It wouldn’t do if you go in and regret never having said goodbye to them.”

There. That should work, no doubt. Definitely. A hundred percent. I know it. Everything is going to work out how you want it to. Keep it together, Summer. Your plan isn't lost yet.

“Transferring her powers... we would have to transfer what is bound to them,” Ironwood admitted after Pyrrha and Ruby gave us confused looks for why they should say their goodbyes before making this decision. And I was pleased to say that my little diversion worked out perfectly.

“Her aura...” Pyrrha and Ruby whispered horrified. I couldn’t have wished for a better reaction, to be honest. Not only was it an appropriate one considering what the transfer implied, but also because it would only strengthen their resolve to do what is right and their reluctance to go through with the process.

It felt bad manipulating both of them to such a degree and I swore to myself that this would be the only time I would do so. Sadly, manipulating ponies was a thing one picked up ruling a nation for more than a thousand years. I never enjoyed doing this, especially with Ruby. She's family and she deserves better than this. But if she knew what I was trying to accomplish here, it would never work.

They could accuse me of being a monster as much as they want in the Realm of Ascension. With or without me, this conversation would have happened anyway, I was only working with the circumstances we've been dealt with, and whether it happened Ozpin's way or my way, the initial starting point would have been the same. I am merely going to use the situation to change the end result into a more favorable one for everypony involved. Nothing more, nothing less.

It was up to them to make use of that chance. I'd rather they make it as themselves and not as Ironwood's soul amalgamation. Knowing him, he would do everything to claim that they were Atlas Military property as soon as they used that horrific machine. It wouldn't surprise me, considering how he treats his huntsmen and huntresses as his own 'specialists'. Everything he does is for his kingdom's sake first and foremost. The rest of the world (including Mantle) comes afterward.

In a way, it was entirely necessary that none of them got a loyal weapon out of this. Ironwood for the obvious reasons and Ozpin because he was getting desperate. And perhaps I, myself as well. The only difference with me is that I care more about Ruby's and Cadance's happiness to view them as such. Aside from ensuring they would inherit an intact world worth living in, I won't force them into anything.

That does leave me with the question of what to do with Pyrrha if she goes through with this. The poor girl has already been in a position where she (more or less) viewed herself as a weapon to be used. The 'Invincible' Girl. It would probably worsen her insecurities as a person were she to ascend. She would be placed on a pedestal even more than she already was, and that could honestly be more of a detriment to her mental health than merging with Amber.

If I am going through with this plan, then I would have to teach her to rely on Ruby and Cadance. Not only that, but Pyrrha needs to rely on all of her friends to get through this. But Ruby and Cadance would share her burden, making it lighter to carry. The three of them would be to each other what my sisters and I were to each other at the start of our own vigil over Equestria.

I have confidence in them to do what is right and not forget to live a little at the same time. Whether or not something 'more' blooms between them (or all three of them, who knows) remains to be seen. They will certainly need all the comforts and distractions they could get their hands on. And for that reason alone, I hope Pyrrha can get over herself and see what is right in front of her. That happy life she sought was possible with a certain blonde knight, mortal or not (Queen Novo made it abundantly clear she could have a functioning sex life with mortal lovers and she wasn't afraid to rub it in my muzzle, so... why couldn't Pyrrha?).

My only concern was making sure they would have someone by their side to make eternity more bearable, and from the looks of it, they were all on the right track. And it's not like Remnant will be their only home. No, for Pyrrha and Ruby, Equestria and Equis as a whole will no doubt become like a second home to them. Ruby more so, I imagine, but still. Pyrrha was more than welcome to explore my world with her team if she so wished.

After all, living a life of duty shouldn't be the only thing they should do. I'm sure Pyrrha would get the wrong idea if I just let her loose on Remnant after ascending. Hence my worries about her viewing herself as a weapon. She has all the time in the world to bring justice to those that deserve it, just like Ruby doesn't have to cleanse this world of the Creatures of Grimm overnight. Playing hero is nice and everything, but it is only a job, not their entire life.

I dearly hope they won't forget to live theirs after everything is said and done with. Having a purpose was good and all, but it shouldn't be the only thing making you get up for in the morning. And perhaps this might be a great lesson for Pyrrha. Ironwood can lick his metal bum with his idea of 'duty'. Amber is not worth their sense of identity over.

Once they were aware of the full weight of what making this decision to transfer Amber’s aura into one of them meant, we went back to the elevator on our way out of the Vault. Both of them had a lot to think about and I knew Cadance would help things along in the right direction. For their sake, I really hope she can convince them that taking Ozpin and Ironwood up on their offer was a bad idea.

Later that evening, I couldn’t help but frown as I sat next to Taiyang in the audience for the first round of the single duels in the quarter-finals. Yes, I know, I told myself I wouldn’t sit next to him in the colosseum, but this was kind of an exception. Maybe.

Okay, yes, I totally wanted to sit next to him because I felt really bad about the whole Amber situation and wanted a little bit of comfort and he just looked so damn lonely, and I—... Hmph! It’s my decision, okay?! There is nothing inappropriate about this. Just two friends sitting next to each other while not holding hands and stuff. Totally normal. Yep.

Anyway! As the first single match of today began, a foreboding feeling settled over me as I watched Yang fight a student from the Kingdom of Mistral. I was about to dismiss it as my paranoia, seeing Yang win the fight while the percentage of her aura was just above the knock-out line, but then, out of nowhere, she shot the defenseless student in the leg as she was about to leave.

Something wasn’t right with this picture. Firstly, I knew Yang well enough to know she wouldn’t kick a defenseless person on the ground (or shoot them, whatever). And secondly, it didn’t seem to me like she did it out of malicious intent. Sure, she might have a little bit of anger management issues at times, but I knew what lashing out actually looked like, and that did not look like she lashed out to me.

Whatever just happened, Yang did not do it because she wanted to be unfair to him. This behavior did not match that of someone that held a grudge over the other’s behavior in their match. If anything, it was because of something her opponent said or did after the duel was over. And even then, I knew Yang had enough self-control to not attack someone out of spite. Much less in a tournament setting where every person would be able to see it.

I needed more information, this did not make any sense.

Yang was taken into custody by Atlesian soldiers while the poor student was carried out of the arena on a stretcher. I would have to ask her why she did it and I would get the truth out of her, whether she wanted to answer me truthfully or not. Tai and I would not tolerate any such behavior from her, and if she did this only because she could, she would get to hear it from us.

This day was just a mess, wasn’t it? And worst of all, they didn’t let Tai and me speak with Yang that night. She was under house arrest as if she was a naughty filly. A filly with access to guns, mind you, but she was still a child. And they were all treating her like she just murdered someone.

She hadn’t even shot him in any vital parts of his body, which only furthered my own confusion about this situation. A huntress wouldn’t shoot to cripple, as far as I know. And Yang didn’t strike me as a person who is needlessly cruel.

Anger can make ponies do a lot of things. I should know, having gone too far, far too many times. But never with the intention to cripple my unjust target. If Yang wanted to be unsportsmarelike, she wouldn’t have used her weapon to do that. A slap to the face with the back of her gauntlets would have done the job, too. So... why did she shoot, instead?

I was far too tired to think of a logical answer, but perhaps the answer wasn’t logical at all. It didn’t help my mood in the slightest that I had to wait with Tai the whole night until the next day so that we could finally get our answers from her.

But seeing that she was in custody under military supervision, I needed to get permission to speak with her. Apparently, I have to get permission because I’m not her 'real' parent and because Tai was with me, they didn’t trust his word, either. Not until Ironwood had the chance to have a ‘conversation’ with her first.

No doubt did he take delight in informing Yang and her team that they had been disqualified as a result of her assault on an innocent student. Not that it wasn’t justified, I would have just... preferred to tell her that myself alongside Tai.

As Ironwood left their room, I gave the man a look as he walked by. I don’t trust him. At all. The feeling was probably mutual as he glared back at me (ah, whom am I kidding? He hated me as much as I disliked him and his methods). The *insert kind word here* reluctantly gave me his permission to see Yang in her own room and I wasted no time unlocking the door with my scroll.

Let’s see what her excuse is, then. I opened the door and saw Cadance and Ruby sitting next to Yang. I ignored the haphazard construction they called ‘bunk beds’ in favor of giving the blonde girl a questioning look.

“He attacked me,” she mumbled back indignantly. Oh, Yang...

“Is that so?” I asked impassively and saw her look back at me with a betrayed look. Her teammate, Weiss (or tiny Ice Queen if one were to ask Qrow), quickly sprang up and stood between Yang and me.

“I believe her!” she announced as if it would actually convince me just because she said so. While she wasn’t quite as arrogant as her sister strikes me to be, I could tell she expected me to agree with her simply because she was Yang’s teammate and a Schnee. Heiress of a big corporation or not, I’d rather listen to Yang and make a decision based on that myself. “We all know she is a hot-head. She isn’t ruthless, she would never attack someone like that.”

“I agree, but it would do you well to remain silent, Miss Schnee,” I warned her, getting her to snap her mouth shut. “Yang will tell me this herself, am I understood?”

“Yes, ma’am,” she nodded, retreating back to the bed opposite Yang, sitting down next to the black-haired faunus girl (she wasn’t fooling anyone with that bow in her hair like that). Blake Belladonna studied me for a moment as if trying to decipher whether or not I would actually listen to Yang’s words. She wanted to get behind this mystery as much as I did if I read her correctly.

I accepted the chair Tai offered me from one of their desks, sitting down while studying Yang’s expression. Tai, of course, gave her a comforting rub as he placed his chair next to her.

There was no cruelty in her gaze and I suspect there had been none in them yesterday evening. So... why..? “Explain to me everything you remember about the match, from beginning to end. Leave no details.”

“Mom, we hit each other a lot, what more do you want to know?” she muttered, exasperated. “It’s not like you weren’t there in the audience.”

“Yang...” I warned her.

“Fine...” she sighed. “I told him not to go easy on me, he said he wouldn’t, then the fight began.

“As you saw, he kicked his foot forward and I intercepted his attack, we clashed some more, yadda, yadda, yadda, he fell almost from the arena but saved himself with those shoe guns or whatever they are, did a bit of close-quarter-combat, he did his thing with the tornado, and then I went mad, broke his aura, punched him in the face and that was the end of the fight.”

“And what did you say to him afterward?” I asked, raising an eyebrow. The fight itself was less important, but it's good to know nothing truly suspicious happened during the match. The aftermath was more of my concern.

I saw her fidget and began to glare at her before she succumbed to my gaze. “Okay, sheesh, Mom. I taunted him, saying he would have better luck next time. I know that wasn’t nice of me, so stop giving me that look already. He was the one that attacked me, saying there would be no next time.”

“How did he attack you?" I asked, my expression staying blank despite feeling intrigued. Now this was truly suspicious... "Describe it to me.”

“Well,” Yang sighed. “He went for the same kick attack that started the match and I turned around to defend myself. What was I supposed to do, huh? Apparently, everyone else saw a different thing and the cameras showed me just hitting him out of nowhere! What is going on, Mom?”

That does make sense. Her movements match what she told me she saw. They were meant for self-defense, not for attacking without provocation. That does not explain why she saw something different from what everyone else saw, though.

“Could it have been an illusion, Mom?” Cadance asked, fidgeting next to Ruby. Her question drew the gazes of the rest of her friends as I mulled over the possibility.

“It certainly sounds plausible, but a spell like that wouldn’t fool the cameras and everyone in the arena,” I answered, drawing everyone’s confused gazes to me, instead. “An illusion spell like that would have to work on an individual’s perception and those are unreliable at best.”

“Could it have been a semblance?” she asked back, making me blink. A semblance for illusions working on someone’s perception? An interesting idea, one that might also explain how someone could best a maiden so easily in combat.

“It would have to be highly limited,” I nodded, rubbing my chin thoughtfully. “You know how hard it is to concentrate to maintain your semblance for longer lengths of time, petal. The more minds you want to affect with your illusions, the harder they would become to maintain. The same is true for creating mind-based illusions with magic...”

Cadance hummed before her expression got darker. “Would it have limited range?” she asked and I nodded hesitantly. As far as I am aware, illusions are tied to what you can see. If your opponent leaves your sight, you cannot directly influence their mind. At least, not with this kind of illusion.

“Are you suggesting the student fighting against Yang used their semblance against her?” I asked her, only to see her shrug back at me.

“Okay, what is going on?” Weiss interrupted us in our back-and-forth brainstorming. “Mind magic? Seriously?”

“Mind semblance,” Ruby corrected her and her teammate rolled her eyes in response.

“Are you suggesting magic is actually real?” the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company asked us incredulously.

“Yes,” I simply answered, ignoring any further comments from her in favor of focusing back on my sunny dragon. “Now, when you heard him calling out to you, did you notice anything strange? Something out of place?”

“No...” Yang mumbled, confused. “Why?”

I gave her a look of utmost importance as I took her hands into my own while kneeling down in front of her after leaving my chair. “I need you to remember, Yang,” I told her. “From the moment the match ended. You said he used the same move as his opening move, right?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “It seemed kinda strange he wouldn’t simply sweep my legs to make me stumble, instead.”

“Aside from that, can you tell me his exact words? The tone of his voice? Was there anything strange about that?” I questioned her, trying to coax her into remembering specific details. There always was something that gave away someone using mind magic on you (or a semblance with similar effects, I suppose). Your mind automatically notices something is off, so there had to be some sort of tell.

“He said something along the lines of ‘There’s not going to be a next time’ and then he came at me,” Yang told me, and I in turn told her to shush and focus. I didn’t want to know what he did, I wanted her to remember the sounds specifically. Fooling one sense might be easy, but doing so with more than one becomes gradually more difficult to do. The more senses you are trying to deceive, the harder it would be to make them seem real to the mind of your victim. The brain is just far too complex to easily fool it like that, it will notice something is going on that does not belong. It was far easier to use the victim’s imagination against them instead of forcing your own on them.

“Don’t tell me what he did, focus on his exact words,” I implored her, trying to convey a feeling of importance. Yang sighed exasperatedly and did what I told her to do, thinking for a moment. Tai gave me a questioning gaze in the meantime, but I motioned for him to wait until Yang actually remembered the exact words that her opponent said to her (and more importantly, how they said those words).

“Okay...” she finally said, rubbing her arm. “I don’t know if you will believe me, but... I think after he said ‘There’s not going to be a next time, Blondie’, I heard the ‘Blondie’ part... echo?”

“It was an illusion,” I whispered, sitting back down in my chair, relief flooding my heart. Oh, thank the sun, Yang didn’t lash out. She tried to defend herself from a mental attack, not knowing what was happening to her. “Yang, you did nothing wrong. If anything, I suspect that your opponent wasn’t even injured by your blow. You didn’t see any blood, did you?”

“No...” Yang responded, glad that at least someone was believing her. “Does that mean that he was behind this?”

“Possibly, but to pull this kind of deception off, you would need help from outside the arena,” I answered. “It would be quite hard to do something like this without any help. Not only because you would purposefully cripple yourself, or simply risk crippling yourself, but also to deal with any questions afterward. You need to have someone waiting for you to transport you away to a safe spot and make sure to lay low for a while. Whatever they are trying to do with this, they obviously want to spin a narrative against you or the whole tournament itself.”

“So, someone helped him from the outside?” Tai grunted, flexing his muscles angrily. “And they framed my little dragon?”

“I’m afraid so,” I nodded. “Tai, I need to speak with Ozpin about this. I would suggest taking her back to Patch for the remainder of the tournament, but I know neither of you would want to do that with the culprits still running around. Just... be careful, please.”

“We will be,” Tai nodded, a stormy expression on his face. He really is like Tia when he is mad...

“Good,” I smiled, moving for the door. “The rest of you, stay on the lookout for any suspicious activity. It would be for the best if none of you go anywhere alone and keep your weapons with you. Just in case.”

The girls all gave me their affirmations, seeing the wisdom in my words. Qrow almost stumbled into me as I left the room, apparently also here to have a word with his niece. At least now we know for certain that Yang was manipulated by someone within the audience, the question remained whether or not Mercury (Yang’s opponent) was actually part of this plot or not.

I gave the scraggly man a nod, receiving one in return from him as we moved past each other. “How’s she doin’?”

“All things considered, relatively okay,” I answered him. “Don’t accuse her, Qrow. Listen to her and believe everything she says to you. She was manipulated, I confirmed it myself.”

“So, not crazy, then?” he smiled and I snorted.

“Not crazy,” I replied with a smile of my own. “You might want to come with me to Ozpin, I will wait for you here if you want.”

“Might be a good idea,” Qrow muttered. “Let me talk to Firecracker a bit, I’ll be right back.”

I didn’t have to wait for long before Qrow met me back in the hallway of the Beacon dorms, and together, we made our way to Ozpin’s office. I still find myself marveling at the appearance of said room, always fascinated by the moving gears that reflected the light everywhere.

I was only mildly jealous. My throne room had his 'office' beat by a mile. And my office was a lot cozier than this empty, open space he surrounds himself with. For a semi-immortal, he sure doesn't keep around a lot of mementos.

The grey-haired man was currently watching through the various news channels, sipping from his mug with Beacon’s logo on it. “Is there something on your mind?”

“You could say that,” I said, frowning. Qrow brought over two chairs for us while I gave the various videos on display a glance. I said my thanks to Qrow before looking through the hologram at Ozpin. “Someone manipulated Yang’s mind. The signs are all there.”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded with absolute confidence. “A hundred percent,” I told him. “Her movements at the end of the fight indicated not those of someone attacking out of malicious intent, but out of self-defense. She saw something completely different to what everyone else saw and she told me that the words Mercury spoke to her had an echo at the end.”

“So, an illusion?” Ozpin asked, taking another sip. His eyes moved briefly to one news station reporting about the rise of Grimm activity near Vale before they moved back to look at me. “Troubling news, indeed.”

Yes. Troubling news, both what happened to Yang and what is currently happening outside of Vale. I might have to do something about that before it gets out of control. “I’m unsure whether or not it was Mercury that cast the illusion, though,” I admitted. “He would have needed to have help in order to make the ruse believable.”

“So, what do we do now?” Qrow asked us. “From what I’m understanding here, this might very well be one of Amber’s assailants.”

“They could be,” I mused, furrowing my brows in thought. “It would certainly explain the ease with which they overwhelmed her. You said the attacker’s face was blurry? Were there multiple attackers, or just one?”

“Hard to say,” he shrugged. “It would have been no easy task for a single attacker, illusions or not. There had to be more than one and if this Mercury guy was one of them, we know who the others must be.”

“His teammates,” Ozpin said. “It could very well be them.”

“It would also explain how he got the help he would have needed for the deception to work smoothly,” I agreed. “Where is this Mercury now?”

“Apparently on his way back home to his family,” Ozpin frowned, looking at a report of yesterday’s evening’s events. “Whether or not that is true, though, I can’t say. No one has seen him since the end of the fight.”

Of course, they haven't. That would defeat the purpose of their scheme after all. Their machinations are far from over, though. And if this Mercury and his team really were responsible for Amber's condition, which was a reasonable bet to make, then I'm sure my plan to lure the attacker into the vault would come to fruition soon. I only have to work out the details of how to get them into place without risking Ruby and Pyrrha overlooking their attempt to steal the rest of the Fall Maiden's power at the same time.

“So he could actually still be here in Vale, somewhere,” Qrow grumbled. “Should I search for him?”

“I don’t think you would be able to find him any time soon,” I said while my mind was coming up with a thousand different scenarios of how I could royally screw this up. There's just too much going on that I cannot predict in a reliable way. My only plan so far with any chance of success would be to let things play out on their terms and doing that was in no way favorable in my opinion. I rubbed my eyes frustratedly. Flying penguins, I was playing chess blindfolded with real people here, damnit. I suppose it's safe to say I'll have to prevent their schemes from doing some major harm, somehow. All while making sure there was enough of a challenge to make Ruby's ascension possible. “Whatever they are planning, they would make sure he wouldn’t jeopardize their mission. It would be better to look into his teammates. Are they still here?”

“If you want to believe the news,” Ozpin began. “Then they went back with him to Mistral.”

“But we are not believing the news,” I shot back. “Have they been seen by any cameras?”

“Not that I can tell,” Ozpin told me, face impassive. Right, he was planning his own moves, too, wasn't he? Another variable to keep track of... one I might be able to use in my favor if push comes to shove.

Still... “Is all we can do to keep our eyes open and wait for something to happen?” I asked, tiredly. Flipping great.

No one said forcing an ascension would be easy. Ugh. This was bound to go pear-shaped, wasn't it? Why did I think I could do this..?

“I’ll keep an eye on the tournament,” Qrow said before standing up from his chair. “I might find something there." Yes, though probably not Mercury and his gang. I doubt they are going to be so stupid as to show their faces there of all places. "What are we going to do about the Grimm, then? Let Jimmy handle them with his little army of tin cans?”

“I’ll look into it,” I told him, standing up myself. “I might as well relieve some stress while I can.”

“Knock yourself out,” Qrow shrugged.

“Tell me if you find anything,” Ozpin said, returning to watching the news and various videos of surveillance cameras. No doubt searching for Mercury’s teammates.

I have a feeling we will need more than our fair share of luck to come out of this unscarred. I better make sure Cadance stays with Ruby and Pyrrha at all times. Meanwhile, I really do need some stress relief, and since sex wasn't an option, culling a horde of Grimm was my next best bet.

If only the transport didn't suck so much to get there. It took me about an hour of quietly suffering in one of those accursed bullheads to reach the outskirts of Vale and the sight from here wasn’t exactly a pretty one. On the news, the mass of Grimm seemed far less numerous than I first expected, but so far, they didn’t seem to be in a hurry. They gravitated towards the center of Vale, but at this pace, it would take them a few days longer to even come into viewing distance of the big walls.

That all could change if they were to suddenly stampede their way to the Kingdom. Better thin out their numbers now before they could do some serious damage to Vale’s defenses. I'm sure the culprits behind the latest events surrounding Beacon were banking on using them to distract Ironwood's forces during or after the tournament. The less havoc they could cause, the better.

Slaughtering Grimm had a strangely calming effect, now that I thought about it. Maybe it was just because they were mindless monstrosities that totally deserved extinction, so I couldn't really complain about killing for once. As long as it did some good for the people of this world, I would happily cut them into tiny little chunks. It wasn’t like they put up that much of a fight, anyway, so it was an easy task for me to move through the gathered cannon fodder.

The elephant-like Grimm were the only ones that were mildly annoying to deal with, only because they could withstand a lot before finally dissolving into black particles, vanishing entirely not a moment later.

But even I couldn’t do this for the entire day without starting to struggle at some point. Luckily, I could use my semblance to teleport myself back into the bullhead after I called the pilot to pick me up from a hard day of work.

Wouldn’t want to put my gracious taxi into danger by having them land in the middle of a Grimm migration. I would have had to make my way back to Vale on foot, otherwise.

Haah... Tia would love it here, I’m sure. Being able to fight without an end in sight... it would be like heaven for her. Luna and Liz, too, for that matter. While they aren’t the type to seek out fights, exactly, it would remind them of simpler times fighting against bandits and Discord’s chimeras. Huh. I never thought I would say things like that. Discord and ‘simple times’ just didn’t fit in the same sentence.

As I looked at the black sea of soulless abominations, I frowned even more deeply. I hardly put a dent in that number, as it seems. It might be worth considering evacuating the villages near the wall, bringing the people into the city’s shelters lest the Grimm find a way to break through to Vale in some way. They would stand next to no chance against so many if the wall were to be breached and I doubt Ironwood would consider trying to defend them while they are being overrun when it would simply be easier to just bomb everything away.

Let’s hope Ironwood’s fleet actually serves its purpose and can deal with horde after horde of Grimm or else even the city might not be safe anymore.

Once I returned to Beacon that evening, I told Ozpin of my findings and my concerns, taking the offered seat next to his as he prepared the feed for the tournament's next singles round. He had a brief call with the General while I sipped from my teacup, watching as two of Beacon’s more infamous teachers began with the pre-show. At least Professor Port made for a good commentator, recapping the past few days of the tournament with his colleague, another (perhaps just as) eccentric man who was on a constant caffeine high.

It was a good thing I put Luna on decaf or she would be just as bad as Professor Doctor Oobleck. Most of the time, the green-haired history professor of Beacon Academy was a blur talking at a mile per second and was extremely tiring to deal with. I was impressed with his vast knowledge of Remnant, though. For a mortal, the man knew a lot of its past.

I wonder how long it would take him to learn the entirety of Equis' history. That was a terrifying thought right there. Even more disturbing would be the thought of what he would do once he learns how old I truly am. He would practically drool all over Luna, Liz, and me.

I returned my attention to the live broadcast of the Vytal Tournament as the randomization process began. A student from Atlas versus Pyrrha Nikos, huh? “Let’s see how your chosen will do, then.”

“I’m sure that...” Ozpin began but was cut off by the sound of my scroll. Curious, I flipped the device open in front of us, seeing the picture of a panicking Cadance appear before us.

“Mom! I think something’s wrong!” she shouted before she had to dodge something as we saw her run through the maintenance tunnels of the Vytal festival colosseum together with Ruby. “Mercury is still here and...”

“Petal?” I asked, worried as she cut off for a second.

“Sorry, almost lost hold of my scroll,” she came back into view while Ozpin was frantically typing away on his desk, probably sending messages to the teachers currently in the floating arena. “Ruby said she saw Emerald and then we ran into Mercury in the maintenance tunnels. I think they are up to something and Emerald is the one with the mind semblance!”

“Cadance, get...” I started but had to stop myself as I watched with horrified eyes at what just happened on the screen of Ozpin’s desk. “Cadance, get back to Beacon, right now.”

“What? Hey, Ruby! Where are you going?!” Cadance asked confused, before running after Ruby. They had apparently managed to lose Mercury but I could already guess that Ruby found out what just happened in the arena’s battleground. “Oh, dear fluffy bunnies, Penny!”

The student from Atlas fighting against Pyrrha had just been cut in half by her own weapons, as it seems. Not only that, but it appeared like Penny had not been human at all. She was a machine capable of generating an aura.

“Ironwood has a lot of explaining to do,” I muttered darkly. If he used that soul-transferring abomination on one of his students, I'll..!

Deep breaths, Summer. Penny can come after making sure your daughters are okay. The poor girl is already gone, don't let the same happen to Cadance and Ruby. Focus!

The screen in front of us turned red, a black chess piece appearing in front of the broadcast as a smug voice began to talk. “This? This is not a tragedy.”

I felt my rage flare up hotly as what could be none other than Salem’s general began to taunt everyone listening in. It seems I was right, after all. Using the damn tournament to sow unrest, it was such a cowardly tactic of hers. Well, then, my little infiltrator... let us see who wins this battle in the end.

“Cadance, get Ruby back to Beacon and bring Pyrrha with you,” I said. That managed to snap my daughter’s attention back to the video call on our scrolls, eyes wide. “It’s time.”

“Right, I... I’ll be right there with them,” Cadance told me, before shutting off her end of the scroll call.

“Oz!” I looked up and saw Qrow enter the office with Glynda at his side just as the sirens started to sound their alarm, an automated voice informing the population of a category nine Grimm incursion.

“Ozpin?” I asked, seeing him pick up his cane. “What are your orders?”

“Get to the city,” Ozpin answered me. “Get everyone to safety. Now.”

“What about Ironwood?” I asked, feeling the itch to confront the man so casually defiling the sanctity of the soul. There's no way he created one out of nothing, he had to have done the unthinkable.

“I’ll have a word with him,” he shot back with a glare. “Do what you can, Summer. Please.”

Fine, then. “As you wish,” I nodded, only mildly annoyed I wouldn't get to be the one to rip a new one into the General. “Remorse, get ready.”

“Yes, Mistress.”

Everything now depended on my daughters and their training. In the meanwhile, I will hunt myself some Grimm. I trust Ozpin to hold off the infiltrator long enough for my daughters to get here, I still had a promise to keep. Tai, you better survive this.

As the elevator arrived on the ground level, my sword shot through the gap of the opening doors as I stalked after it, Qrow and Glynda splitting off from me to go after their own designated targets. Seeing that Beacon was also being overrun by Grimm, I made it my mission to purge them from the school and get the students to safety. Or rather, to their weapons. The less resistance my daughters face, the better.

Dealing with the Creatures of Grimm was easy. Dealing with so many that even I started to sweat from exertion? Mildly annoying. Finding out that the terrorist splinter cell of the White Fang was purposefully bringing them into Vale and Beacon? That was starting to make me angry. Very. Angry.

To think that the once peaceful faunus rights protest organization turned violent... it was a disgrace to everything their ancestors tried to accomplish in the war and later in the revolution. That they would stoop so low as to use the Grimm as weapons was even more horrifying.

I had no qualms crippling the idiots that tried attacking me. I was done with this damn world and with these damn idiots fighting against each other instead of focusing on the damn Grimm.

What is it in this damn world that they don’t get about cooperation and peace and friendship?! Was it so hard to put behind their differences for once and work together?!

My instincts told me to dodge to the left and I narrowly avoided getting shot by an Atlesian military robot, its face glowing an ominous red. My eyelid twitched at the sight of it going rogue during a time like this. Of fucking course! Leave it to the General to fuck things up beyond recognition! I ripped Remorse out of the air and cleaved the damn thing in half, huffing angrily as more of them approached me.

“Fine,” I growled, giving in to the hatred bubbling up within me. “Come at me! I'll destroy every last one of you, and then I will take Ironwood's head and shove it up his stupid metal ass!”

Flipping penguins, I take back my earlier statement. Cleaving Grimm in half was only half as satisfying as ripping Ironwood’s toys apart. Finally, some actual fun! Fuck Ironwood. Fuck Remnant. Fuck the damn universe. I don’t care. I'm going to destroy everything.

Another robot turned to scrap. “I want to go home, damnit.”

A pile of dead dissolving Grimm joined the garbage. “I miss my fucking magic.”

A terrorist got his knee kicked in, scrawling away in pain before I stabbed him. “I miss my damn sun.”

A fucking tank on two legs was smashed through the wall, now missing its control unit as I tossed it away. “I miss Liz, damnit.”

I was about to cleave another foolish idiot in half that got in my way, no doubt seeking to 'put me in my place'. “And I miss my beautiful Moon.”

My sword was blocked straight on.

I blinked.

“Huh?” I muttered, bewildered. I felt my hair burning hotly and a ponified ear twitch before I turned my gaze to the woman in front of me. She smirked back at me, the sight of her red eyes making my heart skip a beat.

“Aww, you missed me?” she asked, her eyes twinkling back in mischief at me. Her voice was raunchy and sexy, I absentmindedly noticed as I made the connection in my brain of who the black-haired beauty was in front of me. She sounded exactly like I remembered from Earth.

“Luna!” I exclaimed, throwing myself at her and I sobbed gratefully to have her here with me. “Oh, my Moon! I missed you so!”

“There, there,” she replied, patting my back. “I’m here. Took me a while, but the mirror needed a bit of fiddling with.”

I laughed, happy that she figured it out right when I needed her the most. My little tinkerer, my beautiful Moon... I’m never leaving your side again. “How long did it take you?”

“About nine months or so,” Luna answered. “Had to build a machine that actively holds open the connection to this world and that took quite a while to get right. How long have you been here?”

“About nine months,” I told her, pressing my lips against hers. “And I’m really horny right now for some reason.”

“Let us take care of whatever is going on here first, hm?” Luna proposed and I pouted. I wasn’t really in the mood to care about the rest of this damn world right now, all I wanted was to be with Luna even if everyone saw us do it. “Where is Cadance?”

“Somewhere...” I began but was cut off as a tremor went through underneath us. “What was that?”

“You tell me, I’ve been here for five minutes.”

“Right,” I sighed. A moment later, a loud roar followed the end of the tremor.

“You just find yourself in the best kinds of situations, don’t you?” Luna asked me and I shrugged back. “I guess whatever that was is bad news.”

“Or like... majorly bad,” I pointed towards the horizon where I knew Mountain Glenn had been. As in, had been, past tense. Because now, there was a giant Grimm flying away from it and right towards us. “They come as dragons, too?!”

Luna snorted next to me. “What are these things even?” she asked while Mondlicht (her weapon) cut a Grimm in half before it got too close to us. “They are everywhere!”

“They are the Creatures of Grimm,” I answered. “Some fuck-up of a god created them and I have been trying to create a solution to Remnant’s little problem.”

She let out a 'huh'. “So, no eldritch horrors, then,” she said.

“No eldritch horrors,” I confirmed with a nod. This felt a bit like déjà-vu to me. Great, Luna really is related to Qrow in this world, isn’t she? Well... she is way sexier than Qrow and his twin combined, that’s for sure. What a difference in hairstyle could do for someone, huh?

To be honest, nopony could compete with her starry hair. It might be a bit subtle here on Remnant, but it was there. Just like she still had her pony ears (as I did, too, I noticed).

“What are we going to do about that?” Luna asked, poking me out of my thoughts with a finger.

“Kill it?” I shrugged. "It's a soulless abomination, go crazy on it."

“While everypony else in this city is being attacked by these Grimm and... are those robots attacking children?”

I turned my gaze to the students fighting for their lives and winced. Ah, yes. There was that. On second thought, forget the dragon. I’mma kill Ironwood, instead. “Let’s deal with that before we think about what we should do with that.”

"You don't have to tell me that twice," my sister said before grabbing Mondlicht out of the air, the weapon transforming into a scythe as she did so. Now she really was showing off and it turned me on even more.

Fuck, I really need to have her pin me down and buck me into next week. Preferably while drunk.

Anyway, Luna and I began to make our way through hordes of Grimm and Ironwood’s robots alike. We were ignoring the friggin’ dragon circling Beacon Tower for now. I’m sure Ozpin could deal with that. If not, Cadance should be around here somewhere with Ruby and Pyrrha.

To be honest, if this situation wasn’t so beyond fucked up, I would think this would be several times enough to trigger an ascension. Who am I kidding, if there was enough mana, we could turn every student in Beacon into alicorns with this nightmarish event.

“Take the left one,” I shouted over to Luna as I gripped Remorse tightly, taking a running leap towards the other behemoth of a robot-tank-thingy or whatever the fuck they were actually supposed to be.

Remorse glowed hotly as rivers of molten lava ran between the cracks forming in his blade and I smiled gleefully as he went through the metal like butter. Oh, how I have missed the connection to my sun, as muddled as it was through the gate leading back home.

“Professor Summer?” Weiss Schnee exclaimed, seeing me standing in between the two halves of the destroyed robot.

I licked my lips. “Fallen Star, actually,” I answered, showing off a fang with a grin. “And it’s Princess, not Professor. I didn't become a benevolent dictator for nothing.”

“What?” she asked, flabbergasted. Oh dear, I think I broke her. Poor little Weiss.

“Have you seen Cadance?” I questioned her, returning back to my regular form. It was exhausting me more than I would have thought, my mana running dry again. Wherever Luna opened the portal, it wasn’t as close as I would have liked. At least my ears were staying pony-shaped this time around.

“Uh...” Weiss stammered, trying to comprehend how I could just transform from burning-lady to not-burning-lady. I was feeling slightly sorry for overwhelming her so much, but this wasn’t the time to apologize for that. “They went with Professor Ozpin into the tower.”

“Okay,” I sighed, suppressing the brief flash of angry fear. Fearful anger? Whatever, not important. “Don’t have much time, in that case.”

“Summer, what is on your mind?” Luna asked me and I gave her a sheepish smile.

“We... might have some counterparts in this world that look like our old selves and uh...” I began, dragging her with me into the building towards the elevator. “Damn, one is going down, the other is already down there.”

“Sister,” Luna warned me and I slipped the blade of my sword through the doors of the elevator, forcing them open. “Explain.”

“Okay, basically, we have a power-hungry bitch currently on the way down there trying to murder our daughters?” I explained in a hurry, looking down into the dark abyss.

“You didn’t get pregnant, did you?” Luna glared at me and I blinked in confusion. I just told her that someone was trying to kill our Rose Petal and that's the first thing she asks?

“What..?”

“Daughters? As in plural?”

“Oh,” I laughed awkwardly. “Cadance’s counterpart, dear.”

“Just...” Luna sighed. “Get your cryptic ass down there, sister.”

“Fine,” I pouted before I jumped down the elevator shaft. Luna followed after me and one long fall later, we crashed through the elevator cabin, landing in a heap. “Ugh. Never doing that again...”

“Get over it,” Luna rolled her eyes, snapping her broken legs back in place with a wince. A moment later, her legs were already healed. If she hadn’t slowed down our fall, we might have even been dead for a while. “We’ve done more idiotic things than jumping down an elevator shaft before.”

“Please, don’t remind me of that again,” I grumbled. Luna began to grin and I shot her a warning glare.

“Bathing in acid?”

“I thought we agreed to never talk about that again,” I growled and she simply laughed back at me with an impish grin. “I had to get my bracelet out of there, somehow.”

My wife shrugged. “Take better care of your things and you wouldn’t have had to do that,” Luna told me and I let out a suffering sigh. “It’s your own fault.”

“Shut up, sister,” I moaned pitifully. Not only because of her teasing but also because setting bones is really not a pleasant feeling. My own healing took a bit longer than what it had taken Luna, but I guess that was because I didn’t have as much mana running through my body at the moment. My alicorn magic was doing everything it could and my aura did the rest.

“No time to waste,” I grunted, standing up and shuffling through the door into the vault.

“So, what is it that is down here?” Luna asked me as we picked up our pace a bit. “Why would Cadance come down here in the first place? And who is trying to kill her?”

“Look, it’s complicated and I really don’t have the time to explain everything,” I shot back, feeling a disturbance run through the halls and a stronger sense of urgency. “All you need to know right now is that there is a possibility Cadance’s counterpart might ascend any time now.”

“Truly?” Luna shot me a look and I gave her a nod. Any further conversation between us was cut off as we heard a loud scream echo through the hallway. It sounded suspiciously like Ruby.

Another shudder went through me, but this time my heart began to beat faster. “Did you feel that?”

“Yes,” Luna answered, a smile coming to her face. “Shall we go meet her, then?”

“Let’s,” I nodded, calling out to this world’s Realm of Ascension. The transition was, as always, only mildly jarring. One moment in the vault beneath Beacon, the next in a starry field of lights. All was not good, though.

“Hey, Mom,” Cadance muttered, rubbing the back of a distraught Ruby, next to them the lifeless body of Pyrrha Nikos.

Oh, dear... I slowly walked over to them, kneeling down with a saddened frown. This was not how I envisioned their Trial would go. I thought I had trained them enough...

“Sister...” Luna put a hand on my shoulder. I’m so sorry. I'm so very sorry.

“Ruby?” I whispered, feeling a hollowness spread through me. “Come, there is a choice to be made...”

“Why..?” Ruby asked me, her teary eyes finding mine. “Why would she do that?”

If only I could answer her. “I don’t know,” I told her, unsure. “Greed, perhaps.”

“What is this place? Where are we, Mom?” she asked me next and I explained it to the best of my ability. I told her what I had told Cadance when she first found herself in a similar realm. And then, we began to move through the hallway of memories, Pyrrha’s body in the arms of my wife.

“Summer?” Luna whispered, sounding strangely shocked. I turned to her with a questioning gaze, not seeing anything that would put her in such a state. “Why is she in this place?”

“What do you mean?” I asked her, confused. “Ruby completed her Trial and you know what lies at the end of this path for her.”

“Not her,” Luna said, pointing at the dead girl in her arms. “Her.”

“I...” I started before I trailed off, stumped. Why was she here? “I don’t know. By all rights, she shouldn’t be here...”

“What... what are you talking about?” Ruby let out a sniffle, giving us a pained but confused look.

“Pyrrha died in her Trial, but why is she still here?” I asked myself, wondering... “Lulu? Could you... could you pull that arrow out?”

Luna rose her eyebrow at me before she set Pyrrha down on the ‘ground’, taking the protruding object into her hand. One tug later, I watched in fascinated wonder as the wound began to close. I gave Luna a hopeful look, slowly reaching out two fingers to feel for her pulse.

There was none to be found. I felt despair grasp at my heart, disappointed that I had gotten my hopes up.

It would have been too good to be true, wouldn’t it?

I am so sorry, Pyrrha Nikos. I'm sorry for not having gotten to know you as I should have. I'm sorry for setting you on this course, thinking you could pass your Trial despite having had my doubts about it. And I felt sorry that you died because of me.

Ozpin would be so disappointed in me, wouldn’t he? Here I was, playing around with the lives of mortals even after I swore to myself I would never do so again. Pyrrha would be my eternal reminder that I was no better than the Brother Gods. That I was a manipulative being that didn’t deserve her powers.

I was a failure of a higher being.

I clung to Luna as I started to let out my own grief. It should have been me in her place. I could have been there for them if I had stayed with Ozpin until he brought down my daughters and Pyrrha into the stupid vault. Maybe if I had run my sword through Amber, this could have been avoided.

Was this truly the fate Pyrrha deserved for everything she did? For sacrificing herself? This wasn't fair. The universe... no, I couldn’t blame everything on the universe, again. I should take responsibility for my own mistakes, not run from them like a coward.

Pyrrha was dead because of me. Tia was banished because of me. They suffered because of me.

It was my fault. Everything was my fault. Mine.

I am a regular pity party, aren’t I? Where was my optimism? My hopeful outlook on life? Would everything I touch turn into dust, to be forgotten?

It was like I was starting to distance myself from my old self again, pushing her into a dark corner so I didn’t have to feel like this. Not only was I a failure as a higher being, but I was also a failure to myself. My past self would be so disappointed in me, wouldn’t she?

Ruby was still here... but... would it stay that way? Sooner or later, I would do something and she would distance herself from me, too. I was surprised she didn’t already hate me for having done this to her friend.

A gasp broke me out of my self-misery and I stared in bewilderment as vivid-green eyes looked around in a panic. I... what? How was this even possible?

Unless... she survived because she didn’t die during her Trial but after it. This realm is special, even mortals could die in here and live, being forced to go through to the end of the hallway in order to make a decision. If Pyrrha entered the Realm of Ascension, that meant she passed her trial successfully before succumbing to her wounds.

And that meant the Realm of Ascension would keep her alive, reviving her every time she would die in here. This realm was somewhere between the physical realm and the astral plane. Magic suffused this place in its entirety. Its very purpose was to judge those who wandered these halls and it couldn’t do that if they, for some reason, died in it.

Ruby was there in an instant, squeezing the living daylights out of her friend. Pyrrha was understandably confused, but I couldn’t exactly explain to her what was going on as I laughed gratefully, dancing around with Luna in my arms.

For once, the universe didn’t take everyone away from me! Hah! Take that! For once, there was no reason to cry, only to celebrate.

Right, time was of the essence. Beacon Academy was still under attack and just because we were in the Realm of Ascension, didn’t mean time stood still.

Once everyone was sufficiently calmed down (mainly Ruby, Pyrrha, and I), we explained everything to the red-headed gladiator and continued our walk down memory lane. And most of the memories we encountered were happy ones. There were some of them that weren’t, mainly memories Ruby wanted to forget after her mother went missing, but there were also ones that Pyrrha didn’t feel like explaining.

And then, there were the memories of what happened down in the Beacon's vault. The fight... it was something else to behold. Ruby did admirably, fighting with her full might against their assailant. As did Cadance with her sword and shield, and surprisingly, so did Pyrrha. They couldn’t stop the death of Amber, but they managed to fight the attacker and stop her. Together, they managed to accomplish something truly tremendous.

They brought hope to Remnant, defeating the thief with the Fall Maiden’s power. Pyrrha and Ruby were shining examples of what a hero could be in this world. They were Legends in their own right.

Once we were at the end of the path, I gave them the choice.

Become something greater or forsake their destiny to pursue their own.

Pyrrha hesitated at the last step, glancing at Ruby. My little Rose smiled back, and before they could go any further, Cadance grabbed Ruby’s hand, turned her around, and gave her a small kiss right on the lips.

“I’ll be waiting, my Shining Knight,” Cadance told her with a wink and a smile.

Seeing that scarlet blush on Ruby’s face, I couldn’t help but smile next to Luna. I decidedly ignored her amused look, not at all in the mood to hear her say ‘Like mother, like daughter’.

Then, they were gone. To a place where we couldn’t follow them. Their destiny.

“This is a sight we have not seen for a very long time,” a voice behind us spoke up and the hairs on the back of my neck began to stand up. My eyelid started twitching as I turned around and saw a golden figure next to a dark purple one.

The Brother Gods.

For fuck's sake. They have a lot of nerve, don't they? Just wait, I thought darkly. Just wait until I rip you both a new one..!

Heat surrounded me in an inferno as I told them exactly where they could take their non-existent reproductive organs and shove them up their..!

Author's Notes:

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Chapter 021 - Never ever have sex while drunk. Or drink while having sex.

Author's Notes:

This is going exactly where you think it is going. Yep.

Also: beware, spoilers for Fringe (pretty much the entirety of the series is getting spoiled throughout the second part of this chapter, you're allowed to complain as much about it as you want... whether I care or not is another thing entirely )

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

I’m not proud to say what I said that day. I’m not even going to go into the specifics, I really didn’t hold anything back. Sure, they kinda really deserved it and I might have been justified in saying every single word while meaning it, it was still extremely childish of me. Not to mention, that type of language was extremely disgusting and should be henceforth forgotten so it can never again sully my mind with its foulness.

Suffice it to say, I don’t think they will ever come back to Remnant even if Ozpin begged them to.

Sadly, not everything was all nice and happy. While I was quite satisfied with how my ‘talking sense’ into the Brother Gods went, thankfully without it getting violent (mainly because Luna held me back...), there was still the matter with the infested Academy that wouldn’t so easily resolve itself.

Ozpin was incredibly weakened and could barely stand as Luna and I dragged him out of the vault, coming face to face with thousands of Grimm while the last few students were being evacuated by Beacon's staff. That left us with the dragon in the process of making the top of the Beacon Tower its new nest.

Suffice to say, I didn’t hold a candle to Ruby in this world. She merely glanced at the thing and it turned to stone. Remnant is going to be in good hands with her and Pyrrha, I could tell.

Then, there was Yang.

I wish I could have done something for her, but even I couldn’t regrow a limb. Remnant had far better technology for prosthetics, so I at least took comfort in that. She wouldn’t have to live the rest of her life with only one arm.

If they ever find the disgusting slimeball that did that to her, I’m not going to show him any mercy for hurting her like that. I’m going to stuff him into Tartarus and that was as far as my kindness would go.

Ruby, Tai, Luna, Cadance, and I went back to Patch after everything was over and done with. Thankfully, we did not have to take a flying deathtrap to do so as Luna surprised us by opening a portal to the island. It wasn’t that far away from where Cadance and I first entered this world, appearing in a clearing near a rocky outcropping with a strangely flat surface. Anyone not aware of other dimensions wouldn’t actually see a flat rock, but just another side of the uneven formation’s regular appearance.

At least no one would stumble upon it by pure chance or we would have had to relocate the portal to a better location. If we want to let it stay open permanently, that is. It would be for the best if only those I considered family knew of its location and I made Ruby swear on her newfound status as a higher being to keep it a secret from everypony but her team (and Pyrrha, the poor girl was still reeling from her near-death experience).

Ruby’s duty was only beginning and I made it very clear to her that she had certain responsibilities now, among those the task of keeping not only her reality safe but also the existence of others (by not telling each and every individual she comes across that there are ponies living in her backyard).

We stayed a few days longer making sure everything was in order (primarily teaching them how to control their newfound strength so they wouldn't accidentally break a pony's bones by giving them a hug) before we had to go back to Equestria. I told them they were always welcome to visit us and gave Ruby the offer of finishing her combat studies with me if she wanted (and Cadance, she isn't going to get out of them now that we have a way back home).

Learning how to be a huntress would be a lot more difficult, now that Beacon was in ruins and would more or less need to be rebuilt completely from scratch. I kinda felt bad about not helping out with that, but Ozpin told me that with the Fall Maiden's powers gone, he could concentrate on keeping the other academies safe (whatever that meant).

Of course, Ruby wanted to continue training with me like she wanted to do nothing more than that, but she also wouldn’t leave her teammates behind (not that I wasn't tempted to keep her and Yang around, but I doubt Weiss and Blake were ready to deal with another world on top of everything that happened to them recently). Besides, my little petal basically had everything she would need from me, so it wasn’t like I was too disappointed. Maybe in a few years when Remnant was a lot calmer (and more importantly, safer), would she be able to stay for as long as she wanted, but until then, I wouldn’t want her to stay away from her duties for too long.

I had one last call with Ozpin before leaving, telling him that I would bring over a device that would be able to open a hole for him to dump Salem into. I was pretty sure Luna would be able to figure out something to make it compact enough to easily transport it. I also told him that if he needed me, he only has to ask Ruby and she would point him in my direction.

The trip back to Equestria left me a bit disoriented at first, not only because I was finally back in my quadruped body, but also because all of my senses were practically bombarded for a moment or two by the magic-rich environment of my home, Equestria. The Realm of Ascension in Remnant felt practically dry in comparison to simply breathing in the air of my castle.

As soon as I went through to the other side, I had an overly affectionate bug hanging from me, buzzing up a storm. I smiled, returning Liz’s hug, breathing in her quite unique scent for a few moments.

“Did you wait here the whole time?” Luna asked her with a raised eyebrow, helping Cadance to her hooves as she stumbled through the mirror next.

“Maybe?” Chrysalis mumbled, hugging me a bit tighter as if afraid I would vanish again. “Missed my flower...”

“And I missed you, too,” I giggled, nuzzling her. Liz sighed happily, leaning into the touch while Cadance giggled next to us. “Now... I’m in dire need of alcohol to make me forget everything that just happened on the other side. 'Mostly' everything, I mean. There were some good things that came out of this, I suppose.”

“Mom! Don’t you dare become like Uncle Qrow!” Cadance’s voice spoke up but I didn’t see her mouth move. Slowly, I turned my head and saw presumably Ruby standing next to the mirror. She did sort of look like Cadance, but... not exactly.

For one thing, she still had her silver eyes. The other thing was her horn, it looked far longer and sharper (or rather, more pointy) than the one Cadance had. Not unlike my own, I mused. Her mane, of course, was a lot shorter, and in comparison to Cadance, her muscles were a bit less subtle in showing through her fur. And, of course, she had a different Cutie Mark than my Rose Petal. The depiction of the rosebud warmed my heart immensely. A rose that never wilts, truly...

“Ruby,” I sighed, ignoring Liz’s questioning gaze for the moment. “Why did you go and jump through the mirror after us? Without telling anyone? Your father is going to be worried sick, dear.”

“I told Yang,” she shrugged. “By the way, you’re really pretty."—then she took a closer look at herself—" I’m really pretty. We all are! Eee! Cadance! I'm a pretty pony!”

I suppose it was only a matter of time before she would have had her little moment, I mused to myself with a smile, watching her giggle-tackle Cadance into a hug, hopping around like she had been a pony for all of her life. My daughter was only mildly exasperated, taking to the 'dance' with a blush and a smile.

“Should I ask?” Liz questioned me and I groaned. “Because I can feel the love Cadance feels for this young mare and it isn’t the ‘best friends’ kind of love.”

“She takes after me far too much and let’s leave it at that,” I answered, content to stay in her embrace for a little while longer while watching my daughters roll around on the floor, giggling like lunatics. “So... Liz? Did you know there was this one law about incest?”

“Whatever are you talking about, Sunflower?” Liz grinned innocently back at me and I shot her a miffed look.

“Don’t make me pull on your ear again,” I threatened her and she wilted slightly. “Because you know I will.”

“Aww, come on, Summer,” she whined, throwing me a look with her patented ‘adorable changeling puppy eyes of innocence’. They weren’t able to fool anypony... but they definitely were making me feel like I was about to kick an innocent pup. “You know my opinion on this and you are being unreasonable about it.”

“Liz...” I sighed, but she cut me off as she intensified her gaze.

“No, you listen to me for once, Missy!” Liz said, poking me in the chest with her hole-ridden hoof. “You’re being stupid and you know it. Changelings have had sex with their siblings since I showed them how to have sex, get over it.”

Of course, she did, I thought with an eye roll. “Liz.”

“Nuh-uh,” she placed her hoof over my lips and I felt my eyelid twitch in annoyed exasperation. “Luna and I talked while you were gone and she found that law in Cadance’s room, she agreed with me that you are being a dumb pony about it.”

“Liz...”

“And if you continue to be like that, I will go to the newspaper agencies and tell them all about how you fuck your sister and worship her dick,” she continued on as I felt my face heating up, noticing the giggling sounds of my daughters stop all of a sudden. I swear to all that is holy about my sun... “And believe me, I will tell them everything. Every raunchy detail of you subbing to her big, fat cock while she punishes you with her riding crop.”

“Liz, could you...” I began, using my magic to move her hoof away from my lips (oh, how I have missed being able to use it with only a thought), but instead of letting me finish, she smothered me with her lips. I let out a surprised moan, momentarily forgetting the fact my daughters were most definitely watching me right now with grins on their muzzles. Stupid Liz...

“And once everypony and their pets know what a dirty little princess you are,” Liz whispered hotly into my ear, nipping it with a fang. A small whimper escaped me as I squirmed uselessly around in her arms. “I’ll rut you so hard on your throne in full view of everypony in the castle, you won’t be able to care anymore.”

“L-Liz...” I moaned, unable to struggle against her as I felt her tongue move to my ear with entirely too lewd sounds. My resistance melted away completely after that. “D-damn you...”

“You love Luna and me, Sunflower,” she chuckled, nuzzling me with a delighted grin. “Why hide it behind so many walls? Because our ponies could find out? Because everypony would know you loved your own sister in that way? Let me tell you one thing...”

“...what?” I whispered, whimpering up at her as she had me trapped underneath her in one swift motion. My wings were splayed out to their impressive full wingspan as I squirmed around on my back. My nethers were throbbing to my heartbeat as my body's desire betrayed me, making me wet despite my precarious situation where my daughters could see me reduced to this pile of shame and need. Oh, how I hated being put on the spot like this. I hated how it made me feel, and I hated Liz even more for it.

Chrysalis snorted. “Well, first of all, you’re an idiot,” she said and rolled her eyes, making it sound like it was the most obvious thing in the world. I heard Cadance giggle and I gave my wife a pouty glare, trying to worm my way out from underneath her. It was (like always) a useless endeavor on my part, much to my displeasure. “You’re an idiot for thinking that our ponies would care. I get it, you fear some sort of incestuous apocalypse ruining our nation because you gave in to your selfishness for once, but you give our ponies far too little credit, Summer.”

“It’s not an unfounded fear, damnit,” I shot back, fidgeting with my hindlegs as all I wanted was to get this damn sexual frustration out of my system. Why did she have to do this to me now? She could totally smell my pent-up horniness from the past few months. Damn sexy succubus bug.

“Do you see our ponies throw a fuss because changelings fuck anypony and everything?” Chrysalis asked, smiling teasingly as my eyes begged her to fuck me like that right now. Why is it that she always smells so good..? “They don’t. Heck, they enjoy doing it with changelings just as much, and I should know. You have no idea how many have a thing for fucking a look-alike of themselves, seriously.”

“L-Liz... please...” I whimpered, biting my lip. She gave me a self-satisfied smirk as she made me beg for it. I was quickly being reduced to a whimpering pile of need by her and her taking her time with it only made it worse. That sweet ambrosial smell of hers... it was like the most heavenly scent my nostrils ever picked up on. “A-at least... at l-least let us go to our room before you do this to me... p-please...”

My wife grinned lecherously down at me. “And why would I want that?” she asked before licking her lips seductively. “Is it because of Cadance and her lover?”

“Please, Liz. This... this isn’t something they should even see,” I begged with her, trying to calm down my aching nethers to the best of my ability, my breaths coming out in short puffs of air. Damn her and her stupid changeling morals. The little minx, this... this damn succubus... damn her and her intoxicating fragrance. She always gets her way and I hated her so very much for that. “Cadance is my daughter, she shouldn’t see her mother l-like this.”

“Adopted daughter,” Liz corrected me, trailing a hoof along my muzzle as I gave her a fierce glare for even saying it like that. “Don’t give me that look, now. You know it is true. Her past life ended, dear. It’s nothing but a memory in a book. You could use a forbidden spell and change that, but I know you would never do that. Even I wouldn’t dare use such a foul spell and I am an expert in dark magic.”

“Only because it doesn’t corrupt you,” I muttered darkly.

“Oh it does,” Liz said while her eyes glowed ominously. “And you know that as well as I do. But I can just spit it out of my body like a disease. You know how sick I get from too much hate being in my stomach.”

“Then why do you even use dark magic,” I sighed, knowing the answer to that, as well. She just had a higher affinity for that type of magic. It was almost like what Cadance could do with positive emotions, only with negative ones. That also allowed her to ‘convert’ the corruptive effects of dark magic into negative emotions, and, as she had so eloquently put it, spit them back out in a gel-like liquid. Nasty stuff, really.

“Do I even need to answer that?” Chrysalis shot back and I shook my head, grumbling to myself even as I felt her breath tickle the inside of my ear. My wings desperately wanted to spread out further as she let out a lewd, teasing moan, trying to coax out a reaction from me. Not that she had to try very hard. “Despite what you might think about this, Cadance grew up with changelings in the castle. It gave her a certain... perspective on love. Why would she, the Princess of Love, care about who loves whom? She doesn’t care that you love your own sister, and judging by her feelings for her alternate self, it never even crossed her mind that what she was feeling was akin to incest.”

“But Ruby...” I tried to speak up, only to get silenced by her tongue slipping into my mouth, wrestling mine into submission even as I tried to fight back against her advances. It was useless, though. Nothing I did was even remotely useful.

“Are you going to take away their only chance at true love?” Liz asked me, a challenging look in her eyes. “Because you know as well as I do that creating the circumstances for ascension takes far too much luck to make any plan feasible.”

I wanted to argue that I had successfully made such a plan, but that would also inform Ruby that I manipulated the events in her favor. I might have never intended for the things that happened at the Vytal Festival and Beacon to happen, but that didn’t mean I hadn’t at least played a part in them. There had been remarkably few casualties, but those that had lost their lives would forever weigh heavily on my mind.

But... she was also right, in a way. I won’t come across another situation so easily where I could make sure somepony had a challenge worthy enough for their Trial and provide a power source large enough for it to happen at the same time. The power source wouldn’t actually be the problem. It never was. The circumstances of having somepony with the correct mindset and skill set being in the right place at the right time were hard to come by. So many variables played a part in the process of ascension, it was no wonder it took such a long time for somepony to come across the necessary circumstances.

“You know both of them will live a long life indeed, to force them apart would be to doom them both,” Liz commented and I gave her a tiny nod, very much aware of that. It wasn’t like I planned to do that to them, in the first place, so she didn’t need to remind me of that. Quietly in the background, I heard Cadance hush Ruby so that she could focus on the words between my wife and me. “So... why not make that little law public? Go out and tell our ponies that they can have these types of relationships? If not for us, do it for them.”

“Liz,” I began, about to tell her that I wanted to do just that because I realized it would give my daughters the happiness they deserved, but my wife silenced me again. I hummed through the kiss and bemoaned the fact that these constant interruptions were keeping me from stopping this nonsense because it was, quite frankly, unnecessary.

Liz just couldn’t help herself, could she? It was like a game of ‘Make Summer go horny’ for her. Ugh, it was driving me insane. I just wanted her to stop playing with me and bury her damn muzzle in my flower and drink deeply from my nectar like the bug that she was, breathing in her heavenly scent until I was barely able to hang on to my consciousness. It took all of my willpower to not immediately succumb to that blissful fantasy. But... to be honest? It was a losing battle at the rate this was going.

“Ruby,” Cadance whined, probably because her field of view was impaired by her counterpart trying to make her look away from this lewd scene, my needy sex right in their sight even though I tried to hide it to the best of my ability with my stubborn tail. It was obviously not working, much to my displeasure. “Come on, I want to know what Mom says. If she actually keeps that law around and they make it public, don’t you realize what that means?”

“What? Cady, stop looking at them like a pervert!” Ruby shot back, sounding as embarrassed as I was currently feeling by having Liz molest me while they were in the same room as us. Not that my wife gave a single flying penguin that I was pretty much entirely exposed to due to her actions.

“Oh, should I look at you like that, then?” Cadance giggled back, shutting up any reply Ruby had for her by doing something that made her squeak quite loudly. “If they go through with this, we could marry! I mean, not now... but once things calm down on Remnant and we’re older. We’re kinda still a bit too young to even think about this, but... we could in a few years.”

“Marry?” Ruby squeaked and I had to admit... seeing my daughters marry at some point... I couldn’t wait for the day to come. To see my little petals in a wedding dress, walking down the aisle...

“See?” Chrysalis whispered with a gentle smile. “This is for the good of Equestria, for our daughter.”

“Liz, I’m trying to tell you to shut the fuck up so you can hear my opinion on this for the past several minutes and you keep interrupting me,” I muttered, giving her an exasperated glare. “I get it, okay? You don’t have to convince me to not abolish that law, but I will be making changes to it to make sure nothing truly bad can happen to anypony involved. Are we done with this now? Can we please, for the love of my sun, fuck each other’s brains out? Preferably not anywhere near my daughters?”

“They are free to leave,” Liz shrugged with a lecherous grin. “I’m not forcing them to stay here and watch, after all.”

“Liz...” I warned her, an angry snort leaving me.

“Oh stop being such a prude prissy idiot and learn to let loose,” Liz shot back, pushing me back down with a hoof as I began to struggle weakly against her again. I was about to say something in response to that, feeling a flicker of rage well up within me as she called me a prude of all things (I take offense to that, I know how to have fun, damnit), but I found myself unable to say anything. Quite literally, at that.

Liz had just glued my mouth shut with her changeling gel.

“M-mhh!” I glared at her, pointing with a hoof at her and then my mouth, demanding she remove it from me at once.

My wife grinned evilly. “You talk too much, Sunflower,” she said, a mocking tone in her voice. I am only mildly ashamed to say that it made me feel butterflies in my stomach. “The only thing I want to hear from you are your delightfully loud moans as I abuse your pussy to my heart’s content.”

I blinked, my face quickly turning a deeper shade of red. D-damn her, I swear to my sun... I’mma throw her into that volcano after all! I let out a surprised moan as I felt something touch my nethers, trying not to screw my eyes shut from pleasure so that I could see what she was doing to me, but my struggles were quickly beginning to falter. I tried to look for Luna in order to plead with her to put a stop to this before it escalated too far, but she was nowhere to be found.

And my daughter had a friggin’ nosebleed.

I glared at her, knowing my eyes had just turned into the golden ponification of rage, but for some reason, it left her unaffected. Ruby’s pale pink muzzle was frozen in a horrified fascination as she watched Liz do things to me with a deep, scarlet blush. Things that left me a whimpering, moaning mess.

A brief flash of green fire later, I came face to face with Liz in the form of Fallen Star, her erection standing proudly at attention as she circled around me with a hungry gaze in her eyes. My heart quivered in my chest, feeling like it just skipped a beat or two... or five. Six. Seven. Possibly all of 'em.

I'm gonna die...

“You want it, don’t you?” she asked me and I shuddered at her voice. I knew why she did this. I hated her for doing this. I really did. Damn her and her tendency to cheat! She knew perfectly well I had a weakness for the raunchy quality of my other half’s voice. Fucking flying penguins, I hate you, Liz. I really, really hate you, you damn lovable bug.

“No, you don’t,” she grinned back, well aware of what was currently going through my hazy mind. “You’re my dirty little sub, aren’t you? You want to have me ravish you. All it takes for that is for you to let go. Stop resisting my words, stop caring that Cadance is right there. Admit that your family consists of nothing but dirty perverts, Summer. Do that and I will make you feel so impossibly good that you will beg me to do it right in front of our subjects on your throne.”

I shook my head, trying to deny her demands, but my eyes kept trailing back to the tantalizing tip of her penis, swinging around back and forth hypnotizingly underneath her barrel. It just looked so... so damn juicy! And the scent! By my sun, the scent was driving me into a lustful craze. I wanted her to make love to me so badly, to feel her in me like I hadn’t in such a long time. I wanted her to make me forget about my unfaithful thoughts back on Remnant. I wanted her to claim me, breed me, fuck me into unconsciousness...

“Cuddlebug?” Luna asked, coming back from wherever it was she went to (probably the ‘wine’ cellar, judging by the bottle floating next to her). Damn you, sister, for leaving me to this succubus of a changeling. All of this could have been avoided had you not just left me here with her. “Are you... in front of Cadance? Really..?”

Liz let out a huff. “Oh, shut the fuck up,” she muttered, pouting at my sister grumpily. “Don’t you start with this, too! Sometimes I wish you both were changelings, instead. Then you wouldn’t give a single fuck about this.”

“Liz, how close are you to laying your eggs?” Luna asked, raising her eyebrow at her. My sister held me back as I distractedly found myself trying to align my snatch with Liz’s dick, the only thing on my mind being the need to get rutted into oblivion.

“Maybe... possibly... in a day or two?” Liz chuckled sheepishly, the sound of Fallen Star’s voice making me whimper in need. Just let me at that divine rod, sister... I beg you. I needed it so much.

“You know your pheromones are driving her crazy, right?” Luna shot back. “And judging by how glazed her eyes are, you did quite the number on her this time. How long have you been trying to talk her into having sex with you while Cadance was right there?”

“A bit...” Liz admitted, shuffling awkwardly on her hooves, looking like a sad puppy that just got told no.

“I leave for fifteen minutes getting her some alcohol to unwind and this is what happens,” Luna groaned, rubbing her eyes tiredly. “Cadance, go to your room and take your counterpart with you. I’ll talk with you about this tomorrow.”

“But Mother!” Cadance whined, shutting up quickly at the glare Luna sent her way. “Fine...”

Luna gave her a stern look. “We will talk about proper decorum for a princess of your station,” she told her, not amused. “And you're going to write me an essay about why you shouldn’t listen to Chrysalis about matters concerning sex.”

“Oh, come on!” Liz grumbled, insulted. “You can’t shackle the girl so much. She is the literal incarnation of Love! It’s her privilege to be as perverted as she could possibly be.”

My sister rubbed her temples in aggravation. “Dear, you’re a changeling,” she said, holding me back from going after Liz’s dick again with an exasperated sigh. “That opinion might be true for you but not for her.”

“You’re a meanie,” Liz pouted.

“Cadance is still too young to be corrupted by your blatant disregard for what is proper and what is not concerning love,” Luna argued. “Now, please get back to our room and take Summer with you. Preferably without being seen like... that. I have a few things I need to look into and after seeing all of this, I’m not in the mood to get drunk anymore.”

“Fine,” Liz muttered. “Come on, Sunflower. You heard her," she said as she gave me a nudge before grimacing at my befuddled state. "Yeah, okay... she is probably right. You're really that desperate to get cock, huh? Did you abstain from masturbating, or what?”

The only answer she got from me was a whine and she sighed. Her changeling fire burned away her Fallen Star disguise and I followed dutifully after her, avoiding every guard patrol through the hallways of our castle. My wife smiled awkwardly as she saw me practically clinging to her as we made haste to our chambers. I was eager to see us return to our previous activities. Hopefully, this time without any teasing involved.

I was in desperate need of relief and constantly smelling her arousal was turning me on even more. My need to have her satisfy me almost got us caught several times as I tried to get her to fuck me right there in the hallways. While I could tell that Liz wanted to grant me that wish, I knew she would rather not risk Luna getting mad at her, and that left me as a frustrated mess by the time we finally got to our room.

Once the doors were closed behind us, I was already rubbing myself against her with my rear, trying to find the dick that wasn’t there anymore so that I could stuff it as deep into me as I possibly could. Chrysalis chuckled at my futile attempts, smiling as I whined at her.

“My, you really are out of your mind right now,” Liz giggled, taking off the golden chest piece around my neck and discarding it to the side with a dull thud. My shoes were haphazardly thrown after it, teasing me all the while with her wandering hooves.

I gave her a demanding growl, unable to beg her any other way, and saw her smirk back at me with that damn self-satisfied look in her eyes.

“Aww, you’re cute,” she cooed, giggling madly. “My little slut can’t wait, can she? Whatever shall I do?”

“Mhh!” I grumbled, bumping her with my rear, feeling frustrated beyond measure. My body told me that I needed to find her dick asap while my mind uselessly told me that it wasn’t actually there and I won’t find it anytime soon unless Chrysalis stopped being such a jerk to me.

“Perhaps I will leave her begging for the rest of the day?” she mused and my heart gave a fearful beat at that. “Teach her not to defy the wishes of her Mistress?”

“M-mhh, mhh...” I mumbled, giving her my best sad-eyed look.

“Poor Sunflower,” Liz swooned, patting my cheek mockingly. “So frustrated! I’m such a terrible, terrible tease, hm?”

I nodded with a growl, rubbing myself against her insistingly.

“Such a pity,” she sighed, feigning sadness. “I don’t think I’m in the mood for sex anymore. After all, I’ve been denied for so long...”

I swear if she continues with this, the volcano will look like a five-star hotel in comparison to the place I’ll stuff her into!

“But I suppose I might yet be persuaded to change my mind,” she admitted with a fake look of being merciful. I could see the evil glint in her eyes, though. “If only there was somepony willing to entertain my pervertedness? To show the rest of the world who they belong to? To satisfy my little exhibitionistic dreams?”

I moaned. Fucking hell, I-I...

Chrysalis pushed me onto the bed before her face came close to mine. There was a certain pettiness on her muzzle. “It's such a shame that Luna forbade me from doing that, right?” she asked me and I swallowed thickly. “Don’t you agree, Sunflower?”

I didn’t want to do it, but if it got her back into the mood... I would do anything just so I could finally receive the sweet touch of her tool. I gave her a hesitant nod, hoping beyond hope she would grant me that relief, that she would satisfy my begging snatch, but all she did was disregard my need altogether, giving me a mocking grin as she joined me on the bed.

“Mhn. It's too bad we can’t do that, then, or she will get mad at both of us,” Liz said with a shrug. My wife rolled onto her back as she brought over a magazine from the nightstand’s drawer, ignoring me as I gave her a betrayed look. That... that's it? She put all of this effort into riling me up, only for her to then leave me hanging?!

Damnit, damnit, damnit! Fuck me right this instant you teasing jerk! I tried nudging her insistently to draw her attention back to me, but she feigned reading the magazine as I got more and more frustrated.

She continued to ignore me.

I whimpered sadly as I ran my hoof over my aching entrance, but that only managed to make the needy ache worse. Ugh, why do hooves have to be so damn impractical for the purpose of masturbation?! I reached out to my magic, remembering that I had gotten back access to my horn, but cried out as my wife flicked it shortly afterward.

I gave Liz a glare, miffed that she would stop me from satisfying my growing need since she wouldn’t do it, although she continued on doing her own thing impassively as if she hadn’t done anything.

“Oh, the poor mare, having to go through a miscarriage,” Liz commentated, letting out a sad gasp at what she read. “Poor Velvet, I feel for her.”

I rolled my eyes, pretty sure she was making that up, trying to make me lose my concentration again as I tried summoning a sex toy from our little secret chest. As I looked at her with a pleading gaze, I actually saw her shed a tear. Confused, my curiosity got the better of me and I gave the page she was currently on a hesitant look.

Sadly, for once she wasn’t faking her emotions. The heiress of House Star had a still-born foal. My wife was no stranger to losing children even before they hatched and those were the only times she mourned the deaths of her offspring. While I knew she hardly ever cared for her drones after they left the nursery, losing them before they were even born always had her in a particularly foul mood.

I found myself feeling hollow, my sexual frustration forgotten for the moment. Those things sadly happened and even magic could only do so much to make sure a pregnancy went off without a hitch. All the more reason to increase our efforts in researching better ways to make sure those things happen less often. Especially if Liz is right about our ponies not caring about incest being made partially legal. While I know my ponies wouldn’t put themselves and any future foals at risk, I also know there will be those foolish enough to try something stupid.

...like trying out experimental sex transformation spells and getting yourself pregnant with your own cum or knocking up your sibling during a night of 'innocent' fun. You know, totally normal stuff to do.

Ahem. I’m by far not innocent in that regard, but there was a reason why I made the primary spell function pretty much infertile. It would need the deliberate intent of wanting to get pregnant to change that and only my sisters and I knew how to cast that part of the spell. That doesn’t mean there wouldn’t be ponies that could re-engineer the spell and find out how to make it fertile, though.

It was a restricted spell for a good reason. Anypony learning that spell has to be registered and needs to always be under close scrutiny. The spell was mainly used by a few same-sex couples that wanted to spice things up a bit in their relationship and wouldn’t be satisfied by inanimate toys (something I can very much relate to, silicone just doesn’t have the same feel as actual flesh does). Then, there were couples that were simply curious about what their partner felt like, wanting to experience it for themselves.

Of course, the main purpose of the spell was to help those that had the unfortunate ‘fortune’ to be born with the wrong biological sex. Using the spell as a base, it was possible to transition fully over to the appropriate sex matching up with your gender identity, and thus grant a pony the life they deserved. I was glad that I could at least help those like me find their own happiness. I could never keep that away from my ponies (nor would I ever want to).

There were those rare few occasions that we personally cast the spell on those asking it of us. The fertile one, that is. Those were special circumstances, though. Very special circumstances. It sometimes helped those couples that couldn’t get a foal otherwise, whether that was because the mare’s ovaries did not work correctly or the stallion’s seed was... ahem, 'lackluster'. It wasn’t guaranteed to work, but the chance was there that it could. Rarely did it not and those few times... let’s just say that it wasn’t the spell that didn’t work as intended and leave it at that.

I let out a sigh, using my magic to dissolve the gag Liz put on me, both of us definitely not in the mood to continue our previous shenanigans. It always hit a bit close to home to hear other ponies' struggle to become parents. While, yes, Liz 'kinda' had a lot of children with us, it wasn't quite the same when they didn't treat you as their mom. Aside from Ocellus packing her bags and leaving, but that one was... complicated. It wasn't a happy topic for anypony involved, let's just leave it at that. And Cadance, well... she was growing up remarkably fast.

Having a foal never really was an option for me. Not without some unwanted help from a stranger or... you know... a certain someone from another universe ( I don't think roping Tai and Qrow into my wishful thinking was a good idea, though).

In a way, Luna and I came to terms with that a long time ago. My sister was in no way happy about it, but what choice did we have? The only way we could have a foal together would pose a massive risk to the baby's health. Magic has become such an intrinsic part of a pony's development, overcharging their core with our magic involved would spell their doom before the foal has even left the womb. There was little we could do that would make their development less risky. So, just saying 'Buck it, let's make a little us' was a dumb idea.

Not only does it pose a serious threat to the foal, but if a surge happened during pregnancy... the result is most certainly not a pretty one, that much I was sadly aware of. Such a thing is rare indeed, but it does happen once a century or so. Particularly when two very powerful ponies decide to become parents. It doesn't need two siblings doing 'that' for it to happen, much as I wished it didn't happen at all.

We still have no idea why it happens, in the first place. But magic that is similar to each other causes it to amplify the strength of the foal's magic by several magnitudes. Ponies have developed a certain 'tolerance' to how much magic their body can withstand, but short of being born an alicorn, a regular mortal wouldn't survive that strain. Not without finding a way to relieve that pressure before they inevitably surge.

Ugh. This really was killing the mood even further, wasn't it? Alright, enough of that. I might as well work on that law, then. But first... I really need a bath. I hopped down from our bed, silently asking if Liz wanted to accompany me, and together, we prepared our bath chamber.

“I’m... sorry,” Liz apologized as she lathered up my mane and tail. I gave her a confused look, curious what this was about. “For teasing you so much. I know how frustrated you get when I do that.”

“It’s okay,” I smiled back at her, leaning into her hooves with a tiny little happy sigh. “We haven’t seen each other for months, dear. To be honest, I would have expected a lot worse than a little bit of teasing and trying to rope me into your exhibitionism.”

My wife buzzed her wings happily because I so readily accepted her apology. “So... how was the other side?” Liz asked me, rubbing my back with a hum. As she brought that topic up, though, I couldn't help but frown ever so slightly. “Oh... 'that' bad, huh?”

I sighed. “No, it wasn’t. Not really,” I told her before she got the wrong impression. “Remnant is... complicated at best and downright sad at worst. But I have faith in humanity over there. They went through such terrible things and still persevered, I have no doubt that things will get better with Ruby there.”

“Dear, you’re being a bit cryptic there,” Liz poked me with a smile on her muzzle. I felt a giggle leave me, and the moment following that, she had me rolling around the floor of our bathroom, giggling madly as she tickled me. “Are you in the mood to actually tell me details now?”

“Y-yes, yes, just stop!” I wheezed, trying to get my bearings back together. “You wouldn’t have had to t-tickle me so much, you damn succubus...”

“Aww, I love you, too,” she smiled. I gave her a nuzzle, getting her to coo at me happily, and began to recount everything that happened on Remnant while we entered the ‘bathtub’ after a quick rinse. I did not leave anything out, making sure that Liz heard every minor detail from me (even my, uh... struggles while I was there).

She did snicker when I told her about Taiyang and Qrow, not at all surprised that I had the hots for the alternate version of my twin since he reminded me of Celestia so much. Liz asked me if anything had happened between us and the response she got for that was a harsh pull on her ear with a withering glare sent her way. At least she apologized, so I didn’t stay mad at her.

Then again, she was laughing like a lunatic when I admitted I might not be so opposed to the idea of being together with a stallion version of her or even Luna. Being around Tai made me change my mind just a little bit, and as long as it wasn’t permanent, I would like to 'try it out' with my wives from time to time. Or just with Liz, if we couldn’t figure out a temporary transformation spell like that. Liz was already pretty much gender-fluid, what with her ability to shapeshift into her preferred form at any time, so it wouldn’t be that big of a deal for her... or him, as the case might be.

I suppose it was only a matter of time before this happened. It was going to happen whether I wanted it or not. At one point in an immortal’s life, such things just start to lose their meaning and one stops caring about them. While that was only my view of what I had perceived my sexuality to be for the moment (I might actually be bisexual and never admitted it to myself out of some misguided belief that it couldn’t be so because I felt like stallions were less appealing to me than mares). The same thing was perhaps the case for my view on incest and (maybe) it might also be so in regard to my gender identity. Though, I suspect that might take me a few more thousand years in order to get fully over it. It just... wasn’t me, I guess.

There wasn’t really a choice in it, was there? It was hard-wired, something like that can’t be just ‘changed’. If it was that easy, I could just decide to be a tree and call it a day. In the end, it wouldn’t make it true, though. Just like my gender identity. I could change into a stallion at any moment that I desired to, but it wouldn’t make me one. Never. I would always be Summer, a mare at heart and nothing less.

Speaking of change, I had work to do. A lot of work. Making the law for incest a core law in the Equestrian Constitution would require a lot of time for me to get it done just right. And mountains of paperwork, something I felt strangely giddy about.

Ah... how far must I have fallen for me to feel happy about doing paperwork? Perhaps too far, considering Chrysalis gave me a strange look as I happily skipped around my office the following hours after we were done with our bath. After I got that dusty old book from Cadance (while accidentally disrupting her relaxation time with Ruby, oops), I told my little petal to not stay too long lest her father starts to panic about the whereabouts of his daughter before I asked Liz to bring me everything I would need. It was a headache to plan out the integration of the law in the air-tightest possible way that would leave next to no room for ponies to break it without serious consequences, but I did it without complaint.

Besides that, I guess I went a bit overboard planning out the announcement for the changes I wanted to make. Kibitz, our aide for anything and everything, took everything stoically as I had him make a schedule for all the things we would need to do in the most efficient way possible. I could tell he was internally panicking as the list got longer and longer and it started to look utterly impossible to go through it without screwing something up.

Hah! I do the impossible on a daily basis! I am the Bringer of Dawn, the Mistress of Cookies, Sunbutt Supreme! I can do this! There shall be no mistakes or I will retire and put a filly on my throne as my successor! There is no doubt about it! Everything will be absolutely perfect!

Suffice it to say, I was in tears by the end of the day, completely overwhelmed with the task I have set before myself. “I’m never going to get all of this done right..!”

“There, there,” Luna patted my back. She told Kibitz to put everything neatly away as she guided me out of my office, her wing draped over my back comfortingly. “You don’t have to get this done today, Summer. Take your time.”

I sniffed, wiping my tears away with a napkin she offered me. “Thanks, Lulu,” I sighed, feeling only mildly reassured. “How old is your dustiest bottle of moonshine? Because I’m going to need it. I'm going to need all of it.”

My sister's muzzle stretched into an eager smile. “Oh, I’m always up for a drink, Sunny,” she told me before she turned around with a spring in her step so she could lead us to her private brewery. Yes, we have a brewery in our castle, and no, I don’t care. Luna’s hobbies are Luna’s hobbies, let’s leave it at that.

While it might have seemed like a good idea at the time, I was sure to regret my decision of asking Luna for her oldest bottle of moonshine once my mind would be coherent enough to piece entire sentences correctly together.

Suffice it to say, it only took me that one bottle to get totally and utterly smashed. But we didn’t stop with that one bottle. Oh, no. That bottle was just the beginning and I insisted that Luna had to drink at least enough to get tipsy herself. Then I told her to chug a few more liters of our chosen poison down her throat until she could barely keep it in, seeing her wobble on her hooves just as much as I did.

And then we might have started singing. Loudly. Very loudly. As in, with the Royal Canterlot Voice. All while running around Canterlot like drunken lunatics. In the middle of the night. On a day most ponies would have to get up early for work instead of sleeping in on a weekend...

Yeah... the newspaper agencies were going to have a field day come the next morning. It didn't happen often that we made complete fools of ourselves. Nor have we ever partaken in alcohol in such a way that even Luna was having trouble speaking without slurring each word of her sentences.

It was fun, though. Not having to behave all prim and proper in front of our ponies for once. I don’t care that the nobles would be mad at us for indulging just this once in our far too damn long lives. I want to see them get as old as me and not lose it every once in a while. Bunch of foals, really. They should learn how to have fun and not constantly complain about totally inconsequential things.

We might have gone a bit too far, throwing toilet paper all over the property of House Blueblood. They deserved it, though. Leeches, all of them. That’s what they are. Little irritating leeches, weaseling themselves into my family only because they were loosely related to my sisters and me. And that little snot-nosed brat of theirs was even worse than the current head of their family.

Luna and I left a small mountain of bits on the property of House Star after I broke down crying in their backyard. I’m really sorry for what happened to poor Velvet. The mare would no doubt be too depressed to try again, so I wanted her to at least live the rest of her life in luxury (she was the single most wealthy noble now aside from my family).

I... might have admitted quite loudly that I loved Luna right in the middle of Canterlot after that. It’s not like I wouldn’t have had to do that, anyway, so why not get it out of the way right then and there?

And I’m not proud to say, I... I might have thrown up on a noble or two. Or a dozen. Possibly more.

Liz told us to go back to the castle when she found us, telling us she would be gone for a week or two to the Canterlot Hive to lay her eggs. I might have giggled all the way back to the castle, deliriously spouting off nonsense about how it was funny Liz laid eggs. Eggs! That’s funny, right?

A pony laying eggs! Eh heh heh. Cute bugsy ponies laying eggsies! She has such cute buggy flanks, they are just so bugsie~... and I love them lots. A whole lot, they are buggishly divine flanks that should be worshipped by everypony and everybuggy. And they look so juicy and sexy and cute... and cutely sexy.

Did I ever tell her I found her cute? I must have. How could I not call her my cute cuddly buggy, after all? My sexy buggy cuddle bug...

I really wanted her to fuck me on my throne now. Or anywhere she told me to, for that matter. Do everything she tells me to while I’m her horny whore-pet. I’m horny. Really horny...

“Luna, I’m horny,” I giggled, stumbling around next to her. “And you too! You have a horny horn!”

My sister started to guffaw next to me, and together we fell on our flanks, unable to contain our laughter.

At some point, somepony must have brought us back to our room, putting us in our bed. But I wasn’t tired at all. And I was incredibly horny. So horny, I started to drunkenly make out with my sister, not noticing that this wasn’t our bed and that this wasn’t our castle.

I might have been a bit too out of it, but I didn’t care. I wanted sexy times with my sister and I would get them. Not even the terrified couple hiding in their closet would stop me from having my sister fuck my brain out. For just a single moment, I wondered why two ponies were hiding in our closet. I also tried to figure out at the same time why we even had a closet in our chambers in the first place. I mean, we had entire dedicated rooms for that purpose, why would we put a closet in our room?

But all of that was forgotten the moment Luna giggle-moaned as I ravished her with my tongue, licking each and every tooth in her mouth with a pleased hum. I didn’t even care that her mouth tasted like bile, I wanted to kiss her so badly and I wanted to be kissed back by her with as much ferocity. My only thought in my mind was for her to lick my horny horn while I grinded my wet, needy snatch against her hind legs. Nothing else mattered, only my drunken stupor and my marehood begging to be filled with a big, juicy cock. A cock that's thick and long, tasting like mint while two round orbs churn to produce the seeds I've been denied for a thousand years and more...

My horny horn glowed for a moment, surprising my addled mind, and causing me to giggle madly while kissing my precious Moon. I felt her member poke me and squeed silently to myself as it looked so cute and tantalizing to me. I moaned as I felt Luna lick my horn hornily, making me even more horny. Horny for her horse dick staring back at me, throbbing invitingly. The scent alone drove me so fucking horny, I was going crazy for it.

I felt like I was feeling a perhaps bit too horny, but I dismissed that useless thought. I wanted to suck that foal-maker. To taste her divine spunk on my tongue as I drank from it like a faucet. My mind could only concentrate on that one thought, to make my sister ejaculate her sperm right into my throat and it made me so incredibly happy.

My snatch argued that I shouldn’t drink the baby fluid and instead have her pump my womb full with it, but I wanted to suck her perfect dick, so I am going to suck it! I would suck it and listen to the beautiful moaning sounds my sister made as I worshiped her horse cock for all that it was worth. Everypony on Equis should know that this divine tool of my sister belonged only to me (and Liz, too). All of those heathens should feel jealous of that fact.

They should feel jealous they would never get to taste this tasty spunk shooting out of the tip of her dick. I moaned lewdly, feeling nothing but warmth spread through me as I greedily gulped every cum-shot of hers down, eagerly bobbing my head up and down on her mighty tool to coax even more out. Fuck, yes... this was better than any meal a mortal could make for us. 'Tis truly divine...

Minty cum from my horny sister tastes the best. I wanted to share it with her, my drunken, lust-addled mind found the thought incredibly sexy, so I left a bit in my mouth and engaged her in a kiss. That got her to moan lustfully as we swirled the substance between our tongues around. The only thing that would make this better was even more alcohol and cum.

Luckily, Luna had plenty left for us to drink. Both from her bottles of moonshine and the throbbing pony dick between her legs. But I wanted her to also stuff my snatch full, so we would have to just drink the alcohol while she pumped her fantastic beast into me like a mad bull.

Panting, moaning, and drinking doesn’t really work out all that well, though. But we somehow made it work, much to my drunken happiness. We continued to fuck even as the weak frame of the bed underneath us broke down with a cracking sound. That maybe should have clued us in to the fact we weren’t actually in our own bed and that we were putting on a show for two peeping ponies, but why should we care? Let them watch their princesses if it got them off. They definitely would never forget this night, that was for sure.

Ugh. I can’t exactly say that about Luna and myself, though. We might actually die from the hangover, now that I think about it. Can you die from having a hangover? Uhm... I think that was called alcohol poisoning, but I wasn’t quite sure. Ah, who cares? We only live forever, why care about something like that when we could have more alcohol while fucking and moaning and fucking and panting and fucking and moaning like two animals in heat screwing each other's brains out.

I felt Luna’s fangs graze my neck and whinnied with a heavy moan, begging her to bite me while I rode her dick like it was a holy act. My snatch certainly thought so and Luna’s heavenly rod agreed wholeheartedly with it. It was twitching so beautifully in me, I couldn’t wait to milk every little drop from it, wanting to feel the warmth of it fill the entirety of my body.

I moaned heavily at the sounds of Luna drinking from my neck. I felt her thrusts get a bit more erratic, so I rapidly began to bounce back against her member, trying to coax her to climax even faster. My own shuddering body almost failed me at my self-imposed task, not that it hindered me too much.

The pain from my neck gave me a brief moment of joy before another need reared its ugly head. I wanted a foal. I desired nothing more than to be pregnant. The potential risks didn't even come to my mind as all I wanted was to have a foal growing inside of me. By my sweet Red Sun, I wanted it so much. “Luna, I want a baby! Fuck me harder! Give it to me! Ahn~! Paint my walls white, sister! Mhn~!”

“F-fuck, s-sister,” Luna moaned back, drawing me into a kiss hungrily, before breaking it to do what I asked of her, her own screaming wails getting even louder. “I’m going to d-drown your pussy with my seed! You’ll have my foal bloat up your belly... nay, it will be twins you are going to have from so much of my seed filling you!”

“Yes!” I exclaimed, smiling in bliss at that thought. “Give me your seed, Luna! Make me pregnant, please! Give me twins! Make me a mommy~! Ahh!”

My Moon let out a shuddering breath as she jerked herself against me because her body twitched more and more uncontrollably from an oncoming orgasm. “S-sister, I’m going to c-cum!” she shot back and I readied myself to drive her dick as deep in as it could possibly go, right at the cervix of my love canal’s end. I delighted in the feeling of her heavily twitching rod, the tip pumping out her creamy, viscous cum right into the opening of my cervix, beginning to fill my womb with everything she got. I hummed happily at the feeling, not wanting to let any of it go to waste.

“I love you so much, my beautiful Moon,” I smiled, kissing her needily. “My pretty sister, I’ll be yours for eternity. I’ll give you all the foals you could possibly want, Lulu.”

“It’s a shame we will have to content ourselves with Cadance, isn’t it?” Luna said, frowning sadly. I whined, kissing her even more deeply to cheer her back up. “I would love to have one of my own with you, Summer...”

“Me, too,” I sighed, dejectedly. “I want to have a little foal running through the castle, again. Cadance grew up so fast...”

“We could always adopt?” Luna proposed and I shrugged helplessly, placing my head on her heavily breathing chest, listening to her heartbeat.

“Let’s talk about that when we are sober, sister,” I frowned, nuzzling her sleepily. “I’m feeling alcohol move through my brain, it hurts.”

“Lightweight,” Luna snorted quietly, stroking my mane slowly. The serene movements soon lulled me into a dreamless slumber, a tiny smile etched onto my muzzle.

---

Meanwhile, in a different universe within a Harvard laboratory in the middle of the night...

Remnant-Fringe Universe, Blue Parallel Variant, Location: Planet Earth.

Universe Designation RFU0039PEV12, Status: Damaged.

Current Chosen Guardian: Unknown/Missing.

---

“Dad, are you sure you want to do this?” Sam asked, keeping up with the brisk pace of the graying man beside him. Said man was rather tall and lanky, had grayish-silver eyes, deep, somewhat long ‘black’ hair which was being messily held together in a ponytail (not unlike that of his son, who was the spitting image of him in his youth), and, like so often was the case, he had a permanent frown etched on his face. “You know as much as I do that she’s nuts! Whatever she wants, can’t someone else do it? I had to cancel my date with Eric for this shit, damnit!”

Tobias Baker frowned. “Your cousin is not crazy,” he shot back, glaring at his son over his glasses with disappointment. “She is... eccentric, not 'crazy'. And she is brilliant, as well, when she wants to be.”

“She experiments on humans, Dad!” Sam glowered.

“On herself, boy," he said with a sigh, missing the uncomfortable look from his son. Whether it was because of the tone or the word 'boy', Sam couldn't really decide what was worse for him. "There is a difference between experimenting on others and on herself,” Tobias admonished him as they walked past a man wearing a suit and a fedora. He was also carrying a briefcase in his hand. The curious thing about the stranger, though, was his lack of any type of hair on his body, even on his face with no discernible eyebrows.

The man tilted his head as he watched Tobias and Sam pass by for a moment. A quick calculation in his head and he was gone from the hallway, nowhere to be seen. An important task needed to be fulfilled and he had little time to do so.

A mistake of his own doing had led to much heartache for a dear friend of his and it needed to be rectified, after all. Actually, ‘dear’ was perhaps an overstatement, and ‘friend’ should be classified as ‘acquaintance’, but to September, the concept of friendship and what people call ‘feelings’ was still rather new. Although... he couldn’t help but think that his own son would be in good hands, or rather hooves, with the ponies of Equestria.

That was another oddity in terms of his kind. They were not supposed to feel a connection to their descendants... and yet, he did for some inexplicable reason. Evolution had taken their ability to care for... anything at all, really. All that was important was making sure their species reached for greater intellect and knowledge, unimportant things like emotions, sex, and gender were only a hindrance. Or so he thought before he became an Observer.

From humanity in the twenty-first century, he learned that having a heart was their greatest strength. The coldness of his own kind made him realize that they weren't living anymore, and instead merely existed for the sake of reaching the perfect stage of evolution. And his encounter with the ponies of Equestria taught him that 'perfection' was nothing more than an illusion. Life is meaningless the more you try to become something that doesn't value living.

As such, he adjusted his primary directive to protecting that which needs to be protected: those with a heart capable of compassion. And for that to happen, it was imperative for his son to live. He would change the course of history and prevent his kind from traveling down the path it did, changing an entire timeline in the process.

For that to happen, though, September has to set things right. Not only on Earth but also on Equis. Earth was not safe enough to hide his son from his kind, so he needed to ensure Equestria would be. September couldn’t entertain the thought of his offspring dying or ‘getting taken care of’ by assassins sent by others of his kind for being an anomaly.

He knew the future of his kind depended on the survival of the oddity his son has proven himself to be. Not only has another one of their group, August, proven himself to be capable of the same thing that September was starting to embrace, but he also showed the others that it was possible to reach the next step of human evolution while retaining their emotions. September’s own son was proof of that, as well. An empath with the superior capabilities of September’s kind? That was the true step for human evolution to take, September was sure of it.

So... setting things right was what he did. It took only a few twists on the machine to ensure Equestria would receive their savior. That left him with the question of what to do with the other two...

At worst, they would turn out to be collateral... or he could change the path of destiny to include two more souls in his plan to alter Equestria's fate.

Another complex calculation ran through his mind at a speed no regular human could ever achieve, the solution was too easy. It couldn’t actually be that straightforward, could it?

In theory, it should work exactly like he knew it should, but something told him that not everything was quite as simple as he thought. There was always that one variable that would lead to a different outcome than predicted, wasn’t there?

He knew from countless observations that even the unlikeliest future was possible. Whether here on Earth or in Equestria. More observations needed to be made. He was, after all, a scientist at heart and this was but one experiment in a long line of experiments.

Whether the outcome was favorable remains to be seen.

---

“Dad, don’t you think it's a little bit weird that she is experimenting on herself? You can’t tell me you condone something like that,” Sam asked his father, crossing his arms indignantly with a frown. “And on top of all this craziness, she is obsessed with something that isn’t even proven to exist!”

Tobias scoffed. “A scientist that does not have an open mind is not a scientist at all,” he answered, tired of his son’s ‘opinions’ on whether or not the soul existed. He knew that the soul must exist, as does Tabetha. His niece was quite thorough in her research, after all. Obsessive as it might be.

Any further questions (or rather, arguments) were put on hold as they walked through a door and arrived at the lab Tabetha had asked them to come to. It wasn’t the first time Tobias found himself in Doctor Walter Bishop’s laboratory... nor would it be the last, he was sure. Let’s just say it was quite a thing to be in here and leave it at that.

Sam gave the cow in its pen a wary glance as if it would explode any moment from now. For all he knew, it could. Knowing Tabetha, it might very well happen with him in the blast radius, too.

Gene the cow let out a moo.

Moving on! A cow wasn’t by far the oddest thing in the laboratory, to be honest. A multitude of machines with questionable purposes littered the lab and not every one of those was... 'safe' or pleasant to use.

The proprietor of this ‘children’s horror house’ was, in every sense of the word, a mad scientist. Not only because he was an expert in fringe sciences, but also because he was quite literally mad.

A few missing pieces of someone’s brain and having been locked up in a mental institute for almost two decades does that to anyone. Tobias was very much impressed that Walter Bishop could at all function like a... somewhat decent person. Walter had his quirks, as does his niece.

To be honest, sometimes Tobias wasn’t better. He does work for Massive Dynamic despite numerous people voicing out their concerns about the company's... 'ethics'.

“Walter, I told you not to leave your experiments in the fridge!” a brown-haired man shouted, drawing Sam’s attention away from the cow that had no right to actually be in a Harvard laboratory of all places. Why would they even keep a cow in a little pen in the first place? “How many times do I have to tell you that there are other people that use this thing?”

A rather... quirky old man looked up at the question, and judging from his expression, he seemed confused by what the man standing at the fridge said. “Which experiment?”

“Walter...”

“Are you sure that is my experiment, Peter? Maybe Astro left it in there?” Walter asked, earning himself a raised eyebrow in exasperation from the mentioned ‘assistant’. Not because of the accusation, but because (like always) he got her name wrong.

“Walter, why would I put your experiments in the fridge?” she asked, noticing the two newcomers out of the corner of her eye. “Oh, hello. You’re looking for Tabetha, right?”

Tobias looked around, uncertain whether to feel amused or offended at the chaos around him. “If we’re not interrupting?” he said. Agent Astrid Farnsworth shook her head at him, a slight smile on her face. She was very much aware that not everyone could get used to the antics of those working in this lab.

It was always an... 'interesting'... encounter to meet the people behind the Fringe Division of the FBI, Tobias thought. All of them were unique in their own ways... some of them more than the others. Agent Farnsworth might be the only one that was ‘normal’, to be honest.

If you had to pick between two crazy scientists, a man from another timeline (or so he says), a woman with supernatural abilities (sometimes), a man that lost his best friend to a genetic shapeshifter, and a seemingly ordinary Agent that actually liked babysitting one of those two crazy scientists... ‘being normal’ starts to lose its definition somewhat. But the Fringe Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation was anything but normal.

This bunch of agents and consultants, who couldn't be more different from each other and still work like a well-oiled machine... if there's something strange happening, you could bet they would be there to investigate what was going on. Genetic experiments that went wrong (or right, as some would say), inexplicable occurrences that warp the laws of nature, technology bending the boundaries of what was possible, modifications to materials that completely change their physical attributes, and many more similar events that seemed all but impossible... there was a lot that these few people dealt with on a regular basis. These people here were the ones that found the answers to the universe, that investigated those behind the most inhumane experiments, whether they cause their fellow humans to turn into walking bombs or turn them into raving monstrosities, barely resembling their former selves. An admirable goal, wasn’t it? Well... as long as they weren’t investigating everything you do, that is.

He had the misfortune once and it was not pleasant. Massive Dynamic has become the target of their investigations many times, sometimes for good reason. He could still remember the investigations into the Carson-Penrose experiments, or as he liked to call it: Project Mind Control.

One of the test subjects had escaped their designated guardian despite the protocols and regulations in place to prevent such a thing from happening. They then found their way to their surrogate mother, causing havoc along the way by controlling two innocent car salesmen to pose as kidnappers. Tobias had only briefly been a part of Project Mind Control and it almost cost him his position in Massive Dynamic due to the inquisitiveness of one Olivia Dunham, perhaps one of the FBI’s best agents. It didn’t surprise him that she worked in the Fringe Division, there was hardly a case she couldn’t solve with the help of Walter Bishop (and sometimes with the help of his niece, as well... if she could be coaxed away from her own experiments, that is).

“Tabetha should be back in a few minutes,” Astrid told them. “She didn’t say what it was that she wanted to show you. Do you know?”

Tobias scowled as he noticed his niece arriving from the second entrance to the lab. “Apparently something that needs her brain-dead parents’ bodies,” he said, narrowing his eyes on the two stretchers bearing the symbol of Massive Dynamic on them, one of which carried his brother’s body while the other held the wife of said brother. What was she up to, now?

“Hey, Uncle Toby,” Tabetha smiled as if the picture of her rolling in her comatose parents was totally normal to her, causing Tobias’ frown to deepen. Walter was at her side not a moment later, chewing on a piece of red licorice as he curiously inspected the body of Rudolph Baker.

He sighed tiredly. “And a hello right back to you,” he told her before he took off his glasses, cleaning them with a handkerchief. They were perfectly fine, to begin with, but... nervous habits die hard, he supposed. Seeing his brother’s body like that brought back all kinds of bad memories to the forefront of his mind. Tobias really missed the dorky fool. “Why have you brought my brother here?”

“Because I’m going to prove that this is actually a Fringe-case once and for all!” Tabetha grinned proudly.

“Crazy,” Sam whispered next to him and he suppressed the angry grumble to himself tiredly. If his son knew only half of it... he wouldn’t say that. At some point, he might tell Sam the truth, but... until then? He would make sure that his clone actually got along with their rather... 'weird'... family.

He still feels guilty withholding this information from his son, but... he never found the right time to bring it up, so far. Not with Tobias quite literally drowning in work, day after day. As far as coping mechanisms go, being a workaholic wasn't much better than drowning himself in alcohol all so that he wouldn’t have to think about his brother’s condition, Sam’s unusual origins, and... other things. Things he’d rather ignore, lest his sanity breaks completely.

He could already see the signs that his most deep-rooted fear might be mirrored in Sam. He didn’t want to acknowledge what that could mean for his 'child', much less what it might say about Tobias. Despite his grandfather beating it quite thoroughly into his head that he had to grow up into a strong and smart man to become someone that was influential in this world, he still felt a nagging part in the back of his mind trying to tell him that this was all wrong. That he didn't have to be ruthless in order to protect his family, as a man ‘should’ according to his monster of a grandfather. That he didn't have to conform to gender stereotypes because it was 'expected' of him.

He was glad he was able to spare his brother this... fate, he almost wanted to say. Tobias was the firstborn, and thus, actually ‘important’ in the eyes of his grandfather. Thankfully, his parents cut all ties with Albert before he could get it into his head to traumatize his little brother as well.

Not that it came crumbling down, anyway. He couldn’t protect his little brother from whatever ailed him and he keeps failing to find a cure. But perhaps his niece was on the right track, after all...

“Tabetha...” Tobias began, rubbing his eyes before putting on his glasses again. “Just... okay, let’s entertain this notion of yours, what proof do you actually have that someone caused their condition?”

“Because that someone did it again,” Tabetha explained, clapping her hands together. “With my sister.”

Tobias blinked. “Your sister,” he repeated, raising an eyebrow in disbelief. Perhaps Sam was onto something. She clearly was out of her mind and in denial if she was already projecting whatever happened to her parents onto Rose, as well. “Tabetha, she died in the surgery room. As you can see, your father and mother are still quite alive.”

“And that is where all of you are wrong,” Tabetha shot back triumphantly. “I can prove to you that they are dead. Well... more dead than brain dead.”

“And how do you intend to do that?” Walter asked, excited to do an experiment. The possibility of someone being dead while alive excited him immensely. It’s like the thought experiment of Schrödinger’s cat, only... more thrilling! And crazier. But thrilling!

Tabetha's face stretched into a mad grin at that. “With science, of course!” she said while clapping her hands and rubbing them together excitedly. The eccentric man at her side danced in joy before he eagerly helped her with the stretchers.

“Great,” Peter sighed. “Now he is going to stay up all night. If you guys don’t need me, I’m going to get as far away from here as possible before those two Frankensteins blow up the whole building.”

“Can I go, too?” Sam asked, turning his pleading gaze on his father.

“No!” Tabetha shouted, grabbing his hand before Tobias could even utter a word to Sam. “I need you, too. And Uncle Toby. The more, the better. I don't need Peter for this, he's irrelevant...”—she blinked, scrunching up her face while Walter gave her a hurt look—" for this experiment, I mean. He's got no relation to my mom and dad. I'm sorry, Peter. You're plenty important for a person that should have been dead since childhood..."—then she grimaced at Peter's unimpressed look, noticing too late how her apology sounded—" I, uh... right. I'll shut up now. Forget what I said."

Peter rolled his eyes as he opened the door to the laboratory to make his escape. “I’ll let Olivia know that she should probably avoid the lab at the moment,” he said before closing the door behind him.

Well... there went his freedom, Sam thought sadly, trapped with his crazy cousin in this madhouse. At least his dad was still here with him... if only he could take comfort in that fact. His father was perhaps a bit too trusting of Tabetha, in Sam’s opinion. Or Sam just had a problem with trusting anyone, which was a ridiculous thought, wasn’t it? He trusted plenty of people! Like... himself. Which totally counted and wasn’t narcissistic... at all.

It sounded better in his head, he had to admit. That’s where that thought will forever remain, too.

“Asterix,” Walter turned to his aide, smiling giddily. “We’re going to need a Geiger counter, a spectrometer, strawberries, and sugar.”

“Strawberries?” Astrid asked, already guessing what Walter actually needed those for. She picked up her keys and wallet, hoping that she would find the required shops that were still open at this time.

“Can’t do science without milkshakes,” Tabetha nodded sagely while hooking up various instruments to her parents (as well as to Tobias and Sam). The latter of which sat grumpily in the chair he got strapped into, the weird machine Tabetha was setting up creeping him out beyond measure. He didn’t like the low hum... was it supposed to hum? Sam felt like it wasn’t supposed to do that. “Whatever do you need the Geiger counter for, though? Or the spectrometer, for that matter.”

“Hm?” Walter hummed before shrugging. That was certainly reassuring, Sam thought with a sarcastic eye-roll. Judging by how the old man went along with everything Tabetha did, he didn’t trust him one bit, either. They could destroy the world and cackle madly all the while, Sam was sure of it. “I don’t know. I’m sure I will remember.”

Sam’s eyelid twitched. He had to take his previous assumption back, he was worse than Tabetha. At least his cousin would remember it if she was about to destroy the world with a tablespoon of all things. Why a tablespoon? Sam had no idea, but he was sure Tabetha could build some sort of doomsday device with a tablespoon.

That's not even the worst thing about his cousin. Tabetha could actually do something like that. The more Sam thought about that, the more he felt certain that she would probably 'accidentally' build a doomsday device and think nothing wrong with it. Heck, she would probably test it out to see if it works, wouldn’t she? Her curious nature wouldn’t stop at anything, that much Sam was sure of.

And all of that started with the ‘death’ of Tabetha’s parents. It only got worse after she lost her aunt and then her sister. Sam would have already admitted her into a mental institute if he had the authority to do so. Tabetha was a danger to everyone around her and it baffled him that the FBI would use her as a civilian consultant.

Like attracts like, huh? This Walter Bishop definitely was a bad influence on her. He even encouraged her and went along with this ridiculous experiment... whatever it was going to do with them. It was almost like he was a second, older Tabetha. Only as a male and crazy. Well... crazier, that is.

“I’m sure you will remember, Walter,” Tabetha muttered, looking at the read-outs of the machine with a critical eye. “Well, as soon as Walter straps me in, too, we can begin! Ohh! Isn't this exciting?!”

No. No, it was decidedly not exciting. Far from it. “What is this thing going to do?” Sam asked, a queasy feeling in his gut. Something bad is going to happen, he just knew it. It always does with this crazy person that calls herself his cousin.

Oh, feathered, flying pigs... it’s a doomsday device, isn’t it? It has to be, Tabetha built it, after all.

Just into what kind of insane experiment had Sam been dragged into? That damn hum kept getting louder and louder and no one was even reacting to it. Was he the only one that could hear it? But... that’s even crazier! Sam was sure he hasn’t suddenly gone insane, that would be ridiculous. Can one even go insane without any kind of sign showing someone’s descent into madness? Or is it subtle enough he wouldn't notice?

Could you even notice going insane? Tabetha clearly thought she was sane when she was a hundred percent not. Everyone in this building was crazy, his father included. Maybe it wasn't that far of a stretch that they infected him with their madness. Next thing he knows, the cow will start to talk and he will be able to taste emotions!

He really wanted to get out of this damn machine now. This was one of those signs, wasn’t it? Sam was going crazy just by being around his cousin, that has to be it. Tabetha infected him with her insanity, there was no other way why he would be the only one that could hear the hum get louder and louder and louder and overwhelmingly deafeningly loud, almost like a pulse or heartbeat. It wasn’t his own heartbeat, he was pretty certain of that. His heart was currently hammering away in his chest, far faster than that pulsating hum of that damn machine.

Tabetha smiled once more, clapping her hands in anticipation. “It will visualize our souls!” she said with child-like glee. “Isn’t this amazing? I’m going to prove Mom and Dad are actually dead and find out what happened to them! That’s the second part of the experiment, by the way.”

“There are more parts to this craziness?!” Sam exclaimed, throwing his cousin a shocked look. “You crazy cat lady, get me out of this thing before whatever happened to them happens to us next!”

His heart was beating even faster now and that sound! That damn awful impossible sound! It was just too loud! He felt like he needed to shout just to be heard, why was no one concerned about this? Tabetha was going to kill them all with this thing, with this soul... whatever! Soul-crusher, for all he knew.

“Pfft,” Tabetha rolled her eyes, completely unconcerned. “Nothing like that could possibly happen. I calibrated the machine myself.”

Little did she know that at that moment, she challenged the universe and the universe answered. Or, in this case, a bald man had done so. One of the dials on the machine was not in the previously adjusted position and a crucial lever had been flicked in the wrong direction.

Once the machine began its work, it did what it was meant for. And Tabetha was delighted to see that her hunch was indeed correct, as Walter read her the specifics of the test results. She was proven right that the bodies of her parents currently housed no souls. They were, in all actuality, dead. All the while, she ignored the pained gasp of her cousin, too focused on her discovery.

That was the second mistake she made that day. The first mistake was her oversight to double-check the calibrations, to make sure everything was going how it was meant to. Her third mistake was her overeagerness to do two experiments at once. Her lust for knowledge, for discovering the truth behind her parent’s death, was ultimately her downfall.

She should have been more cautious, especially with such an experimental procedure. Tabetha barely started to understand the nature of the soul... she had so many things she still wanted to do after she had proven once and for all that the soul existed. And she had so much more she needed to learn, too.

It was a lesson learned too late, though. She might have lamented the fact of her lack of cautiousness, but other things seemed more important to ponder at the last moment she had alive.

Just what happens to souls once they leave the body? Would they search for another host, another body to occupy? Or was there an afterlife, a realm for the dead? Were religions right about things like purgatory? How does one judge a soul worthy of the Gates of Heaven?

Or would the soul simply cease to exist? Tabetha dismissed that thought immediately, there was no way that could be true, after all. One couldn’t destroy or create energy and what was the soul but another form of energy? Her vision was too blurry to concentrate on what was going on, so she decided to think instead. Her mind was still intact, so far (even though it started to feel like something was tearing away at it, trying to separate her mind from her body).

Thinking about everything and anything... it was the logical thing to do, she thought with conviction. Do the only thing she could actually do at the moment. Think. That’s what she does best, after all.

There has to be something that happens to a person’s soul after it leaves the mortal shell. It didn’t exactly feel like she was moving beyond the spasms running through her body, although she did start to feel a weird stretchy feeling. It wasn’t her body that felt that way, though. She couldn’t put her finger on it, though. 'Something' was happening, but what that something was, she couldn’t tell.

And then, once the machine had finished its work... she was dead. As was Tobias. And so was Sam.

A very confused scientist watched in horror as a good friend of his lost their life that day, becoming as unresponsive as her parents were. In the corner of the laboratory, the being known to the Fringe Division as an Observer winked out of existence as if he had never been there.

A Fringe case, indeed.

An ancient spell, cast to save the life of a beloved daughter, latched onto two additional (now broken) souls as well. Too bad the intended recipient could only grant a new home for two of them.

It doomed one soul to wander between realities, lost in time until... at one point...

That poor soul, too, started to feel a pull, granting it a new home of its own in a world so similar to the one that Tabetha’s and Tobias’ souls got pulled towards. What that soul did not know, though, was that it was thrown back in time due to the ‘timely’ departure of one meddling observer.

An unpredictable variable unforeseen by a master of timelines would lead to something... perhaps even grander than anyone could have ever predicted.

For the First Queen would be born in a world with a broken destiny soon after that. But that is a story for another time...

Chapter 022 - This isn't how I thought it would go...

I groaned pathetically, emptying my stomach out for what felt like the third time within the hour. Probably because it was already the third time I threw my breakfast up. Liz stroked my mane comfortingly as I whined, feeling another barely digested piece come back up.

For whatever reason, for the first time in a thousand years (give or take), I was sick. Not only physically sick but also sick of being sick. I really don’t like feeling so miserable that I wanted to stab myself with Remorse. Is this what mortals have to endure? I can barely remember the times I had been sick in my past life, and if this was any indication, I don’t ever want to remember. Heck, that time with the timberwolves was more pleasant!

The past month and a half have been Tartarus on my nerves... and now I have to deal with this, too? Throwing up as soon as I eat something was really unpleasant and sometimes I even woke up in the night, barely making it to the toilet in time before ridding my stomach of all contents.

I've practically been living on crackers, fruit, and porridge since this started happening to me and my stomach didn’t appreciate it one bit. If I had to choose between the hangover of Luna’s and my drunken escapade a while back and this? I would take the hangover a hundred times over and over. I would so take the hangover, I thought blearily as my stomach churned again, protesting vehemently against the contents within it. I really shouldn’t have forced my breakfast down my throat, going mad in hunger.

To be honest, I also don’t remember a time when I had ever been this hungry. Sometimes I had gone without food for weeks and it didn’t feel like this. Granted, I kinda substituted everything with magic at the time just to see what would happen, but it never felt as bad as I was feeling right now and I had no intention to try substituting food with magic again. Not only because it wouldn’t change anything about my current situation as it would basically keep my body in this miserable state, but also because doing that had... side effects. The addicting kind.

The body wasn’t meant to live on mana alone, and at some point, you would start feeling withdrawal from not feeding your body more (providing the parts of your body arcane energy where it had no right to be, that is). It wasn’t a proud moment in my life (or Luna’s, for that matter). I blame it on curiosity, boredom, and a particularly bad time when we had almost been lost in our grief of losing Tia.

Haah... nopony said we couldn't be incredibly stupid from time to time. If anything, we had all the time in the world to commit the stupidest acts ponykind could be capable of. While those times were practically a ‘once in a lifetime’ occurrence for regular mortals, there was at least one such idiotic event every century or so where we got it into our heads that it would be a great idea to try out something that would prove itself to be amazingly brainless in hindsight.

Like... drinking so much alcohol one would have expected us to be in a comatose state for a few decades at least. Maybe this nausea was just a side-effect of burning through all of that poison and I was now paying the price for my mistakes quite heavily with the inability to keep anything down.

It was quite the predicament, wasn’t it? Feeling extremely hungry but not being able to stomach it. And to make it even more confusing, I wasn’t having any other symptoms other than nausea and tiredness while Luna was entirely unaffected. One would think I’m pregnant with these... symptoms...

That’s... no. No, that's just ridiculous, Summer. You can't be pregnant. It’s impossible. I know for sure I would never cast the spell so callously, and aside from that, I wasn’t even in heat this year. How could I have been, after all? Not after I was trapped for so long on Remnant. And my period was long over before I returned to Equestria, there's no way a human egg cell stuck around for that long (not that I know how long one of those sticks around for).

It's utterly impossible. I couldn’t be pregnant, there's no way. Nuh-uh. No. I'm not pregnant, even though I kinda want to pretend for a while longer and feel all giddy and happy... think up some cute names for a filly or a colt... decorate a room all nice and cozy for them (while avoiding the color pink and baby blue at all costs)... but no, that would be irresponsible of me. I am not pregnant, end of story.

Especially now of all times, damnit. I couldn’t be pregnant and bring a foal into the world when Platinum was just about to be released in a few short years. Not to mention that Luna and I are siblings, I can’t possibly be pregnant with her foal. We would never risk that. Never. Definitely not me. Absolutely, under no circumstances, ever.

I was the one that had vehemently argued against making incest legal in fear of exactly this situation. I couldn’t be pregnant with Luna’s foal, what kind of role model would I be, then?! I would be one of the biggest hypocrites in the history of Equestria for creating the modern version of an ancient law and then immediately breaking it afterward!

So... why did it feel like I was looking for excuses right now? I should just go to a doctor and have them check me to make sure. I’ll know for certain then. Besides, I’m sure it’s just some stupid flu, so what was there to worry about? Everything is going to be fine. Stop being such a worry-wart, you stupid old hag.

Chrysalis helped me move back to the bed once I felt like there was nothing left in my stomach to expel and I asked her if she would be so kind to send for the royal physician, feeling far too tired to make the short journey to the infirmary right now.

Let’s hope they won’t panic like headless chickens because one of their princesses was feeling a little bit ill. After all, there was no reason to panic. Definitely not.

Yep. There's totally nothing wrong with me. I'm just feeling a bit under the weather, no cause for concern. Probably.

...maybe?

I mean, I was feeling a bit fearful of what they would say to me, but that doesn’t mean I should begin to lose it myself. I have dealt with worse than some nausea, so there really was no reason to go into hysterics over conjectures. And even if I was pregnant (which is totally ridiculous, ah ha ha hah haah...), I could figure something out, right? Right..? Right.

Besides... the thought of having a little filly or colt with Luna... we've wondered about the possibility for a couple of centuries and I certainly liked the thought of it. So much so that I had to remind myself one too many times that we couldn’t ever do that. I didn’t want my offspring to suffer for giving in to this little weakness of mine, I couldn’t hurt them like that before they were even born.

Being pregnant due to incest... the chances of the foal even surviving until birth didn’t bode well for them. My magic is incredibly powerful, even if I did 'that' with a mortal, chances would be that my foal would surge during pregnancy. With Luna as the... well, 'sire', I guess... there was a high chance I would lose my foal before it could even see the light of my sun. I... I just cannot be pregnant. I don’t want that to happen. To be at fault for the death of an innocent little filly or colt.

But... what do I do if I am actually pregnant? What could I even do? Would it be kinder to... end it before it got to a point of no return? I... no. That feels so incredibly wrong. I'm already a month or so into the pregnancy (if I am indeed pregnant... which I'm not, but still, for the sake of the argument, let's pretend I am), I would have at most four more months to decide. But... getting an abortion because I feared the pregnancy wouldn't be safe... how much does that differ from letting the pregnancy take its course? I would be taking away their chance to live solely because I was already giving up on them, my own child, instead of giving them a chance, however slim it might seem. Taking the easy route... it would go against everything I believed in and that I couldn’t do.

So then, what should I do? Doing nothing was also not an option, feeling just as wrong. I was pretty sure the chances of them surging were a guarantee considering who their parents are.

Since it was rather unlikely that an unborn foal would figure out how to keep themselves from surging, I would have to find a way to do it for them. I would have to figure out a way to safely relieve them of the constant pressure of their magic building up, and I would have precious little time to do so. As in, a couple of months at best since the growth of their magical core would rapidly speed up after the fourth month.

Those were far too high odds to hope for the chance they would make it through that and nothing would happen to change that. I would be gambling on their health and that was something I couldn’t possibly do to them. I didn’t even want to entertain the thought of what would happen if I had twins instead of just one foal.

As much as I've fantasized about becoming a mother myself by giving birth, this wasn’t how I thought it would go. I could have done anything else but have sex with my sister to see my dream come true. Adopting (while not truly what I envisioned of ‘becoming a parent’, to be honest) was at least a feasible option to choose from. Cadance technically counted under ‘my child, but she is adopted after being reborn’. I didn’t have to do much to ‘re-raise’ her. Not like I would have to if I actually adopted, raising them from a little infant into the strong adult I hoped they would grow up into.

Another option would have been a donor, as much as I despised the thought (not only because it would have also posed a risk, albeit to a much lesser degree). It felt... too impersonal. My little foal would have never learned of the gracious contributor that gave them their life. At least, not if I went through the proper channels for that. Finding some random stallion off the street felt even worse to me. And asking one of my ‘non-existent’ friends would feel... weird, to say the least. I certainly wasn’t going to ask Ozpin if he wanted to help me out with my dream and he was kinda the only one I considered to be a genuine friend. Aside from Tai, that is.

Speaking of Tai, he was definitely out of the picture for consideration of donating his sperm. It would feel like a betrayal to Celestia, and that I couldn’t do. Tai wouldn’t, either, for that matter. He wouldn’t replace his Summer with me and I wouldn’t let him go down that rabbit hole, even if he wanted to. Not without good reason, i.e. his Summer giving him the blessing to do so from the grave.

So, that still left me with the question of what I should do. I have absolutely no idea. Abortion was out of the picture and getting the foal with those nigh zero odds of survival was as well. Medical and magical research would take far too long to find a solution to this predicament, so... all I had left was praying for a miracle to happen and hoping the doctor would tell me I only have the flu or something.

...yeah, that's not gonna happen, is it? I'm not that lucky. The universe loves to throw a wrench into my plans every chance that it gets. If I want my foal to survive, I would have to get creative, for better or worse.

Ugh. Why couldn't this have happened a thousand years ago, instead? Preferably before we started raising and lowering the celestial bodies and got our power boost from them. I would have been a lot more optimistic about the foal's chance to survive back then. Not that I would have been more enthusiastic about it than I was right now. If anything, I was remarkably calm, all things considered.

If one could call downright terrified 'calm', that is. Because I am the picture of serenity itself. Totally.

Once the doctor arrived in our chambers, I did everything they asked me to do, giving them every sample they could possibly need to find out what was wrong with me. Even the embarrassing kind of samples. If it helped to find out whether or not I was going to bloat up like a balloon, I was happy to fill up every type of container so they could do their research asap.

In the meanwhile, I continued with my paperwork, doing it in bed for once. Kibitz was kind enough to help me with anything that I forgot and it continued on like this for the next few days. All while I did my best to vomit out my soul, crying every time with my head above the toilet while either Luna or Liz comforted me.

Our ponies quickly found out that I was ‘ill’ and the first rumors were starting to spread. Magazines and tabloids were speculating and the nutcases of the rumor mill were already spouting off conspiracy theories about all kinds of crazy things. Some made the connection between the incest law and me, suggesting I already broke it before it officially came into effect.

I almost forgot what it felt like to have my little ponies criticize me so much (Luna, too, for that matter). It was as if Platinum was leading her little rebellion against my sister and me again. While our ponies didn’t really lose their faith in us, they were disillusioned with their idea that we were perfect. Under any other type of circumstance, I would have celebrated that.

But as I got the news from the doctor, I felt like anything but celebrating. I wanted to cry, throw insults at Luna for doing this to me, to our... I didn't even want to think about it, but here I was. I wanted to drown myself in alcohol again (something I swore to myself to never ever repeat) and simply shut out the world and suffocate in my despair. I was at a loss for words, the confirmation weighed heavier on my mind than the suspicion had.

I was pregnant and there was only one pony that could have been responsible for the foal... and that pony was my sister. I couldn’t be pregnant with Chrysalis’ offspring due to the simple fact that changelings couldn’t impregnate ponies (not for a lack of trying, mind you).

Luna was at fault for knocking me up and I didn’t talk with her for about five weeks after the doctor gave us the news. I know it was both of our fault, but I was being emotional and irrational. Far more than I usually was.

I might have thrown things at her, scorched a few training dummies, and cried at the unfairness of it all (when I felt well enough to not hang over the toilet and puke my guts out twenty-four-seven, that is). The universe was obviously punishing me for one little lapse in judgment, throwing my deepest desires right into my face and stomping all over my dreams. It was taunting me over the fact that I always wanted to carry a foal myself instead of merely cumming at the right point in time to make a baby.

Cadance spent a lot of her time over on Remnant because I was a bit... uh... unbearable to be around. I was starting to become increasingly snippy with everypony around me, even if they hadn’t done anything to warrant my wrath. I felt sorta-ish bad about that, but I was unable to bring myself to care. I was in my ‘I hate the universe’ mood and nopony would be able to bring me out of it.

The nausea also kept getting worse on some days. So much so that even the sight of food left me dry heaving. It was during that time that I begged Luna to do something, anything to make me feel better. I didn’t care that I was feeling like this because of her, I wanted my damn wife back after I almost alienated her with my behavior.

Suffice to say, I was a wreck halfway through the third month of my pregnancy. We used every imaginable spell and ‘remedy’ to help my pregnancy turn out as well as it could possibly go. Anything to prevent the magic from building up too fast for the growing life in my womb. We even asked Ozpin for help, hoping they would have something on Remnant that would make sure my foal would survive this, but everything they had available were experimental drugs meant to prevent birth defects.

I took them, anyway. If they helped at least marginally, I would take the risk. It couldn’t get riskier than incest-induced magic hypersensitivity already was, so it was either that or hope for a miracle.

To be honest, I had little hope of seeing my foal breathe once the time for birth came. A feeling of dread constantly followed me around and it left me even more depressed. I was so depressed that all I wanted was to hear Tia say everything would be fine. I wanted to be comforted by Luna and Celestia but with Platinum still in control... I just...

It was utterly hopeless to wish my beloved would return early. Luna stayed with me, thankfully. She decided it was far more important to try and lift my mood than to attend to her own duties. Liz wanted to do the same, but that would have meant leaving the nobles in charge of our nation and none of us wanted to trust them during these trying times.

There was one glimmer of hope, though. The portal to the alternate Equestria decided to not be a dick and stay open for once. And with it, I might have just gotten the salvation we needed in the form of an angel.

“I suppose it was only a matter of time until something like this would have happened,” Celestia sighed, running her heavenly fingers through my mane. Stupid human noodle limbs, why do they have to feel so good? “I would have expected you to be more cautious with alcohol, sister.”

“It was one time,” I moaned, just barely preventing my stomach from sending my latest try of keeping my meal where it belonged back up.

My best friend giggled at my misfortune. “Apparently it was also quite the sight from what Chrysalis told me,” she teased me and I sent her a glare, blushing furiously. “Having sex in the home of one of your subjects. You naughty girl, you.”

“Shut it, Tia,” I muttered. While she only resembled my Tia in appearance... damnit. She perhaps could be just as bad as her, only for other reasons. Celestia definitely had that ‘I am a holy being, worship me’ air around her.

Her ‘divine spark’ (or whatever one wants to call it) that made her a higher being felt a lot purer to my senses. Perhaps because she was actually created by a capital-G Goddess instead of being bestowed her power after ascension like what had happened to my sisters and me (or Cadance and Ruby, I suppose). She never had to find out her purpose and earn her Cutie Mark (I’m not going to call it a Talent Mark just because she thinks it should be called that... it’s not cute enough), she was quite literally ‘born’ with it.

In a sense it was kinda sad, knowing you only ever had one choice and you had to accept it no matter what. It's no wonder her relationship with her 'creator' was kinda complicated even before her adoptive parents died.

Celestia smiled at my grouchy attitude before offering me a glass of water to rinse out my mouth after I lost the battle with my stomach. “Don’t be so pouty, dear,” she told me. “It seems to me your foal doesn’t appreciate fruits.”

“They will eat what they get,” I growled, stuffing a strawberry defiantly into my mouth, only to spit it back out into the defiled trash can. “I hate my life...”

“We’ve all been there at some point,” Tia said consolingly. “Don’t worry, you will learn to appreciate it again. Some things only seem bleak on the surface.”

“I doubt it,” I whined, retching again. I took comfort in those heavenly fingers of hers as they lightly scratched me behind the ear. If she wanted to make me jealous, she certainly achieved that. Damn those things, they feel so good~. If I had been in the form of Fallen Star, I might have started to purr from pleasure.

Tia hummed. “You’re like a big cat, you know that?” she said while smiling brightly. I glowered back at her, all the while debating whether or not I should humor her and hiss back at her like an annoyed mother cat.

“Scratch my damn ears,” I muttered instead and she shrugged, doing just that. I guess being treated like a pet cat wasn't so bad, after all. It was like she could just scratch the tension out of my body and I never wanted to go without it anymore. I really need to figure out how to make that transformation spell work based on memory instead of copying something directly. I could promote Liz to be my royal ear-scratcher, but for some reason, she doesn’t feel comfortable in human form. Or anything that isn’t quadruped, for that matter.

I could understand that somewhat, I suppose. It does feel weird standing upright on two legs. I could only guess what it must feel like for somepony that had been born as a quadruped first. The only thing that really bothered me about being a human was the lack of wings and that I never knew what to do with my arms most of the time. The memory of my male human body was all but forgotten by now, so I don’t think my discomfort with that had anything to do with why I didn't like being human anymore.

Even though I rarely used my wings, they were a comforting presence and made for very fluffy hugs. You could never go wrong with fluffy hugs, in my opinion. It was a shame that Celestia’s wings were more ghostly in nature, not being ‘corporeal’ in the strictest sense.

“Have you two been using Innocent Flower’s ‘I’m not so innocent’ spell?” Celestia asked me and I raised my eyebrow at her in confusion. That was a strange thing to say out of the blue, I had to admit. And the implications of that name sounded downright lewd to boot. “To make sure your foal survives without any major complications? I imagine the magic pressure must be hard to deal with for the little one.”

“You mean to tell me there is a spell for... ugh,” I started but was interrupted by a particularly vicious bout of nausea. If I had to pray to God for this torture to end, I would. I just want to eat something, damnit. “...that there is a spell for that?”

“Well,” Celestia began, giving me a hesitant ‘so so’ gesture with her divine, fingered appendage that should definitely be scratching my ears some more. “It’s more of an assisting spell if anything, meant to help conception. It also actually helps keep the child healthy afterward, nudging things in the right direction as they say. It’s not like it is the cure to everything, but it does help. Especially if the expecting mother accidentally drinks alcohol or similar things along those lines. It might help with your particular case, considering offspring from incest are more prone to magic surges. I can’t promise anything, though. And... this is just a warning, but you shouldn’t have sex if you do use that spell while you're pregnant.”

“Why is that..?”

“Let’s just say things happen and leave it at that,” Celestia said with a shudder and shrugged. “We are going to need a few mildly expensive ingredients, but I don’t think that is going to be too much of a problem.”

“Let me guess, that spell is popular with the nobility,” I deadpanned. Celestia smiled thinly back at me and I felt like there was only one possibility why that would be the case. “Impotence?”

“Impotence,” she muttered, rolling her eyes as she went back to scratching my ears oh-so-beautifully with those holy nails. Why does it have to feel so good~? Damn this, I’ll have to hire myself a royal ear-scratcher if she keeps doing this. “I can write you a list of everything I need to cast the spell on you if you want.”

“Anything in particular that will give us trouble?” I asked her, eyeing another strawberry warily. This time for sure. I want that strawberry, nothing is going to stop me. Not even my own child. That strawberry will stay in my stomach, damnit.

My friend frowned at me for a moment. “Nothing that is too hard to come by,” Celestia admitted before she resumed the royal petting. “Nothing truly difficult like an innocent demon’s tears, at least. You have no idea how hard those are to get.”

Huh, that... “Sounds interesting,” I hummed, chewing deliberately on the strawberry to spite my stomach. “And like an antithesis. Is there such a thing as an innocent demon?”

“Believe it or not,” Celestia said with a shrug. “Anyway, most of the ingredients can be found locally. There are some that only grow in the Everfree Forest and then there are some ingredients you better don’t know about.”

“Tia, what are you going to do to me?” I asked, slowly turning my head around to stare at her. She smiled cryptically back. “Tia...”

“Nothing you wouldn’t approve of, dear,” she told me. “Just some stonewart, poison joke pollen, mucus of a glowsnail, lust thistle oil, the petals of a fire lotus, and the blood of a virgin.”

“Really?” I sighed. “The blood of a virgin?”

“We could use the other ingredient, but I don’t think you would like the idea of that one,” Celestia said, and considering the numerous other ingredients that already sounded quite disgusting, I really don’t want to know what else there could be that would surpass all of them in their repulsiveness. How this Innocent Flower ever came up with this ritual spell, I have no idea (nor do I intend to find out). “Now, how about we talk of something a bit more pleasant? I can see you are in dire need of a change of subject.”

“Very well,” I sighed, pouting at the tray of fruits on the table in front of us. Here I had the best of the best Equestria could offer in fruits and I couldn’t keep them down... what a cruel world. Changing the topic might just be the thing to take my mind off of this injustice. “How about you tell me why you never adopted Cadance as your own?”

“Summer...” Tia sighed, giving me a miffed look that this wasn’t exactly what she had in mind when she proposed we talk about something different than my current predicament.

“I’m just curious,” I told her with a roll of my eyes. “If there is one person that deserves that privilege, it is definitely you. Why do you torture yourself so much?”

“Says the right one,” she muttered as she crossed her arms defensively.

“I... I won’t deny that,” I winced, shuffling awkwardly around on my cushion. “But you deserve happiness, Tia. Out of anypony I know, you are the one that has suffered the most. You’re completely alone and it pains me to see you like that.”

“Summer, I...” Celestia grumbled, frustration twisting her face as she struggled for words. She clearly agonized over this topic on a frequent basis. “I can’t. She was created by Mother, just like I was. I know it. If I’m not calling her my niece, I would have to call her my sister and you know how strange that would be? She is... I’m a few thousand years older than her! I can't just call her my child when we don’t share that bond.”

“I don’t share that bond with my daughter anymore, either,” I admitted, grimacing darkly at the thought. “That doesn’t mean we can’t still be mother and daughter to each other. Rebirth might have taken the blood bond away, but never the spiritual bond.”

Celestia let out a sigh, deflating at the same time. “That was almost poetic,” she told me with a teasing glint in her eye.

I rolled my eyes, moving tiredly back to my bed. “Tia, at least tell me you don’t keep her at an arm’s length away from you...”

Judging by how she subtly bit her lip at my remark, she did just that. I felt too tired to berate her, it was a lost cause with her anyway. Sometimes you would expect her to be a bit more mature than my sister and me, but then she does something like this. Not to mention, she was way older than me, she should know better by now.

Tia sat down beside me, looking like she just got told she couldn’t have the last cookie from the cookie jar (and I know how she looks when she begs me to make her some). “How can I allow myself to get close to her when the future looks so uncertain?”

“Don’t you think that is true for us both?” I shot back, nudging her with a tired smile on my muzzle. “Both of us know that there might exist a possibility we won’t make it through the return of our sisters, that doesn’t mean we need to shun everypony, though. You have to be there for her, Tia. Cadance has a special destiny, it wouldn’t do to let her reach it all on her own. Be her friend, if anything."

“I..." she said while chewing on her cheek as she struggled with herself. "You are right. I can't just shun her like I did with my sister. I haven't really changed all that much, have I?"

"At least you are willing to try and improve," I told her and she gave me a grateful look.

"Thank you, Summer," she said while hugging me. "If it weren't for you, I would still keep my distance from every person around me. Perhaps things would have turned out better had we known each other even earlier."

"You don't have to praise me so highly," I argued, feeling like I didn't deserve it. "I just want to see you happy. Just... don't make me talk sense into you again, okay?"

She nodded and I smiled a bit brighter as I managed to convince her of at least that much. Both of them needed each other, of that I was certain. It's a shame, though, that they won’t be what Cadance and I are to each other. I know that they never shared a bond like that in a previous life, but that does not mean they can’t still share it with each other. I’m going to take what I can get, though. Being friends with each other was a step in the right direction, everything else I could come at a later time.

“I still have an hour or so left before I have to go back to my Equestria,” Celestia began and I hummed sleepily back at her, curious what she wanted to say. “You wouldn’t be totally opposed to a massage, would you?”

“Are you... Tia, are you coming onto me?” I asked while giving her a weird look. That would be just... no. I always thought she viewed me like a sister she never had after we wormed ourselves into her closed-off heart. To think that she would start developing feelings for me that she would want to grope me...

“What..?” Celestia asked, equally as confused. “Summer, it’s a friendly massage to help you relax, you dumb horse. And by the look of it, you could use a bit of preening, too. When was the last time you properly took care of yourself?”

“Oh...” I blushed in embarrassment. Ugh. I'm quick to jump to conclusions, aren't I? I'm such a stupid old hag. Just because my Tia is a perverted idiot doesn’t mean Celestia is one, too. “I’m sorry, Tia. It's just... everything has been a bit weird lately.”

“I understand,” she smiled, nudging my wing as if to ask for permission. “Now, am I allowed to pet my little pony some more?”

“I’m not little,” I pouted. “And if you really want to annoy Liz that much, knock yourself out. Just... try to be careful with the healthy feathers.”

“I will be,” Celestia assured me before she went through the feathers of my left wing with a critical eye. “And what do you mean by 'annoy'?”

I snorted, amused. “Liz is obsessed with preening my wings,” I answered, closing my eyes with a content hum. “She can’t get enough of it, to be honest. One would think she would purposely shift into her alicorn form and back so that she can preen her wings all day long...”

“Well, I can’t fault her,” Celestia shrugged, plucking out one feather carefully. “You have such beautiful wings, I’m jealous.”

“We can always add the transformation spell to the mirror if that is what you want,” I giggled. “You can have beautiful wings like us, Tia. Join the ponies, we have cookies~.”

“Ha ha, sister,” she shot back with a deadpan voice. “I’d rather stay as I am, thank you very much. Has anyone ever told you that you have a pony obsession?”

My eyelid gave a twitch at that remark. She's the one currently treating me like her pet pony, not the other way around. Stupid Tia logic. I do not have a pony obsession because I think it's nicer being a pony.

“Learn to take a joke,” I muttered back, yawning right afterward. A nap sounds heavenly right about now. But... sleeping through a massage involving superior wriggly grabbing appendages felt like such a waste, though. Especially a massage that involves preening.

“Learn to be funny,” she teased and I felt my eyelid twitch again. I just had the strangest sense of déjà-vu and could swear I had this type of conversation with my Celestia at some point. “We both know that we are abysmally bad at humor. That’s more Lulu’s thing.”

As if summoned by the mere mention of her name, my sister entered our bed chambers. “Are you talking about me?” Luna asked and I lazily blinked my eyes, noticing that our royal physician was next to her. He was giving me one of those ‘I’m trying to figure you out, but I’m too polite to say anything’ looks and I had no doubt he would be dying of curiosity by the end of the day. Even more so with Celestia here, I could say. It doesn’t happen too often that we could visit each other so freely, the gateway between our worlds was rarely in the mood to stay open for extended periods.

“Tia thinks you’re funny,” I smiled mischievously, wincing as Celestia took out one feather with a bit too much force. “Ouch! Do I not get some leniency for being pregnant?!”

“Behave yourself, dear,” my best friend chided me as our doctor entered the room together with Lulu after a brief bit of hesitation, setting down a few tools and reagents on the nightstand afterward. Some of those were from Remnant, I could tell.

“I just need some blood and then we can do a quick check on the foal’s health,” the doctor said, moving almost methodically around as he placed a tourniquet around my arm and prepared a needle to draw some of my blood into the waiting vials. “Although, if there is something I should know, I would like to know it before I get the blood test results back.”

“Whatever do you mean, doctor?” I asked innocently, narrowing my eyes just the slightest bit at him.

“Head of research, actually,” he commented, putting another vial filled with gold-glowing blood to the side as he prepared the next one. “I’m a professor at your school, as you are no doubt well aware of.”

“You’re my doctor as long as you continue to prod me,” I argued back, feeling my mood start to become a bit more snippy. I don’t care what his occupation in my castle or school is, he is the most knowledgeable pony in this field (and a few other, less important ones, I suppose), he will have to content himself with his role as my physician for as long as I need him in that position.

He gave me a blank look at the implied threat, unimpressed. “As you wish, Your Highness,” he grunted gruffly as he finished up with the last vial of blood. “Then I’m sure you would like me to do my job to the best of my ability, am I correct?”

“What do you mean, doctor?” I asked, feigning ignorance. I swear, if he does his job sloppily out of spite, he will regret that decision. "For your sake, think very carefully about what you are going to do next..."

He raised a brow at that, seemingly unconcerned that he was dealing with an irate alicorn at the moment. He really must have guts... or no sense of self-preservation, I wasn't entirely sure with him.

“I don’t think I need to mention a certain rumor for you to start being honest with me, or do I actually need to remind you?” he asked and I fidgeted next to Tia, subtly glancing at Luna with nervousness.

“Professor Cold Hooves, you aren’t actually believing the conspiracy theories, are you?” Luna asked, taking my hint with a roll of her eyes. I could tell she was this close to just telling him and being honest with what we had done, but I’d rather keep this matter to family only. As well as Celestia and Ozpin, I suppose.

The stallion with the stone-cold poker face scoffed. “Is it a conspiracy if it is true?” he asked despite sounding like he was more than certain that his suspicion was the case. “You know, having sex in my cousin’s bedroom... one does have to wonder if he is lying to me or if you are keeping secrets from me.”

“You would take the word of your cousin over that of your princesses?” I asked, sighing as Tia continued with her ministrations while Professor Cold Hooves gave me a deadpan stare, mixing some of those reagents he brought with him together in a bowl.

“Princess Luna, Princess Summer..." he began before giving Tia a chilly look next. "And whoever you are that so brazenly touches Her Highness... I assure you that I can keep a secret,” Doctor Cold Hooves told us. He put the bowl to the side as he began to fiddle with the device Ozpin must have lent Luna at her request. “What I can’t do, though, is to do my work correctly without all of the facts available to me. So start being honest with me, please. I’m doing this for the future heir to the throne, I’m sure you would want them to be as healthy as they could be. Incest or not.”

I sighed as I fidgeted while my heart started to beat a bit more erratically in my chest. He wasn’t wrong, per se, and I suppose I was being a bit too stubborn with him right now. It’s just... my overly worrying tendency couldn’t help but make me more suspicious of everypony around me at the moment. Maybe some of that was due to me being pregnant, although I couldn’t blame everything on that, sadly.

“Fine, you win, Doctor,” I reluctantly began. “You already have your answer and I can assure you we are doing our best to minimize complications already. It would do you well to keep that promise, 'Professor' Cold Hooves. You won’t have to keep the secret for long, anyway. Sooner rather than later, Luna and I will have to confirm the suspicions of our little ponies. I’d rather prepare for that first, though.”

I could already see the backlash of that announcement coming from a mile away. Ugh. We will simply have to endure that, I suppose. What other choice do we really have? Hide the fact that our foal is the product of incest between Luna and me? The chances of that working weren’t looking good. Not to mention, that is something I couldn’t keep a secret from our daughter or son once they would be old enough. I’m sure the resemblance to both Luna and me would make any attempt to do so a futile endeavor, too.

This really wasn’t how I thought becoming a mother would be like. My own child is going to become the target of ridicule if I don’t do something now to prevent that. If I could prevent it from happening, to be honest. Worst case scenario, I would have to start acting more like a dictator. The bad kind. And that's something I don't want to do as long as there is even a slight chance to avoid it.

I could live with the backlash and the hurtful words of a few of my ponies. Heck, I could live with everypony in Equestria hating me, and if they demanded it of me, I would step down as their princess... but then I would also tell them to have fun trying to keep Equestria in one piece because I wouldn't come back even if they asked me nicely. No, I would rather live on a farm, enjoying my retirement, instead of going back to foalsitting a bunch of ponies that would rather get rid of me after one scandal.

But that's an acceptable outcome, all things considered. What I could not live with, though? I couldn't live with the thought of my own foal resenting me. Resenting me because of the ridicule they would have to face for being the product of Luna’s and my love for each other.

For the first time since my rebirth, I wish I could turn back time and prepare for this exact moment. If only I could make little changes here and there, maybe try and tell my ponies Luna and I aren’t actually sisters, and completely lie my flanks off so much that I would be able to give my foal the life they deserved.

Alas, that was wishful thinking, at best. Even if it 'somehow' worked, it would only take one slip-up to bring that house of cards toppling down on us. Not to mention, 'Luna' and 'lying' was an oxymoron if I have ever seen one. Lying to the degree of pretending that we aren’t actually sisters? Hah! It wouldn't even take a decade and she would give it all away, whether by accident or due to feeling guilty (and that was disregarding the fact she couldn't tell a lie if her life depended on it).

It wasn’t like she couldn’t keep secrets, at all. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have kept our relationship secret for so long... even though I suspect we weren’t doing that good of a job at it, seeing that our ponies took the news of us confessing our love for each other far too well. Luna just... couldn’t keep a secret hidden behind a lie all that well.

“Don’t worry, Your Highness,” Professor Cold Hooves said, his gray eyes almost seeming to appear a bit brighter as he put his hoof proudly on his chest. “As the head of research at your school, and now as your personal doctor, I swear not one word will leave my muzzle about this. I will see to it that my cousin and his wife won’t speak of this, either.”

“Thank you,” I sighed as the tension in my muscles practically melted away. Tia worked her magic fingers with practiced ease, and... I have to wonder why she was so good at it, even with somepony not of her own species (or physique, to be more accurate). Then again, Lulu, Liz, and I picked up all kinds of hobbies over the past thousand years, so it didn’t surprise me that Tia might have done so herself, perhaps with even more things than we've done. I know for a fact that she was at least two millennia old, she was bound to get bored enough to try and massage anything and everything at some point.

“I think we can start with the next test, if you are up to it, Your Highness,” Doctor Cold Hooves said, turning back to me after he finally found the correct settings on the device in his hooves. “This technology is simply astounding. Where did you say you got it from?”

“A friend lent it to us,” Luna answered, giving him a narrow-eyed gaze. “That is all that you should concern yourself with. Simply follow the instructions, Professor.”

“I suppose the origin of this device doesn’t concern my work,” he sighed, grumbling under his breath. To say that he was displeased was an understatement. “I would like to learn more about it other than what the manual tells me, though. Are you sure I can’t study it back in my lab?”

Before Luna could object, most likely telling him something along the lines of the sonograph having been lent to us and that we couldn't let it get damaged (I mean, that's definitely the case, but I think Ozpin could easily forgive us for that), I decided to stop her from crushing all his dreams. “We will have to open diplomatic relations with Remnant at some point, Lulu,” I told her breathily, almost moaning as Celestia worked a particularly stressed part out of my muscles. “At which point it might become too hard to keep it a secret.”

“Trust me, you would be surprised what your subjects could believe,” Tia giggled, a mischievous glint in her eyes. “There was that one time where I told someone that the moon was made of cheese and they took it as an absolute fact.”

I saw Luna give Tia an unimpressed look. She was clearly not amused by the way she besmirched her moon. Well, not her moon, but the sentiment was there. “Summer? Can I go over there and tell them the sun is made of molten cheese?”

“Luna...” I said, suppressing the angry retort that wanted to leave my muzzle with a heavy glare directed her way. Flipping flying penguins, they are not going to start a prank war while I was pregnant. Most certainly not while we were still unsure whether or not our foal would survive. “If you do that, I will tell our ponies the moon is made out of cheese as well and prove it to them by sending you there.”

My wife glared right back at me, miffed. “You wouldn’t dare.”

“What if I had the head of research back up my claim?” I retorted, trying not to grin. It was tempting to take Tia’s word and see if our ponies would believe a lie like that, too.

Luna pouted. “Fine, no cheese sun. Can’t have a little bit of fun every now and again, can I?”

“You can drag Tia through the mud all you want after we make sure our little one gets to see the light of day. Just leave 'my' sun out of it,” I shrugged before I winced as Celestia immediately got her revenge on me. Why did I even agree to this massage in the first place if that’s how she treats me?! No sense of humor, I swear.

“...can I start now?” Professor Doctor Ph.D. Med. Whatever Cold Hooves asked, interrupting our argument. Right... he’s still here, I thought with dismay. Might as well get this over with, whatever that thing will actually do. “I..."—he cleared his throat awkwardly (or what constitutes as 'awkward' with him, he's such a stick in the mud with his seriousness all the time)—"... I need you to..."—he motioned with his hooves as he grimaced ever so slightly—" on your back, please?”

I gave the stallion a confused glance, doing what he told me, and immediately slapped Tia’s hand away from my belly as she was about to rub it like I actually was her pet. She gave me a sad, pouty look, trying to convince me by appealing to my weakness for all things cute. It was just too bad that I was currently a pregnant and very moody mare, wasn't it?

...her pouty look intensified, including fake tears. I stood strong, though. I've never lost a staring contest, my stare was legendary!

Ahem! I, uh... okay, fine! She won the staring contest and I cursed myself for succumbing to my one true weakness. Damn her, why does she have to look so cute when she wants to be?! And damn those... h-heavenly... d-divine fingers of h-hers, too! I glared at her grumpily with a bright red muzzle and I could swear that my personal doctor had a bleeding nostril as he placed a sensor connected to the little machine close to where my foal was growing within me.

That thought alone made me happy beyond measure. I had a little foal growing within me! I... I could hardly believe there was a pony growing inside of me because of the love Luna and I shared. It was just... so unbelievable. Joy alone couldn’t describe what I was feeling right now.

With the ritual Celestia would cast, we could reduce the risks immensely, a massive relief to my worrying self. Especially at the stage right now where it was all the more important to make sure there would be absolutely no complications in the later development of my foal. We have been doing everything that we could think of, and now, with the added safety measure of a spell meant for (almost) this exact thing, I could actually start to allow myself to feel happy.

Happy that a dream of mine would finally come true. That I would share something with Luna on such a deep level that only Tia and I had previously shared with each other. I would have a foal with Luna and I couldn’t wait for the day to finally arrive.

“This... can’t be...” Professor Doctor Cold Hooves muttered to himself and I felt my heart stop fearfully in my chest. Was the magic pressure already too much even before my little one started developing their own magic core? Please, don't tell me..! “These readings... are you certain that this manual was the correct one that was sent with this device, Your Highness?”

“Yes...” Luna said slowly, biting her lip in worry. “Why? Is there something wrong? Is... is the foal okay?”

The good Doctor blinked. “Uh, yes, yes, the foal is okay,” he replied, still sounding as confused as ever. The question of whether or not the foal was okay hadn’t been on his mind as he asked his question, it seems. The news that there hadn’t been any complications already lifted a massive stone from my heart, although I knew we could never be a hundred percent certain that nothing will happen down the line. Still, hearing him say that, I felt like my own hope hadn’t disappointed me this time. “It’s just..."—he frowned, checking the manual one last time before rubbing the probe thingy against my belly a bit more strongly—" if I’m reading this correctly, there should be... two foals, Your Highnesses.”

“Two?!” Luna exclaimed and I felt like fainting. “Are you telling us we are expecting twins?! Summer, did you hear that? Twins! Yes! Yes, yes, yes! Twins, aha! Take that, universe! We’re going to get twins!”

Twins. Twins. By my sun, I'm going to have two foals to worry about instead of just one! Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Oh, dear! Just what were the odds of that? And on our first (admittedly accidental) try, at that. My heart was beating wildly in my chest, from fear, anxiety, hope, happiness, and so much more. I was pregnant with two little foals. Twins! Holy flying penguins, it was simply unbelievable. How rare was it that a twin gets twins on their first try?

I need to think about the implications of becoming a parent of twins, but for now, I was far too euphoric to not be over the moon by this. How couldn’t I be? Twins... It almost felt like this was meant to happen. Getting twins was just too much of a coincidence, even more so considering the circumstances behind my pregnancy.

“I would like to stay and celebrate,” Tia spoke up, rubbing my ear apologetically as she stood up from the bed. “But the day nears its end. I will be back tomorrow before you know it, Summer. If I get lucky, I might find all the ingredients for that spell I told you about. A little present for you, dear. I have no doubt you will need it.”

“Thank you, Celestia,” I smiled, feeling even more... fluffy on the inside. It was the best description I had for this sensation running through me.

“Don’t thank me, yet,” she said, smiling lightly herself. “You just make sure you eat enough, alright? Let Aunty Tia take care of you.”

“Aunty?” I asked, perplexed. I've gotta admit, it does have a nice ring to it, but... “You may call yourself that to my foals, but not to me.”

“Don’t ruin the mood now, Summer,” Celestia reprimanded me, wiggling a finger back and forth in front of her. The meaning behind it eluded me somewhat (I could guess, though, I wasn’t that stupid), and then she was already gone, on her way back to the mirror portal.

Doctor Cold Hooves gave Luna and me a curious but resigned look as he no doubt had a thousand thoughts running through his brain. “Should I even ask?”

“She is a close... friend, I suppose,” Luna answered, grimacing slightly as she understated the actual bond we shared with the alternate version of our own sister. She had become... not exactly a replacement, just... another addition to the family. A family that was about to become bigger and I couldn’t wait for that to actually happen. “While we trust you with the work you do, Professor, we would rather keep the specifics of how we met Celestia to ourselves.”

The Professor frowned in dissatisfaction. “I... understand, Your Highness,” he replied cordially. “I will keep my muzzle out of where it doesn’t belong, then. As much as I am tempted to learn more.”

“Seeking knowledge is an admirable trait,” Luna nodded. “But pursuing that knowledge could lead to far more trouble than it is worth it in the end.”

“If you say so,” he said with a subtle roll of his eyes, not at all sounding convinced of that. I could understand 'why' he would have difficulties with that. Luna’s example wasn’t the most forthcoming with information regarding why it would be a bad idea to seek out any and all knowledge. Some knowledge you simply weren’t ready for.

The awareness of other realities wasn’t exactly the type of knowledge we wanted to spread around. Not only because of how dangerous it could be if it became publicly known, but the pursuit of knowledge available by traveling the multiverse could also drive somepony like Professor Cold Hooves insane. It almost happened to Starswirl and he was already crazy enough to have entertained the idea of different worlds in the first place.

To be honest, I think Luna, Liz, and I were a bit crazy ourselves for continuing to use the portals that had so far only brought trouble for us. Well, not all of them, to be honest. The amusement park world was still a nice vacation spot every once in a while and Tia’s Equestria had also so far not screwed us over. Far from it even.

While I would like to say Remnant turned out to be one of those worlds that were like that, it was sadly one of those I could only look at with sadness. It wasn’t even only Remnant that was like that. There were alternate versions of Equestria, whether they were ruled over by actual alternate versions of ourselves or not, that could be just as bad. One of those was the Equestria where my counterpart was a dictator. The evil kind, I mean. While she wasn’t exactly the ‘most’ villain-y of ponies that came to my mind (Platinum always takes the cake for that one), it does leave me with a feeling of shame that there could be a version of me that was not... nice.

Aside from that, there were other examples of ‘be careful with what you wish for’ in regard to dangerous knowledge. One of the easiest examples I could think of was dark magic. You would need to be extremely careful with that kind of magic, and if you didn’t have an aptitude for it, you should keep your hooves far away from it. While I have my doubts that our doctor would pursue anything along those lines, the addictive and corrupting feeling of dark magic was a good comparison to what lusting for knowledge could do to somepony.

After the good doctor finished up with the last thing on the list for today, casting a ritual spell to help ease my stomach at least a little bit for the next few hours or so, I was too busy shoveling fruits down my throat to notice that I made quite a mess out of myself in the process. Doctor Cold Hooves excused himself politely as I started sobbing gratefully for finally being able to eat something. I have no doubt that I will start regretting the decision to stuff myself full of fruits once the spell’s duration expires, but right now, I felt like I was in heaven.

If this was how Liz felt after having been able to gorge herself on love for the first time, I don’t think I could fault her for razing entire cities to the ground in a mad attempt at feeling full. I’m pretty sure that, if this had gone on for a few years, I would have done much worse than invading nation after nation.

Thankfully, I didn’t throw up in the middle of the night. I did feel like rolling over and dying on the spot, though. Luna held me tightly in her hooves throughout the night, quietly singing a lullaby I could faintly remember Mom having sung such a long time ago now. It was as heartwarming and soothing as it was sad and sorrowful, hearing it again.

Mom had been a great singer, no doubt due to her noble upbringing, having the best tutors money could buy. Luna came quite close to how good our mother was and it helped distract me from the queasy feeling in my stomach. Sleep didn’t come easily, though (despite Luna trying to use her gift on me multiple times).

The next day I was... okay-ish. I went through a few of my tasks with a grumpy frown, a yawn escaping me about every ten minutes or so (when I wasn’t busy throwing up my breakfast into the bucket or toilet, that is). Maybe living off of fruits and crackers wasn’t going to work, as Tia had suggested with her remark. My foals were already very demanding of me even if that shouldn’t have been a thing at this point in my pregnancy. I just had no idea what else I could eat that wouldn’t leave me sobbing over my trusty friend Mr. Bucketington.

It was Luna’s idea, don’t ask. Liz and Lulu thought it would be funny to draw a noble face on the damn thing and I had to give it to them... they were right for once. Seeing the faces of the nobles as I threw up in my trusty companion definitely was the crippling nausea worth it. It was a little bit mean, though. Only a bit. Maybe.

Okay, yes, it was mean, but I couldn't give two flying penguins. I don't care. They are annoying me, anyway. Can't give a sick, pregnant mare some slack, can they?

Around the afternoon, my savior in the form of a heavenly angel arrived with a basket full of foul-smelling ingredients. She did cause quite a stir in court with that, but Luna and I could care less about such a small inconvenience. We were happy that we could rest easy knowing we were doing all we could to ensure the health of our foals (plural, eee!) wouldn’t be impaired.

Liz took over court after our wait was finally over, giving each of us (even Tia) a quick nuzzle as we walked out of the throne room. We made our way towards our School for the Gifted, or more specifically, the ritual chamber there. It was rather large, the size of an auditorium really, that was usually used by professors to demonstrate part of the curriculum with a live experiment (harmless ones that were hard to mess up). When it wasn't used for demonstrative purposes, scholars and researchers could put in a reservation for the room and use it to their heart's content. Of course, since we were the headmistresses, we had the privilege of blocking the room for the rest of the day (though we made sure to announce it a few hours in advance before we did so).

Not every ritual spell actually needs a magic circle drawn on the ground (if anything, those were more of a rarity). Rituals that needed them, though, required some sort of stabilizing medium. Whether that was a separate ingredient or a magic circle depended on whether or not that ingredient used to stabilize the ritual was compatible with the other reagents. On top of that, everything also depended heavily on the strength of the spell, and based on that, the magic circle could become quite complex.

The spell Celestia was going to cast wasn’t actually that complex. It was quite similar to what I did to Ruby’s weapon, I suppose. While the circle wasn’t that different from a ring of candles, it was still fairly simple in design. Alicorn magic could basically brute force a ritual in a pinch, but so could blood magic... which in and of itself isn’t really considered 'dark magic', but... considering how most ponies usually got the required blood back in the day, it was still considered to be one of the ‘darker’ arts.

Ritual magic technically falls under the same category. It was based on sacrificial magic, after all. The majority of those rituals sacrifice simple things like minerals, plant fibers, or even a bundle of hair, scales, feathers, or similar things from various creatures. Of course, there are also rituals sacrificing the life force of other beings (or your own). Those are heavily restricted rituals (for good reason since even those that sacrifice your own life force could backfire horribly, causing untold damage to the surrounding area), and in the case of somepony practicing them illegally, they were punished accordingly to the severity of the crime that had been committed.

Not every ritual using the life force of something requires the use of 'every' last bit of it. Even only a small amount equal to that of one minute in somepony’s lifetime could be more than enough to power a ritual. Under most circumstances, sacrificing the entirety of somepony’s life essence was highly wasteful (and not to mention, extremely cruel).

Every type of magic has the potential to be used for darker purposes. As sad as it was to admit something like that, it was nothing but the honest truth. Healing spells, something you would normally think to be a completely benign use of magic, could cause as much (if not more) harm as hexes and curses, combat spells, or (as previously mentioned) sacrificial rituals. If you aren’t careful with what you are doing, you could cause a pony to develop cancer.

For that reason alone, only those with a medical license were allowed to practice healing magic. I never learned more than the basics myself, only because I literally had no use for the advanced medical spellcraft due to my nature as an alicorn. For everything else, I was more or less equipped well enough to deal with most things that came to my attention (I knew my priorities on a battlefield, and stopping to heal every wounded soldier was a risk to everypony else, I could do more with a shield and actively hindering the opponent from advancing). Basic healing spells could accomplish quite a lot on their own, the more advanced spells were far too narrow in how they could be utilized.

Usually, I had no use for healing spells beyond setting bones or reattaching limbs in a hurry. But my current predicament required more than what my alicorn healing factor could accomplish. If anything, I wanted to disable my magic from affecting my womb as much as possible. Thus, I sat fidgeting nervously with my wings within a big circle, several more connected to the center one, each containing a reagent Celestia brought with her.

The ritual itself took about ten minutes or so to activate (and an additional hour or two of sitting around, bored out of my mind until the effect fully seeped into me). Celestia was chanting the spell out of a tome, all the while walking around the circle and setting fire to some of the reagents in a specific order. How the creator of this spell found out the correct order for this ritual was beyond me. Or how they created it in the first place.

I wasn’t really an expert in magic. Knowledgeable, sure, but for everything that went past ‘throw in some emotions’, I found myself quite often puzzling over how exactly a spell worked. Most of the time I spent months studying a spell before even attempting it or I simply stumbled over the specifics by coincidence.

Rituals were far more complex than drawing mana to the horn and shaping it into the correct form, infusing the spell with emotions (or rhythms and pulses in specific patterns for rational magic) before releasing it. Working with ritualistic magic was sort of like rational magic, you had to plan it out and calculate every little step. In contrast to rational magic, though, ritualistic magic sacrifices more than the mana requirement of a spell.

Every ingredient in a ritual had a meaning, and to figure out what kind of meaning that might be, one has to conduct a lot of experiments. And by ‘a lot’, I mean a lot. It wasn’t as easy as simply categorizing a material based on what it would do in a ritual (it never was that easy). In a way, it's similar to coding. You have an input and the software. The software does things based on the input, and the input changes the outcome. On top of that, every input following each other changes the result, and more often than not, the way other 'inputs' behave (i.e. the ingredients in a ritual). While yes, there are certain things that have a... let’s say ‘constant value’ to keep in line with the programming analogy... that won’t change no matter what ritual you use them in, there are things that react differently in combination with other reagents.

It is no wonder why ritualistic magic has fallen out of favor due to the difficulty of discovering the interactions between different materials. The more complex rituals using more than a few items to achieve their effect take most mortals a lifetime of study and trial and error approaches in order to develop them correctly.

Which made it all the more impressive that this 'Innocent Flower' created more than a dozen rituals that had... not quite so innocent effects. I have no idea what must have gone through their head to create a ritual that made breeding of all things easier than it could already be sometimes.

I was also quite impressed with Professor Cold Hooves, as well. While the ritual for the anti-nausea spell wasn’t as complex as the ritual Celestia was performing, it was remarkable that he created it within such a short time span. I suppose he wasn’t the head of research at our school for nothing.

As far as I understood what Tia was doing with this ritual, it almost gave me the impression that this Innocent Flower was a genius. A perverted genius (perhaps even more perverted than Liz and my Tia), but a genius nonetheless.

Perhaps they were also a bit crazy, to be honest. Nopony sane would have ever had the idea to use the pollen of the poison joke flower in a ritual of all things. The effect of it was random beyond measure, reacting to everypony differently, but perhaps that made using it even more ingenious in a way.

You could take advantage of that random nature with rituals quite effectively. Especially with rituals that want to change the probability of something so that it becomes more likely to end up with favorable odds. This ritual, for example, had the very purpose of increasing the probability of conceiving a healthy child and keeping it that way as a side-effect after the... ahem, 'deed'... had been accomplished.

It’s better left unsaid what other rituals Innocent Flower created. I could already make a pretty accurate guess as to what would happen if one were to have sex while pregnant with this spell active. Celestia was wise to warn me of that if my little hunch was correct. It really was better left unsaid, I mused with a shudder. It definitely was.

The days after the ritual started to blend together as I was confined to bed rest most of the time because, for some reason, even Professor Doctor Cold Hooves couldn’t reliably help me with my nausea despite the spell he created to help specifically with that one thing. Sometimes it just felt like I was eating dirt and it left me weeping in despair, mourning the brave fruits that so willingly sacrificed themselves for my foals.

How could I enjoy the joy of being pregnant when this is how it makes me feel? I wasn’t starving anymore, thankfully, but was this how I was getting repaid for making sure they grew up without any complications?

Luna and Liz were as stumped about this as I was. I don’t think Mom had to deal with this as she was having Tia and me. I knew for certain she didn’t have to deal with crippling nausea as she was pregnant with Lulu, so why was I having this much difficulty with eating anything?

For that matter, she was lucky we were born alicorns, or things would have gotten messy during her pregnancy...

Ahem! Anyway, Liz wasn’t very helpful in figuring that out, despite having been ‘pregnant’ almost every year for the past thousand years (there were some exceptions and all of them were her own fault experimenting with her changeling flames). Changelings and ponies were just too different biologically and such a severe case of nausea had previously been unprecedented in other pregnant mares.

Was it because I was an alicorn? Was there something fundamentally different about how pregnancy worked for higher beings?

That was a disturbing thought, wasn’t it? I just... I just thought of the possibility that my own foals wouldn’t be alicorns themselves and that this could be the reason for that.

After all, alicorns aren’t made ‘the natural way’. They aren't typically born.

I wanted to cry. I wanted to cry so damn much and I did. I cried. I cried so hard that I started to suffocate from my heavy sobbing. My children, my little foals... I would lose them after barely getting to know them, wouldn’t I? I would watch them grow older and older and my only hope would be that I could find a way for them to ascend before they grew too old.

This was the curse of immortality. Of being a goddess of ponykind. I was doomed to lose everypony that I got close to, it was no wonder why I looked at everypony like they were merely foals (even if that might as well be true, compared to my age). Only my Moon and Liz (as well as Tia, once she got back) will truly stay with me. Cadance and Ruby were in their weird ‘We can’t decide on which world we wanna stay in once we marry’ phase, so... while I wouldn’t truly lose them, they wouldn’t stay with me in the castle forever.

Not that Cadance would have stayed in the nest for very long, anyway. Pretty soon, she would spread her wings and find her own way in the world. Even if she might stay here in the castle for the next twenty or so years (which I dearly hope, I wouldn’t want her to miss the chance of being the big and responsible sister I knew she could be to her siblings), she would leave once the Crystal Empire returned. And then, she would be too busy to spend time with her stupid old hag of a mother.

Damnit, I’m getting too depressed again. I would find a way to make my foals ascend, hopefully before Platinum breaks the chains of her prison.

As the first appointment for the ultrasound arrived (the one that makes pictures instead of the small, portable version Ozpin lent us last time), we did confirm that I was definitely having two foals. While we couldn’t see what tribe they would belong to yet, Luna and I felt like they would at least turn out to be unicorns. I have been getting surges over the past few days, which usually indicated that a pregnant mare would have a magically apt foal.

It was reassuring to know that Celestia's spell was working as intended since I was having the surges instead of my foals. The magic build-up was circulating through me while simultaneously depleting their magic to a healthy level (which in turn would strengthen their magic core so that they will be able to handle their own power once they are 'out and about', as they say).

To be perfectly honest, it doesn’t have to mean anything in regard to their pony tribe, but it was a sign. It was not only a sign that one of the foals was developing a horn, but also a sign that they were growing up without side effects from the ritual (like being devoid of all magic).

Then again... unicorn mothers usually don’t experience too powerful surges, so I was getting a little bit concerned that I was starting to accidentally burn things. It reminded me a lot of what happened to us back when we first began raising and lowering the celestial bodies.

The fact that I was also freezing things left me only mildly confused for a few minutes before I realized that it had something to do with Luna’s connection to the moon and our foals (or one of them, at least) inheriting a part of that. I could confidently say one of them would have an ice affinity with magic, possibly also darkness.

Darkness as in ‘lack of light’ and not dark magic. Shadow magic was also the highest affinity in thestrals, so that led me down another spiral of coming up with crazy theories. You know... totally normal stuff to worry about.

So... instead of leaving them as theories, I decided to test them. One might have wondered 'how' I intended to do that, but there was an easy way to find out whether or not your foal is a thestral. And that was by drinking blood.

The vampiric nature of about two-thirds or so of the thestral population in Equestria could give a clue as to whether or not my foals preferred a more predatory diet. Most thestrals don’t drink too much blood, and when they do, they usually get it from the prey they catch, and those that don’t prefer to drink blood get by on a vegetarian diet just fine (though they do have a penchant for fruit juice).

Seeing that Luna and I were at least partially thestral in nature due to us being alicorns, I went all vampony on my wife. Naturally, I cried. I cried happily and gratefully that, for once, I didn’t feel nauseous as soon as something entered my stomach and it pretty much confirmed that both of my foals inherited our thestral side from us.

That left me even more confused and hopeful. It couldn’t possibly be the case that only one of them was a thestral. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be feeling such ecstasy from drinking Luna’s blood as she patted my head comfortingly as I greedily guzzled down one or two liters from her neck. I could tell she loved the feeling just as much as I did, blushing heavily as she served me enough ‘food’ to make me feel full and content.

So, if both of them are thestrals, the only possibility that could explain the powerful surges could be that they were alicorns or a hybrid between thestral and unicorn. Chances are... they aren’t alicorns. A naturally born alicorn has to be reincarnated specifically for that purpose. Their soul has to be ‘compatible’ (as Magic would say) with ascension. Or in other terms, it has to have a dormant spark of divinity. I suspect my sisters and I had that spark for some reason as we found ourselves reincarnated and remembered our past life.

It’s a thought I had in the back of my mind for a while now. There had to be a reason why the spell of Magic sought us out beyond the ridiculous requirement of being ‘compatible’.

It stands to reason that my life as Rudolph Baker hadn’t been my first one. It defied everything I knew about the soul. Souls exist. You can’t create or destroy them, only change them with time. The Devourer of Life and Death must have simply converted the energy of the souls it, well... devoured... growing larger and stronger as time went on. That the Elements of Harmony couldn’t utterly destroy that monstrosity didn’t come as a surprise to me. They simply unraveled the mess that thing had created through its greed. And now it was merged together with Platinum. Or what was left of it, at least.

If my previous life hadn’t been my first one, how many had I forgotten? It felt a bit weird, not being able to remember. I already had only so few memories left of my previous life and I felt like a part of me was dying with it. Although, I suppose that is what dying actually means. You forget your previous life as you start your next one. A clean slate, so to speak.

Hope did tell me that the Machinery of Death was far more complex than I thought. I still barely understood anything about it, probably because I was exempt from it. My own ‘deaths’ didn’t last for long, and so far, I hadn’t come across another being that had tried to truly kill me aside from Platinum. Immortals kinda tend to ignore each other for the most part on Equis instead of risking a confrontation with somepony they don't like.

So... if one had to have something that made them compatible to be reborn as an alicorn, how did my sisters and I get that? Alas, I wouldn’t ever get an answer to that question, sadly. I only had my limited knowledge of souls and pure conjecture to make any sense out of it, and even then, I wouldn’t be able to tell what tribe my foals would end up as. In the end, I could only guess that it was most likely going to be a ‘variant of thestral’.

I was nearing the end of the fourth month of my pregnancy and already I could tell the next seven months would be even more difficult to go through (if I was ‘fortunate’ enough to give birth after the eleventh month, that is... it was possible I could be carrying my foals for the full twelve months, instead). I fear I might have difficulties with other things besides nausea and tiredness by then. At least I had a reliable way of keeping my ‘food’ down now.

Another thing I could add to the ‘I hate being a pony for those specific reasons’ list, I guess. Human females had it so much better with a nine-month pregnancy period. I was tempted to go over to Remnant and quietly suffer there, but I’d rather not risk the health of my foals by crossing over through a mirror that transforms me into a closer human representation of my former body. Which, now that I think about it, makes absolutely no sense.

Why does it transform us into our former selves? Does it have something to do with our souls? Or was it because Remnant was closer to our Earth and thus, we appeared as we did before reincarnating? Huh. It does feel like I was onto something with that train of thought there. Azeroth had transformed us into a representation of our current selves, after all, and I had no doubt that, if we were to add the enchantment to the mirror connecting our world to Celestia’s world, we would appear similarly there.

It might have something to do with the connection to magic. Earth and Remnant were far less rich in arcane energy (Earth even less so than Remnant), it could very well be that if they actually were suffused with mana like Equestria or Azeroth are, we would look like ourselves over there, as well. I mean, we could probably just wear an enchanted bracelet and the problem would be solved, but... it was still a curious thing to ponder.

I suppose I would just have to suck it up and content myself with a longer period where I would drag my pregnant self everywhere. Perhaps it was even a blessing, I mused thoughtfully to myself. I would have a bit more time to simply enjoy the joy of being pregnant. At least I wouldn’t start showing until I was approximately in the sixth month of my pregnancy. Eh, maybe a month earlier due to the fact that I was having twins, instead. Which leaves me with approximately one month of figuring out how to break the news to my little ponies...

They are going to flip their... penguins, I guess... aren't they? I do hope they will receive the news relatively well, though. My subjects are incredibly important to me. I'd rather see them celebrate and be happy to witness such a momentous occasion instead of... the alternative. The days of the wendigos were long over, but those spirits didn't come out of nowhere. Ponies were really prone to emotional reactions, good and bad. I dare not imagine what the latter would end up looking like.

I have faith in my little ponies, though. They can be just as kind-hearted when they want to be. It is like Starswirl always said, a pony's herd mentality is our greatest strength and weakness. It just takes one example to lead the opinion of them all.

For the sake of my nation... I might have to nudge things in the right direction and hope for the best. It's a good thing Equestria has a matriarchal point of view, more or less. Most mares will be too distracted with fawning over me while the few that would oppose this cannot rally their fellow ponies into an angry mob.

And let's be honest here; other mothers would be a pretty good line of defense to sway the public’s opinion in my favor. I wouldn't even have to manipulate anypony, it's just who we are as ponies. You make sure a mother is protected from all harm, controversy or not. We don't leave anypony hanging, and those that need aid get it, no questions asked.

All I have to do is tell my ponies the truth. The fact that I'm getting thestral twins will be more than enough to sway the aforementioned tribe onto my side. Not that I hope I'm going to need it, but... better cautious than sorry, right?

Hah! W-what could possibly go w-wrong, right?! It's not like I can hide them from the public eye forever. I can't just go on a vacation for a few months and pretend nothing ever happened! It's not like I have to worry about my subjects sleepwalking under the control of Platinum and doing 'something' to my precious bundles of joy.

No. That's not going to happen, stop thinking about it like that. Nopony is going to try and assassinate them while you're sleeping, completely unaware... helpless...

No! No. Everypony is going to love them, or else. Just wait and see. Besides, how could anypony even think about doing that to a pair of sweet, innocent foals? That's right, Summer. Nopony in their right mind would try to take away what's yours.

Everypony that tries will die a horrible... ahem! None of that, you stupid old hag. You're being paranoid again. And possessive. They are their own beings, nopony will fault them for existing. It was your choice to do it with Luna, drunken stupor or not. Own up to it and simply enjoy motherhood. That can't be too hard, right? After all, Cadance turned out alright... if a bit quirky... and kinda uncaring about incest...

Totally normal stuff, right? Haah, I'm such a failure of a mother. I must do better. I simply must! I'll make sure to raise them as best as I can. And this time, Tia can't corrupt them with socially unacceptable thoughts before they are old enough to understand (I'll just have to lock Liz away in the hive for a few years, eh heh heh)! Nothing will stop me!

To think that I would ever find myself in this situation. All this time, and now my family was growing larger than I imagined. Luna, Liz, Cadance, eventually Tabetha, and my own twin... and two new members in addition to that! I was truly blessed, my heart was soaring on cloud nine!

Eee! This is still such an unbelievable thing to me... I was having twins! Oh, I could just prance around everywhere... dance, even! I wanted to dance around with Luna so badly, uncaring of who saw us in the process (if I wasn’t feeling constantly sick, that is). Alas, being pregnant and dancing while running on fumes did not mix well with each other. But thankfully, it got progressively less bad with each day that I gave my body the proper sustenance it craved (my spontaneous visits to the bathroom in the morning didn’t disappear completely, but it was at least a start).

Ooh! This is so exciting! I’m sure I will still find it quite unbelievable even when I’m giving birth to them. Heck, I might still feel like I was dreaming after they start crawling around absolutely everywhere.

As in... everywhere. Oh, my flipping flying penguins... the castle is not foal safe! By the twin suns, I just know they will somehow make their way into the kitchen and bite the chef while they are cooking meat for a dignitary from the Griffon Empire and hot oil will splash on them! I have to make sure there are foal-secure locks on everything! A-and if one of them (or both) have the thestral typical wings, catching them will be impossible!

I, uh... would it be weird if I put them in a room full of pillows so that they couldn't hurt themselves? Mhh, I feel like that would be the foal-friendly equivalent of a padded cell, though. I 'think' that counts as strange...

Ahem, anyway! Speaking of decorating, we haven’t even started thinking about how we want to make the nursery look. We haven’t even begun thinking of anything regarding our foals aside from making sure they survive the magic pressure. There was still plenty of time for that, but I’d prefer to do it while I still could walk everywhere without any difficulty. We need a room for toys, cute bedtime stories, thestral-appropriate lighting (in case they have sensitive eyes), healthy food aside from blood... diapers, and... uh...

What about names..?! We haven't even started to think up cute names for them, yet! They are going to think we hate them if we wait until...

“Is she panicking again?” Liz asked and I heard Luna let out a groan.

"Of course, she is," Luna muttered, rolling her eyes. "Why am I not surprised?"

"Because she's Summer," Liz simply stated while Luna put away a quill and her reading glasses (they make her look sexy) before rolling up a piece of parchment and sealing it with wax afterward. "She's always panicking about something."

“I’m not!” I pouted, thankful that she... or rather he, as I noticed... brought me out of my rumination of what we still need to do. There's a lot I probably haven't even thought of yet. I don't want to forget to do something and be labeled a bad mother..!

“Sunflower, you have that ‘the sky is about to fall down on my head’ look in your eyes,” Liz snarked, rolling his beautiful emerald green eyes as he came over to give me a hug. I sighed contentedly, nuzzling his soft, fluffy fur with adoration. Even as a stallion, Liz was the best cuddle bug. “Now, what has got you into such a funk?”

A lot, but the immediate worries weighed probably a lot more heavily on my mind than making sure my adorable foals will have a cozy life full of love. Like... “What are we going to tell our subjects?” I asked, my breathing shaky. “We can’t just hide me for eight months or so. Rumors are already spreading like wildfire about my 'sickness'.”

“Just tell them the truth,” he shrugged and I gave him a glare. My special somepony, everypony. Truly, Liz is a genius. “What? You know Lulu will say something stupid at some point. And that's not even mentioning that you would probably feel just as guilty lying about where a pair of infants suddenly came from. Why even hide it in the first place?”

Well, gee... how did I not think of that? It's not like I've been panicking about that exact thing this whole time!

“Because of the incest, you stupid dick?” I grumbled, getting a pout back from him in return. “I don't want to worry about an assassin trying to get rid of my babies, Liz. What will our ponies think of us when we tell them we broke the law we worked so hard to create a modern version of?”

“That you’re too old to care?” Liz proposed and Luna snorted next to me.

“You know, our Cuddlebug has a point, Sunny,” Luna agreed as she nudged my shoulder with a hoof gently, rubbing my back comfortingly afterward. “Why should we care about what they think? We have foalsitted Equestria for how many years now..? They have no right to criticize us for wanting to have a bit of happiness ourselves.”

"I guess..." I sighed, still not entirely sure whether it is going to work so easily. We have to expect at least some resistance, right? “And what about our foals?” I asked, biting my lip worriedly. “They will have to live with the opinion of the masses. If that opinion is less than stellar...”

“Then we spin some sob story, gain the sympathy of everypony and their cats, and voilà, everything is fine and dandy,” Chrysalis commented and I felt like hitting him over his stupid head. It wasn’t that simple. It couldn’t be. Aside from that, lying so much would come back to bite us in our flanks and what do we do then?

What if instead of defending us, they'll take my babies away from me and declare me unfit to be a mother and their princess?

“Summer,” Luna whispered, nuzzling me softly as I still clung onto Liz like a fluffy pillow. He was chuckling with that wonderfully deep rumble of his at my reluctance to let go of him. I guess that’s one thing I could get used to, it felt nice. “We can work something out. And besides... would you truly want to lie about this? I know I can’t, not if it means I cannot admit to my own foals that I..."—my Moon blinked, fidgeting for a moment—" well, technically I am the father in this, aren’t I? This feels a bit strange..."—she shook her head before clearing her throat—" Either way, please think about this, Summer. We can’t make it look like we adopted our own offspring. It would devastate me, and it would no doubt devastate you.”

Right, I thought. I didn't even think about how all of this would make Luna feel. We have to be honest, if not for our foals' sake, then for hers. She deserves to be a parent to her own foals as much as I did with Tia. “I... I'm sorry about being so difficult, Lulu. I want this to be perfect for you. You always wanted...” I mumbled, trailing off. I sighed. “Lulu, what should we do, then? Being honest is too risky and not being honest is as well? Which one is the choice we should go with?”

Liz snorted. “Are you actually that dumb, Sunflower?” he smiled softly, lifting my head by the chin with a teasing glint in his eyes. “It’s obvious, isn't it? Changelings don’t care about incest, there is far too much inbreeding going on in the nobility, and the average pony? They think we’re goddesses, do they not? Let’s just tell them that even goddesses make mistakes every once in a while and that, while this was the result of a bit of carelessness, it makes you happy that it turned out this way. You are allowed to have a family, an ideal this very nation was founded upon.”

“Are you sure this is a good idea, though?” I asked, fidgeting nervously. Sometimes I really hate being this anxious over everything. I've tried, but I simply can't seem to change that about myself. It's a part of myself, whether I wanted it to be or not. It's a product of my own upbringing. Mom's paranoia rubbed off on me. “They will live with a target painted on their backs because of this. Anger and hate can make ponies do incredibly stupid things..."—I grimaced, thinking about what I did to him during our first meeting—" stupid things like what I’ve done to you in my own rage.”

“And I forgave you for that a long time ago,” he told me, capturing my lips with his. I hummed happily, feeling so incredibly safe in Liz’s arms, I never wanted to break this sweet embrace. Luna enveloped us in her wings and it only put me even more at ease. They were here for me and that was all that mattered. “You should start believing in the good of everypony like you used to, Summer. Have you not made a promise to yourself to do just that?”

“I...” I sighed, feeling ashamed. I did say I would try to be a better mare and reconnect to my heart. Here I was, doubting myself and everypony under my care, not trusting anypony aside from my wives and daughters. I was making strides, but evidently enough, I was still struggling with it. “I think you’re right. Our ponies didn’t throw a fuss as we told them of our relationship (at least... not too much), I should trust them to not hold this against us. I just hope they won’t throw all the kindness and patience we have shown them over the years back into our muzzles.”

My sister giggled. “I believe they won’t, Sunny,” Luna hummed. Her voice sounded so melodic to my ears, I could lose myself in it for a few centuries straight. If I could, I would do that. “And is there not a cause for celebration? I think they will be ecstatic to hear about not only one royal foal but two. It has never happened in the history of Equestria, I’m sure that they won’t even care all that much about how they were conceived.”

I couldn't help but smile at the reminder. That was my thought, too, wasn't it? If there's one thing we can always count on our subjects to do, it's throwing parties. “When should we make the announcement, then?” I asked, glancing at Luna out of the corner of my eye as I snuggled myself deeper into Liz’s soft fur. He truly was the perfect mix of adorable and sexy, no matter the form. If I would have been allowed to have sex right now, I would have already started grinding myself against Liz needily. I just wanted to make love with them right now, the desire clearly being mirrored by Luna and Chrysalis as they smiled knowingly at me.

“Whenever you feel like you are ready for it, Sunshine,” Luna told me, shoving me to the side with a smirk before she gave Liz a hungry kiss herself. “Now, you just enjoy the show, alright?”

Fuck. Why must she be so sexy with everything she does? “I feel like you are teasing me,” I pouted, rubbing my hindlegs together as I felt uncomfortably hot in my nethers. I wanted them to sate my need, something they clearly felt ecstatic about, but instead of getting what I so desperately wished for, I got this. A teasing show of my totally hot partners sucking on each other’s tongues as they ran their hooves over the other’s body sensually. "Stupid sexy sister..."

My sister stopped what she was doing with Liz to give me one of 'those' looks. “Oh?” Luna hummed with interest. “You think this is enough to qualify as teasing already?”

“Should we show her what us actually desiring to tease her would look like?” Liz asked, a wicked fanged smile on his muzzle. I let out a whimper as he was consumed in his green fire a moment later, re-emerging with a light orange coat, a dark red burning mane, and golden slit eyes. She let out an exaggerated moan, giving Luna a half-lidded gaze filled with nothing but lust. “Should I act like her, Lulu? Show her what she could never have for herself? Having her alternate side fuck her silly..."—Liz licked her lips and I felt my tummy do an excited flip—" mhhn, it’s one of those guilty pleasures that gets both of you going. Whether Summer would ever admit that, though, is another thing entirely.”

“Oh, fuck, yes~,” Luna nodded, shuddering while letting out a moan herself. My breath, I absentmindedly noticed, came out in short, yet very excited, gasps of air and my heart was doing its best to not jump out of my chest at the scene in front of me. Liz really was a damn succubus, wasn’t she? She acted like she was the most famous porn star of Equestria and it wasn’t only while in the bedroom. She did it everywhere she went, she was a massive flirt to anypony that crossed her path only because she felt like she could.

I mean... she definitely was ‘temptation in pony form’. Lulu and I knew she would never have sex with anypony else but us, but she does take her liberty to flirt with anything that had the capacity to understand what she meant with her innuendos. To be honest, it was funny to watch our ponies react to her behavior. She had a reputation for causing many of those ponies a broken heart because they couldn’t pursue her like that. All those that tried were gently shot down by Liz for obvious reasons. She belonged only to us.

And by the sexy devil that she was, I loved it with every fiber of my being. Even if she and Luna were teasing me to the worst degree right now. Every time I tried to reach out a hoof to my nethers or use my magic to achieve the same effect, one of them disrupted my efforts with their own magic. I was a helpless observer to their little roleplay and it felt like I was about to burst from sexual frustration.

I definitely would fill one of our ‘secret’ memory balls later once I had the chance. The lewd type of memory ball, able to play every little sound back that I could remember. And I made sure to remember every detail of this, no matter how insignificant it may seem at first.

Ahem. I, uh... I suppose I was technically recording porn right now, but who cares? It's porn of my totally hot wives making out right in front of me, one of them in the form of my wet dreams come true. Liz was right, I would never admit I had the hots for my other half to anypony else, but I'm sure nopony could argue against this simple truth: I was friggin’ hot as Fallen Star (in more ways than one, of course).

Naturally, Liz was taking advantage of the situation as much as she could. She showed me little teasing smiles as she and Luna locked their muzzles in a fierce tongue fight, giving me those stares that practically screamed ‘Hey, wanna fuck? I wanna fuck. Let’s fuck until one of us passes out’, and all the while, she used her altered voice to say the lewdest things to Luna, making me so very jealous that they weren’t directed at me.

Then, on top of their damn teasing, I was sure Liz was taunting me. She had Luna nibble on her ears and made it sound like she was orgasming from that alone. They nicked each other with their fangs, not enough to draw blood, but enough to get me whimpering that they were taking things far too slow. I wanted to see them bite each other and moan lovingly into the embrace of the other, offering everything of themselves in the purest show of trust there is.

I liked that the most about our vampire-esque roleplay. Showing my trust and love to them as they showed it to me. Of course, I also quite liked the sensation of them drinking blood from me, the pleasure from the pain only fueling my perverted fantasies more. And how could Liz not take advantage of that? She made me cry rivers of angry tears as they dragged this out for even longer than I had previously assumed their patience could last. It was pure agony having to watch them make a show out of it while I couldn’t even so much as satisfy myself. They always love denying me the simplest of pleasures, don't they?

“Sister~,” Liz moaned lightly, her muzzle directly at Luna’s ear as my sister caressed Chrysalis’ neck with her lips and I saw her hoof wander dangerously close to Liz’s marehood with slow, deliberate movements. I bit my lip, a soft shudder running through my body as Liz called Luna by the very thing that was normally reserved for Luna and myself. I could see Chrysalis edging her snatch eagerly closer to my sister’s hoof, but Luna held her back by her chest, biting her gently.

“Not so eager now, sister,” Luna told her, her voice starting to take on the seductive quality of Nightmare Moon. “Our broodmare hasn’t suffered enough yet, has she? Don’t make me punish you as well, do you understand me?”

“Ngh! Yes~,” Liz nodded softly, giving her a chaste kiss that looked entirely out of place in the current situation. Even something that seemed so innocent at first glance, Chrysalis could make it appear to be the most sensual and perverted thing in the whole world. “Although I don’t think it is I that should be punished. You are mine to toy with, sister~.”

“Is that so?” Luna asked, growling slightly as she pushed Liz onto her back. I had a full view of just how wet my beautiful wife was as her weeping pussy came directly into my field of vision. “Should I remind you of just who the pet is, sister?”

The submissive look on Liz's muzzle suddenly disappeared. “I don’t need a reminder, dear,” she smirked back wickedly, using her magic to switch places with Luna. She peered down at my sister with pure joy in her eyes, trailing a hoof over Luna’s stomach teasingly and I felt even more frustrated that she avoided Lulu’s own drenched entrance entirely. “I know my place quite well, after all. With my cock buried in your throat.”

“I see,” Luna muttered, squirming underneath Liz as both of us watched with anticipation as a green flash went over her form, revealing the proud length of Liz’s member in its full glory. “You would treat me so lowly, your own sister? What a naughty mare you are~.”

“Hah! Who is the naughty one here, though?” Liz asked, wonderingly tapping her chin with a hoof. “Me? Or the one begging me with her eyes to use her as nothing more than a mere object?”

“Fuck~... Liz, I can’t wait, to Tartarus with this charade!” Luna shot back, grabbing her around the neck insistently. “My depths demand to be filled with cock, I need it!”

“Ah, ah, ah!” Liz chided her, pushing Luna away from her with a smile that screamed delighted glee at driving even Luna mad with lust. “You want this piece of meat, don’t you? It’s just too bad you had to ruin all my fun with this little roleplay between us like that. Naughty fillies don’t get what they want.”

“Please,” Luna whimpered, and for once, I felt vindication. She was suffering just as much as I was, she underestimated the temptress that Chrysalis was. Her first mistake was trying to rope Liz into teasing me. Her second was believing she would be exempt from that.

“Begging me already?” Liz hummed, trailing kisses slowly up Luna's hind legs, stopping just at her flanks and avoiding her sanctum completely with a sadistic gleam in her eyes. “Here I thought you were the one with patience in abundance, Lulu. Has that changed?”

“Summer’s whining is driving me crazy and I feel like I’m dying from not having had any action with her since that ritual,” Luna mumbled, giving Liz a sad, pleading expression that did nothing to persuade our wife. “You’re worse than Tia was...”

“Is...” I muttered quietly. She wasn’t dead, and hopefully... never would be. It felt like a stab in my heart to talk about her in the past tense.

Chrysalis huffed. “A changeling can’t have any fun around here anymore, can they?” she asked as she wiped a fake tear away with a sniffle, not at all sad about what she was doing.

“You have plenty of fun torturing ponies with your sinful looks, Cuddlebug,” Luna rolled her eyes, not falling for her theatrics. “Now fuck me right this instant or I swear...”

“Oh? What if I don’t?” Liz grinned and she feigned to go and hop off the bed, only for silvery chains to spring into existence, binding her to the bed loosely. Liz gave them a curious look, tugging at them to test their strength. They did break for a moment before they repaired themselves and her eyes followed them back to the one that brought them into existence.

Nightmare stared back, not amused. “Then we shall show thee thy folly, slave of mine.”

“By the holy Sunbutt,” Liz moaned, receiving a glare from me which she completely ignored, biting her lip as she began squirming on the bed. “Fine. Fuck me, Your Majesty. I am yours to abuse...”

“As thou should be,” Nightmare commented with a deadpan look, licking her lips as she trapped Liz underneath her. “Thy transgressions are... forgiven for the time being.”

I watched with rapt attention as my sister started to grind herself against Liz, the changeling bucking her rear awkwardly to try and bring her member somehow into Nightmare’s marehood despite it being sandwiched between their stomachs. “Dost thou see now? Thy frustration... it mirrors our own or art we mistaken?”

“Come on, Moony,” Liz whined, trying to reach over with her hooves to position my sister so she could start in earnest, only to fail miserably at it. She tried to use her magic next, only to find it blocked by a ring around her horn, and as she looked at me, I stuck my tongue out at her, smiling with pure schadenfreude. She groaned. “For fuck's sake, what did I do to deserve this?”

“Oh, we don't know... thy teasing, perhaps?” Nightmare reminded her as she lightly slapped Liz's muzzle with a hoof, glaring down at her with those icy blue, slit eyes that could send shivers down anypony’s spine. “To have the nerve to displease us... nothing we could think of would serve enough of a punishment to rectify this slight thou hast committed against us. But we forgave thee for that, didst we not?”

Chrysalis nodded, a hopeful glimmer in her eyes. “Yes, now can we please fuck?”

Nightmare hummed thoughtfully, tapping her chin with a hoof. “We do desire thy services...” she agreed without actually making any moves to act on her own cravings. “But what wouldst thou promise us in return for us to comply with thy demands?”

Our wife gaped at her, completely aghast. “Fucking like horny rabbits isn’t enough?” she asked, incredulous. “Lady, what more could you want?!”

Nightmare shrugged, examining her own hoof nonchalantly as if she didn’t know herself. “We could just satisfy ourselves on our own, slave.”

“Oh, come on!” Liz sighed pitifully, trying to convince her by looking especially vulnerable. “I know Luna wanted to..." she pouted. "Why did you have to change?”

Nightmare Moon stopped what she was doing (even the slight grinding movements against Chrysalis) in order to raise a brow at her. “You know why I did this, Cuddlebug, don’t pretend otherwise. You see now what Summer and I mean when we say you are a frustrating pony sometimes?”

“Fine, I’ll try to reign in my urges,” Liz pouted grumpily. “Can we please fuck now?”

“Call us thy mistress and thou shall receive a reward from us, dear slave of mine,” Nightmare nodded and Liz eagerly did what she demanded of her. I felt my face heat up as Nightmare plopped down on Liz’s face, smothering her muzzle with her snatch, and on top of that, she started stroking Liz’s horn as if it was her dick, making it look like she was masturbating.

It was degenerate and I totally loved watching it. My wings were stiffly pressing themselves against the bed as I squirmed around, running my hooves all over myself with little moans leaving my throat. If I couldn’t masturbate because of my wives being jerks to me, then I would take any and all pleasures I could get, as small as they might be.

The wet sounds of Liz eating my sister’s pussy out coupled with their little grunts and moans made this scene almost unforgettable. I could already tell that the memory ball that would hold this particular memory would become one of my very favorites (if not the most favorite one). I just wish I could capture the arousing smell of their need with it as well, but perhaps that would make me a bit too much of a pervert.

Although... I don’t really care if it would be extremely pervy. It would basically be the equivalent of me sniffing their underwear... not that we wear anything like that. Maybe we should change that... Tia would certainly approve, that much I am certain of.

And I definitely know she will approve of our little secret memory ball collection. I can’t wait to show her what has become of Equestria in her absence. I’m sure she will love the Wonderbolts, the advancements in technology, the availability of coffee, the more modern lifestyle our ponies enjoy nowadays, and not to mention that we could finally live our relationship out in the open without fear. She would love everything, and most of all, I’m sure she will love the additions to our family.

Celestia and I weren’t that different in that regard. We both did everything for our family. She will love having another mare just as perverted as she is in our herd and I know she will be over herself with joy once she learns of Cadance. And maybe, in fifty years or so, we might find our little star also returned to us. She must be thirty right now, right? Bar any accidents, it could take a while until she would also reincarnate here.

The thought of having everypony back where they belong excited me immensely. Our family would be bigger than ever and it warmed my heart so very much.

Just as the sight of Nightmare coaxing out orgasm after orgasm out of Chrysalis did, still in the form of my other half. My sister has already caused her to shoot a few loads of cum out of her dick onto herself and Nightmare's backside. The sight alone made my heart beat wildly in arousal. If they kept this up, we would have to burn our bedsheets to hide the evidence afterward, once they were done with their lewd acts.

My sister was relentless as she made Liz cry out for the sixth time from overstimulating her horn. I saw her smirk over at me one last time before standing up from the almost glowing form of the still-disguised changeling, releasing her from her bonds as she did so.

Nightmare purred with delight as she saw the delirious mare breathe heavily, eyes struggling to focus on her magnificent self. “Now, then, my pretty slave...” she began, turning around with purpose. “Service us and if thou dare to perform inadequately at this task, we shall punish thee harshly.”

“As you wish, Mistress~,” Liz hummed, getting up herself. She was eager to comply, I could tell. I would be, too. In other ways than what Nightmare demanded of Chrysalis, but I would definitely jump to the task with an enthusiastic skip in my step. Oh, how I wish they would include me in their fun time.

It really was unfair. This was the first time in way too many centuries that I couldn’t join in with the fun, wasn’t it? Damn this ritual, I was so jealous of them both right now. So very, very jealous. And angry. Angrily jealous. And horny.

“Mmhh, yes~,” Nightmare moaned, leaning into the loving embrace of Chrysalis as she pressed her dick further into the overflowing wetness of her vagina. It was hard to tell just who of them was more satisfied with getting what they wanted since these teasing shenanigans started.

“Oh, damn~,” Liz grunted in a cute way, her muzzle aglow with pure happiness. “I fucking love the feeling of you around my cock so much, Moony.”

Nightmare bit her lip as she gave our wife a smoldering, icy look of desire. “Fuck us, Cuddlebug,” she demanded, breathing heavily as I suspected her own heart was hammering wildly in her own chest as well. “Fuck us hard and swift, now!”

“Yes, Mistress!” Chrysalis smiled, starting to withdraw slowly at first before she rapidly leaned back and started to drive her cock back in just as fast. Both of them moaned, and seeing that they were sufficiently distracted with each other now, I dared to try and reach out a hoof to my own nethers, finding no resistance from their meddling magic (thank the twin suns).

My aching nub thanked me gratefully as I started to rub my hoof over my entrance with zeal. I couldn’t have been happier at that moment, watching my wives go at it like cats in heat while pleasant tingles began to build up throughout my body as I stimulated my heavily aroused and weeping pussy.

I imagined myself in my sister’s place as I summoned a helpful toy over from where I left it, the vibrator doing its work wonderfully as I plunged it in and out of my quivering, wet snatch. I watched every little motion of my wives as they moved back and forth, fucking each other silly with heavy, lewd moans. Mhh, fuck~! I love them so much, I thought as my own mewls joined their lustful song and the overwhelming need to get off had me almost jerking the vibrator in and out erratically (all the while trying not to screw my eyes shut in pleasure in order to not mess up the 'recording' for the memory ball).

If I didn’t know better, Liz was almost moving faster than what was physically possible. It seemed like, once she was almost back out with her dick, she was back inside, fully hilted, seemingly instantaneously. Or perhaps it was just me, unable to concentrate completely on them as I began to shudder more and more the longer the moment kept dragging on. The only thing on my mind was masturbating to my beautiful wives and trying to reach my orgasm as fast as possible.

At least I could still masturbate with the ritual magic keeping my foals alive. It would have seriously sucked hard to go without any sexual relief for months. While I’m older than almost anything alive to this day (bar a few trees, I suppose), that doesn’t mean I would grow tired of sex. Heck, staying youthful for eternity literally made that impossible. Not only because of estrus but also because... well... sex is awesome. Sex was the best activity in the entire world and I don’t care if I sound like some nymphomaniac because of that. Sex is scientifically proven to be healthy.

...so what if I am a bit of a nymphomaniac? It’s nothing to be ashamed of. I am not as bad as Liz is with it. Sex feels good, whether it was with a partner or with a damn vibrator that could never satisfy my damn need to feel loved. I would have been fine with sticking with oral... but no! Luna was a friggin’ pansy, not wanting to risk anything by becoming too frisky with me.

She was probably wise to be so cautious. I would do something stupid, knowing myself. You know, like getting pregnant while pregnant.

It took me more than ten minutes or so of recklessly abusing my little toy before I was finally rewarded with my highly desired orgasm, shaking from quivering muscles as I finally felt like I worked out a bit of frustration from the past months or so.

I continued lazily watching Liz and Nightmare go at it like they would die if they slowed down just a tiny bit, feeling warm and cozy all over. Sex really was great... even if one could suddenly and unexpectedly get pregnant while overly drunk. Eh heh heh...

But that turned out to be a good thing in the end. I was going to be a mother and nothing would take that away from me. Not the universe, not the risk of magic surges, and most certainly not Platinum.

I would have to keep my foals safe from that witch. Somehow. Just one more thing to worry about...

Hopefully keeping them from the battle far away would ensure nothing happened to them. They would barely be twenty by the time she returns, wouldn’t they? I could try to teach them like Cadance, but... if they are mortals...

What do I do then? They would never stand a chance, trying to defend themselves from a higher being that had full access to their (stolen) domain.

...then again, I knew who would stand a chance. Cadance would be their shield. She would keep them from harm while we deal with that monster.

If not... I would sacrifice myself for them, and I would not hesitate to do so. Not for one second. I couldn’t lose my foals because I was too weak to protect them.

I swear on my life, on my divinity... I will keep them safe. I have to.

Author's Notes:

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Chapter 023 - His name is September.

“We are... aware... that we have broken our own laws,” I sighed, sitting in the chair next to Luna, rubbing my stomach slowly and lovingly. “But... I don’t regret that it happened. I regret the circumstances which led to my pregnancy, but not the outcome. We are taking heavy precautions to ensure the health of the foals, and anypony accusing us of being bad parents can do so if they truly wish to fault us for one little moment where we let our guard down. I suppose it was due to happen eventually after staying so vigilant for more than a thousand years...”

Another flash of a camera interrupted me for a moment and the journalist looked sheepish enough as we gave him a glance. After the initial flood of camera flashes was over, we started with the press conference. It had become increasingly harder to hide the bump as time went on and hiding in our chambers felt wrong. I couldn’t pretend to be sick for a year straight, as much as I would have liked to try that.

“Have the rumors been true that you have been drinking blood?” one of the reporters asked and I bit my lip. Of course, nothing truly ever stayed a secret for long in the castle. Aside from our relationship, apparently. Which was, now that I think about it, probably never truly a secret.

We liked to pretend that our ponies didn’t know and I was proven pleasantly wrong that they would fault us for loving each other. It seemed most ponies understood that being lonely for a thousand years would have left us as wrecks. More than wrecks, to be honest.

Nopony could live this long and not crave the loving touch of somepony dear to their heart. I had no idea how Celestia did it in her Equestria, honestly. Maybe she had a few flings with her guards, who knows? I wouldn’t even fault her for trying. As foolish as it would be to try and date a mortal, I... I could see myself getting that desperate if I had never known love before.

And I would try again and again, always finding my loved ones vanishing around me before long. I know she must do something in order to try and fill that ache in her heart, it was a miracle she was still sane after such a long time. Well... sane enough to function decently, I suppose. She had her... 'quirks'... as did we. Some of them weren’t entirely healthy while some were downright bad, even. One of which was plain wrong, there was no kinder way to phrase it.

I guess her habit of shutting off her emotions to think rationally in her own court (or anytime when she felt like not dealing with them, for that matter) was rubbing me the wrong way the most. I heavily relied on my emotions to guide me (even as Fallen Star), so the thought of not being able to feel them honestly terrified me. I had no idea how she could do that to herself. Loneliness was perhaps the only possible answer I had for that and it only furthered my resolve to have her open herself up to those around her more. Cadance, primarily. She needed her just as much as Cadance did her, I was certain of that.

But the conundrum that was our sister from another world was perhaps best left for a different time to solve, I still had other things to worry about. Chief among them this little interview session, which was going surprisingly smoothly so far. Aside from the awkward question of whether or not I was partaking in my sister's blood.

“I...” I hesitated, looking to Luna for help.

How do you admit that you’re practically a vampire for all intents and purposes? Thestrals kept mostly to themselves and I know for certain there are absurd rumors floating around about them (not that there aren’t idiotic ‘myths’ about the other tribes... there are just not as many of those as there are for thestrals). Luna and I had a soft spot for their particular tribe (not enough to play favorites, but... we do kinda, maybe, perhaps play favorites and go out of our way to help them with anything they bring to our attention most of the time).

What? I don’t care if it is favoritism! Thestrals are scientifically proven to be the cutest pony tribe there is (and that's a fact!). If it is cute, it’s not favoritism, it is as simple as that. Just... look at those cute ear tufts, the pearly white fangs poking out of their muzzle in the most adorable way there is, the membranous wings that were perfect for hugging, and the lovable, yet captivating, gorgeous slitted eyes that just made you want to cuddle them all day long...

Ahem! I, uh... moving on! My wife smiled gently, squeezing my hoof in reassurance. I could see one of her fangs poke out from her muzzle, and judging by the frantic camera flashes, the journalists saw it, too. “Yes, Summer has been drinking blood to supplement her diet. It is the only thing that she can do to keep what she eats reliably down without throwing it back up immediately.”

“Why is that?” Diligent Note, the same stallion from before, asked, his insisting inquiry sounding a bit insensitive if I didn’t know better. I knew the stallion, I invited him personally, after all. If there was just one reporter here today that would ensure that the news reached every part of Equestria without making it sound like we committed the most heinous crime in the history of heinous crimes, he was the one.

His way of writing, selling the news to the average pony... he was almost empathic, wording his texts in just the right way to gain the sympathy of even the most cold-hearted of ponies. He wasn’t the typical ‘keep everything purely to the facts and nothing more’ type of pony. Diligent Note tries to help ponies wherever he could because he simply wanted to help them.

I know it was kinda manipulative of me to invite him here solely because of that kind heart of his. He reminded me a lot of myself, and if there was just one pony in this whole nation that I could trust to get this news out without causing a massive uproar, I know he would accomplish that.

“As you know, an alicorn is a perfect hybrid of pegasus pony, unicorn pony, and earthpony,” Luna began, smiling slightly as most of the gathered ponies paid her their undivided attention, writing down everything she said. “‘Perfect hybrid’ meaning that we represent everything of the different pony tribes without suffering any kind of detrimental effects. Although, what not everypony knows, those three aren’t the 'only' tribes an alicorn represents.”

“Are you saying you are also part thestral?” a different reporter inquired, looking up from his notepad with fascination. He himself was a thestral, so it didn’t surprise me that he was so in awe of this news.

We usually don’t talk about this very openly and most ponies simply don’t ask about the specific tribes we represent. Everypony just assumes that we, as alicorns, represent the three core tribes of Equestria’s founding since nopony has ever seen one of us with fangs before this day, explaining the mad rush to get pictures of Luna as she showed hers. Even when we (very rarely) showed ourselves as Nightmare Moon and Fallen Star, we didn't make it a habit to show our teeth. Chrysalis was kinda an exception to this because she always kept her fangs and slit eyes in each disguise she wears, but everypony knows that she is a changeling, so nopony made the connection to a thestral tribe with her.

Now that I think about it, if Chrysalis is kinda-ish an alicorn, shouldn’t Luna and I also be part-changeling? Then again, I don’t know how that would exactly work. I mean... our ability to change between our different forms did come kinda close to the natural ability of changelings (Luna and I still don’t know how to access our ‘elemental’ form... which was probably for the best, considering I’m pretty sure I would go on a destructive rampage as my gooey magma self before too long in that state).

“We don’t make it a habit of drinking blood,” I said, keeping my voice steady as I felt like I was starting to get a mood swing. It wouldn’t do to let my emotions make a fool out of myself, so I tried to rein them in to the best of my abilities. “But yes, we are among other tribes, also thestral in nature. I know, I know. I’m the bringer of the Red Sun, it’s quite silly, isn’t it?”

The stallion did smile to himself a bit, amused that the very symbol of a ‘daypony’, as Nightmare likes to say so much, is also in part thestral. “Can we assume then, that the royal heirs will be thestrals? Because of your cravings?”

“Yes, they will,” I nodded, smiling again as I felt a kick on my left side. It took me some time to get used to it, feeling them practically punch me in the bladder every morning or so, but now... I feel like I would miss it once I give birth in two months or so. Despite that, I'd rather keep it to this one pregnancy. The joy of carrying life was not worth the constant mood swings and panic attacks. Nor do I feel comfortable about the 'broodmare' fetish my sister has as Nightmare Moon... even though it is kinda sexy how much she worships me and my pregnant belly. Speaking of which, my sister was still high on pride for having impregnated me with twins. Twins that are a bit... unusual. “The ultrasound was certainly... surprising.”

“How so?” one reporter asked, sitting quietly by herself. If I wasn’t mistaken, the young mare worked for a student newspaper somewhere in Manehattan. It was quite cute, seeing her blush as some of the other ponies in the room glanced at her, with our attention on her as well.

“If I may?” Professor Doctor Cold Hooves asked us, speaking up for the first time since he sat down at the table with us, waiting silently and patiently (or rather, stoically) as the reporters gave him curious glances every once in a while. I gave him a nod and had to think back to the first ultrasound where we could make out more than a ‘blob that would become a pony at some point’ (those weren’t my words, I swear). “Numerous test results have indicated a strong magical presence in the royal heirs, suggesting a close connection to the arcane. I assure you, the foals are fine. Her Highness has taken on the burden of shouldering their magic build-up. Due to that, she has been experiencing powerful surges the further along the pregnancy has progressed, causing her to accidentally burn things she has touched or surprisingly freeze them.”

“Freezing them? One of them will have an ice affinity?” Diligent Note said, raising an intrigued brow.

“Uh, yes...” Professor Cold Hooves nodded after he realized the question was indeed a question and not just a surprised statement. “It could very well be that both foals will share the same affinities. We can’t exactly tell if they will be identical twins or not, after all.”

“Aren’t fire and ice affinities mutually exclusive?” one stallion asked, getting Professor Cold Hooves to scoff at him. I would have berated him, but I fear it would have been a lost cause with him. He had a headstrong will regarding matters of science and magic, something that made him an exceptional researcher if anything (he could work on his bedside manners, though).

“The affinity for ice and fire are both categorized under the discipline of heat-based magic,” Professor Doctor Cold Hooves explained, sounding like he was talking to an idiot. Sometimes I felt like he needed to be taught empathy, as understanding and tolerant of ideas as the stallion could be. “One does not make the other mutually exclusive. It would literally go against what we know of thermodynamics, after all. Having an affinity for a certain type of magic merely makes the use of said magic easier for a pony. Much like a Cutie Mark grants ponies an easier understanding of magic based on their talent, affinities help in learning and casting magic based on their attribute.”

“Right...” the reporter said doubtfully before he turned his attention back to my sister and me, ignoring the affronted look of indignant rage from our doctor. For all the magic and wonders our ponies are capable of, some don't care to learn more about it. “What made the ultrasound so surprising, then?”

“They appear to be regular unicorns,” Luna answered, rolling her eyes at our doctor, who was quietly fuming to himself that he was being ignored by the ignorant stallion.

“Shouldn’t they be alicorns?” an elderly stallion shouted over the others as a veritable frenzy of questions broke out as Luna gave them that particularly juicy bit of information.

Yes... my foals were mortals. It did break my heart at first, but I have long since come to terms with that revelation. I would find a way to force their ascension if I have to. For now, I was just happy that they would see the light of day once I was due to give birth. Without Celestia casting the ritual every few months, I wouldn’t even have that much, I’m certain.

Our sorta-ish sister and best friend was doing her best to assist us with anything she could. I’m sure she was very excited to become an aunt to my foals, she practically couldn’t stop talking about how cute they were going to be. While the mirror had been acting up again for the past few weeks, the connection was still quite stable enough that she could visit regularly.

I have no idea what Starswirl did to that mirror, but that thing has a foul attitude most of the time. He probably thought a sapient mirror would make for a great guardian for the bridge between universes, and without a doubt, he quickly found out that it was more trouble than it was worth it. Sadly, we couldn’t undo the enchantment that created that blasted thing without risking severing the connection to Celestia’s world completely.

It's no wonder why I preferred the prototype mirror over the other mirrors Starswirl created. Most of them had some stupid enchantment on them to make them ‘safer’ after what happened with the dark shadow-like creatures abducting us for their nefarious purposes.

It’s a good thing Starswirl dealt with that crisis. Thankfully, the mirror connecting their world to ours was shattered into hundreds of pieces. I’d rather not find out what happened to that world in all this time since then.

“The nature of alicorns is a bit more complicated than that,” Luna sighed, breaking the storm of questions the news reporters threw at us while also bringing me out of my musings. I have been stuck in my head these past few months quite often, mostly because Luna told me to take it easy. I wasn’t even allowed to do paperwork because she feared I would be too stressed out doing that.

To be honest, I was glad I was ‘allowed’ to attend this meeting with her, I've been bored out of my mind ever since she started worrying so much over me. Which was kind of off-putting, to say the least. My sister was the calm and composed one of us (when she wasn't having 'fun', that is), so seeing her act like I do when I was having... difficulties keeping myself from panicking... it made me realize how stupid I was being, most of the time. Ah, well! It's never too late to learn from your mistakes and keep repeating them! Eh heh heh...

Anyway, my sister waited for a moment as her statement caused another barrage of questions from the reporters. I could only guess what kind of newspaper article would make the rounds after this. Equestria was in for a shock, wasn't it? “Naturally born alicorns don’t just happen, even between two alicorns... mating.”

“How does it happen, then?” a unicorn asked and I could tell that she was actually a noble poorly disguised as a journalist. Typical. It wasn’t like we made this conference press exclusive, so it was rather silly of her to appear here like this.

“You will have to forgive us for not answering that question,” Luna answered, deflecting her curiosity with a stern look. “The nature of alicorns is far too complex to adequately answer in terms your minds could comprehend.”

Really, Lulu? Insulting the intelligence of our ponies, as deserving as this particular mare was... that wasn’t called for. “What my sister means by that, is that we don’t know how and why a pony is born an alicorn. Something that hasn’t happened since before the founding of Equestria.”

Luna gave me a look and I gave her a subtle shrug. A lie was a better solution than insulting their intelligence, in my opinion. Besides... it wasn’t entirely a lie. We didn’t know more than what Hope told us and our own conjectures. The simple fact remained that alicorns are made. Whether through the Trial of Ascension or through rebirth, and both of those we didn’t want the nobles to be aware of for obvious reasons.

As much as they help us keep this nation running smoothly, they are still trying to gain more power and wealth than they already have. While most of their ambitions have degenerated to becoming more popular with their peers (or rather, more popular than their peers, I should say), they do still try to ‘move up’ and set themselves apart from others so they could say they were ‘more important’ than the ‘lowly’ commoners.

I still fail to see what they think that would gain them. By becoming an alicorn, they would have far more work and responsibilities than they are comfortable with. Not that I am saying they are all lazy, I’m just saying it was one thing to help rule the nation and another to actually rule it.

Most would complain about the workload Luna, Liz, and I have to deal with on a daily basis. I actually like doing it, but even I get tired of it sometimes. Considering how long I've been doing this already, it’s no wonder that I’m bored out of my mind when I have absolutely nothing to do.

Besides vomiting every other day or so. My nausea never really got better and the ritual Professor Cold Hooves created could only help so much, after all. Sometimes it feels like my foals are extremely picky with what they want, even changing their minds an hour or so after I was done with my meal. Sometimes I think they don’t like solids at all even if I eat them with a little bit of blood mixed in.

If they are like that while growing up... I definitely won’t have another foal with Luna ever again. She can have the next ones if she really wants to have more, I won’t go through that again. I am certain they got this picky eating behavior from her, considering what she sometimes shoves down her throat.

I could understand eating cheese with everything, even with some of the oddest combinations there are out there, but I draw the line at eating pickles with peanut butter. And I know that the peel of a banana is actually edible, but does she have to eat them in one piece? Without, you know... cooking them or putting them in the blender first?

My sister is weird. But I love her, despite or even because of her weird habits. Still weird, though.

The conference took an hour or so after we were through with the initial announcement that I was pregnant with Luna’s foals, and once we had answered most of those questions concerning my pregnancy and how this would affect the law of regulating incest in a safe way, Luna and I were on our way to our chambers so I could ‘rest up’ as my sister insisted I do.

We did make it very clear that such situations would be taken quite seriously, as we were doing with our own ‘sort of’ mistake. We had a way to help those that needed it, thanks to Celestia and our friends over on Remnant, but that didn’t mean those ponies wouldn’t face severe consequences for their own mistakes. I won’t tolerate anypony doing this on purpose, that's the one thing I absolutely won’t budge on. Those that did it by accident, like Lulu and I did... those I would gladly help out as long as it stays to one time. Repeat ‘accidents’ like that, I couldn’t in good conscience be lenient about. I was already showing them far more kindness and generosity than what was appropriate for such things, abusing my forgiving nature will earn my ire.

Even I am not exempt from punishment. Not completely, that is. Considering that we’re the princesses, Chrysalis was the only one ‘innocent’ enough who could give us our punishment while actually having the authority to do so. Well, actually, she, Cadance, and the Council that makes these decisions in the unlikely case that all of us were missing for some reason had the power to sentence us for crimes committed against the Equestrian law.

Since Chrysalis could be really sadistic with her punishments, she was the one that came up with Luna’s and my punishment for breaking our own rules.

We would basically be reduced to her ‘maids’ for one year of her own choosing. I just know she will choose the most inconvenient year for us where we will have to do her bidding, no questions asked. In public. In maid dresses. Sexy, downright lewd, maid outfits, at that.

I’m going to die of embarrassment, aren’t I?

The worst thing about this punishment (aside from the obvious) was the uncertainty about when it would start. Liz had a strange sense of knowing when the most eyes are going to be on her and I was almost certain she could do so for Luna and me as well. The perverted exhibitionist in her would make sure that everypony in Equestria would see us like that, I was convinced of that.

She would love it, too. She would love nothing more than to treat us like we were her servants and she would abuse it to the utmost. She would make us do all kinds of things to satisfy her perverted fantasies and we would have to obey her.

She would make me suck her changeling penis while on my front knees, plot in the air with my glistening vagina in full view for the castle staff to see. She would make sure to tie up my tail so it couldn't get in the way as she makes Luna eat me out next. T-then she would tell me to t-turn a-around and...

My thoughts derailed as Luna and I rounded the corner into the hallway that connected this one to the one leading to our chambers, seeing a strange stallion standing in the middle of it, looking out of the window into the distance.

I... I knew that stallion. Not personally, but from seeing him multiple times already. And he looked exactly the same as the last time (and the time before that... or the time before that). One particular memory stood out to me, though.

The stallion in the suit, wearing a fedora, had been at the funeral for Amore. More than a thousand years ago, I saw this exact stallion in the crowd of mourning ponies, watching the proceedings impassively. I remember him at Luna’s, Celestia’s, and my coronation. I remember him being there only because we put that memory in one of the memory balls in our collection.

He was there at the coronation for my daughter, wasn’t he? The stallion with the fedora simply stood somewhere where he wouldn’t immediately be noticed if you weren't looking for them, in the first place. The only thing he ever did, I noticed, was to observe what happened as if it fascinated him.

Whoever this stallion was... or even 'what' he was... I couldn’t tell. He was a mystery, not dying at the hooves of old age. And I knew he was mortal, he did not feel like a higher being to me, like a deity or immortal would. If that were to be the case, I would have assumed that he would have sought us out a long time ago instead of appearing at seemingly random events in Equestrian history. He was something entirely different, I could tell.

“Who are you?” Luna asked, cautiously putting herself in between myself and the stallion. She extended her wings threateningly as she glared at them. “You have no authorization to be here.”

“I...” the stallion began, talking ‘weirdly’ in a sense. Something about it felt like he was calculating his words as if a conversation was an equation to be solved. “...require aid.”

“You... require aid?” I asked, carefully walking closer to him, despite Luna’s warning look. He didn’t feel like he intended to harm us. “What do you mean? With what?”

“I need to hide someone,” he told me, giving me a look as he tilted his head sideways. I could tell he was attempting to read my mind and immediately went on guard. “You look... troubled… afraid. Your concern is misplaced. I’m not doing this to hurt them. Family matters to you. You are protective. You would sacrifice yourself for them if it meant they lived. I require that.”

“Who are you? I won’t ask again,” Luna warned the intruder while her glare turned a lot harsher. I was mildly surprised he would say it like that. Whatever he did to 'read' me, he didn’t do it with magic. Despite his appearance as an earthpony, he didn’t feel like one of my ponies. Or like a pony, at all. He lacked the touch of magic entirely. This stallion, from wherever he was... he was not from here. As in... not from Equestria. Possibly even Equis.

This stallion behaved like he was out of this time, his behavior felt completely unfamiliar to me, as if he was from a distant future (as unlikely as that might seem, the likelihood of time travel could not be discarded because I knew quite well that it was possible). Or... he could be from somewhere else entirely. He felt... otherworldly to me. That would be the best word to describe him, I thought as I looked him over more thoroughly.

My first instinctive thought as I regarded him standing there before us with seemingly no concern about who we were, was that he was not from our universe. Normally, I would dismiss that thought as unlikely, we would have noticed an intrusion in the vault containing the mirror portals, but... it was the only thing that made sense to me. He was either not from our universe or from the future. His attire couldn’t possibly add up with what little we knew of him. He had to have gotten the suit and fedora from the recent decades, they hadn’t existed as my sisters and I had been crowned, after all.

The stallion tilted his head at us again, a calculating look in his eyes that seemed unfocused. “You can call me September,” he answered, giving us a name that felt more like an alias than his birth name. “I feel that you are important. Why?”

“Important?” I raised my brow, glancing at Luna. That certainly was... surprising. Extremely so. “You do not know who we are?”

“No,” September said, his eyes wandering from me to Luna and back again. “This is the first meeting I have with you. From your behavior and your thoughts, I can tell we have met before.” The way he said that belied a certain sense of concern despite how emotionless he behaved. "Have we interacted with each other?"

“Not... exactly,” I mumbled, confused. Time travel made more and more sense with this stallion. But so did the explanation that he came from an alternate universe. He would have known us if time travel was involved, after all. Or… he was from a different universe and could travel through time. Otherwise, the conversation we were having now wouldn't make sense, either. “We have noticed you at several points in history, always looking the same as if you didn’t age at all.”

“Sister,” Luna hissed and I gave her a questioning look. “We should have him detained and questioned. He obviously bypassed every guard on the way here, he is a risk to our... your... security. We shouldn’t be the ones answering his questions, he is the intruder here!”

“I feel like we should trust him, though,” I whispered back, despite feeling a little uneasy about the stare that he gave us. It felt like we were a primitive species in his eyes (though not in a malicious way on his part). “He could have done anything to us using time travel alone, and yet, here he is, showing no concern for his own safety while completely at our mercy.”

“You are pregnant,” the stallion calling himself September mused, drawing our attention back to him. My sister frowned at his statement, likely getting suspicious again. “It feels... important... that you are. Why?”

“What is it that you mean with ‘important’? If you don't know us, how can you tell that our foals will be as important as we are?” Luna asked.

“You live here,” September reasoned. “A castle, a palace of opulence. It is not defended well, meaning this is a peaceful time. You wear jewelry made to denote your rank. You are this land's rulers, are you not? Your familiarity with this task suggests you have done so for a long time. Something that belies your physical appearance, you talk as if you have been a part of history for a long time.”

“And..?” I asked, shifting from hoof to hoof. “You don’t appear surprised about that. No, you seem rather... intrigued that we saw you a long time ago.”

“My kind... experiences reality in a different way to yours,” September replied, tilting his head. “We... exist in a way that time affects us differently. The purpose of my group was to observe and ensure the timeline unfolded like we needed it to, to make way for our kind. I abandoned that cause, a new way has been found. A better way. I defected to ensure the survival of... my son. I refused to erase another from time after I saved him from certain death. He helped save my son’s life, I am in debt to him.”

“Who did you save?” I asked, curious.

September stared at me, never once blinking his eyes. “The boy that lived to be a man,” he answered. “His name was Peter Bishop. He was meant to die in the original timeline. I changed his fate through an accident.”

“You helped him by accident?” I repeated after him, my brow raised in surprise. Not only because of the name he gave us, a name that was most certainly from another reality (probably Earth even) but also because of the statement that it was an accident saving somepony. How exactly do you save somepony’s life by accident?

“No,” September retorted. “He was going to die and his father would have found the cure but was distracted by me. I corrected my mistake by helping another version of his father so he could cure him. To do so, Peter Bishop’s father created a door to cross universes, inadvertently ripping holes into both. They found a solution to their problem, and once the time came for him to go, Peter’s last act healed their universes from the damage caused by the initial rift in the fabric of space and time."

That sounds like a tall tale, but I wasn't one to talk. I'm a magical pony with the ability to move the heavens and I've ruled over my nation for over a thousand years. If I were to tell anypony on Earth this, they would think I'm writing a children's book based on a cartoon with tiny horses. If I hadn't had the ability to prove my claims, nopony on Remnant would have believed me (aside from Ruby and her family, I suppose).

September continued with his story, explaining why he defected and saved this 'Peter'. “He was meant to be erased from time after having fulfilled his purpose. I did not follow my orders to erase him, though. His return was something that was not supposed to happen. I allowed it to occur so he could live and serve a greater purpose once more. Now, due to that choice, I am cut off from returning to Earth by my peers because I got involved in something that I shouldn’t have.”

“I’m… sorry to hear that,” I said, slowly. He regarded me for a moment, his unblinking eyes staring into my soul while he tilted his head again. It seemed to me like the action of tilting his head was something that he did quite a lot.

“Your concern is not needed,” September replied, matter-of-factly. It wasn’t like he intended to be rude, though. He was merely stating a fact if my guess was correct. “I have sent a beacon to Earth to allow for my return, Peter Bishop should find it shortly. In the meantime, I need to find a place to hide my son because of the choices I have made and what he might represent to my kind.”

Luna hummed. “You said he saved your son?” she asked him. She was still on her guard around the peculiar stallion, but not to the degree that she would have him detained immediately. “Why would you need to hide your son, then? If you could return to Earth, wouldn’t this Peter Bishop be able to help you?”

“My son is an anomaly,” September explained, a strangely sad look in his eyes. It wasn’t exactly sadness, though. More thoughtful, perhaps. It was hard to tell with his emotionless visage. “He feels emotions like you, something that my kind is not supposed to feel. He is an empath with the heightened intellect of my kind. He could be the future for humanity but only if he lives. Hiding him with the Fringe Division, with Peter Bishop... it would not work for long enough. I need to hide him somewhere where he would be safe and could be retrieved at a later time, preferably by those that seek to keep humanity from harm... in case I won’t be able to bring him back.”

“What do you mean by that?” I whispered, feeling so very confused and sad for this 'stallion'. It sounded like his son’s existence could change the very future of humanity. It didn’t surprise me that my hunch was correct that he wasn’t from Equestria, he did behave so unlike a pony that it was the obvious answer. The longer we held this conversation, though, the more questions I had. Though I doubt I would get answers to all of them.

“They might remove the technology that makes me able to exist the way I do,” September said, his voice never showing any emotion. I suppose his way of talking made more sense now, after everything that he had told us. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what it must be like to feel absolutely no emotions at all. It hit a bit too close to home, considering how my sister from another world preferred to fight. “If that happens, I will be an ordinary human... or pony if they were to find me here. It should be safe here, this world has no ties to Earth.”

“I’m sorry to say this, but this world has a link back to Earth,” Luna said, fidgeting with a grimace on her muzzle.

September didn't blink, but for some reason, I got the impression he just did. “It does?”

“We are that link, September,” I told him with hesitation. “We were reborn here. A long time ago, somepony cast a spell to summon us here from Earth and later did so again to ensure our daughters would be returned to us.”

“Are they here?” September asked, tilting his head. “What were their names?”

“One of them is,” I nodded, biting my lip. He felt trustworthy, despite my usual paranoia. Strangely enough, I felt like he was not an enemy and that I could trust him with my life and that of my family. “Her name was Rose Baker and her sister’s name is Tabetha.”

“Tabetha Baker. She is a scientist and researcher at Harvard University, is she not?” September inquired and I nodded hesitantly, uncertain whether we were talking about my daughter exactly or someone with the same name. “I see. She is a consultant for the Fringe Division of the FBI, famous for discovering the existence of the soul through scientific means. Her death occurred during a failed experiment, causing the death of her uncle and his clone as well.”

“She... died?” I asked, my heart skipping a beat as my legs wobbled while my mind narrowed down on that part. She died. My little Star died. Oh, Tabetha... “When? How..?”

“I do not know how,” September said, tilting his head. “It happened a few months ago, I would have to observe that specific moment to know more.”

A hopeful flutter raced through me like a wave. “Could you?” I asked, almost pleading with him. “Please. We would gladly help you with your plight if you could do this for us.”

September inclined his head. “I will do what I can once I am able to return,” he agreed and I let out a relieved breath of air. “You said I observed your historic moments in the past. What events were those?”

“You did,” Luna said. “Things like our coronation a thousand years ago. There were other times as well. For example, the funeral of a dear friend of ours. And...”—she furrowed her brows—” now that I think about it, another friend told us of a stranger with odd clothing. That was you as well, wasn’t it?”

September seemed to frown. If he was more expressive, I'm sure he would have shrugged. “This is my first visit,” he said as a reminder. “The events you speak of have yet to happen to me. This friend of yours I observed... was he important?”

“You could say that,” I sighed, feeling a deep sadness in my heart. I miss Clover... “He was like a brother to us. With his last breath, he gave us a prophecy that he made through the use of a spell.”

“A spell that must have come from you,” Luna snorted, giving September a glare. “It caused us a lot of grief. Our sister is lost to us... because... of... you.”

This time, September almost took a step back from my sister. “I have not done this yet,” he began and I perked up. I've just had a stroke of genius as he told us that. If he has yet to go back... he could tell Clover not to make that prophecy. It would change everything, wouldn’t it? “I cannot do that.”

My heart stopped. “...what?”

“What you were about to ask of me,” September clarified. “I cannot do that. It has already happened.”

“But... you can travel through time, can you not?!” I cried out, a flare of rage burning hotly in my chest. Heat shimmered around me as I lost control over my magic for a moment. “You could change everything!”

“No,” he shook his head. “It would create a paradox within a paradox.”

“But...”

“You telling me that I gave him the spell to create the prophecy means I already did that. This event happened in your own personal past, changing it would affect it in ways I could not predict,” September explained and it felt like he slapped me directly in the face. It was our fault... Tia was on the moon because of us... “When you told me what I did, it created what is called a bootstrap paradox. Not going back would create another paradox, endangering the timeline. You would willingly change an event so far back into your own past, it would put a strain on the fabric of space-time far beyond what even I could calculate. The outcome would be catastrophic.”

My sister's rump suddenly hit the floor. If I wasn't heavily pregnant right now, I'm sure my own legs would have given out under me. “He... he is right, Summer,” Luna whispered, horrified. “If he does that, we wouldn’t be able to tell him to do that. It would create a paradox within a paradox, which in turn would create a feedback loop, slowly unraveling reality in its entirety. It’s unlikely the universe could recover from such a shock. We would essentially cease to exist.”

“But... wouldn’t that mean there never was a need to tell him to go back?” I asked, desperately hoping there was a way to make it work. “We could be together with Tia!”

My sister put a hoof on my chest, stopping me from going into hysterics. She smiled before moving it over to my cheek, cupping it softly as she guided my head over to hers and she pressed her forehead against mine. “Dear, we are going to be together with her again soon enough, you will see,” Luna consoled me. Her wings enveloped me in a soft hug and I let out a sigh. “We endured these past thousand years, did we not? The wait is almost over, have a bit more patience.”

September decided to ruin the moment just as I managed to calm down enough and get a grip on my volatile emotions and magic. “The version of you here now would cease to exist, should I not go back,” he told us and I felt my eyelid twitch. Has he no concept of waiting for his turn?! “It would create a new timeline, a broken one. The universe would start to break apart because such an integral point in time was altered. Like it did on Earth before everything was corrected.”

“Integral point in time?!” I snorted angrily. “This is my twin we are talking about! She didn’t deserve this fate!”

Luna gave me a nuzzle, her own eyes were filled with grief as they found mine and I deflated, the rage leaving me. Only sorrow was left in me. Sorrow and helplessness. A realization came to me then and there. It would mean giving up everything in order to have a few years with Tia where she wouldn’t have been banished. I wouldn't even have my foals because I was so foolish to alter what was essentially a fixed point in time.

The universe would cease to exist only because I wanted to have something right now instead of being patient. It wasn’t even a guarantee that Platinum wouldn’t enact her plan in some other way. For all we know, it was always meant to happen.

That's such a somber thought, isn’t it? Perhaps it would have been Tia, perhaps it would have been me or my beautiful Moon... or it could have been a combination of any one of us, who knows? It could have very well ended up even worse than it did for all we know. One of us might have even died. One way or another, the universe would have given us the harsh lesson of what happens when you ignore a prophecy, anyway. Doing that never worked. There was no preventing them.

Numerous other alternate realities were proof of that. Most often than not, one of us was lost on the moon for a thousand years. It's no wonder why we avoid traveling to parallel universes so much if at all possible. Celestia’s Equestria was the only one we had regular contact with (and Remnant now, as well). Meeting her... it was the first time we found out that our own fate was ‘etched in stone’ like that and it made us connect with our ‘adopted sister’ and best friend.

It was a rare thing to come across a parallel world where none of us had been banished to the moon (or one of the suns, I suppose... it wouldn’t kill us, but it would definitely be uncomfortable while unable to breathe). That didn’t mean that everything was sunshine and rainbows, though.

No... those worlds were always worse than the ones where one of us got banished. Never have we come across an alternate version of our world where 'everything' was perfect, something that I had lost all hope of ever seeing. Among those, we had seen a world where Luna, Tia, and I went separate ways after a fight, a post-apocalyptic world, a world drowning in darkness, a world where we had been slain by the very ponies we sought to protect... there were many examples of the universe showing us that things could have indeed been far worse than what they were like in our own world.

To be honest, we almost had it good with what happened to us. I could never imagine myself turning evil because I gave in to my own selfishness and greed. Just like I could never imagine myself breaking up with my wives over some stupid fight. At least Platinum was something we could fix. While we have yet to find all the puzzle pieces to our plan so we could defeat her once and for all, we have hope. Hope that we can return everything to how it should be.

We can find our happily ever after, something I can’t say about a majority of the alternate versions of ourselves we had the misfortune to ‘meet’. Or not meet, as the case may be for a few of them.

It still horrified me that there are worlds where our ponies are cruelly oppressed, or as I had seen once, were capable of... ahem, disposing of our counterparts. Weapons that could do that... they had to have been blessed by a higher being. It made me feel so outraged that they would turn on those that swore to protect them. I didn’t know all of the facts, clearly, but... I probably didn’t need to, seeing that the nobles happily took charge of that particular Equestria.

I shook the thought out of my head, doing my best to forget those memories outright. I doubt I would ever get rid of them entirely. I’m sure I would be painfully reminded of them again in a few decades or so. Knowing myself, I'm going to remember this once I’m about to face off against Platinum, won’t I? Short of removing these memories through magic, nothing was going to work in the ‘permanent’ fashion.

“September is gone,” Luna said, rubbing my back with a hoof soothingly as I gave the spot where he previously was a confused glance. “He simply... faded out of existence. Not through the use of magic, though, I can tell. There are still a great many questions I would have liked to get an answer for, but that will have to wait for now.”

Right... like the fact he came from our previous world and knew Tabetha. Not personally, mind you, but still. It was hard to believe what he told us about... my poor Star. On one hoof, it meant she must have been born in Equestria not too long ago, but on the other hoof... I didn't want to find out the how and why.

She couldn't have been very old when she did. The only one in our family that hasn't died prematurely were my brother and our parents. I don't even remember their faces...

Maybe September could bring back some of our old things, a photograph or two. It would at least give me something to remember them by. And maybe it would help me explain to whoever Tabetha's parents are now that she is a very, very special foal. She needs all the support she could get, I'm certain.

...would it be weird and selfish of me to hope they would give her up for adoption so I could raise her, instead? I feel like that would be a bad thing, but... my Star would be back home where she belongs. I only want what's best for her, after all.

“What do you think of him?” I whispered, slowly getting up on my aching hooves. I could use a massage right about now, walking had become more of a chore as of late for obvious reasons. Carrying around twins wasn’t exactly the easiest thing to do when they did their best to sap my strength away completely.

I could feel both of them moving around more than they usually did, as well. Probably because I have been so agitated all day long, even more so as we came across our little mystery pony.

September seemed to genuinely want to help and learn as much as he could. He certainly was curious about a lot of things from what I could gather from his story and the fact that he liked to observe every possible moment that he deemed to be ‘important’.

My sister's gaze turned thoughtful as she stared a hole into the carpeted floor. “I don’t know for certain, yet,” Luna muttered. “He seems a bit... 'detached'... to everything. You heard him when he told us of erasing a former timeline because it was corrupted by a mistake he seemed to have made.”

“It does seem a bit... alien, doesn’t it?” I frowned, thanking her as she opened the door to our bedroom with her magic and helped me up on the bed. I blushed as I saw her practically worship my big pregnant belly. She was just as impatient as I was to see our foals witness the light of day (and night). “He seems to seek out the right destiny for this Peter Bishop, though. As twisted as it might seem how he tries to accomplish that.”

“This Peter...” Luna began, nuzzling my stomach with a tiny smile on her muzzle. “He said he worked for this Fringe Division in the FBI... whatever that is..."—her smile turned from happy to forlorn—" Tabetha had been a part of that group, right? He said she died due to an experiment gone wrong. What do you think that could have been about?”

“I would like to know that, myself,” I sighed, sadly. “My poor little Star. Do you think we will find her? She must have been born recently if her death was only a few months ago.”

“We will never know for sure until we find her,” Luna said, fidgeting with her wings. “Searching through all the mares that have become a mother within the last cycle might take us years.”

“I doubt it would take Liz that long with the help of her changelings,” I giggled, seeing Luna smile back at me with a thoughtful look in her eyes. My heart skipped a beat as I noticed what they were focused on. “What is it, Lulu?”

“Do you think... you could be pregnant with her?” she asked, hesitantly. “September wasn’t very specific with how long ago it was.”

“I...” I bit my lip. It would solve my dilemma, wouldn't it? But... “What would be the chances of that, Lulu? It wasn’t even something we planned for to happen.”

“But what if she is?” Luna proposed with a glimmer of hope in her eyes that felt almost infectious. “It would mean I would also be her parent.”

“Oh, Lulu,” I smiled, nuzzling her softly, my heart feeling incredibly light as an overwhelming sense of love swept through me. “I know you would like that, but don’t try to see something in one of them that isn’t there. It wouldn’t be fair to either of them or to Tabetha.”

“I... you’re right,” Luna sighed, looking down at my stomach, a tiny smile working its way back on her muzzle. “We’re going to be parents... I still can’t believe it's almost time.”

“We still haven’t decided on names for them,” I mused, watching my sister as she put one of her ears against me to ‘listen’ to our little troublemakers.

“What would you suggest then, sister?” Luna asked with a snort as she gave me a small, teasing smile. “We don’t even know their sex yet.”

“I just want it to be a surprise,” I pouted. At the same time, though, a fearful quiver went through my heart. If one of them was a colt and I couldn’t find a way to get them to ascend because of that... something told me my fears were unfounded, but that didn’t actually reassure me. We didn’t know for certain if a male pony could become an alicorn, as ridiculous as the thought was that only females were able to do so.

It's just... there has never been a male alicorn up until now, for some reason. There must be a reason why that was. Perhaps it was only because the gender ratio was so heavily in favor of the female side, which still didn’t make much sense to me. As rare as ascension was, there had to be a reasonable explanation for why only mares had accomplished such a feat in recorded history.

Maybe there actually were male alicorns far back in the past, even before Hope and her siblings’ time. We couldn’t ever truly find out, not without a spell that cut back heavily on the mana requirement to travel back in time. Although... September might be able to do that for us. I’m sure he will be sufficiently curious enough to observe the ancient history of ponykind.

“We should name one of them Luna,” my sister commented and I giggle-snorted. “Mom would have suggested it, too.”

“It would keep up the tradition, wouldn’t it?” I smiled fondly. The idea did sound very enticing to me. Lunar... something. I’m sure we will figure something out that is going to work well with one of them. It would be the greatest tribute we could make to our mother, and I hope wherever she is, she would be proud of us.

“We could ask September what we are going to name them,” Luna said, placing a delicate kiss on my enlarged belly with a reverent mumble.

“That would be a bit... impersonal, wouldn’t it?” I shot back, my face becoming redder and redder as she trailed more kisses further down, nearing my swollen teats. “Luna, I swear if you go any further...”

“You have been complaining about them aching, have you not?” she asked me and I could swear she gave me a lecherous glint with her beautiful, turquoise eyes. “Wouldn’t you like some... relief~?”

“I have been complaining about my whole body aching,” I muttered. My blush threatened to permanently color my muzzle a deep red as she took a deep whiff of my scent through her nostrils, letting out a whiny moan. “This is so degenerate...”

“Shut up,” Luna demanded, causing me to snap my muzzle shut as her icy blue eyes pierced my gentle, pale magenta ones, the slits in them dangerously thin. “Let me do this and give you a massage, Sunny. You shouldn’t stress yourself out so much.”

“If you call boredom ‘stress’,” I rolled my eyes, pouting. My mood turned around completely as I felt her tongue circle around one of my teats, her breath feeling a bit ticklish. I... oh, dear flipping flying penguins. Maybe I should just let her have her fun, as weird as it was. Besides... I would have to get used to the feeling eventually, right?

The... suckling... to draw forth the milk contained in them did relieve some of the built-up pressure, at the very least. I was just glad Liz wasn’t here right now or I’m sure I would be hearing all kinds of lewd comments from her. Heck, knowing her? She might have even joined in. Fuck. She definitely would have, wouldn’t she?

I suppressed my moans, instead quietly humming as I guiltily enjoyed having her feed from me with an enthusiasm that I wish wasn’t there. It did make me feel extremely embarrassed and... a little bit maternal, to be honest. I would... 'allow' her to relieve my teats from the sensation of being overly full for now. As relaxing as this might have been, I’d rather not have her develop a fetish for this.

Ahh... who was I kidding? She already has one. Nightmare already treated me like her broodmare every chance she got, Luna must have some of those feelings in her, too. And how could I fault her for that? This was a lifelong dream come true for her. And I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it a little bit.

While she continued doing... that... she used her magic to work out the aching feeling in my hooves, my back, and my neck. I would have loved to get a massage with her actual limbs, but this worked nicely as well.

Before long, I found myself in a deep slumber, the dream around me taking on a familiar form. It had been quite a while since Luna and I had this particular dream, and seeing that I was ‘sort of’ alone, I assumed my sister was still happily gorging herself on my milk.

“Hello, Summer,” Fallen Star smiled, her eyes appearing almost soft and gentle.

“My Star,” I replied, happily trotting up to the mirror. I sometimes really wish the glass surface wasn’t there and we could give each other a hug. “Why am I here?”

“Can’t we simply enjoy a friendly chat?” Star asked, raising a brow questioningly.

I snorted, giving her a look. “We both know you hate wasting words on unimportant matters.”

“Then you should also know why you are here,” she shot back and I wilted slightly. “This outsider who is calling himself September... we both know he is an ill omen.”

“He doesn’t...” I began, only for her to cut me off with a hot glare.

“He doesn’t do anything? He ‘just’ observes?” Star said, stalking from side to side in front of me on the other side of the mirror. “We both know every time he has appeared, something has happened. Shortly after our coronation, Luna shut herself away from us. He was there at the funeral for Amore. Hell, he gave Clover the damn spell for the prophecy! He has watched us our entire life and never,"—she slammed a hoof against the mirror's surface, making me jump away in fright—" not even once,"—she sneered while I did my best to calm my jittery nerves down from the scare—" gave us a fucking warning on how to prevent anything! Platinum, Sombra, Tirek, Discord... the war with the fucking griffons..."—her voice turned more dark and demonic as she uttered each subsequent name until she spat out the word 'griffons' in utter hatred—" How can you possibly trust someone like that?”

“He can’t interfere...” I whispered back weakly. “You know that as well as I do, as much as it pains me to admit that.”

Fallen Star snorted. “Ask him then what will happen when Platinum returns,” she growled. “If he truly intends to help us for keeping his son safe... he can at least give us that much.”

“And what if all he could tell us is... bad news?” I asked, fidgeting fearfully. “Knowing the future has never done us any good.”

“I’m... worried, Summer,” she grumbled and I gave her a wobbly smile. “What if something happens to our foals? We... we can’t let that happen. They are our babies. I don't want them to die like... like Tabby and Rose did.”

I swallowed a lump in my throat, my breathing shaky. “C-Cadance will look out for them while we confront Platinum, I promise,” I told her. It felt more like I was reassuring myself, though. “...but that isn’t what you wanted to talk about, is it?”

“No...” Star shook her head hesitantly. “September said that us being pregnant was important. And I don’t think he meant it in the way of us being royalty.”

“I don’t think he meant it like that, either,” I agreed, watching her as she came to a halt in front of me. I rolled my eyes. “Don’t. I know that we are the same pony, I’m not an idiot.”

“Could have fooled me,” she smiled and grinned even wider as she saw my eyelid twitch. “Do you think our foals could play a part in defeating Platinum?”

“No,” I said, a glare directed her way. “They will stay as far away from the fight as they possibly can. There has to be a different reason why they are ‘important’.”

Fallen Star sighed. “Summer, think for a second," she ordered me and I frowned back at her. "What if they are the next bearers of the Elements of Harmony?” Fallen Star suggested and I shook my head, trying to ignore her words. I don't care if I was being petulant right now. Or overprotective. Or selfish. They are not going to put themselves in danger because 'destiny' demanded it of them. Fuck the Elements of Harmony, I'd rather... I'd rather... oh, suns be damned. I'd rather... I... I cannot even bring myself to finish that thought. “Summer, what if Luna was right with one of them being Tabetha?”

“No!” I shouted, snorting furiously. “I won’t lose her again, not to that madmare. They won’t become the Element Bearers if I have a say in it!”

Star sighed, dragging a hoof over her muzzle in exasperation. She was behaving more like I was when I was annoyed, and I... I was letting my anger and fear control me. “Think for a moment, Summer,” she said, her golden eyes drilling into my magenta ones. They were blending back and forth between our colors, much like my own I assumed. Probably due to my momentary emotional turmoil. “They are our only hope of reuniting with Celestia. If even one of them is chosen to bear an Element of Harmony, you would have to choose between keeping our foals safe and Equestria. I know you would never sacrifice everything we worked so hard to build, so...”

“There is no choice to be made about that, Star,” I growled, stopping her from finishing that sentence. She was right, but I would also not risk my babies. There was only one choice I could make to keep what is mine...

My Fallen Star raised a brow at me. “So you would instead sacrifice Tia out of fear?” she asked, her voice deathly quiet. I staggered back from the mirror, whimpering to myself. No! I would never... not her. “You know Platinum would stand no chance against the Elements and the Elements would never allow their bearers to get hurt.”

“Like they never hurt us?” I whispered, my haunted eyes seeking out hers.

“They protected us even as we abused their trust in us,” Fallen Star scolded me, her burning golden eyes daring me to disagree with her. She was right (again), but it still felt like we were the ones that had been betrayed by them. “You know the words of the prophecy. We can’t let fear guide our hoof, Summer.”

“They are my foals,” I whimpered and I tried to stave off my tears while my breath hitched. “I can’t let anything happen to them.”

My other half scoffed. “So you would shelter them?” Star asked. “Lock them away so they can’t get hurt? You can’t do that to our foals, my Sun.”

“I think this is v-very much warranted, Star,” I began, letting out a sob midway through. “They would stand no c-chance. N-not against somepony like her...”

“No... they wouldn’t,” she agreed, looking down. “Not alone. But they won’t have to be and they wouldn’t face her directly in combat.”

“I...” I mumbled, sniffling. Curse this... this emotional wreck I have become, my Star was right. There would be nothing Platinum could do against the full might of Luna, Liz, and myself. And certainly not with the Elements of Harmony at their best.

“Trust me,” Star smiled, placing her hoof against the surface of the mirror. I returned her smile with a wobbly one, placing my own hoof over hers. “Cadance can create shields that even we struggle to break, nothing is going to happen that we can’t prevent.”

“And w-what if something does happen?” I asked, trying to get my breathing back under control.

“That is why we need to ask September to investigate our own future,” she replied and I bit my lip, nodding in agreement. “He has to grant us at least that much to make up for what he did to Tia.”

“He didn’t do it because he wanted to,” I muttered, glaring down at the ground. I wanted to blame him, but Luna was right. It was our own fault for even telling him of the existence of that prophecy.

“I know,” Star sighed and her eyes hardened cruelly. “That does not mean we can’t force him to comply with our demands, though. He has caused us a lot of grief, even if we are partially to blame for that. We can make this work in our favor.”

“You want to blackmail him by guilt-tripping him?” I asked incredulously, raising a brow. “He said his kind doesn’t feel emotions.”

“But he never denied that it isn’t possible for him to feel anything,” she grinned like a shark. “He feels sympathy, at least somewhat, or he wouldn’t have done the things he has done.”

I sighed, feeling conflicted. “We can’t keep doing this, Star,” I told her, ashamed and unhappy. It always starts like this, too. Her expression shifted around from confused to outraged and back to confused, so I decided to elaborate on what I meant. We have gotten into the habit of manipulating ponies (or people, whatever) if it helps us keep our family safe. Doing that, playing with mortals... it didn’t sit right with me.

Fallen Star, on the other hoof... she doesn’t see a problem with doing that. I could tell because I felt what she felt about this. She wanted to be selfish and I understand why she was like that. Deep down, in the depth of her... no, our... heart, we felt scared. Scared that, if we don’t do anything, we would lose everything all over again similar to what happened when we lost Tia due to us ignoring the damn warning the prophecy gave us.

It wasn’t September’s fault for having to go back in time and give Clover that spell, really. We had no right to fault him for that. Not even if he had decided to give it to him without us telling him it happened. After all, we were the ones that ignored the warning. Whether it be destiny or something else entirely, we should have accepted that we were stupid a long time ago. Stupid beyond belief, even.

But... despite that, a part of me was curious. A part of me wanted to know what would happen once Platinum returned. I needed to know whether or not we failed. I have to know if my foals would be safe, even if I might die. I had no intention to lose against Platinum, but... I need to know whether or not the possibility was there. In case... in case I have to say my goodbyes once the time comes.

Fallen Star and I came to an agreement over that much, at the very least. We have to know.

It wasn’t until a week later that we came across the mysterious stallion again. And what he told us... I wish I never asked him to take a look at our future.

“There are only two possible outcomes,” September said, his eyes almost appearing sad, if in a detached way. The little colt next to him definitely could feel it as he gazed unblinkingly at me. “One of you will die in your fight against each other.”

I knew better than to ask him if he meant permanent death. The definition mortals had of dying was simply that. Dying meant the end of one’s existence. It was either me... or Platinum and Celestia.

Deep down, I always knew it would come down to this. Die at the hooves of Platinum or save Equestria by killing my own sister. I knew which choice I would have to choose, which I needed to choose... and it tore my heart apart all over again.

September’s son placed a little bracelet down in front of me and I gave the little colt a confused glance, seeing him sitting there on the picnic blanket Luna and I had brought out here with us after I had convinced her that some fresh air would do me a world of good, a deep pain mirrored in his eyes. My pain, I realized. September said he was an empath and I quickly reined my emotions in to spare him from feeling my crushing amount of grief.

The bracelet was made of colorful beads, pieced together by a bright white thread. It began with a lavender color, transitioning over to a pink and then a deep blue that came close to Luna’s coat color. Then it went back to the pink and lavender before transitioning over to a red color a little brighter than my own mane. Curiously, the next color was reminiscent of Luna’s eye color before it transitioned over to a yellowish-orange.

It strangely reminded me of the sunset and twilight of the sky.

“Thank you, my little pony,” I smiled, receiving a tiny one from the colt in front of me. “It’s very beautiful.”

September gave his son one last glance before turning to leave. “I have to return to Earth,” he said, drawing my attention away from his son. “I will return for him when the time comes. He will be safer here.”

“Are you sure we can’t help you with whatever it is that you have to do?” I asked, giving him a concerned look, absentmindedly playing around nervously with the bracelet in my hooves.

The odd stallion tilted his head, looking down at the key that hung from a cord around his neck. “This will be enough help. I thank you for lending it to me. The rest will be up to Walter Bishop and I.”

I hope that, whatever their plan ends up being, they can save humanity from the threat of September's kind. A potential future of emotionless time travelers was kind of frightening. Their future is still undecided, but... perhaps that key might come in hoof at a crucial point in time.

Said key was a new invention of Luna’s. Once inserted and turned in any lock of a door, it would create a gateway to Equestria. After the last time, she would rather not risk me getting lost in another, unknown reality again.

We gave one to September in case he could not return here on his own. I wish I could do more to help him, but he insisted that our interference would create only a larger target on our world. From what he has told us, his kind didn’t look too kindly on those that stood in their way.

And it was a fight I’d rather not pick. Fighting against beings that could travel through time and literally predict any outcome by calculating them in their heads... how could one defeat something like that? It was simply not possible.

One moment he was still there, the next he was already gone. Like so many other times, he simply vanished into thin air, leaving behind a little pony that looked to us for guidance. I wouldn’t leave him in some orphanage, that would be a cruelty to not only him but also the promise we made to September.

He needs to be kept safe and I intended to keep him safe. Like I would my family.

If I'm going to die, I would cherish every moment I have with them... from now until the final day arrives.

Tia... I’m sorry, but I have to choose you. I couldn’t live with the thought of having to kill you. Platinum might kill me, but I understand now.

We have to buy the Elements enough time, and if this was going to be the only way, I would pay the price to save you, sister. If one of us has to die, then I can’t bear to see you pay for something you never wanted.

I have had a long life guiding my little ponies into a brighter future. I can rest easy, knowing they will have you to continue that legacy. It will be in good hooves with you. I know it will.

The future looks darker now than it ever has before.

Was it... selfishness or generosity, wanting to see you live on instead of me, sister? I could never let Luna or Liz know what I intended to do to save you, I know what their choice would be.

Even I was tempted to simply... forget you and what we had, what we shared with each other... it would be so simple, too. I could just cling on to this life, sacrificing you so I wouldn’t have to leave, but... I couldn’t do that. Not to you.

I promised I would listen to my heart, to never forsake it again. This would be the first step to embracing those old ideals of mine. To be generous, selfless even... to grant you one last kindness, something you have been denied for such a long time.

I hope one day you will forgive me, sister. Both you and Luna. Liz. Cadance. Tabetha. My... my foals...

Would any of them ever forgive me for what I planned to do?

I could save you, Tia... I need to save you. I can save you.

I will save you.

You deserve to have your freedom returned to you, sister. I have done many things I’m not proud of. Out of all of them, I regret failing you the most.

I’m going to fail you with this again, won’t I? You will regain your freedom, the very ability to think for yourself, to be able to control your own body... but you will lose me without getting a say in it.

I’m no better than Platinum, am I? I’m not even giving you the choice to live on instead of me. I’m making it for you and you will hate me for it.

But this would be for the best, I told myself with bitterness directed at the damn universe.

It would be for the best.

I have to believe that.

Otherwise...

Tia...

I couldn’t live in a world without you.

I love you too much for that.

You are stronger than me, I know that. You will be able to go on and find your eternal happiness with Luna and... and not with me.

One of us has to die, that was what September told me.

Just another damn prophecy getting in the way of things, right? I knew better than to fight fate or whatever else dictated those damn things. I couldn’t fight fate and prove it wrong, make my own way...

As much as I would like to (and I really want to), I want to tell the universe to leave us the flipping flying penguin alone. To give us this damn fucking happiness it was determined to take away each and every time.

Fuck that.

I’m going to find a way to bring you back, Tia. I'm going to prove the fucking universe wrong and shove my success into September’s ugly mug for daring to tell me I couldn’t have what I wanted.

I’m done with being the universe’s plaything. Pah! If I have to die trying? Well, at least I could say I did my best.

September, I’m thankful that you gave me this warning, but go kindly fuck yourself with a cactus. Whether or not you have 'observed' the outcome already, whether or not the future was set in stone... I won’t give up on my sister, my twin, my wife... my beloved Sunshine.

I swear on my magic I will bring you back, Tia. I will bring you back safe and sound and I won’t die.

We are going to have that happily ever after, damnit.

I swear it.

Author's Notes:

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Chapter 024 - Stars shine brightly on a fateful day.

“Just keep pushing, dear,” Luna whispered softly as I screamed my lungs out, pain unimaginable wreaking havoc on my body. “Almost there...”

“Fuck you, Luna,” I growled, panting erratically. Flipping flying penguins... “I’ll fucking kill you! You did this to me... ngh!”

Another wave of unbearable pain ran through me as I cursed these damn contractions. This? This was worse than being run through by a sword! It hurt so damn much, I had no idea how other mares could ever want to go through this more than once. It was maddening. Absolutely. Fucking. Maddening.

Tunnel vision couldn’t even begin to describe how focused I was on getting those two damn leeches out of my body! Oh dear God, if you are listening on your throne of clouds or whatever you actually sit on with your angel waifus fanning you with palm leaves while drinking martinis, and if you aren’t shaking your head in shame at all the things I have done in my way too fucking long life, please, damnit... please let this pain end. I beg you.

Yes, damnit! I’m praying to you, you prick! Answer me! Give me just this small reprieve, please... just this once...

Another wave of agony hit me and I cursed Luna for being a sexy, horny bitch again, howling in pain as I did my best to kill her with my stare alone. The magical stare variant. I don’t care if she will have nightmares for decades, she deserves it for doing this to me. She deserves so much worse for doing this to me, damnit. I’m gonna rip her wings out and feed them to her and I’ll do it each and every time they regrow until she knows the pain I’m in.

The nice thing about this? I have to press out two of them! Haah. What a joy, isn’t it? We have been at this since around two or three hours in the middle of the night (it was a bit hard to remember with all this damn pain and tiredness and pain). Fuck. It was already nearing the end of the day (which just made me really, really happy... not) and I just barely had the focus left to answer my sun’s call as I cried out once more. A moment later, I heard the cry of a little foal and I laughed exhaustedly, happy that at least one of them was finally out.

They really made me work for it, didn’t they?

Celestia’s tall form entered my field of vision right as I felt another contraction try its best to kill me from the inside out. In her arms was a little bundle, her eyes finding mine as they sparkled just like I remember my twin’s eyes did at the time of sunset. “You have a filly, sister.”

“I have a daughter...” I smiled tiredly as she presented us with the tiny little bundle. A small, yellow-orange snout poked out of it curiously while cyan-ish, turquoise, slitted eyes stared at everything and anything around her. She definitely got those eyes from Luna and her mane was very reminiscent of my own when a solar flare moved through it. “Hey there, my little Sun. I’m your mommy, Summer, and this... is your other mommy, Luna, that I will kill as soon as I’m done with your sibling. I'mma stab her with her own horn! Yes, I will!” The little foal giggled at me and I made a few more foal noises, smiling brightly.

“Ha ha, Summer,” Luna grumbled, stroking my tangled and sweat-soaked hair softly despite how cheery I made that threat sound. I was surprised she was even able to stand being near me with the heavy amount of killing intent that was currently directed at her and her alone, to be honest. “She is beautiful. A veritable sunset.”

“She kinda looks a bit like Yang does as a pony, Mom,” Cadance commented before making a funny face to prompt the filly in my arms to giggle back at her. “What are you going to name her?”

A good question. To be honest, there really was only one answer I could give. “What do you think of Summer Sunset?” I proposed with a tired smile. Luna was right about the sunset part, her mane and coat did give off that impression. My daughter was the ponification of the evening sky, tinting the sky a fiery red and orange once the sun neared the horizon. “The Red Sun certainly sings high praises to have another named after her.”

“I would have thought of Sunset Shimmer, but that works, too,” my daughter nodded, smiling as my little filly took Cadance’s hoof into her mouth. I’d have to nurse her pretty soon if that suckling was any indication, my daughter trying to futilely suck out food from Cadance’s hoof.

I would have smiled at the cute sight, but my focus was gradually stolen away again as I was painfully reminded that I did have another foal wanting to come out, and this one it seemed, wanted to come out right now so they could be reunited with their sibling. Something that I was all too happy to get over with.

And so, the whole routine of pushing and screaming (and threatening Luna with a most painful death) began anew. Before long, my agonized screams were replaced by the tiny wails of my second-born child once the night replaced the last vestiges of the day and I felt relief flood me like a drug. I was finally through with giving birth to these two troublemakers. The afterbirth didn’t take long at all in comparison to what I had to go through with these little bundles of joy and I felt so very tired as I could, at last, rest easy.

Sunset's sister soon joined me in my exhausted arms and I couldn't help but coo silently at her. Tiny little violet eyes gazed back at me, her equally tiny lavender hoof currently functioning as a pacifier. My tired smile turned a lot more gentle at that. “Aren’t you a quiet one? Well, Luna... you wanted to name one after yourself, what are you going to call her?”

My sister hummed. “That is a tricky question, sister,” Luna told me with a loving smile as she settled in next to me, taking the little filly into her own arms. “My name won’t do, it has to be a variation of that... or something similar. Maybe... no, even something with 'Moon' in it sounds off to me. Her coat color makes this a bit difficult...”

“How about something with Star instead?” I asked, giving her a tired nuzzle. “You wanted to honor your niece, didn’t you?”

“Are you sure?” Luna asked me, biting her lip. “September said that the machine that... that killed her... could have erased her. It affected her very soul... if she survived that, I doubt she would even remember what her past life was like.”

“He also said that, if their souls survived, they would most likely be our foals because of that old reincarnation spell,” I whispered, looking at the filly in her arms and little Sunset in mine. It felt... a little weird if that was indeed the case. Sunset could either be... my brother of a past life or the nephew I barely remember I had. Whatever happened to the other, I couldn’t fathom to guess. Nor did I want to find out what happened to lost souls in the Shadowlands. “The machine worked like a soul-magnet, only instead of us being pulled back to Earth... they had been pushed away from Earth and towards us due to that spell.”

“I’d like to give her a name with Lunar in it to honor our mother as well, but... while Lunar Star would sound nice, it isn’t really doing her enough justice," she sighed, frowning with frustration before gently resting her head against mine. "Maybe it is time we break that tradition and name her after something else.” Her eyes looked uncertain, but I could also see a certain resolve in them as she resigned herself to go against Mother's name and choose something new.

“Are you sure, Lulu?” I asked her, receiving a nod from her in return almost immediately.

“Yes. I’m sure Mom would have told us that we should go with what feels right instead of tradition. Besides, you are right. She looks more like... Hmm. I have an idea. Her birth was heralded by the brightest star in the sky as day turned to night, so why not Twilight Star, instead?” Luna decided, smiling proudly. I had to give it to her, it did sound perfect. Our little sparkling Star and shimmering Sunset. Two very wonderful fillies. “If she was her... I would want her to have a piece of herself she could remember her old life by. Besides, we could still give her a middle name if we really wanted to, even though it would only be on paper.”

“I think it is a cute name, Mother,” Cadance nodded, using her magic to teleport to the other side of the bed Luna and I were lying on (without ripping a hole in the universe, thankfully). Twilight Star looked on with a quiet sparkling fascination in her slitted eyes as Cadance suddenly appeared next to her and Luna, a smile tugging at the corners of her tiny muzzle. “And I just know my sister is going to love it. Eee! I can't believe how adorable they are! It's no wonder Mom didn't want me to grow up, I'm having a heart attack just looking at them!”

My sister chuckled at the enthusiasm of our eldest. My Rose Petal was right, in her own way. I would argue that she was considerably worse, though. She still holds the title of Mistress of Cute, and I imagine it won't change for a very long time. Not until she is old enough to become a mother, herself.

Now that's a thought I never imagined I would have. Cadance might want to become a mom at some point, too. I would be a granny then, and... while the thought of being a grandmother does sound nice, it felt kind of weird, to be honest. I don't even look the part!

Of all the things to be worried about and that's the thing you focus on, Summer? Wow. I guess Twilight showing remarkable intelligence in her behavior was nothing in comparison to your fantasies of seeing your daughter become a mom, too, huh?

Speaking of which, I had next to no doubt about our little hunch now after I saw that look in the eyes of my little filly. Her eyes held a stunning amount of intelligence in them, a curiosity to learn the mysteries of the universe that I seldom saw so strongly in mortal eyes. Whether or not that actually meant she was Tabetha in her previous life remained to be seen, though. But... then again, I feared we would never truly get our answer to that question. Not if her memories were truly as broken as we feared.

There was a reason why I distrusted technology that meddles with souls so much. A machine could never have the capability to safely interface with a soul without leaving... traces... behind. It was incapable of doing so without causing adverse effects or outright damaging the integrity of a pony’s soul. While I distrusted any type of spell meant for interacting with souls to be completely safe... I could at least say they were far gentler and wouldn’t so easily damage the soul beyond repair without the express intent to do something of that nature in the first place.

If little Twilight Star has even a tiny little piece of Tabetha’s brilliance left in her, I feared she would never rest until she figured out magic on its fundamental level. What that would mean for her and Equestria... I dearly hope it won’t draw the wrong kind of attention. I would have to make sure to teach her restraint to prevent her from following a dangerous path that was all too tempting to be followed. Both her and Sunset, to be honest.

I’d rather not find them within the restricted section of the Royal Archives looking through tomes of advanced magic without any supervision. Sun forbid they get curious about the few grimoires we kept there that contained dark magic spells that were... somewhat safe to use. At least they wouldn’t accidentally stumble upon the extremely dark and forbidden arcane knowledge that was locked away in the Canterlot Royal Vaults. Most of the things we had gathering dust in there could destroy entire landmasses just by uttering the words contained within the grimoires holding those foul spells (provided one could provide the necessary mana without draining one’s own life force in the process... and even that might not be enough).

I knew Tabetha had a thirst for knowledge that bordered on insanity even when she had only been a little child and my brother... well, he could be just as thirsty for knowledge if only for different reasons. I couldn’t be certain whether or not he ended up here with Tabetha and I shudder to think what that might mean.

I will have to carefully monitor Sunset’s development, make sure she would grow up less... 'power-hungry' than Tobias had been on Earth. I didn’t want her... him? Oh dear, that might also become a difficult topic, now that I think about it. I don’t want Sunset to end up being corrupted by dark magic.

Tabetha’s 'experiment' might have caused far more than memory loss. What that might mean for Twilight and Sunset... it could be far worse than losing their previous sense of self. I know for certain Tobias hadn’t been transgender... or if he was, Tobias must have seriously been determined to keep it a secret from us. As much as I doubted it... I could not entirely dismiss that possibility. Whether or not that was the case, it might affect Sunset in some way (provided Tobias did end up as my daughter now).

Their souls would heal, that much I could say with confidence. But 'healing' and 'returning to what they previously were' are two different things. Some traits of their old selves would bleed through simply due to the nature of their souls, but other traits will have to develop completely from scratch. Life experience and their social environment are likely going to change who they are on a fundamental level, but... whether or not that would also apply to their gender identities remains to be seen. I had no spell that could tell me whether their souls were ‘in tune’ with their physical bodies.

It would be for the best to simply... treat them like entirely new beings, as much as it pained me to think that Tabetha (and Tobias, he is... was still my brother despite all of his faults) ceased to exist in the form that I knew them as. Their former selves were gone, sadly. I... I have to a-accept th-that that possibility was the m-most likely case, even though I felt like weeping in despair.

It wasn’t fair, to... to either of them. A treacherous voice in the back of my mind wondered whether or not this would have happened had I not been so insistent with Magic about letting my daughters die a natural death. I had been far too optimistic, thinking they would grow old and live a happy life before being reunited with me and my sisters.

Alas, thinking like that didn’t do me (or them) any good. It was either this, as painful as it was to admit it to myself, or... I would have caused their deaths myself by allowing Magic to do the same thing to them that she did to my sisters and me.

There was one small hopeful thought that took my mind off of these dark musings. With Sunset and Twilight here, presumably the reincarnated vessels of those dear to my heart, I could take solace in the thought that their souls weren’t completely destroyed. That was at least something to be glad about, right?

Twilight’s and Sunset’s souls, as I focused my senses, trying to find that sensation that I had become somewhat familiar with on Remnant, I could feel... well, I couldn’t really say. In the end, I was all but certain that we would have to resort to magic to find our answers to whether or not their souls were completely intact. But... seeing that they didn’t show any signs of discomfort or... well... 'soul fragmentation', I felt mildly reassured that my fears were (hopefully) completely unfounded.

I’d still like to know for certain, though. I’d like to believe any and all signs they might show of a greater intelligence that belied their age would mean that they were indeed Tabetha and (maybe) Tobias and that their souls weren’t shredded to pieces.

There was one part within me that wanted Tobias to be the one to have survived that ordeal instead of my nephew, clinging on to this selfish hope despite how wrong it was of me, and then, there was the other half of myself that was disgusted that I thought like this... it felt like I was tearing myself in two over this.

Perhaps it really was for the best to just forget the whole reincarnation thing and assume my sweet, little fillies were just that. Little fillies that shouldn’t have to carry such heavy burdens, such scars... such pain. Even if they truly are Tabetha and Tobias (I refuse to believe that Tobias was the one that didn’t 'survive' what that machine did to them)... they would still be my daughters. Or whatever else they end up being. I will be there for them and make sure they grow up happy and loved. Never shall I be anything less than the best mother they could wish for.

I swear on my magic. Nothing short of dying will keep me from upholding this vow and I have no intention whatsoever to let September’s words keep me away from that promise.

Time travel be damned, I don’t care if my fate is set in stone. If I have to, I will cheat death in some way. I will cheat as I have never done before, do the unthinkable, and live against all odds while saving Tia from her nightmare at the same time. I will cheat the universe and be there for my daughters, for my wives, for everypony that depends on me. I won’t fail.

I can’t afford to fail.

The hope within me shall be my guiding light to bring about that very future I so desire. Nay! The future that I want and need! I am the Guardian of Ponykind, I will not let anything less than that happen. Tia deserves nothing less than a warm welcome back home, not a funeral for her beloved. My daughters deserve nothing less than the kind and generous mother I can be for them, not a damn funeral as they mourn the death of one of their parents so early on in their lives. My Moon deserves nothing less than the lover that gave birth to two wonderful foals, not a funeral where she is made to mourn the death of the mother of her children. My horny succubus changeling wife deserves nothing less than my submissive self to molest, not a funeral where she will never see her Sunflower smile back at her again...

Speaking of my horny succubus bug...

“Cadance? Could you wake Liz?” I asked her, motioning to said pony on the chair in the corner, quietly snoring away. The sight of that idiotic and lovable, quite huggable, and very much adorable changeling queen was definitely going to be put into a memory ball at the earliest convenience. Not to mention... “I am quite frankly surprised she slept through my enraged screaming.”

Perfect material to tease her with later, I thought mischievously. I won’t ever let her live this down, and what better way was there to do that than to recount how she slept through Twilight’s and Sunset’s birth when they grew up? I’m sure they will just love to hear all about that.

My daughter giggled. “Sure thing, Mom,” Cadance replied before she skipped over to Liz, trying to ruse her from slumber. Celestia snickered beside me, finding it as humorous as Luna and I did that it took our Rose Petal more than a headache to wake up the slumbering queen and/or princess. My poor, exhausted wife had been running the nation on her own while I was kept prisoner... I mean, ‘patient’... here in the medical ward of the castle. “Come on, Mother. Wake up! Mom wants to introduce you to somepony...”

Chrysalis let out a startled snort before looking around her. She rubbed her bleary eyes, quickly noticing that she was the center of attention. A groggy smirk appeared on her lips. “Is the oven finally done baking?” Liz asked and was promptly met by a flying pillow sent by yours truly. “Uff. I... oh, hey, look at that! You haven’t ripped Luna’s head off and shoved it up her snatch, after all.”

“Keep talking like that in front of our fillies and I will do that to you and watch as your head slowly regrows as you give ‘birth’ to your old one,” I threatened her, smiling sweetly all the while. I wasn’t in the mood for snarky comments right now.

Liz winced, rubbing the back of her head with a black, long-furred foreleg. Her mane turned a little blue before going back to the vivid green of her usual self. “Right, post-pregnant mare in a foul mood. Got it.”

I huffed. “Just come here, you stupid bug,” I told her and was met with a pout as she did as I demanded of her. “This here is Summer Sunset and her sister is Twilight Star. What do you think?”

“That they will conquer the world by virtue of being the cutest living beings to have ever lived?” she replied with a grin and I snorted. That title belongs to Cadance, but eh... fair enough. “I’m confused, though. Didn’t you say you wanted to name one after Luna?”

I glanced over at my sister and she shrugged back at Liz. “Twilight works better,” she explained before holding out our little Star at her. The foal babbled nonsensical words at her, trying to reach out with her tiny hooves toward our wife. “Besides... does she look like a Luna to you?”

“Hmm. You might have a point there, Lulu,” Liz agreed, nodding her head thoughtfully as she carefully took Twilight from her arms, giving the little filly a nuzzle with a serene smile. “So, instead of naming Twilight after Luna, you gave Sunset Summer’s name instead?”

I raised a brow. “What?” I asked, innocently. “You didn’t think we would give her your name, did you?”

“Pfft,” Liz snorted, giggling. “She would have to be a bit more buggy to inherit my magnificent name. And both of you know I won’t produce an heir anytime soon, after... well, you know.”

“The last one tried to overthrow you?” I dryly supplied with a sigh. “I’d rather not think about Ocellus, dear.”

“Who is Ocellus?” Cadance asked, watching me and Liz with fidgeting wings.

“Sort of your sister?” Liz said, looking over towards me nervously. “I mean... the royal jelly was made from Summer’s love, so that makes her the father?”

“Can’t you just say ‘other parent’? You’re the gender-fluid changeling here,” I groused, getting her to roll her eyes back at me. I carefully accepted Twilight back from her as Liz noticed the little filly getting a bit antsy in her arms. Sunset was also squirming around a bit too much, so I took that as the cue that they didn’t like the feeling of an empty stomach.

While I provided the two newborns with their very first meal since they couldn’t passively leech food from me anymore, watching them suckle greedily from my teats with a warm smile on my muzzle, Liz fidgeted nervously next to me as she searched for words to best describe what happened with the estranged heir of the Canterlot Changeling Hive (the only hive, considering she was the sole mature queen in existence, as far as we knew). “Ocellus was under the assumption that I was withholding her growth into a queen from her on purpose, so... she just left.”

“Did you?” Cadance asked, a conflicted expression on her muzzle.

“No..." she began before grimacing. "...maybe a little bit..."—my wife sighed—" to be honest, it's complicated,” Liz admitted, her ears splaying back against her head. “She wasn’t ready and we barely started living within the newly constructed hive back then. The workers in the hive were still hard at work trying to make sure the tunnels wouldn’t collapse on our heads and... she started to get increasingly more restless because we couldn’t spare enough drones and workers for her to start her own hive.

“She started to think I wasn’t doing my duty to the changeling race correctly, basically staying here in the castle instead of the hive where I ‘belonged’ according to her. So, she started to try and incite a rebellion against me, stating that she would make a better queen for the hive than I did and I told her that she barely knew anything about what it means to rule.

“Of course, all she saw was an absentee queen, instead. One that rather frolicked with ‘food’ instead of leading the hive into a golden age, growing it larger than what we actually had room for."—my wife sneered, wings buzzing angrily for a second before she calmed herself down lest Sunset and Twilight started to notice her mood—" I told her I wouldn’t let her start her own hive if that was what she wanted to do and then she left, saying she would find a way to mature into a queen by herself and prove me wrong.”

That was the last time Liz tried to make an heir to the throne of the hive (after numerous trial and error approaches to produce a changeling princess, Ocellus was the first one to develop the correct... biological traits, so to speak), ensuring the changeling race wouldn’t die out if something were to happen to her. Ocellus saw everything she did as not enough and it left my wife thinking that very same thing for far longer than Luna and I cared to admit. It took us a year just to assure her she was doing everything she could to care for her hive, even if that meant not being directly in the hive.

It wasn’t like she was away in a different country. It honestly puzzled me why Ocellus thought the way she did. Perhaps she just thought Chrysalis was squandering her position as queen in favor of being a Princess of Equestria. The hive meant everything to Ocellus and I could understand that she wanted to be the one to lead it or start her own hive. She simply was... too impatient.

She refused to live with ponies because that was what Liz did and everything that my wife did was ‘wrong’ while everything she would do (if she were to be queen instead) would have been ‘right’. She was no doubt quickly proven wrong of that notion as she left with the few dissenters that believed her ‘changelings are superior’ propaganda. Ocellus only managed to convince about a dozen workers and a few drones to leave with her. Most 'lings are fanatically loyal to their queen, so traitors were few and far between.

“We never heard from her again,” Liz muttered, frowning darkly as she sat down next to the window overlooking the countryside around Canterlot.

The loss of Ocellus was one of those topics that got her as sad (and furious) as the loss of a larva. While my wife usually was indifferent towards her offspring, I could tell that Ocellus’ betrayal hurt her a lot. She wanted her to be the daughter she could be proud of, the one that could help her rule the Equestrian hive and eventually form her own, only to lose her in the end to a mentality that Liz sought to get rid of in her hive after accepting the friendship and love that we offered her into her heart, abandoning the old ways of taking love by force.

“The truth is... I don't know how and when a changeling queen starts producing fertile eggs. I'm basically working on pure conjecture. It was a miracle we even figured out how to rear another changeling queen.

"I don't really talk about this much, but... my birth wasn't exactly 'normal. Summer and Luna had a hard time accepting my unusual story..."—Liz ignored the eye-roll that she earned herself from us, making it out like we ever doubted her (at least, I didn't, there were weirder things like breezies, after all)—" and I can't really blame them. It's hard to believe a tree can give birth to a race of sex-starved pony bugs..."—Cadance blinked, surprised, and Liz chuckled with her typical, seductive voice—" I know, I know. But it is true, believe it or not. I won't go into much detail, but the tree essentially dragged my soul into a suitable body it created with different species as a template.

"Among those was a skeleton of a unicorn, which might have been my previous incarnation, now that I think about it... but I digress. The point of this is that I was born completely clueless about the world around me. It also didn't help that I was basically born as an already mature changeling queen on her first cycle."

Cadance blushed brightly at that. "Oh..."

"'Oh' doesn't even begin to describe it," Chrysalis commented, a lecherous grin spreading on her muzzle. "It made getting sustenance a lot easier since most ponies get very 'willing' to spend a night with a mare when my pheromones are involved."

Cadance blinked before looking horrified. "Wait, what?! You basically roofied unsuspecting ponies into having sex with you because you were hungry?!"

My wife gave me a confused look and I translated the meaning for her since those drugs aren't a thing here on Equis (thank the twin suns). Then she snorted. "No, I didn't rape them if that's what you are worried about. My pheromones only work on those that aren't in love with another pony than the disguise I'm using. And they can't 'brainwash' somepony into having sex with me... unless they are madly in love with me, to begin with. Summer has it pretty bad for me,"—I let out a 'Hey!', but Chrysalis ignored me like the smug bitch that she is—" so she goes gaga whenever I'm close to laying eggs. Lulu has developed somewhat of an immunity to it only because of her alicorn domain involving the Dream Realm and a basic resistance to mind-altering substances."

"So... what happened to Ocellus?"

Liz sighed. "I’m unsure whether or not she still lives," she replied with a frown. "If she does, she's probably out there in the wilderness, somewhere. It was my own fault for not being there for her while I was trying to integrate changelings into pony society with Summer and Luna.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Cadance said, her expression reflecting an inner pain of sympathy. “I’m sure we would have gotten along...”

“Don't think too much about it, Cadance,” Luna told her, laughing silently as she watched Twilight try to steal Sunset’s spot by my teats. “It was a long time ago and if she still lives, it would be better for you to be cautious around her.”

Cadance frowned. “Why would you say that?” she asked, raising a confused brow. “She is family, is she not?”

“A traitor, that is what she is,” Liz snarled, earning herself a glare from me as I saw her mane turn a deep blood red. “She would rather see Equestria burn than return home. You didn’t see the look in her eyes...”

“She is still family,” I sighed. I’m unsure if that is what Ocellus thought of us, but... I'd like to think she might have changed her mind if only we had tried harder. She seemed to have been pretty determined to see us as anything but that, though. Sometimes, it even seemed like she was disgusted at her own heritage and that Liz would ‘debase’ herself with loving ponies instead of treating us like cattle. “But even I doubt that she has learned her lesson since she has been gone. She would have come home, otherwise.”

“Perhaps a change in topic is in order,” Celestia said, cutting off any and all words Liz or Cadance could have exchanged on what we should do should Ocellus return one day. While I would love nothing more than to see her return home to reconcile with us, I wasn’t too optimistic that that would happen. Liz was probably right with Ocellus remaining a traitor to Equestria and we would have to treat her as such if it comes down to a confrontation between us and her in the end. “There are friends waiting to see the little ones, are there not?”

Thank the twin suns for Celestia being here. I very much doubted the argument between Liz and Cadance was over, but that could wait. Hopefully for a long time and without me being there. I detest seeing my loved ones fight over things like these. “Yes,” I said, breathing a sigh of relief, grateful for the change in topic. “I guess we have let them wait long enough, haven’t we? Due in no small part to the reluctance of two little fillies to leave the warm embrace of their mother...”

“I still remember the time when I was in our mother’s womb,” Luna said, leaning her head against mine with a little nuzzle. “I can’t fault them for wanting to stay for as long as they could.”

The memory I had of that time was a little bit fuzzy, but I could still remember the sound of her heartbeat, almost like a drum. “I remember you wailing to the heavens to have left the safety of our mother, Lulu,” I teased, giggling as my sister pouted back at me. My honorary sister and best friend snickered while Liz turned to leave in order to bring our friends back to our room so they could meet the two newborns. Professor Doctor Cold Hooves almost ran into her as she opened the door, quietly offering his apologies as he levitated his medical bag in after himself. Celestia joined my wife on her quest to find the rest of our extended family while also giving the doctor a wide berth (he still wanted to study her, even though he knew she was royalty and older than I am).

The eccentric stallion waited almost impatiently to run his tests as I burped Sunset while Luna struggled to do the same for Twilight, who most definitely didn’t like to be taken away from her feast. It reminded me of what Tia was like as a foal. She also never got enough food and never seemed to be satisfied with what she got.

My little Sun soldiered her way through the more uncomfortable tests the big, bad, evil doctor had in store for her with only a minimal amount of fidgeting and squirming. The pouty glare she sent towards him for taking a few droplets of her blood was so very cute, I swear my heart skipped a beat at the sight.

“As suspected,” he muttered to himself as he scanned the sample with his magic. “A high affinity for heat-based magic, low affinity for defensive magic in contrast to almost destructive potential for combat magic, and accelerated mana regeneration with a chance for unstable control..." I frowned. I pretty much already expected that that would be the case due to the massive risk incest was on their magical core. Our doctor continued on unhindered by my disappointment that the rituals we performed couldn't have entirely negated the risks. "Her thestral typical shadow magic affinity is below average while she has a high affinity for... blood-based magic...”

That was a lot to take in, I have to say. It sounds like my little Sun is going to be predestined to become a glass cannon due to her destructive potential for combat magic with low defensive capability. She seems to follow in my hoofsteps in that regard and it concerns me greatly. I would have to teach her the importance of not damaging her surroundings by accident. While I would prefer not having to teach her anything along those lines, I knew that not teaching her how to make use of her gifts would only end up in a disaster (quite literally if she loses control of her magic on accident). And it could quite possibly earn me her resentment, treating her like she was made out of glass.

The blood magic affinity caused me perhaps the most concern. A high affinity for blood-based magic could lead to her developing cruel tendencies against those that earned her ire. I knew all too well what that was like as Fallen Star, and that made it all the more important for me to teach her restraint and compassion.

Professor Doctor Cold Hooves carried out his tests on Twilight next, getting the little filly to wail quite loudly for the first time. Luna tried to keep her calm and still to the best of her ability in order to help him out, but it was a futile effort on her part. Of course, with Twilight crying so loudly, Sunset began to whimper as well. It was almost like it hurt Sunset more to see her sister in pain than to endure that pain herself.

If anything, I knew how to teach her to be compassionate to other ponies by appealing to her conscience about what her sister would think of her if she let her impulses get the better of her. Impulses that could be all too easy to fall for, consciously or not. While I didn’t lash out all too often (at least not anymore), having tempered my temperament over centuries, sometimes I still got overwhelmed by these involuntary urges. Numerous training dummies were a testament to that, never having survived my destructive wrath.

“Hmm...” Professor Cold Hooves hummed as he scanned the sample from Twilight, throwing me out of my thoughts. Said filly was currently being comforted by my sister as well as Sunset, my little Sun hugging her as if her life depended on it. “High heat-based magic affinity like her sister, a strong connection to the magical arts in general, the same affinity for thestral tribal magic as her sibling, a slightly higher than average affinity for combat magic and a marginally greater affinity for defensive magic, by the twin suns... a high affinity for arcane magic?! She could very well be a prodigy among prodigies! If properly nurtured, she could become an archmage by the time she earns her Cutie Mark! Although... she has an even worse tendency to develop unstable control over her mana. That might become a problem...”

An unstable control over magic with those affinities could become very deadly if she ever starts to surge (and not just for herself). Oh, my little Star... what will we do with you? Learning control is going to take years (if not decades). One of us will have to constantly stay at your side to ensure nothing is going to happen to you that could hurt you or those around you... which means that there’s going to be next to no chance for you to make any friends aside from your own twin.

I can already tell that teaching my fillies magic won’t be an easy task, by far. And getting tutors for them was pretty much not an option, as well. Not only because I have no doubt that they will quickly outpace that which they could teach them, but also because my fillies were for all intents and purposes ticking time bombs. With the sheer potential both of them hold, nopony will be able to rein in their magic should the worst case happen. Aside from us, that is.

They truly were troublemakers, weren’t they? Cadance would be the only pony I could trust to look after them when we have to leave them alone for little periods at a time. While I would like to be a ‘stay-at-home Mom’ for them, I knew I couldn’t leave Luna and Liz to run the nation on their own for two decades (the bare minimum time required to teach such gifted foals). My little petal was barely ready to start holding court on her own, I couldn’t ask her to take over all of my duties so I could look after Twilight and Sunset, instead.

Although... she did say she wanted to foalsit as a mini-job for quite some time now...

It would cut into the time that she could spend with her own friends from school (both schools, I suppose, what with her having the tendency to go gallivanting over to Remnant whenever she felt like it), but that's something my Rose Petal will be able to survive with little difficulty. Whether or not she would survive foalsitting Sunset and Twilight was another thing entirely.

For once, I was glad she was so dedicated to learning defensive magic that nothing short of Ruby’s scythe or the magic of my wives and I could break through her barriers. She could at least contain their surges for long enough until one of us would get there in order to help defuse any of the dangerous situations that would most certainly arise. Just in case, it might be a good idea to teach her how to channel another pony's surge through herself and relieve them of the magic pressure. I'd rather not arrive too late...

A knock at the door drew our attention away from the quietly muttering doctor and our newborn foals to the group of visitors that slowly poked their heads through the open door, Chrysalis and Celestia stood in the back of the small group, holding the more energetic members of our extended family back from barging in.

First to come in was a rather tall stallion with a shimmering, blonde mane and pearly white fur. At his side were a pair of rather impressive wings and his flanks bore a curled-up dragon in the form of a flaming heart. Taiyang shot me a smile as he saw the little fillies nestled in between Luna and me, thankfully having calmed down from the evil machinations of the wicked doctor (if she could speak, I’m sure Twilight would have given him quite the tantrum for ‘stealing’ her blood).

Following Taiyang, Ruby and Yang were almost instantly at the bed, trying to gain the best angle to watch the two, sleepy girls cuddling with each other. Ruby’s mane was a bit longer than the last time she had been here with Cadance, but still far shorter than that of her marefriend (also now dyed in a rose-red color that made her look eerily like Amore in pink).

Yang’s yellow-painted prosthetic arm almost blended in with the light yellowish-orange coat, and I could tell she still wasn’t entirely comfortable with the replacement on this side of the mirror. Her mane was as wild and voluminous as ever and almost dragged on the ground due to its sheer length, the usually vivid blonde hair now a vivid red not unlike that of my newborn daughter. The lilac eyes that stared back at me had thankfully regained their liveliness since the battle of Beacon Academy.

September’s son silently sat down next to the door. His almost black eyes stared unblinkingly at us, and after him, one last stallion entered the room. Ozpin kept him company while everypony else was eager to meet the two newborn fillies, patiently waiting for the excitement to die down.

The little colt has yet to speak a single word since he has been left here, causing me a little bit of worry that he would never do so. His vocal cords were perfectly healthy as far as Doctor Cold Hooves could tell. And yet, without being very expressive, I could always tell what he was feeling.

As I gave the colt a small encouraging smile, I was suddenly reminded of the bracelet he gave me a while ago. The colors of that bracelet matched both of my daughters’ colors perfectly. Somehow, in some way, September’s son knew them before they were even born without having ever met them.

He truly was a remarkable foal, capable of things not even his own father could comprehend. I could see why he was so important to him, even if he did not know the exact specifics as to why that was. It was a shame that he barely even registered that familial bond with his own son, otherwise I’m sure he wouldn’t have left him here on his own.

I don’t know what would have led humans to evolve into the beings that would later become September’s kind, but it was a sad thought indeed that they would forsake emotions for intelligence, never to truly appreciate the concept of a family bond. It was understandable that September was so fearful his own kind would hunt down his son for being able to feel emotions on an even deeper level than what humanity and ponykind alike could comprehend.

Maybe someday my wives and I would see ponies evolve to such a degree as well. Being able to communicate with emotions and thoughts like what we were capable of with our suns and moon... I’d like that very much. It would make everypony become even closer to each other, I'm sure. Eventually, they might even surpass what alicorns are capable of, if only to a smaller degree.

Alas, such an evolutionary step might take a very long time with ponykind. Ponies have existed for millennia and we are only now starting to catch up with some of the technology I was familiar with on Earth while still far behind in a lot of different areas (as much as I would like to just 'copy' everything from Earth... I sadly lacked the necessary knowledge to do so). Humanity had a clear advantage over us. They adapted miraculously fast to new things and I’m slightly ashamed to say that the same couldn’t be said for ponykind.

Perhaps that was only one part of the answer, though. With immortal rulers, it was almost a given we would start to stagnate at some point. As much as I would like to think the purpose of an immortal being was to shape the future for the better, it was all too easy to simply want things to stay as they are. Sometimes I even wish things would go back to how they were. To be a bit more simple, really.

But things have to move on eventually, making way for newer and better things. That also sadly means leaving behind friends to old age. It was no wonder we seldomly made friends, Celestia having been the last one we truly allowed us to have.

Well, she was actually not the last one. Ozpin and Tai were here, now, too. The former of which was almost as tall as Luna and I are. Liz was perhaps a hoof taller than him and she was only slightly taller than my sister and I.

Ozpin's brownish eyes almost seemed to have a golden glow to them as he set his cane against the chair Liz had previously slept in. He adjusted his glasses with the green glow of his magic. “I take it they are perfectly healthy, then?”

“Nothing ever is,” Professor Doctor Cold Hooves muttered gruffly as he packed his things up neatly in his bag. “But yes, they are as ‘healthy’ as any other newborn."

“That’s good to hear,” Ozpin nodded, moving aside for the doctor as he was about to leave, and my eyes were drawn to the mechanical wing at his left side and the prosthetic for his hindleg as they let out a quiet whirring sound, the servos in them working almost without a single noise. “I would have done more for you if I could have, Summer. I’m glad it worked out for you and both of your... foals was the correct term here, right? I mean no offense if the terminology is not the correct one.”

"Foal is perfectly fine," Luna mentioned and I gave him a nod, unsure whether to smile or give his lost limbs a regretful gaze in mourning. He still put the well-being of others before his own after all this time, and while it was admirable of him, it still concerned me. His current life was nearing its end, which just made his condition more painful for me to see. Ozpin shouldn’t have to deal with a lost limb (or limbs, rather, as was the case in this reality). Not when they were about to rid their world of the darkest stain it has possibly ever seen (aside from the ones that created said stain, that is).

He had already lost one of his legs in the battle against the infiltrator, just like Yang had lost her arm (the only difference was that his appendage had to be amputated after the wound got worse while the doctors on Remnant tried to save it), what more would he have to give when they finally confront the one behind the events at Beacon? Salem wouldn’t simply give up and walk through the door to a different universe because they asked her nicely.

Even if I stand a chance against Salem, I would still hesitate to come to Ozpin’s aid. Things would have been different if I hadn’t gotten pregnant with Sunset and Twilight. As things stand... we could only give him a key like we had given one to September, enchanted to open a portal to a similarly desolate wasteland world that my sisters and I had gotten a small glimpse of in our youth as we tested out the prototype mirror.

Ozpin was powerful in his own right, and with Ruby and Pyrrha, I’m sure he won’t even need my assistance in the coming fight. While his appearance here in Equestria suggested him to be just as powerful as the young guardians, it was only in appearance.

Ozpin wasn’t truly an alicorn in the strictest sense. He didn’t have the ‘sorta’ immortality we had. The Brother Gods had cursed him to reincarnate for eternity and that meant he would still grow old like any other mortal (physically, that is). The only way to change that was to have him go through his own Trial of Ascension. A thing I am unsure of how I could make it happen for him as well. The battle underneath Beacon should have been more than enough to trigger it for him, too, but… evidently, it did not. Whether that was because of the fact that his soul was too fractured or some other reason, I can't tell for certain.

I wanted to help him somehow cure his condition because, quite frankly, it disgusted me what those idiotic 'Gods' did to him. He didn’t deserve this ‘half-life’ for keeping Remnant safe-ish for so long. I didn’t even understand why they would have him reincarnate instead of staying young like his adversary. It was needlessly cruel on him.

“How are you feeling?” Ozpin asked, shifting on his haunches as I gave him a stare. He chuckled as he watched my brow wander up slowly, daring him to say anything about how everything would only get better from here on out. “You will do wonderfully with them, dear. You did fine with Ruby and Cadance, so why would it be any different with them?”

I was unsure whether he had been a parent before, but especially after having given birth, things would only get more hectic. I’d be surprised if I get one restful night within the next few months, to be honest. Definitely not with Twilight. While she seemed to be the quieter one of them both, she had most certainly the louder pair of lungs on her. I wasn’t about to let the maids deal with them instead, though. I didn’t want to miss a single moment in their lives in case... in case I fail at my self-appointed task. I only have those twenty-odd years with them, after all.

Thinking like that would only lead to heartache and might clue them in that I knew something that they were unaware of. Luna had already decided to let me live in favor of our sister, but I still held out hope that somehow, due to some kind of miraculous turn of events, everything would turn out how I wanted it to. Telling Sunset and Twilight (once they were old enough to understand, that is) that I might only have a limited amount of time with them... I can’t do that to them.

Before I could get lost even deeper in those thoughts, Ozpin gave a polite cough. “Something on your mind?” he asked me, and once more, my eyes traveled to the little fillies in between Luna and myself. My sister gave me her own concerned gaze as mine turned mournful.

“Platinum,” I answered, my voice barely above a whisper. “I might not survive, depending on how our confrontation with her goes.”

Silence fell over the room, the weight of my sentence settling heavily over everypony's minds. “What do you mean, Mom?” Cadance whispered fearfully while Ruby draped a wing over her back as both of their eyes met for a moment. “You said the prophecy...”

“I know,” I muttered, my hair flickering a little bit as my anger caused it to ignite. I sighed, calming myself lest I frightened my daughters. “I know. It said only with the true touch of harmony would the lost sister be reunited with her family, her sisters... with us. As in plural, not... not only one sister. But... September said one of us would have to die. He observes time in a way we cannot even begin to comprehend, he can see every possible timeline, and in each one of them, either Platinum dies with Tia or I die, freeing Tia.”

“Why am I only hearing of this now, Mom?!” Cadance started, her voice hissing angrily in a whispered shout. Ruby, too, gave me a horrified look, too shocked to calm Cadance down. Even then... I think she would have given me her own few choice words. As would have Tai, assuming he would get over the news anytime soon. His eyes looked notably more hollow, probably painfully reminded that his Summer was still missing or quite possibly dead. We never really found out what happened to her. Not for a lack of trying. “Would you have told me if this conversation had never come up?!”

“I... I would have,” I said, biting my lip. “...eventually.”

“Mom!” Cadance growled, her eyelid twitching. “I can’t fucking believe you! Your brain really must have turned to dust if you thought it a good idea to withhold that information from me! Are you even going to tell my sisters about this when they get older?!”

“Do you think that would be a good idea?” I asked, meeting her eyes with hesitation. For a moment, I could have sworn they fluctuated between her normally light purple color and a silvery gray. They had sharp slits in them and brimmed with cold, steely resolve. I had hoped she wouldn’t develop... that. Not with how pure she was. A lot has changed since she had been but a little filly riding on my back, hasn’t it?

Remnant had played a big part in that change, I suppose. She was bereft of the idea that her life would stay peaceful, much like what Azeroth had done to my sisters and me. It happened a lot earlier to her than it did for us, though. And I feared it would only get worse from here on out. After all... hardship always found us, in one way or another. It would do so for her, as well, I'm certain.

“So...” she muttered, trying to suppress the snarl that threatened to appear on her muzzle. “It’s either you or her..?”

“Petal...” I began, but she cut me off with a fierce glare.

“Don’t you fucking dare to ‘petal’ me right now, Mom,” she snorted. Oh, dear. She must be really mad. She didn't even bother to hide her crude words behind cute animals. “You’re going to survive, do you understand me? You are more important than her. I don’t want to lose you... I need you. They. Need. You.”

I sighed. “I have no intention to die, Cadance,” I told her, smiling ruefully. “I promise, I won’t die.”

If only I meant that. If only I didn’t have to lie. I will try everything in my power to stay alive, but if it truly comes down to it... if the only option was to die instead of Tia... if it was the only way to purge Platinum from her... I don’t know if I was able to choose between her and me.

As much as I wanted to cheat death, I still have to think of that possibility. That damn possibility I so desperately wanted to hide away from but couldn’t. I might have to die and there would be no changing that. Only sheer luck could give me that last ray of hope. Alas, I couldn’t count on that.

Hope... I had lost it so many times and still found my way back into believing that it existed. Maybe that was all that I needed for me to do the impossible. I want to prove September wrong. No... I wanted to prove the damn universe wrong and change destiny to my own desires. Nothing can ever truly be set in stone, can it? I mean, if it were... life would be meaningless.

Destiny can’t be the ‘be-all and end-all’ of everything. There must be a way to influence it somehow. Even if the universe (or what have you) decides to fight me, and in doing so will try to take everything away from me that I know and love... I will find a way to make it happen. There must be something I can try and do. Anything.

I always viewed destiny like it was the end of the road, a place where you were supposed to end up after enduring every hardship life could throw at you. But perhaps it didn’t have to be. Perhaps there was something about that that could be influenced by somepony’s own choices. That's what I had told Cadance in the Realm of Ascension, and it's what I had told Ruby and Pyrrha as they ascended. I told them that their fate was their own, that they could choose to follow the path of a higher being or live out the rest of their life peacefully (relatively speaking, of course).

And what was fate but another word for destiny?

That would make my previous beliefs of what destiny was wrong. Destiny doesn’t have to be the end of the road if you had the choice to accept whether or not you wanted it to be the end of the road. With enough dedication (and a stroke of genius or two), there might be a way for me to achieve my own goals. I could bring Tia back just like I planned on doing without having to say goodbye to either my wives or my daughters.

Assuming that I could change fate like that, then there must be a way for the prophecy to come true word for word. It never foretold the death of one of us explicitly, so why would one of us have to die? Did September lie? What reason could he have to do that?

Or... he didn’t lie. I went about it completely wrong, didn’t I? In both possible futures, he said one of us would die, but that’s it, isn’t it? He did not say that one of us would stay dead for good. I just assumed that's what he meant because that is what all mortals meant when they say ‘somepony has died’. September wasn’t a ‘normal’ mortal, not entirely. For him, something like ‘dying’ didn’t necessarily have to mean ‘cease to exist’.

Temporary death was still dying, wasn’t it? September tends to speak in a factual way, something that was probably a trait of his kind. He also kind of tends to speak in what 'feels' like riddles, he might have intentionally left out what he saw past the point of either me dying or killing Platinum with Tia.

For once, I felt like the stars were shining more brightly. The very future didn’t look so bleak anymore and I felt hope flare up within me like it never had before. I felt hope that my plan to free my twin would work out perfectly. And for once... I knew with perfect clarity that it would work. There was no other way it could end up any differently than that. Platinum couldn’t possibly foresee the Elements working in perfect harmony as I distract her long enough for them to cleanse Tia from her wretched influence. Now, with September’s words in mind... I knew my distraction would, without a doubt, work.

Platinum won’t see her defeat coming, gloating over my dead body like the self-absorbed mare that she is and always will be. She doesn’t even know alicorns don’t truly die without destroying the connection to the very thing that keeps them alive. In all of those centuries that she has been on the moon, she plotted her revenge thinking that once we die, we stay dead.

Only Luna ever saw me revive, not Tia. My twin only knows that we are very hard to kill, requiring a being equally or more powerful than us to truly kill us. I felt almost stupid for not realizing this sooner. Platinum couldn’t possibly know what would happen once our mortal shell was ‘slain’. She couldn’t extract that knowledge from Tia because my twin doesn’t have that knowledge.

Platinum would be a lot more cocky, feeling like she’s actually invincible (more so than she already thinks she is), if she knew how hard it was to truly kill an alicorn. She never even seemed to be aware of the fact that death wouldn’t mean ‘cease to exist’ for us. Evidently, she never suffocated on the moon, whether that was because our moon had a breathable atmosphere or she instinctively used magic to substitute oxygen with mana. Nothing short of committing ‘suicide’ would grant her that knowledge, and that's something Princess Bitchface would never do. That much I am certain of.

She never once died. She didn’t know.

She. Didn’t. Know.

It was almost laughable how easy it would be to defeat her. Actually, I was laughing because of how ridiculously easy it is going to be to trick her into a false sense of security. The gamble to distract her would only work once, though. So we have to make sure that we get it done right the first time around. We won’t get a second shot at this again. Not one that was this easy.

And everything would depend on restoring the Elements of Harmony to their former glory. Without the Elements in working condition, we don’t even need to bother with trying to execute our plan. But... thinking about it? If September left his son here because it was safer here for him than it was on Earth... then didn’t that mean that everything would work out exactly as it was foretold in the prophecy? Why else would he leave him here?

That could only mean one thing, and that is that the Elements of Harmony were about to return. I know it.

“Is she... always like that?” Weiss asked, sounding concerned as I had my little moment, laughing like a lunatic. Yang shook her head next to Ruby while Cadance groaned.

“You have no idea,” Liz commented snarkily, letting out a surprised yelp as I snagged her up in my hooves, squeezing the living daylights out of her. “A-air!”

The stars were truly shining brightly on this fateful day. Every puzzle piece finally fit together and I saw the complete picture for the first time. I never could figure out the foolproof plan I needed to save Tia for sure from her nightmare, but... now I knew. I knew, I knew, I knew!

Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes! Ah ha ha hah! I knew! I’m a genius!

Destiny was mine to command!

Nothing could go wrong!

“Summer... p-please,” Liz croaked, hitting me weakly. I let my wife go before I caused her to lose consciousness, sheepishly giggling nervously in embarrassment. Right, my bad. I can't just suffocate my fluffy changeling queen, duh. “S-so... what was that about?”

“I know what to do, Liz! I know what to do! Eee!” I squealed again, almost waking up my slumbering foals in the process. That they slept through my bout of mad laughter was already a miracle and I had no intention to deny them their rest. Something I could really use myself, I was basically running on fumes at the moment.

“Mom, you’re being cryptic again,” Cadance sighed, giving me an exasperated look. “What did you figure out?”

“The prophecy! The secrets to the universe! The perfect recipe for cookies!” I smiled, patting her on the head as I leaned over the edge of the bed with joy. “You have no idea how elated I am right now. We need to celebrate..."—I stopped myself before I jumped out of bed and drove Kibitz insane with my giddy rush of euphoria—" not tonight, though. Soon, maybe even tomorrow.”

“Moooom...”

“Yes, yes,” I rolled my eyes. “Let me have my fun while I still feel so energetic despite having just given birth.”

Luna huffed. “Sister, just spit it out already,” she said, as fed up with me as the rest of our friends and family were.

“I know how to defeat Platinum without having to die or sacrifice Tia!” I stated, matter-of-factly. I took the skeptical glance from my beautiful wife as my cue to explain further and I did so with glee. I told them everything. Every part of my plan and what it would mean for the defeat of our greatest enemy.

Nothing could go wrong! Eee! I feel like I’m on drugs right now, the sheer amount of joy flooding my system was too much for me. But I don’t care! Ah hah hah ha! It feels so good to be so happy again, to feel like I don’t have to worry about the future! To have no doubts about everything that could possibly go wrong and drag me down!

And you know what the best thing about this is? I won’t have to leave my daughters! Eee! I could be there for them, and help them through everything that might come up in the future. Cadance won’t have to face the return of the Crystal Empire alone. My little fillies might ascend with my help! Yes, yes, yes!

They won’t have to attend my own funeral! I won’t leave them!

Everything's just perfect~.

Author's Notes:

Cadence frowned. "Mom?"
"Hmm?"
"Why do they drink milk when they should be drinking blood?" she asked.
"I..." Summer blinked, looking at Sunset and Twilight. "I have no idea."

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

Chapter 025 - Take a deep breath, Summer. It's only a paradox!

Author's Notes:

Source material: My Little Pony: IDW 20/20 comic

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

I stirred slowly from my slumber as I felt something shake me. Yawning widely, I blinked the sleep out of my eyes. My attention was quickly drawn towards the little filly holding on to a little Yu’la plushie, fidgeting anxiously next to our bed. Sunset opened her mouth to say something but immediately closed it afterward, biting her lip with a tiny fang.

“Little Sun..?” I asked, concern rising in my chest. “Did you have a nightmare?”

My daughter nodded hesitantly, looking down to the ground like it was something to be ashamed of. I knew she put on a strong façade around her sister, especially when they were out playing with Cadance on the playground, but deep down, she could be just as shy and socially awkward as Twilight is. Just because she was a lot more outgoing than her sister didn’t mean she couldn’t be insecure in her own ways. A lot of it was (mostly) connected to how those that mattered to her thought of her, as silly as that fear actually was.

There was nothing in the whole world that could make me disappointed in her. Truly disappointed, that is. She and her sister did have the slightly annoying tendency to find themselves in places where I didn’t want them to be (most often with their hooves in the cookie jar, so to speak).

“Come here, you,” I smiled, patting the space on the bed I freed up for her. Sunset beamed, eagerly hopping up on the bed, snuggling herself against me while holding on to her favorite plushie. “Do you want to tell me what it was that frightened you so much?”

“Scary things,” Sunset mumbled, hugging her Yu’la plush a little bit tighter to her chest. “Loud noises and flashy lights with tall shadows. They were creepy.”

“The flashy lights and tall shadows again?” I repeated, frowning slightly. It was the second time this month that she had this dream and it had happened twice last year. I draped one of my wings over her back and gave her a loving nuzzle, hearing her sigh happily as she felt safe from her monsters tormenting her in her dreams. “Mommy will keep the big bad shadows away from you, dear. There is nothing to fear.”

“Promise..?” she whispered, looking at me with hopeful eyes.

I nodded. “I promise, little Sun,” I told her, giving her muzzle a boop with a hoof. “The scary things fear your mother and me, you know? As soon as they see us, they will shake in their hooves before running away as fast as they can.”

“Really?” Sunset asked, her eyes sparkling in fascination.

I smiled, my heart warming at the sight of the sheer adorableness my daughter displayed almost on a daily basis. Oh, how I’ve missed having a little foal running around in the palace to dote on. Already, there was a whole floor filled to the brim with memory balls of Sunset’s and Twilight’s early foalhood in our private tower. “Really.”

“Would those stupid colts on the playground run away, too?” she asked, giving me a pleading gaze.

“Why would I scare them away, dear?” I whispered, starting to get a bad feeling. “Did they bully you?”

“No...” Sunset said, looking away.

“Sunset...” I said, seeing her huff as she turned around and away from me. I saw the frown on her muzzle, though. “Hey... it’s okay, you can tell me. I won't judge, you know that.”

“They didn’t bully me!” she shot back defiantly, squeezing her Yu’la plushie tightly against her chest as I saw her muscles tense. “I’m not scared of some stupid colts.”

“I know you aren't," I told her, hoping to placate her anger. "But I also know you, my dear. You wouldn’t avoid looking at me if there wasn’t something bothering you, Sunny. Won’t you tell me what they did?” I asked, slowly turning her head towards me with a hoof. She tried to hide it, but I could see the tears in her eyes. “If they hurt you, you have to tell me. Please. Don’t try to bottle this up, my little Sun. You don’t have to be scared of something to be upset about it, so... whatever it is... you can tell me.”

“They didn’t hurt me...” Sunset answered reluctantly. “They said mean things to sis and I... I shoved them..."—she puffed out her cheeks, stewing in her anger before looking to the side, petulant—" then, one of them s-started bleeding and I-I...”—she gulped nervously—" I almost lost control of my hunger."

“Oh, Sunset,” I sighed. I had feared that it was something like this, she always did get far too easily into fights, as much as I wished for it to not be so. When she did, it usually was to defend her sister, which... did make me proud of her... but... “That’s not...”

“I know!” she cried, interrupting me from admonishing her as she crossed her forelegs over her chest while she pouted grumpily to herself, barely keeping the tears at bay. “But they deserved it. They said Twilight’s an evil witch for always being a ‘know-it-all’ and getting perfect scores... not like she’s the only one...”

I frowned, feeling heartbroken over the fact that she tried to keep her emotions in check rather than allow herself to cry. “So you just shoved them? Because you didn’t want them to say such mean things?” I asked, uncertain whether I should feel proud of her that she would protect her sister so valiantly like that or be disappointed that she would resort to physical violence first. “What did Cadance say to you about being mean back to somepony?”

“Not to...” Sunset grumbled. Oh, my little Sun... how often do we have to have this conversation? You can’t just always default to hitting your problems, it will only lead you nowhere. “Why does big sis do nothing, though? She always says that we have to ignore them and be the better pony, but that doesn’t work, Mommy. They keep making fun of Twilight behind her back...”

“Attacking them will only make them resent you more, dear,” I answered, biting my lip. I wanted to tell her that following Cadance’s advice was for the best, but... I couldn’t. They hurt my daughters, and despite knowing how much of a silly thing it would be to hold a grudge against foals, I couldn’t help but feel like they needed to be taught a lesson or two in humility.

It was hard, being a mother and the ruler of the nation. Sometimes I wanted to justify being a bit more of a... 'dictator'... so that I could keep my little fillies safe from harm, but that would be abusing the trust of my subjects and my position as their guardian.

“Can I ask Aunty Ruby to scare them off with her gun?” Sunset asked, her ears splayed back against her head as she gave me a hesitant (and hopeful) look. “It wouldn’t be me attacking them then, right? After all, she’s a warrior goddess and those are allowed to do things like that... right? Aunty Yang said so.”

“Sunset,” I reprimanded her, snorting slightly as I imagined Cadance’s marefriend running around with her scythe chasing after misbehaving colts. It was a bit silly but still far too mean, I couldn’t let my daughter talk my petal into doing such things. Not only because it was morally questionable, but also because my eldest would tell me I was being a bad mother (not to mention a bad role model) and would then drag me away by my ear. This would then lead to Ruby and I having to share the dog house as Cadance set up a storm cloud over our heads. That's something I really don’t want to experience.

No doubt would Liz get ideas from that, seeing me spend the night outside like a naughty, misbehaving pet. Actually, I could already see the demented glint in her eyes, trying to get me to wear a collar with my name on it and a leash t-tied to the b-bed frame while I... Fuck. Knowing me, I would end up liking it, too.

Anyway! This was no time to get lost in fantasies and I still have a distraught daughter to comfort. And try to teach her morals, as well, even though I was almost certain that this was going to be far from the last time we would have this particular talk going over this topic.

“Why don’t you try asking them why they are so mean to you?” I proposed, wincing immediately afterward as it sounded like a better idea in my head.

“Really, Mommy?” she grumbled, sounding as displeased about that idea as I felt about asking it in the first place. “They are mean because they are meanies.”

“I’m sorry, Sunset,” I apologized, nuzzling the top of her head. “Wouldn’t it be better if all of you could get along, though?”

“No,” Sunset shot back stubbornly. “They have no hope left of being nice. They are stuck-up snobs that will grow up to brown-nose you and Mommy.”

“Sunset!” I scolded her, feeling completely speechless and appalled at how... well... she wasn’t entirely wrong with that, I suppose. But it was still incredibly mean. Not to mention, I had no idea who taught her those kinds of words. And how to actually use them in the correct context on top of that. That she even understood what they meant at her age was... it spoke a lot about her intelligence.

“Sorry...” she mumbled, fidgeting slightly in my embrace. “It’s true, though. They only value money and their breeding...”

I frowned darkly. “And who taught you that word?” I groused, not even surprised she knew those words as well. Sometimes, my daughters were too smart for their own good.

“Mommy Liz?” she answered, smiling awkwardly. I sighed, feeling like I should have expected that answer before I even asked. It seems like I need to have another word with her about encouraging little foals to learn things they shouldn’t learn at such a young and impressionable age. While it was 'somewhat' excusable with Cadance, Sunset and Twilight were another story entirely.

“Can you promise me to go to Cadance first before you let your anger out on them the next time?” I asked her, almost pleadingly. My darling girl shifted a bit around, trying to avoid my gaze to the best of her ability, but I could slowly see her resolve begin to falter.

Sunset bit her lip for a moment as she glanced hesitantly up into my eyes, letting out a tiny little huff before I could press her for an answer, giving me a reluctant nod. “Fine! I’ll tell big sis the next time those slimy toads come near us again...”

“Slimy toads?” I snorted, getting her to smile as well. “Should I ask?”

“Cadance always says fluffy bunnies when she doesn’t want to say bad words,” Sunset explained, her mood significantly improved from her grumpy demeanor. “And you sometimes say funny words as well... so I thought I should have something like that, too.”

“I don’t say funny words,” I pouted, prompting her to giggle.

“You do!” Sunset giggled with a bright smile lighting up her face, poking my muzzle with a tiny hoof. “You say stuff like flying penguins. That’s silly, Mommy. Penguins don’t fly.”

“And you are so sure of that, huh?” I grinned back, lifting my wing in preparation for what was about to come next. “There is a world where penguins do fly, my little Sun. They use something called airplanes. Those are like gyrocopters, only without the helicopter part and they are bigger and faster.”

Before my daughter could tell me I was messing with her (I wasn’t... that world was certainly an... 'experience'), I had her already at my mercy. Like our mother did to us, I couldn’t resist the temptation to tickle my little filly until she burst into a fit of laughter, waking Luna up next to us in the process. My sister gave us a half-hearted glare, smiling as she watched me exhaust Sunset so much that she fell into a dreamless slumber right afterward.

I’m so glad Sunset and Twilight entered our lives, sudden as it was. While not on purpose, I couldn’t imagine what my life would be like without them anymore. I was... noticeably happier these days with them around. With Sunset and Twilight, Cadance and Ruby, September’s son, and... even Kibitz wasn’t that much of a bore as of late. Usually, he was right there to remind me every few minutes that I had about twelve thousand things to do each day (a bit of an exaggeration, but sometimes it sure felt like I had nothing but work to do).

Kibitz wasn’t the only staff member that managed to worm their way into my heart after I had closed it off for so long. A new secretary had quickly proven herself to be a reliable and responsible aid to my daily life that I was starting to consider her to be somewhat of a friend. Raven Inkwell was still young, and for once, I didn’t mind that I started to bond with so many ponies around me that wouldn’t stay with us for long.

I felt like I learned a valuable lesson from my daughters. It doesn’t matter whether or not I’m immortal, that I will outlive everypony around me... what does matter is that I never let it come in between my little ponies and myself. I can’t just keep everypony at a hoof’s length away from me out of fear that I would lose them, it's only going to make me become more distant from them the longer time goes on like that.

A realization like this was worth more than I could ever put into words. I had feared becoming some sort of goddess detached from mortal affairs because it would have made me into something I didn’t want to be. Only now do I realize that I had inadvertently become that very thing I feared, having distanced myself so much from those that I never should have distanced myself from in the first place. I had started to live separately from those that I had vowed to protect, having become aloof from the mortal world. Not because I viewed myself as something better... but because I grew distant from my own heart. All because I didn't want to be hurt by the loss of friends.

Ponies had started to view us like we were something greater and that they were unworthy of us and I didn’t realize I had unwittingly played a part in that mindset by trying to avoid friendship. I had tried so hard to not let them think of us as some sort of infallible goddesses, only to inadvertently cause them to view us as something we are not because of my own ignorance.

I’m glad my little fillies changed that. Without them, I would still be keeping my relationship with Luna a secret. Without Cadance, without Twilight and Sunset... my little ponies would still see us as beings that could do no wrong. They not only helped me open up my eyes but also those of everypony living in Equestria.

My daughters helped me become that generous and kind mare that I was in my youth and I couldn’t be more grateful to them for that. Sunset played perhaps even the biggest part in that. My little Sun could always bring back that little bit of sunshine into my life when I felt like I was submerged in darkness. Much like my wives, I would give anything to see her and her sisters happy.

Sunset is also a pretty good judge of character, as much as she tried to avoid social interactions with other foals her age. Perhaps that was because of the environment she grew up in, though. She was right about how many of those foals would, for lack of a better term, ‘brown-nose’ my wives and me when they grow up.

I have seen it time after time, after all. The offspring of those in our immediate vicinity always tried to step into their parent’s hoofprints, trying to make them proud or even surpass them entirely. The nobility never changes. Well... not too much. While they were incredibly self-centered at times, they at least do play their part in keeping this nation running and in one piece. Otherwise, I would have abolished them a long time ago and never looked back (not that it wasn't tempting to do so, anyway).

Ah, well. It was only a small part of the nobility that I had my problems with. The majority begrudgingly did what was asked of them and that's about it. Sure, they complain quite a lot, but so would any other pony not part of the nobility when they had to leave their comfort zone. Then there were those of the nobility that I’d rather see locked away where they couldn’t try their idiotic schemes to gain more influence and wealth.

Like the House of Blueblood, for example. I had no doubt my ‘newest’ nephew would turn out as rotten as the rest of the lot. To be honest... if Sunset had asked me if I would allow Ruby to scare anypony... I would have said yes if she meant Blueblood Junior. Whether or not Ruby would go along with that was an entirely different thing, though.

Cadance can be very scary when she wants to be. It's no wonder Ruby would do anything my Rose Petal asked of her. There was one simple rule in any relationship. You do not say no to your marefriend. Especially if your marefriend is the Alicorn of Love.

Maybe it shouldn’t have come as a surprise, but Cadance’s gift did turn out exactly how she wanted it to be when she turned sixteen. While it only worked on those that already had some of those feelings existing for each other, she could... push things along, so to speak. To a frightening degree, as well.

On top of that, she now has her own aura like Luna and I have. And it wasn’t the innocent type of aura that would make you feel cozy and snug as if you had been embraced by a loved one. Well... it actually does that as long as she keeps it suppressed. One little slip-up, though... let’s just say the day she got her gift, Canterlot was in lockdown.

Cadance’s aura was like a mini-estrus to everypony around her. It isn't strong enough to make every mare go coo-coo in the head and cause every stallion's dick to slip out of its sheathe, but it was strong enough to make even those that have been sexually abstinent incredibly horny for some action. It took her about two years to regain control of her magic (because, of course, she gets a boost in power for each and every pony around her that's in love with somepony) and it was an absolute nightmare until she finally learned how to rein in her aura so that it didn’t turn everypony around her into a blubbering mess because they couldn’t contain their arousal.

Liz was majorly jealous of our daughter for also having an aura. My wife was the only one that never got one as she took up her mantle of Empathy. It was for the best, though. I don’t even want to imagine what she would do with her own ‘horny-aura’ as she put it. Nothing good, I would wager.

It was already bad enough that she could drive me crazy with her pheromones, I didn’t need her to also have an aura of perpetual lust around her that would have me permanently aroused.

On another completely unrelated note, not everything went exactly as Ozpin told us it would. He had told us they planned on tricking Salem into going through the portal, only for Ruby to return with tears in her eyes as she told us that his ‘trick’ was to throw himself through the portal with Salem, never to be seen again.

Maybe on some deeper level, I knew that that was exactly what he had always intended to do. Perhaps my own plan of how I intended to get rid of Platinum influenced his own decision, sacrificing himself for the greater good of Remnant. Without Salem’s influence over the Grimm, the people of Remnant had it easier than ever, fighting back the creatures made out of pure malice and darkness.

Pyrrha and Ruby have been doing a lot of work these past few years, making sure that it stayed that way. I’m glad Remnant didn’t have to live in fear anymore, but... I will miss Ozpin. I never got to help him find a way to get rid of his curse and now he was lost in a desolate world with Salem. We will probably never see each other again, will we? I hope he can at least make amends with her. It would be really sad if they continued their feud in a wasteland of nothing.

We barely started to be friends, only having had a few short years to get to know each other. Perhaps it was just not meant to be. While I would like to blame the universe, it's not going to do me any good. It didn’t even feel like it was the universe that was at fault for this, strangely enough. It lacked that... taunting quality I have come to associate with every premature loss of a family member or a friend.

Sort of like what the loss of the connection to Azeroth felt like, now that I think about it. It didn’t really feel like a goodbye for some reason. I couldn’t exactly explain what this feeling was but hope probably came the closest to it. Hope that I would someday see Ozpin again. Not just Ozpin, though. I felt like I hadn't seen the last of Chen, Li Li, Yu’lon, and Khadgar, either. And possibly even Starswirl. Or... or Amore, even though I knew full well what Sombra had done to her was most likely irreversible. It was a silly hope, wasn’t it? I wouldn’t be seeing any of them again.

After all, it has been a thousand years since we lost contact with our friends on the other side of the mirror. But maybe that was just the thing I needed. A silly little hope at a chance to see some of those friends again, as unlikely as it would be. It would make for a nice surprise if anything. Sun knows I could use a few of those in my old age.

Surprises were so hard to get by, nowadays. My daughters were certainly a pleasant surprise, as was the sudden and unexpected little trip over to Remnant. Not to mention the meeting with September before he left us with an ominous warning.

Maybe I was wrong, after all. It wasn't so much that surprises were hard to come by, I was simply used to the boring monotony of my life as a nigh-immortal pony princess. I was so used to a regular schedule, the past thousand years of peace skewed my perception of what was and what wasn't a 'surprise' to me (with a few hiccups here and there, but basically nothing came close to the thrilling, world-threatening danger from my youth). Ever since Cadance ascended, something always managed to throw me off my game, and... I couldn’t wait for the next time, eagerly awaiting another exciting occurrence to distract me from my daily routine.

Okay, I wasn’t that eager to be thrown into the unknown, not after what happened on Remnant, but... a few 'little' surprises every now and again would be a welcome change of pace. I think. I could go without major, life-altering events for the next couple of centuries, to be honest.

A little nagging thought in the back of my mind told me I wouldn’t be so fortunate. Whatever this feeling was, I started to get the impression things would only get wilder from here on out. Wilder than even the return of Bitchface Supreme and/or the Crystal Empire. Eh... not as wild and chaotic as the things Discord could cook up, though. Speaking of the draconequus, I am pretty sure he was just biding his time to make his own little come-back from being a pigeon toilet (hopefully without ruining my nation in the process).

It wasn’t exactly a feeling of an oncoming storm that I had. More like... something that wasn’t on the scale of a full-blown storm. Something that was instead more like... the equivalent of a ride on a particularly bumpy roller coaster, I suppose.

My quiet days almost seemed to disagree with this feeling welling up within me. Whether it was holding court or teaching my daughters magic (something that was getting increasingly more difficult with Twilight... and to a lesser degree, even Sunset... they seemingly learned faster than my wives and I could teach them), I started to get a bit fidgety as everything simply continued to be... ordinary.

I couldn’t be imagining this, could I? I was almost certain something was going to happen, but I was the only one that had this foreboding feeling. It was almost like an instinct, something quite similar to what animals sometimes experienced before something big happened.

It couldn’t be my gift trying to warn me to get as far away as I could possibly go, could it? I didn’t have the urgent feeling to flee right this instant, so it probably wasn’t something enormously bad that was about to happen.

...right?

As the years continued on, one by one, my feeling never left me. At the same time, though, life continued on with nothing out of the ordinary happening to warrant this feeling. It was perplexing. Utterly. Perplexing.

Sunset and Twilight just turned eight and all I could do was puzzle over the mystery that was this damn, irritating feeling. They could tell I had something on my mind, my smart little fillies. I wish I could tell them what it was that had their mommy in such a funk, but I couldn’t even tell myself.

It wasn’t like I let it consume me, thankfully. I didn’t want to worry them and they deserved to have the best birthday in the whole world. The best birthday with the best gifts. Twilight was very excited about the scroll that Cadance got for her and her sister. Ah, well... I wasn’t about to roll my eyes at my Rose Petal for giving her little sisters something that would cause them to stay up many nights (which my little Star already does on a regular basis, much to my chagrin). Her 'nightly habits' were partly due to her nature as a thestral unicorn and because she was very much dedicated to reading the entire collection of knowledge Equestria possessed.

Both Sunset and Twilight got a similar necklace to the ones we made when we were young, allowing them to teleport to each other whenever they so desired. Not that they ever left each other’s side for long, I suppose. They could also teleport to our side (or to Cadance) if they felt like they were in enough danger to come to us so that we could deal with whatever problem they might be facing. They didn’t have an infinite mana pool to draw from, so it was important for them to understand that these necklaces were only a last resort.

Something else that we gave them was a diary. Not any old 'ordinary' diary, though. No, these ones were special. It would send a copy of what was written inside to the other diary linked to it, allowing them to always stay in touch with each other and us (while we had access to the scrolls from Remnant nowadays, we sadly still had no workable internet yet). They would probably use those diaries to swap notes with each other, both of them were quite studious when it came to magic, but they could also reach out to us by writing one of our names (or 'Mom') followed by a message we would then receive in one of our books.

It was a rather interesting magic technique. Luna basically entangled the state of one book with the others so it would create a state of quantum whatever that went well past my understanding of physics. But she was smart like that while I was more suited to politics.

Anyway, our books had a rather interesting twist in that they would only glow when the keyword was written. It basically allowed us to keep in touch with them whenever one of us had to travel the country or go on a diplomatic trip to another nation. Liz also just liked to use it as an excuse to not pay attention in court, so there was that.

Sadly, it was pretty much impossible to do the same thing we did with our books for a scroll (something about messing up the input and whatnot). Hence, both of my daughters were also interested in the technology we were... ahem, ‘adapting’... from Remnant. I’m pretty sure it was Luna’s side showing through in both of them, having inherited her love to tinker with everything she could get her hooves on.

Speaking of that, I was quite happy to see that both Twilight and Sunset inherited my love for gaming (even though they were more interested in learning magic to find time to play games with their old hag of a mother most of the time). At least I had something that only we shared with each other, Cadance was never interested in 'hanging out' with me like that.

Liz, of course, gifted them their first sex toy, something that displeased me quite a lot. Sure, both my little fillies knew far more than what I was comfortable with, but that still did not mean Liz could just go ahead and give them... that.

While ponies were a lot more open with their sexuality (doubly so in the case of Liz’s changelings), stuff like this was more appropriate to talk about after their first estrus. Which, thankfully, was still something they need not concern themselves with just yet.

Despite my best efforts, it seemed like my little fillies were growing up far faster than I ever expected. It was understandable with Cadance since she had her memories still intact upon rebirth, but... Sunset and Twilight didn’t have that. Not exactly, that is.

Both of them remembered fragmented memories of Earth but couldn’t really make any sense of them. Most often, those flashes came in the form of nightmares, something that Sunset struggled with especially. I could tell, though, that from what she has told me of those night terrors of hers, they were memories of my former brother, now turned daughter.

It caused her quite a lot of confusion and I didn’t have it in my heart to tell her that the person she saw in those dreams was her former life and that Tobias had not been... the best kind of person. Sunset was... she was different, more... compassionate in comparison to my brother (haah, this was kinda weird talking about my daughter and brother like this, but they were different ponies, in a sense). My daughter tried to look for the best in everypony, just like I taught her, but... I could see that some of my brother was in her when she thought somepony was a lost cause.

Sunset was like... the better version of what Tobias had been. She wasn’t as power-hungry as I feared she might turn out to be, thanks to my efforts in teaching her what I felt she needed to learn so that she might grow up into a compassionate and righteous mare. Her bond with Twilight was equally as remarkable in that regard, keeping her steadfast in her ideals. So much so that she even felt frightened by how cold Tobias’ memories were and how gaining power seemed to be the ‘only’ thing that had mattered to him.

I suppose the best way to teach somepony morals was to give them an example of what they should avoid at all costs. And there were a lot of examples from those nightmares that she desperately wanted to avoid repeating. The things she saw in Tobias’ fragmented memories frightened even me, never having known just how bad those things were that Massive Dynamic researched without a single shred of ethics and morality.

There were some good qualities of Tobias that I saw live on in Sunset, though. She had a fierce need to protect those close to her and a ‘healthy’ hunger for knowledge that was thankfully not as mad as Tobias could have been at times in regard to things one was better off not knowing in the first place.

Of course, with those memories came the question of gender identity, and honestly? I was... confused. It didn’t seem like she had a problem with being female instead of male. My daughter was happy being herself and that's it. Twilight, on the other hoof, was kind of indifferent. Her only reaction to Liz’s ‘gift’ was letting out a ‘huh’, as if she never even once realized there was a difference between her gender and her biological sex. She basically told us that her gender identity was more or less ‘neutral’, which I guess meant gender-fluid in her words? Or a lack of attachment to either side of the spectrum, at the very least.

Sort of like Liz, I suppose.

While Liz could live out every demented fantasy due to her ability to shapeshift into every shape imaginable, even inanimate objects (I lost count of how often the stupid bug transformed herself into a vibrator to satisfy her ‘needs’ to be... well... stuffed into one of us)... our daughters did not have the advantage of being a changeling. The only real way I could give them to ‘experiment’ was my spell and I wasn’t a fan of teaching it to them when they were so young.

I could see why Liz was so happy to also call them her daughters after Ocellus had made the decision to disappear on us. Twilight definitely would have made for a great changeling queen, what with her quite analytical mindset. I had no doubt Liz would have been ecstatic to have had her as an heir to the Canterlot Changeling Hive, instead. Maybe this might just be the incentive for her to consider trying again, who knows?

I wasn't going to allow Liz to corrupt either of them with all things lewd before they even had their first estrus, though. Or afterward, for that matter. It was already bad enough that Liz and Cadance were getting along famously with each other, talking about things that were most certainly not appropriate. I wasn’t going to allow her to give Twilight and Sunset any ideas.

At least Sunset was less vocal about me confiscating the... ugh... dildos Liz gifted them, but was still a bit pouty about it. Twilight tried to steal her newest 'toy' back, grumpy that she wasn’t allowed to experiment with her newest interest in ‘biological reactions through the insertion of foreign objects into erogenous zones’. I was more appalled by the unappealing description of ‘having sex’ than I was of her attempt to disobey me by trying to take it back, though.

That filly really needs to get out more, I swear. She made everything sound unappealing and scientific. It was endearing in its own way, but... sometimes I worry. Sunset was her only friend and that wasn’t exactly what I had hoped for her. Both of them shied away from social interactions, for that matter. Sunset less so than Twilight, but it's not like my fiery, little Sun didn't have her own problems with that. I was understandably worried that they would never make any permanent friends outside of family.

I know it was hard for them to ‘connect’ with other ponies due to their heritage and their status as princesses, but that doesn’t mean they couldn’t at least try, right? Somewhere out there in Equestria, there have to be fillies and colts their own age that had no ulterior motives to befriend my daughters. I just want to see them bond with somepony other than ourselves that they could become best friends with. I was certain that those ponies existed somewhere, they just needed to find them.

Perhaps it wasn’t just Equestria that could offer friendship to those two, I mused while giving Ruby’s group of friends a glance. The four girls were as tight with each other as they have ever been, never having split up as a team of huntresses. ‘Girls’ wasn’t even the right descriptor for them anymore, was it? They were grown adults now, just as much as Cadance.

It was hard to think of them like that, I had to admit. They were all eight years older, all grown up. Time really does fly by when you don’t want it to, doesn’t it? For so long, time had dragged on at a snail’s pace for me and now it was running faster than I could keep up with. I should feel happy about that, getting closer to reuniting with my beloved twin, but... that also meant that my children, my sweet, innocent foals... they would grow up so fast. Faster than I wanted them to grow up, I mourned. Even Cadance was well past the point where I couldn't pretend that she wasn't an adult by now.

“Ruby..?” Cadance asked sweetly, throwing me out of my musings. “Can you tell me why you thought it a wise idea to give my sisters a weapon as a present?”

My fur got incredibly pale (an amazing feat considering it was almost pure white already) as I turned my attention to the recently opened gift boxes in front of my little fillies, seeing just that lying on a velvety red pillow.

“What?” my little petal asked, confused. I tried to keep the panicked whinny suppressed, but a snort of flame managed to elude my resolve to not turn into a raging storm of fire. “I got my first weapon to train with at their age, what’s wrong with that?”

“Petal...” I growled, glaring at her as my mane burst into flames and my coat turned orange. “I don’t care if ponies are starting to think that being huntresses is ‘cool’, I don’t want my daughters getting any ideas.”

“But Mom!” Sunset whined and my incendiary gaze alone made her wilt. That didn't stop her from being pouty. “Being a huntress is cool, though...”

I snarled, snapping the lid of the wooden case shut with a bit too much force, cracking it. “Don’t you ‘Mom!’ me, young lady! It is only ‘cool’ so long until a timberwolf sinks its fangs into your leg,” I shot back, wings fully extended as my blood pounded in my ears. I calmed my temperament to the best of my ability, but it was still boiling with anger and fear. Mostly fear, though. “Trust me... it is something very painful and the resulting infection is not pretty.”

“Fine...” Sunset pouted, sniffling to herself. I sighed, letting go of my anger as I felt an overwhelming amount of guilt. Slowly, I draped my wing over her back and drew her into a tight hug, whispering an apology into her ear regretfully. The thought of hurting her feelings made me feel more miserable than the thought of her learning how to hold her own in a battle. “Why can’t we, though? Learn how to fight and how to defend ourselves, I mean?”

“I...” I began, biting my lip hesitantly. Because I didn’t want you to hurt yourselves, I almost said. Because I didn’t trust you to be able to defend yourselves, I thought. Because... I want to shelter you in a misguided attempt to keep you dependent on me. Because I don’t want you to outgrow my care like... like Cadance and Ruby. I was afraid, simple as that. But I couldn’t do that to you, could I? Telling you of my selfish desires... it wasn’t fair to you and your sister. Even though I wanted to, so very much, I couldn’t do that to you. “Are you sure you want to go through such harsh training, my little Sun? Ask Cadance, she can tell you how taxing it can be. And she was a lot older than you are now when we started with her combat training.”

Cadance scoffed. “Right,” she said. “Mentally, sure. That never stopped you from torturing Ruby and me, though, did it?”

“Oh, hush, you,” I said, getting her to roll her eyes at me with a tiny smile. “Besides, your big sister is an alicorn, she is a lot sturdier than...”

“I don’t care,” Sunset glowered, crossing her arms over her chest petulantly. “I can be a thousand times tougher than the toughest alicorn in the world. I want to know how to defend my sister!”

Her determination was almost cute if it weren’t for what we were talking about here. “I see..." I said, smiling sadly. There really was no talking her out of this, was there? If she was truly serious about this, then I need to know something... "Will you say that a month from now, begging me to stop as you drag yourself to your own bed in pain?”

“Pain? What is that?” Sunset shot back, grinning slightly, seemingly proud of herself. “I can take it, Mom! I’m a big mare now! I’m eight!”

A flash of light and a snapping sound was all I needed to see and hear to know that Cadance just shot a picture of us with her scroll. No matter how dark the topic was, I later would look back at this moment with a fond smile, of that I had no doubt. Still, I wish I could have avoided going through this with Sunset if at all possible. Twilight seemed content with learning magic theory from her books, so I had hoped that I could at least avoid making either of them go through the same grueling training we put Cadance through.

“Your Highness? If I may speak plainly?” Weiss Schnee asked and I gave her a hesitant nod. I could probably guess what Ruby’s friend had to say about this topic, no doubt having seen the potential in my daughter with her keen eyes. She was a perfectionist through and through, after all. “As part of royalty, it would be beneficial for them to know how to defend themselves, and the earlier they learn how the better. The children on Remnant learn to fight at an even younger age, and with how gifted they already are, you would have no fear of something happening to them if they knew what they would need to do and have their skills refined to a fine edge. I know how... 'easy' of a target one can be in a position like theirs.”

“I am... aware of the practices of Remnant’s teaching methods and how the nobles train their own offspring even here in Equestria, Miss Schnee,” I said, familiar with her family's history with the White Fang. I could guess what she must have felt like growing up in a family that was the target of an extremist group (rightfully so, her father was... anything but a kind man). “You do not have to remind me of that. I am merely... reluctant to do this with fillies so young. Our own mother held nothing back as she trained Luna and me in the art of combat. Cadance knows this perhaps just as much, having taken on the role of a Guardian of Ponykind herself. Willingly, I might add.”

“Mom...” Cadance sighed, fidgeting on her hind legs. “You don’t have to do this, but... I can agree with Weiss that it would help them with... that. You know what I’m talking about and I know you already have something in mind to get them started on that path, haven’t you?”

“It depends on whether my hunch is correct,” I nodded, biting my lip. Both Sunset and Twilight had the potential to wield Magic. As in, the Element of Magic, should they be able to reforge it from the broken remnants in our old castle. If they can truly accomplish the impossible, then I think I might be able to lead them down the path to ascension, something I desired very much.

I looked down into the hopeful eyes of my most precious daughter and felt conflicted. It would be for the best, wouldn’t it? Especially with how gloomy the future might look, fraught with danger I could possibly never predict. This foreboding feeling that I had... it felt similar to what life felt like back in our youth, didn’t it? I can’t keep them sheltered forever like I had wanted to do with Cadance.

“What are you talking about, Mom?” Sunset asked, curiously looking up at me. Twilight was giving me the same look on the other side of the table, cuddled up against Luna. It was perhaps a bit cliché, but they seemed like mini-versions of ourselves, gravitating to the parent they felt like they were the closest to. We both loved them equally, but perhaps we did play favorites, now that I was thinking about it.

“Nothing important,” I said, sticking my tongue out at her. Sunset went back to sulking, pouting to herself despite enjoying the closeness of our hug. “You will find out eventually, dear. I promise. When the time comes, you will know.”

“You always say that,” Sunset grumbled. “It’s always ‘later, Sunny’ or ‘You will learn when you are older, little Sun’. Well, I am older now! I’m eight, I’m a grown-up, too!”

“Yes, yes,” I giggled. “All big and strong. Very well, if you think yourself ready for this, I will teach you the art of combat. Don’t you dare come complaining to me, though.”

“I’ll show you and become the greatest mage there ever was!” Sunset nodded to herself, puffing out her chest proudly. “You will see, nopony will stand a chance against Equestria with me defending it! I’ll be just like you, striking fear into bullies and monsters alike by my mere presence!”

“I have no doubt about that, little Sun,” I smiled, nuzzling the top of her head. It was so very cute, seeing her try to emulate me so much. There were worse things than one’s own daughter trying to step into the hoofsteps of her mother, right? “You will do a great job at keeping Equestria safe...”

...even if I might actually die, against all odds. If that is the case, it would be for the best if I begin teaching you everything you are going to need so that you could, in time (and should the worst come to the worst), be able to rule in my stead over the heavens. As Ozpin and his little secret order liked to say, no one season lasts forever, no Summer is like the last.

That ego, though... while not too bad, it would be better to work that out while we’re already at it, no? Can’t let you end up with as big a head as Tia had. That certainly would not do, I thought with amusement.

Thus, their eighth birthday came and went. And so did their ninth and tenth, passing us by all too fast. Ten years... I had little time left to get them ready until the thousandth year of Tia’s banishment was over.

Cadance was as prepared as she could be, I suppose. Sunset was coming along nicely with her own training, too. Ruby and Cadance were the perfect training opponents for her, challenging her in ways that I could not. Fighting against an opponent (or two) with a perfect defense or offense proved to be the ideal method to train Sunset in thinking outside of the box and adapting to every possible scenario that they could throw at her.

Sunset’s growth was startling, prodigal even. I expected her to struggle a lot more than she already did (not entirely surprising, seeing that she was going up against opponents that were, for all intents and purposes, genuine goddesses), lasting for a few minutes at most against their combined assault. That she even lasted that long against the ‘kinda twins’ was very impressive.

It did not surprise me to see Sunset already trying to use advanced spells and succeeding more often than not in actually casting them with enough time at her disposal. Her destructive potential over her mana pool and spellcasting speed has grown by a ludicrous amount since she started with the combat training that we put her through almost on a daily basis (not to mention, her mana regeneration rate gave her the ability to constantly cast regular spells without pause... and in a few years, she might even be able to cast advanced spells at the same speed).

Most advanced spells caused even fully mature unicorns to struggle with them if they had no aptitude for spellcasting or did not have a Cutie Mark in the field of the particular spell category (especially with spells that were meant for combat). Sunset quite literally had the affinity for it and it showed in explosive results. A few of her more powerful spells already managed to create fine hairline cracks in the shield Cadance put up, a testament to the destructive capability she most likely inherited from me.

At this point, I had no doubt they would put even the professors at our school to shame. Sunset and Twilight were for all intents and purposes on the level of half-gods, magic strength-wise. Regular strength, though? There was a reason why I was so worried for Sunset’s safety.

She was a glass cannon, through and through. If her opponent manages to get into her reach (something that Ruby was very much capable of, to a frightening degree even), I could only hope she would be able to mitigate the worst of the damage and escape. My sweet little filly tried to hide it, but I could see that it frustrated her that she had such a glaring weakness.

It wasn’t at all surprising to me, considering just who it was that she looked up to. Both Cadance and Ruby were able to tank quite a lot of damage, as was the case with me. I could allow myself to make some mistakes, as could my little petals with our accelerated healing due to our alicorn nature. Sunset... she wasn’t that fortunate. And it showed in her mood and determination to work even harder on herself, always keeping that bright and hopeful light alive in her eyes even as she was faced with impossible challenges.

Her resolve was truly inspiring for somepony so young. Even as she kept failing time after time, she picked herself up, again and again, determined to last even one second longer against them the next time.

While I kept telling her that she did not need to try and live up to expectations that were unreasonably high for herself, she kept doing it to herself. She wanted to be better, vowing to herself to do everything she could so that she could keep Equestria, and far more important to her, her sister safe.

Twilight was her whole world and she made it her mission to keep her safe from harm, whether it be hurtful words of those foolish enough to bully one of their princesses or act as her sword should something dare to threaten her.

Although, there was one thing that did surprise me as I taught my daughter everything she wanted to learn from me (within reason, that is... I would not let her come within a hooves length of dark magic tomes if it was the last thing I did). Not only did she turn her disability of being unable to properly control her vast amounts of mana into an advantage, but she also had an insanely high reaction speed to use that mana in the most efficient way to counter almost everything my little petals could come up with. It was almost like she could react faster than physically possible with her magic, being in perfect harmony with her thoughts and will. And with each day, with each training session... she only got better at it.

Sunset... she adapted my own fighting style without too much difficulty. My little Sun had taken to the avoidance style of fighting like a fish to water and was already able to teleport after only two years of training at her young age (not unlike myself, I realized, remembering the first time I used a teleportation spell to save my sister from the timberwolves that threatened her after she ran away).

Both Twilight and Sunset were prodigies with magic, in their own ways. Sunset was quickly proving to be a master of emotional magic while Twilight... Twilight was a genius for different reasons. Our little Star needed to see a spell only once in order for her to be able to figure out how it worked (for the most part) and was already studying spells that would have taken other unicorns decades to even comprehend.

While Sunset was already applying her knowledge and skills quite adeptly in her combat lessons, Twilight seemed to struggle with the practical application of her magic. I had no idea why that was, to be honest. Everything pointed to her being just as gifted as Sunset in magic, even surpassing her in some (if not most) aspects of it. But unlike Sunset, though, she seemed to be unable to get over her unstable control of mana, especially while not within her own comfort zone (meaning: everywhere not in the castle, within the proximity of her family, and/or books).

Twilight was less of a practical learner than Sunset appeared to be, it seemed. Perhaps she was just overthinking everything too much, hindering herself in the process, but that did not mean she was any less good at magic than her sister. Far from it, even. It just took her longer to properly learn how to manipulate her mana safely while casting a spell, which led to her staying up for far longer than what was considered healthy for a foal her age, studying until she literally fell asleep with her muzzle buried in dusty old tomes.

Even then, it didn’t hinder her too much. At the rate at which she soaked up knowledge, she was pretty much on par with Sunset. She had the potential for more, though. So much more, in fact.

Maybe Luna and I were simply not the right teachers for her, unable to properly help her with rational magic in the way that my twin would have been able to teach her instead. Twilight’s growth, while incredibly fast already, was stunted by the single fact that she had to basically teach herself everything she needed to know.

Professor Doctor Cold Hooves was right with his prediction. She had the potential to become a prodigy among prodigies, only for her to be slowed down because nopony was able to keep up with her and teach her properly.

It truly was a heartbreaking feeling, to be unable to help one’s own daughter reach their full potential. She was still a prodigy among prodigies, that much did not change... just not to the degree that was possible for her to achieve.

Perhaps that might prove to be a better thing in the end, though. All the intellect in the world could not help her find true happiness if all she ever knew was studying. A healthy balance of seeking out knowledge and going out into the world would benefit her quite possibly more.

Twilight might never reach the height of her potential if all she ever did was seclude herself from the world in the pursuit of knowledge. It was even more important for her to make friends than it was for Sunset, wasn’t it? I feared she would end up like Tabetha, craving knowledge more than anything else that it became a risk for her own health, dooming herself to repeat the same mistakes her previous incarnation made.

It was hard to get her away from her beloved books, though. If it continues like this, I might have to resort to more drastic measures to get her to appreciate making some friends aside from her own twin. Although... knowing her, she would probably try to study friendship in an academic fashion, as silly as that thought sounded to me. Perhaps that was just the thing to get her motivated, though...

Twilight and Sunset were already progressing at a faster pace than Cadance ever did. I had to wonder how that would turn out for them later down the line. If either of them ended up with an Element of Harmony, something I fear might very much be a possibility, it would mean they would become a priority target for Platinum. That was something I could not allow to happen.

I can’t fail them, I swore that to myself and I intended to keep that promise, no matter what. Platinum would surely try something if she became aware that I even had daughters, to begin with. I had no doubts about that. Whether or not I could prepare them sufficiently enough in the last remaining years remains to be seen, though.

With the rate they were growing, they might just surprise me and defeat Platinum without needing to be kept safe.

Suffice it to say, once they got their Cutie Marks, nothing would stop their growth. By the time they are adults, they might just reach the heights of what unicorns could be capable of. To be honest, they might even become the Starswirls of this day and age, they already had the will to gain the necessary knowledge and they had the potential for casting complex and powerful spells.

Even if I... ugh, I hate to even consider it, but... even if I might fail in getting them to ascend before they grow too old, I could train them well enough that they might attempt Starswirl’s old faulty time travel spell and succeed, granting me enough time to come up with another solution.

I was sure that I could...

My thoughts were derailed as I felt massive amounts of mana burst forth from both of my daughters as another source in the distance spread all over the nation in a matter of seconds. Cadance threw up a shield around Sunset in her panic as a maelstrom of fire threatened to turn everything to ash in the training courtyard and I saw something similar happening somewhere around the Royal Archives with a hail storm.

Sunset cried out for me and I was at her side an instant later, bracing myself against the rogue mana of my daughter. It stung mildly, but the well-being of my little Sun was more important right at this moment. I knew Luna must be doing the same for Twilight, having taken it upon herself to make sure our little Star took a break every once in a while from her study sessions.

“Mommy!” Sunset reached out to me and I let out soothing hums, embracing her even as I felt her mana attack my own. “It... hurts!”

“Shh, Sunset,” I said, trying to calm her erratic magic down. I knew it would happen at some point, there was no way I could have prepared her enough except to drain her magic on a daily basis, but... it still came as a surprise to see how powerful her surge would be. At least it happened while I was right next to her. “I’m here, I’m here.”

“Make it stop,” she whimpered and I smiled gently, silently telling her that everything would be over before she knew it. Her mana refused to bend to my will, though. Plan B it is, then.

“I need you to calm down, Sunny,” I told her, making her focus on me through her agony. “Let my mana guide yours, okay? You are a brave and smart little filly, you can do it.”

“O-okay,” she nodded, whimpering. Absentmindedly, I noticed large cracks forming in Cadance’s shield as she struggled to contain the sheer power my daughter displayed with her out-of-control magic, but I focused back on what was important right now. Teaching my daughter control on a level that she had never needed before this moment.

From outside our little fiery bubble, I heard a muffled shout of encouragement from what could have only been Cadance. “You can do it, Firecracker! I know it!”

Cadance’s words almost seemed to give her little sister the resolve she needed and slowly, the flames began to grow smaller around us. Just like that, I nodded at Sunset, taking most of the explosive force stoically head-on, helping guide her magic with my own.

“I... I am strong,” Sunset told herself, wincing as she snorted a puff of flames out of her nostrils. “This... urgh... this is nothing. My... magic... is my own to control!”

“Almost there,” I reassured her, for now ignoring the startled call of the Heavenly Sun and the Summer Sun within the sky. I did not dare to listen to what they had to ‘say’ while my daughter was fighting down the veritable storm that was her surge right now. She was doing an admirable job, so far. “Just a little bit more, little Sun.”

Before Cadance’s shield broke utterly, another one formed over hers, reinforcing it. It almost had the same color, only showing a subtle difference to the light brilliant blue of my Rose Petal’s aura. Thankfully, it turned out that it wasn’t needed as the flames receded, at last, leaving me with a heavily breathing filly in my arms.

On her flanks, I spotted something that had not been there before this moment. A red and golden sun, making my eyes widen in disbelief. Her very Cutie Mark depicted the twin suns in a single emblem, causing me to wonder what that could possibly mean for my daughter. What sort of destiny did she have?

My eyes grew even larger as I saw the mare standing next to Cadance as they let go of their battered shields. An alicorn mare.

“Aunty Yang?” Sunset asked in my arms, as confused as myself. “What are you doing here? And why do you have wings and a horn?”

“Uh...” the alicorn in front of us hesitated, her eye color not a lilac one but a very familiar cyan reminiscent of Luna’s and Sunset’s own. “This is... awkward.”

My Rose petal snorted. “This is weird, you mean,” Cadance corrected her, staring between both versions of her little sister. One being not so little, at that.

“Yeah...” she laughed awkwardly back, rubbing her neck nervously. “Hi, Mom?”

One of my brows went up at her blatant casualness. “All you have to say for yourself is ‘Hi, Mom’?” I asked and snorted in disbelief. “How did you get here? And for that matter... how did you get those wings?”

Adult-Sunset fidgeted on the spot, trying not to look too chastised. “I better don’t tell you anything in regards to the future, Mom,” she said while her gaze wandered over to her younger self. “Timey-wimey... stuff, you know?”

“Wait, so you aren’t Aunty Yang, then?” Sunset asked, confused. “But...”

“It’s best to not think about it too hard, Firecracker,” her future self smiled. “Trust me. Time travel is way too complicated, and for some reason, these things keep happening to us.”

“And what is that supposed to mean?” I asked, narrowing my eyes in suspicion.

“Spoilers,” my future daughter shrugged. “I really can’t tell you too much about what is going to happen, Mom. You already know too much as it is and... you know... you told me not to.”

“Of course, I did,” I rolled my eyes grumpily. “I hate future Summer.”

“So... what now?” Adult-Sunset asked and I sighed, setting my daughter down after looking her over one last time for any lasting injuries. I thankfully took the brunt of her destructive magic, so she was none the worse for wear aside from a disheveled mane and a headache.

“I should better go look if your sister is okay,” I said, readying my wings. “Will you be okay looking after... well, yourself... for a moment?”

“Sure,” she shrugged. “I have big sis here with me, no problem.”

Right, I sighed, taking flight only to see Luna in the distance flying over to us with another alicorn mare. An alicorn mare that suspiciously looked like the little filly riding on her mother’s back next to her.

“Sister, you will never believe this,” Luna said once we were close enough to each other, looking exuberantly over to the adult version of Twilight Star next to her. I suppressed the urge to run my hoof through my face and, instead, settled for twitching eyelids as I regarded my daughter with a stare.

“Surprise me,” I said with a dry tone of voice, turning to Lulu with a deadpan stare.

“That’s Liz,” Luna said, barely holding back the grin that threatened to show on her face.

“Uh-huh,” I nodded.

Luna pouted. “You’re no fun, you know that?” she said and I smiled slightly. I should have known that would be the first thing Lulu would try with me, it was just too bad I already knew what was going on. Sort of. “I guess you have run into Sunset’s adult version, then?”

I nodded and gave the Cutie Mark on both the filly version and the adult version of my daughter a quick glance. A six-pointed star with six other, smaller ones, around it. I couldn’t help but stare at the very depiction of the Element of Magic right there in front of my eyes on their flanks. First Sunset’s Cutie Mark, and now Twilight’s? Surely this could not be a coincidence. “I’d better show you our... not so little Sun, then...”

“My sister is also here in Canterlot?” Twilight asked with a happy little grin gracing her muzzle, showing off her sharp fangs. She was beating her leathery wings furiously without a single effort, a stark contrast to the feathery wings I had seen on Sunset not a moment ago. “Great! That means I don’t have to go searching for her... again. That just leaves the rest of our friends.”

“Right...” I sighed, mentally adding ‘Spoilers!’ to that statement and leaving it at that. I’m sure I will find out eventually. As aggravating as it was to not know what was going on, one thing that I had in abundance was patience.

I suppose one good thing I learned from this was the fact that Twilight and Sunset apparently had found friends. Friends that were most likely also currently absent from their proper timeline and with their younger selves. It would be for the best to get them back to their own time lest they cause more paradoxes with their presence here. I’d rather avoid having the universe implode, thank you very much.

Their arrival would also explain the massive surge of mana I felt spread over all of Equestria, causing both of my daughters to surge at the same time as well. Probably from being startled while using magic, suddenly overwhelmed from the sensation of this... 'mana explosion', for lack of a better term to describe this. Hopefully, none of my subjects were affected too badly. “I’m glad nothing bad happened to you, little Star.”

“Which one of us do you mean, Mom?” she asked and I groaned silently to myself. This was just as annoying as not knowing what the flying penguin was going on. It would probably be for the best to figure out a way to address them separately aside from mentally adding filly or adult to their names.

“Let’s just say both of you, for now, dear,” I smiled, booping her muzzle with a hoof. “Now come on, your sister is back with Cadance in the training courtyard, waiting for us.”

“How does one get wings, Mom? You can't just stick them on, that doesn't make any sense!” Filly-Twilight asked and I mentally groaned once more. Perfect. Just perfect. Now they were curious, weren’t they? It’s going to annoy them to no end that I couldn’t give them an answer to that particular question. Especially Twilight, she really could get grumpy about not getting her curiosity sated.

“I’ll answer that question when you are..."—I stopped, blinking before looking at the adult version of my daughter—"...how old are you, Twilight?” I asked, curious. I suppose I could address her with Twilight and her younger self as Star, couldn’t I? I hate time paradoxes. It makes everything needlessly complicated.

“Sunny and I just turned twenty-six,” she answered, coming in for a landing next to me while the rest of my daughters came over to us. “I suppose we should explain what happened to send us here?”

Sunset let out a strangled kind of noise, rubbing her neck anxiously. “I mean... it’s your call, sis,” she said, biting her lip with a fang. “I’m not going to piss off Mom again, it’s your turn.”

Adult-Twilight rolled her eyes, an aggravated look on her muzzle that reminded me of Luna when she was annoyed. “Mom told us not to tell her what happened that caused us to be alicorns and... you know... that,” she retorted. “I’m frankly surprised she didn’t go through with erasing our memories the first time this happened to us.”

“What?” I asked, aghast. “Why would I do that?!”

Twilight laughed nervously, rubbing her leg as she avoided my eyes. She and Sunset shared a glance with each other. “Something about avoiding paradoxes..?”

Flipping flying penguins...

“Okay...” I sighed, rubbing my eyes tiredly. “That does make sense, but... I’d rather not use mind magic on my own daughters. You didn’t commit a crime by accidentally traveling back in time, did you?”

“As far as I'm aware?” Twilight said slowly, giving me and Luna a sheepish look. “You should probably make time travel illegal, but that would also create a time paradox because... uh... Sunny and I have gone back in time a couple of times now?”

“And how often did you do that exactly?” Luna asked, raising a brow at her. Ugh. The more I find out, the bigger the headache would become, wouldn’t it? “For that matter, why are you even using time travel magic in the first place? I would think we taught you better than that.”

“Well...” Twilight began, fidgeting nervously with her wings. Wings that our little Star and Sun couldn’t look away from. Twilight’s younger self even went so far as to stretch the membranous wing of her older self out in order to study it up close, something that Adult-Twilight didn’t even seem to mind at all. “There was that one time with... uh..."—she snapped her muzzle shut before she could mention anything further than that—" Right, no spoilers, eh heh heh. All I can really say is that we haven’t gone further back than around this point in time.”

“And that will hopefully stay that way,” Sunset muttered, giving her sister a look that made Twilight blush in embarrassment. “Discord causes enough chaos as it is.”

“Discord?!” I asked, my voice coming out in a fearful whisper. What does she mean by ‘he causes it’? Why was she talking like... like he wasn’t imprisoned anymore?

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear...

“You weren’t supposed to say that, sis!” Twilight reprimanded Sunset, tugging harshly at her twin’s ear. “Now Mom is panicking! Again!”

“Ow! Sorry, sheesh... always the damn ear,” Sunset muttered, rubbing her ear as Luna tried to calm me down while everything started to spin around me. Discord can’t just... he...

“Sister, breathe,” Luna’s voice felt like a calming balm to my stressed-out mind, and slowly, I regained enough of my composure to not go into hysterics immediately afterward again. “What is this about Discord?”

“We... can’t exactly tell you, Mom,” Twilight grimaced, giving me a worried look as Luna held me in her hooves. Little Star was standing awkwardly next to her, fidgeting a little bit fearfully at seeing me not be my strong self. Sunny was perhaps just as afraid as she watched us from where Cadance held onto her. “But Discord isn’t really... as bad as you think he is.”

I snorted, keeping the snarl barely contained as I thought back to all the monstrous things he did a thousand years ago. Whatever he did to be released from his stone prison, I was sure he was nothing but bad news. My future self must be a moron, I thought darkly. Nothing good would come from having Discord running around freely.

Luna frowned. “Tell me,” she started, her eyes staring sternly at both of our daughters. “Is he or is he not causing chaos on a massive scale?”

“I...” Twilight hesitated, looking to her sister for help.

“Not... necessarily?” Sunset answered, giving Twilight an unhappy grumble for having to be the bringer of bad news. “He is... Discord. He does what he wants when he wants, but... I guess we have somepony that keeps him in check? He actually is a kinda chill guy once you get to know him... and look past his antics...”

That... that was utterly impossible. Discord does not bow down to anypony, he was unable to be controlled. He is the very Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, there was no way a mortal pony could have enough power to ‘keep him in check’ as my daughter claimed.

Subtly, I used my magic to search for any kind of corruptive influence on either of their minds, only to find none. So, for whatever reason, Sunset was actually convinced Discord was ‘good’. And neither was she under his influence, so that leaves out Discord trying to manipulate us in some form to make us ‘trust’ him.

It was confusing to no end.

How could it be that my daughters would trust that damnable snake? And I apparently let Discord roam freely for some inexplicable reason. That was perhaps even more perplexing to me than knowing that my daughters had such a high opinion of him (any opinion other than ‘imprison on sight’ was a high opinion in this particular case, to be honest).

So... what changed? Why would I change my opinion of him so drastically? He couldn’t just be... good, could he? Not after all that he did. My memory of that time was not the best one, but I knew for certain it was absolute madness, and the resulting fall-out was even worse.

So many lives were lost because of him. Back then, hundreds of thousands of monsters were roaming around Equestria, and even to this day, there were still creatures of his design living in the wilderness. I couldn’t just look past all of that and forgive him, could I? What reason could I have to think he would... be... useful...

My eyes widened.

Could it be? Was that the reason why I tried to reconcile with Discord of all beings? Because his type of magic could actually do good? That he would even use it willingly for a good cause baffled me utterly, but apparently, he does. In the future, Discord is going to use his magic for good and that would earn him his freedom, and perhaps my forgiveness.

I was reminded of his last moments, that satisfied glint in his eyes. Was all the chaos he caused... could it be that he tried to do a good thing? But... what could there possibly be that was 'good' about all the suffering he caused?

One thing did come to my mind, at that. Progress. He caused the whole world to think of solutions to the plight that plagued each and every nation after his reign ended. Ponies, too, for that matter. A lot of different remedies and medicines were discovered around that time, hygiene became better, and schooling became commonly available. Ponies actually made progress after Discord put the fear of mortality in them. In all of us, for that matter.

Most of the things we have now wouldn’t be possible if it were not for Discord. It was a frightening thought, wasn’t it? We... we were indebted to Discord.

My eyelid twitched. Indebted. To. Discord. After all the suffering he caused, are we suddenly supposed to be grateful to him? To that abhorrent snake? He was the reason I couldn’t say goodbye to most of my friends as they died in his make-believe Wonderland! How was I supposed to forgive that?!

I... I was holding a grudge, wasn’t I? A thousand years in stone... it was punishment enough. He has had enough time to think over all the things he did. Wasn’t it time to forgive him?

How could I hold his very nature against him? He was supposed to cause chaos, it was his purpose. Like it was my purpose to raise and lower the Summer Sun. If I hold that against him... what kind of pony would that make me? I swore to myself that I would return to how I was, to not let my bitterness guide me anymore. To listen to my heart.

So... what was my heart saying right now?

The answer came almost instantly to me. I knew it with such certainty, my mind began to protest against my bleeding heart. My heart wanted to give him that second chance. If he was willing to be good, to use his purpose in a way that did not create suffering... I knew I could actually forgive him.

I had been willing to give Platinum chances upon chances once upon a time in my youth until I realized what a monster she truly was. Why couldn’t I grant Discord that chance to better himself? If I could give somepony that never deserved a single chance so many of them... shouldn’t I give Discord the same courtesy? If he truly was trying to help (as ridiculous as that sounded in my mind), I owed it to him and myself.

It was up to him to accept my offer to start anew and take that chance. It was up to him to decide whether or not he wanted to make the best of it. Either he took that chance or he would prove me right and betray my trust. Whether or not I would grant him a chance after that was up to him and his willingness to repent. I would have to really think of this conundrum a bit more when everything was sufficiently calm enough for me to do so, possibly stall out the decision until I’m absolutely certain of what to do so that it wouldn’t immediately backfire on me (and have a backup plan in case that he does decide to cause havoc again), but first... I have to get my daughters back to their own time. Somehow.

“So,” I began, breathing calmly in and out, my panic from a few moments ago (mostly) forgotten. “How did you get here and how do we get you back? What do you remember from your first time witnessing this?”

“Well...” Sunset muttered, thinking probably about the exact circumstances that led to their appearance here. “One of our friends was performing for some delegates from Abyssinia and during her sonic rainboom, lightning struck. It must have caused all of us to go back to the time of her first sonic rainboom.”

“I agree, that sounds like the most plausible theory. And... to be honest?” Twilight said, giving her younger self a glance while muttering under her breath. The look in her eyes... was she being judgmental of her younger self? “Most of the things I remember from then are along the lines of ‘Wings, wings, wings!’ and ‘I grow up that tall?’”

“I wouldn’t exactly call you of all ponies ‘tall’, sis,” Sunset teased her, making her twin pout back at her. “But we should probably get back to Ponyville and group up with our friends there. Rarity and Applejack already live there, Pinkie will no doubt be on her way over to there from her parent’s rock farm, and Rainbow and Flutters aren’t too far away from Ponyville in Cloudsdale.”

“How do you think Fluttershy’s younger self will react to... well... herself?” Twilight asked her sister and Sunset grimaced slightly.

“I have hope that she won’t scare herself to death, at least,” Sunset said, biting her lip nervously. “She hasn’t really changed all that much from how she behaved before... you know, 'that' happened... but she does look kinda scary when she doesn’t want to. Or if she actually wants to be...”

I raised my eyebrow at my daughter, finding it particularly interesting as she subconsciously rubbed her ear again. There was a story there, wasn’t there? If they continue to give me breadcrumbs like those, I’m going to die of curiosity despite my vast patience.

“If you hadn’t told Aunty about that, I might have been able to change her back, you know,” Twilight grumbled, only to receive a glare from Sunset.

“Sis, if you ever use another experimental spell on her, I’mma stuff you into our Aunt’s room during estrus,” she threatened, causing her sister to sputter with a bright red muzzle. “Let’s just get to Ponyville before Mom gets a conniption from trying to figure out what we are talking about. We really need to learn how to shut our muzzles around her, you know.”

She wasn’t wrong about that. I had even more questions now than before and I was extremely curious to find out who they actually meant by ‘Aunty’. They couldn’t mean Tia with that, could they? Why would they call her Aunty instead of... Mom?

You know what? I don’t want to know. Knowing too much about one’s own future was way too dangerous for my liking. That I knew far too much already was bad enough as it is.

“If you need to get to Ponyville, we could get a few chariots ready,” I offered, only for Twilight to shake her head at me.

“No need,” Twilight said, smiling slightly as she unfurled her wings. “We can just fly there...”

I pointedly gave her younger self a look and she shut up before she could continue with that train of thought. “Right. We probably need our younger selves there to get back to our own time, don’t we?”

“It stands to reason that it would help to have yourselves there with you,” Luna nodded. “In that case, we should make haste with getting you to Ponyville. Preferably before something happens that might endanger the future.”

Our daughters didn’t argue against that, and together with their younger selves in tow, we saw them off at the Canterlot Royal Airport. Our guards didn’t even question why there were suddenly two versions of the royal heirs here with us, stoically going ahead with their duty to serve us to their best ability.

Perhaps they deserve a raise, I mused to myself.

“Shouldn’t we make sure they are okay?” Cadance asked and I looked down at her for a moment, before gazing back towards the chariots that grew more and more distant from Canterlot.

“I have faith in them,” I smiled. “Seeing those wings on them... it does make one wonder how they got them, does it not?”

“It doesn’t hurt to go spy on them, right?” Cadance proposed with a mischievous glint in her eyes and Luna snorted next to me.

“What do you think we are going to do, dear daughter?” Luna grinned, walking off the edge and letting herself drop for a few meters before shooting off into the distance after our daughters. I sighed. A giggle next to me caused me to roll my eyes at their antics before I followed after my wife and my eldest daughter.

Besides, I was curious to see their friends, myself. Liz could probably take care of anything that would come up here in Canterlot, couldn’t she? I felt only slightly guilty for leaving her here all alone without saying anything to her.

Ah, well... she was holding court, anyway. It's not like we still have a few hours in our schedule for magic and combat training left. This was just an... unexpected field trip. She won't get mad at me for that, right?

Ahem, anyway! We didn’t actually go into Ponyville looking like we usually do. Not only would that have clued our daughters into us spying on them, but it would have also caused far too much of a ruckus with us there as the Princesses of Equestria. I’d rather avoid causing a scene by going unannounced to a small little village that was by all rights unassuming and unimportant.

It was anything but that, wasn’t it? Not only did my daughters apparently live here in the future for some reason, but it was also right next to the Everfree Forest (and with that, our old castle). Not to mention, since the very founding of this settlement, the Apple Family Clan has spread all over Equestria, making Ponyville a hot spot for everything apple-related. I might pay Granny Smith a visit, just to see how she’s doing these days.

Luna, Cadance, and I entered the seemingly tranquil village after we had transformed ourselves into little birds, courtesy of my nifty spell. My daughter looked quite cute like that, fluttering every which way with a certain child-like wonder.

I didn’t expect to find a whole group of alicorns, having waited for the arrival of my daughters. I might have fainted on the spot right then and there if it weren’t for the sheer happiness (and, I suppose, the adrenalin) flooding through my tiny little body. How that happened... I can’t even fathom to guess.

Could the return of Platinum be enough of a worthy Trial of Ascension for all of them? Oh dear, I didn’t want to think about the sheer chaos that would cause in Canterlot. I just know the nobles would throw a hissy fit about that one. So many new alicorns... it made my heart beat faster with joy. So many ponies that would stay with us... it was a dream come true, wasn’t it?

I... I dared to let myself hope that I would be able to make friends again. Friends that wouldn’t leave us alone after growing old. And I dared to hope my daughters would actually be able to find love among that group of alicorns.

One thing that did strike me as odd, though, was the thestral alicorn mare next to the young pegasus version of herself, meeting up with my daughters just as they hopped out of their chariots. Even her Cutie Mark was different from the one her filly version had on her flanks.

Cadance tilted her head, leaning slightly forward. “That must be Fluttershy,” she noted, sitting next to me on the branch Luna and I took a perch on. “What do you think must have happened to her?”

“Twilight, obviously,” Luna remarked, and I hit her behind the head with a wing, causing her to grumble at me. “Though I suppose your sister must have cast a particularly powerful spell to transform her permanently like that.”

“Fluttershy might have had dormant thestral genes in her DNA from the very beginning for such a thing to work in the first place,” I mused, getting Luna to nod thoughtfully.

“It would certainly explain how her transformation stabilized itself like that,” she said, hopping further down the branch to get a closer look at her and the other ponies gathered together with our daughters. “Her fangs aren’t too big, she might be a descendant of a vampire fruit bat thestral. And it seems like this is her regular, default self, judging by the feeling of her presence. So I doubt we are looking at her darker version here.”

“There are different kinds of thestral?” Cadance asked, intrigued. Luna nodded, tilting her head as she noticed the different eye colors of Fluttershy’s older version and her younger one.

“Indeed there are,” Luna answered, turning back towards us as the group left our eyesight. “You should have your own thestral side that you could turn into by becoming your other self. We should probably introduce her to you at some point, seeing that you are already showing signs of her.”

“I do?” Cadance asked and I nodded sadly. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“You haven’t fully come into your powers until recently, petal,” I said, uncomfortable with the betrayed look she gave me. “We can talk about this later. I promise I will be entirely truthful with you about this, but for now, let us follow after Twilight and Sunset, okay?”

“Fine,” she grumbled, taking flight after us. Any further thoughts about her other half were put on hold as we came upon the sight of a shattered light lazily spinning around in the middle of the street. The crystalline appearance of the shards wasn’t actually solid in any way, more like what I would assume to be a fragmented shard of reality to look like.

It was almost mesmerizing to simply stare at it, threatening to draw me in entirely and never let go of the hold it had on my mind. The very magic radiating from that thing, that hole in reality... I fear if it was allowed to grow, it would slowly eradicate the universe in its entirety.

The conversation between my daughters and their friends drew my attention away from the unstable time portal, causing my eyes to widen comically. Did they just say they needed to find the Elements of Harmony?!

Luna hopped eagerly next to me on the spot, almost falling off of the roof we landed on in her glee. They really would return and my daughters would wield them with their newfound friends. They would bring back our sister...

I... oh, dear. As much as I wanted to... I couldn’t let myself remember this day, could I? I had to seal the memories away, I knew far too much about my own future from this day alone. Luna, Cadance, and I cannot know what would happen. We can’t know or we might just jeopardize what we are trying to achieve.

“Mom?” Cadance asked, concerned. “Is everything okay? You have that stare going on again, the one that says ‘I’m about to do something I won’t like’...”

“As much as I hate to suggest it,” I began, feeling downtrodden as I watched the group of mares and fillies go two separate ways in order to search for the Elements of Harmony that got scattered here with them from the future, afraid of what I had to propose to Cadance and Luna. “We cannot remember what happened here today. Sunset and Twilight were right, they shouldn’t have shown us so much of what is yet to come. We shouldn’t even have come here, spying on them like this.”

Luna let out a groan. “You can’t be serious, sister,” she sighed. “What do you think that would change? For all we know, not knowing would change the future.”

“But...” I muttered, fidgeting with my wings as I abandoned the thought of following after the two groups entirely in favor of finding a solution to this... whatever this problem actually was. “This is a paradox. We aren’t meant to know, Lulu. Nopony is meant to know their own future like this!”

“You might have a point about that, sister,” she shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean we actually have to forget what we learned today. We barely learned anything about the specific circumstances of the future, so what are you so afraid of? Twilight and Sunset even told us we did not erase their memory from them.”

“We could have just... sealed the memories away,” I said, uncertainty plaguing my mind. “So that they would only remember it when they go back in time, you know?”

“You know as much as I do that neither of us would actually go through with that, Summer,” Luna shot back, annoyed while hopping on the spot in agitation. “Besides, we already know about the future from September, don't we? Could it be that you are afraid of knowing all this because you can’t allow yourself that happiness of knowing?”

“I...” I hesitated, looking away from my wife as I began to fidget with my wings in unrest. Was that it? Was I afraid of knowing too much of the future because... but why?

Why was I afraid to know this so much? Was it because... I couldn’t even put this feeling into words. Maybe because it would make me feel guilty to Tia? This feeling was unreasonable, wasn’t it? It feels like I wanted to punish myself by forgetting everything I learned on this day.

“I don’t know, Lulu...” I whispered, too afraid to look her in the eyes. My sister draped her wing over me and I leaned into the hug, confused by my own feelings. “I guess I am afraid to let myself feel this happiness of knowing how the future would turn out because... it would make me feel bad for knowing all of this before it even happened. It would make me feel guilty to Tia.”

“You don’t have to feel like that, you silly idiot,” Luna reassured me, causing a happy flutter to race through me despite her calling me an idiot again. “Tia wouldn’t hold it against you and you know that. Besides... after learning all of these things, do you feel like you actually know what is going to happen, or are you feeling like you don’t know anything at all? Because, let me tell you, I feel like I have absolutely no idea how most of what we have learned today is going to happen beyond a vague sense of us accomplishing what we have promised ourselves to accomplish.”

“I...” I mumbled, struggling with my words as my emotions went all over the place. It felt strangely similar to what I felt like the majority of the time in our youth. This sense of... excitement, of being confused by a lot of things, of not knowing what the next day would bring. “Maybe you’re right, Lulu.”

“See? You are needlessly worrying over nothing. Again,” Luna teased me while rubbing her head against mine. “This isn’t that different from when we were young, you know?”

“What do you mean?” Cadance asked, tilting her head curiously. I sighed, looking up into the sky forlornly.

“Celestia’s gift, petal,” I answered. “I suppose we knew quite a lot of our own future even back then. Not that it helped, most of the time.”

“Indeed,” Luna agreed, a stormy look entering her eyes. “We knew so much, but at the same time? We didn’t know anything at all. We lacked the wisdom to make sense of the future Celestia’s visions foretold.”

This knowledge we now had... in a sense, it didn’t help us at all. We were no closer to knowing what would actually happen than we were before this day. We knew bits and pieces, but the bigger picture eluded us. We were aware our daughters would wield the Elements of Harmony, but we don’t know how that would happen in the first place.

I doubt we could just reawaken the Elements right now just like that by giving their petrified remains to the little fillies and telling them to ‘revive’ them without knowing how to. In the end, it would come down to circumstances we could never predict. Circumstances I fear involve the return of Platinum.

I was understandably fearful of that day, even more so now. I knew I would ‘die’ in some way. I knew my daughters would be there with us whether I wanted them to be or not. I knew Platinum would most likely be purged from Tia. But beyond that? I was tapping around in the darkness, blinded by uncertainty.

All I really knew was that everything would work out. Somehow. While that was reassuring in itself, that didn’t mean all my worries would just go away. A lot of things could go wrong despite all of that, even if the end result of that would turn out to be favorable.

Cadance, Luna, and I waited for the return of our daughters in a somber mood, mulling over everything we knew so far. My little petal was as optimistic as ever, something that helped lift the mood by quite a lot. I have no idea what I would do without her or Luna and Liz. I pity our sister from another realm, I truly do. She did not have such supportive family members there with her, only because she kept everyone at an arm’s length away from her. I hope Luna’s return will finally change that for Tia. She really needs to have her own sister back, only she could get her out of that mindset, I fear. Perhaps she might actually take my advice to heart for once and accept Cadance as her own.

Sadly, the portal refused to open back up again, so I couldn’t help her through this trying time myself. It hurt, but there was nothing I could do to change that. Even alicorns were not all-powerful, as much as our subjects pretended that that was the case.

Before long, the group of fourteen ponies returned to the portal in the middle of Ponyville and we watched inconspicuously from our perch on top of the roof as they stabilized it with the help of their Elements, each one of them wearing a kind of ‘regalia’ that looked more or less royal enough for their status. I gazed wistfully at the green gem inlaid in the regalia of my little Sun, having missed the presence of Hope very much. It suited her, I mused.

While Sunset was sometimes a bit too blinded by seeing the worst in the nobility, I knew she always made the best effort to search for that little light slumbering in everypony, even if it might seem absent entirely. Besides, she wasn’t too wrong about condemning the majority of the nobility like that, as much as it pained me to admit that.

In the end, I watched as my daughters and their friends said goodbye to their younger selves, promising them they would have lots of adventures in the future. Before she went through the portal, I saw my little ray of hope turn her head around, searching for us with a smile on her muzzle. Either my future self told her we would be here on the roof, or she felt our presence despite us suppressing it to the best of our ability.

I was proud of her, even more so than I already was of her. She would grow up into that righteous mare, after all. That was perhaps the most important thing I learned about the future, seeing my daughters all grown up like that.

The portal closed, and with that, everything was back to how it should be. Well... almost everything. “Let’s get those fillies back home to their families, shall we?”

Luna and Cadance nodded, and with a quick burst of mana, our transformation was reversed. While I would rather stay in disguise while we are here, it would look... bad... if we were seen with a whole herd of little fillies like that. It was better to go as Princess Summer rather than some inconspicuous mare that nopony knew (or as little birds, which was perhaps even worse because it would look like there was nopony supervising them at all).

The majority of the little group was understandably in awe to see Luna and me there, here to bring them back home. Cadance was even happier than they were, letting Fluttershy and, as we learned their names after the commotion died down enough for them to introduce themselves in a coherent way, Pinkie Pie ride on her back, ecstatic to play foal-sitter with them.

Cadance took it upon herself to be the voluntary foal-sitter as the group of fillies agreed on having a playdate every first weekend of the month, reluctant to go separate ways after having bonded so much on their very first adventure together. It was a massive relief to my heart to see that my daughters were among the loudest voices in that group to remain friends with each other. They had genuine friends now, something that is (in itself) a massive relief to me.

The stars were indeed shining brightly, foretelling a glorious future.

Rarity was the first to say goodbye, living the closest to the center of Ponyville. She did squeeze a promise out of me to always have a room prepared for her at the castle. I couldn’t say no to her, not after seeing to what lengths the little seamstress was going in her creation of art. Luna was especially proud of the little artist, sharing something in common with her (not particularly the 'dresses' part, but she does dabble in Victorian and Gothic styles). Both of them were passionately artistic with the things they did.

Next was Applejack, living on the farm of Sweet Apple Acres. I had a little chat with Granny Smith, trying to leave an ‘anonymous’ donation only to have her chuck the bag full of bits back into my waiting hooves, having expected her reaction. One day, I swear, she will accept it without complaint. I left with a little laugh, smiling fondly at the thought of the stubborn mare’s pride, ushering Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy with me and Sunset while Cadance and Luna would go to the home of Pinkie Pie together with Twilight to see their last friend off.

I did find out one very interesting thing as Fluttershy began talking about what she went through after falling off the cloud as her friend's race started: she could talk to animals.

It was a tempting proposal I had in mind, one I was sure would make her and her parents very happy. And happy they were as I told them I would like to tutor Fluttershy in her gift. Every month, when they would come over to have their little get-together, I promised Fluttershy to teach her the subtle nuances of understanding animals to an even greater degree than she thought was possible.

Suffice it to say, the little pegasus looked very much forward to this time next month. Sunset couldn’t wait to show her Yu’la, as well. The little dragon has become almost inseparable from her. My darling little dragon was sure to enjoy Fluttershy’s presence, the gentle pegasus was almost like a mini-version of myself at her age. In a way, Fluttershy also reminded me of Yu’lon, always talking with a gentle tone of voice.

I wondered what Fluttershy’s reaction would be to the pandaren on Azeroth. Sometimes I wish that they also existed here on Equis, simply because of their sheer cuteness. To be honest, though? Equestria alone had perhaps too much cuteness, already.

Pfft, nah. There can never be enough cuteness in the world.

Later that evening, after I relieved Liz of the boredom of going through all of the paperwork by herself, Cadance joined us in our private chambers for a very special occasion, indeed. It would be easier for Luna to drag Cadance into our shared dream if she was right next to us, not having to breach the barrier of our spell that kept the minds of our subjects safe from Platinum’s meddling hooves.

Once more, the almost innocent surface of the soul mirror greeted my eyes. I smiled reassuringly down at Cadance, giving her a hug. Her nervous eyes found mine, and with a deep breath, she slowly inched forward to stand in front of it.

Her reflection, surprisingly, didn’t look all that different from her regular self. The silver slit eyes reflected back at her regarded her with a quiet fascination, mirrored in Cadance’s own light purple eyes.

“You are... me? My darker side?” Cadance asked, uncertain. I could tell that she was a bit underwhelmed by what her other side looked like.

“I think so?” her reflection murmured back, fidgeting with her own wings. Wings that had silver accents, instead of purple ones. She wore a spiky collar around her neck and her make-up... well, my daughter usually didn’t use the color black for anything beyond eyeliner (not unlike myself, I suppose), but her other half could pull it off if I was honest with myself. Her regalia... I’m unsure what to say about that, seeing that it was primarily black and made out of very thin fabric that left nothing to the imagination, even accentuating all her feminine features in ways I was not comfortable with describing. The 'dress' was far too... ahem, let’s call it ‘alluring’ and leave it at that. It wouldn't be entirely out of place in an 'adult' nightclub. On her hooves were silky, black ballerina shoes that had a subtle rose pattern stitched on them, strangely fitting the overall look of her. Her Cutie Mark depicted the Crystal Heart surrounded by thorns. I could just barely see the tiny fangs as she spoke, clueing me in into her thestral nature. “I’m Loving Thorn... it’s nice to meet you, me.”

“Likewise,” Cadance muttered, almost absentmindedly. My daughter shook her head, forcing herself out of the mesmerized trance she found herself in. “To be honest, I expected something a lot more... evil? I mean... not actually evil, but definitely something more... wicked? You manage to make black look sexy as hell...”

“Yeah, I don’t think we have it in us to be all ‘evil-y’,” Loving Thorn said, rubbing her leg awkwardly while a blush appeared on her muzzle at Cadance’s compliment. I swear, I think my daughter is even worse than Tia with the whole ‘I wanna have sex with myself’ thing. “Not like Mom, at least.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” I grumbled, giving her a pouty glare.

“I... uh...” Thorn hesitated, gulping nervously. “Don’t take this the wrong way, Mom, but... you kinda are the ‘either or’ type of pony. You are either really kind... or you go completely off the rockers.”

“I do not go ‘off the rockers’ as you say,” I glared at her, feeling insulted.

“She is not wrong with that, sister,” Luna remarked, grinning back at me. “You really do go ‘off the rockers’ when you get mad at somepony.”

I pouted. “Not you, too, Luna,” I complained, crossing my forelegs in front of myself. “I have anger problems, sure, but I’m not that bad.”

“You are,” both versions of my daughter and Luna said at the same time and I grumbled sulkily under my breath. Fine. Maybe I am a loose cannon sometimes, but those that earn my ire actually deserve it.

“Aren’t you supposed to be on my side here, Lulu?” I shot back, daring her to say otherwise. Too bad my wife was not intimidated by me. At all. She never was, even when I went ‘off the rockers’ as they so eloquently put it. To be honest, I had no idea what she saw in me when I was like... that... turning into a raging she-devil.

“One of us has to keep you grounded, sister,” Lulu shrugged and I let out a sigh, dejected. “Oh, don’t look at me like that, you idiot. I love you despite all your faults, but that doesn’t mean I have to say yes to everything you say.”

“Am I the only one that does that, then?” I asked, blushing slightly while feeling dumb.

“Yes,” Luna said, her voice completely deadpan. Then she grinned at me mischievously, licking her lips sensually, causing my blush to brighten considerably. “But that’s because you are unable to say no to this sexy devil of a sister, Sunny.”

“Damn you, Luna,” I cursed under my breath, fighting against my tail’s desire to stand up straight.

Luna giggled. “Aww, you love me,” she said, giving me a half-lidded gaze. Her muzzle came dangerously close to my ears, her breath tickling the inside of it. “And my dick, of course.”

“Can we get back to what we came here for?” Cadance asked, sporting a blush herself as she saw my tail twitch and wings suddenly pop open from that whispered remark, no doubt wondering what it was that my sister just told me. “I want to know more about... well, my other side.”

Thorn hummed from the other side of the mirror. “I agree, it would be nice to know how we can turn into each other,” she said. “You also promised to tell us what kind of thestrals there are.”

“Well,” I began, bringing my wings under control before this got even more embarrassing than it needed to be. Ugh. I hate my damn sexy sister. She totally did that on purpose, didn’t she? “There are two main types of thestral ponies that you should be aware of. Luna and I are the vampiric blood thestral type, meaning that we can sustain ourselves purely on blood if we want to. It doesn’t necessarily have to be the blood of fellow ponies, animal blood works just as well and most thestrals prefer it that way. The other type is the vampire fruit bat thestral, meaning they prefer to drink the juice of various fruits. As you can see by the fangs of your other half, you are the latter type, as is Fluttershy from what we have observed of her.”

“Ah, I was wondering about that,” Cadance hummed, tapping a hoof to her chin in thought. “So... that means Twilight and Sunset are the blood-drinking type as well, right? Or can the fruit bat variant drink blood if they want to?”

“Twilight most definitely is,” Luna answered, giving me a look. “Sunset, on the other hoof? We are still on the fence about what type she is.”

“Why is that?” Cadance asked, confused. “She has also been drinking blood like Twilight, hasn’t she?”

“It’s... a bit more complicated than that,” I said, starting to pace back and forth. “There are some... let’s say unique variants of the thestral tribe. It is very rare that a thestral is born as a unicorn instead of the usual thestral-pegasus. Sunset... she is actually closer to a unicorn than to a thestral if my guess is correct. It would certainly explain why she has feathery wings in the future instead of the usual membranous ones. Although, the possibility exists that she is a kind of thestral we have never encountered before. We would have to find out once she turns into an alicorn, in that case.”

My daughter frowned in concern. “What does that mean for her? She can just eat whatever she wants?” Cadance asked, and I laughed slightly.

“All thestrals can eat ‘whatever they want’, petal,” I explained to her. “Otherwise, Twilight and Sunset would get sick from the cookies I bake, don’t you think so?”

“Oh, right,” Cadance said, blushing in embarrassment. “So, does that mean I could drink blood if I really want to?”

“I wouldn’t, if I were you,” Luna said, shaking her head. “That is a trait unique to the vampiric blood kind, which is also one of the main reasons for many of the ridiculous rumors floating around about thestrals.”

“I suppose it shouldn’t be a surprise to us,” Loving Thorn sighed almost forlornly. “Although, it does ruin the romantic possibilities for us...”

I rolled my eyes, not at all surprised that that was the reason why my daughter wanted to be able to drink blood. I suppose she was taking after me in that regard, having a penchant for vampire shenanigans myself.

“Maybe Ruby has the vampiric blood type?” Cadance proposed, blushing brightly with a lecherous glint in her eyes. I gave Luna an exasperated glance as both Cadance and Loving Thorn started to lose themselves in their little fantasy. Luna shrugged back at me, as helpless about this as I felt.

I don’t even want to think about the things my daughters have gotten up to in the last few years. I was happy for them, don’t get me wrong, but... I’d rather stay far away from what was going on when they were alone with each other. Knowing Cadance, she was taking way too much after Liz and Tia. No doubt did she have just as many ‘weird’ things that would get her excited as those two.

Maybe it was actually a good idea to keep her as far away as we could from Tia once she returned. With all of these new alicorns popping up all of a sudden, Tia would no doubt get it in her head to ‘expand’ our herd. While she’s technically as old as myself, Tia was sort of frozen in time being locked up on the moon and within her own mind. She wouldn’t see little foals like Lulu and I would.

I shudder to think what she would think of Cadance, not knowing who she is.

And that’s an image I never wanted to have in my head, I thought with a queasy feeling. Considering just what Liz could do... I need to ban her from using her changeling magic to satisfy each and every one of Tia’s crazy ideas and demented fetishes.

Otherwise, the moon will have two perverts on it for the next thousand years, I swear.

Chapter 026 - This isn't the Earth I left behind...

Author's Notes:

Spoilers for the Harry Potter series (a mix of both books and movies, although mostly the movies),
My Little Pony Comic: The Movie Prequel (2017)

Additionally:
For the sake of convenience, the HP books were written a lot earlier than they were in our reality, otherwise the timeline of Summer's death on Earth and the publication of the books wouldn't make sense.

Warning: Summer won't have the greatest opinion of how things are done in the wizarding world. Fuck you-know-that-terf.

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

When I went looking for Yu’la with Fluttershy and Sunset... I certainly did not expect to find my darling like this. Buried under a mountain of jade, the little serpent was... I have no idea how to even describe this. She wasn’t hoarding like some other dragons, that much I was certain of.

“Uhm... maybe we should come back another time?” Fluttershy asked hesitantly next to Sunset, fidgeting with her wings. My daughter was futilely digging through the white and green colored precious rocks with her magic, trying to find the reason behind the sudden need to amass so much jade that Yu’la refused to answer our call.

“I don’t know whether that is such a wise idea,” I mumbled, confused. “This has never happened before.”

“What the...” Sunset said, drawing my attention away from the pegasus next to me over to the sight that my daughter had ‘excavated’. In the middle of the pile of various types of jade was the not-so-little-anymore heavenly cloud serpent, coiled around an egg. “How did that even happen?!”

“Yu’la?” I asked, completely baffled. Disbelief doesn’t even describe my feelings sufficiently enough. My darling let out a humming growl, trying to hide the egg behind her. An egg that did not match her coloration at all and was very much not made of life-infused jade. “Could you please explain where you got that egg from? And for that matter, why did you grow? How did you grow?”

Yu’la looked back and forth between the young mares next to me and the egg she was coiled around, snorting out a puff of steam defensively. I sighed and told Sunset and Fluttershy to retreat further back so that I could talk with her in private, gently lowering myself to the ground.

My daughter did what was asked of her, hesitantly as it was. I could tell she was a bit hurt by having Yu’la show so little trust toward her after having bonded with her so much over the past few years. Fluttershy hugged her comfortingly with a wing, and once I was all alone with Yu’la, I received an answer from her.

Just... not in the way I expected.

A swirl of magic and a puff of smoke later, I was in front of a little filly with glowing jade-colored eyes. Her light-green coat resembled that of what I had seen of the crystal ponies so very long ago now and her mane was a bright white, floating in a non-existent breeze like my own. On her flanks was a symbol of a stylized cloud serpent, depicting Yu'lon. The thing that made Yu’la unique, though? She was a kirin.

I never thought I would see a kirin again after they went into hiding some odd few centuries ago.

“I promise I didn’t steal it,” Yu’la said, her voice reminding me so very much of Yu’lon’s, it almost surprised me more than the fact that she just spoke ‘regular’ words with me. “It just... appeared and I wanted to take care of it?”

“That’s... alright, darling,” I said, smiling gently. Yu’la beamed back at me, tackling me into a hug. “You should have come to me with this, you know that, right?”

Yu’la nodded reluctantly into my coat, sniffling as she refused to look me in the eyes. Oh, you silly little dragon, you. What am I going to do with you and this egg? “Can I... can I keep it?”

I blinked, unsure. “What of its parents, darling? They are surely searching for their egg right now.”

“I don’t think it has any...” Yu’la mumbled, letting go of the hug as she gave the egg in the middle of her nest a look. That was what she was doing with all of the jade, wasn’t it? She was preparing to become a mother. “There was a flash of light and then it was just... there.”

“Is that so..?” I hummed, studying the egg curiously myself. It was certainly big for a dragon egg. It was a light purple with darker splotches, not giving any clue as to what type of dragon was currently growing within it. Unlike the typical dragon eggs I was aware of, this one looked a bit scaly and had a crown of thorn-like protrusions. How curious... “Did its appearance also cause you to grow?”

“No,” Yu’la shook her head, looking up at me. “I need to be strong for my hatchling, so I decided to grow.”

“You... decided to grow?” I asked, raising a brow. “Well, alright then. If you are sure you can do this, I won’t keep you from raising the little one. You might want to have help, though.”

“Can Sunset help?” Yu’la asked shyly, only causing me to feel a little bit hurt that she wouldn’t consider me for the job. If that's what she wants, though, I couldn’t say no to her. And besides, I had enough on my plate as is, I couldn’t also raise a dragon on top of everything.

I gave Yu’la a nod, albeit hesitantly. “You didn’t seem too enthusiastic to have her anywhere near the egg a minute or so ago. What changed?”

“I...” Yu’la mumbled, rubbing a hoof against her neck awkwardly. This was the first time she used the unique dragonflight magic of Azeroth’s dragons to transform herself into the likeness of a mortal, wasn’t it? And to think she would choose a form native to this world instead of becoming a pandaren like her mother... “These instincts are a bit overwhelming to me, I couldn’t help it. Is she mad at me?”

“I don’t think so,” I smiled reassuringly down at her. “You might want to apologize to her, she trusts you a great deal. Sunset knows that most animals get defensive over their young, doubly so in the case of dragons, I imagine.”

“I’ve never had an egg to look after,” Yu’la said, looking down at her hooves, uncertain. “I know what Yu’lon felt like, raising big sister Yu’lei. But... she never felt anything like what I’m feeling now. Is this normal?”

“Any mother would tell you that becoming a parent is a frightening thing,” I mused, giving her my honest opinion. “It takes a lot of responsibility to look after a new life. While I can’t relate to hatching an egg, I do know what it feels like to take care of the growth of an unborn child. All the worry, all the joy, the anticipation... it can get a little overwhelming each and every time. You don’t have to feel bad for wanting to keep your unborn child safe, Yu’la. Sunset will understand that.”

“Could I talk to her?” Yu’la mumbled, giving me a hopeful look. I nodded back at her with a soft smile gracing my muzzle, glad that she wanted to include Sunset in this conversation.

My daughter was overjoyed to see me ask her to come back and talk with Yu’la, dragging Fluttershy after her with a happy skip in her step. I took my leave from them after that, shaking my head good-naturedly as they were chatting excitedly with each other (I couldn’t help myself, I had to subtly take a picture of Sunset hugging Yu’la in her kirin form... or more like squeezing her to death... it was so very cute). I apologized to Fluttershy for cutting our lesson short. It probably didn’t exactly turn out like she had hoped it would, but... perhaps they could learn something entirely different from this.

Instead of going straight to my office, I took a slight detour purely because I did not feel like doing my paperwork as long as I had some free time in my schedule from the unexpected change of finding Yu’la with an egg today. Kibitz would no doubt get a conniption from that, knowing him.

Sometimes I wondered whether Kibitz did anything without the meticulously planned-out schedules he made for absolutely everything one could plan out. I mean... he was perhaps the single best pony for the job in all of Equestria, but sometimes it just felt like he needed to find a hobby.

An actual hobby, that is. Not what Luna, Liz, and I called ‘staving off boredom’.

Like... eyeing that door that would surely lead to nothing good if I were to open it. My hooves had brought me to the one place in the castle that I usually avoided going to for the simple reason that, most of the time, the mirrors behind that door were inactive. I avoided coming here because some of those mirrors held enchantments that would cause nothing but heartache to me.

My magic slowly opened the seal on the doors, and before I knew it, I was standing in a dusty room with blankets draped over the frames of Starswirl’s old mirrors. My heart was beating faster with nervous and excited energy, I noticed.

There was one mirror in particular that my eyes were drawn to.

Slowly, I reached out a hoof and removed the cover from it, looking into the reflection within. After Starswirl reworked the mirrors to be more secure, some of those mirrors showed... bewitching sights that were meant to leave a pony unable to do anything else aside from gaze into it all day long. It would leave them incapacitated long enough for one of us to find the intruder, or if they were unlucky, starve them to death for having been foolish enough to seek these cursed mirrors out (Starswirl really knew no mercy when it came down to safeguarding our realm, did he?).

Celestia’s smiling face greeted me and my heart gave a painful twinge at seeing her again. The image flickered briefly, showing me a desolate landscape bereft of all life, and the mare that stood in front of me looked like a veritable goddess of destruction with a burning desire for death in her eyes, the chains that I so carefully placed upon myself laid broken and shattered into pieces before her... my hooves.

She, too, smiled back at me, inviting me to embrace my darkest side and bring about the end of the world, uncaring about the consequences of such a decision. Her only purpose was to leave nothing but ash behind once we were done ushering in the apocalypse.

Before I could get transfixed by the sight of myself in the form of Supernova, the image in the mirror flickered back to the one that showed me my twin. Her very presence assured me that everything would be alright, that I didn’t have to turn into a monster to bring her back. That I didn’t have to unleash the beast locked away inside of my heart.

My deepest (and darkest) desires were reflected back at me and I was unable to look away. The sight of a lifeless world should have evoked a feeling of repulsion from me, but all I felt was a profound longing. Thankfully, there was something that my heart desired even more than that apocalyptic world and she was staring right back at me with those beautiful eyes of hers. Eyes that I could never look away from.

How could I possibly look away from that entrancing sight, seeing the love she held for me in her eyes?

“Mom..?” Sunset’s voice startled me out of my thoughts, and with a fearful whinny, I turned around to see my daughter stare at me with confusion and... empathy? The pain in her eyes reflected my own. “You need to lower the suns, Mom.”

“Lower them?” I asked, perplexed. That couldn’t be right, could it? After all... “It’s still noon, little Sun.”

“Mom, are you okay?” Sunset asked me, placing a hoof on one of my forelegs gently. “You were staring into that mirror there as if your life depended on it when I found you.”

“I... I’m sorry, Sunset,” I said, hiding the wobbly smile by embracing her gratefully. Even an alicorn was not immune to the sights the mirrors in this room would show. I should have never come here in the first place. “Let’s leave this place, shall we?”

Sunset eyed the mirror I had gazed into wearily, following me after I draped the sheet back over it. I was too tired to explain to her what I had just done, so I just walked silently back with her to the hallway leading to our chambers.

Perhaps one day I might show her the secrets behind the mirrors, the wonders of the multiverse, but for today? I gave her a loving, if tired, nuzzle and told her to have a good night’s rest. Tomorrow was another training day for her and she needed all the strength she could get.

I had to get her ready for... that day. Already I was feeling like I would be unable to truly prepare her, but my little Sun kept surprising me. Day after day, she and her sister surpassed their limits in new and amazing ways, growing in ways I never imagined were possible.

Reluctantly, I had taught my daughter the manipulation of blood through magic (not that I knew much about it in the first place, I guess), having found out her true nature. My daughter was no thestral, as one would assume from her appearance.

No, it was not that simple, I’m afraid to say. Sunset was a pureblood vampire. Her blood could do things that even I could not emulate, things like materializing blood-infused objects she had bonded with. She could dissolve into a mist of blood and travel around with a certain immunity to physical, and to a degree, magical attacks. So long as nothing evaporated the blood, she could... ‘play’ with her prey.

Even more useful than that was her ability to create doorways to various places by inscribing a magic circle on any surface large enough for her to stand on. While she needed to have either infused the magic circle with her own blood (or in a pinch, have a readily available source of fresh blood at the target destination) in order for her to create a portal there, those portals had no restriction on distance or even a mana requirement.

It was one of her most powerful spells simply because it was so easy for her to use (especially during a battle). Every drop of blood her enemy spills would only make her stronger, granting her the ability to make use of the lifeblood spilled all over the entire battlefield by manipulating it into various shapes, including the magic circle needed for the portal. The creation of those portals overshadowed even my combat prowess of overusing teleportation magic, and as we had found out just recently, it also allowed her to enter a ‘sanctum’ of sorts. A safe haven, allowing her to recover her strength at an accelerated rate at the cost of inducing a hunger for blood bordering on starvation.

My little Sun was an actual vampire. I had no idea how that could have happened in the first place, but that was the case for a lot of things in regard to our daughters. Sunset required a regular diet of blood, something that was more or less dependent on the potency (not the amount) of the blood that she consumed, or rather the mana within it, allowing her to use those blood magic spells in the first place. She could eat regular food like any other pony (Sunset even preferred it like that most of the time), which debunked most of those scary horror stories about vampires.

For all intents and purposes, Sunset was not that much different from Luna and I. She didn’t even need to ascend to alicornhood to live forever, but it would certainly help in other areas. Like the sort of invincibility available to higher beings. Sunset was very much still a mortal in the sense that once dead, she would stay dead.

It was a bit ironic that Sunset, a pureblood vampire (and with that, a mythological creature that was commonly associated as a child of the night)... was a ‘daypony’ like me. Luna found it hilarious and I had to admit that it kinda was. In a sense, Sunset was taking after me, defying expectations like that.

On another note, my little Sun and Fluttershy had already become best friends with each other since they started holding their little get-togethers every month with the rest of their friends. So much so that they didn’t leave it at ‘once a month’ and pretty much stayed over either here in the castle or at Fluttershy’s every weekend or so.

Obviously, I could tell Sunset had a crush on her best friend, she couldn’t hide that from me even if she wanted to (besides, Cadance was the first one to notice the developing feelings my daughter held for the demure pegasus). Seeing how defensive Sunset (from the future) had been over Fluttershy, she might confess her feelings at some point in the near future.

I was glad that at least one of my daughters didn’t pursue a ‘weird’ relationship, not like Cadance with her newest idea of making a harem of Cadances. I swear, if she continues like that, I’ll do... something, I don’t know. I have absolutely no idea where I went wrong with her of all ponies. I would have thought Tabetha to be the one to do something weird like that, once upon a time. But seeing how Twilight wasn’t even remotely interested in romance? I’m unsure whether my little Star will ever find a pony that catches her eye. Or she simply won't. It could be entirely the case that she was aromantic, and that's it.

For a thousand years, I never thought I would be surrounded by so many loved ones again... only to realize that my family was well beyond screwed up. This all started with me being reincarnated together with my wife and quickly spiraled out of control from there, didn’t it?

Was it... was it too much to ask for grandfoals? How would that even work out with Cadance? I definitely wasn’t going to allow her to use that spell with Ruby, even if she begged me to. Sunset and Fluttershy might be my last hope in regard to becoming a granny. At least, as long as Twilight doesn’t find herself somepony to be with, and so far? It didn’t appear like she was getting that close with any of her friends.

If she ever gets that close to anything but her books, that is. Twilight was even worse in that regard than Tia had been, too engrossed with reading to spend some time with her muzzle outside of a book. Sunset was the only pony that could get her reliably out of the library these days, even Lulu and I struggled to get her out of there. Heck, even her friends had an easier time than us. Sometimes they even managed to drag Twilight out of the library without her noticing a single thing about the change in scenery in the process (I think Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were making a game out of it, quietly snickering each and every time when I caught them doing that).

It wasn’t like my little Star shied away from interacting with her friends, far from it even. She just liked to spend her time doing research whenever she could, simply enjoying having something to read. Whereas Tabetha had been thirsty for knowledge to a mad degree, Twilight was content with all types of reading material. Tabetha never really liked reading non-fiction (aside from mythology, I guess), something that had changed quite thoroughly with her new lease on life as Twilight.

She had her own ticks here and there, but those were thankfully mild in comparison to what they had been like in her previous life.

Speaking of their previous lives, Sunset and Twilight still didn’t remember anything beyond vague pictures of ‘scary shadows’. I doubt they ever will, to be honest. Maybe it was for the best that they forgot the majority of their old selves’ memories, considering how much they have changed for the better.

While Sunset was certainly not the kindest pony to those that she felt didn’t deserve it, she was most definitely a pony with hope beyond measure. She wasn’t as naïve about it as I had been in my youth, but she does give everypony at least a chance... aside from the nobility. There were few ponies that managed to get on her bad side and they usually did so by offending her (and by badmouthing her twin in even the most minuscule ways). She was truly an inspiring presence to have around, managing to bring about just anypony out of their funk, regardless of what might have caused it in the first place.

It was no wonder she would wield Hope Incarnate in the future. She had the necessary empathy to help out those around her that needed it most, becoming a shining figure amidst the darkness called ‘doubt and fear’. Her flame was one that could not be extinguished, I thought with a proud feeling welling up within my chest.

Luna might even say that Twilight was the one to have lit that burning bonfire in the first place and she would not be wrong with that statement. Our little Twilight was the center of the group of young friends, whether she knew it or not. I could only imagine how that dynamic between them would evolve with Twilight coming into the role of a leader, holding the whole group together with sheer wits alone.

Now, if only my daughters wouldn’t let their curiosity get the better of them and find their muzzles in places where they didn’t belong...

“Summer Sunset Shimmer Sol,” I said with a stern voice, grabbing her ear with my magic harshly. To think that I would find my mischievous, misbehaving daughter in this place of all places, having gone searching for her after she didn’t show up for her training, following her mana signature back to this cursed place. “What are you doing here with your sister?”

Both of them had somehow opened the door to the mirror portal room and were currently investigating the mirror that I had gotten so lost in yesterday in my carelessness. My little Sun let out a whimper, trying to free her ear from my grip while her sister looked startled between her and me, a sheepish look on her muzzle.

“It wasn’t her fault for coming here, Mom!” Twilight protested and I narrowed my eyes on her, instead. She gulped at seeing me with my burning golden slits directed at her, biting her lip nervously. “I asked her to show me the mirror...”

“Why would you want to see this cursed thing?” I asked, trying to rein my anger in before I did something I would regret later. Not that I wasn’t already regretting the decision to discipline Sunset so harshly (I might have unintentionally ripped out a few hairs from her ear...). “Nothing good ever comes from these mirrors, Star.”

Twilight looked down to the side, ears splayed back. “Sunset was concerned,” she whispered sadly. “I wanted to know what it was that caused her to be so distraught.”

“So you decided to come here instead of asking me?” I said, a brow slowly wandering up. “Star...”

“I know! I know! I’m sorry,” she exclaimed, her eyes starting to get watery. I sighed, enveloping both of my daughters in my wings. “We didn’t think too much about it, the door was open and we just thought to take a quick peek.”

“Besides...” Sunset began, fidgeting slightly. “There wasn’t even anything special about it, it’s just a mirror without a reflection. Why were you so transfixed by it, Mom?”

“What do you mean, 'just' a mirror?” I whispered and my heart skipped a beat. My eyes looked toward the mirror, and just like she said, the enchantment on it was not active. That could only mean...

I slowly reached out a hoof towards the mirror, finding no resistance as soon as I ‘touched’ it. My hoof went through as if the mirror wasn’t even there.

Twilight let out a quiet gasp while Sunset stared at where my hoof disappeared before I pulled it out in stunned silence. “What’s going on, Mom?” Twilight asked, breathless in fascination. “What is that mirror?”

“A portal to another world,” I answered, mesmerized. That mirror had never been active, not even once in a thousand years. The only thing it ever did was to show anypony that gazed into it their deepest desires and that was it. The gateway between worlds had been inactive for so long, it was a miracle to see it open all of a sudden. “I don’t know what lies on the other side and I’m not sure if I want to find out. We shouldn’t go through it... it’s far too dangerous.”

“But...” my daughter pouted petulantly. “Knowledge...”

“No,” I told her sternly. “Luna, Liz, and I will have to see if it is safe first. You are not under any circumstances allowed to go through it, do you understand me?”

I glared at her as she opened her muzzle to protest again, stopping her in her tracks. “Fine,” Twilight grumbled. “You never allow us anything...”

I sighed, feeling the urge to rub my temples tiredly. “Twilight, this is for a good reason,” I said, pleading with her to listen to me for once. “Traveling through the multiverse is dangerous at the best of times, and I'm not saying this lightly. I mean it. It is even more dangerous than learning dark magic, and no, you still aren’t allowed access to the restricted section of the library. Don’t even think about asking again, young mare. That’s final.”

Twilight nodded reluctantly, looking like a chastised little filly. I suppose I had been quite harsh with her the first time she had brought up the topic of reading restricted content that was restricted for a very good reason.

They were grown-up mares now (almost of legal age as well), and... at some point, I would have to teach them how to defend themselves from the dark arts, wouldn't I? Platinum knew perhaps more about dark magic than we had knowledge of it locked away from prying eyes, not only because of the crime she committed by possessing my twin but also because of the sheer mass of dark artifacts she created. Or the lives she snuffed out to further her own nefarious purposes.

I banished those thoughts from my mind lest I start to get angry and rage around, feeling tired of constantly riling myself up by thinking about that slimy toad. I have to give it to my daughters, that description fits quite well for Platinum. She’s the ugliest slimy toad that has ever existed.

By the time I returned with Liz and Luna, Twilight and Sunset were trying to get into the portal room again, failing to dispel the ward I put on the door to stop them from doing just that.

My sister growled next to me as she tugged harshly on the ear of our misbehaving daughter. “Twilight Lunar Star Sparkle,” Luna exclaimed with a furious tone. It was a rare sight to see her so angry, so much so that our daughters instantly locked up in fear.

I probably should have expected that they would try to do something to sate their curiosity, but somehow... somehow I was still surprised to see them blatantly try to go behind my back. Liz was snickering her flanks off next to me, delighted to see them defy me like that.

She definitely was a bad influence on them, wasn’t she?

Twilight let out a squeak, trying to appear as small as possible in the hopes it would get Luna to ease up on her. “Uh... hi, Mom! This isn’t what it looks like!”

“And what, pray tell, does it look like, then?” Luna asked, raising a brow challengingly back at her. “Because to me, it looks like you were about to break into a warded room and go against the wishes of your mother.”

“It might, possibly, maybe... look exactly like that,” Twilight admitted, grimacing as she rubbed her ear sheepishly. “But... can’t we come with you? You always treat us like we are about to break into pieces with the slightest nudge. We can take care of ourselves, we don’t need to be coddled.”

She... wasn’t entirely wrong with that. I gave Luna a questioning gaze, feeling reminded of how much we had hated the treatment of being coddled by Starswirl. He was justified to do that (most of the time, anyway), and it wasn’t like we weren’t doing it for a good reason. Although on the one hoof... in comparison to us? They were that fragile and need to be kept safe from harm. But then again... maybe we were actually overdoing it a bit too much. They weren’t actually made of porcelain, as much as I pretended that to be the case. I was... I am being too fearful that I would be too late to help them should something happen to them, aren’t I?

Heck, even Cadance and Ruby were of that opinion. They regularly told me to not go too easy on Sunset because I was too fearful of breaking her. She was far from the fragile filly she had been when we first started with her training and has come a (very) long way. If anything, it was Twilight I was more concerned about. If she were to find herself in a dangerous situation, I wasn’t certain she would be able to deal with it adequately.

Twilight’s arsenal of spells was vast, perhaps even more so than what I had in my repertoire... but that didn’t mean those spells would actually save her life. She might be one of the most knowledgeable ponies alive, perhaps even the most knowledgeable pony to have ever lived, which still didn’t mean she could hold a candle to Sunset’s combat prowess.

I sighed, feeling conflicted. I suppose... “As long as you stay near us, it should be okay. Let us go through it first, though. The only condition I have for you is to listen and obey our words, even if it is to save yourselves and leave us behind. I won’t hear any arguments in regards to that, do you understand?”

Twilight nodded and beamed happily back at me and I wondered whether or not I should rethink my decision. She no doubt didn't think her response fully through as she was so quick to agree, but... if I were to go back on my word and break her heart now... I couldn’t do that to her. Despite still being mad at them for being... well, their usual curious, mischievous selves... I decided it was better to just forgive and forget. Besides, their mischievous tendencies were kind of endearing and it wasn’t like I had behaved any better than them at their age with my sisters, causing more than enough trouble for Starswirl.

Now that I was thinking about it... did we ever do the homework he left us with? I completely forgot about that. It’s not like it mattered anymore with him gone for more than a thousand years to who knows where and I doubt he would actually get mad over it. He was used to us not doing our homework on time, so I wasn’t too worried about that. Although... I don’t know what he would say (or do) if he ever found out we procrastinated for a thousand years or so. Disappointed wouldn’t even begin to accurately describe it, would it?

Let’s hope he never returns, then. The spanking we would get for that... it made me shudder just thinking about it. Cranky old archmages being mad... that’s most certainly not a pretty sight. And this specific archmage? He was terrifying to behold when he was not pleased by our antics. Starswirl being mad at us could probably cow even Daybreaker, Nightmare Moon, and me as Fallen Star into obedience just like that without even having to try.

Ah, well... it's a good thing that will never happen, right? The day Starswirl returns from whatever grave he dug himself into will be the day Tartarus will freeze over and make all my darkest nightmares come true.

Anyway! Liz was the first one to step through the mirror portal's surface, followed by Luna, and then by me. Like some of the mirrors, the experience was anything but pleasant. It could have been a lot worse, like the portal leading to Remnant. That one really messes me up every time I pass through it to go and negotiate with the four kingdoms over this and that.

Setting up a workable worldwide network system could be a lot easier if it wasn’t for the Kingdom of Atlas that I had to primarily negotiate with. Heck, it was already a massive headache just to get a network set up in Equestria.

I suppose it was well worth the annoyance, though. Already, the internet was becoming hugely popular with my little ponies (not to mention with the changelings, go figure). It was also nice for those ponies that couldn’t, for whatever reason, make the journey over to Canterlot and petition the crown for aid. Of course, it wasn’t as simple as writing an e-mail, but it was a start to get the ball rolling, so to speak.

With the internet, computers and scrolls became even more popular since they were a lot more useful now than before. I mean, they were kinda popular with scholars and so on since the Remnant version was introduced to Equestria, being a lot more powerful and efficient in comparison to what we had before... but now, there was so much more to experience through the wonders of the internet that the advanced technology wasn’t just a simple curiosity to our ponies anymore.

I mainly was happy to have enough games to sate my hunger for the next decade or so. By that time, I will have even more than I know what to do with, of that I was certain. There was already a community sprouting up for that kinda thing and I was happily (and anonymously) a part of that group. I might even get King Aspen in on it... if he ever stops being such a stuck-up about ‘technology being the product of the devil’, that is. I swear, the deer are worse than what I knew of the night elves on Azeroth.

Hmm. Queen Novo might indulge my obsession with computer games, now that I was thinking about it. I was on good terms with the hippogriffs, wasn’t I? I would have to send a letter to Mount Aris, asking for an audience with Her Majesty. I’m sure I could convince her to become an addict... I mean, an avid fan of video games.

Doesn’t she also have a daughter? We could make it a family thing. After all, the more the merrier, right? We could play co-op games and puzzle games, the possibilities were almost limitless! Novo could team up with her daughter and I could do so with Sunset and, if she could be convinced to leave her precious library for a little while, Twilight. Or we could team up with each other and teach our daughters how it’s done. That could be a lot of fun, couldn’t it?

It would probably take a while to set up a relay tower so that we could play online, though. But it would be well worth the hassle of negotiating with Atlas to get them to help out, wouldn’t it? The title of Mistress of Cute was well out of my reach by now, but 'Best Gamer Milf' was up for grabs! Eh heh heh...

Ahem! Anyway, that’s enough of that for now. I managed to get out of my mental ravings just as my daughters stumbled out of the mirror behind me, promptly falling on their faces as they lost their balance. To be honest, if I hadn’t had so many interactions with Remnant recently, I might have found myself with my face in the dirt as well. Or dust, as the case might be.

Seeing that my hair was still as red as ever and even floated in the air a little bit, this world was enriched enough with magical energies for me to feel powerful enough even without relying on my connection to Equis’ sun through the mirror. I even had the outfit from Azeroth on, which kinda made me hopeful for a moment...

While I don't recognize this place as being similar to... Karazhan, wasn't it? I think the place Khadgar took us from was called that (or something similar along those lines, anyway). Now... where to find me one of those enchanted brooms to take home..?

I was about to look for an exit out of the chamber when I noticed that my daughter was having a panic attack. Judging by her shaking body, the erratic breathing, and the horrified gaze directed at her body... it was the worst panic attack she had so far. And I could guess why that was, as well...

Gently, I touched her shoulder, only to recoil as she looked at me with fear, or rather, terror. It was the look of somepony staring into the face of a monster and it hurt me to see her so terrified.

Sunset whimpered. “W-w-what’s g-g-going on?” she asked, stumbling over her words, unable to control her breathing. If this continues like that, she might just start surging on top of this. “W-why do I..."—she let out a rugged gasp, trying to hug herself with her unfamiliar limbs, only to flinch as the shaking and twitching of her fingers startled her—" t-this isn’t a n-nightmare, r-right?”

“No, Sunset,” I said, the pain in her eyes caused me to feel it as well. I never liked seeing her like this whenever she had a nightmare. And to see it right now because of the transformation was even worse. I could have probably eased her into this by letting her visit Remnant, but it was too late for that insight now, wasn't it? “This isn’t a nightmare, little Sun. Everything is okay, just listen to my voice. Close your eyes, let it calm you down.”

Sunset nodded, shivering as she did what I told her. Twilight was thankfully less perturbed by her transformation, studying herself in fascination as she did with so many other things. It didn’t surprise me that Twilight took to it (somewhat) better than Sunset did, considering my fiery Sun always had it worse than her with her nightmares. We’ve tried multiple things to stop them, but they simply returned a while later, sometimes worse than before.

I dearly wish I could help her somehow. Aside from dealing with the aftermath, that is. It caused me a lot of grief to see her suffer so much from having them. On more than one occasion I debated whether to sacrifice the protective spell over the dream realm to exclusively ward off any nightmares my daughter might have had, but that would be playing right into the hooves of Platinum.

I suppose all I could do to help her was to give her all the support she needs to get through it. Like whispering calming words, letting Luna sing a lullaby, hearing Liz recount stories of times long gone (and bitching about this and that, I guess). Thankfully, it seemed to work as she began to calm considerably down from her panic attack.

Oh, Sunset, I wish I could take away all of your pain. You, of all ponies, shouldn’t have to go through this. You deserve better than this, little Sun.

My daughter looked up at me with barely restrained terror. “What are we?” Sunset mumbled, her voice quivering slightly. “This... this is just like my dreams, Mom. I... I don’t understand.”

“I had hoped to never explain this to you,” I sighed, sadly. “You shouldn’t have to be reminded of... of a past life. Not like this.”

“A... a past life?” Sunset asked, hesitantly opening her eyes. “What do you mean? They are just dreams... aren’t they?”

“The shadows you see in your nightmares are...” I began, biting my lip. I gulped heavily, a frightened breath wreaking havoc on my mood. “They are memories, Sunset.”

“But...” Sunset said, slowly shaking her head. “How? You told me they were nothing more than bad dreams. That I shouldn’t let my monsters get to me, that I’m braver than that...”

“And you are so very brave, little Sun,” I smiled sadly. “What those bad dreams show you, though... I keep telling you that you are better than what you see in them, of what you fear they might mean. What I didn’t tell you, though...”

“Is that they are about me...” she finished, turning pale. “Did I... did I do those things, Mom? Was... was that another me I see in my dreams? This shadowy monster doing those horrible, atrocious things?”

“In a way,” Luna whispered, giving me a look while I rubbed the back of our distraught daughter comfortingly, too afraid to confirm her suspicions. “Those broken visions you sometimes see at night... they are remnants of a man that tried to protect the people he was... close to.”

“You mean his family? But... wouldn’t that... I..."—Sunset paused, furrowing her brows, eyes narrowed in suspicion—" Why ‘close to’? This doesn’t make sense, Mom. How? I don't understand,” Sunset asked, looking uncertainly back and forth between Luna and me. “How can... I was this man, wasn’t I? Why...”

I sighed. “It’s hard to explain, little Sun,” I said, frowning. “You and your sister... you had been human once, in a previous lifetime.”

“Human?” Twilight asked, interested. “As in ‘homo sapiens’?”

Luna raised a brow at that, mildly surprised. “And how do you know that?” she asked.

“It was mentioned a few times in my dreams,” she answered with a shrug. “I thought that was the name for the shadows...”

“I suppose it is no surprise, considering who you were in your previous life,” I muttered, making Sunset frown back at me.

“How do you...” she began, but stopped, giving both Luna and me a look. “You knew, didn’t you? Who we were in our previous lives? What those shadows were?”

“Yes,” I answered, closing my eyes ruefully. “Since before you were even born, Sunset. We didn’t know for certain then, but... once you started to get these visions, it was almost too obvious to deny.”

My daughter looked more confused than betrayed. I guess I could count myself lucky that she didn't resent me for withholding this information from her. “But... how did you know us?” Sunset asked, desperately wanting to know. “Is this why you didn’t want us to go through this mirror? Do we come from this place? Or another, similar one?”

“No, Sunset,” Luna shook her head, letting out a sigh. “You and your sister are not the only ones to have been reincarnated. Your mother and I, even your big sister... we all had lived on a planet called Earth before we were reborn on Equis. An ancient spell made sure that you would reincarnate in Equestria like us in the case that you died. Evidently, something went wrong in your case. Unlike you, though, we remember our previous lives as they were. Well, mostly remember them, in the case of your mother and I.”

“So...” Sunset began, starting to piece the picture together. “In that previous life... who were we to each other..?”

“You were my brother, Sunset,” I answered, smiling sadly. “Twilight had been my daughter, even in that life. As was Cadance. It does sound a bit silly, thinking that they are technically your nieces and your sisters, huh?”

“Right...” Sunset muttered, sharing a thoroughly disturbed look with her twin. “I’m just gonna ignore that and pretend to never have heard that in the first place.”

“Be glad you didn’t reincarnate with your wife as your twin,” I rolled my eyes. “Or with the sister of said wife being your younger sister. The things we got up to...”

Sunset let out a fake retching sound at that. “Ew, Mom! That’s... just ew,” she complained, making a gag motion. I snorted and saw her grin a little bit back at me, prompting Twilight to ‘giggle snort’, which set Luna off, and soon enough, Liz and I joined in with the laughter. “So... why haven’t we ever heard of this twin of yours, Mom?”

My laughter came to an abrupt halt. “That’s...” I said, my mood sadly ruined now. I should have expected that she would pick up on that detail, but it just... fell out of my mouth, so to speak. “Well... painful doesn’t even begin to describe this. Your... aunt? I don’t know what would be more appropriate for you to address her as, aunt or mother..."—I shook my head, not entirely certain how to feel about this—" Your future selves seemed to stick with aunt and I think I’m starting to understand why that is. Since there is the Celestia from the alternate universe who is your honorary aunt that you haven’t even met yet, which would make things... I guess the best word for this is also how this family could best be described as awkward, weird, and complicated, isn’t it? Some would say it is downright confusing, even. Huh, this is kinda difficult to put into words...”

“This aunt that we have... what happened to her?” Twilight asked, fidgeting awkwardly with her unfamiliar limbs.

“A nightmare happened to her,” I answered in a whisper, seeing Luna get that seething look in her eyes again. “We had to banish her to the moon, unable to stop the monster from possessing her. I’m afraid to say that our time is running out to prepare for her return. I had hoped I could avoid telling you any of this because I feared you weren’t ready for it, but... both of you have grown so much in these past few years. I’m so proud of you, my darling daughters.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Sunset said, blushing slightly in embarrassment. “I guess it makes sense why big sis keeps pushing us so much, constantly challenging me to improve...”

“You are a better pony than I could have ever predicted you would grow up into, my little Sun,” I said with a smile, grabbing her in a gentle but fierce hug. I wish it could stay like this forever and never let her go, but... she’s all grown up now. Well, almost all grown up. A year or two and she would, without question, be a mare in her own right, ready to take on the world. Just like Cadance was pretty much ready to create a legacy of her own with Ruby up in the Crystal Empire. An Empire that could return any moment from now.

“I feel like you are praising me too much,” Sunset sighed, looking down into her lap, sneering slightly at the foreign limbs she now possessed. I suppose that in her case, it was kind of justified (if a bit of an overreaction, to be honest). Considering her nightmares, I can’t fault her for having this unreasonable hatred for being in a human form. “I wasn’t a good pony in my past life, was I? All these things I see at night, they really happened?”

“I’m afraid they did,” Luna confirmed, stroking Sunset’s hair sorrowfully. “You aren’t that pony... or person rather. Not anymore. Your mother is right about being so proud of you and your sister, you know? You could never disappoint us, even if you tried. Don’t ever think otherwise.”

“Besides, it would take a lot to get those two to be disappointed with you, anyway,” Liz commented oh-so-helpfully, grinning to herself full of mischief. “Short of committing genocide, that stupid head will forgive you no matter what. Lulu might relieve you of an ear, though.”

Sunset covered one of her ears with a hand, giving Liz a nervous glance before looking over to Luna and blanching as my sister just gave her a raised brow. I snickered accidentally as I heard her mutter silently to herself about how often her ear got abused because she had done something naughty. My daughter pouted back at me and I couldn’t help myself from snickering even more.

“I’m sorry, little Sun,” I snorted, trying to contain my amusement to spare her the embarrassment but I sadly failed miserably at it. “There is probably a lot more you want to know, but that would be best left for a time when we aren’t running around in unknown territory. Let’s go and see where we found ourselves this time, shall we?”

“Finally!” Liz exclaimed, standing up with a happy, satisfied groan as her joints gave a few popping sounds. “Here I thought we would sit on the dusty floor all day long!”

“Shut up, Liz,” I groused, feeling the temptation rise within me to tug at her ear for being, well... her usual self again. Stupid sexy succubus bug.

After I dusted myself off and helped Sunset up on her feet, I gave the mirror standing in the far back of the (what appeared to be) empty classroom a cautious look, wondering how much time was passing back home. I would give it a full hour before taking a quick peek back home in order to ascertain the time difference (somewhat) accurately. An hour seemed to work out just fine most of the time and it wasn’t like the day had just started back home, anyway. Even if an hour here equates to ten back in Equestria, we would be back in time to lower the suns and raise the moon. So far, we had never come across a time difference greater than that aside from Azeroth. Generally speaking, it was quite rare to find an alternate reality where the time difference differed so greatly, it usually was more along the lines of a few minutes at most.

Still, better to be careful than careless, right?

As we left the room with the mirror (something kept bugging me in the back of my mind about that for some reason), we entered a hallway with quite interesting architecture.

It distinctly reminded me of our old castle, only... more... damnit! It was just on the tip of my tongue, I know this place reminded me of something, I just don’t know of what. It felt like very old knowledge wanted to push itself back into the forefront of my thoughts and I failed miserably to remember what it was. It must be something out of my youth, I mused. Perhaps even something I remember from Earth.

Now, that thought made me think a bit harder about why this place felt so... familiar.

Liz wasn’t doing me any favors, shifting her appearance around as she found out that her changeling magic still worked in her new form, only slightly different. Currently, she was walking around as a centaur version of herself because, for some reason, she thought that would be a good idea. I had to admit, though, she kinda does look quite... sexy... like that.

Even Luna thought similarly to me if I was correct by her subtly groping Liz’s flanks as she rode on her back, looking like every part of the ancient, regal moon goddess that she was. Her dress was leaving nothing to the imagination and... I was thinking with my nethers again, wasn’t I? Damnit.

But... how could I not, seeing them like that? All sexy and alluring and... so very hot. If our daughters weren’t here with us, I might have forgotten about exploring this place entirely, too enchanted by the sight of my stupidly sexy wives.

Thankfully (or regrettably), once we found a part of the castle that was a bit more... let’s say 'decorated', I guess... I felt a giddy feeling suffuse my entire being as I realized what this place was.

“Sister! Eee!” I giggled happily, grabbing her tightly while dancing around in joy (while probably suffocating her in the process). “It’s Hogwarts! Yes! Yes! Yes! Eee!”

“Great,” Luna grunted, trying to escape my grasp while giving the people in the paintings a glare as they snickered at her misfortune. Our daughters were curiously examining the different beings depicted in them and Liz was making sure they didn’t wander off too far as I had my moment with my sister. “Can you... you know... put me down now?”

“Right,” I said with a sheepish laugh as I rubbed the back of my neck, letting go of her. “Sorry, Lulu.”

“It’s okay, sister,” Luna smiled, taking my hand in hers as we followed after our daughters. She was also, most definitely, quite blatantly... leering at Liz’s rump with thinly disguised desire. I was almost certain my sister would beg our wife to have her fuck her silly as a centaur at some point once we are back home. Or even while we are here~...

I wasn’t entirely opposed to the idea, either. It would absolutely make things a lot more interesting, wouldn’t it? Maybe... maybe a quick detour to an empty classroom couldn’t hurt?

I shook my head, reminding myself that our daughters were here with us. Hmm. Maybe another time, then. For now, I was more interested in finally getting to see Hogwarts in its entire glory with my own eyes. To think we would stumble upon Earth in such a way...

“Summer?” Luna asked in a whisper, giving the moving staircases a wary glance as we found the grand staircase of the school for all things magic after a few minutes of aimlessly wandering the hallways. Almost aimlessly, I mean. I still know the way we took from the room with the mirror to here perfectly. It wouldn’t do to get ourselves lost now, after all.

“Yes?” I asked back, giving her a curious glance. “What is it? Why are we whispering?”

“You know more about this place than I do, right?” Luna asked and I nodded. “What happened in the books? I barely remember anything about the series, but I know there was some sort of dark threat intent on causing death and destruction, wasn’t there?”

“I...” I mumbled, trying to wrack my brain for answers. A thousand years was definitely not kind on unimportant information like that, wasn’t it? To be honest, all I can remember is the plot of the first book and the general gist of the books following that one. That and the author didn't even try to hide her blatant dislike for a lot of things. There was also the whole goblin thing based on really horrible views of actual people if I'm not mistaken... “Well, there was the chosen hero after which the series was named, Harry Potter, and...”

“Pfft, Harry Potter? What kind of name is that?” Liz asked, having obviously listened in to our conversation despite us talking in hushed whispers. “Doesn’t sound heroic at all.”

“You don’t get to talk, dear,” I said, glaring playfully at her. “You name your changelings after things that sound buggy or are inspired by insects. Or after sex.”

“Buggy names are the best names,” Chrysalis pouted sulkily to herself, causing me and Luna to giggle quietly.

“Now, back to what I was talking about,” I said, humming to myself. “I don’t remember the details, but I think I still know all the major points about each book. There’s obviously the whole fated encounter between Harry Potter and the dark wizard that begins with the plot to revive said dark wizard through the philosopher’s stone in Harry’s first year at Hogwarts. If I’m right, that mirror we traveled through was a key part of the last challenge to retrieve the stone and only those... was it pure of heart? Or someone without greed, one of those two, I think... could get the stone that would grant one eternal life...”

“Sounds definitely too dangerous for a ten-year-old child,” Liz commented. “It’s age ten, right? Like our school?”

“I think so,” I nodded. “And you are right. His time at this school is riddled with dangerous encounters after dangerous encounters. He fought a massive basilisk in his second year at this school if I am not mistaken.”

“You’re kidding,” Luna said, giving me an incredulous look. “You are kidding, right? Summer, tell me you are just making that up, please.”

“I’m afraid not, and it gets worse from there,” I said, glumly.

“What could be worse than a basilisk?!” Luna exclaimed. “Even you are afraid to get anywhere near close to a mature basilisk, Summer! Let alone an ancient basilisk, if what I’m hearing about its size is correct.”

I grimaced, biting my lip. I didn’t feel like arguing against that, my sister was right, after all. The larger a basilisk gets, the more dangerous it becomes. Not because of its size, though. A highly magical creature like that was dangerous even at an early age, but the older they got, the less affected by magic they become (magic that was not their own, that is). Nothing short of using enough mana to melt through a couple of meters of stone would show an effect on those incredibly hostile animals.

“I can’t exactly remember what it was, but... in the fourth book, there was something about a tournament between three schools for witchcraft and wizardry which ends with the resurrection of the evil wizard and bad things happen from there on out,” I answered before biting my lip thoughtfully. “That’s the last book I read, though. The next one wasn’t out at the time and the fourth one was more or less like a turning point, symbolizing the end of Harry’s and his friends’ childhood. Maybe Cadance knows what happened in the next book, we would have to ask her. I can’t imagine it leading to anything good, based on what was foreshadowed.”

“And what would that be?” Luna asked, a heavy and uneasy feeling settling over us. I think she knew very well what that might have been, to be honest. Everything that would have happened after the fourth book could only have been bad.

“War,” I whispered, frowning darkly. “What else could the return of unimaginable darkness mean?”

“Should we go back and shatter the mirror, then?” Luna proposed, her eyes reflecting a stormy look back at me. A feeling that was also running rampant through me, as well, I had to admit. “If this Dark Lord manages to find his way to Equestria...”

“I know, Lulu,” I sighed, biting my lip in frustration. “I know it would be the best course of action to take, but... would it be the right one?”

“Summer, we can’t go around fixing other dimension’s problems for them!” Luna reprimanded me, her voice rising slightly in anger, and I winced, knowing that technically we weren’t supposed to interfere at all, anyway. Not that we ever adhered to that little rule of ours, to be honest. “It may have worked for Remnant, but we can’t do it for everyone. I know you probably don’t want to hear this, sister, but we only have about three years left until Platinum is released from her prison.

“I’m glad you aren’t locking your heart away out of fear anymore, but we need to concentrate our efforts on what is really important right now, okay? We have our own problems to focus on, so don’t you start fixing things for those that are just as capable of doing so for themselves. Once we get this behind us, we can do whatever we can to help those asking it of us. And please, sister, for the love of the Moon, please only help those that seek out our aid and actually need it.

“Until then, though... try not to exhaust yourself by doing everything that others ask of you. You don’t owe anything to anypony because you feel guilty about failing Tia. You are already doing so much good by slowly introducing the internet to Equestria, you don’t have to ruin yourself trying to leave behind a legacy Tia could be proud of. You aren’t going to die, Summer, even if September’s words are set in stone. I won’t let you die, sister.”

I gave my sister a heavy nod, knowing the wisdom behind that line of thought all too well. Still... it felt wrong of me to deny this world our aid. While I was reasonably sure everything would work out in the end for Harry Potter based on what I knew of the books (not to mention, it would be really sad if the series didn’t end with a happy ending), I couldn’t help but feel like I could do something to lessen the burden just a little bit.

Liz nudged me as we descended the stairs to the ground floor, back in her regular form of a hybrid between changeling and alicorn (making me feel slightly jealous of her ability to transform into whatever caught her fancy at the time), pointing over to an old man standing in the entrance of what I knew must be the Great Hall, the first place each student finds themselves at every new year...

In front of us stood none other than the headmaster of this school, looking like he could be Starswirl’s long-lost brother. Professor Dumbledore gave us a look that didn’t speak of surprise but mere curiosity. If I didn’t know better, I would assume he even expected us to arrive.

“It has been a long time since this world saw the presence of beings from another reality,” the man said, appraising Chrysalis with fascination before glancing at me and my sister. Our daughters were hidden behind us. “I assume the creator of the Mirror of Erised put that enchantment on it for a reason?”

“That would be correct,” Luna said, giving me a look. It has been a long time since I had even thought of that world we had been foalnapped to in our youth, but without it, there would be no such enchantment on the mirrors in the first place. Only shards remained of the mirror connecting to that world and it was for the best it stayed that way. “Have you met Starswirl?”

“Oh, no,” Dumbledore shook his head while softly stroking his long beard. “Read about him? Yes. Met him? For me to have done so I would have to be more than a thousand years old, wouldn’t you say so? A feat far outside the reach of wizards and witches under normal circumstances.”

“A shame,” I said, giving him a tiny smile. That little tidbit of information alone reassured me that time was more or less running parallel to ours. “He would have loved meeting you, I’m sure.”

“Perhaps introductions are in order?” he asked, his eyes twinkling. It made me feel a little bit giddy finding out that they actually did that. “My name is Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster here at Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.”

“Well met, Dumbledore,” I said, giving him a respectful nod. “My name is Summer Sol and these are my wives, Luna Nocturnis and Chrysalis Thornheart. Those two are our daughters, Summer Sunset and Twilight Star.”

“I assume you are here because of your own Mirror of Erised?” he asked and I confirmed it for him by giving him a nod. It was kinda obvious in hindsight, wasn't it? “The school year hasn’t started as of yet. If you wish, I would gladly show you around the grounds. I am quite curious to learn more about you and where you came from. That is if it wouldn’t be too much to ask, of course?”

Dumbledore glanced at Liz as he said that, and once more, I felt like Liz’s tendency to do whatever she wants to bite us in our flanks. I wasn’t really mad at her for that, though. That’s just Liz being Liz.

Seeing that we had the time and I wasn’t in a hurry to return to my duties, we took Dumbledore up on his offer, giving him ‘breadcrumbs’ of information as we learned a bit more about Hogwarts and its history. Twilight was, of course, enamored with the idea of a house entirely dedicated to knowledge and wisdom. She couldn’t stop asking questions about Rowena Ravenclaw and the other three founders of Hogwarts Castle, the subjects that were taught here, and pretty much anything else that she could think of that involved the wizarding world’s application of magic. Things like prominent occupations, laws, and relations with other countries and/or creatures.

That got us to the topic of ‘servants’ and how a majority of sentient creatures were treated. That drained the enthusiasm pretty quickly out of us, mostly from Twilight and me. I had hoped things would be different from the Harry Potter series where non-humans were simply considered to be beneath wizards and witches simply because they were different.

Holy flying penguins, it was so disgusting to see. I was very familiar with this behavior from the time just after Equestria’s founding. Back then, each tribe had clung to their stupid superiority complex for far too long. But this? This was worse. Thankfully, this behavior was a thing of the past with my little ponies (...mostly, some nobles are just 'that' stupid), but they never thought the other races were mindless beasts.

Seeing this still being practiced here, though? For once, I did feel like leaving them to their own fate and denying them my help even if they asked it of me. For once, I felt like being petty. And by petty I mean that I even wanted to refuse help to those innocent of those crimes because... in a sense, they weren’t entirely innocent by not standing up to those that kept this faulty system running. They did nothing to change that by staying silent, by not supporting those that were unable to bring about that change on their own.

I would have felt bad about this if I hadn’t known anything about how the majority of the wizards and witches here were completely okay with keeping the status quo with ‘lesser’ creatures as it was. I might have felt differently, less vindictive, really... if they weren’t just content with how things were at the moment.

I felt bad for those that genuinely tried, though. People like Dumbledore, and, I think, one of Harry’s friends, too (because why would the hero of the story need to lift a finger and actually do some good when he was already lauded for being a hero?).

It would be a steep endeavor, though, to incite a rebellion and succeed in changing the views of those that felt no need to change theirs. The faunus on Remnant were more or less successful with their revolution, but such things need time. Time I couldn’t put into this because I simply did not have the influence here that I have on Equis and Remnant. I was, quite literally, a nopony in this world.

Bribing them with riches and knowledge beyond their comprehension would most certainly not work out in the long term. Besides, that's not how I do things and I wasn’t about to start doing so. I have made many mistakes in the early years of Equestria, particularly with the griffons, I knew better than to try these things. It always comes back to bite me in my flanks.

Although... it was kinda tempting to bribe them with exotic magical artifacts and watch the fireworks fly as I gave them a ‘misfortune malachite’, instead. Those are one of the nastier dark artifacts of Platinum’s design, the misfortune malachite would bring naught but ruin to those that carried it with themselves. It was an incredibly cruel thought that I ruthlessly banished to the depths of my mind. As much as I thought some of those people deserved it, I’d rather not lose myself to such an atrocious mindset at all.

I was staying silent throughout the majority of the tour, quietly listening to Professor Dumbledore as he explained the intricacies of the wizarding world to my daughters. I could tell that Sunset and Twilight were disturbed by the thought of what the people of this world used for magical focus in this secret society away from prying ‘muggle’ eyes. A ridiculous word, if I've ever heard one.

Wands. At first glance, everything seemed to be totally okay with them, but... if you took a deeper look into how they were made, the barbarism behind them was nothing short of disgusting to me. Dragon heartstring, unicorn hair, phoenix feathers... considering how the majority of witches and wizards thought of magical creatures, I could take a good guess as to how they acquired those ‘ingredients’. I mainly had a problem with the dragon heartstrings since feathers and hairs aren’t too hard to come by. I doubt that those dragons part willingly with their life-giving organ, though, and I’m rather doubtful that those heartstrings are collected only from already deceased dragons that died of natural causes.

It would be for the best that I never mention this dimension to the dragons living on Equis, or suns forbid, my darling Yu’la.

I could easily change this practice, couldn’t I? I could divulge the secrets of the mana gem to these wizards and witches, but... did they deserve such a powerful tool at their disposal? I was rather hesitant to trust them with such power if all that would do was bring naught but ruin to the rest of the world. I wasn’t so naïve to think some idiot playing at being a dark lord or whatever wouldn’t see an opportunity to get rid of those without magic.

That’s another thing I was rather miffed about. Why even hide all of these wonders from the rest of the world? Because they fear it would become polluted with magic-less ‘heretics’? Dumbledore tried to convince us that muggles and those born with magic lived peacefully together due to that secrecy, but... I knew that there was something more sinister going on. Since so many were simply content with the state of those ‘lesser’ magical beings, I knew for certain that their view on muggles was anything but grand.

I might not know much about their history, but I doubt the modern world would reject the idea of magic being real. They were keeping its existence a secret purely because of selfish reasons. Remnant is a different case because the remaining magic users depended on it for survival, but these people here? They have long since outgrown the need to stay hidden. The only thing holding them back from walking among 'muggles' as equals was a petty sense of superiority.

This world could benefit so much from magic and technology working hand in hand, I knew that. I knew that because it worked for Equestria, so why couldn’t it for this Earth?

Haah. It's a puzzling mystery, isn’t it? Was it because of fear... or was it a selfish desire to keep these wonders all for themselves? I suspect it was the latter case, based on what I could barely remember from the books.

This world was bringing out the cynic in me, wasn’t it? To think that I of all ponies would ever condemn a whole society and declare them as hopeless... I couldn’t even begin to understand why Sunset seemed to think otherwise. That these people were able to change, worth having hope for.

Maybe I was just too old, thinking mortals needed to be forced to their happiness. At which point does the line between benevolent dictator and selfish dictator blur? Am I still struggling with reconnecting to my heart if I was so quick to give up on this world?

Perhaps... perhaps I’m just tired of trying to help morons see what their own wrong-doings are doing to others and give them the chance to better themselves. I have seen it so often with the nobility, I was taking it out on the people of this world. At least I could trust the nobility to get over their pettiness (eventually), lest they earn my ire completely. They were easily cowed out of that attitude whenever it popped up. Even the two defective brain cells of those foolish enough in the nobility could recognize when I was displeased with them.

Luna could tell that I was in a particularly nasty funk, becoming increasingly more depressed the closer we got to the end of the tour. My enthusiasm for Hogwarts and all its wonders was completely gone from my system, having realized that I had... romanticized... an idea of a magical world I read about in my previous life while looking past all of its faults. My past self had no doubt seen something in it that gave me hope that it wasn’t that bad. Only now I knew that it wasn’t this incredible wondrous thing I had pretended it to be.

Equestria, on the other hoof, was turning out exactly like I had hoped it would. A peaceful place full of wonders that made me excited to see what each new day would bring with itself. Of course, Equestria wasn’t without its flaws, but they weren’t so blatantly bad as what I was seeing in this world. Nothing could ever be absolutely perfect, after all. They could always be better, but in the end, one could only aspire to reach that goal that was, in all actuality, unreachable. A paradise was a thing of myth and I know now that even this world was as far away from that as any other world.

Still... I'm allowed to dream, right? Perhaps one day I might find that ‘perfect’ world and gaze at it with nothing but envy. I was content with the state that Equestria was in, though. I only saw little room for improvement (that was actually achievable, that is), so... who knows?

Once we were back in the room with the mirror, I gave Dumbledore the offer of seeing Equestria for himself, actually finding the old man to be quite nice to have around. He reminded me of our old mentor, seeing something in this world that was worth saving. I shouldn’t be so quick to abandon it, but I just wanted to go back home and immerse myself in my work to forget all of these nasty thoughts.

It was funny to see him give his hooves a fascinated stare. It eerily reminded me of the reaction Khadgar had to his own brief transformation into a pony.

“My, this world...” Dumbledore mumbled to himself as my daughters snickered to themselves beside me, amused by how he seemed to act like a newborn foal. “This world is just brimming with magic! I can feel my bones tingle!”

I smiled as the old stallion chuckled to himself, turning every which way to get a better look at himself. He wasn’t wrong about the difference in the density of the mana in the environment, but the ‘tingling in his bones’ was more the fault of Canterlot, specifically. The capital was brimming with the magic of my wives and I, after all.

“I am glad you find it so amazing,” I said while stretching out my wings, gaining his attention (and not just because I made myself look intentionally bigger). The headmaster of Hogwarts looked at me with even more astonishment than he did with himself, craning his neck upwards to look me in the eye. I’m really not a vain pony, but... I could admit that I was a sight to behold by those that had never seen me in pony. “I’m sure my daughters would be happy to show you around. I sadly have to attend to my duties, so I’m afraid I can’t show you around myself.”

As much as I wanted to enjoy some relaxation with my wives (in the naughty way, that is), I'm sure Kibitz was already having a field day about adhering to my schedule. Alas, teaching him flexibility was a fool’s errand on my part. As much as I wanted the stubborn stallion to be a bit more lenient with poor, little old me, that would sadly never happen.

Dumbledore couldn’t even give me an answer before Twilight dragged him happily after herself with a skip in her step. I dearly hope she won’t ever change from the innocent young mare that she is right now. She held such a love for life in herself, it was so very inspiring to see. Maybe that was the proud mother in me speaking, but I don’t really care.

Kibitz, of course, gave me an unimpressed look as he found me about to enter my office, and I gave him the best apologetic gaze that I could muster. I wasn’t at all sorry for having taken the liberty to skip court today. I simply wasn't in the mood to talk with the nobles for the majority of the day, and... to be honest? I could do without any more stress for the next week.

Alas, my decision to skip court only gave me more paperwork to go through, having to look at request after request, numerous cases of ‘I’m too lazy to do the work myself, let my princess do the work for me’, some genuine instances of ponies seeking out our help, and a whole lot of tax reports and whatnot. All in all, I could sum it up as a typical day of doing paperwork, dealing with all kinds of things that cropped up on a daily basis in this wonderful nation of mine. The legislative work was by far my favorite because I could just mindlessly go through it, spotting the dumb attempts of the nobles from a mile away.

Sometimes, I wish they would get a bit more creative with their schemes so that I could put some actual effort into it. But... after having done this for a thousand years and more, there was little to nothing that they could come up with that I hadn’t seen before.

If I could trust any of them to run this kingdom I would say that this was about the time to consider going into retirement. Alas, if I were to do that, chaos would reign before I could even find a nice place to retreat to. No, I couldn’t do that to my little ponies, even if the idea of ‘going back to my roots’ sounded wonderful to me.

I suppose I would get antsy after half a century of living on a farm anyway, wouldn’t I? Hmm. I could go back to creating games if I wanted to as well, but... all of that would only be a temporary thing at best. Despite it being really frustrating sometimes, I was and will always be a princess at heart. I thrived on this kind of work, as boring as it could be at times.

Besides, Sunset and Twilight were the only ponies I would ever entrust with my nation and I didn’t want to burden them with all of this before they were ready for it. I’d rather they find their own way, something that makes them actually happy rather than throwing them into the deep end of having to rule this country (with or without the help of Luna, Liz, and myself). I knew Sunset was less of a fan of doing this kind of work than she was of the idea of being the protector of Equestria. She had her dream of safeguarding this realm from those that seek to harm it and I was loath to take that away from her.

Cadance took more after me in that regard, happy to do everything she could to rule justly and fairly over ponykind. She would, no doubt, thrive in the Crystal Empire once it returns.

Twilight might find the paperwork great, but I knew she would think less so of court and meeting with the delegates from other countries and social events. Luna was right about our little Star, she was a bookworm through and through.

The crown was a heavy burden, indeed. A responsibility I was happy to always place upon myself for the betterment of Equestria, no matter what. That would never change, no matter what. Perhaps someday, when ponies didn’t need guidance anymore, that might change. But until then? I would, forever and always, try to do everything I can to be the best princess I could be for them.

Once the day neared its end, I had two begging young mares standing in front of my desk, the wizened old headmaster next to them. Haah... I should have seen this coming, shouldn’t I? My daughters were trying to convince me to let them do an ‘exchange’ year so that they could experience what life was like on the other side of the mirror.

I strongly suspected that Twilight whined to Sunset first before coming to me with this absurd idea. I had no idea how she had roped her twin into this, but she somehow did. Despite knowing that Sunset was less of a fan of being constantly reminded of her nightmares, Twilight managed to get her of all ponies to agree to do this with her. I was pretty sure she appealed to Sunset’s overwhelming need to protect her sister at all costs...

“Please, Mom!” Twilight whined, shifting anxiously on her legs as I gave her a look that told her I was very much against this idea. I was rather reluctant to let them go to a school that saw one dangerous event after another. A school where students had even worse tendencies of spouting nonsense about supremacy to their fellow students than the young students at some of our own elite schools had about which tribe was ‘better’ than the others until they grew out of that foolish behavior. “We could learn so much about new types of magic there! An entire world with a history unlike our own! This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! Please!”

“Twilight...” I sighed but was cut off almost instantly. Not by my little Star, though.

“Mom, they teach about defense against dark magic there,” Sunset told me, causing my eyelid to twitch. So that's how Twilight managed to get her to agree, huh? “They might know something that you could never teach us! We could revolutionize magic combat in Equestria!”

I sighed. “Sunset, it's not that I...” I started, but once again, I was cut off.

“If you are concerned about their safety, I assure you that my school is the safest place on Earth,” Professor Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. The twinkle in them didn’t reassure me at all (or his words, for that matter). I was starting to become suspicious of the headmaster trying to manipulate me into allowing my daughters to attend his so-called 'safe' school. I have no idea what he was up to, but I would be damned to let him recruit them into his little 'war' with what's-his-name. Then again, I probably was too paranoid again, wasn’t I?

Haah... what could go wrong? I should put more trust in my daughters' judgment. “Alright,” I muttered while rubbing my eyes tiredly with a hoof. I have to start somewhere, right? “Under the condition that you do not, under any circumstance, do anything to endanger you or those close to you, I will allow this. Do not make me regret this decision, okay? You don’t want me to coddle you, I understand that. But don’t do anything unwise or rash. I cannot bail you out of every bad situation, as much as you think that I can.”

Twilight let out a happy noise before jumping towards me over the table to give me a hug. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Twilight exclaimed and I giggled slightly at her excited behavior, returning it with a soft nuzzle. Sunset was giving her twin a grin and a hoof bump as they left the office, leaving me alone with the headmaster.

My gentle mood took an instant turn as I glared at the old coot with the full fury of the Red Sun. “Understand that if anything happens to them, I will make you responsible for it,” I told him while letting go of a fraction of my control over my carefully repressed magical aura. “Nothing will save you from my wrath, Dumbledore.”

He hid it quite well, but I noticed the shiver run through his spine and the way he paled. “I will make sure they will not come to harm,” the professor said, giving me a nod. “But I can’t guarantee it completely, I hope you understand that?”

I narrowed my eyes at him, relieving him of the magical pressure... for now. “They are very precious to me, Albus,” I said, taking out a tea set from a cabinet behind me. By the twin suns, I really do need something to calm me down. All this stress is getting to me, I can't think straight. I was assuming the worst of him and took it out on him, which wasn't at all fair of me to do. “I’d rather they don’t do this, but I can’t keep them from living their lives forever. Sheltering them like that... it will only make them resent me for it later. Promise me that they will be looked after at all times.”

Dumbledore smiled, though I could tell he was still shaken from my display of raw power. “I will personally make sure that they are not getting up to any mischief if that is what you are worried about,” he said, no doubt familiar with more than enough troublemakers at his school. I doubt he has seen the particular brand of mischief my daughters could get up to, though. Two highly magically adept mares could cause some serious trouble at times. “As a precautionary measure, they won’t take part in any extra-curricular activities. Some of the wizarding sports can get... quite dangerous, I have to admit.”

“Thank you,” I smiled slightly, glad he wasn’t taking any chances with this. For his sake, he better keep to his word. “What of school materials? Do they need anything specific?”

“I suppose there is enough time for Ollivander to craft them wands from their own hairs,” Dumbledore muttered, stroking his long white beard. “The school uniforms shouldn’t be any problem, either. I can call in a favor with Madam Malkin, she would surely love to work with a pair of princesses.”

“I would appreciate it if that didn’t get publicly known,” I said, giving him a stern look. “I fear it would draw unwanted attention. Something neither of us wants.”

Drawing attention on Remnant had been more than dangerous enough for Cadance and me, I don’t want to know what would happen if my daughters managed to do so in a world with those seeking to gain the means to bring about all kinds of dark and forbidden things.

“Of course,” Dumbledore nodded. “The school books shouldn’t cost you too much, either, and I’m sure you have cauldrons for potions?”

“You practice alchemy?” I asked, interested. “It’s a rather advanced subject, in my opinion.”

“I think it helps to learn about it at an early age,” Dumbledore laughed to himself in that typical, grandfatherly way and I got the impression we had rather different definitions of what one should teach young students. Alchemy was a volatile process at the best of times, but I suppose if they had experience with this subject, I shouldn’t dismiss the idea entirely. Sunset and Twilight could learn quite a lot from a potions master. I doubt they would go so far as to learn to transmute different materials into more valuable ones, though.

“Anything else they would need?” I asked. “Anything for ritual magic?”

“Ritualistic magic?” Dumbledore asked back, intrigued. “No, no. Nothing like that, I have to say. Anything else they would need, we can easily provide for them. If you have one, a crystal ball for divination might come in handy.”

“I’d rather they not learn of prophetic magic,” I warned him. “It has always led to less than stellar results here in Equestria, Albus.”

“There seems to be a story there,” he noted and I glared at him fiercely. “But I won’t pry, dear. Rest assured, they will be excused from that class if you so wish.”

“I would very much appreciate that,” I said, giving him a nod. “Now, then... is that all?”

Dumbledore gave me a short nod, and with a quick glance at the thick stack of paperwork that still needed to be done (preferably today), I decided I could spare a minute or two to escort him back to the mirror.

“Princess...” Dumbledore sighed, looking up at me as he stood before the uncovered mirror. “I know you seem rather reluctant to show your trust and I understand why that is. But not all wizards and witches are deserving of that mistrust, Your Highness. I believe we can forge a lasting friendship with each other if you are willing to do so.”

“Friendship, you say?” I hummed, giving him a closer look. His eyes didn’t speak of any deceit, but a schemer definitely hid behind them. I do know that he is more or less 'trustworthy' from what I remember from the books, so I guess showing him a little bit of trust wasn’t too much trouble for me to do, was it? “Starswirl would have loved meeting you, Dumbledore. You two... are quite similar, I have to say.”

“You make it sound like you knew him personally,” he commented and I smiled cryptically. If only he knew... if only he knew, indeed. “Your Highness, I would like to offer you and your wives an invitation to observe the Triwizard Tournament held later this year between Hogwarts, Beauxbatons Academy, and the Durmstrang Institute. Maybe that will convince you that the wizarding world isn’t as bad as you think it is.”

I let out a ‘humph’, knowing that the tournament was very much dire news and I’d rather not get dragged into it, but perhaps I could do one little thing to make the life of Harry Potter and his friends a bit easier. I will have to ask Cadance if she can remember anything specific from the books, though.

“Professor, tell me one thing,” I began, once more feeling like he was trying to manipulate me into this. “In this tournament, what happens to those that participate? What do they have to go through?”

“Trials, Your Highness,” he sighed, aware of what that sounded like. No student should have to go through a barbaric thing like that tournament. Despite that, though, he seemed to think it was a grander thing than it actually was. So far, he was failing my expectations of him more and more. “It’s a tradition from ages long past, meant to bring together witches and wizards of different nationalities.”

“Did these trials ever end in death?” I asked, knowing the answer to that already, but I wanted to hear it from him. He couldn’t possibly ask me to attend such an event in order to ‘forge friendships’ (more like make an ally out of me, if I'm correct).

Dumbledore gave me a remorseful look. “They did,” he confirmed my question without hesitation. At least he was honest with me instead of hiding behind false words to gain my favor. “I had hoped to have you and your wives there in case something happened despite the heavy precautions that will be taken to prevent such a thing from ever occurring again.”

“I will have to disappoint you there, Albus,” I said, glowering at him in mistrust. “I am powerful and can do many things, but preventing Death from claiming a soul is not one of them.”

“I was thinking more along the lines of keeping the competing students away from coming that close to death in the first place,” he told me and I hummed. There was perhaps one thing I could give him that would match those conditions.

“In that case, I will give you a way for those students to quickly escape from that danger,” I smiled thinly, disgusted at myself for even thinking about aiding him with that barbaric tournament. But if I didn’t offer him that little piece of help, who knows what might happen otherwise? I couldn’t in good conscience do nothing. “I trust you to not take advantage of my generosity, Dumbledore. And should even one of my daughters be dragged into this atrocious thing despite your promises, I will be the least of your problems, Headmaster.”

“I understand,” he said, though I doubted he truly did. He might think he knows what he’s doing, playing with fire like that, but he won’t ever truly understand how much my daughters mean to me.

Even I don’t know what my daughters might mean for the future of Equestria. The fact alone that they will wield the Elements of Harmony and become alicorns themselves was something that I had no idea of how it would affect Equestria or even Equis as a whole. September was right with his words during our first (actual) meeting. Sunset and Twilight are important, more so than anypony could ever imagine.

The weeks after our first contact with Hogwarts and its headmaster were stressful, to say the least. I did learn just what would happen at the tournament from Cadance, and even more worryingly, what might happen in the following years. The rightful champion of Hogwarts would die at the tournament to the Dark Lord ‘Mr. Snakeface’, as Cadance calls him oh-so-eloquently. Harry Potter and Cedric Diggory would fall into his trap and only Harry would escape with his life intact.

If I don’t interfere, that is.

I was hard at work creating the necessary necklaces with the teleportation matrix set into the pendant, pouring more than enough mana into them that they could transport them back to Hogwarts from any place they might get stuck in. I doubted they would somehow find themselves on the moon, so it would (hopefully) work without a hitch. As a precautionary measure, I did work in a fail-safe that would create a bubble shield around the wearer while Luna dealt with the other problem.

Apparently, Hogwarts has a thing against unauthorized teleportation but that was easily worked around with a bit of my sister’s ingenuity. Luna really had taken a liking to creating ‘magi-tech’, having found a love for creating all kinds of gadgets by combining magic with technology. In simple terms, the necklace would brute force its way through that restriction of ‘no teleportation allowed’ by simply overwhelming the defenses by attempting to teleport about... a hundred times per second until it succeeded. A bit excessive, to be honest, but it did work.

I wasn’t even surprised my sister found a way to create a working device that could function inside an artificial magic nullification barrier. After creating said magic nullification barrier in the first place, that is (because, of course, my sister does the impossible after she has already done the impossible).

Sometimes I wonder whether or not Luna was actually the true genius in our family...

One thing Cadance told me that disturbed me quite thoroughly was the fact that one of the teachers at Hogwarts would be impersonated through the use of a potion. My Rose Petal reassured me that he would eventually be found out, but that was another thing that made me worry about the safety of my daughters. I was even less happy about her suggestion to let things play out as intended to avoid causing massive deviations in the timeline.

I knew she was right to be that cautious, but that didn’t mean I would have to like it. We were already interfering in something that we probably shouldn’t, so I wasn’t too concerned about changing the fate of the poor student who is going to find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Liz had a few ways of making sure that everything would happen as they were supposed to while changing everything one could change without anypony noticing it.

Of course, that meant getting a little bit creative about how to stage everything exactly like it was depicted in the books while at the same time making sure nothing went wrong. We would have to get the Hogwarts champions in on this scheme of ours without actually telling them that ‘Oh, hey! One of you might die to Lord Snakeface and we will enact some convoluted plan to change that, but don’t tell anyone about that or the return of said dark wizard!’. There was no way that this was actually going to work out like we hoped it would, was there?

Cadance, Ruby, Liz, Luna, and I all donated some of our tail hairs so that this Ollivander could make wands for Twilight and Sunset for the sake of appearances and I had to say... they did turn out to be very magnificent in their own right. They wouldn’t actually need them to practice magic, but it would look admittedly odd for them to not have their own wands while attending Hogwarts come November.

It made sense to simply let them attend during the same time the students of the other schools would arrive at Hogwarts and it gave us plenty of time to get them ready to be away for so long from home. They wouldn’t actually be that far away, considering where the mirror stood, but... for all intents and purposes, they might as well be cut off from home almost entirely. The students weren’t allowed to leave the school grounds on a whim and that was perhaps for the best. I won’t take any chances with curious students following them back to the mirror and wondering where my daughters disappear off to so often.

I was understandably incredibly anxious as the time arrived for them to start their ‘exchange’ year.

“Come on, Mom. They will be alright,” Cadance spoke up after she watched me turn around on the spot for the nth time, pacing back and forth worriedly. “You said they will only be attending classes, right? Nothing could possibly go wrong with that.”

Ruby let out a yelp next to her, shaking her marefriend. “Don’t say that!” she scolded Cadance and I let out a panicked snort, myself. “Things always go wrong when you say that, Cady!”

“Pfft, no they don’t,” my daughter shot back with a roll of her eyes.

“All I’m going to say to that is ‘Beowolf snowball’, Cady," Ruby said, causing my daughter to blush brightly in embarrassment.

“That wasn’t my fault!” Cadance whined and Ruby giggled, giving her a nuzzle. “You keep bringing that up, you meanie...”

“I wouldn’t have to if you would stop saying things like that,” Ruby shrugged. “It was a funny sight, though.”

“Yeah,” Cadance giggled, a bright grin on her muzzle. “The look on Weiss’ face was just priceless.”

Ruby snorted, beginning to laugh while I gave the two of them a thoroughly confused look, momentarily having forgotten why I had been pacing back and forth in front of the mirror leading to Hogwarts.

I will never understand them, will I? I don’t know what was so funny about getting into mortal danger on a daily basis and I never will. They could face the apocalypse and giggle madly, totally unconcerned about what might happen. I suppose their confidence didn’t come from out of nowhere, though. How many ancient Creatures of Grimm have they slaughtered and come out of it looking like they had the time of their lives? Far too many...

“Tell me you went over everything with them one last time?” I asked Cadance, changing the topic back to what I was actually concerned with. “You told them what to look out for and what to avoid under any circumstance, right?”

“Yes, Mom,” Cadance rolled her eyes, probably for the hundredth time today. “I told them about Moody, the three tasks, the dance..."—she paused and scrunched up her muzzle—" Heck, I even told them to stay away from the lady with the stupid journalism fetish.”

My sister arrived at that moment with Twilight and Sunset in tow. “I don’t even want to know, do I?” Luna asked, floating their luggage behind her in her magical grip. Twilight’s bags were full of blank scrolls, judging by the rustling sounds I heard. Leave it to my studious daughter to bring a mountain of school supplies with her.

“No, I don’t think you want to,” I sighed, giving Cadance and Ruby a nuzzle as I prepared myself for the uncomfortable journey through the mirror. “Please make sure Liz isn’t doing something to get the nobles angry at her?”

“Don’t worry, Mom,” Cadance smiled. “I’m sure Ruby and I can handle Mother’s antics for a few hours until you get back.”

“I’m more worried about you helping her in whatever prank she is concocting for them,” I sighed, getting them to grin back bashfully at me. “Just... don’t overdo it, okay?”

“No promises,” Ruby said, giggling with Cadance. “It depends on whether or not they do something to warrant it in the first place.”

“They always do something to warrant it,” Luna shot back with a roll of her eyes. “Out of all of us, Liz is the one that brings the worst out of them.”

I let out an exasperated grumble, feeling the desire to drag a hoof through my face. “I can’t even fault them for that,” I groused. “Liz really doesn’t know how to keep her... her-ness... to herself. Sometimes it feels like we need to constantly foalsit her because she can’t hold court on her own.”

“Aww, you love our Cuddlebug, Summer,” Luna grinned, nuzzling me. I smiled into her affections, unable to disagree with that statement. “And you know she only does that because she worries for us, right?”

“Of course,” I agreed, giving her a tiny nuzzle of my own before kissing her. “It’s as much endearing as it is aggravating.”

I don’t even want to know what Liz got up to during my absence on Remnant, to be honest. She probably did something lewd in front of the nobles, didn’t she? She might put on a strong and carefree façade most of the time, but when she’s worried about something (that more often than not has got something to do with Luna or me), she gets... weird. As in, she does something to purposefully get the nobles aggravated enough so that she can forget that not everything was going exactly how she would have liked it to go. Especially if that thing might have not been for certain (like my return to Equestria while I was stuck on Remnant, for example).

Luna and I helped our daughters move the luggage through the mirror, and once we were on the other side, I frowned as the house elves of Hogwarts happily took care of moving it afterward. I might never get used to how they just ‘like’ being servants, will I? It was a complete mystery to me why they were content existing like that, feeling the need to be of service due to some compulsion placed on them a long time ago, as far as I understood it. Cadance wasn’t entirely certain, either, and to be honest? I don’t think I want to know the specifics.

“Now then, we were supposed to arrive at the Grand Hall like the other schools, right?” I asked and Sunset gave me a nod in confirmation. She and Twilight were already changing into their new school uniforms with the help of Luna. “No sense in dragging this out, then. Come on.”

After they finished tying their ties, our daughters happily led us through the corridors of the ancient castle (it might have actually been built around the same time we built our first castle in the Everfree Forest, I think).

A heavy feeling settled over me the closer we got to our destination, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up straight. Something... didn’t feel right. Once again I had that feeling, the feeling of an oncoming storm just like before when the future versions of my daughters and their friends appeared out of nowhere. I had a bad feeling that not everything would turn out like it did in the books and that feeling was, once again, tied to my daughters.

“And lastly...” I heard Dumbledore’s voice through the heavy double doors of the Grand Hall, and with it, my last chance to call all of this off to prevent whatever my feeling was warning me about was dashed before my eyes as the doors opened, presenting us with the sight of hundreds of students looking at us with astonishment. “From a far-off land, two very gifted students will join us this year to learn more about our ways of magic. Please, give a warm welcome to the daughters of the headmistresses of the Equestrian Magical School for the Gifted: Twilight Star and Summer Sunset.”

I glanced at the students sitting to the left and right of me as we walked towards the end of the hall where Dumbledore stood in front of the table for the teachers, feeling like I was walking closer to certain doom with each step. One student stood out to me, giving me a disbelieving stare through his round glasses as I walked past him and his friends.

It seems I have caught the attention of one Harry Potter. Perhaps it was the bright solar flare moving through my hair that did that, but it felt like there was more to it than first met the eye. It occurred to me that there might be those that were... more sensitive to the primal nature of a higher being in this realm and that he might have come across something that would have given him that impression, that recognition.

It was a bit like how Dumbledore reacted to us the first time we met each other, really. I had chalked it up to him having ‘expected’ us, but he might have felt our approach simply because of the aura we have around ourselves.

As much as I wanted to investigate this further, I just didn’t have the time to do so. Even if there are higher beings around here somewhere (or some kind of artifact left behind by one), I didn't plan to stick around for long to find out. Unlike the other heads of schools, I still have a duty to fulfill in my homeland.

Anyway, my daughters drew just as much attention to themselves as Luna and I did. Not only because their hair colors were unlike any of those attending this school (or the others, for that matter), but also because of their striking eyes and the slitted pupils in them. That, and Sunset made it her mission to glare at any student giving us a haughty sneer (mainly from the table of one particular house bearing the symbol of a snake as their emblem). Not even House Blueblood came close to the unpleasant vibe I got from the Slytherin table.

Huh. Would you look at that? I was actually giving House Blueblood credit where credit was due. These are strange times, indeed.

I gave Dumbledore a quick greeting and found myself seated at the table with Luna right next to none other than the burly man himself, Hagrid. Out of all the ‘teachers’ here, he was the only one I had an interest in that was genuine and without any ulterior motives.

How could I not find a kindred spirit in him, the one that was an expert in magical creatures of all kinds? I could tell that he was very much interested in learning more about what I knew of the kirin, and even more so, the crystal ponies. Those were completely unheard of here in the wizarding world, it actually surprised me that there was no ‘equivalent’ to them here.

I also learned that they had their own thestrals in this dimension (and much more surprising to me was the fact that they were closely tied to death). I suppose those ancient myths of theirs had a kernel of truth to them, after all. Perhaps I should look into the origin of the thestral pony tribe again...

Naturally, I expressed an interest in seeing these breeds of thestrals for myself, even if they were by far less intelligent than I would have liked to hear. I was particularly interested to find out how their ability to hide worked. It sounded like it might be a variation of shadow magic the umbrum were said to have possessed back during the time of the Crystal Empire's founding. It's too bad Amore wasn't around anymore, she could have given me some much-needed insight on that.

Anyway! Moving on from that rather depressing thought... Madame Maxime, the half-giantess headmistress of Beauxbatons Academy, mentioned that the pegasi that drew her carriage all the way from France to Britain only drink alcohol, causing me to sputter in shock and Luna to laugh uproariously in delight.

Out of all the things that could have surprised me... I have no idea how one could possibly get the idea to feed their steeds such... I don’t even know what to say that could put my indignation sufficiently into words. To give them alcohol, a poison by all rights... it was utterly disgusting and disgraceful to me.

At least my daughters seemed to have fun talking with the students from the Ravenclaw House as they partook in the feast. Sunset was drawing even more attention by drinking blood openly from a goblet, causing murmurs to spread among all the students that kept an interested eye on her and Twilight. I have no doubt there are going to be many rumors floating around come the next morning (probably even earlier, if I am honest with myself).

Later that evening, as the feast was winding down and every student had their fill, Dumbledore stood up and moved next to the covered Goblet of Fire and I couldn’t help but growl to myself as he proclaimed that ‘eternal glory' awaited the champion that would win the Triwizard Tournament.

At least he made sure that each and every student understood that this little competition was not for those that were unprepared and faint of heart. I could thankfully rest easy knowing that the necklaces I made with my wives would prevent any mishap from happening, but that gave me little to no reassurance that the conclusion of the tournament would work out like I hoped it would. It would be rather bad if even those precautions failed in the end.

While I could not save Harry Potter and the rightful Hogwarts champion by interfering directly (as much as I wanted to, I was strictly forbidden from ‘meddling’ with the timeline by my own daughter), Chrysalis thankfully found a way to ‘fake’ a corpse, which would hopefully lead to this tournament being permanently banned from ever occurring again.

Of course, that meant that we would have to make someone disappear from the face of the Earth, but that was the least problematic thing about this. I would gladly take in the Diggory family and let them live out their lives in Equestria (if they wanted to). The question, though, was how we would make that switch happen in the first place.

The only solution that came to my mind was to infiltrate the tournament as a contender myself, but that was an absolutely ridiculous idea, wasn't it? With the help of Liz, I could probably pose as Hogwarts’ champion with no one being the wiser of it, but... that also meant that I would have to put my own life at risk, instead. Not to mention, posing as Harry Potter or Cedric Diggory left me feeling icky and made me want to gag at the mere thought of it (not that Liz would have any qualms about this, but I'd rather not unleash her shenanigans on this world).

Dumbledore and (as I learned his name) Cornelius Fudge explained the entree rules to become a champion in the tournament. Only 'one' student of each school was permitted to enter and had to be over the age of seventeen. I knew that that was one thing that would definitely not work out as intended for Hogwarts, and just as I met the eyes of Harry Potter for probably the hundredth time already, the enchanted ceiling of the Grand Hall started acting up.

Alastor Moody (or rather, the man posing as Alastor Moody) arrived, having no doubt caused the disturbance by his mere presence. I felt repulsed that I wasn’t allowed to just turn the man to ash right then and there. But Cadance told me that the events following the return of Dark Lord Snakeface need to turn out exactly as they have to for Harry to get the chance to defeat him once and for all in a few years. And that meant staying my hand, reduced to a mere observer while a murderer and dark wizard was free to do whatever he pleased.

I’m sure September would find this funny (if he could feel that emotion, that is). It felt weird to be reduced to a passive piece, unable to do anything to influence the board directly.

What a conundrum this turned out to be. I could, at most, nudge the pieces into a slightly more favorable position on the board, but I couldn’t directly control the outcome. This must be what September feels like, simply being an observer of events that he deemed important enough to observe.

I had seen the stallion from time to time in the background in the past few years, following the events that marked the growth of my daughters into the rightful mares that they are now. But not once did he stay long enough for me to ask him anything in regard to the past, present, or future.

In a sense, I was becoming more familiar with the difficulties September has to face. Interfering meant changing things, and changing things meant outcomes that were unknown to me. Outcomes that might turn out favorably at first glance, but could quickly turn out to be even worse than if I didn’t dare to interfere in the first place. It would mean that I would have to fix my own mistakes, even if I might not deem them as such. Then again... changing things doesn’t necessarily have to lead to bad outcomes, as the butterfly effect so often portrays.

As long as you don’t interfere in your own past, things wouldn’t lead to the universe imploding in on itself suddenly. Causing minor paradoxes won't leave the universe an utter wreck, but it’s still better to be cautious than careless. Even minor paradoxes could cause more trouble than they are worth it, after all.

Thus, my inability to change major events in this universe by directly interfering, as much as I wanted to. At most, I could save the life of Cedric Diggory by replacing him with the look-alike corpse at the right moment, seemingly keeping everything as it should be while changing the thing that mattered most. And it irked me that that was the only thing I could do without utterly endangering Harry Potter’s future.

Apparently, there was some convoluted twist about how Lord Snakeface could not be killed because of phylactery shenanigans. Cadance doesn’t actually know whether Harry would succeed against his nemesis since the last book hadn’t been out before she died, but since it was supposed to be the last book, I could take a guess and probably be right about it.

Nopony likes a bad ending for the hero, after all. That doesn’t mean it would happen for certain, though. All I could do in the end was to hope that it wouldn’t turn out to be the bad ending with the forces of darkness triumphing over good.

Luna and I returned to Equestria once the festivities ended that day, thankfully finding our castle still intact without an angry mob of nobles after our wife. Liz did cause a bit of mischief, though. By... pretending to be a centaur with a larger-than-appropriate bust (going completely naked, of course).

I sighed, dragging my misbehaving wife after me as we got ready to retire for the night. I should have expected it, like so many other times, but somehow... I still expected to find her not being her usual self and behave for once.

The absence of our daughters left me in an unhappy mood, unable to even appreciate the appearance of my wife for what it was. I wasn’t even feeling remotely lustful, too worried that something might happen with my daughters. All I wanted was to find some restful slumber to forget my worries for even a little while, but Liz made that all but impossible by roping Luna into having sex for most of the night.

So, instead of joining them, I found myself wandering around restlessly in our garden. Before long, my gaze wandered up to the moon and stayed there for a good long while.

I sighed shakily, trying to keep the tears at bay as my heart felt so incredibly heavy. “What would you do, sister?” I whispered to myself, lost in thought. “Everything seems to be so complicated all of a sudden when, for the longest time, everything has been so simple that I wished for a challenge to appear before me, an event that would make me struggle for the first time in a millennium...

“And now that I am facing one such struggle... I don’t know what to do. I fear my daughters will do something very foolish despite me having them not to do so. Sunset, of all ponies, might try something to prove that she is worthy of all those expectations. Expectations that she alone places upon herself...

“I worry that..."—my voice trembled as I breathed in shakily—" I worry that she might just succeed with it. And I fear it will utterly ruin her in the process.

"It’s a silly fear, isn’t it? I have seen the future that awaits her, the mare that she grows into. Rightful, just, kind... and hopeful above all else.”

Of course, my twin couldn’t answer me. She couldn't give me some sort of reassurance, trapped on the moon like that. But still, I rambled on and on, laying my heart out just to get it off of my chest.

“What would you do if she does as you fear?” somepony asked me and I turned to see Yu’la floating gently through the air next to me. She had grown slightly larger since she had found the egg, enough so that she appeared like a tiny version of Yu’lon. I mean... sort of like an adolescent version? It was difficult to describe, truly.

“I don’t know,” I sighed, smiling as she gave me a nuzzle. “I will miss the times when you were small enough to hide in my mane, dear.”

“I could just use dragonflight magic to turn small again,” Yu’la proposed, doing just that. I giggled as she flitted around me, plunging into my mane with a playful demeanor. She let out a chirpy laugh, causing me to feel the slightest bit better.

“When do you think the egg might hatch?” I asked her and saw her change into her filly self, happily skipping next to me with that youthful exuberance that never left her.

“Oh, my little Spike won’t hatch for another year or so,” she stated, matter-of-factly.

“Spike?” I asked, a little bit surprised. “An unusually normal name, dear. I would have expected something a bit more along the lines of... I dunno, Yu’ something.”

“Nah,” she giggled, amused. “Yu is more or less the name of our soul, our surname for all intents and purposes. In that line of thought, Yu’lon is the original, big sister Yu’lei is the Daughter of Jade, and I am the Child of Jade, Yu’la.”

“I don’t quite understand,” I said, confused. “Wouldn’t that also make you the Daughter of Jade?”

“No,” Yu’la said, snorting in mirth. “There is a difference between being the Child of Jade and the Daughter of Jade. You could think of me as Yu’lon as a child, while big sis Yu’lei is my... well, Yu’lon’s daughter, but also kinda mine? Technically, we both are, since I am only a fragment of the original Yu’lon. Hmm, how to explain this? Think of it like this: Yu'lei was modeled after her while I am her but not?”

“This is a little bit confusing, Yu’la. I remember having to explain the reincarnation part of Yu’lon’s lifecycle to you and how you came to be, once upon a time,” I said, looking at her in a different light. Something had changed and I couldn’t quite put my hoof on what exactly it was that did.

“To be honest, it wasn’t something I really understood before you explained it to me,” Yu’la mumbled, rubbing her neck abashedly. “But the older I got, the more I understood my nature as part of Yu’lon’s soul. I’m sort of remembering what she knew at the time of my creation now.”

“That does make sense,” I hummed. A thousand years ago, Yu’la was nothing more than an infant. She wouldn’t know what those memories meant, and if Sunset was an indicator, those memories of a past life were blurry at best, weren’t they? Luna, Tia, Cadance, and I were lucky to remember our past so clearly (not so much anymore these days in the case of my sister and me, but still).

“If you want to know what I think, I think you should support her even if she decides to put herself directly in danger,” Yu’la said, throwing me out of my musings before I could get entirely lost in them. “Sunset is stronger than you think she is. As is Twilight, despite not seeming like it.”

“I know...” I sighed, my gaze wandering back up to the moon as my wandering hooves brought us over to the hedge maze. It was strangely calming, strolling through it at such a quiet time. Despite that, my thoughts lingered on my worries, like they so often did. “But this isn’t just something harmless. The tournament on the other side of the mirror is dangerous, Yu’la.”

“I have seen Sunset fight with the Rose Sisters before,” Yu’la mentioned and I looked back down towards her. Huh, I never thought of calling Cadance and Ruby the Rose Sisters before. A fitting description, I have to say. “That she even stands a chance against both of them is very remarkable.”

“This is different, though,” I muttered, kicking out a forehoof in frustration. “As much as Dumbledore pretends it to be, it's not a fully controlled environment. It's not a duel where she could at any time end the fight. She could die...”

Yu'la hummed before she shook her head, much to my surprise. “I doubt that,” she stated with a smile. “You know why? Because she is your daughter. If there is just one pony that could eventually surpass you in every way, it’s Sunset.”

“You sound quite convinced of that,” I said. Despite the doubt plaguing my mind, I found that her smile was infectious. Mine was a lot more melancholic, though. “I’d rather they don’t risk anything.”

“Well, of course, duh. That’s pretty much understandable,” Yu’la said, looking up at me with a beaming smile. “You are their mother, it would be weird if you weren’t so worried for their safety.

"But you also know that they will have to brave many challenges in the coming years. It would help them greatly to get some experience with real situations like... whatever it is that you feel they aren’t ready for. Platinum will return and try to genuinely kill you and your daughters. Against her, they won’t get a second chance. They don’t get to have a safety net against her.”

Yu’la was right about that, that much I couldn’t deny. With their necklaces, the tournament wouldn’t actually pose a threat to them. Heck, even without the necklaces they would probably encounter no actual problems with the three tasks. I was more worried about what came after the tournament.

If it came down to a fight, I could trust Sunset to last long enough to get to safety. She might even surprise me and fight back successfully to not need any rescuing.

Ugh. I was too overprotective of them, wasn’t I? Was I hindering their growth by being so hesitant? I did promise to give them a chance, didn’t I? A chance Starswirl had granted us despite having been so doubtful of us being ready to face the challenges the world could throw at us.

“I wonder...” I mumbled, trudging through the maze leisurely, knowing exactly which path to take to reach the center even if I were blindfolded. Yu’la gave me a curious look and I smiled gently. “What do you think Starswirl would think of them?”

Yu'la snickered. “He would probably be annoyed to have little Star nerding over him,” she told me and I had to giggle as well while I pictured that scene in my head. Twilight would do exactly that, wouldn’t she? He was her biggest idol, it wasn’t too far-fetched to think she would actually drool all over him. “You knew him better than anypony, what do you think he would have thought of Sunset?”

“I’m sure he would encourage her to become an archmage,” I mused, taking a turn to the left and then one to the right, finally arriving at the center of the maze. I gave the statue of Celestia a sad smile, sitting down in front of the likeness of my twin. Many a visitor mistook her statue to be a depiction of me, but only my twin could look so radiant, so beautiful. “Sunset is already mastering emotional magic at a far faster pace than I ever did, and her combat prowess could even rival that of Starswirl. He would be proud of that, at least.”

“He might also think they are immature,” Yu’la pointed out, giggling madly. “Oh, all the shenanigans Sunset and I could get up to with Philomena, I hope he returns just so that we can get on his nerves! The old fart was always so grumpy!”

“Yu’la...” I sighed, smiling at her antics fondly. Despite her being so well-behaved most of the time, my daughter was the one to finally corrupt my darling with thoughts of shenanigans. Of course, Philomena was absolutely delighted about that and I couldn’t deny that it wasn’t at least a little bit endearing.

“Don’t be like that, Sunny,” Yu’la pouted. “Starswirl could use a bit of humiliation to get that stick up his plot unstuck.”

“Your mother would be so disappointed in me,” I grumbled, giving her a tiny glare about her uncouth language.

“Sorry,” she apologized, thankfully appearing to be genuine with that. I don’t know how disappointed I would have been had she been a petty brat about it. “But you have to admit, pranking is fun. As long as Philo isn’t the one to suggest what we should do...”

I let out a heavy sigh, shaking my head. “I pray you never let your sister decide the prank,” I said, smiling tiredly in good-natured fun. Here's to hoping. I'm pretty sure nothing good would come from it if she did.

I guess one nice thing came from Yu’la’s recent changes, though. I once again had a little filly to cuddle with. I could spoil her with all my motherly affections to my heart’s content. Sure, she was closer to my age than an actual filly, but... I could pretend, couldn’t I? Yu’la was just as happy to snuggle up to me in between my forelegs, so I don’t think she really minded it that much.

We stayed there for a few minutes in companionable silence before Yu'la hummed. “How do dragons raise their young?” she asked me and I let out a hum of my own, opening my eyes briefly to glance down at her. I never really bothered to learn much about the dragons considering how... unruly... most of them were. Beyond driving them out of Equestria when they were causing havoc on my little ponies, I never truly interacted with them or their nation.

“I don’t know,” I answered. “You know we mostly leave them to their own devices. Ponies and dragons never had the best opinion of each other. Comparing the dragons of Azeroth to those on Equis would be an insult to your noble heritage, to be honest.”

Was that racist? Probably. I could care less about the dragons on Equis, though. Their attitude was frankly appalling to be around and I take exception to those adolescents of theirs. I wouldn't even be surprised if the egg Yu'la acquired was abandoned on purpose, good parenting wasn't exactly a thing I associated with them from the few times I had to interact with them.

Dragons had the unpleasant tendency to be massive assholes, even to each other. Unlike the griffons, they were proud of it, too. Maybe that's just me thinking in stereotypes, but I have yet to see a dragon (aside from my darling) behave like a civilized, decent being.

It also wasn't helped by the fact that hibernating dragons cause a lot of smoke and generally don't give a single flying penguin about who they might hurt with that. It would take a miracle for them to learn a bit of consideration for their environment, but that's what you get when the majority of them live in volcanic regions. Those that leave don't know that most other critters are deathly allergic to pollution.

And, well... there are a lot more things that would need to change with their attitude before I can consider giving them a chance. Among that was the fact that phoenixes were an endangered species for a reason.

That, and anypony making fart jokes by actually farting was beyond saving. There are no excuses for that kind of behavior whatsoever. None.

“Hmm,” Yu’la hummed, looking off into the distance. I continued to watch her while her expression appeared to be so concerned that she was beginning to frown. It was so unlike her, seeing her like that.

“In my opinion, you will do just fine raising your child the pony way,” I told her, booping her muzzle with a hoof. I giggled as she scrunched it up cutely, trying not to sneeze and only just succeeding against the urge to do so. “I know Yu’lon wouldn’t want you to raise him based on what dragons are like here and I know you wouldn’t want that either, darling.”

“No, I suppose not,” she nodded, yawning. Her yawn caused me to let out one, as well. It was quite late, wasn’t it? It was almost time to raise the suns and lower the moon already. I definitely wasn’t looking forward to holding court without having gotten any sleep at all tonight.

Haah... that's what I get for being a dumb worrywart. I was less anxious about holding court while being tired than going back through the mirror in the evening to witness which student gets chosen to be a champion at the damn tournament, though. To be honest, I was already expecting to hear Sunset’s name be called out despite the warnings we gave her.

Usually, when I’m this tired, I was irritable at the best of times. I fear I might still get mad (and not the tame kind of mad, at that). I might say things I don’t want to say and I might just say them with an audience listening in. I pray I can stay calm for the sake of my daughters, but I could already predict that I won’t be too successful with that endeavor.

Hmm. Perhaps it was a good idea to consider doing something that I wouldn’t do under any other circumstance, then. Suppressing my emotions to the degree that everything would feel muted... I might have to resort to that, don’t I?

I know Celly (wow, I never even once thought to differentiate her from ours like that, I feel stupid now) had fewer qualms about doing that kind of thing if it helped keep her calm in a battle, but I was a pony that literally relied on those emotions for everything that I do.

Using that kind of magic would be quite nasty as well, so I might have to think of something else. One thing that did come to mind was meditation, but I don’t know if I could reach a sufficiently calm enough state of mind to not turn into a raging she-devil as soon as I hear her name called out.

I hope Luna can prevent me from lashing out, at least. I would never get abusive with my daughters, but words could hurt just as much as a bruising cheek. They could hurt even worse and I fear my daughters would hate me for it. I need to keep myself from getting angry at them if they do go behind my back, no matter what.

I’m not concerned about Twilight throwing her name in the goblet, at least. She knows that doing so would be pointless. Twilight doesn’t feel the need to prove herself to Luna or me (or her sisters). Or herself, for that matter.

Sunset, on the other hoof, though? She constantly tries to one-up herself, and... I’m worrying too much again, aren't I? I need to stop being so antsy. She will be alright even if she does throw her name in and has to compete. I have to support her despite preferring it if she wouldn’t compete at all.

Yu’la and I returned to the castle grounds as soon as I had raised my sun and helped Luna with Celestia’s, bringing about a new day, and with it, new problems to work through.

Kibitz didn’t even give me enough time to let me eat my breakfast at my own (admittedly) tired and slow pace. Alas, I think not getting to enjoy my breakfast was the least of my problems that day. Kibitz really could be a slavedriver at times, I swear. It’s not like I couldn’t match the pace... I was just too tired to.

Court was an absolute nightmare that day. The first case was already grating on my frayed nerves and I gave the mare standing before me a disbelieving stare, my eyelids twitching subtly while I strained to keep my fake smile on my muzzle. Cadance was doing a far better job at it than I did, to be honest. But even my Rose Petal was having a hard time believing her own ears.

“You want to... what?” I asked, praying that I had actually misheard the noble mare's ‘request’.

“I want to get the permission to sterilize my stupid daughter,” she said and I felt a hot lance of anger run through me as she looked at me with that haughty look that told me she truly believed I would grant her that quite frankly ridiculous request. Cadance shook her head next to me, giving me a subtle nudge to remind me that I need to keep calm. “She can’t have a foal and spread her retardedness around.”

Suffice to say, I was seething on my throne. “And you have evidence of this ‘retardedness’?” I asked, barely stopping myself from shouting angrily at her to leave my throne room and never return. The sheer audacity...

“I-I...” the noble mare stuttered and then proceeded to refuse to give me the evidence that her daughter was a danger to society as a whole. I suspect she was trying to stop her daughter from becoming a parent herself because said daughter was in love with a commoner, and thus, in an ‘impure’ relationship.

Sometimes I wonder when I'm finally going to put a stop to this nonsense. I really should start to review court requests before they are brought to me, shouldn’t I? I could avoid these stupid idiotic schemes if I was just a little bit more forceful with my little ponies and didn’t allow everypony and their cat into court.

It was no wonder why I thought ponykind still needed a friggin’ foalsitter to avoid extinction. Each and every day, there was at least one pony that had two dysfunctional brain cells coming to court to petition for things that I had absolutely no time or patience for.

To make things even worse, the next case was even better. One overly greedy mare tried to keep the winnings of her lottery ticket to herself by divorcing her husband while conveniently leaving out that they were rich now. I gave the husband the entirety of the five million bits from the lottery reward and told the mare to get lost, disgusted at her behavior.

Holy flying penguins. Family should stick together and not fall apart over greed of all things.

At least Cadance and I had the pleasure to meet with an elementary school class visiting the castle on their school trip to learn more about the Equestrian government and how court was held, letting them come up with a mock case that we acted out. It was quite cute and I was very happy to take a picture with them.

Sadly, that was the only good thing that happened during court that day.

Two changelings followed by two thestral agents interrupted the proceedings of a court case between two con artists apparently having scammed numerous ponies into buying wine that was of a ‘famous’ brand that actually never existed in the first place.

“Your Highness, please come with us,” the one with the purple eyes said while his brother shifted nervously on his hooves. I gave him a nod and told Raven to make sure the two shifty sales ponies would pay repairs to the wronged ponies and give them a hefty fine for having committed fraud (a bit of community service wouldn't have hurt, either, but I was rather lenient with first-time offenders).

While she did that, I focused my attention back on the two changelings and thestrals in front of me. “Lead the way, Swarm Commander Pharynx,” I said. For good measure, I also gave a quick note to the guards that court was canceled for today until further notice (I was so done with this and Cadance couldn't be happier about it). The nobles were obviously outraged that their ‘important’ matters wouldn’t be heard, but I could care less about that while I had something actually important to deal with.

Kibitz wasn’t pleased about this, either, but that was more the fault of the unexpected change in schedule than my canceling court. I just hope that, whatever this was about, it wouldn’t make me miss lunch. I was already cranky enough as it was, I didn’t need to get even crankier.

“We received news from Abyssinia, Your Highness,” Thorax began. He grimaced as soon as I began to frown. If the Swarm and S.P.O.T.T. are involved, it could only mean one thing. “An army of unknown origin laid siege to the capital Panthera at approximately sixteen-hundred hours five days ago, conquering the castle within minutes of arriving.”

“How many casualties? Any known motives?” I asked, scowling deeply. “Do we have to worry about this enemy invading us next?”

“So far, we know that they are only after the riches of those that they invade,” Special Operative Nightowl answered stoically, taking out a folder from beneath her wing. “They didn’t kill outright, but they left the city a burning wreck. We are still counting the victims that couldn’t escape in time.”

“Tell me that the Disaster Relief Division is already on-site,” I muttered, not in the mood to hear even more bad news.

“We were fortunate with the high winds, Your Highness,” she answered and I sighed in relief.

“I want to know who is behind this, preferably before they invade another nation,” I stated just as we arrived at the bustling war room. Liz was screeching around in a fury, her mane glowing a bright red, very much displeased with the lack of information on our enemies. I couldn’t blame her, I wasn’t feeling any better.

It has been a long time since this room has seen use. Well, it did see use quite a lot, but usually not for the actual purpose that it was made for.

Since Luna wasn’t here yet, I gave Liz a comforting hug, nuzzling her softly. “How long did you stay up?”

“Too long,” my wife whispered back, buzzing her wings cutely in agitation. Her mane went back to the soft green as I hummed tiredly, her wings lulling me into a relaxed state that threatened to put me to sleep right then and there. “You?”

“I didn’t get any,” I answered, taking in a deep whiff of her mane, the smell of it managed to relax me even further. I have no idea how it always smells this good no matter what my beautiful succubus was doing. It probably had something to do with pheromone shenanigans...

“I could have fucked you unconscious, Sunflower,” Liz giggled and I pouted, feeling bad for having missed out on a fun time with Centaur-Liz. I would, no doubt, get my chance another time when I was actually in the mood for it. “You are worried that our little Sun will enter the tournament, aren’t you?”

“I am and I’m almost sure she will,” I sighed. “But I talked it over with Yu’la and she convinced me that Sunset is more than ready to take on the challenge. I hope she is right...”

“You really are dumb,” Liz mumbled, interrupting my angry retort with a hungry kiss. I decidedly ignored that everypony could see us making out right in front of them, melting against her touch. Damn her. “Sunset is one of the strongest mortals alive in this realm, Sunflower. A feral dragon wouldn’t even stand a chance against her and neither would some overgrown fish.”

“I’m not worried about the dragon or the merfolk in the lake,” I denied, growing restless again. “And neither do I think she would be unable to get through the maze, but that’s it, isn’t it? The end of the maze doesn’t mean she isn’t in danger anymore. She would move directly towards danger and...”

Liz shut me up again with a kiss before my breath could speed up to unhealthy levels. “Even this dark lord doesn’t stand a chance against her, you dolt. If she wanted, she could make his heart stop by manipulating the blood in his body from ever reaching it. There is literally no pony that could stand a chance against her, and as our precious Rose has told us, Mr. Snakeface is not immortal.”

“No, he isn’t,” I sighed, nodding reluctantly. “But he is a particularly powerful lich. I don’t know what he is capable of.”

“It’s not Sunset that has to bring about his end, sister,” Luna said, spooking the living daylights out of me as she snuck up on us without me noticing. “Now, let us get back to figuring out what happened to Abyssinia, alright? I have faith in our daughters to not do something that would put their lives at risk, and if they do, they will get through it unscathed.”

Luna was right. So, I mare-d up and we did just that. The mystery of the unknown army laying siege to Panthera occupied most of our thoughts from there on out until evening arrived. Beyond trying to prepare to offer aid to those that would need it, whether it be Abyssinia or any other nation we were good friends with, there was little we could do at the moment.

Apparently, these ape-ish creatures going around pillaging for magical artifacts arrived out of nowhere and were gone just as quickly. This ‘Storm King’ wasn’t actually the ruler over stormy weather, he was just a pretentious flying penguin that was clearly compensating for something.

I wasn’t actually worried that he would come for Equestria, not with the meager force of a few airships. And to be honest, conquering Abyssinia wasn’t that great of an accomplishment in the first place.

Why he would go for Abyssinia at all was a mystery to me as well. If he wanted magical artifacts, Abyssinia was the very last place I would go looking for those, and if he were to try, he wouldn’t get very far into Equestrian territory like that (obviously). Not to mention, I doubt he would be all that successful with getting into our vaults.

Suffice it to say, since I had no intention to suffer through Nightmare Night, I went through the mirror as soon as we had lowered the suns and raised the moon. We would keep an eye on the Storm King situation as best as we could, but for now, I was more worried about what our daughters were doing.

I really wish I had that restful night of sleep because as soon as I stood next to the teachers of Hogwarts with my sister, my anxiety rose to an all-time high after each little slip of paper was spewed out of the goblet and the chosen champions were lauded as some kind of 'heroes'. This was anything but heroic.

Harry Potter’s name was selected at the same time as one last slip of paper flew out in a blaze, smoking slightly from the heat of the magical flame burning brightly in the goblet.

“Twilight Star...” Dumbledore called out and my legs gave out in disbelief. What..? But that... t-that c-can’t be right. Why would Twilight do this? Out of all my daughters... I never would have thought she would be doing something so reckless.

The booming sound of thunder crackled through the hall as an icy coldness spread over it. “Twilight Lunar Star Sparkle!” Luna’s voice silenced the muttering of the students. I was rooted too deeply in my thoughts to give Luna a reprimanding look, feeling more helpless and full of despair than I had ever before. To think that Twilight... she was always so logical, so well-behaved... I... I don't understand.

Twilight nervously walked out from where she had been hiding, looking like we had just caught her in the act with her muzzle stuck in the cookie jar. Sunset was giving her twin sister a disbelieving look as well, clearly not having expected this outcome, either.

My daughter didn’t look happy at all. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought she was even angrier at her sister than Luna and I were. Perhaps she actually was, I mused, seeing the glare she sent after her sister.

Luna grabbed her arm roughly, dragging our daughter after her without slowing the slightest bit down for Twilight to keep up with her. I could see the icy blue of her eyes roiling with turbulent thoughts. Her hair was turning slightly nebulous and I knew my sister was on the verge of turning into Nightmare Moon. And I didn't do anything to stop her, still too much in shock at what had just happened.

I followed my sister and Twilight numbly out of the Grand Hall through the door in the back. My jumbled emotions were all over the place and unable to settle on any one emotion, a chilling coldness settling over me. It was as if my fiery aura had suddenly left me, unable to penetrate the icy grip this feeling had over my soul.

“I would have expected this of your sister!” Nightmare growled and fog slowly started to appear around her. “What were you thinking?!”

“Mom, I...” Twilight started, tears beginning to appear at the corners of her eyes. She looked over at me and saw my empty gaze and winced with shame. “I thought I could...”

Nightmare snorted, cutting her off before she could come up with an explanation. “No. You did not think, Star. You went against our wishes, daughter. You, of all ponies, did not listen to common sense and just entered a tournament that could result in your death. Not once did you even think about the consequences of throwing your name into a magical artifact!”

“I thought I could help...” Twilight whispered, tears streaming down her face. “I’m not stupid, Mom. I know you and Cadance are training Sunset in combat for a reason and all of you think I need to be protected. You think Sunset is ready for the return of your sister and... I’m not. You don’t have to lie to me.”

“Twilight...” I whispered, a spark of... something... piercing this hollowness inside me. She needed my support now more than ever, not harsh reprimands. I couldn’t let fear control me, I had to help her get through this if it's the last thing I do. My sister, I could tell, was thinking along the same lines as I saw her return to her regular self.

“I know you have come up with a plan to change the events of the last task,” Twilight mumbled, wiping away the tears with a quivering breath. “The only solution that I can see working out would be to be there in pony, to make sure everything turned out exactly like you want it to. I can do that, I know it.”

Luna sighed before grabbing our daughter in a tight hug. “You are going to need to learn how to cast spells far faster than you have ever needed to before, Twilight,” she said while placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. “You will have to train a lot with Sunset whenever you don’t need to attend your classes. And whenever we can, we will help you out as much as we can. Things in Equestria... have gotten complicated.”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked, confused. “What’s happening, Mom?”

“Abyssinia has been under attack by an unknown army,” I answered, balling up my hands into fists. Before I could work myself up into a fit of rage, I let out a sigh, relaxing my hands again after I reminded myself that being angry would help nopony. I really hate how volatile my emotions could be at times. “This couldn’t have come at a worse time... We already can’t spare too many resources on this because of the return of my twin and this tournament that you have gotten yourself caught up in. You are the highest priority to us, for now. We can’t bear the thought of something happening to you, little Star. We will have to figure something out with our regular duties and our investigation into this Storm King.”

“At least we know what we need to prepare you for,” Luna said and began leading us to the room we were told about where the champions would wait for the headmasters of the other schools. “Navigating the labyrinth will be the least challenging for you, the center path with the sphinx won’t pose too much of a problem since you of all ponies can retain information from just reading something once.”

Twilight would no doubt be ecstatic about learning everything the Hogwarts library had to offer. The only challenge we were actually worried about was the very first challenge of retrieving the egg from the dragon protecting it.

The other headmasters were just as displeased to hear about the extra two champions as we were. Their focus was more on Harry Potter, though, since he was actually still under the age of majority in the wizarding world. Technically, Twilight was considered underage as well, just... not here. Not that that would have changed much since she was about to turn eighteen in a couple of months.

This was definitely not how I thought we would spend her eighteenth birthday. Instead of it being a joyous occasion, it was going to be spent in uncertainty away from home where Twilight’s and Sunset’s birthday should have been celebrated.

And as Cadance had told us, the dance was going to be an absolute nightmare as well, wasn’t it? I might have to ask my little petal to teach Twilight how to dance without embarrassing herself. It might also be a good idea to just ask her to stay here with them and help train Twilight in defensive magic and combat to the degree that she could cast spells even under heavy stress.

We had less than a month to get Twilight into fighting shape. Sunset was reluctant at first to help train Twilight together with Cadance (and when we could, either Luna or me). I could tell that my little Sun was still mad at her for not telling her about her ‘grandiose’ plan to help us save Cedric Diggory from his ill fate. And naturally, she was even less enthusiastic about having to fight against her own twin to prepare her for the first task.

The days flew by and the closer the first task got, the more worried I became that Twilight wouldn’t make it through. Even though Twilight was catching up to Sunset’s combat prowess remarkably fast, she still had problems concentrating through the stress of actual combat.

Her firepower was beyond astonishing. She even managed to obliterate Cadance’s shield by the time the first task arrived, attacking every single one of the weak points in the shield all at once. Although, as soon as she had to defend herself at the same time, that firepower was less than stellar in comparison to what she could achieve when completely calm.

Luna had tried teaching her combat meditation, but so far, Twilight hasn’t been able to maintain it when the actual fight began.

I could only hope that she would get a dragon that wasn’t too aggressive, protecting its ‘egg’ from her. I would have smuggled Yu’la in and pretended that she was a ferocious dragon to all the other headmasters, but I think that farce would have been discovered as soon as they saw the act of Yu’la trying to be aggressive over an obviously fake egg.

I mean... if that egg was her unborn hatchling, I think it might have been believable to the degree that she would have actually tried to burn Twilight for trying to steal it. She wouldn’t actually try to kill her, though. Yu’la would never do that.

One after the other, the champions took out a miniature dragon from the bag held out to them, representing the actual dragon that they would have to face. Harry Potter drew the short stick, so to speak, getting the Hungarian Horntail that was, out of all of the dragons to pick, the most aggressive one.

Lastly, it was Twilight’s turn to reach into the bag, and with a slight grimace, she withdrew her hand, a little white dragon hanging on to her finger as it chomped down on it with far too cute snorting sounds coming from it.

“Ah, the Antipodean Opaleye,” Barty Crouch Senior said, giving Twilight a nod. “Quite fortunate for you, Miss Star.”

Twilight gave me an uncertain look and I smiled back reassuringly, trying to give her all the confidence she would need.

Turns out, Twilight had gotten the least aggressive dragon to face off against. The Opaleye was a dragon that, unless it was particularly hungry, was quite docile. That didn’t mean that it was going to part with its egg willingly, though.

Hogwart's rightful champion, Cedric Diggory, was the first to enter the arena in which his dragon, the Swedish Short-Snout, was awaiting him, bound to the ground with heavy shackles. The silverish-blue dragon was promptly distracted by the young man with a spell that transformed a rock into a poor, innocent, and quickly devoured labrador, allowing him to retrieve the egg.

I mourned after the unfortunate little dog, having been brought into this world through the use of the cruelest kind of magic. I had half a mind to hold a grudge against him for using transformative magic like that, giving life to an animal only to use it as nothing more than bait.

Hmph. I suppose it was poetic justice then that he got burned by the dragon. Serves him right for playing with magic that created life out of nothing. I felt for the poor soul that got dragged out of the Shadowlands only to die immediately afterward again...

Next up was the champion from Beauxbatons, Fleur Delacour. Her dragon was a Common Welsh Green, and through the simple use of a sleeping charm, she retrieved the golden egg only to have the misfortune to get caught by a snort of flame from the snoring dragon, lightly singing her uniform which she quickly put out with a little bit of conjured water.

Fleur was the only one of the other schools’ champions to earn my favor by refusing to hurt the dragon even the slightest bit. I also gave her the appropriate full marks for that.

The one that I absolutely hated the most was Viktor Krum. He was apparently quite famous in the wizarding world for his skill in sport, but he was an absolutely horrendous person by throwing a curse at the Chinese Fireball, causing the dragon to destroy its own eggs in a blind rage.

I had half a mind to demand his immediate disqualification for that, but the judges could care less about the loss of innocent life because dragons were nothing more than 'dangerous beasts'.

While I might not have the highest opinion on dragons, it irked me to no small degree that the wizards and witches of this world were so indifferent to the lives of ‘lesser’ creatures. Every creature, no matter how intelligent, has a right to live, damnit. Only those that rely on cruelty shouldn’t get to have it so easy. If they were willing to better themselves, everything was fine by me, but... those that refused to learn to live their life peacefully needed to be taught a thorough lesson about what being a decent person meant.

Those that refused even that and learned nothing from it could burn for eternity, tormented by those they wronged so much. My forgiveness could only reach so far after having learned time after time that not everypony deserved it. I was less cruel about it nowadays, but the days of me giving chances upon chances to those undeserving of them were long gone.

Out of all the champions, Harry had it the most difficult, facing off against the Hungarian Horntail. The chains strained against the might of the dragon’s protective need to keep its eggs safe. They thankfully did not snap as the ‘boy who lived’ used his flying broom to retrieve the egg.

As far as creativity and skill went, his approach wasn’t all that imaginative. Nor was it technically allowed to use a broom within the arena, but apparently the rules were lax enough that they stated he wasn’t allowed to enter the arena with it. In my opinion, it was still a breach of the rules to summon it during the task. In that line of thought, a wand shouldn’t have been allowed, either, since he could have just entered the arena with his broom in the first place and it wouldn’t have made a difference.

Somepony needs to teach these people some common sense, seriously.

Lastly, Twilight entered the arena after everything was set up for her. As expected of her, she was cautious of the Opaleye which was regarding her with an equally cautious weariness.

“You smell differently than these two-legged wretches,” the dragon ‘growled’, sadly only understood by me. An ominous feeling overcame me and I was pretty sure I knew what the dragon was talking about. Not a moment later, I heard her confirm my troubled thoughts. “You have the scent of prey on you...”

Judging by the hungry prowl of the pearly white dragon, she was very hungry for a taste of my daughter. I suspect that they might have purposefully starved the dragons before the tournament even began. I had chalked the aggressiveness of the other dragons up to the pure need to protect their young, but this was even worse than that.

This was nothing more than tormenting poor, defenseless creatures that had no choice but to partake in this spectacle for the amusement of pubescent children and those seeking to gain the glory of winning this tournament with their ‘noble’ champions (mainly one specific headmaster, but the other headmasters weren’t entirely innocent of this mindset, either).

Twilight was thankfully quick to get out of the way of the jet of fire, and before I knew what happened, Twilight stood behind the dragon with the golden egg in her hands. Then, another Twilight stood next to the dragon’s left side, another golden egg in her hands. Before long, there were dozens of Twilight’s surrounding the dragon, all of them holding the golden egg in their hands.

I smiled, intrigued. To think that my little Star would figure out illusion magic on such a large scale... it was simply fascinating. Even more impressive was the fact that the spell affected every one of the students, the teachers, and the staff, not only the dragon’s perception.

I just hope the real Twilight wouldn’t lose her concentration while trying to retrieve the golden egg.

The dragon was more confused than angry about the fact that each and every one of those Twilights seemed to have stolen the same egg. Not even once did it notice Twilight quietly sneaking past it and making a quick escape with the real golden egg.

Score-wise, Twilight managed to earn herself the second place in the tournament’s first task after Harry Potter and Viktor Krum, who managed to tie for first place only because Igor Karkaroff, the headmaster of Durmstrang, played favorites with his student despite the severe mistakes his ‘prized’ student made (and I had to ‘judge fairly’ according to Karkaroff because he didn’t like the zero points I would have given his champion like he actually deserved...).

Cedric Diggory placed third, avoiding tying with Twilight only because I felt petty about the dog, and last but not least, Fleur sadly got the last place because she got slightly singed in her attempt to retrieve the egg, and ‘it was boring to watch’ in the opinion of, who else could it have been that said that, Igor Karkaroff.

Despite me being so against this damn tournament, I felt quite miffed that Krum of all champions was placed higher in the rankings than my daughter (who obviously displayed the most skill out of all the champions, let's be honest here). I wasn’t surprised that Harry was placed first since Dumbledore played favorites with his golden boy just as much as Karkaroff did with his student and none of the other headmasters wanted to earn Dumbledore’s poor favor.

I was, in no way, salty about the placements. At all. End of story.

Okay, okay! Maybe I was a little bit, but that’s only because I thought Twilight was the only one that completed her task flawlessly without cheating or bending the rules. Heck, even Luna was mad that the judges were giving their points based on favoritism and not because they honestly thought the performance deserved the amount of points they appointed.

Luna and I greeted Twilight with happy hugs, glad that she was unharmed and very proud of the magic she had displayed against the dragon in the first task. Sunset and Cadance arrived not a moment later, taking up most of the attention of our little Star.

“Platinum won’t stand a chance against them, will she?” I hummed, leaning myself happily into the embrace of my sister. Her cool touch was erasing all the stress of the past month away and nothing could have destroyed this moment for me. Mhmm. Everything was just perfect~.

“Our daughters are something else,” Luna agreed, subtly groping my chest while her breath tickled my ear in the most wonderful ways. “We should find ourselves a room at the castle...”

“Stop thinking with your nonexistent dick,” I whispered back, blushing despite all my efforts to keep myself from being turned on by her sweet ministrations. Our damn outfits weren’t doing me any favors in that regard, I could feel the nipples of her friggin’ melons on my back, stiff and very much demanding me to play with them.

“I’m not thinking with my nethers right now, dear sister of mine,” Luna whispered huskily into my ear, trailing her hands slowly down my slim curvaceous body. My breath was starting to turn erratic, coming out in pants that begged my sister to force herself on me. Cadance was giving me a grin from where she was with her sisters and the other champions. I realized what was going on as soon as I felt her aura fluctuate in power.

“Luna...” I muttered, hoping beyond hope no one else would glance our way and notice what my horny wife was doing to me. “Can’t this wait until after I have ripped Cadance’s head off?”

“We could just leave,” Luna proposed, making me squirm as I was torn between the choice of berating my daughter for losing control over her aura or doing what my wife asked of me. “We don’t need to stay for the interview, Cadance can deal with the formalities as ‘deputy headmistress’ of our school.”

“More like chief janitor,” I grumbled, throwing a glare toward Cadance. But to be honest, I really don’t want to stay any longer and deal with the sensationalism of the Daily Prophet and their ‘reporter’. The woman was anything but pleasant to be around and the fact that she just made one ridiculous thing up after another when she felt like it didn’t sit right with me, either.

Quietly (and without getting seen by anyone), Luna and I made our way back to Hogwarts Castle, all the while, my sister got increasingly frisky with me the closer we got to the first broom closet that we could find.

To be honest, it was not the first choice I would have gone for, but it did feel... exciting, for some reason. Like we were doing something naughty (despite it obviously being naughty for all the right reasons). It made me feel young again, doing something that we were clearly not supposed to do.

Having sex in school in a broom closet of all things... I feel like I should be ashamed, but the risk of getting discovered managed to excite me even more than breaking the rules did.

I was still mad at Cadance, but for now... my pussy screamed at me to clamp my legs around Lulu’s head as she ripped my clothes slightly in her rush to get at my nethers. I didn’t say no to that primal desire, biting my lip so tightly that I drew blood, moaning slightly as I felt her tongue circle around my clit coquettishly.

My sister grinned up at me, clawing at my butt with her long fingernails and I let out a gasp at the pleasant source of pain, the sensation feeling almost alien with no fur in the way. “Fuck, sister! Ahn~!”

Lulu grinned even wider, slapping me roughly over the same spot she had scratched only a moment ago, gently biting down on my vulva with her extended fangs. It made me cry out again, and despite trying to muffle my sounds by forcing my mouth shut with my hands, my throat was still louder than I would have liked. If my beautiful wife continued on like that, I’m sure we would draw attention to this seemingly unimportant broom closet. It was almost inevitable, wasn’t it?

I moaned even louder, a giddy feeling coursing through me as I watched my sister lapping away at my needy snatch. I could understand why Liz always felt so excited about doing things like these, it was absolutely exhilarating getting tongue fucked in a ‘relatively’ public place.

Not that I would ever do this in Equestria, though. This was already way too much, I’d rather not risk getting discovered doing something like this by our own subjects. As exciting as this was, I’d rather not be seen as some slutty princess by my little ponies. I was more dignified than that...

But... fuck, this was such an incredible feeling, being naughty like I had never been before. I growled slightly as I grabbed my sister roughly, pushing her beneath me as I used my magic in a quick burst to give her that certain extra appendage I needed to feel right now filling my depths nicely. I was careful enough to use the correct version, it wouldn’t do to repeat what had happened with our drunken escapade a while back, after all.

I giggled at the expression my sister made at me, not having expected me to take charge so thoroughly. Luna looked like she was in heaven as I held her hands up above her head against the wall, slowly lowering myself on her eagerly twitching rod, a lustful grin coming to my face. “I’m going to fuck you so hard, your dick will bleed, sister.”

“Who are you and what have you done with my wife?” Lulu asked me and I moved my quivering love canal rapidly up and down on her shaft, my lust overcoming me for a moment. I didn’t care that I was moaning so loudly, I’m sure someone might have heard the noises from down the hall. I needed her. So. Much.

“I...” I moaned, biting my lip as I felt the pleasant burn of bliss burn through my entire being like a wildfire gone crazy. “I... I n-need... ahngh~..! I need to relieve this... this damn pent-up frustration, this craving need, sister. F-fuck me and don’t stop!”

Luna let out a grunt as I speared myself on her again, jerking up with her hips to move her dick even faster into me. I mewled out in delight, panting with exhaustion as I forced my body through frenzied movement after frenzied movement. I probably came a dozen times from the mad pace alone, savoring every time my beautiful Moon hilted herself within me.

By the time my wife finally came for the first time, I felt like I was quivering non-stop from a continuous orgasm that found no halt. Each time it started to hurt to move, I relished the pain like the masochist that I was. I didn’t care that I rammed my sister against the cold hard stone as all I felt was a selfish desire to make my body go through a tortuous pace of sex that would leave mortals unable to walk away without serious injuries.

My sister was so gracious and generous to go through that pace with me simply because she derived her own pleasure from being used as a sex toy. My pretty and dutiful sex toy...

The door behind me flew open and I shrieked out in shock, trying to hide the depraved act I committed with my sister behind some dirty sheets, which I realized were our torn clothes that got discarded at some point.

My eyes widened as I saw Cadance with a Cheshire grin on her face, her scroll extended. Through the glass of the screen, I saw her take a picture of us caught in the act. “Yes! Ah hah ha! Finally! Liz is going to love seeing this!”

I snarled, angry. Then again, anger didn't even come close to the indignant fury I was feeling. I was fucking livid. “Cadance!” I screeched, running after the laughing woman with murder on my expression. By everything holy... “You’re so friggin' dead! I’mma send Ruby your severed head as a birthday present! Hold still so I can mutilate you..!”

“Eh heh hah ha! That was totally worth it!” Cadance giggled madly, rounding a corner only to get stopped by Professor Snape and Deputy Headmistress McGonagall. “Uh...”

Professor Snape sneered, less than pleased at seeing us. “What is going on here..?” he asked. The Head of Slytherin gave me a disdainful look at my state of dress. Or the lack of it, I suppose. Not that I really minded going around without clothing, but humans had that silly thing about nudity that I wasn’t allowed to break.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” I said hastily, trying to subtly snatch away Cadance’s scroll before she noticed what I was trying to do. Sadly, my misbehaving daughter knew to never let her guard down around me under any circumstance. Sometimes, I really hate myself for having taught her so well.

“And what does this look like, then?” Professor McGonagall asked skeptically. At that moment, my sister decided to make an untimely entrance, having taken her sweet time to catch up to us. I wish she hadn’t. I truly wish she had stayed in the broom closet so that I could avoid... this. Whatever this was.

Huh... so that’s what it feels like when one is dying of embarrassment. I didn’t like it. “Okay... maybe this does look exactly like what it looks like...”

“I don’t know how you do things where you come from, but this is everything but befitting of a headmistress from a prestigious school,” McGonagall scolded me and Luna and I tried to futilely hide behind my... well, they sure aren’t clothes anymore, that’s for sure.

Cadance tried to sneak away stealthily, but... like me, she was as subtle as a pink elephant while doing so. Professor Snape was quick to take hold of her arm, preventing her from escaping. Something that would have worked out in my favor... if I weren’t in a worse position than her.

I really shouldn’t have taken Luna up on that far-too-tempting offer of naughty sex in a broom closet. I knew Cadance was up to something and now I was being dragged to Dumbledore’s office like a misbehaving student.

I hate Cadance.

Luna, Cadance, and I were left alone in the headmaster’s office with some blankets to cover our naked bodies while they also confiscated Cadance’s scroll. We were sadly not left alone for long enough so that I could go through with punishing my daughter for her transgressions. Liz had obviously put Cadance up to this and I was going to hunt down that damn succubus after I was done with fulfilling my threat to Cadance of relieving her of her head.

This went too far. Her damn lovable eyes won’t save her this time, I swear. Not even hot, lewd, and totally sexy centaur sex could save her from my wrath. I’m going to chain her up, drag her to a volcano, and then... I don’t know. I would do something. It's going to be so unimaginably horrendous that she will be scarred for life.

I don’t know what that is going to be yet, but I am going to do it! Yep! Totally. No way would she be able to weasel herself out of this absurd scheme of hers this time.

...I’m probably going to go easy on her, but until then, I’m going to come up with something appropriately horrendous. Maybe I’ll last long enough against her charm for me to actually go through with it. One can hope, right?

“Having a little romp in the closet, did we?” Dumbledore said, coming in with twinkling eyes. “I didn’t expect to hear such... eventful news.”

“It’s Cadance’s fault,” I grumbled, hearing my daughter let out a fake gasp. “She made me do it.”

“I so did not!” she said, not even bothering to hide the snicker that escaped her. She quickly shut up, though, as I turned my burning golden eyes on her, a puff of fire escaping my nose. Smoke wafted up from where I was gripping the chair's armrest rather tightly.

“I believe I do not need to tell you that such activities aren’t allowed on school grounds?” Albus asked and I gave him a nod. I wanted to get this behind me so that I could... ahem, 'discipline' my daughter. By removing her head. And then feed Cadance her own heart once her head regrows. And then repeat it a few times just to make sure she wouldn’t get the idea to listen to Liz ever again. And then... then I would do the same to Liz.

Albus Dumbledore gave me a concerned look as I began to cackle to myself, one crazy idea after another filling my head about how I should properly punish both of them. “I don't mean to be rude, but... is she alright?”

“Give her a moment,” Luna answered, rubbing her eyes tiredly with a few fingers. “This happens about every few years.”

“The mad cackling?” he asked, giving me a weird look.

My sister nodded so-and-so, exasperated. “That and Cadance ticking her off because Chrysalis managed to get her to cause mischief on her behalf,” Luna explained. “She will calm down in about a minute or two.”

“You ponies have... peculiar habits,” Dumbledore said and Luna shrugged helplessly.

“You get used to it,” Cadance commented, making my eyelid twitch erratically again just as I was about to gain my composure back. “But to be honest? Our family is weird.”

“In how many parts do you want me to send your mangled corpse back to Ruby?” I asked sweetly, batting my eyelashes innocently at her. Cadance gulped and began to laugh nervously to herself because of my threat.

“She... doesn’t actually intend to murder her, correct?” Dumbledore asked, giving Luna a hopeful look. My wife let out a sigh, shaking her head negatively.

“Believe me, Summer has given that threat far too many times by now only to forgive the one she was mad at the next day,” Luna told him and I pouted, promising to myself that I would actually do it this time. Liz’s reign of terror shall end once and for all. That, I swear! There shall be no excuses from her that will change my mind and there will be no backing down on my part.

I swear this on my title as the Supreme Cookie Mistress!

Okay, saying it like that... I really will go easy on her again, won’t I? Ahh, damnit.

Suffice to say, once Luna and I were dismissed and I got the chance to destroy all evidence of this day from Cadance’s scroll, I... totally went easy on Liz. I swear, it’s the fault of her damn eyes! Always those gorgeous eyes, damnit.

I just... couldn’t stay mad at them, looking at me like that! It was utterly impossible. Nopony alive could withstand a full assault from those eyes and I hated myself for letting her get away with roping Cadance into causing mayhem again.

All my daughters are troublemakers. All. Of. Them.

How could I have possibly gone so wrong with them? What could I have done differently to get my wish of an innocent little daughter? When did they get corrupted by this idea of mischief eternal? How could I have failed them so much?

I gave Liz a sideways glance, sitting next to me while she sucked on a lollipop in the most lewdest way possible while we were holding court the next day. Oh, I know where I went wrong. I went wrong by ever entrusting her to be able to take care of foals in the first place. It’s all her fault.

And by some miracle, I couldn’t even get mad at her for that. It certainly made things livelier in the castle. I couldn’t exactly remember a time when things were truly boring since Cadance had entered our lives. Things got even more... well... 'fun', I guess... with Sunset and Twilight.

I always had something to look forward to each and every day. Court wasn’t as much of a downer with our daughters around, despite me getting regularly angry at some of the nobles for trying to deceive us. Well... I guess paperwork was still as boring as ever, but I honestly liked it that way. Kibitz wasn’t as much of a Grinch as he used to be and our guards always had some story to tell even with us around. Heck, even our Captain of the Royal Guard didn’t turn out as serious and strict as I had feared him to be.

Speaking of Captain Shining Armor, I really don’t like the way he looks at Cadance. I know he knows that she’s taken, but with the laws on herds, I think he might still try his chance at wooing her and get his heart inevitably broken. Or shot. By an oversized sniper scythe. Repeatedly.

Ruby really doesn’t like the way he looks at her marefriend, either. The little reaper wouldn’t actually do anything like that, though. She was the last pony that would do something like that, to be honest. Now, if Yang had her way with him, on the other hoof... I don’t think there would be a single place on Equis or Remnant that poor Shining Armor could go to in order to escape the wrath of an overprotective big sister.

Haah... I really should worry less about Ruby giving Shining Armor some new breathing holes and worry more about him remaining identifiable in case he ever decides to make a move on Cadance and her. Yang Xiao-Long was terrifying in her own right, even here in Equestria. The fact that she got stronger the angrier she got made sure of that.

I much prefer her to not beat him into a bloody pulp, though. Not that I would get in her way if she did. Hell hath no fury like a big, protective sister scorned.

Liz nudged my side, throwing me out of my musings and I gave her a curious look. “You seem awfully lost in thought, Sunflower. Did something happen yesterday?” She smiled innocently and my eyelid twitched.

She did not just say that...

I breathed in deeply and gave her a glare. She knew full well what happened yesterday, but I let my breath back out in a long sigh before focusing back on the two nobles squabbling among themselves over something that I didn’t even care to remember what it was that had them at each other’s throats. It was funny to watch, at least. I think they were currently trying to come up with everything the other has ever done that wronged them, probably making things up as they continued on and on.

I probably should put a stop to this at some point, but that would mean letting the next noble in the waiting line even earlier with their ‘oh-so-important’ matters. As long as Kibitz wasn’t telling me we would have to move on with this case in order to keep to the schedule, I would use the time to simply take a breather from the awful day I was having.

Perhaps canceling court early was the better idea, but that would get Kibitz in a frenzy about his beloved timetable. It would be easier to just ban the nobles from attending court if they didn’t have anything actually important to bring before the court and call it a day. I could cut the line in half by doing that.

Hah! Who am I kidding? It would cut it so much that only a dozen or so ponies would be left from the looks of it.

Hmm... now here's an idea. I gave Raven a glance and shrugged, deciding to do just that even if it would cause an uproar within the nobility. I was done with this foalish behavior, it is high time that I go through with this idea of reforming the court system so that ponies with real problems could get their case heard instead of having to wait all day long because idiots kept taking up the time of my wives and me.

“Raven?” I sighed, making her look up from her scroll (the actual kind, not the technology one) on which she wrote the protocol of this particular ‘case’. “Please, for the love of the twin suns, make sure that only those ponies with vital matters are permitted entrance into the throne room. I’ve had enough of this, I have entertained these foals for long enough as it is.”

Raven smiled. “With pleasure, Your Highness,” she said, giddily skipping down the few steps of the stairs in front of our thrones as she went to do just that. My assistant for everything and anything had a quick word with the guards at the doors to the throne room and I could tell they were happy to do as ordered of them, looking forward to getting to boss around idiotic nobles for daring to waste all of our time.

That day was the first in a wonderful sequence of days that got better and better as the ponies that truly needed help could be heard instead of us having to entertain entitled snobs. Any and all ponies that tried to hide the true purpose of their visit got a hefty fine for wasting time on unimportant matters and I couldn’t have been happier because of that.

The backlash from the nobility paled in comparison to the gratitude of the commoners. Heck, even the nobles that possessed functioning brains appreciated not having to hear the drivel of their idiotic peers on a daily basis. Chief among those was House Pants and House Star. They have always been active and energetic supporters of the House of Commons.

Before long, winter arrived, and with it, the only break I would get from my duties this year. Well, aside from the one day during the holidays that Luna and I had to attend the Hearth’s Warming play, and as per ‘tradition’, the Yule Ball at Hogwarts Castle.

As far as formal events go, the Yule Ball was quite pleasant to attend, and not even Luna could find anything to criticize about it. I had never been that much of a dancer myself, but Luna more than made up for it. She was a very good lead in that regard. She had me dancing like a master in no time after the champions opened the dance floor to everyone else in attendance.

Twilight had, despite my expectations, found herself a ‘date’ to dance with. The girl was about her age (I think) with blonde hair and quite pale skin, a perpetual smile on her face as she twirled around the dance floor, not paying any mind to the ‘dancing skills’ of my daughter. Cadance had tried her best, but... well... Twilight was a lost cause, wasn’t she?

Not that I was a good dancer myself, per se. Luna was the graceful one between the both of us, and while I would have expected Twilight to take after her in that regard, Sunset was actually the one who was quite good at dancing, instead.

Sunset inherited Luna’s artistic skills in quite... unexpected ways, I have to say. Whereas Luna was more traditionalistic in her art style, Sunset liked to experiment with her art style and could get very creative in her approach to art. She even made graffiti look exceptionally good in a semi-comic, street art kind of style.

One of the most cherished paintings my daughter made for me was a picture of me walking along a field path with my wings stretched out to my sides, framed perfectly by the light of the twin suns. Her tendency to experiment with all kinds of art styles was quite refreshing to look at, but sadly, her muse only found her rarely to the point that she seldom was inspired to create something truly beautiful.

“You aren’t going to dance?” I asked my daughter after I found her sitting by her lonesome at one of the tables once I abandoned the dance floor due to the... ahem, current ‘band’ playing. Whatever they were doing, it was at best artfully screeching into a microphone. Maybe I was just too old to appreciate the music young ponies seemed to enjoy these days. Give me an orchestra any time of the day with the gentle hum of string instruments.

“No,” Sunset muttered, bobbing her head to the music slightly. At least one of us was enjoying it. “I’d rather not dance with any of these... I have no idea. They don’t like vampires around here, I think.”

“Is everything alright?” I whispered gently, rubbing her back in concern.

“I thought this exchange year would actually teach me something, Mom,” Sunset sighed as she leaned into the hug, more than disappointed with how things turned out. “Instead, we get an absolute madpony as a teacher against the dark arts, and Twilight is risking her life in a stupid tournament...”

I hummed. “Twilight is going to make it through this just fine,” I said, hoping beyond hope that I was right about this. “As for learning magic... Sunset, dear, you are exceptionally talented, there is little left for you to learn that you don’t already know by heart. Your blood magic alone makes you one of the greatest battle mages I have ever seen. And I'm not saying this lightly just to appease you. You are more than a match for Cadance and Ruby by now.”

“Thanks, Mom,” Sunset said, smiling subtly to herself. Not a moment later, though, a thoughtful frown came to her face. “What do you think is going to happen? In the future, I mean.”

“A great many mysteries lie ahead, dear,” I said, watching Luna hop around on the dance floor next to Twilight, imitating her silly movements so that Twilight didn’t feel so bad about being the only one embarrassing herself. Bright laughter echoed through the Grand Hall from my wife as she seemed to have the time of her life and I fell in love with her all over again. I turned back to Sunset with a gentle smile. “I can’t tell you how many dangers you will need to brave in the coming years, but what I do know is that you will do admirably as long as you have your friends at your side.”

Sunset hummed. She smiled as Twilight waved at us with joy written all over her face. I’m glad my little Star was having fun despite the stares the other students and teachers were sending toward her and Lulu. “I..." she began before hesitating. "Do you know what...”

“Hmm?” I gave her a questioning look, but my daughter sadly shrunk in on herself.

“Forget I said anything,” she muttered dejectedly, worrying her lip with a fang. “It’s nothing...”

“That doesn’t sound like ‘nothing’ to me, Sunset,” I commented, nudging her. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?”

“Yeah...” Sunset mumbled, fidgeting with her fingers awkwardly. “I just... I keep wondering about what happened that day, the day our future selves appeared...”

“I do, too,” I admitted, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. “But worrying needlessly won’t do any of us any good. Take it from me, I keep doing it and it never changes anything.”

Sunset frowned. “I’m not worried,” she denied. “I just... I...”

“Take your time,” I reassured her. My daughter nodded, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly.

Sunset gave me a hesitant look and I got the impression she was more confused than anything. “Mom... what does love feel like?”

I gave her a bewildered look, caught off-guard. That certainly wasn’t the question I was expecting. Now, how to answer this..? Hmm. “It is... a very complicated feeling to put into words. For me, it feels like the sunniest day, a nice cool breeze, and a whole lot of anxiety.”

“...anxiety?” Sunset asked, quietly.

“Yes,” I nodded, smiling down at her leaning against my side. “Like I’m constantly falling down, I guess. The quiver that races through me every time your mother looks at me with those beautiful eyes of hers, the giddiness that I feel when she talks to me. The burning desire to be near her, to feel her touch...”

“Okay, okay! I don’t need to hear more than that, sheesh,” Sunset quickly stopped me from describing all of the things I loved feeling when I thought of Luna. I giggled slightly as the face of my daughter turned beet red.

“Why do you ask, little Sun?” I hummed, mischievously poking her side with a finger. “Is somepony in love~?”

“N-no!” Sunset shook her head, blushing even brighter as my grin widened. “I... I don’t know. I’m confused, Mom. The me from the future... and... I don’t know...”

“Then let us start with something easy, dear. What are you feeling?” I said, leaving her to puzzle over the question. I know it was anything but easy, but... my daughter just needed a little nudge for her to realize what it was that she wanted to figure out so badly.

“Annoyed?” she said, giving me a teasing grin and earning herself a flick to the head, instead. “Whenever I think of, w-well... I-I... I get a bubbly feeling and my heart starts beating all weird. Is that love?”

Aww, how cute. “The beginnings of it,” I nodded. “Is that why you didn’t want to dance? Your special somepony isn’t here to dance with you?”

Sunset nodded, rubbing her hands against her dress as I could tell they were sweaty from being so nervous. “But... uh..." she began, struggling for a moment. "How do I know if she likes me back, Mom..?”

“By taking a leap of faith,” I answered, smiling wistfully. “I remember what that felt like with your mother, dear. It was so very frightening.”

“Well, she obviously said yes, that’s totally different,” Sunset grumbled and I let out a snort.

“No, she accused me of being a degenerate idiot,” I told her, giggling to myself. “Oh, how much she screamed at us about how disgusting we were for feeling like we did. You have no idea how much that hurt.”

“What do you mean..? You got together, right?” Sunset muttered, giving me a confused look. “How did Mom go from that... to that?”

“By trying to ignore her own heart and ultimately failing at it,” I smiled back at her, beginning to recount how our relationship came to be.

“That’s... beyond the weirdest thing I have ever heard, Mom,” Sunset snorted. “And she was kinda right, I can’t believe that’s how... well... that started. I’m glad it did, though... otherwise, I wouldn’t have such awesome moms.”

“I don’t know if I’m that awesome, but thank you, dear,” I said, squeezing her arm slightly. Sunset grinned a little bit, beginning to count out everything that made me so great in her eyes which only increased the intensity of my own blush as I drowned in my embarrassment. “That’s quite enough of that, dear. You know... Fluttershy misses you just as much.”

I couldn’t keep the sheer glee from my face as I turned the table on my daughter, watching her sputter with satisfaction. “Mom!”

“Oh, don’t get your tail in a twist, little Sun,” I teased. “You can’t hide such things from me and it is quite obvious that you have been giving your friend those types of glances.”

“Why do I even bother coming to you for these things?!” Sunset grumbled, pouting to herself. “You are just as bad as big sis is...”

“You didn’t deny it~,” I whispered in a sing-song voice, giddy. Sunset gave me the stink eye while trying to give me the best glower she could possibly give me, but she only managed to look even cuter than before like that.

She did calm down remarkably fast, though. “Do you think she would like me back? In a... in a romantic way?”

“I can’t answer that for you, Sunset,” I said, trying to be as gentle with her as I could. “Love is a matter your sister knows a lot more about than I do. I could, at best, make a guess based on what I know of her. I don’t know for certain what Fluttershy would say to you. Nor do I know whether or not she would return those feelings in an honest way. Despite fairy tales depicting love at first sight as something more than a myth, the simple truth is that love takes time. It doesn’t happen instantly and it can lead to much heartache if it doesn’t work out in the way you want it to. But that is a risk worth taking, in my opinion. Your sister would tell you just as much, I’m sure.”

“I... well, I guess that makes sense,” Sunset mumbled, looking so very vulnerable right now.

“Hey,” I whispered, nudging her reassuringly. “Out of all the ponies that you could have developed these feelings for, I don’t think she would break your heart on purpose.

"Fluttershy is not the type to take advantage of you, and neither do I think she would lead you on just to avoid breaking your heart, dear. A good lasting relationship oftentimes starts off with a strong friendship, and even if she doesn’t return those feelings, I doubt she wouldn’t want to be your friend anymore afterward.”

“You’re right,” Sunset said, a gleam of determination entering her eyes. “I have to give this a try despite the risks, otherwise I would keep wondering about the ‘what if’s and ‘what could have been’s. Thanks, Mom.”

“No problem, little Sun,” I smiled, standing up. “Now, I think it’s time to get some rest. I’m up way past my bedtime...”

“Pfft, yeah sure. Go take your old pony's nap,” Sunset snickered and I shot her a playful glare. I hope she will never change...

New Year’s Eve came and went and things went back to a familiar routine of going over this and that while entertaining the nobles here and there at important events like... well, if they were actually important, I’m sure I would bother to remember what I was actually attending most of the time. A garden party could only get so much important, after all.

Most importantly, we did get some news of what was happening with this Storm King. Apparently, he just had a change in command with his ‘trusted’ lieutenant abandoning him over some sky pirates. That was as much as we got, though. Gathering information on a constantly moving enemy wasn’t quite as easy as I had hoped.

Even more troubling was the news that he seemed to amass a following by forcing those he conquered to do his work for him. I was getting increasingly worried that he might not be as negligible of a threat as I had first thought. Equestria was getting ready to defend itself and I feared that he might just be powerful enough to bypass our defenses and reach the heart of my country despite everything we were doing to prevent that.

I have absolutely no idea how his airships moved swifter than the wind could carry them. No engine in existence was that powerful to let them move distances in mere days that even pegasi would have struggled with. It was like they appeared one day out of nowhere and were gone the next, leaving no trace behind other than the burning kingdoms they plundered for their riches.

It was even more puzzling to see them outsmart my wife’s changelings. For some reason, they knew how to avoid our attempts to keep track of them. If I didn't know better, I would have thought a traitor was tipping them off, but they did so even if there were no verbal orders from us. There was also no way that one of the changelings in Liz's hive fed them information, the swarm was completely loyal to my wife.

If it wasn’t a traitor, then... how did they do it? It seemed like they were intimately familiar with how changelings operated, but that was just ridiculous. No one should have known the tactics of the changeling swarm and they were kept secret from even our own non-changeling soldiers. Only Luna, Liz, and I knew the specifics.

So far, it appears like they are keeping a wide berth around Equestria (luckily). Whether that was as fortunate as I thought it was, I had no idea. It did tell me that this Storm King wasn’t a complete fool and was surprisingly cautious of trying anything with our nation. That in itself was troubling news, indeed.

A cautious enemy prepares and plans ahead. And that was anything but good news. The Storm King was taking his time to build up his forces until he felt ready to try and invade us, wasn’t he? It might take a few years until that's going to happen, and I fear it is going to lull us into a false sense of security. We cannot afford to let our guard down.

I had sent missives over to the Griffon Empire, the Hippogriff Kingdom, the zebra nation of Farasi, Yakyakistan, the minotaurs of the Labyrinth, and despite knowing it would probably not help, I send one to the Dragonlands in the hopes that they would take the threat of the Storm King seriously enough to not think he was easy prey.

Before I knew it, the day of the second task arrived, and with it, a choice was to be made.

“I will not allow you to place Sunset in the lake for Twilight to retrieve, Dumbledore,” I snarled, barely restraining myself from summoning Remorse to my side as the Headmaster sat behind his desk calmly regarding me as I paced back and forth in his office. Sunset was obviously here with us, but I had already told her to shut it because I wasn’t having any of it. One of my daughters was already risking her life, I don’t need to worry about my other daughters as well.

Dumbledore sighed. “Then we have a problem,” he said like the manipulative bastard that he was. “The task demands the champions to retrieve something that is very dear to them. Without someone to rescue, Twilight can’t participate in the task, which in turn would mean she would fail to compete in a task. The way this is set up wouldn't merely lead to her receiving the last place.”

That was the last straw that broke my patience with this buffoon. “I have had enough of this despicable tournament, why does she need to do this?!” I raged, flames following my wake. “You could have just used a regular sign-up system, but no... it had to be a binding magical contract. How come you people use life-binding artifacts on a mere whim here?! What is wrong with you people?!”

“Please, Princess,” Dumbledore said, trying to calm me down before I set his office on fire. Not that I would have cared, he deserved far worse for being so... so okay with this! “Sunset won't be in any actual danger throughout the second task. I promised you that nothing would happen to either of them and I have all confidence in the abilities of young Miss Star to succeed in the task of retrieving her sister. Should either of them ever be in mortal danger, won’t your necklace save them? Or were those empty words?”

“Fine,” I growled. “But it won’t be Sunset she will retrieve. She will retrieve me.”

“What?!” Sunset exclaimed, running up to me. “Mom! You can’t...”

“I can and I will,” I snarled, silencing her with a glare.

“But...” Sunset tried, only to be cut off again.

“No buts, Sunset,” I said, reining in my tumultuous emotions until I was sufficiently calm again. “I will not let you do this under any circumstance. I have to do it, I can’t bear the thought of you or Cadance being used like that.”

“Very well, if that is what you truly wish for, Your Highness,” Mister Wrinkles-for-Brain said, standing up from his chair, pleased with the result of this debate. “Then let us prepare for the task ahead.”

Remorse cut off his path before he could leave. There was one thing I needed to make perfectly clear with him and it wouldn’t do to let the other headmasters hear any of this.

I stalked my way slowly into whispering range and gave Professor Dumbledore a death glare. He didn't look so happy with the result of his machinations anymore. “Understand that, once this is all over, I will consider this world an enemy to the safety of my realm, Albus. I cannot tolerate these practices you consider to be ‘normal’ here. Your idea of friendship has shown me nothing more than a contest to earn the prestige of winning over the others. It serves as nothing more than a dick-measuring contest so that you can lord it over the other wizarding schools in a show of pettiness.”

Dumbledore sighed, truly looking sad that this had earned my ire so thoroughly. “I regret to hear that, Summer,” he said. “But I respect that decision. I suppose the differences between our worlds were just too steep to be overcome.”

More like you failed to uphold your word, Dumbledore. “I hope your world can move away from these... these..."—I bit my lip, biting back the angry retort on my tongue—" I’m not even going to dignify this with an insult, Albus. There are few things that I can tolerate on a scale like this, but this world continues to show me that I don’t want to have anything to do with it as long as things stay this way. Frankly, the treatment of other races as lesser creatures disgusts me, and the careless practices of magic even more so.”

“I know you only focus on these flaws because they seem so glaring to you,” Dumbledore said, making me sneer at him. The sheer gall this old geezer dares to display continues to astonish me. “But this world also has good people in it. I hope you realize that at some point in the future.”

I didn’t bother replying to him and instead just decided to get through this ordeal, popping the vial of dreamless sleep potion open. I just want to get this over with and leave this world behind me after granting it the only kindness that it deserved. Saving Cedric Diggory from this miserable place, even though I was less than happy about how he handled the task with the dragon. But I could forgive that. What I couldn’t forgive was the continuous bullshit this world threw at me.

Nothing Dumbledore could say would change my mind. I'm going to shatter the mirror to this damn world and rid myself of its... of its... I...

Each time I visit this place, I leave it feeling so... hateful. It was taking its toll on me, wasn’t it? Oh, dear. This wasn’t me. I wasn’t this hateful, ever.

Everything was just too much as of late. I wish I could go back to that peaceful time, to not have to feel so agitated all the time. I was letting it out on these (relatively speaking) innocent people and it wasn’t helped by the impending return of Platinum.

I was ruining myself. I wasn’t thinking as clearly as I would have liked. My emotions were a complete wreck.

And I fear that will only change once Tia is back where she belongs.

I didn’t get to ruminate over any of this as I was put into a dreamless state of sleep, only awakening after the task was over, swimming over to the platform in the middle of the lake as a little mermaid in the form of my daughter rescued me from the bottom of the Black Lake, surprising me by being the first one to do so.

It was like Twilight was made for these kinds of tasks, as much as it hurt me to know that. I know my daughters will go on many adventures in the future. They will do things that Luna and I have never done, and... I couldn’t help but feel like I was being a bad parent. She will do all of these things, dangerous or not, and I... I will let her because I knew she would succeed with each one of them. She will thrive with this kind of lifestyle, and it hurts me so much to know that she won’t need me anymore to look out for her. That I would, at best, be a liability to her.

She didn’t need me. She was so strong. And I was so very proud of her, but I wish I could have had a little bit more time with her where she would still depend on me to chase away all her nightmares with Luna.

She was an adult now, and in just two years or so, she would leave the nest and spread her wings (figuratively speaking, and, perhaps, literally). As would Sunset. And not too long after them, Cadance and Ruby.

I don’t want the castle to be so empty again. It was a silly fear of mine, wasn’t it?

Days passed, but my mood did not improve. Even sexy centaur sex with Liz could barely lift it. Platinum was about to return and the threat of the Storm King also loomed on the horizon. There was so much the future would bring, and I felt like I wasn’t prepared in the slightest. I knew what to do about Platinum, but the rest?

I just hope Twilight and Sunset will make it through all of this without having to suffer heartache after heartache of losing the ponies they love. I don’t want them to bear this same curse that I had to bear with Luna.

Things were about to change, weren’t they? Gone were the days when Luna, Liz, and I were the protectors of this incredible realm. Now that duty would fall to my daughters, for good or ill. Fate had chosen each one of them and I dearly hoped it wouldn’t be too cruel to them.

At long last, the final day of the tournament arrived, and with it, I received the news that there had been a death already. I had completely forgotten about it (as had Cadance, apparently), but Barty Crouch Senior had been murdered after the second task and I never learned of it because I couldn’t stand being in Hogwarts for longer than I had to be.

Let’s hope no one else has to die in this damn tournament.

“Remember,” I said, holding Twilight tightly against me after Luna had her fill of squeezing the living daylights out of her. “You have to make sure the switch happens at the correct moment. You know how to summon it, right? The... you know...”

“Yes, Mom,” Twilight whispered back, the gloomy labyrinth looming behind her. I wish I could go in with her, see what she was seeing... but that would be against the ‘rules’. I could care less about those, to be honest. “I went over this with Sunset more than a dozen times in the past few days. Sixteen times, in fact.”

“Alright, then,” I sighed, pressing her against me one last time. “Good luck, baby girl. I believe in you.”

“Moooom~!” Twilight whined and I gave her a sad smile back.

A few minutes later, each of the champions were gone into the maze, and I quietly sneaked away from the labyrinth with my sister. Sunset met us at the entrance to Hogwarts Castle. She already had her own and Twilight’s luggage at her side as she waited on us to go back to Equestria.

I didn’t bother to talk to her as I used a quick burst of my mana to float the trunks after us, too anxious to await the arrival of our little Star. Not so little anymore, I guess. They would always remain my darling little daughters, though.

Liz was already waiting by the mirror leading back to Equestria, and next to her was one of her most disturbing creations yet. A flesh puppet with the likeness of Cedric Diggory. I didn’t want to know what kind of foul magic she used to create this thing and how long she spent in the bathroom getting rid of the consequences.

Time ticked on and none of us said anything. The atmosphere was simply too tense and thick. It only got progressively worse the longer we waited. My feelings were running wild and this bad, ominous, foreboding feeling I had for some time now reached an all-time high.

A crackling pop and snapping sound echoed through the room and Twilight appeared, looking quite dirty as she coughed. I glanced at the fake corpse and immediately knew something had gone wrong.

“Twilight?” Sunset asked, catching her sister before her legs gave out underneath her. “Everything okay? Did you get hurt?”

“No, I... I’m fine,” Twilight muttered, tears appearing in her haunted eyes. “I... I failed, Sunny...”

“It’s okay, sis,” Sunset said, brushing her hand through her sister’s hair. “You did your best.”

“What happened?” I asked, kneeling down next to her.

“I tried, Mom,” Twilight cried, sniffling heavily. Luna was instantly upon her, soothing her with soft melodies. “I tried so hard, but I... I wasn’t good enough.”

“All that matters is that you are okay, Star,” Luna said, placing a shaky kiss on top of her head. Both Luna and Liz were just as shaken about this as I was. Something could have gone massively wrong, but at least my daughter got out of this mess unharmed. “We aren’t disappointed in you. On the contrary, we are glad you knew your limits and came back without trying to complete this task no matter what. Don’t ever think otherwise.”

“I’m sorry about Cedric,” Twilight muttered dejectedly, giving us a hollow look. “He... everything just happened so fast...”

“Such is the nature of the battlefield,” I whispered back, sorrowfully. “Even the best laid out plan might not survive contact with the enemy. That is an all too painful lesson to learn.”

Liz clicked her tongue next to us. “Let us move on from this,” she said before burning the flesh puppet to a crisp disdainfully. “Coming to this world has been a mistake, it is best we leave it behind and never look back.”

Sunset and Twilight nodded, moving through the mirror first. Luna followed after them, and Liz went in after her, taking the luggage with her.

I was about to do the same before someone stopped me. “I thought I might find you here.”

I turned around and saw Professor Dumbledore standing by the door. Of course, he would come... “I’m sorry that it had to come to this, Albus.”

“I know,” he sighed. “I know. I appreciate what you tried to do this day, Princess. I truly do, but... some things are simply not meant to be.”

“I know...” I repeated his words back at him. “But sometimes one has to try anyway. Goodbye, Albus.”

“Goodbye, Summer,” he said, giving me a sad smile. “May you find your happiness again, my friend.”

Friend... I don’t deserve that title from you, do I? I never once gave you a genuine chance. You and this suns’ forsaken world.

Some things are simply not meant to be, indeed. I'm sorry. I truly am.

Perhaps things might have been different had I met you after this year. I might have given you a chance, even helped you in your war against Voldemort, but... you tried to manipulate me into staying. You knowingly got my daughter involved in this stupid scheme of yours.

You didn't honestly think I wouldn't take notice of what you were up to, did you? From the moment we first stepped into this world, you gave yourself away. Just know that the universe has a cruel sense of humor, Albus. Fate can change their mind.

Chapter 027 - Until Death do us part.

Author's Notes:

Whew. The big finale. Things happen. Big things. Crazy things. And a loooong journey comes to an end. Or does it..?

---

A few things before we start: There are two different versions of this chapter that are pretty much the same aside from the minor detail that there might be some 'confusing' dialog that won't make any sense whatsoever. That is very much intended, but... I know, I know, some people might complain about that, so here's a compromise:

One version will have the dialog as Summer and Co. hear it (this chapter, duh), and then, there will be a 'cheat sheet' of sorts that you can use to make sense of what is being spoken.

For those of you that are reading this on a smartphone or are just lazy like me, there actually is another version with every part of the confusing dialog replaced so that it 'makes sense' to the reader (sort of like me giving you the 'ability' to read it). The only thing that would remain confusing about that one would be the fact Summer and Co. are too stupid to understand the dialog.

As for crossovers in this chapter... there are certain elements I have taken the liberty to add from World of Warcraft: Shadowlands and the language spoken by the Old Gods in World of Warcraft based on H. P. Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos: R'lyehian

Have fun~!

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.

In all my years since I learned of my nigh immortality, I never thought I would die. Truly die, I mean. It was such an alien concept by now, I suppose I never expected it would actually happen. September was right to warn me about this. Either I would die or Platinum would with my sister. It was one thing to know about it, it was a completely different thing to actually go through it.

I wish September had actually warned me about what exactly would happen. We could have been better prepared. Maybe. Perhaps. If one could be prepared for the sheer madness that ensued after that fiend returned from the moon, that is.

Everything happened so fast. It was like blinking my eyes, and then... it was already over. I still struggle to comprehend what just happened in the last few moments I was alive. To think that Platinum... I certainly never expected to see... that, of all things. It was either letting that monster live or die while saving my loved ones.

I chose the only option I could. It was probably the only option available to any of us that would have done anything, anyway.

I died... so that my wives would survive. So that my daughters would be safe from Platinum... or rather, the monster that dared to threaten everything I held dear to my heart. I had to do something, and... I did. It was laughably easy to just... let go of my mortal body, using every last bit of my life force to annihilate that disgusting fiend. I poured everything I had into this one last-ditch effort, there was nothing left by the end of it. I was dead, end of story.

I did it so that the world may once and for all be rid of the Devourer’s influence. It was a sacrifice I gladly made. I couldn’t have allowed that monstrosity to live on for long enough to give it the chance to hurt my sister, Liz, my daughters, my subjects, and... the rest of the world. Reality itself, really.

It was the only option I had left, wasn’t it? I couldn’t think of anything that would hurt that damn... thing... in any way, only the death curse proved to be effective against it.

I couldn’t have just done nothing. In the end, it was a decision that had to be made. But... I didn’t even hesitate, did I? Everything felt so... hopeless, I just acted.

I wonder, though... was it selflessness or selfishness that drove me to do that? I... I don’t know. I don’t regret doing it if it meant Lulu was safe, but... I did act on nothing more than hatred, pain... and soul-crushing sadness. It wasn’t a rational decision that I made, I simply acted on my emotions like I always do.

Maybe Platinum should have taken me instead of Tia. Celestia would have come up with something instead of letting herself be driven by instincts and pain and rage. She wouldn’t have let her emotions get in the way like that. She wouldn’t have gone with the first thing that came to her mind, she would have found an actual solution, not this... this panicked attempt to preserve what little I could.

It doesn’t matter anymore, does it? For good or bad, I'm dead now and there's nothing I could do to change that. I don’t even know what I should do now, there was literally nothing I could interact with anymore. Being dead was... really boring, to be honest.

I wonder what my sister was doing, now that I wasn’t... there anymore. That's such a somber thought, isn’t it? I'm still here, contemplating things (like always), and all I wanted to do was to see my sister again one last time.

Luna will never get to see me smile back at her first thing in the morning, will she? She won’t get to kiss me, she won't get to say ‘I love you’ to me, she won't get to do anything with me anymore. The only thing she will get to do is to mourn my loss. I was such a bad sister, a terribly bad wife, leaving her alone like that. Liz, too, for that matter.

They don’t even get to bury me, do they? My body is nothing more than ash, dust in the wind. The only thing that remained of me was my soul. And the memories they had of me, I suppose.

I wish I could have come up with something, anything, to miraculously save the day. But... instead, I let my rage consume me. I let my emotions do what they always do when I was overwhelmed. They always cause problems when I need to stay calm the most. There's nothing else to it, really.

Maybe it was selfishness, after all. I didn’t want to see Luna or Liz sacrifice themselves like that, so I did it before they could. I made that sacrifice like the coward that I am... was, whatever.

Flipping flying penguins. I'm such a ‘good’ princess, aren't I? I didn’t even have it in me to laugh at myself for that. For once, I thought everything would work out exactly like I hoped it would, only for everything to come crashing down on me. I hope my sacrifice wasn’t in vain at least.

I suppose I should start from the beginning, shouldn’t I? Oh, sister... I hope you might forgive me one day. I love you. Always.

---

The castle was in a frenzy that day. I remember how Twilight was driving herself crazy about the prophecy, having found it in the book I left in the library by ‘coincidence’. It was meant more as a distraction, but a part of me hoped she would figure out a way to make it come true without me having to die. Despite having gone through the process of alicorn hibernation a couple of times in my long life, it was still an unpleasant experience whenever my mortal body suffered a temporary end.

My most studious daughter wasn't the only one caught in a nervous funk. While Sunset was trying to keep her sister calm, Cadance and Ruby were nervously making out like rabbits. I couldn’t really blame them for that (I had been pretty much doing the same thing with my wives over the past few days... or weeks... possibly months). Each one of them was equally as restless as Twilight in their own way.

The final day of those one-thousand years was, at long last, upon us. Luna, Liz, and I were getting ready for the last fight we would ever have to enter against an opponent that could actually kill us (who was very much willing to do so, that is). And even then, I had the feeling that those would be the last moments I would have with my loved ones. The future... I realize now that day our future daughters appeared was only a possibility of what could be. Nothing was set in stone... some things could change, as much as I hoped they wouldn’t.

Remorse was at my side as I paced back and forth in the throne room, driving my wives insane in the process. There was one last thing I wanted to do before we would depart for the small town near Canterlot. We had chosen to hold the festivities in Ponyville for a simple reason. It was the closest place to our old home.

Nopony would get hurt if we battled against her in our old ruined castle, and hopefully, we would grant our daughters and their friends enough time to restore the Elements of Harmony to their old glory.

They weren't the only ones whose help I counted on, though. My little petal had brought her friends and teammates over from Remnant, as well. All of them were seasoned and experienced huntresses and hunters by now. They were professionals in their own right. Team Ruby, Juniper, and even Sun came as soon as my Rose Petal asked it of them (I feel like Team Sun was sort of like a third wheel to Ruby’s team and their sister team, but they were just as good at what they were doing... if a bit quirky from what I observed).

“Sister, would you stop with your infernal pacing?” Luna groused, watching me turn around for the nth time so that I could repeat the cycle of going back and forth between the many stained glass windows decorating many parts of our castle. I had lost count of how many times I had done so over the past few days (or how often she told me to stop, for that matter).

I glanced at her, biting my lip. I wanted to, but I was just too anxious to stop. I sighed, looking at the window in front of me, instead. In it, Luna and I were moving around Equis, ushering in day and night. It was the first one to have ever graced the throne room since we moved here. I wish it would show Tia as well.

The doors to the throne room opened before I could begin to pace again, unable to stay in one spot for long. Sunset entered, looking quite regal (and possibly the cutest she has ever been) as she walked towards us with the golden slippers over her hooves. The image was almost ruined as she just barely avoided stumbling over her own hooves, unfamiliar with the (somewhat) heavy shoes.

“Do I really need to wear those things for the ceremony, Mom?” she asked, giving them a disdainful look. “I mean, Cadance I can understand, she actually is an alicorn princess, but Twilight and me? I really don’t want wings if I have to wear these things all the time...”

“You are just as much a princess as your big sister, Sunset,” I said with a smile on my muzzle as I leaned my head down to give her a nuzzle. Besides, if she had wings, she would also have the superior strength of an earthpony (probably that of a particularly athletic one as well, should my guess be correct about what I observed of her future self). I doubt she would complain about that or having to wear shoes, then. Sometimes the chest piece could give one a really bad case of a crick in the neck when wearing it for too long, though. Maybe she had a point. It was a bit of an antiquated tradition, wasn't it? Ah, never mind that. “I... have something to give you, little Sun. I had meant to give him to you for a long time now, but I never found the opportunity to do so.”

Remorse floated over to my daughter and she gave me a confused look. “But... Mom, I can’t take your blade.”

“You can,” I told her, placing a hoof on her shoulder. I gave her a proud, yet vulnerable look only a mother could. Even if this was not goodbye, I would feel better knowing Remorse was there to protect her. “And I want you to. Just in case something happens. Take good care of him, will you?”

“I..." Sunset began, glancing up at me hesitantly. "I will,” my daughter said with a nod. “Why, though? Why couldn’t you just make a new one, instead?”

“I hope you will never learn the true reason, my darling Sun,” I told her, refusing to answer her questions. I didn’t feel like telling her that I had raised her to be my replacement since she was young. I couldn’t tell her.

Before Sunset could ask me further questions, my sister cleared her throat. "Summer," Luna reminded me and I gave my daughter one last nuzzle. Right. This was it. No turning back.

“Go now, the chariots are waiting,” I said, walking back up the stairs toward my wives. “We will see you shortly in Ponyville. There are still things we need to prepare for.”

Sunset looked torn between staying here with us and going back to Twilight and Yu’la to tell them that it was time to depart, ultimately deciding to go with the latter option to make sure her twin wasn’t causing a mess in their tower in her panic (which was more of a personal study rather than a bedroom by now, but who was I to tell them how to use their bedroom? My little petal was by far worse in that regard). Just before she departed, she muttered her own last goodbye to us, “Okay... I’ll see you later then, I guess...”

After the doors closed behind her, Luna gave me a look. “I hope you know what you are doing, sister.”

“I hope so, too,” I answered softly, my gaze wandering back to the stained glass window. We could have it changed, couldn’t we? Once Tia was back, that is. It would be nice to have it show the defeat of Platinum, instead. A window to celebrate this day with the return of my sister, instead of a reminder that I failed to protect her a thousand years ago.

I wasn’t particularly attached to the thing, either, to be honest. Perhaps a change of appearance would do the throne room some good. It's been like this since what? A thousand years? I say it was high time to give it a bit of a facelift. But that could come afterward.

For now, though, we (hopefully) found ourselves for the last time in the one room that had seen increased use as of late. Our generals were chatting noisily away as everypony was getting ready to hold the celebrations in a mostly secure fashion within every major city of Equestria. Just because we would go to Ponyville for the duration of the festivities ourselves didn’t mean the rest of Equestria wouldn’t hold their own little get-together. They would also need to take appropriate measures to ensure nothing would get too wild.

Ponies really liked to party for every reason imaginable. I’d rather they keep everything on a reasonable level, lest I find Manehatten overflowing with soap bubbles again (I am still amazed that they managed that, to be honest).

Aside from the celebrations, we were also here to hear about what the current situation with the Storm King was like. We haven’t received a lot of news regarding him as of late. The last we heard of him, we learned that he was on a merry chase to retrieve a rather dangerous artifact, an artifact that had, in a turn of ironic events, been stolen from him after he had stolen it first.

Of all the things Abyssinia could have had in their royal treasury, I wouldn’t have expected them to keep a misfortune malachite in it (the fact that they hoarded milk of all things in it kept my expectations pretty low, anyway).

Why the Storm King wanted that blasted thing back was a mystery to me. Unless he was a masochist, I suppose. Nothing good ever came from one of those things.

“Your Highnesses,” Captain Shining Armor saluted us, placing his helmet to the side as he spotted us entering the war room. The Head of Intelligence and Swarm Commander of the Canterlot Changeling Hive were here with him, looking over the map of Ponyville’s surroundings. “We are ready to depart when you are.”

“That’s good to hear,” Liz nodded, giving Thorax and Pharynx an affectionate nuzzle. Those two had become her favorite changelings ever since they decided to work here with us and they were exceptionally good at what they were doing. “Any news on the degenerate ape chasing after his own doom?”

“No, My Queen,” Pharynx snorted derisively. “Our agents still can’t get a proper read on him and his forces. Even my best-trained soldiers fail to get close to them and they are by no means slacking off.”

“And our spies keep getting discovered,” Thorax mumbled, grimacing to himself. “I’m sorry, My Queen.”

Liz sighed, giving Thorax a tired smile. “It’s okay, Spymaster. It’s not your fault. Until we find out how they know what to look out for, nothing you do is a failing on your part. Try to mix things up as best as you can. It's the only thing we can do, even if it might not work.”

“My Queen? May I speak openly?” Thorax asked and Liz gave him a nod. “Could it be that a rogue is aiding them?”

Liz blinked, giving him a surprised look. “A rogue? We haven’t had a changeling defect in more than three hundred years. Probably even longer than that,” she said, frowning unsurely. “How do you come to that conclusion, Spymaster?”

“It’s the only thing that makes sense to me,” he said, fidgeting anxiously. “I-I mean, I don’t think we have a traitor in the hive, so that’s the only option left, isn’t it?”

“What if it is her, Liz?” Luna asked, darkly. “You know she would be capable of defying us like that.”

“Ocellus wouldn’t willingly work with those she considers food,” Liz grunted, snarling to herself. “But at this point, I wouldn't put it past her. Damn that traitorous leech.”

“Now, now. Don’t let us jump to conclusions just yet,” I told her, enveloping her in my wings to calm her down. Her agitated buzzing was quickly reduced to the odd few chirps and I felt her purr against me. “Let us concentrate on the festival for now, okay?”

“Alright,” Liz sighed, nuzzling me softly. “You are right, there is plenty of time for us to worry about the Storm King later, this is more important for now.”

“I don’t see how some festival is more important than defeating our enemies,” Pharynx grunted, sounding a little bit pouty. It wasn’t that unusual to see him like that, Pharynx was kinda... a special case in the hive.

“Aww, come on, Pharynx!" Thorax nudged his brother. "Making sure everything goes as planned at the Summer Sun and Moon Festival is equally as important!” he said. “Not everything has to be about fighting.”

“It could be, though,” Pharynx shrugged. “Everything’s better with a good fight.”

“Right...” Thorax said, awkwardly standing next to him as Pharynx got lost in his own little world. I gave my wife an uncertain look and she just shrugged back, totally unconcerned by how her Swarm Commander was behaving. I won’t ever understand changelings, will I?

“Should we go over the emergency protocol one last time, Your Highnesses?” Shining Armor asked, ignoring his counterpart in the changeling hive as Pharynx rambled on and on about how fighting a tatzlwurm was anything but pleasant because they always know where you are. Well, he wasn’t wrong about that, I guess. They basically see you by feeling the vibrations in their surroundings. It is also kinda hard to reason with them due to their... less than stellar hearing.

Luna shook her head at our Captain. “I don’t think we need to. I trust you are capable enough to take care of anything that might come up during the festivities in Ponyville, Captain Shining Armor,” she said. “We will meet you there shortly. We still need to go over a few things, first.”

“But, Princess, you’re supposed to...” Shining Armor began, no doubt worried about us traveling without a whole contingent of guards. I didn’t have it in my heart to tell him that they would be next to useless, trying to protect us. I’d rather he keep the ponies of Ponyville safe than worry needlessly about us.

Sometimes I think he’s even more of a worrywart than our old captain.

“Do not presume to argue with us, Captain,” Luna reprimanded him, shutting him up rather fast. “Your duty is to the ponies of Equestria first and foremost. We are but servants to their needs, do you understand? We require no protection, we are very much capable of looking after ourselves.”

Shining Armor sighed. “As you wish, Your Highness,” he said, picking up his helmet. “I will give the order to our troops to move out, then.”

“See that you do,” Luna nodded, leaving the war room with Liz and myself in tow.

Once we were out of earshot, Liz let out a whistle. “You could have been less of a bitch with him, you know?” she commented, giving Luna a grin.

“Shut up, Cuddlebug,” Luna muttered, glaring playfully at her. “I’m not in the mood to argue with him over who needs to protect whom. Not with Platinum about to return in a few meager hours.”

“It’s okay, Lulu,” I said, brushing a wing gently against hers. “I know we are all agitated enough about that. At least you didn’t get too snippy with him.”

“Anyway, where to now?” Liz asked, giving us a quizzical look. “The only thing we really needed to do was to let Summer do her questionable sword inheritance thing with Sunset and tell the guards to move out, right?”

Ugh. That sounded way too degenerate, saying it like that. I really need to teach her some manners, don’t I? Stupid succubus.

“You don’t honestly think we are going to confront Platinum without taking our armor with us, do you?” my sister shot back, raising a brow at her.

“To be honest, I forgot we even had armor,” Liz replied, rubbing her neck sheepishly while muttering to herself about how we never used it anyway. It wasn’t even that hard to forget since we... well... never used it due to us having no need for it. Our bodies were sturdy enough to withstand pretty much anything a mortal could throw at us.

Platinum was an entirely different matter, though. I'd rather have some layer of protection, useless as it might prove itself to be. The last time we fought, I did end up with a hole in my side.

Anyway! We arrived in our personal vault deep within the castle after a minute or two of walking silently through the less-used hallways, hidden beneath multiple layers of spellwork to hide it from prying eyes. Luna touched her horn against the door, and after a quiet thrum of moving gears and bolts clicking into place, the display cases of our battle armor were revealed in all their glory.

Liz took out the helmet with the faceted glass protecting the eyes, giving it a scowl. “This brings back memories...” she said. Gently, I placed a wing over her back, giving her a smile as she floated the leg guards out next.

My ‘battle armor' wasn’t too much to look at, since I was rather familiar with it when I turned into Fallen Star. We had kept the old pieces from when we had been taken against our will to the alternate reality by the shadowy creatures, only adding wing guards and a horn blade to it. Anything else would slow us down too much and offer next to no actual protection against what Platinum could do to us.

To be honest, no armor in the world could actually do anything for us against her, but it was... comforting... to have it there with us. Besides, it had the added bonus of making us look quite imposing, standing against her with our armor on instead of confronting her without it (which would probably taunt Platinum enough for her to take exception with us for ‘daring’ to not take her seriously, making her unpredictable, and thus, far more dangerous than I would like).

Celestia’s sword floated out next, weighing heavily in my magical grip. It would be ironic to use it against her, wouldn’t it? For a thousand years, this blade hasn’t seen the light of the twin suns. Today, that would change. In just a few hours, everything would change.

May the stars shine brightly today, for it would be the darkest day in a millennium.

I stepped out of my regular regalia and into the one that would hopefully see me come out of this alive and well at the end. Once this was all over, I hoped that I would never have to use it again. But that was only wishful thinking, wasn’t it? I know for certain that the Storm King was coming for Equestria sometime soon. He wouldn’t wait forever, would he? He was too impatient to get his greedy hands on magical artifacts that were best forgotten entirely.

Honestly, he reminded me of Tirek. He, too, sought out the magic of others foolishly, selfish greed being the only thing he cared for. I doubt the light of friendship would ever illuminate either of them.

Instead of waiting at the Town Hall in Ponyville that day, Luna, Liz, and I entered the wilderness of the Everfree Forest on hoof. We could have just flown over the canopy of the forest and arrived directly at the castle, but that wouldn’t have helped my nerves any more than calmly walking through the familiar greenery. The fresh air and the scent of wildlife were helping me get rid of my stress immensely, something I feared might change as soon as our eyes gazed upon the destroyed wreck our old castle had been reduced to. Haunted memories were already surfacing at the forefront of my thoughts. I didn’t want to know how bad it would get once we walked through the ruined halls of our past seat of power.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn't keep the tears from coming to my eyes as we walked over the crumbling bridge toward what remained of our once-proud home. The pristine shine of the stone was matted and overgrown by now, looking sad and pathetic. We could have restored it at any time we wanted, but instead, we let it come to this.

It was a truly painful sight to look at. Windows lay broken and shattered on the ground. What had previously been thick and sturdy doors were now rotten through and barely held on to their hinges, crumbling at a mere touch. Furniture was molding, not to mention what some critters had done to some of the decoration. The tapestries hanging from the walls and ceiling were faded and in tatters, while the walls themselves had cracks running through them in multiple places. Nature had, at long last, reclaimed a part of its domain. Nothing was left untouched by the passage of time. Nothing was as it once was and the fault for that belonged to nopony else but us.

Like so many other things, I have to say.

It was unavoidable to make as many mistakes as we have done over the years, being immortal with a (near) infinite lifespan. Some of those mistakes would always stay with us while others would eventually fade into obscurity. To be honest, I think I have forgotten far more of those mistakes than I would ever like to admit to myself.

Maybe, in a few thousand years or so, we might just forget about this day as well. Perhaps by then, all of this will be nothing more than a bad dream to us at best.

The throne room, too, was mostly unrecognizable by now. The petrified Elements still rested at the same spot I had left them, looking like time had never taken its toll on them. Those were the only things left that were still recognizable aside from the thrones, everything else showed only the pure destruction I had wrought on the throne room after I had tried to blast Platinum into oblivion in a fit of fright and panic.

I didn’t even want to go take a look at our old tower, I was sure everything was buried under a thick layer of dust in there. If it hasn’t rotten away, as well, despite the preservation charms we had placed on everything oh-so-long-ago now.

The castle was nothing more than a ghost of Luna’s and my past, a specter that lingered on in the present, refusing to be forgotten. As a matter of fact... I’d prefer for it to stay in the past where it belonged. Living in the past has never done me any good, and should we be successful tonight, the future's looking brighter than ever.

At some point, history deserved to stay history. Some might learn from it, but I’d rather forget the painful parts instead of being reminded of it over and over again.

Not that I ever had a problem forgetting things, I guess. Even the things I prayed I would never forget eventually faded away without me noticing it. But it was literally impossible to not forget things that I have experienced over more than a thousand years by now, wasn’t it?

“To think you would dare show your muzzles here again,” a voice called out behind us and I sighed, knowing who it was that uttered those words. “You ponies and your disregard for nature... disgusting.”

“Aspen,” I sighed, turning around to give the Lord of the Forest an exasperated look. He had that same haughty look in his green eyes I've come to associate with him. The ruler of the deer folk sneered at us from where he stood. The heart-shaped flask over his chest looked just as ridiculous as it always has. “What do you want?”

“I felt you come here, on this day of all days,” he replied, striding forward while giving the stone orbs on the ground a disdainful look. “I don’t understand your fondness of stone. It feels nothing but cold to me.”

“Because living in trees is so much better,” Luna snorted, rolling her eyes. “You night elf wannabe.”

“You wannabe peacock,” he shot back, giving Luna a stern glare.

“You prissy fawn,” Luna said, sticking her tongue out at him. “Little tree hugger, you.”

“You cloud snoozer,” King Aspen replied. Liz and I watched them continue with this for a couple of minutes longer until they burst into laughter and embraced each other tightly.

“How have you been?” Luna asked, letting go of him with a mirthful smile on her muzzle.

“Sufficiently bored out of my mind. You?” Aspen said, shaking Liz’s hoof next before giving me a light hug.

“Sufficiently bored out of our minds,” Luna answered, repeating his words. “You didn’t just come here to tease us, did you?”

“No, I did not,” he replied, shaking his head. “Forces beyond our understanding are moving once again, Warden of the Moon. I hope you have found your champions, for I fear times are changing more than any of us could anticipate. The trees are whispering among themselves about unrest and chaos. You know what happened the last time that transpired. I doubt your little trinkets are going to save our flanks this time around.”

“We are... aware of Discord’s impending return,” I told him, grimacing slightly at the thought of him being free once more. But... “We hope we might convince him to change his ways and help Equis instead of using it as his playground for mischief.”

Aspen gave me an incredulous look. “Have you gone mad?” he asked me before glancing at Luna. “She hasn’t gone mad, has she?”

“No, she has not...” Luna sighed, giving him a thoroughly unamused stare. “Discord isn’t... beyond redemption. He can do good if what we have heard is right. It might be worth a try to give him a chance.”

“And from where did you hear that, exactly?” Aspen inquired, skeptical. “Don’t tell me you have been listening to the breezies again, Princess. They aren’t entirely there, you know.”

“Some would say that about the deer, you know,” Liz snarked, rolling her eyes. “And no, our information didn’t come from the breezies, dumbass. It sometimes helps to listen to time travelers and not outright dismiss them... like, you know, some deer do.”

“Hmph. That they trust you of all beings is a mystery to me,” Aspen snorted while giving her a look full of disdain. “Changelings are always high on love, aren’t they? Little addicts you are...”

“Shut your muzzle or I will,” Liz threatened, snarling at him only for Aspen to let out a huff. “You need to come down from whatever weeds you inhaled the smoke of, yourself.”

“Can we stop with this before one of you starts throwing around magic?” I groused, giving both of them an annoyed frown. “We only have until sundown left, I’d rather not spend the last few quiet hours we have on petty squabbling between us.”

Liz grumbled with a pout. “He started it,” she said like a petulant foal, and as soon as she said that, I grabbed her ear in my magic, tugging at it harshly. “Ow! Ow, ow ow, Summer! Ow! Stop, I didn’t mean it, I didn’t mean it! Ow!”

“I don’t care who started it, both of you continued it,” I growled, letting go of her ear while giving Aspen an angry glare. “And you, stop antagonizing my wife.”

“Fine,” he shrugged, not even looking apologetic as he turned to leave. “I hope you get through this, Summer. As much as I want you ponies out of my forest, I don’t want to see you dead.”

“It’s not your forest, you senile Bambi, but... thank you, Aspen,” I said, taking the olive branch he offered us despite still feeling a little bit angry at him for being a... well, a jerk was too much of an exaggeration with him. I know he doesn’t actually mean those things (most of the time, that is), he was just... a little bit arrogant (or a lot, really). “For what it is worth... you’re still a wannabe night elf ripoff.”

“I don’t even know what those are,” he grumbled. “You keep mentioning them but never explain anything about them, you featherbrained, over-glorified throne warmer.”

Before I could think of a witty comeback, he was already gone. I didn’t expect him to stay and help us against Platinum, anyway. If it didn’t concern him, he wasn’t exactly in the mood to help out, preferring to stay far away from the matters of the other races.

He wasn’t really that much of a fighter, anyway, but... it couldn’t have hurt to have had his support in this fight. He was exceptionally good at nature magic, he would have been a great help as a healer if nothing else.

“I wish I could have seen this place during its prime,” Liz said after the silence had dragged on for long enough, making me hum sadly. I would have loved to show her around. Alas, it was too late for that now. “Seeing it in memory balls isn’t the same as seeing it right before your eyes...”

“There are many memories here we could have shown you,” Luna replied, giving the rubble all around us a mournful gaze. “But they won’t ever bring back those times. Not if we don’t travel through time to do so and you know our opinion about that. We have already caused too many problems with prophetic magic, and... well, I’d rather not cause any more paradoxes if we can avoid them.”

“Believe me, I’d rather not use that type of magic, either,” Liz said, grimacing. “I’m sorry that you had to leave all of this behind, Lulu. You and Summer lost so much here, I can’t ever empathize with that.”

“You don’t have to be sorry about that, Liz,” I smiled, nuzzling her softly. “Your support is more than enough comfort. Besides... we have gained a lot more by moving away from here. Not everything is as bad as it could have been. Had we never met you, for example... I don’t even want to imagine what would have been different then...”

“Well... I’d be less holey, for one," she said with a silly smirk, making me groan and Luna roll her eyes. We really do have to keep her far away from Tia, don't we? "But I think it suits me, doesn’t it? Whatever you think 'might' have happened had things gone differently, I prefer it like this. You don’t have to feel any guilt over making me go all cheesy, so... thanks, Sunflower. I keep telling you this, don’t I?” Liz smiled back at me, happy to be here with us. I couldn't even be mad at her for those atrocious puns, seeing that I wasn't totally depressed anymore over a few bad memories from the past. It didn’t erase all of our mixed feelings, but it helped to have her here with us as we waited for the fateful moment we had all been waiting for for so long.

I hope Tia won’t be too mad to see our old home in this state. For her, it would be like waking up from a long slumber. In just one instant, everything would be different, wouldn’t it? The last time she had seen the castle, it looked nothing like this. It would be jarring to see it so completely changed. Nothing would be like it was anymore. For her... Canterlot won’t feel like home, and I’m so very sorry about that.

It won’t be the only thing that has changed so drastically for her, either. There are so many different things that were completely different back then, living standards chief among them. I fear she might feel completely lost in this day and age.

Even the standard of technology was far more complex now than what she might be familiar with from Earth. I know I had a difficult time adjusting to how quickly technology seemed to have advanced in the past years. Our understanding of magic had progressed quite a lot, as well, opening up possibilities we would have never known were possible a thousand years ago (the field of sex magic alone has grown by huge lengths due to no small part of Liz’s hive and... well... Luna’s and my ‘recent’ drunken escapade).

And then, there’s the change in how our ponies view us. Or how things were generally different between how ponies treated us (and we them) in comparison to how everything is done now. We aren’t the absolute authority about everything anymore, there are rules even we can’t break on a mere whim. Some of the nobles were still complaining about the court reform but those were thankfully few and far between by now.

Oh, dear... I have no idea how Tia was going to react to Twilight and Sunset (or even Cadance). Twilight doesn’t even remember her from her past life, I know that alone will break her heart, won’t it? It's perhaps for the best to just... not mention it to her, as cold as that sounded to me.

Aside from my worry of telling Tia about Twilight, Cadance had rather grown cold of the idea of me letting Tia survive on purpose instead of sacrificing her so that I wouldn’t have to die. I don’t know how my little petal would react if I don’t make it out of this alive as I dearly hoped I would. I feel sorry for Tia because of how distant our daughter had grown from her. She didn’t deserve to go through that.

I hope Cadance will at least reconcile with her mother eventually should I not make it, after all. I don’t want her to blame Tia for my death. If anything, she should blame me.

Alas, there still was the very real risk of me dying as September had told me I would. As in, dying dying. It was such a novel idea, thinking about what would happen to me should I actually die. Would everything be well and truly over or would something come afterward? It was one of those mysteries that I could only speculate about, and this time around, I wasn’t so certain reincarnation might save my hide again. Well... remembering my reincarnation, at any rate.

Obviously, I had no intention to let any of that happen. I clung to my hope that my plan would work as I had envisioned it. Platinum would ‘slay’ me, unknowing of how an alicorn would enter hibernation instead, gloat for a few minutes like the narcissistic wretch that she was, and then... well, then my daughters would have hopefully restored the Elements of Harmony in time for them to use 'em against her.

Something told me it wouldn’t be that easy. Something told me that I have forgotten to think of something very important. It was simply too easy, wasn’t it?

Luna fidgeted next to me. “Are you ready?” she asked me in a whisper, feeling the same urge to act on our purpose as I did. The last rays of sunlight seemed almost like an ill omen as we couldn’t draw this out any longer, the time to stall had long since passed. I gave my sister a nervous nod, biting back the fearful whinny that tried to force itself out of me. I... I didn’t want to be here... I don't want to die.

My sun whispered back a few reassuring emotions, giving me all the strength it could as she disappeared below the horizon with her sister. And on the opposite end of the horizon, the moon rose. The dark blotches of the pony head on it seemed to almost darken to a pitch-black and dread started to well up within me.

I could feel the stolen and perverted power of my sister break the chains holding her to the moon right as the stars themselves aligned perfectly to weaken the seal.

“You know...” Liz whispered, buzzing her wings nervously. “I really want to have sex for one last time now...”

“Concentrate, Cuddlebug,” Luna snorted, giving her a mirthful look. “You can have all the sex in the world after we survive this.”

“I’ll so put you in those maid outfits after this...” Liz mumbled, shifting anxiously next to us. I wasn’t any better off, watching the shadows around us darken ominously. Not even the light of our magic pierced this unnatural fog of malice.

Laughter rang out all around us, sounding warped and cruel. “Oh, how I have longed for this day...”

Mist seeped out of the blackness surrounding us and from it emerged the one pony my heart cried out to annihilate utterly. Platinum grinned back at us with crazed eyes, the gaze in them unfocused and seemingly not there. There was a deeply unsettling hunger in her posture, sharp and jagged teeth glistened with saliva as her tongue ran over them.

I have no idea what was the matter with her, but I wouldn’t let that stop me from ending her madness. “Hello, Platinum,” I said, snarling. “It’s a shame to see you again. You aren’t going to make this easy for us by surrendering immediately, would you?”

“Silence, you pitiful worm!” she spat back. “Is this how you greet your superior? You should bow down to me!”

I grunted as a heavy aura tried to force us to make us do exactly what she wanted us to do, but I was having none of it. This ends now.

“Tch..!” Platinum snorted, blocking my strike against her as I appeared before her. Despite her unfocused gaze, I had the uneasy feeling that she stared right into my soul. And yet, it didn’t seem like Platinum was the one doing it. What was going on? “To think you would dare oppose me. Me! You aren’t even worthy of gazing upon my magnificence!” She brushed a hoof through one of her pale white locks in a haughty, arrogant way, but for some reason, it unnerved me even more. Her movements were off. As if they were deliberately acted out.

I scowled darkly at her. “We will never bow to the likes of you, witch,” I told her, teleporting away in the blink of an eye. “You will die on this day, all alone without anypony there to mourn you, just like you deserve.”

“Oh, I think not,” she smiled crookedly back, disappearing in a flash of pink and blue fire before she appeared right in front of me. “I have a nation to take back from you filthy heathens. I will rid myself of your presence once and for all. All shall serve me in the end and none of you will be able to stop me from getting what I want. Nay, what I truly deserve!”

“I’m sorry, Celestia,” I whispered and watched as Luna’s sword brutally pierced Platinum’s neck. “Your nightmare will end, I promise you.”

“Grrah!” Platinum snorted, growling as she ripped herself free from the weapon stuck in her neck as my sister appeared beside her. “You disgusting little mongrels...”

I watched horrified as a maw replaced the wound, a twitching eye gazing back at us from within. Platinum made to strike at me with her magic, but I was quick enough to teleport away... only to find her right in front of me again. Liz created a portal directly underneath me, saving me from the blast that cleanly tore through the stone of our old castle like it was made out of nothing more than butter.

Platinum huffed. “It’s such a pity that didn’t kill you,” she remarked, turning around with a crazed look in her eyes. Her voice sounded different, and not just because of the wound in her neck. “A hole through your skull would have looked positively marvelous on you, ‘sister’.”

My sister growled before shooting a barrage of arcane missiles after her. “You don’t get to call us your sister, witch,” she said, closing in on her while striking out at her in a masterful display of swordplay. Alas, Platinum avoided each hit by teleporting away, laughing maniacally.

“I truly, truly hate to give this news to you ungrateful wretches, but... your sister is no more,” Platinum cackled. “Ever since I took her body, she has been making way for me! She is gone! Ah hah hah hah!”

“Lies!” I screamed, enraged. I rapidly teleported around her, firing solar lances at her from every possible angle. “Die, Platinum!”

My very core raged, burning hotter than ever as I scorched the despicable cockroach into nothing more than a black husk. I huffed, snorting out flames as I was overwhelmed by the primal need to set things on fire. The smell... it was simply divine as I continued with my assault, turning the center of our throne room into a molten pool of lava.

I laughed as I saw the pathetic lump of coal try to claw her way out of the goopy substance, kicking her with all my might again and again. The wall behind our thrones gave way as I drove her through it, cackling in delight as I finally... finally had that punching bag I needed so damn fucking much.

Fuck... this felt good. Nay, this was invigorating, even! Glee was spreading throughout my whole being as I mangled that cockroach over and over again. The only thing on my mind was to let out this venomous hatred that had built up over the years because of this damn ugly toad.

Hah! To think I feared that pitiful worm so much! By the twin suns, she wasn’t even trying! She took everything I threw at her and couldn’t retaliate at all as I never let up on my assault on her. Celestia’s sword cut through mangled flesh, again and again, chipping away at her body until it was entirely unrecognizable.

Ngh! Burn. She needs... to... burn! Blue flames heeded my call, coming to my aid as I was about to erase her from existence utterly. Let. Me. Devour. Her. Soul!

“...sister,” the lump of coal croaked and my eyes widened, panic gripping my heart. I...

“...Tia?” I whispered, fearful. Oh, no, no, no! What have I done?! I stumbled back fearfully, reverting back from Fallen Star to Summer Sol in the process. I almost... I almost k-killed my own sister in my seething rage. I... I didn’t realize, I was... I was completely overwhelmed by this need to let out this rage. I didn’t realize that the mangled body in front of me was my own sister, having been blinded by my hatred for the imposter that stole her from me. I... “I’m so sorry, Tia! I... I lost control, I’m sorry. I-I didn’t mean to, you have to believe me! P-please, forgive me... I’m so very sorry, I...”

“As you should be!”

My breath left me as I blinked and looked down, shocked. A tentacle had snapped off my horn and another grabbed me around my throat. Before I could register what exactly had just happened, I was already flying through the ruins of our old castle, crashing through one wall after another.

“I have had enough of this farce..." Platinum growled, her voice beginning to distort as it turned darker and deeper. "It’s time that this charade ends, beginning with this weak shell! I am the hunger that feasts endlessly, I am the nightmare that lusts for eternal torment, I am the one with a thousand maws! Gaze upon my true appearance and cower before my might!” the thing inside her screeched. Her flesh was restoring itself, only... there were ‘additions’ to her now. Eyes, maws, tentacles... the former princess looked absolutely grotesque as she shambled through the gap in the wall after me.

Liz was standing protectively before me while my Moon was trying to heal my most grievous wounds, but... with my horn gone, I was a ticking time bomb. It was only a matter of time until I would explode and nothing they could do on such short notice would prevent that from happening. Healing a broken horn was a very difficult process and required a lot of time and very powerful magic to do so. Time we did not have.

Then... the maws opened and ‘spoke’. What came out, though, was nothing but maddened gibberish. “Iilth qi mah'shar fhn oorql Xal'Krzsh!”

The 'words' this monster spoke were like jagged spears, entering our minds in a crazed whisper of terror, pain, and despair. I grunted in agony, trying to stop myself from hearing them by trying to clamp my hooves over my ears, but they kept coming. Relentless. Unending. Like a battering ram, they bashed their way in, completely unavoidable. “Ak'agthshi ma uhnish, ak'uq shg'cul vwahuhn! H'iwn iggksh Phquathi gag OOU KAAXTH SHUUL!”

From everywhere around us, the lumps of flesh that I had severed from her rose from the ground as tentacles whipped around, maws and eyes all over them. Blinking. Gnashing. Hungering.

Grotesque images flooded my mind, trying to drown me in misery and anguish. False pictures of a world submerged in darkness, ruled over by an eldritch horror with Platinum’s disfigured face. Monsters made of flesh and carapace, driving my little ponies insane with their presence alone.

Worst of all were the images of Luna, Liz, and myself as her pets, equally corrupted and malformed as she was. Her... disease... spread and went out of control until it infected the whole universe. And from there, others of its kind would follow. It would be the rise of an Empire of Madness.

“Gul'kafh an'shel. Yoq'al shn ky ywaq nuul,” they whispered, a cacophony of horrible noises all around us. “Ywaq maq oou... ywaq maq ssaggh. Ywaq ma shg'fhn.”

“Stop!” I cried, shaking my head in a futile effort to shut out the whispers. All the while, her monstrous form shambled closer to us, deforming further with every step that she took.

The pain of those whispers was even more paralyzing than the pain of having lost my horn. Or the bones that it shattered after it had grabbed and thrown me around like a rag doll.

“Ruby, they are here!” a shout from outside reached my ears and my heart stopped. No, no, no, no! This wasn’t the right time! Not yet! “Mom!”

Cadance... you have to get out of here! None of us even remotely stood a chance against this... this abomination. I’m so sorry, I didn’t realize... I should have never led any of you here. I failed you. All of you.

There is no hope left...

“W-what is this?” Fluttershy’s voice stuttered as they looked at what had happened here, staring horrified at the monster that had replaced Platinum.

“The Elements! They are right there!” Twilight shouted right as the Devourer turned around, hunger in its thousand eyes. Unending, unquenchable, inextinguishable, starving hunger. The hunger for innocent souls...

And its gaze was directed at my daughters and their friends...

“Run! Flee, Twilight!” I screamed, fighting through the pain to draw the attention of the monstrosity back to me, volatile solar lances striking it everywhere I saw an eye twitch erratically around. It hurt so much, using my magic like this, but I bore the pain and spinning vision gladly if it meant I could buy my daughters and their friends enough time to escape. The beast screeched and the tentacles whipped around furiously, attempting to strike my wives and me. “Get away from here as l-long... as you... ngh... still can!”

“Ilith qi'uothk shn'ma yeh'glu Shath'Yar! H'IWN IILTH!” the Devourer roared, driving me almost into the ground as the sheer madness behind the message tried to tear my mind apart. “Qam oou iilth ez i awtgsshu amun on'ma!“

“Silence, you foul beast!” Luna roared back, her coat turning black as she let her rage overtake her. “Thy end shall bring about peace eternal!”

I watched as Nightmare’s scythe struck uselessly against the being in front of us and all her attempts to hurt it with her magic only seemed to enrage it more. Liz was already at the side of our daughters and their friends, fending off the tentacles that tried to go after them. The tentacles made the weapons of Ruby’s team and her friends look like simple toys, no more effective than toothpicks.

This was absolute madness. By the twin suns, this wasn’t how I thought it would go. Platinum wouldn’t willingly turn into such a...

Oh. Oh! I have been such a fool. I've been utterly foolish. Ugh. How could I have been so stupid?!

Platinum had never been alone (even before she possessed my twin and took her away from me). There was always something there with her, whispering false truths to her, manipulating her... driving her mad.

It was the Devourer, using her as nothing more than a marionette. It fed on her hatred for us, infecting her mind like a disease. And it has done so for a very long time, hasn’t it? It was obvious when it had taken root in her, wasn’t it?

After the fire... Platinum wasn’t the same mare that had tried her petty schemes to regain the throne. The Platinum that took my sister against her will was beyond redemption. It was the Platinum that had allowed the remnants of the Devourer in.

The old Platinum was dead as soon as she had turned to it for its powers. She had only been a vessel for the monstrosity that stood before us now. She was used as a mere host, incubating the sleeping horror that lay in waiting for the right moment.

And it was this moment right here. This was the moment that the Devourer had waited so patiently for to get its chance to taint this world, this very universe, once again. All this time, it has waited for the perfect opportunity to sate its insatiable hunger once more, growing and gaining strength by siphoning it away from the mad alicorn.

What about Tia, though? Was... was Tia truly gone as well? A victim of Platinum and the Devourer? That... that couldn’t be true. It couldn’t.

“UULL lwhuk H'IWN!” the thing screeched, wiggling around in what I could only guess was excitement. “Iilth ma paf'qi'ag sk'halahs!“

Everything felt so numb all of a sudden. Everything felt like it was so far away. Distant. Unfriendly.

Everything seemed so... dark.

Cold.

Pointless.

“Naza bul rexil qalic ul',” it said with a low growl and I got the impression that it was... looking down on us. Like insects. Pests to be squashed. “Og h'iwn Og vormos Hoq sshoq'meg thoq wotH'gl.”

Memories of my wife flashed before my eyes. Her smile. Her laughter. Her moans. The subtle twitch of her wings. The twinkle in her gorgeous eyes. Would I never get to see her again..? Was she... lost?

“Sk'magg yawifk hoq,” it... laughed. The Devourer laughed, howling with its thousand maws as it delighted at the futile effort of my wives, friends, and family. I was frozen, watching everything play out as a little seething feeling started to well up within me. “Sk'shgn eqnizz hoq.”

This feeling... it wanted to come out of me, annihilate everything around me in nothing but pure agony. Celestia couldn’t be dead. My twin cannot be dead.

“Sk'uuyat guulphg hoq,” the Devourer said, mocking me. The damn thing was mocking me. “Sk'yahf qi'plahf PH'MAGG!”

I knew what it said. It seemed so clear to me now. It was mocking me, claiming that my agony was giving it strength. That my soul would know eternal torment.

It was right. This agony was too much. It tried to reach out to me with its ugly, disgusting, vicious, filthy appendages, but each and every one of them crumbled to dust as my very being burned in torment.

“Die,” I whispered, my voice completely monotone. It took her from me. Platinum, the Devourer, whatever this wretched thing wanted to call itself, it would die.

My body acted on my command and all of my life force joined my magic as I released my last, ultimate act of sacrifice, enacting my last will. It would suffer for everything that it had done to my beloved. To this world. To this universe.

I’m so sorry, Luna. I’m sorry that it had to come down to this, after all. I can’t let you die as well. Please... don’t hate me for this. I love you, my beautiful Moon.

I’m sorry, my daughters. I wish I didn’t have to leave you, but I can’t allow this thing to continue to exist any longer.

I’m sorry, Liz, my lovely succubus. Don’t despair without me, dear. I love you so very much, you know? You and Luna. You both kept me sane for so very long. Please... molest Luna for me, instead, will you?

I’m sorry. I am so very sorry. I love you. All of you.

Everything turned white.

---

Truly, I never thought I would sacrifice myself as Hope and her siblings had done. I never thought I would die, trying to save my loved ones from an abomination that had lingered in the mortal realm for far too long.

Now, I sit here, in a shadowy world of nothingness, cold and empty of life. There was nothing I could do but sit here on my old broken throne in the destroyed throne room (even more so now, after what happened during the last few moments of my life), waiting for something to happen.

This is the realm of the dead, then? The Shadowlands? I always thought it wouldn’t look so dreary, but I guess it looked exactly as its name implied. Dark. Gloomy. A shadow of the living world.

There was no Grimreaper waiting for me here, much to my surprise. I would have expected some sort of entity to be there to help me ‘move on’, even though that was the last thing on my mind. How could I, after all? If I have to, I would wait an eternity for Luna to join me. I don’t want to move on without her.

I should have known. The one thing I missed to account for was the influence the Devourer had over Platinum. I should have known that it would use her for its rebirth.

Now, here I am, contemplating what is going to happen next. If there even is something... anything... that's supposed to happen from this point onward, that is.

I closed my eyes. Might as well just sleep until I can reunite with my loved ones... “Your time is not over yet, young one,” a voice called out to me and I blinked, looking up. There in front of me was Sunset, taller than I ever was in life. She was an alicorn, although... her coat shimmered like crystal and a halo was hovering over her head.

“Sunset..?” I asked, shaking my head in denial. “No, no, no, no..! This... you weren’t supposed to...”

“No, Summer,” she shook her head, lifting my head up with a hoof so that I was looking up at her. On her muzzle was a kind and bright smile. “I am not your daughter, dear.”

“...Hope,” I whispered in disbelief. “But... I thought that you...”

“That we abandoned you?” she replied. “No. We couldn’t ever do that to you. Not to you...”

“But...” I mumbled, confused.

“A thousand years ago, when you used our physical forms by yourself, we heard a distorted cry for help,” Hope explained, giving me a sad look. “All we could do was to let you use our powers, unable to guide them in any form. We tried to reach out to you, but you felt so distant, dear. We realized too late that you were using the Elements on your lonesome, full of grief..."—she turned her head to the side, unable to look me in the eyes as she bit her lip—" I’m sorry, Summer. I wish we could have granted you the help you sought. The help that you deserved.”

“It was my fault, after all,” I whispered, feeling hollow. “I was a bad sister, wasn’t I?”

Hope shook her head, turning back to me with that insistent look a parent gave their child when they were needlessly blaming themselves. It looked slightly off-putting on the face of my daughter. “Oh, child. You never were,” she said, stroking my mane softly as tears came to my eyes. Even the dead could cry, huh? She hugged me comfortingly. “You tried, but against this darkness? I would have been surprised had you managed what we couldn’t. Using that much power requires more control than you alone could have managed. Don’t blame yourself for something like that.”

Right. “Do you know if...” I started, looking up at her with a haunted gaze. I left the question on the tip of my tongue, too afraid to ask whether or not I managed to hurt it.

“No, dear,” she frowned. “Your death curse has stalled it, though. Long enough for the new bearers to reawaken us.”

“Oh...” I mumbled, resting my head against her chest again. “Will they succeed?”

Hope hummed. “With saving your sister? Yes. They will,” she said with a subtle nod. “My siblings and I are granting them the power they need to free her from the grasp of that abomination and restore her as best as we can to full health. But I fear it won’t be enough to defeat the Devourer as well. It will need more than our own dwindling strength.”

“I see...” I sighed. After all of this... it ends with the return of the worst monster this universe has ever seen, weakened as it might be. It won’t stay like this forever, though. Sooner rather than later, it will complete what it had started, won’t it? The end of the universe... defiling everything I held dear to my heart.

“Do not lose hope, dear,” she said, nudging me gently. “We will bestow the new Bearers with the remaining vestiges of our power. That should be enough for them to imprison the beast once more.”

“When will it end, though?” I asked, despair clouding my mind heavily. This cycle can’t be allowed to be repeated forever and ever. It had to find an end at some point... preferably now rather than later before it grew too strong again. “Can’t you do anything?”

“No,” Hope sighed, shaking her head sadly. “A long time ago, we failed to rid ourselves of this darkness we had so carelessly brought into this world..."—she let go of me, a pained and ashamed look in her eyes—" I think now would be the right time for you to learn the truth, dear.”

“What..?” I whispered. Horror didn't even describe how I was feeling right now. “You brought this thing here?!”

“Not intentionally,” she answered and our surroundings began to change. “We don’t have too much time left here, I can’t keep the kyrian away from taking your soul to the Arbiter in Oribos forever. We will have to do this as quickly as we can.”

Before my eyes, an illusion of a shining city appeared with ponies of all kinds walking every which way, completely disregarding us as we stood in the middle of the street. The road was made with a mixture of pure white marble plates and what looked like gold at the sides, leading up to a bridge that connected the rest of the city with the massive castle right in the center of this veritable mega-metropolis.

This city... nay, this utopia... it was absolutely gigantic. Water flowed serenely through little river-like funnels through the streets, and on the rooftops, there were crystals and flowers of all kinds, adding a rainbow of color to the majestic sight of this city.

And even in the sky, the city continued on. Pegasi and thestrals alike were flying to and fro between cloud structures and what appeared like ponies with butterfly wings could be seen as well, going about their day with joy on their muzzles.

“Where is this..?” I asked, watching in awe as a tall kirin with leathery wings walked past us, and another pony variant I had never seen before surfaced from one of the rivers around us, reminding me of the kelpies living in the more tropical parts of Equis. They looked a bit more dolphin-like, but those weren’t the only ponies living in the watery parts of the city. There were some kelpies present as well, as were their cousins, the... well... kelpies.

There had been some rather lengthy debates about whether or not to rename the kelpies living in the sea and oceans into ‘sea-kelpies’, but obviously, both variants of kelpies insisted they had the name first. One version was more or less what a seahorse in big looked like while the other was a partially water-elemental pony version (they could actually turn into ice and steam, as well).

If it were up to me, I would have named the second variant ‘aqua ponies’ (it actually fit way better and was, by far, a cuter name for their species in my opinion).

This was easily the largest city I have ever seen, surpassing Canterlot by... I can’t even tell. We could probably fit Canterlot in here about seven or eight times and our capital wasn’t exactly small. This mega-city was probably even larger than any city I remember from Earth, too.

“This was the Kingdom of Concordia,” Hope replied, a mournful look in her eyes. “It was here that the darkness first took root.”

“What happened to it?” I whispered fearfully, watching as a chariot passed through us like we weren’t even there. Typical for an illusion. Hope really was on a wholly different level than I with her spellcasting, wasn't she? This looked so real, I had to remind myself we weren't actually here.

“Once upon a time, we sought to leave a legacy behind. A legacy that would replace us as we planned to depart this world after having lived for a very long time,” Hope began and our surroundings changed to the middle of an expansive throne room. “We decided to create an heir... through magic.”

In the middle of the throne room was a raised platform surrounded by one of those water funnels I had seen earlier. A fine, red carpet led up to it and flowers decorated the edge while on it stood several thrones facing the middle. Each one of them had a unique style that embodied the alicorn domains of their respective pony. And currently, those seven alicorns stood in front of them, a beam of magic connecting in the middle of it as they poured their mana into a massive spell.

I gave the Hope in the memory a startled look, seeing that she was looking exactly like she did now. “Are those... are those your real...” I tried to ask, but my words failed me. Was my daughter... I don’t understand. It seemed so utterly impossible to me, but... maybe...

Hope shook her head, a tiny smile on her muzzle. “No, dear. We appear here like this because, as we bond our powers to the new Bearers, we will slowly... disappear. Not in the way you are thinking of right now, but the world won’t remember us in a meaningful way. Our time has come to an end, dear. We are, at last, allowed to find rest.”

“Oh...” I said, not knowing what to say to that. It was sad, knowing this would be the last time I would be able to talk with her. I felt mildly angry that they were, once again, abandoning us, but... I couldn’t really hold it against them. Not being able to move on... that alone must have been punishment enough for them, right? They watched over the world for so long, they had given it everything they had... everything but the last remnants of their power. Until now.

Even if they had brought the Devourer here by mistake, I couldn’t be mad at them after all that they had gone through. And it wasn’t like they weren’t trying to fix their mistakes.

Hope frowned as the group of seven finished their spell. A bright-glowing orb remained, pulsing with a heartbeat. A moment later, it started to fade away, leaving behind a newborn filly. “We didn’t know it at the time, but...” she said, sounding so incredibly sad. “Our daughter was born ill. Slowly, her health would deteriorate and her death was inevitable by the time she reached the age of twelve.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” I said, watching the little filly in front of us open her eyes for the first time. A golden and an icy blue eye squinted up at the group of thoroughly exhausted mares. Her mane was of a deep purple color, sparkling with power, and her coat was of a whitish-gray color, having the same crystalline appearance as her mothers. The interesting thing about her, though, was that she already had a Cutie Mark.

“You don’t have to be sorry, dear,” Hope replied, giving me a warm smile. “We did manage to save the soul of Solar Eclipse. Not in the way any of us would have expected, though.”

My eyes wandered back to the Cutie Mark on the little filly’s flanks before I looked back up at Hope. “Am I... are we...”

“The same pony?" Hope finished my sentence and I nodded my head shyly. My Maybe-Mother shook her head softly. "No. You aren’t quite the same, dear,” she told me while draping a wing over my back. “You and your sisters are your own ponies. And besides, too much time has passed by now. Your souls have grown past the little seedling that Solar Eclipse’s soul had been. Try not to linger on it too much, dear.”

Right. Okay, yeah, I... I nodded, simply letting it sink in. It certainly was a tough pill to swallow, wasn't it? And a hell of a lot depressing, too. I leaned into the embrace with Hope. Compared to her, I felt almost tiny... “What happened to her? Or to us, I guess...”

My mother from another time sighed. “As she grew older and increasingly weaker, Magic found out what was ailing her,” she said with a dark frown. The scene in front of us changed once more to that of Memory-Hope sitting next to little Eclipse’s bed, slowly stroking her mane as she slumbered while drenched in sweat. The young teenager was clearly in pain. “Something during our spell went wrong. Very wrong. Terribly so.”

“Her soul is hosting a parasite, Hope,” Magic said as she appeared in the doorway of their daughter’s bedroom. “If we hope to save her, we need to get rid of it. Now.”

Memory-Hope had a haunted look in her eyes as she turned to look at her sister. “It would kill her as well, wouldn’t it?” she asked, though it was clear to me she already knew the answer to that. “You know it would kill her.”

Memory-Magic snarled. “But we have to do something!” she hissed, stomping her hoof angrily. Her angry outburst woke up their daughter in the process, making her wilt. “I’m not going to lose her, Hope. I... I can’t."

“Mom..?” Eclipse asked weakly, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. “Is everything okay?”

Memory-Hope gave her a wobbly smile while the real one looked on with nostalgic eyes. “Everything is fine, dear,” she whispered. “I’m sorry that we woke you up.”

“It’s okay,” Eclipse said, smiling tiredly. “You don’t have to fight with each other because I’m dying. I don’t want you to hate each other...”

“We don’t hate each other, Eclipse,” Memory-Hope told her gently, placing a loving kiss just below her horn. “Now, try to get some more sleep, okay? Mommy will be here when you wake up again. I have to go talk with my sister for a little bit.”

“That was the last day that she woke up,” Hope said, drawing my attention away from the frozen image of her daughter trying to go back to sleep. “Magic had convinced us to take her to the farthest reaches of the universe to cast the parasite out into the Void where it came from in the hopes of saving her soul from the monster that infected her. We only just barely saved her soul from tearing apart into a thousand pieces...”

“Instead, it tore into three,” I muttered, looking down forlornly. “And a monster was unleashed upon the universe.”

“Had we known what the consequences of our actions would have been...” Hope began with a sigh, biting her lip thoughtfully. “I suppose we wouldn’t be having this conversation now, would we?”

I smiled hesitantly. “It was a mistake, but... you couldn’t have known,” I said, embracing the taller mare awkwardly. “Yep. This is still weird.”

Hope giggled. “You have no idea,” she mused. “The loss of Eclipse affected us in ways we could have never expected. Magic took it the hardest, shutting away all of her emotions. She still feels guilty about what she has done to you, even if she doesn’t show it.”

“I have no idea how I should feel about all of this,” I said, fidgeting anxiously. “I mean... this is difficult to put into words. I’m going to miss you, even though... well, the things that happened and... stuff. From what I’ve seen, you would have made a great mother to... us? Her? Had the Devourer not been, we could have been family...”

“Do not linger on possibilities, my dear little Sun,” she smiled, booping me on the muzzle as I gave her a look. Usually, that term of endearment was reserved for my daughter. “Now, then... the world still needs you. Your sister is waiting for you, Summer. I hope you might find a solution to the Devourer even without us there to guide you.”

“But..." I began, suddenly feeling very nervous and reluctant to part ways with her. "How am I going to return? I used all of my remaining life force to try and kill that monster,” I asked, uncertain.

Instead of telling me outright, Hope smiled mischievously. “You used up all of your life force, that much is true. But there is something else that you have, don’t you? After all... your soul is still here,” she pointed out, giving me a hint. Then she smirked, opening her wings wide. “The denizens of the Shadowlands are... peculiar beings. They use the energy of deceased souls to bring about life, in a way." I let out a 'Huh' and she continued. "I told you that the Machinery of Death was far more complex than you could ever imagine, didn't I? This might leave you weakened for a while, but I’m sure you will recover. Goodbye... my daughter.”

Before I could say anything to her, she left me sitting in the throne room of my castle. A pony seemingly made of stars awaited her with a knowing look, her limb outstretched in an invitation. Hope took it and they disappeared, the doors closing on their own.

Okay. Yeah, alright, I... I think I might have figured out how to return to the living world. Only one problem left: I currently lacked a body to return to.

Ah, I'll figure it out as I go. I better go now before that mystery pony returns for me. I channeled a bit of magic into my ethereal body, and then, my world turned white once more.

---

The scene that greeted my eyes was simply breathtaking to behold. It was also a very, very terrifying sight, as well. Sunset, Twilight, and their friends were floating in the air, magic blazing in their eyes and transparent wings flickering in and out of reality as their newfound power struggled to manifest itself as they surrounded the fiend with a raging rainbow of a tornado. Their power bound the monster with ethereal chains, and beneath it, Celestia’s still form rested on the torn ground.

I looked down at myself and noticed that I wasn’t yet truly... alive, being nothing more than a specter at the moment. As suspected, I mused to myself while my sun tried to reach out to me. Alas, the Red Sun wasn’t entirely successful with her attempts.

“...Summer?”

I turned around as I heard that haunted whisper and saw Lulu, looking utterly, emotionally broken. Her eyes seemed almost... dead. That little spark of life in her got stronger as I gave her an apologetic smile for having caused her so much grief and heartache. I felt miserable for having done this to her. I shouldn’t have done this, sacrificing myself in my own grief. I knew that perfectly well, but... it bought them enough time to reawaken the Elements.

“I’m sorry, sister,” I said, my voice coming out in a strange, ghostly quality. Echo-y, I suppose, would be the best description. “I truly am.”

“What is going on? How... how did you...” Luna stuttered, reaching out a hoof towards me, only for her to phase through me as she tried to touch me. “Are you... are you truly dead?”

I shook my head. “No...” I told her. I smiled gently, trying to reassure her as best as I could. I wasn’t entirely certain how I could ‘return’ to life, just yet, seeing that I wasn't able to affect the physical realm like this.

But... maybe...

The soul is the linking piece, isn’t it? And, if I just... hmm. Maybe I could return, after all. I just need to reach out to my sun and make a connection with her again. A proper connection, not this blind searching for me. If I do it right, I could regain my body from the ashes with the help of my sun. Just like a phoenix.

That's easier said than done, though. My connection to the Red Sun was spotty at best and it didn’t help that she was currently on the other side of the planet. I don’t think we could wait until sunrise for me to try this, so... we have to get a little bit creative here. Preferably now rather than later, the Devourer was still trying to break free of its chains.

I frowned as I gazed upon the abomination hanging in the middle of the throne room like a sorry sack of meat. A disgusting, disfigured, repulsive sack of meat. I doubt anything alive on this planet would willingly sink its fangs into that atrocity of a monster.

This... disease... was at fault for the death of billions. Nay, billions upon billions. It has to die. Today. So many innocent souls could finally rest easy with it gone. They deserved to be avenged.

Solar Eclipse deserved to be avenged. We deserved to be avenged for everything it had done to us. To Tia. To Luna and me. To our unfortunate, original self.

It is high time we purged it from existence once and for all.

“Luna,” I began, giving her a sideways glance as I frowned up at the Devourer’s twitching madness in each of its thousand, gaping eyes. “I need you to raise the suns.”

“But...” she hesitated, following my gaze. “What would that accomplish? Even with the boost in power, I can’t kill that thing on my own.”

“You won’t have to kill it alone,” I said. “I’ll be here to help, won’t I?”

“Summer, you are dead,” Luna deadpanned. “You don’t have a body to... well, do anything, really. How do you propose we change that, huh?”

I smiled mysteriously. “Trust me,” I told her, watching her fidget for a moment in uncertainty. I hummed. “I have faith in you, Lulu. Have Cadance create a shield around her and her sisters, okay? This will get... hot.”

Luna grimaced at my atrocious attempt to be funny. “Now is not the time for puns,” she reprimanded me and I shrugged. It hadn’t been the time to die, either, but I did, anyway. At least I had a (somewhat vague) plan to change that. “Whatever it is you’re going to do, I hope it works.”

“I hope so, too,” I replied, starting to feel nervous. I have never come back to life like this, I wasn’t certain it would work. Theoretically, it should. Remaking my body would definitely leave me weakened for quite a while, possibly for several centuries, but... during the process of reviving, I could probably use the boost of energy from the eclipse to temporarily enter a state of empowerment that might just be enough to weaken the Devourer for Luna and Liz to slay it for good.

Cadance was quick to help out with our plan, creating a barrier between us and the Devourer of Life and Death while dragging Tia out of the rubble underneath that abomination.

Luna frowned, her muzzle set in a stony mask of concentration. “Ready when you are, Sunny,” she said while powering up her horn to force the suns back into the sky where they currently didn’t belong. I’m sure we would cause quite a stir among our little ponies with that, but this was sadly a necessity. I gave her a nod, but before she could act, the fiend tried to lash out with a sizzling tentacle to stop her from doing anything.

“Ul basha krix!” it snarled back at us in a pathetic and petulant way. I snorted, glaring balefully at it. “En'othk uulg'shuul. Mh'za uulwi skshgn kar.”

“You are not superior,” I spat, watching with satisfaction as Liz beat the tentacle back with a ferocity I wouldn’t want to be at the wrong end of. “Nor do you know anything about death. No, you just consume everything in your greed. Let the Eclipse of the Royal Sisters be the witness to your end, parasite.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXFSK0ogeg4&ab_channel=Beatriz

The red and yellow suns joined the moon in the sky for a monumental occasion that had not been seen since the fall of Discord. Luna’s mane was billowing around in a storm as power flooded her being to the very core, the very castle was starting to shake as her body couldn’t contain all of it. With eyes shining brightly, her weapon blazed with energy, and with each cut she made, the wounds of the monster before us finally refused to heal.

Hmph. Nothing was truly immortal, even an eldritch horror could be slain. At the rate Luna was going, though... it would take far too long. She couldn’t do it all on her own. But she didn’t need to.

I smiled, feeling the connection to my sun reestablish itself fully, and with a little push of magic, the air around me ignited into an inferno.

I know of one thing that could and would annihilate that thing utterly. I have to go Supernova, even if that means taking the risk of being unable to return to my senses. To put an end to this monster, I have to become one myself. I needed the extra power I could bring to bear if I wanted to slay that fiend. And to do that, I couldn't hold back.

It's time to break the shackles.

The ground underneath me began to glow hotly as my impending return to life heated it up to the point of melting. I kept feeding that flame within me more fuel, and before I knew it, it was the only thing on my mind. To fan that flame into a maelstrom of destruction. To let the fire burn everything to ash until even that was melted away into nothingness. I was nothing more than an instinct-driven monster hell-bent on unleashing the apocalypse.

A goopy hoof reached out of the quickly growing pool of lava, hardening as I dragged myself out of my ‘ashes’ like a very angry, powerful, and quite annoyed phoenix that was probably way too close to going utterly, batshit insane.

“Hul bala miz rilakich...” the Devourer muttered, struggling fearfully against its restraints as I opened my eyes for the first time with my ‘new’ body. The panicking sounds were music to my goopy heart. As was the terror in each of its mad eyes reflected once it realized that its end was very much inevitable now. I licked my fangs hungrily, salivating at the thought of getting a taste of its wretched soul.

I shuddered with excitement as I found its essence nestled deep within it with my eyes, almost like a heat signature. I launched myself at it with a single flap of my obsidian wings. At long last... those pesky morals of mine won’t hold me back anymore from doing this. It was time to feast.

"Burn..." I growled. It was the only word I was capable of understanding and I was so incredibly hungry for this delectable blob of fleshy mystery meat. Nothing would stop me from reaching its rotten core. Not even this abhorrent coldness I felt around me. There was only one way to rectify that, and that was to heat my surroundings up to a few million degrees in order to feel comfortable again.

Ah, my dear fleshy blob of sizzling, charred black comfort food, you love this as much as I do, don’t you? You love it when something destroys your soul, don’t you? Mhh... I suppose you won’t love it as much as I do, though. 'Tis such a pity...

“Shgla'yos plahf mh'naus...” my crispy food plaything whimpered, trying to shake me off. I cackled even more, finding it delightful that it would try to dissuade me from doing this. My playmate was being difficult with me, how rude. It should share with me, right? It smelled of defiled souls and I was meant to cleanse this taint. It wouldn't do for it to get uppity with me now, it wasn't allowed to keep them all to itself, after all. It was only fair to give it its just punishment for trying to deny me my prize. Its core was almost exposed, just a little bit longer. Nothing would deter me. Not even its mad gibberish that made sense all of a sudden.

Who was it to tell me that I would start craving the taste of souls from now on? I was made to purge this world of all darkness, starting with this sorry excuse for a meal. And then... then I would see to making this place adequately warm.

"Burn..."

A pointy thingy severed the beast in half and a small, insignificant part of my mind recognized it as a stabby-stab tool called a 'sword'. It even provoked a sense of familiarity in me, but I ignored it in favor of biting down on my sizzling meat food plaything, savoring its taste. With each bite, I tore its wretched existence into pieces.

At long last, I had my revenge and it tasted... kinda disappointing, really. I huffed, dissatisfied. I would have expected a rush of... something, to be honest. Joy? Pleasure? Delight? I wasn’t sure.

Haah. You truly are a disappointment, crispy black, burning flesh food thing. What should I do with this disappointment now? You were supposed to make me feel better, you stupid pile of comfort food! Now I had nothing to ignore this detestable cold with anymore. You fucking piece of coal excrement.

Hmph. All I felt was frustration and disappointment. This moment... I wish it could have been better, greater, grander, more glorious, but... it felt like something was missing. Now that the deed was practically over and done with, I remembered one crucial detail: I didn’t get the satisfaction of reducing the former meat sack's host to a lifeless husk. I'm sure that's what was missing from this right now. All those years, I had been waiting to defeat that cockroach, only to find out that I missed that opportunity. That this thing had beaten me to it, used her like a sad, disposable toy... it irked me.

“Za uul og nuq i fssh zz oou iiyoq ez oou gul'kafh anagg. Y'za noq mah... Y'za noq ormz...” it gurgled pathetically. “Uulwi ifis halahs gag erh'ongg w'ssh.”

Pah! It hardly mattered anymore. What do I care that the pathetic meat blob flesh thing's host was gone? There's more of where that came from, I'm sure. I erased its existence once and for all, I could do so with anything else I desired. There was enough food to fuel the fire burning inside of me for hundreds of years to come.

Yes. In the end, everything would... "Burn."

The parting words did feel ominous, though. I don’t know what it actually meant with ‘its death being inconsequential’. Perhaps it realized what a sad, sorry excuse of a food meat flesh plaything it was. But despite that, dread started to rear its ugly head within me as I heard it say that it wasn’t the first to rise and that it wouldn’t be the last. I would have to continue my hunt, then. Until all the food playthings were purged from this world and any others I might come across. And yet, I felt a heavy reluctance to do so, for some reason.

Why was I feeling such strange things? I was a predator, nothing more, nothing less. It should be all I desire, and yet... there was something holding me back. The broken shackles around me felt cold and I didn't like that one bit. Everything has to burn. Only when it was warm enough could I melt through them. They have to go so that I can be free.

"Ngh..." I moaned, shaking my head. Something deep within me protested against my instincts to burn and told me there were more important things to focus on. Like meat flesh bag's last message that it would ‘blight’ this land for the rest of eternity. It reminded me of a different place that was even colder than this one. Panda something or another. Remnant? I... why does it feel so important?

<Hunters>, my mind provided and I tilted my head to the side. Like predators? Or... no. Hunters as in hunters and huntresses fighting monsters. It felt familiar, like the pointy thing from before. The sword that looked blue and silver belonged to somepony important? I...

<Luna>, my mind whispered, desperate. Who was that now? I snorted. I don't need any lesser predators calling themselves hunters and huntresses. I don't need a 'Luna', I only need to... "Burn."

A sharp pain pierced my mind and I recoiled as something deep within me protested against that thought. <Liz>, it cried out. <Luna>, it begged. And all I felt was a deep discomfort. Everything was so cold, maybe it would help if I were to...

<No!> I gasped, blinking deliriously. What is going on with me? I am Supernova, not... <Summer!> my mind protested. Feelings overwhelmed me for a moment and I staggered back, stunned. Absentmindedly, I noticed that there were other ponies around me, watching me in concern. <Friends!>

Friends? Not prey. But... the meat flash plaything said more of its kind would defile... my friends? Such a strange word. Or concept? It's a concept, isn't it? Something you have that is... <Important!>

Right. Important. But... if similar meat flesh abominations were to defile them... wouldn't it be better to burn this world to ash? I wouldn’t have to worry about friend things then, would I? Meat flesh bag things can't desecrate my friend playthings if there are friends to defile in the first place...

<No!> my mind rebuffed me and I cried out. My mind hurt. Everything hurt. These pony friend playthings said things but I was too distracted to hear them properly. My vision shifted around me and I screwed my eyes shut, huffing in ragged pants. I was... I was... <Summer>...

I fought against the urge to burn everything and I felt myself think clearly again for a moment. It was a difficult and troublesome fight, but I recognized my wife as she cautiously came closer to me. She looked concerned.

<Burn...>

N-no! I shook my head, trying to dislodge that thought from the forefront of my mind. I can’t do that. I don’t want that! But the thought kept coming back. <Burn>, my treacherous mind whispered. <Burn everything!>

It sounded absolutely divine, bringing about the end of the world. I could finally live as I am supposed to, be the destroyer that my heart longed for. I could finish the cycle and... ngh! No! No, damnit. I am not this... this monster.

“Summer?” Luna asked, hesitantly touching my shoulder. The coldness of her aura hurt so damn much. What was meant as a comforting gesture only took away my blissful warmth. I wanted it to... <Go away!> This world... it needs to burn. Everything... needs... to burn...

Ngh! No! I... “Luna...” I said, struggling against the agonizing desire to annihilate everything around me so that it wouldn’t be so damn cold anymore. This coldness... it was driving me insane. Please, I... <I don’t want to feel so cold.> I don’t want... anything... to feel cold... ever again. “I... L-Luna, I want y-you... t-to... burn with me. Feel the warmth... embrace... you...”

Luna stepped back from me, watching me in horror as I snorted out flames from my nostrils like a mad animal. “Sunny, this isn’t funny,” she said as I felt nothing but the primal need to incinerate everything in my sight. Starting with not-friends. “Come on, snap out of it! I know you can do it, my Sun. You don’t have to do this! I know you don’t truly want to do any of this. Summer, my beloved Sun... come back to me. Allow me to soothe your pain, dear. Don’t let it control you.”

“I...” I snorted, throwing my head from side to side, only to feel the need to scorch everything overwhelm me once more. My... <Daughters!>... they were noticing that something wasn’t quite right with me, I wish they didn’t have to see me like this. To see the monster in me try to wreak havoc on this world.

“Summer... please...”

I growled, snorting wildly as these primal urges were just far too powerful. It was all I could do, holding on against these wrathful emotions. It was by far the most dire thing I had to endure. I was desperately clutching at my remaining sanity to not give in. But it was a losing battle at this point, wasn’t it? Maybe... maybe it was easier to just... <Give in.> It would be so... easy... wouldn’t it? To let go of my restraints, my ‘pesky’ morals...

It’s just one little apocalypse, everything I could ever want, right?

<Continue the cycle,> my rage whispered oh-so-sweetly. <Let it begin from anew...> And it sounded oh-so-wonderful right now. “I... am... ngh! I... I am Supernova! I am the Wrath of the Red Sun, and I will... urgh... I-I... Argh! I-I w-will..."—I reared up before stomping my rapidly cooling obsidian hooves back down on the ground—" No! I will not let this rage control me! I will not. Harm. This. World!”

The last look Hope had given me flashed before my eyes. It was... filled with so much love, with understanding... and hope. I can’t ruin everything she sought to protect. That I sought to protect. With my beloved Moon.

If I bring destruction to this world, it will be on my terms!

I won’t destroy what I love because I got weak! I will not usher in the apocalypse as long as there are ponies depending on me! I will not end this world! Even if I have to live for millions of years, I will not bring about the destruction of this world until I am absolutely certain that I won’t harm any innocent living being by doing so! Only when this world is an empty husk and this solar system devoid of all life shall I let the Summer Sun consume everything in her path, but until that day... I am a Princess of Equestria and the Archon of the Red Sun. I shall not fail my duty to my little ponies!

The halo above my head shimmered back into existence, shining brighter and more radiant than it did before. The broken pieces of it mended themselves together while the smoke of my mane stopped emerging from the molten cracks on my head and neck. Sunlight replaced the smoke, glowing serenely in a golden-red color. Lastly, my obsidian body cooled down enough to solidify entirely. Slowly, the cracks disappeared while the color changed from black to pearly white as the shackles around my legs turned into golden bracers.

It is time to let go of my hatred once and for all. The cycle has been broken and I will not allow it to taint my body any longer. I am not Supernova, Annihilator of Equis. I will not continue what the Devourer started. And I shall certainly not. Hurt. My. Wife.

I am the Serene Sunlight that shines through even the darkest storm.

“Summer?” Luna asked, giving me a hopeful look. “Are you... okay?”

“I am, thanks to you,” I smiled, my voice ‘twinkling’, for lack of a better word. I could feel my boost in power dwindling rapidly. I don’t think I can stay like this for much longer. Before I return to normal, though, I should probably return the suns to their proper position while I still have the power to do so. “There is much I have to tell you, sister. But first... let us deal with... all of this before worrying about anything else, okay?”

My sister relaxed immediately at my reassurance. “I’m glad you are back, Sunny,” she whispered. Luna hugged me fiercely as tears of joy came to her eyes. “I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

“I hope one day you might forgive me for scaring you so, sister,” I whispered, barely audible as I simply enjoyed the embrace for all that it was worth. I hummed, reaching out to the misplaced suns in the sky before guiding them back over the horizon.

As soon as they were gone, though, so was my new crystalline body. Not a moment after that, I had a very distraught daughter in my arms as she tried her best to squeeze the living daylights out of me. I smiled ruefully down at her while a piercing stab of shame and agony went through my heart at the sight of her distress. “It’s okay, Cadance. I’m here... I’m here...”

My daughter hit me with a dirty golden shoe over the chest. “Never do that again, you jerk,” she blubbered out, pawing weakly at me. “You fucking promised me, you... you fluffy bunny.”

“I’m sorry, Rose Petal,” I sighed, taking the hits without complaint. I deserved each and every one of them (and then some). “I’m not infallible, dear. I got weak and I..."—I stopped myself before I could come up with an excuse for my stupid actions—" there are no apologies that could make this better. All I can do is tell you that I’m sorry and that I won’t do it again.”

“You better,” she weakly threatened me, sniffling as her strikes slowly petered out. “You’re supposed to become a granny, you fucking flying penguin.”

My heart skipped a beat as I gave her a surprised gaze. I was at a loss for words. There’s no way that she is...

“Don’t tell Ruby, yet,” Cadance whispered, snuggling herself against me as I enveloped her in my (quite twitchy) wings while I tried to calm my erratically beating heart down from that shock. “I suppose now is a good time to marry, huh?”

“Of course,” I smiled, placing a soft kiss on the top of her head. I gave Lulu a look as she and Liz were quietly talking to each other, nervous and ecstatic to share the news with my wives. I was this close to squeeing—nay, shouting—out to the world that I was going to become a grandmother. This was... a strangely surrealistic feeling. “You know that you are technically breaking the law, right?”

“Eh, we aren’t actually related by blood,” Cadance shrugged, making me snort. “Besides, she didn’t reincarnate like me, our DNA isn’t truly the same.”

“Dear, you are the same ponies,” I pointed out, booping her muzzle as she pouted back at me. Silly pony. “That’s close enough to incest that I’m obligated to punish you for that.”

“Don’t start being a hypocrite now, Mom,” Cadance grumbled, poking me petulantly with a hoof. “Besides, I’m the Alicorn of Love, this is my own field we are talking about here. I have all the authority to overrule you and make an exception for me.”

“That’s not how it works,” I told her, beginning to glare at her. “We aren’t above the law, Cadance. As a princess, you are supposed to uphold order, you can’t just...”

“Mom, shut up and just be happy, okay? Let me be selfish for once in my damn life,” Cadance grunted, using her magic to tug at my ear harshly. I let out a surprised yelp, trying to not let out a moan as she marehandled me at the one spot I was the weakest at. “Seriously, get that stick out of your plot for once. You are no better than me in that regard, and on top of that, I know how I can make sure my foal stays safe. We’ve had twenty years of medical and magical research into this area, it’s not the end of the world. Stop pretending it actually is, Mom.”

“Alright,” I sighed, rubbing her back apologetically. “I don’t want you to make any hasty decisions, dear. You will have to answer to the council about what you have done, though, and I hope that they will believe you about Ruby not being related to you in any way. I’d rather not have to come up with a sufficient punishment for both of you if they decide your ‘argument’ isn’t enough. I can’t save you from everything, as much as I want to.”

“And I don’t need you to save me from everything,” she told me, giving me a smile. “It’s okay, I can take care of myself. You know I can, Mom.”

“I do,” I nodded hesitantly, noticing that Twilight, Sunset, and her friends were slowly awakening from their magic-exhaustion-induced slumber. “I do, Cadance. You are going to quickly notice, though, that this is something that is said far easier than you are willing to act upon it with your own foal, petal. And, for your sake... I hope you won’t have to see your child grow old and die.”

A horrified look entered my daughter’s eyes as I told her that. She only now realized the true weight of what it meant to be immortal for all intents and purposes. I had told her so many times over, but until now, she had always rolled her eyes at me. She never took my words seriously because she found her eternal partner so early on in her new life. Not once did she think that my words could mean more than finding a life-long partner.

She was surrounded by immortals. It was easily forgotten that it wasn’t actually the norm. Even her sisters will become alicorns in time once their powers stabilize themselves in them and their friends. She completely forgot that her own foal was more than likely going to be a mortal. I pray she might find a way to change that. I was already running out of ideas on how to ‘force’ an ascension and I don’t think it would be a good idea to sacrifice the Crystal Heart for that purpose.

Perhaps she might get lucky and be blessed with an alicorn foal, as unlikely as that possibility was. It would solve so many problems, wouldn’t it?

My eyes wandered over to all of the assembled ponies as they got their bearings together, glad to have survived this day against all odds. Of course, most of Sunset’s and Twilight’s friends were admiring their new jewelry and the glowing, ghostly wings that refused to fade away entirely (or the horns, for that matter).

Not one of them noticed the pink-haired mare wake up, looking at her hooves in confusion, and eventually, realization. Luna and Liz motioned for me to go to her, most likely wanting Tia to see her twin first.

I was... nervous. This was one of those moments where you have no idea how to act, where you have a thousand words floating through your head but your mouth couldn’t utter a single one of them. I wanted to hug her so fiercely, but I was afraid that she was going to be overwhelmed. I wanted to apologize to her so damn much, but I had no idea how to convey to her how deeply I had failed her and how I could never truly earn her forgiveness for that.

In the end, I settled for a smile as she turned her head to search for the ones that had saved her. “Hey...”

“...Summer?” Tia whispered, looking so very frail. It hurt my heart to see her so weak and insecure and confused. The various conversations around us slowly died down as they noticed the ‘new’ addition to the group of ponies in the thoroughly destroyed throne room. “Is that... truly you? I'm not dreaming this, am I?”

“Yes, Tia,” I said, slowly reaching out a hoof to cup her cheek softly. Tears were streaming down from her eyes, and absentmindedly, I noticed I was tearing up, as well. “I missed you so much, my beloved. I tried to find ways to free you from your imprisonment, but... I’m sorry I failed you so much, Tia.”

“Summer, you...” Tia began, but the rest of her words were broken by sobs to the degree that they were entirely unintelligible. She threw herself at me with sorrowful mumbles, sobbing into my coat heavily. “...I-I-I’m s-s-so s-sorry, Summy! I... I...” She hiccuped and started bawling her eyes out. She looked so vulnerable right now. Almost like a foal...

“Tia, hey...” I hushed her gently, stroking her mane as I noticed just how small she was, in comparison to Luna and me. “Whatever are you apologizing for?”

“I hurt you so much!” Celestia cried into my fur, desperately clutching at me as if she was afraid I would let her go. Oh, sister... “I abandoned you when I... when I..."—she sobbed in anguish—" Please, forgive me! I-I’m so s-sorry!”

"Hey..."—I soothed her—“ it’s okay,” I told her, giving her a simple kiss filled with love. “You don’t have to ask for my forgiveness. I don’t blame you for anything, Tia. Luna and I... we are the ones that need to earn yours for... for failing to save you from Platinum.”

Tia stayed silent, crying until no more tears came. Although as Luna came into her view, there was a renewed rush of tears that seemingly hadn’t been spent already.

My beautiful Moon hugged Celestia so that my twin was right in between us. “Summer is right, Tia,” she whispered gently. “You have nothing to ask forgiveness for. We should have tried harder, searched for you with more zeal... and we failed you. You only acted on fear, there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Tia nodded slightly, reluctantly accepting our words with a sigh. “So... you brought all of these ponies here for me, huh?”

“Not for you, sister,” Luna snorted. “If you haven’t noticed, on the ground there lies the corpse of an eldritch horror. Platinum... I don’t know how much of the fight you witnessed, but... that wasn’t Platinum that returned with you from the moon.”

“And the bug lady?” Celestia asked, giving Liz a look as she stood awkwardly off to the side, waiting for us to call her over to meet our sister. My pervert of a twin had that kind of look in her eyes. “Say... is she taken, yet? She looks kinda hot.”

I sighed, rolling my eyes. For some reason, I didn't expect that reaction at all. I had at least hoped for any pervy comments to be voiced after we were back in Canterlot, not as soon as she laid eyes upon Liz. “No, Liz isn’t... well, in a way she is, but in the sense that she already belongs to us.”

Celestia gave me a look, smirking slightly. “So... when did that happen?” she asked. “Because I can’t for the life of me believe that you got over your phobia of insects that recently.”

“I, uh...” I blushed, nudging Luna helplessly. My sister rolled her eyes at me as I (once again) chickened out of explaining the rather awkward happenstance behind adding Liz to our herd.

“Five years or so after your involuntary vacation to the moon began,” Luna answered. Then, she motioned for Chrysalis to come over with a wave of her hoof. “Tia, this is our wife, Chrysalis. Cuddlebug, meet Celestia, pervert extraordinaire.”

Liz smirked in mischief. “Pervert extraordinaire, huh?” she remarked, giving Tia an appraising look. “Girl, we’re going to have a lot of fun together. You’re going to love seeing those two in a maid outfit for a year straight.”

“Oh, fuck yes,” Tia bit her lip, blushing brightly. “How come they... I’m already in love with you, Chryssie. I have no idea how you managed to blackmail them into that but thank the suns you did." Then, she wilted, whispering to herself, "Too bad I can’t molest them openly...”

Of course, Liz being the pervy succubus that she is, heard every word. “Funny that you say that,” she grinned mischievously and my muzzle turned ashen. “What would you say if I were to tell you...”

“Liz, I swear, one more word,” I threatened, glaring hotly at her as she was about to open a can of worms that I’d rather not have infesting the mind of my sister with raunchy and degenerate thoughts. “I’mma stuff you into that volcano...”

“Oh, relax, Sunflower,” Liz said, rolling her eyes theatrically. “I was just gonna ask her if she wanted to fuck you up your tight cunt on the throne while everypony watches and listens to your whorish moans.”

“Scratch the volcano,” I seethed, lunging at her as she ran around cackling her flanks off. “I’mma send you to the sun! Stay still so that I can mutilate you enough so that you won’t put up a fight later!”

“Ah ha ha ha! You are so easy to tease! Oh, the look on your face!” Liz snickered even as I caught her, causing us to roll around on the floor, getting us thoroughly dirty in the process. “Come on, Sunflower! You know you want it, too~.”

“I’ll kill you. This time for sure,” I growled only for my idiotic wife to interrupt me by pressing her lips to mine lustily. The sizzling rage within me calmed down considerably as I was unable to stay mad at my stupid succubus bug pony. “Fuck... you...”

“Oh, yes please,” Liz murmured against me with a smile. “Right here~?”

I huffed. “No, Liz,” I glared weakly at her. “You are insufferable...”

“Aww, you love me,” she giggled back. “Your tail certainly approves, dear. Come on, turn around a little bit so your sister can see how horny you are for me.”

“I’m in doubt whether I truly love you anymore,” I pouted, desperately trying to force my tail down after she riled me up so friggin’ much. Flipping flying penguins, she really knows how to push all of my buttons and I hated her for it. Me, too, for that matter. I can’t believe she was making me this horny. I was, quite frankly, disgusted at myself for allowing her to get me to this point while others could see my... well, 'arousal', I suppose. More like flashing everypony, my traitorous mind pointed out.

“You know I can see that excited twitch in your wings every time I propose taking you right in front of our subjects, right?” Liz grinned and I shook my head in denial, trying to come up with some plausible explanation that could... Oh, who am I kidding? It did make me excited for some reason. “I know you enjoyed that little romp in the closet with Luna in Hogwarts, even though you tried to be mad at me and Cadance for ‘making’ you do it.”

“It was embarrassing!” I muttered, poking her angrily. “You have no idea how... how...”

“Exciting it was?” Liz proposed and I glared at her for trying to put words into my mouth. Even though they were pretty much true...

“Liz, for the love of every flying penguin out there, stop trying to make me into an exhibitionist,” I scowled, trying to tell her in no uncertain terms that I was most certainly not amused by her constant shenanigans. “You can do whatever you want with..."—I stopped myself before I could finish that sentence—" okay, no. Don’t do whatever you want with Celestia. I just know you will cause some obscene scandal by..."—I struggled for words, frustrated—" by being yourself, damnit!”

“Aww, so I can’t fuck her up the cunt on your throne, either?” she asked and I groaned, feeling like I was talking against a brick wall with her. Why do I even try? “You really are a prude, sometimes.”

“No, I am not,” I said. “You are just a degenerate succubus bug pony hybrid that doesn’t know when she is going too far.”

“So... are you still going to send me to the sun?” Liz asked, standing up from me before helping me back on my hooves, as well. “Because you’re going to wear those outfits no matter what.”

“I hate you,” I sighed, resigning myself to being the laughingstock of the whole world for the next year. I should have proposed for Cadance to give us that punishment instead of my damn sexy succubus of a wife.

Although... a little part in the back of my mind muttered very unhelpful words that it would be kinda sexy to do it on my throne with my wives. I really don’t want to entertain this thought, though. I really don’t, but... damnit. It made my marehood ache with need and the image simply refused to get out of my head. Knowing my luck, I will be horny all the way back to Canterlot and it will drive me mad with lust by that point.

Haah. Just how I thought this day would go... not. Yay for me, right?

Now, if Celestia wouldn’t also encourage Liz to make Luna and me into their degenerate playthings, everything would be perfect. I knew those two were a very bad match-up from the beginning. To be honest, though? I’m just glad to have my twin back. I don’t really care that they would get up to the most degenerate shenanigans one could imagine, I would rather deal with that instead of having lost her for good.

Thankfully, Luna was able to explain to Tia that Cadance was our daughter before she was about to get any ideas, so that's at least something I don’t have to worry about anymore.

Of course, all of that was quickly ruined by Tia finding out that incest was more or less ‘legal’ now and that she didn’t have to hide her feelings for us from anypony anymore. Even worse was the fact that she learned about how this change came to be, finding out that Luna and I had become parents during her absence.

It’s going to be a very long time until she stops teasing me about that, won’t it? As my daughter would say: Fluffy. Bunnies.

While all of that was more or less ‘good’, I was a little bit worried about how Tia was behaving. She was a lot more reserved, almost shy even about meeting our extended family. I could understand that everypony here was a stranger to her, but... it felt like she was purposefully keeping herself close to Luna or me (or Liz, but only because they have a common bond in their pervertedness, whispering hushedly to each other about all the things they could get up to). Whether that was because of a sense of fear that she wouldn’t get accepted by them anymore due to her involuntary possession or something else entirely... I couldn't say.

The most worrying thing, though, was the sheer pain in her eyes as we treated her like she has never done anything wrong, blaming Platinum for everything instead of her. I hope she might forgive herself for having run off from us because I couldn’t stand seeing her be so... depressed about it. She shouldn’t blame herself so much, it was almost like she thought that she was solely at fault for everything Platinum has done while in her body.

I... I had naively thought everything would go back to how it was before she was banished, that she wouldn’t blame herself like that because she wasn’t at fault for anything at all, but... apparently, I thought wrong. Tia was... she was deeply damaged by what happened to her. Even more so than what her human father had done to her, she was changed on a fundamental level by her experience with Platinum.

It was understandable, I mused in sorrow. Going through something like that... it changes ponies in ways that I could never truly understand. Not without having gone through something similar myself. All I could do to help her heal those wounds was to be there for her and let her sort through those feelings while being as supportive as I could be. I doubt she would actually accept the help from a professional psychologist, as much as I hoped she would. Maybe Liz might help, she was great with those types of things even though she pretended that that wasn’t the case most of the time.

I mean, her thing literally is empathy, who else could be better suited to help my twin than her? They were already forming a bond of friendship far faster than I would have expected. Liz could help Tia in ways I could not simply because she wasn’t related to her. She might get Tia talking about things that my sister wouldn’t want to talk about with me, as much as it pains me to admit that to myself.

Tia always has had difficulties dealing with her personal feelings. She usually completely avoids talking about them with Luna or me until one of us confronts her about it. And this time... I fear her escape into pervertedness will not help her deal with the trauma of having been used by Platinum in such a horrible way.

Ponies usually don't feel safe after somepony broke into their home, even if rationally they know that it is unlikely to happen again (if they aren’t stupid and leave the door wide open for burglars and so on in the first place, that is). I can’t imagine how it must feel for Tia to feel like her own body wasn’t safe anymore, to fear that it might happen again if she wasn’t careful enough. Platinum was no more, but... a constant specter of her would remain and haunt her for quite some time. I dearly hope she won’t shut us out, refusing to accept our help.

I’m ashamed to say that I felt like it was better for her to not know what happened to our little Star. It would devastate her to learn that Twilight... that her little Star saw nothing more than a stranger in her, an aunt at best. I’m sure Twilight would try, but she was twenty now and never had any interaction with Tia in any way. It would take a lot for her to start seeing Celestia as her mother as well.

Knowing Twilight, though? She was a very awkward mare in regard to social interactions, despite having grown a lot in that area with her group of friends. But that’s the thing... she had a lot of time to get used to her quite unique group of friends. In comparison to that, she only had heard a few stories of Celestia here and there. My little Star would have to spend a lot of time around Celestia for her to get comfortable around her and I fear it is only going to stay as being friends between the two of them.

Sunset might just be the one that is going to form a stronger bond of friendship with my twin sister than Twilight. But... that will be a challenge in itself, won’t it? Sunset was very headstrong when she wanted to be and that’s one thing that won’t go over well with Celestia. My twin is perhaps even more headstrong than my little Sun and it might just cause more fights between them than I’d like to admit. Their personalities might clash a little bit too much.

Alas, that's for Future-Summer to figure out. Right now, I'd rather make sure everypony gets home. Tia needs her rest, unused to being in control of her body for the first time in a thousand years and I imagine everypony else had a pretty eventful day, too. There was only one problem: not everypony felt like coming back to Canterlot.

As we left the castle and came closer to the quaint little town of Ponyville, my daughters asked me one thing I knew would happen at one point, but... I had hoped that it might not come at all, or at least after Cadance decided to do so first.

“You want to stay in Ponyville?” I asked, feeling a little bit worried. I’ve never truly prepared myself for this moment, have I? I always delayed thinking about it so that I wouldn’t have to come to terms with this very possibility. But ever since that day their future versions traveled back in time, I knew it would coincide with my twin's return. “What about helping Yu’la with Spike? Or... or your training, Sunset? Or... uh... or your studying, Twilight? You don’t, uh... you...”

“Hey, it’s okay, Mom,” Sunset whispered gently, trying to calm me down as I searched for any and all arguments that might change their minds. I don’t want to let them go. “It’s not like we are going to live in another country, right? Besides, we can call each other over our scrolls whenever we want. I’m at a point where I don’t need a lot of guidance anymore and... I kinda wanna live with Fluttershy. Yu’la told me that she thinks that this is the ideal location to raise her whelpling and Fluttershy gets along really well with her, so I thought that maybe now would be a good time to... uh... move out. You know how much I hate Canterlot’s stuffiness, Mom.”

I stopped walking for a moment as I looked down dejectedly. “Oh...” I hummed. “I guess... that’s okay. I..." I sighed and bit my lip. Trying to force them to stay wouldn't do anypony any good, right? Alright, then. "Promise that you will write and call us regularly?”

Twilight nodded next to her sister. “We promise,” she told me with a smile. “I want to figure out how the Elements of Harmony work. I have this strange feeling that I will only find out if I stay here with our friends. And... I promise we will come by to visit on a regular basis, too. We’ve got an aunt to get to know, after all!”

“Right...” I muttered. That's not exactly how I wanted it to happen, but maybe this would be for the best. Lest I overload Tia with too much family all at once. Small steps, I told myself. They will get to know each other at their own pace, I'd rather not force them to treat her as somepony they don't view her as. That changed nothing of how I felt, though. I was sad to see them spread their wings and leave the nest (now far more literally than before).

This day should have been happier. By all means, the future should have looked so much brighter from this day onward. In the end, all it did feel like was depressing. Tia was finally home, but until she actually feels at home, this won’t be the reunion I had hoped it would be.

It’s going to take time, isn’t it? It always does. I’m happy that I have her back, and in time, Tia will learn to live with herself free of guilt and fear. I’m going to make sure she feels loved and welcomed in this day and age (even if I have to do so in a friggin’ maid outfit).

And I’m going to get used to Sunset and Twilight not living in the castle with us anymore. Or Yu’la and little Spike, for that matter. I have to admit, Ponyville is by far a better environment to raise a whelpling in than the capital. I’m going to miss them, though.

Truly... the stars shined oh-so-brightly this day...

I have to admit, though... things were starting to look brighter from this point onwards. Tia was back and that was all that mattered to me, the Storm King be damned. I won’t let anything get in between our happiness again.

I’m Summer Sol of Equestria and this... this is not the end of my story. It’s only the beginning.

Chapter 028 - Epilogue

I watched Celestia hesitantly leave the chariot as we landed at the airport in Canterlot, scampering over to Luna and me while giving the ponies celebrating out on the streets a wary glance.

Tia frowned. “Canterlot is... a lot bigger now,” my twin pointed out and it broke my heart to see her so skittish around our own subjects. She had been like that in Ponyville, as well. It wasn’t as bad there as it was here, though. Most likely because she wasn’t used to so many ponies being around us. “Everything looks so... weird. How is it that the nobles and peasants are so loud and boisterous in our presence? Do they not respect us anymore?”

“Peasants?” Cadance asked, giving me an aghast look. “Mom! You can’t just call them peasants!”

“What..?” Celestia mumbled, shrinking away from our daughter. “I don’t understand, we always called them by their station. Starswirl...”

I sighed. I had hoped I wouldn't have to have this conversation so soon with her. It must be a massive culture shock for her. Poor Tia. “Not everything Starswirl taught us back then is still practiced to this day, Tia,” I told her as gently as I could. “Times have changed, sister. Peasants is one of those words that we don’t use anymore. The same is true for the royal we and the Royal Canterlot Voice.”

“But... how do we address our subjects then?” she asked, confused. “I have no idea how to behave around them, anymore! Everything is so... so different and confusing! What am I supposed to do?”

“For now, just try to adjust, sister,” Luna answered, placing a wing over her back softly. “There is no need for you to rush into things. Learn and observe until you feel you are ready. It is understandable that all of this frightens you. You don’t have to be, we’re here for you. And if you need help, I’m sure we can provide you with that as well.”

“I... alright, sister,” Celestia sighed, gazing to the side forlornly. A sudden flash from a camera startled her into hiding between Luna and me again, though. “What the... is that a camera?”

“That she hasn’t forgotten what those are...” Cadance muttered lowly to herself. And had Ruby not chastised her before me, I would have. I could understand her being angry at her mother for being a bit ‘archaic’ in regards to how she should address our subjects, but I dearly hope she won’t let her misgivings about almost causing my (permanent) death, unknowing and unwilling as it was, get in between them and cause a rift that I fear might lead to one of them hating the other.

“There are many things you might recognize from, well... you know...” I said, smiling down at my sister. She was giving me an uncertain look but listened with rapt attention as I told her of a few of those things. “And then, there are things that are entirely new, things that we didn’t have back on... you know.”

“Okay,” Tia nodded, giving the ponies around us another look as we got closer to the castle. “Those glowing rectangles serve a purpose then?”

“Glowing rectangles?” I blinked, momentarily taken aback that that was how she described the scrolls. “They are like telephones, only... more.”

“But... they don’t have any buttons,” Celestia muttered, trying to understand how they worked without those. Not that tiny buttons would have done any good with hooves (or teeth, I suppose).

“They work by tracking your eyes,” Luna told her with an amused smile. “If you don’t have a stylus, that is. Most unicorns prefer to use one because it’s faster that way. The newer models even react to gestures with your hoof near the screen.”

“And the pegasi and earthponies?” Tia asked. “How do they use such unwieldy devices?”

“There are hoofholds on the back you can use while either using a stylus or the eye-tracking feature,” Lulu explained with a shrug. “Some prefer the eye-tracking feature while others like using the stylus with their mouth more. I expect the hoof gestures will become more popular with the advanced version. Canterlogic is holding a showcase for the next generation of scrolls in about a month from now if you want to go and see those.”

“Interesting,” Tia hummed. “So they can take pictures besides being able to make calls? What else can they do? And why is everypony constantly staring at them so much?”

Cadance rolled her eyes. "Oh, you have no idea," she muttered.

I ignored my daughter in favor of answering Celestia's question. “They can pretty much do anything a computer can,” I told her. “They are remarkably powerful tools.”

“You just use them for games, Sunny,” Luna snorted and I felt like pouting. She wasn’t entirely wrong with that, but I do use them for other things, as well! Like... making calls. When I don’t write letters, that is. And I take pictures! Yes, that’s it, I take pictures with my scroll... when I don’t use a memory ball, instead.

Wow... I really do use them only for games, don’t I? Damnit.

Celestia let out a laugh, snorting with a bright smile on her muzzle. “Still obsessed with games, huh?”

“Shut up,” I grumbled, rationalizing to myself that it was totally okay to have an unhealthy obsession. Who cares, anyway?

“What else is there?” my twin asked, a noticeable spring in her step now. “Are there cars? Please, tell me there are cars.”

I blinked yet again. “Oh, uh,” I hummed, wondering why she felt like cars were actually important when she had wings. “Usually, ponies just use the train, but... I guess there are some being produced for cities like Manehatten. Canterlot doesn’t really have the streets for that kind of vehicle, sister.”

“How about motorcycles, then?”

“My sister has one,” Ruby mentioned, drawing the attention of my sister to her. She laughed a bit nervously as Tia grabbed her excitedly, intent on grilling her for the whereabouts of said mare. Cadance came to her rescue pretty quickly while Luna and Liz snickered quietly beside me. “She doesn’t use it here, though.”

“Besides, ponies aren’t exactly built for riding lengthy times on a motorcycle, sister,” Luna laughed silently, prompting Tia to pout. “I’m sorry, sister, but... I guess you have to find something else to obsess over.”

“I’m not obsessed!” Celestia denied, grumbling to herself. “You’re being mean to me, aren’t you? Nopony understands how relaxing it is to take care of your baby...”

Cadance snorted with a frown on her muzzle. “Getting dirty, you mean,” she commented. “No wonder Mom took care of Tabby and me most of the time.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Celestia grumbled, sending her a glare. “I took care of you plenty of times!”

“When you weren’t off to who knows where winning stupid trophies, that is,” Cadance pointed out, shooting her a glare as well.

“Well, somepony had to actually feed the damn family!” Celestia shot back with a snarl. “Because your dad earned shit with his job since nopony bought those crappy games!”

“That’s quite enough, both of you,” I said, breaking up their fight before the ponies around us could take notice of it. I let my anger out with a sigh through my nostrils. I didn’t actually want to snap at either one of them, but they didn't make it easy on me with their bickering. “They sold quite well, you know? Most of that money went into our daughter's tuition, though...”

“It... did?” Celestia whispered, ears splayed back. “I’m sorry, Summer. I... I didn’t mean that. I know you loved them.”

I smiled gently and nuzzled my cheek against hers softly. “It’s okay, Tia,” I told her, though she still flinched back from me as if she had offended me. Oh, sister... “Besides, you were kind of right. It was nowhere near enough to support our family back then without your sponsorships. I’m sorry if you felt like I hadn’t been contributing that much in our relationship. Working from home hasn’t always been as easy as ponies assume. Certainly not with two curious little fillies demanding most of your attention for the good part of the day.”

“I wasn’t that much of an attention-seeker!” Cadance pouted and I laughed mirthfully while her marefriend snickered quietly next to her. “I wasn’t! Tabby was... uh...”

“Stuck in her books?” Luna prompted, making Cadance grumble to herself. “It was nice of you to look after her instead of constantly running off with friends from school, but she didn’t really need a foalsitter.”

“Where is she now?” Celestia asked and Luna and I shared a nervous glance with each other. Ah, flying penguins... “Tabetha must be here, too, right? Since Rose is here, I would assume she..." Celestia stopped as she noticed our expressions. "Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Tia, I...” I hesitated, biting my lip while I fidgeted with my wings anxiously. I had hoped I wouldn’t have to tell her of this ever, but that would be selfish and mean of me. Tabetha was her little Star, just as much as she had been mine.

Luna silently asked me if she should take over with the explanation, seeing that I was struggling with my words again. I tried to tell her that it was okay, but... well... I don’t think I could have explained it without going into hysterics, to be honest. I was abysmally bad at talking about unpleasant news to my family. It usually ends with me trying to drag things out or staying silent about it entirely.

“Summer, tell me what it is, right now,” Celestia demanded as she glared up at me. She clearly took notice of the fact that I was about to let Luna explain it instead of doing it myself. Cadance was fluttering her wings angrily as my wife confronted me, less than pleased about Tia ‘bullying’ me. My twin was rightfully mad, though, she had a right to know. I couldn’t keep what happened to our daughter away from her.

“Tabetha died, Tia,” I whispered and flinched back as she yelled out in shock. It was loud enough to attract the attention of the vast majority of ponies we passed by. Especially the journalists eager for a new story. One of these days, we really do need to build a private airport directly at the castle. Not that it will get us out of making an appearance at festivals like this. “I’ll explain when we are at the castle, I promise.”

“You better,” Celestia snarled, walking briskly ahead of us while parting the gathered crowd with a stern glare. I didn’t blame her for wanting to have some distance away from us after I told her that her little Star wasn’t exactly 'alive' anymore. Not that I did a great job of explaining it there, I suppose. I never find the right words when I need them most.

“Are you sure that it’s a good idea to tell her, Mom?” Cadance whispered, watching the guards’ reaction to my twin as she stalked her way angrily past the gate to the castle grounds, burning hoofsteps momentarily left in her wake. I could tell that they were somewhat intimidated by her attitude, my twin sometimes had that effect on others when she was letting her temper get the better of her. I had almost forgotten how easily she let it show in comparison to me.

“I think so...” I grimaced ever so slightly, thinking of the inevitable fallout. “We can’t just keep the truth away from her forever, petal. Try to think about how she must feel about all of this. It’s already hard enough for her to be surrounded by ponies she doesn’t know. A little temper tantrum or two is going to be a given with her, I fear.”

It really shouldn’t come as a surprise to me that she was acting so... immature. She didn’t have a thousand years to temper her emotions like Luna and I had. I guess I was pretty much spot on with Tia having been ‘frozen in time’ for all of this time, trapped in an eternal nightmare. She doesn’t know anything about the current day and age and it was understandably making her frustrated and fearful.

There was little I could do to help her adjust and it was breaking my heart to see her so... lonely. Out of place, even. Everything she knew and loved is gone now, replaced by a world almost completely alien to her. And it wasn't just technology that was more advanced now than what she was familiar with. Even ponies behaved a lot more differently nowadays than they had done so back in the day. And on top of all of this, her family has changed quite a lot as well.

Luna wasn’t as laid-back as she was a thousand years ago. She has outgrown her pranking tendencies and was more ‘serious’ now (when she wasn’t drinking her so-called ‘alcohol’, that is). She was still just as bad at lying, though.

While Cadance was still as optimistic as ever, she was most certainly fiercer in her need to protect her loved ones. That she almost lost me has her far more on edge than I suspect she's willing to admit, and it showed in her behavior. If she could, she would probably wrap me up in bubble wrap to keep me safe from the slightest ‘injury’. I suppose she got that from me, didn’t she?

Then, there was me. I wasn’t the same scaredy-cat I had been the last time Tia saw me. While yes, I was still excessively worrying over everything, I wasn’t going to hide underneath my blanket because I thought a burglar was in our home. I wasn't in the mood to entertain the nonsense of every pony and their cat anymore. I could care less about every little thing that was ‘majorly’ important in their eyes when it was, in all actuality, nothing more than a waste of my time hearing about what a 'travesty' it was that their egg wasn’t boiled to perfection for breakfast.

And lastly, our family has grown in her absence. Everypony around her was unfamiliar to her and she didn't like that they regarded her with caution instead of familiarity. She has taken to Liz remarkably fast, but... well... everypony does, to be honest. Liz has that aura of one wanting to be her friend around her and I suspected her pheromones were mostly at fault for that. Everypony likes to be around changelings because they give you the feeling of being around somepony that simply likes you for being yourself.

The same couldn’t be said for the hive soldiers, they are... well... kinda weird, to be honest. Thorax was more or less the exception in that he wanted to be nice to everypony while Pharynx was completely focused on eradicating every little thing that could possibly pose a threat to Equestria and the hive. Sometimes to the degree of obsessively ‘playing’ with his prey, even.

Of course, there was also the problem of Twilight being unable to remember her past life. Tia was briefly introduced to my daughters, and... well, she had no idea how to act around them. They weren’t ‘hers’ and that caused her to be shy around them because she didn’t know them like Luna, Liz, and I did. She might recognize a few characteristics here and there from Tabetha in Twilight but everything else would only confuse her.

Twilight was far less of a 'know-it-all' than what she has been like as Tabetha. She actually listened to other ponies and was interested in them instead of trying to immediately escape all social interactions, whatsoever. And she was far more chipper while in the company of her friends and sisters. Well... she was still trying to make her assignments into a work of perfection, but only because she didn’t want to disappoint us. Not that she could ever disappoint Luna, Liz, and me.

So, I did. I told her everything that happened to Tabetha (and my brother, I guess). All the while, her eyes became progressively more dull and hopeless. The anger drained out of her like a deflating balloon and everything that was left was a depressed mare on the verge of crying her heart out. I held her in my arms for as long as she needed, gently patting her back and stroking her mane to give her as much comfort as I could.

It opened Cadance’s eyes, seeing her mother so distraught over losing her child like that. Just like it had devastated Luna and me after we learned this twenty years ago. Celestia was an absolute wreck, knowing that the daughter she knew was gone forever. I could tell Cadance realized it would break her mother utterly if she continued to hold on to this silly little grudge. Not that my twin had any influence over what happened to her (or me).

A sad smile came to my muzzle as my Rose Petal joined the hug, whispering apologies to her mother in order to make it up to her. The condolences following that seemed to help at least a little bit in easing my wife's recovery from the sheer shock of the news. It didn’t make everything magically better, but... it was a start, at least. Tia hasn’t lost both Tabby and Rose, something that she desperately clung to.

So much so, even, that my sister forgot all about me and seemed to cling on to her only remaining daughter (at least, in the way of remembering her past life), crushing the dear life out of her.

I quietly told Ruby to take the rest of her friends back to the portal, knowing that this would take a while. I was grateful for their assistance, keeping everypony safe in the Everfree Forest was no small feat, and I could tell that they were about to fall asleep right where they stood. It’s been a long night and they deserved their rest, whether back home or here in a guest room.

After a while of Cadance whispering her sympathies to my twin, she began to regale her with tales of her past life that we had unfortunately missed out on, telling her everything from how Tabetha became a mad scientist to her own ‘death’ and subsequent reincarnation. As she got to the point of how she earned her horn, Tia began to genuinely smile to herself in the proud way only a mother could.

It truly was heartwarming to see them bond after the initial bumpy start between them. Cadance was finally letting go of her misgivings in favor of being there for her mother. It was a good sign that everything would eventually work out. It might take a while for Tia to fully recover, but I have faith in her that she would get through this. She has faced worse in the past and overcome many challenges. I know she can do so again with being in an unfamiliar world, and... in time, she will see that not everything is as hopeless as it seems right now.

Tabetha lives on in Twilight to a certain degree, and I hope my twin will realize that. She doesn’t have to be her daughter for her to be family, just like I knew that Cadance didn’t have to be from my womb to be family. Family, parenthood... it wasn’t defined by blood, but by the bond that we make with each other. Perhaps in a few years, Twilight and Sunset will view her as just another parent instead of a stranger from bygone ages. I can’t tell how long that might take with them away in Ponyville, and I can’t force them to acknowledge Tia like that from the get-go, but I hope they will embrace her as family sooner rather than later.

Celestia was admittedly surprised to see that most ponies treated us not with reverence but with friendly familiarity, and at most, respect (even among our own guards and castle staff). It was funny to see her reaction to how casual some of them were with us and Liz just had to bring up the reason for that again.

Thankfully, Tia was nowhere near tall enough to force her tongue down my throat (or my ears, for that matter) while in public, so that was at least something, right? Well... until she had the brilliant thought of flying while indoors, that is. Luna stopped her before Liz could egg her on further, causing far more chaos than I was currently willing to deal with. In just a few minutes, I would have to go back to work even though I really want to take a day off just so I could be with Tia the whole day.

The sunrise was... difficult, I have to admit. All of the extra power I had accumulated over the thousand years of raising both the twin suns was gone and Tia was nowhere near powerful enough after just having been released from her unjust fate. So that meant Lulu had to pick up the slack with Liz while I nudged my own sun over the horizon.

I reassured Tia that it was okay if she couldn’t take care of her celestial duty and needed us to help out, empathizing with her after I myself had to give up helping Lulu in the task of raising the Heavenly Sun. I really have become way too dependent on the power I had enjoyed for so long at my disposal, haven’t I? Things would be... 'different' from now, and not only for me but for Tia as well. It is going to take her quite some time to regain her own power, something that irked her more than it did me.

She was unable to even fulfill her own destiny, her whole purpose. I can’t even begin to imagine how hard that must be for her. Judging by how listless she was as we showed her around the castle, it weighed quite heavily on her mind.

As we reached our bedroom, Celestia was already dragging her hooves tiredly in exhaustion and I could tell she wanted to do nothing more than to fall immediately asleep as soon as she hit the bed with her head. I suppose it was understandable, being awake for the first time in a thousand years must be quite exhausting.

I really wish I could have joined her, but I knew that would only serve to destroy my sleep schedule (and get Kibitz mad at me, too). Regrettably, I have work to do. There was a whole heap of documents waiting for me to fill out and make sure Tia was still recognized legally as a Princess of Equestria after such a long absence.

It was a lot more work than I initially thought it would be and I cursed myself for not having begun with it well before Tia’s return. That’s the thing about hindsight, though. It always comes back to bite you in your flanks for overlooking something that was so glaringly obvious.

The announcement of Tia’s return went as well as could be expected. It raised quite a few questions about where she had been and why nopony knew of her for such a long time. By the time I was done with the press conference, I had a massive headache trying to kill me from the inside out and I wasn’t even done with the day.

The joys of being a benevolent dictator...

Luna had it probably worse, trying to appease the nobility and telling them that no, the world wasn’t about to end because of one little solar eclipse. It’s like they never... heard... of the concept, damnit. Ugh. How could anypony have heard of it, after all? A solar eclipse basically never happens since we don’t play around with our heavenly duties. Of course they would be frightened beyond belief that something ‘evil’ was going on.

Court was even more of a nightmare that day, I swear. The concerned citizens I could deal with all day, especially with Luna and Liz by my side, but the nobles? Or the astronomer’s guild? They were throwing a fit because we had ‘abused’ our station as guardians of the celestial objects and demanded an explanation beyond our go-to excuse of ‘we wanted to try something new for the celebrations and thought it would look pretty’.

I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow that evening after making sure my sun was ‘properly’ set (according to them). I swear, the nerve some of them have, telling me how to do my job. I've been doing it for far longer than when their however-great great-grandparents had been alive.

I didn’t notice that day that Celestia had slept the day away and stayed awake during the night, but the day after that? Or the ones following that one?

I would have thought she was trying to avoid talking with me, but Tia was happy to see me at dusk and dawn each day, talking eagerly about the things she had found out were a thing now. She made me promise to go to a Wonderbolt show with her and I gladly agreed to do so. I was less interested in seeing the show itself, but I would if it makes my twin happy.

Not everything was as it seemed, though. Celestia tried to hide it, but I could tell that she wasn’t as happy as she appeared to be. She secluded herself most of the time either in our private tower or in the Canterlot Royal Library. She was worse than Twilight, losing herself in book after book when she wasn’t being tutored about how everything worked nowadays in comparison to how it did back then.

Cadance tried to help Tia out with the topics of diplomacy and modern laws, but... well... Tia was starting to get frustrated with everything and how needlessly complicated it was to have laws upon laws regulating other laws, so on and so forth. Not to mention, Celestia was correcting the tutor meant to teach her about history, driving said tutor insane in the process (I mean, it was his fault for trying to teach her about Equestria’s founding first when... you know... she was there for the mess that the tribes had created).

The magic tutor had nothing but praise for her, though. He even learned more from Tia than she did from him, to be honest. At some point, even Professor Doctor Cold Hooves found out about my twin giving lectures about celestial magic in the library and asked her to teach at our school, instead.

It’s no wonder that the entire lecture hall was packed full a week later with students and professors alike. Celestia was a scholar at heart when she wasn't preoccupied with chasing her dreams of being a Formula One race car driver (she's still salty Equestria doesn't have super fast cars). I wasn’t surprised to see her have fun standing in front of so many ponies hanging on to her every word, though. Besides, she loved being the center of attention, and if it helped her get out of her funk, I wasn’t going to complain about one little bad habit.

And just as I was starting to believe everything was going perfectly, Liz decided that now would be a great time to dress Luna and me up as skimpy maids.

“Liz...” I sighed, giving her a deadpan stare. She and Tia were poorly trying to hide their wide grins, clearly excited to see us in the lewd outfits that were in no way actual maid outfits used by the castle staff. Aside from the fact that they don't wear old-fashioned maid outfits anymore, so there's that. “You couldn’t wait with that for another three months, could you?”

“Aww, is somepony worried about their image..?” Liz snickered and I gave the misbehaving changeling a glare. “Oh! You mean Cadance’s wedding, don’t you? Why, I do think you would look absolutely fabulous in this outfit! What do you think, Tia?”

“I love you so much,” Celestia mumbled, blood running freely from one of her nostrils. I glared at both of them, especially my sister as she gradually lost herself in her little fantasy of me wearing this ridiculous outfit while fulfilling every wish on her lips with a spring in my step. As if I would ever wear such a disgrace to the honorable maid profession, showing her teasing glances underneath the skimpy garments while in full view of our subjects while I was forced to be a friggin’ maid in my own home!

“Sister...” Luna whispered, placing a comforting, and most importantly, cold hoof on my shoulder. I let a long sigh out of my nostrils as I noticed the shimmer in the air surrounding me. “It’s only going to be for a year, we’ve gone through worse before."

"Fine," I ground out, reluctantly levitating the stockings over from my 'outfit'. Before I put them on, though, I gave Liz a look. "These aren't enchanted, are they?" I asked, suspicious.

"What would give you that idea, Sunflower?" my wife asked me innocently and I raised a brow at her threateningly. Tia wiped the blood from her nostril, nervous.

"Chrysalis..." I began and she laughed, trying her best to not give away I had just caught her being naughty. "What did you put on these?"

"A self-cleaning charm?"

I narrowed my eyes on her. A self-cleaning charm sounds pretty harmless, but considering what kind of outfits these were, I knew there was a catch somewhere. "What else?"

"Uhm..." Chrysalis hesitated and Luna rolled her eyes.

"There's a sticky charm on them, isn't there?" my Moon guessed and I threw the stockings back on the pile like they were snakes. By the way Liz wilted, my sister was spot on.

"So that's how it is," I sneered, turning to leave. What the flying penguin is my succubus of a wife thinking? I won't put these on if I won't be able to take them off for a year straight.

"Summer, wait!" my idiot of a wife called after me and I stopped. I didn't turn my head, though. There's no way I will let her convince me with those damn eyes again. "I'm sorry, Sunflower. I..."

"Cuddlebug," Luna sighed and I finally turned my head around. She really looked dejected and Celestia looked even more disappointed. "You can take them off of us, can't you?"

"I mean... that would defeat the purpose of your punishment, but..." she started. Her wings were buzzing in agitation as she tried to get over her reluctance to make an exception for us.

"Chrysalis..." Luna began. "You won’t actually make us wear these for the wedding, right?" she questioned her before invoking the name of the brides. "You wouldn’t want to make Ruby and Cadance mad at you, would you?”

The changeling queen cringed, unable to keep herself from shuddering at the thought of displeasing the Rose sisters. “You... might have a point there, Moony,” Liz grumbled, looking forlornly at the outfits laid out on the bed in front of her.

“Wait, what?” Celestia whined and I felt my eyelid start to twitch as I saw her pout. “But... maid outfits! You have no idea how long I’ve waited to see my stupidly sexy sister in one of those! You can’t take that away from me! You have to wear them! Please!”

“Sister...” I growled, snarling slightly as Fallen Star tried to claw her way to the surface to... discipline... our pervert of a sister. And I was very much tempted to throw caution out the window and lay into her with not-so-nice words, but that wouldn’t have helped my situation right now. Not to mention, I couldn’t do that to Tia after what she went through. She was barely on the way to recovery, I cannot throw a wrench into that and have her regress in her progress so far, as little of that as she has made.

“Do it for me?” she sniffled and I fidgeted awkwardly with my wings as I avoided those damn eyes of hers. Of course. Why was I even surprised she wouldn’t resort to manipulating me with that dastardly ‘trick’ of hers? Why do I have such a soft spot for cute eyes, damnit? “Come on, Red Nose. I’ve seen the look you gave those outfits at the mere glance of them. I know your body like nopony else, you can’t hide a reaction like that from me. Certainly not the way you are trying to keep your tail from going up~.”

Okay, that's it. “I’m going to send you back to the moon,” I threatened her. Flipping flying penguins, I've made up my mind. My sister clearly is a threat to the sanity of my nation, I cannot let her go free and allow her to do anything her perverted mind could concoct up. I don’t care what she thought she might have seen my body ‘do’, I was not going to ruin my relationship with my daughter to satisfy my sister’s demented ‘desires’.

I really will send both her and that succubus of a changeling to the moon for being... for... oh, dear. Regret threatened to drown me in misery as I realized what I have just said to my own sister, seeing her eyes shrink down to pinpricks. I was immediately at her side as she started breathing heavily, hearing her mutter fearful words to herself as her legs gave out underneath her. “No, not there. N-not t-there again, p-please... a-anything but that, sister!”

“Shh,” I hummed, holding her tightly against me while I berated myself harshly for saying such hurtful words. I’m such a stupid idiot, sometimes. I buried my muzzle in her mane, hoping beyond hope she would believe me when I told her that... “I didn’t mean it, Tia. I'm so sorry. Please, believe me when I say I really didn’t mean to say those words to you. I’m not going to send you back to that place, I... I’m so very sorry, sister. I still have difficulties with my temper, I'm sorry. It has gotten better, but... well... somehow I keep slipping at really inopportune moments. Please, don’t hate me...”

Tia shuddered against me. “I... I d-don’t hate you. You are right, I-I... I shouldn’t force you to be my personal plaything. Definitely not w-when our daughter is going to marry so soon. I’m... I’m sorry as well, sister,” she whispered, sniffling into my chest. “I’m such a bad sister.”

“No! No, you are not,” I insisted, making her look up at me, only for her to keep avoiding my eyes. Tears came to mine as she escaped my arms, trudging slowly out of our room with her head hanging low, only to disappear into the room across from ours. Or rather, the room she keeps escaping to when she feels like being away from us when it all got too much for her. “Sister...”

“She will come around, Summer,” Luna consoled me as she threw a wing across my back comfortingly. “Eventually.”

“I hope you are right, Lulu,” I sighed, wiping the tears away with a hoof. “I didn’t mean to say those words to her...”

Luna smiled slightly, bumping her muzzle against mine. “I think she knows that, sister,” she told me before her icy gaze wandered over to the changeling currently trying to make herself as small and unnoticeable as she possibly could... by pretending to be a little foal. That idiot, I swear. “You, on the other hoof...”

“I didn’t do anything, though!” Liz complained as Luna snatched her up in her magic, her fur threatening to turn black any moment now. Scratch that. It was turning black. “Come on, put me down! This is foal abuse!”

“I’ll show you foal abuse, you little...” Nightmare snarled and Chrysalis squeaked fearfully as our wife regarded her with nothing but disappointment in her eyes. “You really don’t have any shame at all, do you?”

“If this is about Cady’s wedding, I...” Liz began, but Nightmare snorted disdainfully back at her, interrupting her before she could come up with her ‘defense’ that would have no doubt insinuated Cadance would have actually been fine with us dressed like... that. While I was sure Cadance would have loved to see us humiliated like this, I don’t think she would have appreciated Liz doing that during the most important day for centuries to come for her.

“You know what I’m talking about, you stupid bug,” Nightmare muttered and Liz gave me a hopeful look, most likely thinking I was going to save her chitin from being chewed out by our wife. Not that I would ever get in between Nightmare and her target of ire. Sorry, Liz, but you brought this upon yourself. “Tia is barely even coming out of her room during the day, we don’t need you to encourage her bad behaviors.”

“Come on, the girl clearly needs to get laid,” Liz huffed, crossing her legs in front of herself as she continued to float around in Nightmare’s magical aura. “Sex always helps. At least, it does with you two when you’re in a funk~.”

“Liz, she needs time, not sex,” I pointed out as I let out a dejected sigh. “And I just made everything worse...”

“No, I... I guess I did fuck this up more than you did, Sunflower,” Liz lamented, changing back into her regular form. “I’m... not good at this whole ‘guilt’ thing. I don’t know what to do. I want to help her just as much as you do, believe me, but... I’m making things worse, aren’t I? Encouraging her like that will only lead to her shutting herself away behind a barrier of perverted thoughts. You told me she did that before to cope with some bad trauma, but... I didn’t think. Like always.

"I latched onto the first thing that made us connect with each other and went all in. I should have realized that what I was doing wasn’t the right thing to do. Heck, I’m the empath here. I should have known that encouraging her to indulge that part of herself was a way for her to avoid dealing with everything that happened to her. I knew something was up when...”

“Liz...” I said, interrupting her tirade as I bit my lip for a moment. “It’s okay. I’m glad she has you around to help, as well. She needs all the support she can get right now. Tia is... a complicated mare. She always tried to hide the things that bothered her the most from us. All so that she didn’t end up making me worry. She never let that ‘strong’ façade down for my sake.

"But... the thing is, I’m not that meek mare anymore, and it breaks my heart to see her act like this each and every time. Even now she always thinks of those around her first, even when it is to her own detriment. I forgot how frustrating it was to try and break through those shields she constantly puts up around her heart, so... please, don’t beat yourself up about this. Just keep in mind your reason for being... well, you... isn’t the same reason Celestia is a pervert. She...”

“I killed my parents because they did things to me nopony should do to their child...” a voice from behind me spoke up and I turned my head fearfully around to see Tia standing in the doorframe of our bedroom. Her eyes looked... tired. Weary. Listless. Almost dead, even. “And I liked it...”

“Oh...” Liz whispered, horrified. “By the Weaver, that’s... holy fucking shit.”

“You have no idea,” Celestia muttered, smiling thinly. “It’s okay, I know you were just trying to help me by being there for me when I... when I felt like...”

“You don’t have to say it,” Liz insisted as she directed a nervous glance my way and I started to realize what they were talking about even before Tia said those dreadful words out loud. “Please... don’t...”

“Kill myself?” Tia said it and it felt like the floor gave out underneath my legs. I had hoped it wasn’t the case, but I should have known that she had those thoughts. How could I have been so blind? Oh, sister... why? “Don’t worry, I won’t. Not when I finally have my freedom back. There are so many things I want to experience and learn. I just... I don’t know what to do. Ponies look at me with fear now and not... not how they used to, with admiration. The only ones that don’t are the ones at your school and they only care about the things I can teach them and not... well... me.”

“Tia...”

“It’s not your fault, Summy,” my sister smiled sadly, a little sparkle entering her eyes as she lifted my head up by the chin. Even when she was half my size, she could still treat me like I was smaller than her. As if she needed to comfort me instead of the other way around. “It’s my fault only. I am the one out of place here, and I understand why they fear me. You know, I’m not stupid. I’ve seen what that little celebration is about. It’s funny, really. I'm the boogeymare of entire generations...”

“Nightmare Night is not about you!” I growled, my mane bursting out into flames. “Platinum is the one that...”

“It’s alright, sister,” Celestia interrupted me, cupping my cheek with a hoof as she looked up at me with a hopeful look. “It’s not like I don’t understand that. I’m going to show them the real me. That way, they don’t have to fear me anymore, right?”

My flames instantly died down as the anger drained out of me. I cannot fathom how she could be so optimistic after all that she went through. “Sister, please,” I said, afraid that she was trying too hard. I don’t want her to get hurt. I have to protect her. It was my fault it even got so bad in the first place. “I can...”

“What?” she snorted as she frowned up at me. “Force them to like me? You wouldn’t ever do something like that, sister. I know you. Perhaps not as much as I thought I did, but you would never go against that bleeding heart of yours. I will be okay. I... I can deal with this on my own, I don’t need you to mother me.”

“I...” I gulped thickly. Was I being too overprotective of her?

“Don’t think I didn’t notice the looks you’ve been giving me. You and Lulu,” Celestia said. “I’m not made of glass, you know? And I don’t need your pity. It wasn’t y-your fault that I was p-possessed b-by her. I have a lot to make up for...”

“No, you don’t...” Luna said. A dark scowl was on her muzzle. “You of all ponies shouldn’t feel bad about what happened. We were the ones that failed you, sister. We should have known that ignoring the prophecy would have had consequences. We...”

“It wouldn’t have changed anything,” Celestia snapped back, glaring at her. “She summoned me right into her damn trap and kept me confined like a fucking animal. I tried breaking out, only for those chains to tighten even deeper into my soul. I’m sorry, sister. I really didn’t want to do that to you, but... I couldn’t fight against those commands she gave me to hurt you like that.”

“I don’t blame you for that, Tia,” I smiled ever so slightly, nuzzling her softly. “We tried searching for a way to free you, but nothing we could think of worked. I’m so sorry you had to wait for so long, sister.”

“I know,” she said, leaning her head against my chest as her gaze wandered to the ground. I gave Luna a worried glance as Celestia let out a sad sigh. “I won’t lie, I resented you for doing what you had to do, but... I don’t blame you for that. I would have done the same thing in your position."

She let out a humorless laugh as she continued on, "Platinum tried to poison my thoughts of you to bring me over to her side. It was your voice that helped me keep out her maddened whispers, so thank you. Without you... I fear things would have gone differently, sister.”

“You actually heard me?” I whispered, a warm feeling replacing the dark thoughts that had kept piling up, trying to drown me in guilt.

“Both you and Luna,” she admitted. “Each and every night, I knew you were thinking of me. I did, too.”

“Sister...” I said, touched. She smiled up at me with genuine happiness in her eyes and drew me in for a gentle kiss.

“You know... one good thing did come from all of this...” Celestia said after she broke the kiss between us. I hummed in confusion, sharing a glance with Luna as the smile on our sister's muzzle grew more mischievous. “Aside from the fact that I’m the little sister now...”—she let out a snort at that and I giggled in amusement, too—” I haven’t had a single vision since my return.”

“You haven’t?” Luna asked, astonished. “Sister, but... that means...”

“I know!” Celestia laughed delighted. “No more future knowledge! Isn’t that great?!”

“Right...” I gulped nervously, sharing a look with Luna. “No more future knowledge...”

Celestia’s little celebration slowly died down to a hesitant smile as she watched us fidget awkwardly in front of her. “Aren’t you happy for me?”

“I am! I’m glad you won’t have to live with your curse anymore, sister... but...” I sighed and nibbled on my lip, afraid to tell her that we weren’t entirely in the dark about what would happen in the near future (more or less). Not to forget, we have gotten news that the Storm King was back on the move again, this time further to the south. I was worried about what he was going to do there as only one nation came to mind that might be his potential target this time. While I was sure the hippogriffs could handle it just fine (seriously, the Storm King was a fool to try anything with such fierce warriors protecting Mount Aris), I worry he had some trick up his sleeves to overwhelm even Queen Novo and her royal guard.

“Sister, what aren’t you telling me?” Celestia asked, narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

“There’s a lot we have to tell you, sister,” Luna frowned, a stormy look in her eyes. “And perhaps, a confession we have to make.”

“Tell me you didn’t...” Celestia gulped, backing up fearfully from us. “Please, Lulu...”

“No, we haven’t used prophetic magic ourselves, Tia,” Luna smiled sadly. “Which doesn’t mean we haven’t come across some... 'interesting'... news over the past few years. One individual, in particular, has been the cause of a lot of heartache, not only because of his rather unorthodox behavior, but also because of what we ourselves were at fault at.”

“What do you mean, sister?”

“It’s all our fault, Tia...” I admitted, looking away in shame. “We are the ones at fault for the prophecy existing in the first place. It was our fault that our family was ripped apart for so long. Without us causing a bootstrap paradox, we wouldn’t even have known about what would have happened to you in the first place.”

“I... I don’t understand,” Celestia mumbled. “Sister, nothing would have changed had we not known of that prophecy. It was my ‘gift’ that led to my downfall and not that silly thing. You do know that, right?”

“I... what?” I blinked, stumped.

“The dream I had before I fled would have come to me one way or another. The prophecy simply gave us an early warning,” Celestia explained, rubbing her leg with a hoof. “Without the prophecy, who knows what would have happened otherwise? I’m glad you didn’t demand this individual to change what happened. I’m assuming this pony could travel through time if a paradox is involved?”

I nodded slowly, honestly impressed that she was this insightful about what happened. And here I thought she would hate me for that. It seems I underestimated my sister. It wouldn’t be the first time, to be honest...

“You blamed yourself so much for what happened to me when it wasn’t even your fault, didn’t you?” Tia sighed, smiling ruefully. “How typical of you. You have changed so much but not at all, Red Nose. When will you ever get it into your thick skull that sometimes things just happen the way they do without you being able to change a thing about them?”

“I can’t help but worry over everything needlessly, sister,” I answered, shifting my wings ever so slightly.

“I know,” she grinned teasingly back. “You wouldn’t be you if you didn’t.”

I laughed mirthfully. “I suppose that’s true, isn’t it?” I hummed before grabbing her into a tight hug. “I’ve missed you so much, sister.”

“I know,” she mumbled, a happy sigh escaping her lips. “You know what I’ve also missed..?”

“What?”

“Teasing you to orgasm,” she giggled and I sputtered with a bright red muzzle while Luna laughed her flanks off next to us. “And seeing your muzzle light up like that, my little Red Nose Reindeer.”

“I hate you so much...” I grumbled, smiling despite my misgivings. “I will show you who the little reindeer is here...”

“Oh?” Tia smiled up at me. “You would take advantage of my reduced size? What else would you do with me, hm?”

“If you don’t watch your tone, little missy, I might just put a collar around your neck,” I threatened and grinned as I saw a blush erupt all over her muzzle, going all the way down to her neck, a perverted gleam entering her eyes. “But the worst thing? I’d make you sit in the corner while I molest my wives to my heart’s content.”

“Wait, what?” she blinked, giving me an aghast look as I began to laugh with mirth. “You’re joking, right? Please tell me you’re joking.”

“I am, sister,” I smiled gently down on her, rubbing her sides with a hoof. “Although, if you want me to, I might follow up on that promise with the collar.”

“Okay, now I know something’s up,” Celestia snorted. “You never were that assertive, what changed?”

I hummed, thoughtful. “A lot, I suppose. We have much to catch up on, sister. But, for now, I think it’s time we get ready to do our duty.”

“Right...” Celestia nodded hesitantly, looking out of our balcony doors in trepidation. “...that.”

“Don’t worry, sister,” Luna said soothingly, nuzzling the top of our ‘little’ sister’s head. “Your sun won’t stay mad at you forever, you know how stubborn she can be.”

“I just wish she would talk to me...” Celestia sighed. “I don’t know what I can do so that she will trust me again. I mean... I didn’t abandon her because I wanted to. What will it take for her to believe me?”

“Perhaps there’s nothing that you, in particular, can do,” Liz mused, furrowing her brows in thought. Then, she noticed my miffed look. “Oh, come on! Don’t give me that look now, Sunflower. What I mean is, maybe her sun just needs to realize what she is doing to you, Celestia. Sometimes, all it takes is a bit of time and a realization that she isn’t the only one depending on a caretaker. I... I’m not explaining this all that well, am I?”

“No, I think I get what you mean, Chrysalis,” Celestia muttered, kicking her hoof in frustration. “For her, it seems like I abandoned her, so now she’s giving me the cold shoulder to get back at me. Once she realizes that I didn’t do it on purpose, I hope she might reach back out to me. I really miss her presence.”

“I’m certain she will talk with you again soon,” I said as my gaze wandered to the two setting suns on the horizon. Gleefully, my Red Sun asked for my assistance, and like always, I was quick to reach out with my magic to help her along her path.

I watched with pity as Celestia’s horn blazed brightly with magic, only for it to sputter out as she slumped to the ground, breathing heavily while my Moon and Liz picked up the pace for her. “She won’t even let me touch her...”

“It’s going to take time, sister,” I sighed. “If you try to force it, it will only take longer for her to accept you back.”

Celestia grumbled to herself for a moment, glaring at the spot where her sun disappeared off to, before giving us a reluctant nod. And as I watched her gaze wander back to the horizon (this time towards where the moon rose), I saw her narrow her eyes and wondered what she must have thought at that moment.

The marks were gone on its surface, but I was sure that marks of an entirely different kind had been left behind. While they were invisible to the casual observer, I knew that a storm was brewing. Luna was still hard at work to rid the dream realm of the chaos left behind by Platinum and I fear without their ‘Nightmare Queen’, the corrupted nyx would cause even more havoc if left unchecked. There was only one pony that came to mind that could reverse the damage done to the once innocent little dream creatures and she currently bore far too many scars for me to even think about giving her such a task.

Welcome home, indeed, sister. I dearly hope your struggles won’t break you. I know you’re strong, stronger than anypony might realize. I’m sure you can get through these coming challenges, as much as I wish I could shield you from them. And I will always be here for you, no matter what.

Whatever you might need, however difficult the coming days might get... I will be your rock from now on, I promise.

This new day and age is going to confront all of us with challenges none of us are prepared for, I'm sure of it. Who knows what surprises might await us and what we might learn? About us and each other. About the world. And, perhaps, even about unsolved mysteries.

---

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Mount Aris

---

“My Queen,” a drone spoke up, bowing deeply (and most importantly, fearfully) to the figure gazing at the foggy red glow coming from the capital of those ‘pesky pony birds’ with a sinister smile stretching her muzzle wide in glee. She didn’t acknowledge the fool daring to interrupt her in her celebration but did take note of his scent to... punish~... him later. She would most certainly enjoy having fun with him and giggled to herself in anticipation. Who knows, she might not break him utterly in the process. Not immediately, that is. “M-My Queen, I...”

“Hush,” Ocellus snarled, irked that he would dare to speak up again without her giving him permission to do so. “Clearly, I’m enjoying the moment, or are you too blind to notice that?!”

“N-no, My Queen,” the drone whispered back with a whimper, flinching back as her eyes turned to regard him, instead. “I’m s-sorry, My Queen. It won’t happen again, My Queen.”

“Oh, it won’t,” she grinned, licking her lips hungrily. “So..?”

“Uh...” the drone blinked, rooted to the spot as he was unable to look away from the enchanting glow coming from her cyan eyes.

Ocellus growled, striking the idiot over the head. “What is it that you wanted to tell me?! And make it quick, lest you anger me more than you already have.”

“O-of course, My Queen,” he gulped nervously, hastily searching through the pouch hanging from his side by a thread of changeling silk. “Commander Cordifera reported back that about two hundred hippogriffs have been captured before their Queen used that pearl to escape with the rest of her subjects a-and... uh... t-this came in, Your Majesty.”

“Only two hundred?!” Ocellus snarled, snatching the envelope from the cowering drone away while buzzing her wings angrily. “I swear, I’ll skewer that hornless bag of rotten emotions upon my horn! I explicitly told her to not let Novo out of her sight!”

With an impatient rip, she tore the envelope in half and levitated both pieces of the message in front of her. A cruel smile replaced her previously angry grimace. “Oh... this will be good...”

As the mad changeling queen began to cackle in delight, the two pieces drifted slowly to the ground, illuminated by the distant fire. Drone Number Two-Hundred-Seventy-Four blanched as he read the flowery text, fearing for Equestria’s safety. He gave a quick prayer to the Weaver, hoping that his mad queen wouldn’t truly do what he feared she thought about doing.

Author's Notes:

*Foreboding noises*

---

Part of the rewrite from the 24th of June, 2023. Comments before this date may not accurately depict the current state of the story.