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[FLUTTERRAPE] The Worst Landlord

By Nebulus
Created: 2023-02-05 21:08:54
Updated: 2023-02-11 08:51:49
Expiry: Never
anontwilight sparklensfwflutterrapevarious charactersg5

  1. Initially inspired by the following prompt, I went on to write two more shorts (or more accurately one short and one long) that continued the mini-story.
  2.  
  3. "Well, the G5 Fluttershy is a stallion named Hitch Trailblazer, so that's going to make future Flutterrape threads really awkward."
  4. - Anonymous, who would later regret making that post. Don't look at me, I can't be blamed for my own creative incontinence.
  5.  
  6. ---
  7.  
  8. [Chapter 1]
  9.  
  10. "I've decided I don't want to go through with this."
  11. >Twilight doesn't disengage from her fiddling. Only her back end sticks out of the great machine, all brass pipes and steam whistles and cogwheels.
  12. >"With what," she calls from within, with only the vaguest interest.
  13. "With the time-travel."
  14. >"You'll be fine, stop worrying."
  15. "You haven't explained how I'm going to get back."
  16. >"I have. And you just will, I can't be bothered going over the magic again, you never listen anyway."
  17. >You shuffle your feet and look down at your shoes. You're stood on a raised platform at the centre of the mass of crooked pipework and copper wiring.
  18. >The ends of the pipes and pointed conductors all aimed at you give the impression of being on an operating table before the surgeons begin, only you're not under any anaesthetic.
  19. "I think I'm ready to listen now."
  20. >An exasperated sigh echoes from the body of the confusing network. A bored voice follows, each word delivered with hastening impatience.
  21. >"Magic goes zap, machine makes magic zap more zappy, Anon runs around in the future -for- a week, machine goes zap and brings Anon back -after- a week. It'll call you back like... I don't know, like a boomerang. We're throwing you farther into the future than anyone's ever gone before, then, like a boomerang slows during its flight before it returns, you'll slow down enough to walk around and take in the scenery before it hurtles you back through time. Then in a week you'll be back here safe and sound and we can lie by the fire and you can suck on my clit."
  22. "What was that last bit?"
  23. >"We can lie by the fire you can tell me all about it."
  24. "Well, again, I don't think I want to go."
  25. >"I thought you'd be happy. It's a week away from Fluttershy."
  26. >You bob your head reluctantly.
  27. "There is that..."
  28. >"And you said you needed a holiday from her 'unwanted rapacious shenanigans', so what's the problem. Don't you trust me?"
  29. >You glance down at your landlord and roommate. She's emerged from the machine enough to scowl straight at you, waiting for an answer.
  30. "Sure, Twi, I trust you."
  31. >She huffs and goes back to tweaking something with a spanner no bigger than your index finger.
  32. >"It'll be fine. Just stay right there and think about all the fun, super in-depth and technical scientific notes you'll be taking. Do you definitely have the compendium of appropriate arcane terminology packed?"
  33. >Your shoulders ache from the weight of your backpack, more laden with books and writing supplies than food.
  34. "Yes, Twi."
  35. >After she's finished and you say your blunt, clipped goodbyes, she throws a switch and fires her horn at a tesla coil.
  36. >The magic conducts throughout the entire structure, the violet electricity arcing from one coil to another like a wreath of lightning. It all rushes down the tubes and conductors and encircles your body, strobing and roaring past your eyes like a subway train passes a station.
  37. >Just as the magic overtakes you, the basement door above swings open and you see the horrified face of Fluttershy speeding towards you. You can't hear what she's yelling, and you've evaporated into nothing before she can reach you.
  38.  
  39. *
  40.  
  41. >One thousand years later.
  42. >It had been four days and you'd only written two notes in your journal.
  43. >"Future sucks", and "food is good though".
  44. >The sun-kissed seaside town you'd found yourself in paradoxically served no seafood, but its residents were appropriately salty. Mostly about unicorns.
  45. >Disregarding the initial terror of you materialising in the middle of a plaza halfway through yelling "Fucking Fluttershy", the residents had been hospitable.
  46. >They were a lot more accepting of you after you'd explained that you were being hounded by a malevolent pegasus ,and had serious misgivings about the injustices of your unicorn landlord.
  47. >Then you were one of the team, so to speak.
  48. >Apparently there are only earth ponies in this 'Maretime Bay', and you'd come to enjoy the abject lack of magical skulduggery and relative freedom. You had even been considering scribbling out your first note.
  49. >Unfortunately, that ended when you broke the law.
  50.  
  51. *
  52.  
  53. >"Rise and shine, celly."
  54. >Hitch Trailblazer raps his baton against the bars of your cell, something you hope he won't be making a habit doing every morning.
  55. >You stir, then sit up in your diminutive bed. You glare at him through squinted eyes, forced near-to-shut by the sun, which crests the horizon beyond the sea as if emerging from the depths solely to reach through the window and stab you in the retinas.
  56. >Hitch beams right back, teeth and smile matching the sun's brilliance.
  57. >"Got your breakfast. Bagel. You like bagels?"
  58. >He pushes a warm paper bag through the bars and your stomach gurgles its approval. His grin widens. With teeth that perfect it's not surprising he flashes them so often.
  59. >"Another point for ol' Hitch." He wanders back to his desk and sets his baton on it, speaking aloud as he checks a folder. "So, where were we?"
  60. "Where were we what." From the bag you retrieve a seed-speckled plump ring, opting to talk as you chew. "What time is it?"
  61. >"Six-thirty."
  62. "Too early."
  63. >"For irresponsible criminals like yourself, but agents of the law are earliest to rise so they can catch the worm."
  64. >Everything Hitch says is delivered with the cadence of a man trying out for a Hollywood movie.
  65. >You can't fully blame him. Apparently he's hot stuff around here. You could see it going to his head.
  66. >He sits on his swivel chair and spins. By the time he's rotated back round to you he's reclined and holding a mug of coffee. He's the sort of stallion that makes everything look easy. Even sipping his coffee he looks firmly in control of everything, even the ripples in his cup.
  67. >He winks at you for no discernible reason, presumably just to emphasise his own legend.
  68. >"So. Like I said, where were we?"
  69. "I don't know what you mean. Can I have my breakfast first?" You tear another chunk out of the bagel. A small part of you is relieved to know that this far in the future the recipe has only refined. "Thanks, by the way."
  70. >"You're very welcome. I'll pick up where we left off, then. We were talking about your crimes."
  71. "Can't we talk about something else? It wasn't illegal in Ponyville."
  72. >"Drunken disorderliness," he clicks his tongue, "it's a killer. Don't know about 'Ponyville', but in the Bay it's a serious offence."
  73. "I walked out of a bar with a drink in my hand."
  74. >"Yeah, and you weren't supposed to. Alcohol has to stay on the premises."
  75. "Can I not just get a slap on the wrist?"
  76. >"And allow a dangerous criminal out onto the streets?" He laughs good-naturedly. "Nice try, buddy."
  77. "Just how slow -are- things around here?"
  78. >He purses his lips and glances at one of his paperwork trays.
  79. >It's empty, and even from here you can see a coating of dust.
  80. >"I'll be honest, and this is just between you and me, but folks around here are really well behaved. You're the first pony, uh, alien, to break the law in..." he rubs his chin. "Seven months? Eight?"
  81. "So you're bored."
  82. >"Sort of."
  83. "Great. Can you let me out, then?"
  84. >"Absolutely not, the book is clear: Drunken disorderliness is three days in the slammer. You're staying right here."
  85. "And do we have to talk that entire time?"
  86. >"Nah, we don't need to. I'll leave you to it, we'll continue the questioning later."
  87. >He gives you another winning smile, then rotates back to his desk.
  88. >His hooves rest on the table and he watches the door.
  89. >The clock's ticks seem to get louder, each one building on the last.
  90. >The remains of the bagel disappears, the seeds licked off your fingers, and you settle against the wall of your cell.
  91. >The outside world passes by the window beside the door. It's hard to see much of anything from where you are, just the clouds and some flittering birds.
  92. >Hitch pops his lips. Then again. He taps a little rhythm on his desk.
  93. >You wait, dread building.
  94. >He swings back round in his chair.
  95. >"So!" There it is. "Where's Ponyville, anyway?"
  96.  
  97. *
  98.  
  99. >Judging by the position of the stars, the frequency of the rushing waves beyond the dock, and the arrangement of the station's furniture, you've been in the future for six days.
  100. >Admittedly, the calendar by your cell helps as well.
  101. >By now you've given up trying to get Hitch to let you out, not that it matters.
  102. >If Twilight was correct, and you're praying to the possibly long-dead Celestia that she was, you'll get yanked back in time in a day or so.
  103. >Until then, you've nothing better to do but watch Hitch, listen to Hitch, and talk to Hitch; your entire world has become Hitch, which is almost as depressing as your previous world being entirely Twilight Sparkle.
  104. >To his credit, he at least smells a lot better than Twilight and her week-old library stank ever did. The miracles of exercise and fresh air.
  105. >Hitch shoulder barges the door to the station open and walks in rigidly, frowning.
  106. >You pause during your eighteenth push-up, arms trembling under the weight, and quirk an eyebrow at him.
  107. "You good?"
  108. >"Not... really."
  109. >He shuts the door then, surprisingly, locks it.
  110. >"I'm not doing too good."
  111. >The stallion gives you a long look. His eyes follow the sweat-dew beading down your shirtless body.
  112. >He sits on the bare floor before to the bars and leans forward, resting his cheeks against them. You haven't been acquainted with him for that long, relatively speaking, but it's surprising to see his Hollywood persona vanish so abruptly.
  113. >Where once there was a stallion of bravado and confidence, a deflated pony now squashes his cheeks against your cell as if hoping he'll slide through.
  114. >"I got weird thoughts going on up there," he darts his and eyes chin up.
  115. "Yeah?" You move away from him slightly and rest your back against your bed, legs splayed out before you, chest still heaving from your exercises. "Like what?"
  116. >"I don't know. You, mostly."
  117. "Me?"
  118. >"I've got... I don't know how to really explain it. You mind if I just start talking and you can comment if you want?"
  119. "It's never stopped you before."
  120. >He huffs a laugh, but it doesn't reach his eyes, nor does he take the opportunity to flash his teeth.
  121. >"Ever since I first saw you I got this weird feeling. Not sure what it was, like a sort of magnetism."
  122. >You watch him closely. He looks past you, more at the wall after your head than at you.
  123. >"Here's the thing though, it's not the first time I've felt it. I get the same way around animals. I just feel sort of drawn to them, like there's something in my blood that's urging me to them. I'm great with them, by the way. Did I mention that?"
  124. "A few times."
  125. >"Right. I don't -like- animals, not really. Well, no, I do. It's more like I don't go out of my way to pet them or anything, but they seem to find their way to me, and I feel more sort of comfortable knowing they're there. Does that make sense? So, the same way I have this knack for animals, I feel a strange sort of way towards you. Before I thought it was because you -are- an animal, you know?"
  126. "Well, so are you, it's all biology."
  127. >"Uh. Sure. I sort of mean animal by 'anything not a pony', I guess."
  128. "Kind of offensive, but go on."
  129. >"I don't know what I'm supposed to say," he looks truly lost. Whatever's on his mind is weighing him down.
  130. >You shrug, your posture relaxed, but mind starting to draw uncomfortable parallels.
  131. >Hitch looks back at the door, then to you.
  132. >"So, Sunny's my friend, right? Sunny Starscout? I've mentioned her?
  133. >You blink. He's mentioned her once or twice.
  134. "Right?"
  135. >"Yeah. She's been my friend since we were foals, used to go up to her dad's place, that's the lighthouse, not sure if you saw it. She used to come over to mine. We were friends, is what I'm saying."
  136. "You're not anymore?"
  137. >"Huh? No, we still are, of course we are. She's my gal-pal, I love her, sort of."
  138. "Sort of."
  139. >His brow wrinkles.
  140. >"She kissed me on the cheek just now. I just came from a thing in town, founding event, I'll explain later. But she did it then gave me a look and I just... didn't feel anything?"
  141. "Alright?"
  142. >"But I've never felt that way towards mares. Or stallions, even. Honestly, I've never felt anything towards anyone."
  143. >He looks at you for the first time. Right at you, dead in the eyes.
  144. >"Then you showed up."
  145. >A fundamental dread stirs within you.
  146. >"I'm pretty hot stuff in town." He grins, but it's forced. "I know that. But, I don't wake up every morning thinking about... I don't know, kissing mares, or playing up that side of me. But you? There's something in my bones, Anon. There's some magnetism here I don't fully understand."
  147. >He sits up. You make the mistake of glancing down, and oh Lord.
  148. >Once upon a century, you stumbled upon Applejack, who in turn was spying on her brother.
  149. >-Why- she was spying was an uncomfortable topic for a while afterwards, but for a good few seconds you and she beheld Big Mac in all his private, pumping glory.
  150. >With powerful strokes he handled a log firmer than any proud tree with his bent hoof.
  151. >The image was burned into your mind forevermore, and you never did regard him the same way again. More to the point, you rigidly looked him in the eye because you were afraid of looking down and seeing what lurked below.
  152. >Hitch Trailblazer dwarfs Big Mac. You can tell from a single glance.
  153. >A black obelisk leans forward between his inner thighs, resting on a sack larger than two closed fists.
  154. >It throbs once. A single beat from its owners heart pulsing a milky bead from its tip.
  155. >You fix your eyes on Hitch's face and refuse to look away.
  156. >He blinks at you in confusion, then glances down himself and yelps.
  157. >"Horseapples-- don't look! Heck, how long has that been like that?! I'm so sorry, Anon--"
  158. >He closes his legs over it, then fruitlessly does his best to hide it from you.
  159. >Eventually, he gives up and just flops onto his front, squashing it beneath him.
  160. >It supports his weight easily, and you still see a line of black peaking beneath the stallion's belly where he lies.
  161. >He wipes a hoof down his face, mouth set in a line, not looking at you.
  162. >"I've had nightmares like this," he says to the floor.
  163. "I, uh," you manage. The parallels are uncanny. "You don't happen to have any pegasi in your family tree, do you?"
  164. >He snorts in spite of himself.
  165. >"Why'd you ask that? No, of course not. I don't think so, at least. Why?"
  166. >He glances at you. Looks away. Glances again.
  167. >His cheeks are rosy, and he grows a meek smile.
  168. >"I'm seriously sorry about that, I don't know what that was. Like I said, I've not thought about this stuff before. I'll... I'll just go for now, alright?"
  169. >You cough into a fist.
  170. "Maybe stop by the bathroom first before you walk outside looking like that."
  171. >"Hah, yeah, I think I will, thanks for watching my back, partner."
  172. >He gives you a wink and trots apace to the station toilets, the gargantuan pillar swinging to and fro beneath him as he goes.
  173. >You don't see him again for another hour.
  174.  
  175. *
  176.  
  177. >The seventh day, and you're pacing.
  178. >At any moment you're meant to boomerang back in time. Twilight's calculations are always solid, she won't have made a mistake.
  179. >But then, surely she'd leap at the chance to visit the future herself. She's a scientist and a magician, the discovery of the unknown is her life.
  180. >If she'd sent you instead, that would only be because she wasn't completely certain it would work.
  181. >Then, you're a guinea pig.
  182. >The hairs on the backs of your arms bristle, and a chill passes down your spine in contrast to the warm summer air in your cell.
  183. >The station door opens and Hitch strides in. He catches your eye, winks, and sets his bag on the hanger as usual.
  184. >"Anon, hey. Stars, it's boiling out there, I feel like I'm on fire. I've had to come back, the patrol had me steaming. You okay in here? You want the AC on?"
  185. >He fans himself with a hoof and watches you with a grin. Droplets flow down his coat.
  186. >You become aware of your own sweat, and pass a hand over your forehead. Not all of this is due to the heat, you're sure.
  187. >"You alright? You look flustered."
  188. "I'm just... waiting for something."
  189. >"Yeah?" He wets his lips and glances back at the door. "Would that something be me, by any chance?"
  190. >He laughs, but it's nervous.
  191. "Uh, no. It's all to do with how I got here. Hard to explain."
  192. >Hitch shrugs.
  193. >"Well, I'm not going back out there when it's that hot, so I've got time."
  194. >He slumps into his seat, slouching and facing you with his back legs spread wide.
  195. >You glance down on reflex, then immediately back up and endeavour to keep it that way.
  196. >Something in the periphery of your vision throbs. Something black.
  197. >Hitch smiles amiably.
  198. >"I figure we can't do anything about that, so we should probably just ignore it. It's fine, isn't it? We're just two guys, not anything we've not seen before. As if the ladies would understand, know what I mean?"
  199. >Another punctuating laugh, but the edge is taken off it. He's becoming more relaxed, and you don't like it one bit.
  200. "So, I'm from the past."
  201. >"Yeah, you mentioned, I just figured you were pulling my leg."
  202. "I showed up in town in a flash of light."
  203. >"And screaming, but you said that was you escaping your... what was it? Unicorn landlord?"
  204. "I was, but it was in the past."
  205. >"A good way of looking at things." He nods sagely. "It's all in the past. Focus on the present and future, right?"
  206. "No, I mean the literal past. My landlord sent me here to check out the future. I'm a time-traveller."
  207. >"Yeah?" He nods. "That involve magic?"
  208. "Lots of it."
  209. >He shudders.
  210. >"Glad you came here then. Magic is bad news. Here in the Bay things are nice and simple. No supernatural crap to distract or endanger."
  211. >He stretches in his seat and a few joints pop. He sighs contentedly. The black something grows.
  212. >"Really glad you came here. Hey, we're friends, aren't we? I feel like we've bonded these last couple days."
  213. "My point is, that I'm expected to return any time now."
  214. >He frowns.
  215. >"What, you want to go back?"
  216. "Not that I -want- to, I mean I'm -going- to get dragged into the past. That's how this is supposed to work."
  217. >He's off his chair and at the bars before you can blink.
  218. >"Woah, your landlord's gonna force you back? Not on my watch, buddy, don't worry."
  219. >Hitch unlocks the cell and marches in with you.
  220. >It's actually the first time he's done it since you got here, and the sudden breach of personal space unsettles you despite how irrational it is.
  221. >It's Hitch's cell, he can do whatever he likes. Even so, him being in here with you feels too close. Too intimate.
  222. >He puts a firm hoof on your leg and looks up at you.
  223. >"It'll be okay, Anon. If any unicorns come in here and try to abduct you to another timeline, I'll stop them. I've watched Termineightor like seven times, I know how this works. You're safe here with me."
  224. >He doesn't remove his hoof. His smile grows. He won't look away from your eyes.
  225. >Looking down on him from above as you are, you can't see what you know is below him.
  226. >But you hear a slap. One you're well accustomed to, having lived around equines for as long as you have.
  227. >The silence builds, neither of you look away from each other. You, out of trepidation, him...
  228. >"So, on my patrol just now..."
  229. >He swallows and speaks in a low tone.
  230. >"I was thinking about you and me. About that magnetism, from before?"
  231. >His warm coat, gentle eyes, and sudden soft voice have checked every box in your mind, and a well-entrenched phobia, dismissed as irrelevant beyond a thousand-year blockade, resurrects in shrieking distress.
  232. >"I just want you to know that I'm... I'm here. For you. I've thought about it, and-- and I've decided that if there's gonna be anyone, it's you. Look, I know it's weird, we've only just met and you're literally some kind of alien, but it just feels -right-. There's something deep within me that's burning for you, and I'm over my uncertainties now."
  233. >Another meaty slap ends his sentence.
  234. >Without you realising, he's backed you against the far wall of your cell.
  235. >But your usual strategies for this sort of situation won't work.
  236. >The pony before you is no demure pegasus with an inferiority complex. He's no lightweight bump in the road to be stepped over and brushed aside.
  237. >Hitch is a fully grown stallion. A pony of the law. He has more muscles in his chest than you have in your entire body. His head comes to your diaphragm whereas Fluttershy's only came to your waist.
  238. >He wets his lips. A shadow of doubt passes his expression, but it passes quickly. He nods slightly.
  239. >"I'm, uh, I'm really into this right now, Anon. Just us, here. The door's locked and, and the blinds are turned down. No one can come in and no one will see us. Do you want to...?" He cocks his head. "You know?"
  240. "N-no, no I don't, thank you, I'll pass."
  241. >Hitch looks away with a wounded expression.
  242. >"Aw, come on... What if we just get started and we'll see where it goes? If it's too much, we can stop, but I think you'll like it."
  243. >He rears up on his hind legs.
  244. >He's now eye-level in you.
  245. >Little pony nothing, this stallion is a monster.
  246. >Another monster is now resting against your stomach, pulsing in time to his heartbeat. Its heat is staggering, like there's a furnace buried at the core of the leathery sheath.
  247. >"Lot of mares in town wanted some of this, but I've never been comfortable with that. But with you? I feel there's a sort of magic here. Not the bad magic, though," he quickly corrects, "the good kind! The kind in the movies."
  248. >He snorts involuntarily. Hot breath flows over your face and rustles your hair.
  249. >"Yeah, there's no way I can just go back to work, we've gotta blow off steam here, Anon. Give me a hoof? Hand? Whatever?"
  250. "Hitch, back off."
  251. >"Come on," it's almost a whine.
  252. "Back off, I'll not say it again."
  253. >You shove his chest.
  254. >He doesn't even feel it. This is a hundred-fifty kilos of muscle bearing down on you, you'd have better luck shoving a shipping liner. Your mind briefly struggles with the concept that you might actually miss Fluttershy, before disregarding it in favour of more pressing issues.
  255. >Hitch grins.
  256. >"Into rough play, are you? Alright, celly, I think I can get into that. Prison rules, right? So what, have you just dropped the soap or something?"
  257. >Your eyes widen. He grips you. You can do nothing to stop him hurling you to the floor of your cell, and you land with a force that stuns you.
  258. >You try to say something, but in your shock it's just a squawk.
  259. >Hitch's immovable weight settles on your back, with the totem pole between his legs squashed against you. It comes to the middle of your spine. It's as thick as your bicep. Where he intends to stick it is obvious.
  260. >"I really hope you're ready for this, Anon," he pants into your ear, "because I've got some serious frustration pent up."
  261. >Your pants are removed with a rough hoof, the button, zipper, and stitches snapping with meagre resistance and the hot air gracing your goosepimpled bottom.
  262. >His front hooves hook your sides and hold you in place. The black mass settles between your cheeks. It slides up and down, viscous pre lubricating everything it passes over.
  263. >Fear. The unfiltered fear of a trapped animal assaults your conscience.
  264. >"Yeah, this feels right," Hitch breathes. "This... this is what I needed. I won't be -too- rough, Anon, I promise, I'll just see how much I can get in first, don't squirm around too much."
  265. >Tears roll down your cheeks. You can't prevent what's coming. The inevitability of it hits you in the gut.
  266. >Like fully understanding for the first time that you're going to someday die, the realisation that Hitch is going to rearrange your internal organs with his glistening black police baton is as obvious to you as the sun rising in the east.
  267. >His gargantuan flare presses against your puckered backdoor, it clenches tighter than your closed fists and Hitch grunts.
  268. >"It's gonna be tight, but hey, that's what the goo is for. Relax, Anon, trust me on this, it's gonna feel great."
  269. >Your palms suddenly sting as if burnt, and your fists unclench for a moment.
  270. >You stare at the fingers.
  271. >Your glittering fingers. Your electrical fingers.
  272. >Hitch's flare presses harder. Your entire back end is forced forward from the weight, but Hitch's steady hooves keep you in place.
  273. >Your arcing fingers. Your magical fingers.
  274. >Violet quivering strings dance between your outstretched digits.
  275. >Your eyes wide.
  276. "The calculations!" you whisper.
  277. >"What's up?" Hitch says from above, but doesn't stop his efforts.
  278. >Your rectum gives way slightly, and you feel the first centimetres of Hitch's battering ram breaching your gates. A hot, bursting pain lances through you from one end, and a tingling rush envelops your fingers, hands, wrists, and arms from the other.
  279. >The two meet in the middle. You scream as Hitch's flare breaks all the way through and slams into you just as your entire body is clothed in violet electricity.
  280. >Hitch yells out, the world whines like mosquitoes trapped in both your ears, and the cell explodes into glittering oblivion.
  281.  
  282. *
  283.  
  284. >You slam down on a dais to the sound of further, much more feminine screaming.
  285. >You don't move for a while, instead curling into the foetal position and staring in bewilderment at the sidelong plane you now exist on.
  286. >Your rectum is on fire. You can feel a slight draft poking at it, cool fingers tracing the split skin. A small reprieve from the sharp twinges amidst the dull aches.
  287. >A yellow face fills your vision and for a moment your heart stops.
  288. >"Look at him! Look what you did, Twilight! Oh, he looks so scared! Anon, are you alright? Momma's here! She'll make you feel better!"
  289. >Fluttershy grabs your head, shoves it against her lap, and strokes you forcefully like she's trying to wring the hair follicles from your skull.
  290. >"You poor poor... um, why aren't you wearing pants-- are you -bleeding- from there?!"
  291. >She shrieks again and vanishes, dropping your head against the metal. You hear Twilight swearing and cursing. You hear Fluttershy chasing her around threatening bloody murder. Crashes. A bang. More swearing. It fades into white noise.
  292. >Tomorrow, Fluttershy'll be at the library again, likely committed to nursing you back to health against your wishes.
  293. >Twilight will have some insane request for you. Spike will pretend none of it is happening and retreat further into comic book escapism.
  294. >You smile with your cheek pressed against the cold metal dais.
  295. >You've never been so happy to be here.
  296.  
  297. [Chapter 2]
  298.  
  299. >"You're fidgeting again," Twilight says. "Are you having second thoughts? I promised to pay you this time."
  300. "You said you wouldn't kick me out."
  301. >"That's a form of payment."
  302. "If Fluttershy finds out she'll skin you."
  303. >"The door's locked this time, and I hid the spare key so Spike can't betray me."
  304. "A door wouldn't stop her."
  305. >"No, but you'll be back before she knows anything's up."
  306. "I could tell her."
  307. >"You won't."
  308. >You stand upon a dais, shoulders aching from the backpack straps dragging you down.
  309. >Your hands grip the straps with pale knuckles, like a schoolboy on his first day.
  310. "The last time you sent me to the future I got raped by a cop."
  311. >"Lucky for you, you're not going to the future."
  312. "I'm not?"
  313. >"You're going to an alternate reality."
  314. "Is that..."
  315. >"Safe? Of course it probably is."
  316. "I more thought legal."
  317. >"Why wouldn't it be legal?"
  318. "I don't know. Been thinking a lot about law and the things you do."
  319. >"Is this because you were raped by a cop?"
  320. "A lot of these experiments aren't safe."
  321. >"Science isn't a safe field. Progress requires risk-taking."
  322. "But you're never the one taking the risks."
  323. >"Of course I am. If the experiment fails I risk being humiliated in front of my peers."
  324. "But I'll be dead."
  325. >"And you'll be mourned. Fortunately, you won't die. I've refined the spell."
  326. "Will I still be there for a week?"
  327. >"Better. You'll be there for a few days, but if the spell thinks you're in danger it'll pull you out early."
  328. "Oh."
  329. >"So if you step out the portal and straight into an active volcano, it should yank you out before the lava reaches your knees."
  330. "-Oh-."
  331. >"You'll be fine."
  332. "You said that last time."
  333. >"I didn't account for you being raped last time. This time I -am- accounting for it. The spell works, I tested it on Spike the other month."
  334. "How?"
  335. >"Did an experiment. He was fine."
  336. "What did you do?"
  337. >"An experiment."
  338. "And--"
  339. >"He was fine. Have you not seen Spike walking around?"
  340. "Yeah, but--"
  341. >"Then he's fine. Now wait right there and don't move, I'll need to charge this thing up and if you step off or move too suddenly it might disintegrate you."
  342. "Twilight, I think I'm having second thoughts--"
  343. >"I'm sorry to hear you say that," she interjects. "I think Applejack might have a spare bed for you."
  344. >She gives you an expectant look.
  345. "I don't trust Applejack."
  346. >"Why not? She's the Element of Honesty."
  347. "She's been really aggressive since you injected her with testosterone."
  348. >"She's not -aggressive-, she's just living up to her physical potential."
  349. "She's violently horny."
  350. >"She always was."
  351. "I'm afraid to go near her."
  352. >"Great! Then you'll help me with my little test and then we can get take-out tonight."
  353. "I want paying."
  354. >"I already--"
  355. "Money. I want money."
  356. >Twilight squints at you as if trying to figure out if you're joking.
  357. >"Bearing in mind that I run a free public library and get only a light stipend from the Princess, how much?"
  358. "Te... thirty bits."
  359. >"-Thirty?!- I said I'm running a library, not a charity!"
  360. "Twenty five, then."
  361. >"You'll get twenty bits for providing this vital public service that most ponies would do out of the goodness of their own hearts."
  362. "Fine."
  363. >"Fine. Now stand still so you don't get vaporised."
  364. >She disappears into the mass of her basement machine and from among the brass labyrinth you hear grunts and metal grinding on metal.
  365. >"Ready?" comes a hollow voice, like she's in a tunnel. "Starting in three... two... one!"
  366.  
  367. *
  368.  
  369. >There wasn't an active volcano immediately beneath your feet when you arrived.
  370. >But you can see one on the horizon, and it doesn't fill you with much hope.
  371. >A mountain range divides land from sky like the shattered smile of a great beast, black against the strange half-light of this world.
  372. >There are supplies to last you weeks in your rucksack, but in a place like this you'd rather have a gun.
  373. >You check your watch and the hand is paused, which is a bad sign, and your compass spins erratically, which is a worse sign.
  374. >But the worst sign yet is the sky. Both the sun and moon, strangely the same size as one-another, dominate the heavens, glowering from opposite ends of the firmament.
  375. >And here you stand betwixt the two, half your body cast in shadow and the other in sunlight.
  376. >From your arrival point you can't see much, despite being on the sunnier side, so you set your jaw and start walking in search of civilisation.
  377.  
  378. *
  379.  
  380. >This is a corpse world.
  381. >Fissures carve the land. The otherwise gentle basins of valleys are cracked like split bowls, ragged gouges torn into the earth and bedrock like a mountainous axe has hacked away at everything below the clouds.
  382. >On occasion you'll pass a calcified hill, an entire rise stripped of grass and dirt and the hardcore beneath turned to sludge, and the sludge turned to black glass.
  383. >Every now and then you'll spy the top of a building jutting from the ground, submerged in the ashen muck like the apartments of Pompeii.
  384. >Twilight hadn't mentioned exactly where she'd be sending you.
  385. >If she had, you wouldn't have come, and that's likely why she didn't say.
  386. >If you threw yourself off a cliff, would the spell slingshot you back to Equestria before you hit the ground?
  387. >A chill passes over you, but not at the notion of accidental suicide.
  388. >This land clearly is Equestria, but it's another version. A divergent timeline, perhaps.
  389. >Something terrible happened here, and you hope that whatever it was has passed.
  390. >But with no landmarks to speak of, there's no way of knowing how long this place has been dead.
  391.  
  392. *
  393.  
  394. >Your breath is heavy as you crest the rise, but to your dismay the land below you is more of the same.
  395. >You half-expected it to be, but seeing it splayed out like this depresses you.
  396. >Nothing is unmarred, a geological tapestry of brown, and black, and brown.
  397. >All cast in the sickly half-light of the warring sun and moon.
  398. >Through your binoculars, the only colours you can see are the volcanoes vomiting their fiery guts all over their surroundings.
  399. >There were ponies here, once.
  400. >You've seen more of their constructions. Little farmsteads either submerged in filth or charred to their framework bones.
  401. >The charcoal remnants worry you.
  402. >A sufficient length of time would have seen them turned to dust by way of rain or wind, but they stand as though it had only been months or at most a year since they'd been burned.
  403. >Perhaps the cataclysm that ended the world is still ongoing. Maybe you stand at its epicentre, and somewhere on the far side of the planet a population of undaunted survivors struggle to hold back the end of everything.
  404. >Perhaps, but probably not.
  405. >It's hard to imagine anything living in this desolation.
  406. >You swing your binoculars across the splintered peaks, and then your breath catches.
  407. >The largest volcano, its peak taller than even the Canterhorn, rises above its siblings.
  408. >And something emerges.
  409. >Not lava, but smouldering all the same.
  410. >Though hard to make out through the smoke, it's clearly an entity.
  411. >And then as if to answer that thought, the figure surges from the smokescreen.
  412. >In your direction.
  413. >Despite being enveloped in volcanic smog, it remains pristine white, yet still burning. Fire engulfs the form, and as it approaches you see wings pumping at its sides.
  414. >Dread smothers any excitement.
  415. >You stuff the binoculars away and run back down the slope.
  416. >As you scramble and slide on your bottom across the grey, chalky scree, the figure thunders overhead, the air screaming with its supersonic passing and carrying a wave of ash and dust in its wake.
  417. >A quick glance was all you needed to confirm your suspicion.
  418. >It's a pony.
  419. >The pony U-turns tightly enough to make Rainbow Dash blush, coming back around on alabaster wings before coming to a hovering stop.
  420. >It's far away enough that you can't make out its face, only its hanging body, mighty wings, and inferno mane.
  421. >You suddenly become keenly interested in the threshold for Twilight's spell to decide to save you.
  422. >The figure's wings tilt, pounding the air with heavy, ponderous beats, and it begins its descent.
  423. >As it comes closer, you recognise it, or you think you do.
  424. >A thrill of terror seizes you, but you aren't able to rationalise a plan before the being has settled her hooves on the twisted earth and regards you with a mocking sneer.
  425. >"Well well well," she says, "a living creature. In my domain. How novel."
  426. >The pony before you is dressed in a parody of Celestia's garments, the normally flowing edges exaggerated and sharpened.
  427. >What was yellow gold, has become a metal like burnt amber. Her aurora hair a billowing flame.
  428. >But the most worrying change is facial, her motherly inclinations now open resentment.
  429. "Pr... Princess Celestia?"
  430. >The Princess starts, but her confusion is masked immediately with fury.
  431. >"Celestia is dead. Daybreaker is all that remains," she flares her wings with an air of victory, chin raised. "Daybreaker is -all- that remains."
  432. >She approaches, and each step could be an earthquake.
  433. >For a non-magical creature, even you can feel the shockwaves of latent arcane potential radiating from her, washing over you like standing naked beneath an Arabian sun.
  434. >She is it. There can be no alternative.
  435. >She is the cataclysm that ended this world.
  436. >"And what are you supposed to be? Dressed so finely and with such an unbowed posture. By my own hoof I saw this world burn. No civilisation survived, I made certain of it. Even -if- there are survivors they couldn't be so well put-together as you. Where did you come from, I wonder?"
  437. >She circles you, eyeing you like meat in a butcher's window.
  438. >"I smell magic on you, but not -in- you. You are not magical?" she frowns. "How intriguing. Perhaps I shall preserve you for a while before I disintegrate you, although..."
  439. >You don't react, though she clearly expected you to as she huffs.
  440. >You've already been threatened with disintegration twice today, and it loses its effect the second time around.
  441. "The sky. What happened to the sky?"
  442. >Daybreaker smiles appreciatively at the sun, before glowering at the moon.
  443. >"A minor dispute. It will be over in the coming years, and then the whole world will bask beneath my radiance."
  444. "A dispute with the... moon?"
  445. >"Of sorts."
  446. >An irresistible, invisible hand grips you suddenly, and Daybreaker takes flight.
  447. >"I shall find us a cave. Something out of sight of the wretched thing, before its owner--"
  448. >"Daybreaker!"
  449. >The bellow comes from far off, miles perhaps, but so loud that it vibrates your skin. Daybreaker grits her teeth.
  450. >"Too late. Ah, very well."
  451. >She sets you down and rises higher, looking towards the shaded side of the world that rests under the watch of the moon.
  452. >Another figure approaches from that darkness, and you don't need to guess at who it is.
  453. >Even a foreigner like you knows the tale of Nightmare Moon.
  454. >The perverted form of Princess Luna rides a chariot of lightning, and she comes to a jarring stop before her sister, the lightning spiralling off at random to shatter boulders and the tips of anything outcropping.
  455. >Thankfully, you are spared.
  456. >Nightmare Moon glares down at you, and your blood seems to run colder in her presence.
  457. >"I see you've found a pet," she directs to Daybreaker.
  458. >"Nothing to concern yourself with, little sister. Fly along back to your hovel and leave matters of importance to the big mares."
  459. >Nightmare bristles, but dismisses it, instead nodding at you.
  460. >"Well? What is it? We both saw it emerge."
  461. >"We did. From thin air no less, but still firmly within -my- territory. Therefore, it is -my- property."
  462. >"The only things that are your property are those that existed when this world was divided between us. New elements are open to 'negotiation'," she stresses the word, and you feel it has violent implications. "That was the agreement."
  463. >"Then I am changing the agreement. I don't see why I should lower myself to dealing with a sad little girl who can't accept she'll forever be in second place. The creature is mine. Now -leave- my realm before I remove you myself. Perhaps I'll do it anyway, and then I can see about removing that disgusting moon so that it doesn't pollute my skies anymore."
  464. >This is too much for Nightmare, and with a roar that could strip paint off the side of a barn she charges.
  465. >You had enough wherewithal to vacate the area as they were focused on each other, and when the first beam of hyper-temperate magic melts the house-sized granite slab you were running past you only sprint faster.
  466. >Twilight's spell, if it even exists, doesn't consider this enough of a threat, and you suspect she was lying about that too in order to get you on the dais.
  467. >Why, after last time, did you get on the dais? Are you that stupid? And you did it at a discount, to boot.
  468. >Self-flagellation aside, the sisters let slip enough information for you to use.
  469. >From the way they were speaking, you think they can see everything the sun and the moon see, so logically, you need to find a cave.
  470. >They'll see which cave you went in, unless they're too focused on each other right now to notice, but you should be safer once you're out of sight of the sky.
  471. >As a deafening blast of midnight-blue magic takes the top off a nearby peak, you hope you're right about that last part.
  472. >To the shouts and booms of a battle between goddesses you head for the slope of the valley.
  473. >The land trembles with each impact, and the few times you glance over your shoulder to see where the two former Princesses are you wish you hadn't.
  474. >They are like ragdolls. Hurled with overpowering force through barriers that should turn them to crimson smears and emerging only with wounded pride.
  475. >There is no mystery now as to how they destroyed the world.
  476. >You keep running, the thought of eating take-out with your abusive landlord the only thing keeping you momentarily sane.
  477.  
  478. *
  479.  
  480. >The cave you found is part of a network.
  481. >There are even signs of life, though they're as darkened and dusty as everything else.
  482. >Skeletons are a common sight, most curled up on the spot as if their owners simply laid their heads down and gave up, knowing there was nothing they could do to stop the apocalypse.
  483. >The echoes of carnage from outside have stopped, and that scares you more than if they hadn't.
  484. >Now they'll be looking for you, you're sure.
  485. >They, or whichever one of them came out on top in their duel.
  486. >You doubt either of them can actually die, having seeing them collapse mountains under their weight without a scratch.
  487. >So now you stay huddled in an alcove, your head peering out at the murky light beyond the mouth of the cave.
  488. >The sky doesn't change, the strange equilibrium between day and night never altering.
  489. >But you know now that if you see the sun or moon, then it will see you, and through it, the corresponding sister.
  490. >You pass the time by writing what you've seen in your journal.
  491. >At the very least you can do Twilight the favour of having material to work with. That way she'll know never to send you back to this place.
  492. >You write until you're too tired to continue, and then you curl up with your rucksack serving as a pillow.
  493. >As you lie in the dark, you stare at a similarly posed skeleton.
  494.  
  495. *
  496.  
  497. >A tremor awakens you.
  498. >For a moment you think the roof might be collapsing, but the old mining shaft beams above remain firm.
  499. >There are raised voices, and the hairs on the back of your neck stand on end.
  500. >"...But potentially," says one voice. Haughty and arrogant. Daybreaker.
  501. >"We've searched every other system in the area, how could it not?" comes the low reply, each word sharp like a stiletto. Nightmare Moon.
  502. >"You might be inclined to scurry around in the dark like a rat, but I cannot lower myself to such filth any longer. I shall remain here, in the glory of my sun. You search it."
  503. >From the volume alone they must be right outside the cave. Their personalities so large they can't even have a regular conversation without projecting their voices.
  504. >You shuffle farther back into your alcove and glance down the carved passage leading deeper into the mines.
  505. >It would be wise to make your escape now before they come in after you, but you're curious to overhear them.
  506. >How is it that they're still on speaking terms after their fight, let alone working together?
  507. >The implications are unpleasant, but you strain an ear regardless.
  508. >"Oh? How magnanimous of you, -sister-. And when I find him, shall I have him all to myself whilst you remain out here, sunning your gelatinous flanks?"
  509. >A roaring laugh answers, an explosive bark like a cannon.
  510. >"As always, you draw attention to my royal heft. Yes, little sister, stare all you want. Why, you can even have a taste if your mind has rotted so much. I know you've always felt jealous in the presence of -true- majesty."
  511. >"Then by all means stay out here and indulge in yourself as much as you like, I'm sure your lonely hoof must be very practised at tending to your -majestic- needs. I, however, intend to find this male and wring him dry."
  512. >There is a lull before Nightmare speaks again, this time more hesitantly.
  513. >"You -are- sure it is a he?"
  514. >"Am I ever wrong?" Daybreaker replies, and you can hear the smirk in it. "I could smell it in his sweat. In these caves there hides the last male in Equestria, little sister."
  515. >"And do you intend to kill this one as well?"
  516. >A pause.
  517. >"I will not deny," Daybreaker begins slowly, "that we were... zealous, in our initial assault. Perhaps wiping out the entire population was unwise, if only because it left us without any toys to play with, so to speak. But as you can see, that problem has now rectified itself. We have before us a male, and our magic is absolute."
  518. >"So it will work."
  519. >"The bindings?"
  520. >"Yes."
  521. >"Of course they'll work. I myself created them and... Yes, smirk all you want, Nightmare, they wouldn't be quite so potent without your aid."
  522. >"But the magic is sound."
  523. >"The magic is flawless. Need I remind you I trained generations of archmages before you returned from your little sojourn up there. The theory is as solid as it's ever going to be. Like us, he will never know death."
  524. >You feel like you've been dropped into a freezing cold bath.
  525. >"And then?"
  526. >"Then what. He will be mine to use as I please."
  527. >"-We- will use him, Daybreaker. -We- both have needs!"
  528. >"Have I not already made clear that I value our agreements as little as the dirt beneath my golden hooves? If I feel inclined I may loan him to you, but since he manifested on -my- side of our world, he is -mine- by right."
  529. >There is a snarl, answered by a deeper snarl.
  530. >But you're already sprinting into the darkness by way of a hastily withdrawn flashlight by the time the arcane shockwaves begin again, and the mountain trembles with the force of their brawl.
  531.  
  532. *
  533.  
  534. >It's been two days, or at least you think it has, given your sleep patterns.
  535. >Despite narrowly avoiding a cave-in caused by one of the more reverberating impacts against the mountain, Twilight's spell still refuses to pull you out.
  536. >You've not breathed fresh air or seen daylight in just as long, but you'll endure it for as long as you must if it means avoiding them.
  537. >Their intent is clear, and the sparse conversations - really more like screaming matches - you've heard them roaring outside have made you very aware of the danger you're in.
  538. >Two masochistic goddesses want to make you their personal, immortal plaything.
  539. >It's enough to make you miss the placidity of Maretime Bay, and Sheriff Hitch's hospitality.
  540. >You know, -before- he plugged your hole.
  541. >A fork in the path has you banking up towards the surface.
  542. >There haven't been tremors for a while, so the sisters' latest spat must have ended, meaning you can get some respite in the form of sitting near the mouth of a cave and sucking in some much yearned-for air.
  543. >A dim glow greets you as you round a corner, only the dripping of moisture and your own wet footsteps accompany you.
  544. >The half-light of the world beyond reaches through a small overlook, only slightly taller than you as you stand.
  545. >You settle on a stone and rest your hands on your knees, inhaling deep breaths from the breeze reaching in through the gap.
  546. >For a moment, there is peace.
  547. >"Well, that was easy, wasn't it?"
  548. >The voice speaks right into your ear and you yell involuntarily, hurling yourself off the stone seat.
  549. >As you watch, the seat dissolves, and so does the cave itself.
  550. >With bulging eyes you see the entire overlook turn to wisps of nothing and blow away to reveal a bare plateau.
  551. >About twenty feet away is the true mouth of the cave. The one you just blundered from.
  552. >About one foot away is Nightmare Moon, resting her chin on a hoof with an expression so smug it could be illegal in civilised society.
  553. "What--" you begin, but stop when a cannon-blast laugh comes from above.
  554. >"I will admit, Nightmare, you are a conniving sow when you want to be," Daybreaker says as she descends from the heavens, her horn glowing.
  555. >When her horn ceases thrumming, the last wisps of the illusory cave fade.
  556. >"Illusions. Very clever. Never been one for subterfuge myself, but I can see the benefits," she says as she touches down beside her Cheshire Cat sister.
  557. >There you lie, prone before two leviathans. The siblings that ended the world.
  558. >You try to flee, but Nightmare Moon has already restrained you with magic.
  559. >She hasn't moved, still herself lying on the ground with her chin resting on a hoof, those salamander eyes not even blinking.
  560. >"I wouldn't bother, creature," she drawls. "Where could you possibly run? This world is ours. There is nowhere to go, no cave deep enough that we won't flush you out."
  561. >She rises, the chalk-dusting on the stone not even having the decency to stick to her pristine coat as it does to you.
  562. >You can imagine that the very rock of this world fears her.
  563. >"Daybreaker," she says simply.
  564. >Daybreaker nods and steps forward, her eyes focused on you in what must be a rare show of seriousness, all traces of her mocking smirk gone, if only for a spell.
  565. >Her horn doesn't just glow, it -floods- with energy. Momentarily becoming as bright as her sun, and you shield your eyes.
  566. >"Creature," she announces, her voice vibrating, "you will be blessed. In our infinite grace we declare you to be our consort. You will serve us from this day forth until the end of time, or until you have outlived your usefulness."
  567. >"Which you never shall," Nightmare adds.
  568. >"Bow before us. Submit, so that our magic can bind you to our service."
  569. >Your eyes dart from the imperial Daybreaker to the sneering Nightmare Moon, and the last spark of hope within you dies.
  570. >And, with a slight tingle... it revives.
  571. >You glance down at your feet, then stare.
  572. >Across the toes of your boots, violet sparks build.
  573. >You raise a hand, and your heart leaps as faint arcs of static leap between your splayed digits. You can't keep the emerging grin from your face.
  574. >Nightmare Moon rises from her slouched position, her sneer vanished.
  575. >"Sister!" she yells.
  576. >Daybreaker cuts her magic short and her glare snaps to your fingers.
  577. >"Magic--" she starts, and for once you interrupt her with a laugh.
  578. "Hah! Overplayed your hand this time, assholes. Looks like your boy's going home!"
  579. >The violet sparks flash into a tempest, and your body becomes wreathed in familiar purple magic.
  580. >You feel something tugging first on your rucksack, then on your upper body, like someone's wrapped their arms around you and is pulling you backwards.
  581. >The air splits behind you, then flakes inward like cracked paint into a blinding white vortex.
  582. >You grin and flip the two gawking princesses the bird as your body tumbles back through your ride home.
  583. "So long, sisters! Enjoy being alone!"
  584. >You laugh, and allow the magic to carry you to salvation.
  585. >But something stops you.
  586. >Something grabs your feet.
  587. >Something won't let you leave.
  588. >Your head jerks away from the white void pulling you back to Equestria - your Equestria.
  589. >You almost sob at what you see.
  590. >Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon are grinning like sharks before a bloodbath, their magic restraining you.
  591. >"Dear Luna," Daybreaker says with the closest thing to fondness you've yet heard from her, "see how our royal consort is already giving us gifts! This waygate, is it stable?"
  592. >Sweat pours down Nightmare's face, her features creased with what must be pain and exertion in equal measure, but she wears a near-rictus grin all the same, her horn vibrating with incomprehensible power.
  593. >"I-It's a... it's a burden, but yes, I think I've stabilised it! There's an entire world through here, sister!"
  594. >"Can you see? Can you see what lies on the other side?"
  595. >"I... I can! It's Equestria!" her voice is hysterical. "Pristine and untouched! Celestia, we can start again!"
  596. >Daybreaker for a moment is speechless, but she recovers with a fathomless malice in her eyes.
  597. >"Then we can do everything -properly- this time. No extinction, no damnable solitude, but an eternity of mutual tyranny! Who could possibly stop us? We'll rule them like -GODS-. The sun will never set on our new world!"
  598. >Fear floods your veins.
  599. "Twilight!" you scream into the vortex. "Close the fucking portal! Don't bring me back!"
  600. >At the far end of the vortex, a window opens like an eyelid, and two faces peer through.
  601. >The first is Twilight, who looks stricken with either worry or panic. Likely both.
  602. >The second is...
  603. >Daybreaker gasps unbidden, and Nightmare Moon's magic flickers for a moment.
  604. >Princess Celestia glares down the vortex at her alternate self with an expression of absolute, unfettered contempt.
  605. >"-This- world," she says coolly, "is mine."
  606. >A lance of sunlight snaps past you like the lightning crack of a whip, and Nightmare recoils from the mouth of the portal with a strangled shriek.
  607. >Your legs are abruptly freed, and you spin flailing into the vortex as if dropped down a well, tumbling head over heels.
  608. >A final, desperate voice follows you.
  609. >"I have you, consort!" Daybreaker roars. "I know you! I know there's a way out! I -will- find you again! I -will- escape this HELL!"
  610. >You fall out the other side at speed, and the way seals up behind you.
  611.  
  612. *
  613.  
  614. >Celestia sips her tea.
  615. >She's been regarding Twilight with a cold look for about a minute, waiting for her student to say something.
  616. >Twilight won't look her teacher in the eye.
  617. >You have a blanket over your shoulders.
  618. >Not because you need it, but more for the formality. Celestia put it there and you're too frightened of her to say you didn't want one.
  619. >Having seen what you've seen, you know what she's capable of.
  620. >"I'm waiting," she say simply.
  621. >"I-I... I promise never to experiment with dimension-hopping again. I'm sorry. I didn't know it was illegal. I-I'm sorry, Princess."
  622. >"And?"
  623. >"And?" Twilight seems lost, then nods quickly. "A-and time-travel too, no time-travel of any kind."
  624. >"Good," Celestia finishes her tea and stands. "I'm glad we could come to an understanding, Twilight. You may leave."
  625. >"Princess?"
  626. >"I wish to speak to Anonymous. Please, you may leave," she's still giving Twilight a hard look. Her student hasn't been forgiven yet.
  627. >Twilight bows several times and all-but runs from her own bedroom, slamming the door behind her.
  628. >Celestia smiles fondly at you. After Daybreaker, such a simple gesture is like a warm pillow.
  629. >"How are you feeling?"
  630. "I'm fine, Princess. Thank you for saving me."
  631. >"We are fortunate I was there. Were I not, they would have secured the portal and used it to enter our world."
  632. "And... then?"
  633. >Celestia's smile fades.
  634. >"Then we would be damned. Thankfully, that will never happen. They're locked in their own world forever."
  635. "She said she'll find me again."
  636. >"I know. But she won't. I'll make sure of that."
  637. "Thank you, Princess, I-I can't thank you enough."
  638. >"Oh, I rather think you can."
  639. "Oh," you laugh somewhat nervously. "Well, how?"
  640. >Celestia approaches you with something of a sway to her hips. She turns at the last moment and presses her generous bottom against your leg.
  641. >With her magic, she takes your hand and presses it between her voluptuous cheeks and into her marehood. Your fingers sink between her folds as far as your knuckles, blazing hot and sodden with viscous moisture.
  642. >A powerful shiver passes through her, and she looks back at you with lidded eyes.
  643. >"I think you can thank me plenty, -consort-."
  644.  
  645. [Chapter 3]
  646.  
  647. >"Stop being such a wimp," Twilight Sparkle says, "I promised it would be fun."
  648. >You duck under another root dangling from the ceiling of the low, narrow packed-dirt tunnel.
  649. "Forgive me for being nervous around you whenever you take me underground."
  650. >"This is different to the library, I promise."
  651. "You've promised me a dozen things in the five minutes we've been down here."
  652. >"And you're not making the minutes go by any faster by being such a coward."
  653. "Why are you so eager to get me down here? You're experimenting again, aren't you?"
  654. >"No, I'm not experimenting, I promise."
  655. "Please stop making promises."
  656. >"Please stop making me regret bringing you down here."
  657. "Why can't we just teleport?"
  658. >"I can't teleport inside, it'd leave a magical trace and I'm trying to avoid detection."
  659. "That's the most suspicious thing you've said all morning."
  660. >"Yeah, well, I'm in a tight spot at the moment, now hold your applause: we're here."
  661. >At the end of the tunnel is a steel door, the sort you might see on a ship, and Twilight grunts as she turns the spokes on the wheel handle.
  662. >The door swings inward, and you step through into a strangely-lit room.
  663. >Mostly dark save for an ephemeral, shifting light, you can only see silhouetted outlines.
  664. >And as your eyes tilt up, you see what's casting the luminance.
  665. >The ceiling is glass, and above is nothing but abyssal water. Far above, a distant sun, smeared and obscured by the depths, tries to reach down and through the glass, but the refraction makes its efforts largely fruitless.
  666. >Twilight comes in after you and grunts with the door again.
  667. >"Pretty cool, right? Hold on a sec, I have to do all this by hoof..."
  668. >She fumbles around in the dark, cursing once or twice, and tripping over what sounds like a bucket, then a click heralds a dousing orange light.
  669. >Primitive electrics sputter to life, and you behold a laboratory.
  670. >And worse, a familiar entanglement of brass and copper pipework.
  671. >You take a step back.
  672. "God damn it, Twilight--" you begin.
  673. >"Look, hold on, just wait," she sounds flustered.
  674. "You promised you'd stop! You promised -Celestia- no more experiments!"
  675. >"This is the last one! I swear!"
  676. "Why do you keep -doing- this to me?!"
  677. >"I'm a scientist and a scholar, I can't -not- investigate this, Anon, it wouldn't be ethical!"
  678. "What's not ethical is blasting me across time and space to get raped!"
  679. >"Oh what, it's happened -twice-, okay? That's an unfortunate coincidence, not a rule, at least not a rule we can establish -yet-. One more time, that's all I ask, just one more. If you get raped, we'll know there's probably a link between transdimensional travel and getting raped, but we can't say for certain that'll happen."
  680. >You march right back to the door and twist the spokes on the wheel this way and that, grunting.
  681. >Twilight clears her throat.
  682. >"You can't leave, you'll need this."
  683. >She holds a thick iron key in her hoof with a weak smile.
  684. >"I -promise- this is the last time."
  685. >You cross the lab, the little mare backpedalling from you, and corner her against a steel sheet wall.
  686. "If Celestia finds you, finds this," you gesture to the underwater lab, "you're done."
  687. >"I... know. But she won't find me. I've taken precautions."
  688. "Like what."
  689. >"Like all this," she gestures as well. "Are you not impressed? Not even a little? I built an underwater lab beneath Ponyville lake and no one has any idea! And I did it in eight months, alone! Come on, you're impressed, I know you are. Not like you've ever done anything this cool."
  690. "The tunnel goes right back to the library."
  691. >"Sure, I needed a secret passage linking the two. You can't even see the glass from the lake's surface, the water's too deep. It's more of a trench than a lake, to be honest, I mean it's over five-hundred metres down and not even a quarter of that wide--"
  692. "Why won't Celestia find this."
  693. >She smiles and shrugs one shoulder.
  694. >"C'mon. Figure it out."
  695. >You watch her carefully, then look down at the key sitting in her hoof.
  696. "No magic."
  697. >"Not a bit. Needed it to make the place, of course, but now it's all set up I've gone dark. Past the library I don't use -any- magic, and I've learned enough from my previous experiments that the machinery doesn't need my magic to function anymore."
  698. "That's... well, how?"
  699. >"Do you think I've been doing this just for fun, Anon-- okay, don't answer that, and yeah the first time was for kicks, but the second one wasn't! I've learned so much about this process, and about what needs doing to launch a living creature across the veil that not only is this third machine much smaller, it's also powered by a self-contained magical source. Isolated, traceless. Plus, I've been getting a real kick out of this electricity you've told me so much about. Do you like the wires I've done? I did it all myself!"
  700. >You glance at the thick wiring hanging loosely on the wall beside you. If you listen, you can hear the current whining, so you step away.
  701. >One of the electric lamps nearby flickers.
  702. >"Magic's still a superior source of power, but having energy on demand without magic? -That's- useful, and I have you to thank for that, so... thank you."
  703. >You give her a stern look.
  704. "You're being far nicer than usual."
  705. >"C'mon, we're friends now, aren't we? We've gone through so much together."
  706. "I got raped by a cop from the future, and nearly raped by your teacher's evil twin, whilst you sat at home safe-and-sound eating tacos and masturbating."
  707. >"I was -not- eating tacos, I hate tacos, they're too much like quesadillas."
  708. >She pats your leg with a nervous smile.
  709. >"One last trip. I've been super careful with checking the measurements on this one, so one teeny-little jaunt and I'll have all the data I need to perfect my theory."
  710. "And what's that."
  711. >"That a pony can shoot herself across dimensions without any need for machinery."
  712. >Your eyebrows raise.
  713. "That's what this is all about?"
  714. >"Of course! What use is a big stupid piece of junk like this?" she kicks a brass pipe and the ringing circles the lab a few times. "I can't rely on this in a pinch. No, this needs to be mobile, and I've got all the power I need right here," she prods her horn.
  715. >You move away, arms folded, scowling at it all.
  716. "You'll send me somewhere stupid."
  717. >"No, I actually won't, not this time. I don't need to, I have the data on that already."
  718. >You give her a flat look as she comes to your side. To her credit, she looks earnest.
  719. >"I'm not kidding. The first trip was to test time-travel, and that was an overwhelming success: you got sent one-thousand eight-hundred and twenty-six years into the future, and returned safe."
  720. >Your anus clenches at the thought.
  721. >"Safe...ish," she corrects, seeing your glare. "The second trip tested cross-dimensional travel, which was also a success."
  722. "It was only a success because Celestia showed up to save me."
  723. >"W-well, yes, but that also worked in my favour, because it told me that Celestia is actively monitoring cross-dimensional travel, for whatever reason."
  724. "So you learned not to do it again."
  725. >"Pfft, no, I learned to be more careful and to do it in secret. Thus, this," she spreads a hoof at her lab again.
  726. "You're a maniac."
  727. >"I'm a seeker of knowledge."
  728. "Using me as a guinea pig."
  729. >"And you've been perfectly fine both times I've sent you on your way. Look, you're alive, aren't you?"
  730. "Do you have -any- idea how close I was to being locked on a dead planet with Daybreaker and Nightmare Moon using me as a sex toy?"
  731. >Twilight's tail flicks.
  732. >"N-not the worst end for you, I'm sure. But the failsafe worked, didn't it? It brought you home. And that's why this time I'm fully confident in this final trip."
  733. "-This- time?! You mean you didn't know the others would work?"
  734. >"This is an untested science! I don't know how Celestia knew to monitor it, but none of the books I've read in the Canterlot archives mentioned that any of this is possible!" She draws close, resting a hoof on your thigh and looking pleadingly up at you. "One last test and it'll be perfect. I'll have everything I need to start my own adventures."
  735. >A second stretches into several as you process her words.
  736. "Your... own?"
  737. >She wets her lips and steps away.
  738. >"Well, yeah. I wanna get out there too; see the sights, explore new worlds. I mean, I don't want to -die- which is why I'm grateful I have such a willing, loyal assistant that isn't Spike," she smiles.
  739. "You blackmailed me!"
  740. >"Ahh, who cares about the specifics. Look, this final test will be the safest one yet. I'm sending you to an alternate Ponyville, five years into the future."
  741. >You narrow your eyes.
  742. "What's the catch."
  743. >"None. This last trip will combine the time-travel of the first with the dimension-hopping of the second. You're not going to a dead world and you're not going to some xenophobic anti-magic hellfuture."
  744. "I'll have you know that Maretime Bay was a wonderful little town and the lack of magic was a blessing."
  745. >"You got raped."
  746. "I mean besides the anal fissure."
  747. >She rolls her eyes and trots away deeper into the machine, flicking a few switches on a control panel.
  748. >Lights sputter on around a metal dais, and you swallow heavily.
  749. "Well what about the failsafe? Won't you need to cast it?"
  750. >"And risk Celestia tracking my magic signature here? I'm not dumb, Anon. I casted it on you in your sleep this morning."
  751. "Do you... often cast spells on me while I'm asleep?"
  752. >Twilight doesn't answer.
  753. "Twi?"
  754. >"Get on the dais, Anon."
  755. "I want to be in and out in five minutes," you say, taking your place.
  756. >"I can't be that precise yet, but you'll have maybe six hours to kill."
  757. >She sighs.
  758. >"Anon. Seriously. It's just Ponyville, and from what I can tell this world is similar to ours, there's no extreme variances in magic that drew me to the first and second places I sent you, it's just... normal."
  759. "Oh, nice, so you knowingly sent me to that dead world."
  760. >"Of course I knew it was dead, I just didn't know Celestia killed it. Now shush, don't move."
  761. "If anything goes wrong I'm going straight to Celestia."
  762. >"Sure, be my guest, she won't be able to catch me. Soon as I've perfected this spell for my own use I'm outta here."
  763. >You frown, and in your silence she looks up at you, seeing your expression.
  764. >"What?"
  765. "Are... you really just gonna leave Equestria?"
  766. >She shrugs limply.
  767. >"There's too much out there for me to see, Anon. I can't just stay here on this one world. I need to explore. I -need- to, you don't understand."
  768. "What about your friends? They'd miss you."
  769. >"...I know, but... I'll come back every so often, but I won't stay long enough for Celestia to catch me."
  770. "You'd break Celestia's heart."
  771. >"And if she caught me, knowing what I'd become capable of, she'd strip me of my magic and lock me in a gilded cage for the rest of my life. She loves me, and that scares me. If she thought imprisoning me was the best way to keep me safe, she'd do it."
  772. >You feel your cheeks warming.
  773. "I wouldn't want you to leave either, Twi. When you're not bullying and experimenting on me you're kind of... nice."
  774. >The corner of her mouth tugs up.
  775. >"Hey, maybe you could tag along. We could travel the multiverse together, doing science. I couldn't ask the girls to do that, but you jumped across one universe to get here, maybe if we keep jumping we'll find Earth."
  776. >You watch your landlord for a moment, ignoring the unsettling sputters of the electrics, trying to find a crack in her façade.
  777. >She appears genuine.
  778. "Would you really do that for me?"
  779. >"Of course," her voice is soft. "I like spending time with you, Anon, it sometimes feels like--"
  780. >A blast of light disintegrates you, and all that remains on the dais is glittering sparkles.
  781. >Twilight blinks a few times, then looks down at the machine.
  782. >"Oh. Uhh. Whoops. Forgot it was turned on."
  783. >She chews her lip, then sets an egg-timer for six hours.
  784. >"Eh, I'll tell him when he gets back. Ima get me a sammich."
  785. >She prances away to the lab door, intent on demolishing the fridge waiting back at the library.
  786.  
  787. *
  788.  
  789. >You appear literally smouldering in a florally decorated front room.
  790. >There's also a scream, but you don't pay attention to that.
  791. >Your jaw is clenched so tight you feel your teeth about to crack.
  792. >Slowly, your body regains control of its motor functions, and your muscles twitch and relax.
  793. >The agony of essentially being electrocuted passes, and you turn to see what hell you've subjected yourself to this time.
  794. >A dainty room full of doilies, ornaments, chairs, a sofa; all drenched in pink flowers and a smell that reminds you of your grandma's house.
  795. >Another scream, this one louder than before, and you see Bon Bon huddled in the corner, wide-eyed and stammering.
  796. >"M-monster! Monster!" she shrieks at you.
  797. "Can it, Bon Bon, you know it's me."
  798. >She jerks her head back.
  799. >"How do you--" she gives up and screams again before cantering out her front door and screaming for help, leaving it wide open.
  800. >It takes you a moment to remember where you actually are.
  801. >You come to the front room's window and stare out at Ponyville, your hands on your hips.
  802. "So this is an alternate reality."
  803. >You nod.
  804. "Seems nice."
  805. >You check yourself in Bon Bon's mirror, pat out a few still-smouldering bits of your blazer, and stuff your hands in your pockets before strolling out the door, closing it behind you.
  806.  
  807. *
  808.  
  809. >There's something off about this place, but your subconscious mind won't tell you what.
  810. >The residents of Ponyville act in a way you've come to expect, following your initial arrival in your own Ponyville several years ago.
  811. >Screams, fleeing, and the slamming of doors.
  812. >Fearful faces peer out at you from the windows, and you can't help but smirk.
  813. >Alternate universe nothing, this is identical to the place you've come from.
  814. >Perhaps Twilight screwed up the jump. Perhaps you were just sent several years back in time to before you arrived.
  815. >You pause.
  816. >If you meet yourself here, will that cause a paradox?
  817. >You rub your stubble and hum before shrugging and carrying on your way.
  818. >If there is a paradox later down the line, that's future Anon's problem.
  819. >There isn't anything obviously different about this place.
  820. >Or, at least that's what you think until you turn a corner.
  821. >Two things become immediately apparent.
  822. >The first and most shocking being the charred, blackened ruins of Twilight's treehouse library.
  823. >You stare at it, dumbfounded, and a rush of emotion catches in your throat.
  824. >It isn't -your- treehouse of course, but the memories associated with it still come rushing into your mind.
  825. >The second, less obviously out-of-place thing about the town is the stocks.
  826. >A raised, broad wooden platform dominates the middle of the street on the way to the library.
  827. >Three sets of stocks are spaced evenly in a line, and one of them is occupied.
  828. >Hands still in your pockets, you approach the one pony that physically can't run from you, and you reckon that even if she could, she wouldn't, due to her perennial drunkenness.
  829. "Berry Punch? Is that you?"
  830. >Berry snorts and raises her head, one eye blinking after another.
  831. >"Oohh, look'a that, a monster! That's... well ain't that a stinker. You come to fuck up ol' Berry as well?"
  832. "Uh. No, not really. Why are you in stocks?"
  833. >"Cuz I broke the law. Rules are rules, an' stuff..."
  834. >She hiccups and smiles goofily.
  835. >"Heyy, how about yous and me go fool around, I've still got some juice in me, if you know what I'm sayin', I ca-- I can dom with the best ov'em."
  836. "Right. Sure. What law did you break?"
  837. >"Jus' disorderliness, that sorta thing. Nothin' bad, can't get anymore preggers, I'll be outta these midday, prollaby."
  838. "So there are laws against drunkenness here?"
  839. >"You know it!"
  840. "But you still got drunk."
  841. >"You know it!"
  842. "'Kay. Well, see you around, Berry. Take it easy."
  843. >"You too, mister polite demon... bet you got a nice cooter..."
  844. >You glance back, and her head's slumped forward already, the mare snoring.
  845. "Alright," you say to yourself, "not everything's the same. What else sticks out like a sore thumb..."
  846.  
  847. *
  848.  
  849. >It's not a thumb that sticks out. It's an entire fucking arm.
  850. >With bewilderment you behold a giant crystalline castle, its form similar enough to a tree.
  851. >It towers over the rooftops between you and it. You doubt you'd have noticed it for another few minutes had the sun not reflected off one of its points and dazzled you.
  852. >Did Twilight burn down her own home and build a new one?
  853. >That is absolutely something she'd do. You know her that well.
  854. >Dots start connecting in your head, and you wonder if you'll have to put up with another wannabe tyrant in this reality.
  855. >There are ponies scampering about behind you, but they won't let you get close.
  856. >There's also something about them you're not getting yet, but you trust your brain to eventually be courteous enough to let you in on the big joke.
  857. >For now, you puff out your cheeks and head for the castle.
  858. >As you get closer, the ponies skirting your invisible perimeter become more numerous.
  859. >Many are now slowing, some even stopping to watch you pass.
  860. >You make no sudden movements, your hands still firmly in the pockets of your suit's pants, though at one point you readjust your tie in a way you hope doesn't betray your nerves.
  861. >The ponies no longer run from you. Most whisper to themselves, and some even smile.
  862. >Amongst the crowd you spy Bon Bon, who doesn't seem so afraid anymore.
  863. >You wave at her, and she faints.
  864. >Perhaps not so brave.
  865. >The mares around her snicker and nudge each other, and that's when it hits you.
  866. >You stare at the group of mares around Bon Bon's prone form.
  867. >Then you turn right around and squint at the group behind you.
  868. >The mares there watch you just as carefully.
  869. >As do the mares to your left, and the mares to your right.
  870. >It's all mares.
  871. >You haven't seen a single stallion since you ended up here.
  872. >You nod slowly.
  873. "Okay," you mutter, "that's a bit weird."
  874. >You pick up the pace, judging that you'd feel safer with thick castle walls separating you from the increasingly curious crowd, but unfortunately that's about when you stop.
  875. >Or are stopped.
  876. >One bold mare steps forth from the crowd to confront you, and though it isn't Fluttershy as a small part of you was expecting, you wish it was as she's an order of magnitude easier to deal with than that pony stood before you now.
  877. >"Good afternoon, creature," she says, conspicuously checking you out. "What might I call -you-?"
  878. "Hello R..." you pause.
  879. >Should you say her name? It might come off as creepy.
  880. >Ahh, but you're only here for six hours, so what the hell.
  881. "Hello, Rarity, I'm Anonymous," you say as causally as you can.
  882. >The crowd around you murmurs, and the pony Rarity raises her eyebrow.
  883. >"I don't believe we've met?"
  884. "We haven't. Your, uh," may as well have some fun with her. "Your legend spreads far."
  885. >"My legend?" She can't hide her smile, you know her too well.
  886. "Of course. Word spreads far and wide of a gorgeous pony with a diamond cutie mark living in Ponyville."
  887. >More, louder murmurings from the crowd. They're much closer now.
  888. >Rarity laughs, her clear voice ringing out.
  889. >"But of course! How could anyone in Equestria not know of Rarity the Unicorn and their virility!"
  890. >She grins at you.
  891. >"And -you- must be here to sample it, yes?"
  892. "Uh. Well, I was just passing through, actually. I'm just a visitor, not stopping."
  893. >"Oh, I don't know, I think I could convince you to stay," she says with licentious smile.
  894. >You ignore her and nod at the castle.
  895. "That been there long? Where I'm from we didn't know there was a crystal tree in Ponyville now."
  896. >Rarity glances over her shoulder at the tree, purses her lips, and looks to you again.
  897. >She seems sceptical.
  898. >"You didn't know? I find that rather hard to believe." The crowd voices its agreement. "All in the land know of Princess Twilight Sparkle and their place here in Ponyville."
  899. >Princess Twilight Sparkle.
  900. >If the very idea of a mare like Twilight having a royal mandate didn't fill you with so much instinctive dread, you'd burst out laughing.
  901. >But Rarity speaks with seriousness. You doubt it's a jape.
  902. "Oh, my mistake, I didn't realise it was hers. We knew about the Princess, just not the castle..."
  903. >Your voice catches near the end, and your clear your throat.
  904. >Rarity stalks towards you, her hips swaying.
  905. >"And what exactly are -you-? You seem... safe."
  906. >This close to you, you can see that these ponies are slightly bigger than their otherworldly counterparts.
  907. >Not grossly so, but if this Rarity were to stand beside the Rarity from your world, she'd have a good few inches on her.
  908. >"Rather fetching, I think. Where you're from, are you a dom or a sub?"
  909. >You blink.
  910. "I'm not anything."
  911. >"A switch, then?"
  912. "Sh...sure?"
  913. >A few in the crowd chuckle knowingly, and Rarity with them.
  914. >"That's alright. Quite a few ponies are switches, it's nothing to be ashamed of. It just means you haven't found your place yet, that's all."
  915. >She touches your leg and smiles up at you.
  916. >"I could help you find yourself, if you'd like."
  917. "I'm not really sure what you're getting at--"
  918. >There's a rush of magic behind you. A familiar pop you've come to associate with only one pony, and the members of the crowd you can see behind Rarity gasp with mixed reactions: some wilt away, others puff out their chests.
  919. >Rarity takes a half step back, but recovers her smile.
  920. >"Oh! Hello, Twilight, I was just speaking with this passerby. They're called -Anonymous-, aren't they a doll?"
  921. >You swallow heavily.
  922. >Then turn.
  923. >Twilight Sparkle, easily a head higher than your own world's counterpart, looms behind you.
  924. >She's still shorter than you by a good margin, but she presents herself with such confidence that she feels larger.
  925. >The major difference is the wings.
  926. >She spreads them, fanning the air a few times before furling them against her body.
  927. >"Good morning," she says, her eyes tracing over you. "You're not from around here, are you?"
  928.  
  929. *
  930.  
  931. >The boutique is mostly identical to the one in your own Equestria, but there's an absence of stallion-shaped mannequins.
  932. >Rarity trots about in the little kitchen beyond the shop floor preparing tea. Twilight circles you, sniffing.
  933. >You feel conscious under her gaze. It's not like your Twilight's scrutiny: this one drinks you in, both studying and sampling you. You don't just feel naked before her, there's vulnerability there, too.
  934. >"You're very different, Anonymous," she says your name slowly. "You said you're from... Earth?"
  935. "Earth, yes."
  936. >"I've never heard of it, and I've travelled all over Equestria."
  937. >She frowns at you.
  938. >"There's something you're not telling me." She sniffs near you again, deeply. "And there's something -about- you that's wrong, too."
  939. >Her hackles raise, and her upper lip pulls back as if to snarl, but she masters it. Instead, she puffs her chest out and continues circling you.
  940. >"I'm a princess of Equestria."
  941. "So I'm told. Congratulations."
  942. >"So, I'm at the top of the totem pole around here. -Me-. Just thought you should know before you get any funny ideas."
  943. "Ideas like what?"
  944. >"You know what."
  945. >Your eyes lock and you both glare at each other, an electric tension passing between you.
  946. >She snorts, turns, and her tail flicks.
  947. >And then, you see it.
  948. >Something you hadn't been looking for, but in the half second when she moves off towards the kitchen her tail drifts to the side with the motion.
  949. >There, beneath her tail, are her genitals. And beneath her ordinary vagina is an extraordinary set of testicles.
  950. >Her tail drifts back into place, shrouding them, but you stare all the same.
  951. >Rarity trots back into the room, levitating a tray, and as she sets it down and is momentarily distracted by a disorganised pile of fabrics you see hers too.
  952. >A pair of pendulous balls hangs beneath her teardrop. Your head tilts slowly to one side to get a better look, and you see the tip of a charcoal-grey sheath poking down from Rarity's undercarriage.
  953. >You stand straight back up, rigid.
  954. >Twilight and Rarity share hushed words, glancing back at you every so often, but you're looking away through the window.
  955. >Mares stroll around in the street, and if you squint you can see the same thing on every single one of them.
  956. >Every mare has both genitals.
  957. "They're all fucking futanaris," you whisper.
  958. >"What was that?" Twilight says sharply.
  959. "Uh, nothing," you say, turning back, "just commenting on the weather."
  960. >Twilight's horn flares to life, and a surge of magic passes over you.
  961. >"There's something there. I can -feel- it, and it's familiar, but I don't know." Her glare is terrifying. Daybreaker was objectively worse, but since you know Twilight so well, the ire of her doppelgänger feels more personal.
  962. >Though, you must remind yourself that you don't know this Twilight all that well at all.
  963. >"Rarity, I'll be back soon, just... keep them here, alright? I need to double-check something."
  964. >She vanishes in a flash, and Rarity smiles at you.
  965. >"Alone now, darling. They say they'll be back soon, but I know our Twilight. Five minutes is an hour as far as they're concerned."
  966. >She saunters to you and circles you much as Twilight did, her tail dragging over and past your legs.
  967. >"Such miserable clothes, I must say. Were you in a fire?"
  968. "Yeah, I got singed the other day," you say, looking down at your previously smouldering clothes with ugly holes burned into the top layers of fabric.
  969. >"Well that won't do. Would you like me to repair them for you? Or perhaps create a new, more, ah, form-fitting ensemble?
  970. "I'm afraid I don't have any money."
  971. >"Oh, pish-posh, I'm sure you'll pay me back somehow. Come along now, strip!"
  972. >She fusses over you as you peel off your blazer and pants, but trots off after a while to find a measuring tape.
  973. >You aren't terribly bothered -- the Rarity back home has seen you naked plenty of times during your measurements, and mercifully she's one of those mares that shows absolutely no interest in you, so you don't see why this one should be any different.
  974. >Naked, you wait for her to return, and when she does her nose wrinkles.
  975. >"Such unsightly hair. Are all your... kind, like that?"
  976. "Hah, only the men, usually. And yeah, I have thicker body hair than most."
  977. >"Men?" she cocks her head as she threads the tape through your legs and wraps it around your thigh.
  978. "Yeah, men. I'm a human, and the males of our species are called men."
  979. >She frowns.
  980. >"I'm very sorry, but I don't understand that either. What are males?"
  981. "You know. Male, female, sexual dimorphism."
  982. >She seems puzzled, so you shrug.
  983. "That's just how things are where I'm from."
  984. >"You come from a strange country, if you don't mind my saying."
  985. >She has you widen your stance, and shuffles close to your groin.
  986. >After a moment, she gasps.
  987. >"Where..." she looks up, "Anonymous, where is your femininity?"
  988. >You blink at her.
  989. >"Your vagina! It's gone!"
  990. "Uh. I don't have one. Like I said, I'm a male."
  991. >She recoils, and looks suddenly disgusted.
  992. >So violent is her reaction that you step back as well, uncertain as to what she's going to do.
  993. >You eye each other cautiously, and Rarity glances at the shop door.
  994. >Her gaze flickers down to your package, then back up.
  995. >Her tongue flicks across her lips, and a smile forms.
  996. >"-Well-. That's an interesting state of affairs, isn't it? Exotic, even." She tosses her mane. "I like exotic."
  997. "That's not normal here, I take it?"
  998. >"Why, everything in Equestria has femininity, Anonymous. See?"
  999. >She turns and raises her tail, wiggling her hips.
  1000. >Her vagina is on full display, and her balls bounce around with the movement.
  1001. >"Now I understand why you said you were nothing earlier -- you're not even complete, you poor thing."
  1002. >She regards you pitifully.
  1003. >"It's alright, I can help you find yourself. I can already tell what sort of human you are by the way you're standing. You're a sub."
  1004. "You mentioned that before, sub. What is that?"
  1005. >"Aha," her cheeks pink. "You really are a foreigner, aren't you? Dominant ponies breed. Submissive ponies are bred. Switches claim to alternate between the two, but really they're just indecisive. Ponies are much happier once they've accepted their role. My friend Fluttershy, for instance, is a sub to their core. They're pregnant right now, and probably always will be until they're unable to bear foals anymore. Rainbow Dash, another friend, might -appear- dominant, but they're really a sub behind closed doors. Applejack is a dom, there's no doubt about that, and I believe they've just impregnated Pinkie Pie, though it's difficult to tell who the sire always is where Pinkie's concerned..."
  1006. >Your jaw is slack. Rarity speaks and gestures as calmly as if she was commenting on local gossip, and only once she's finished do you think about speaking.
  1007. "And... what are you?"
  1008. >"Oh." She grins. "I'm a dom, darling. I was born to be in charge."
  1009. >The tape measure is pulled taut by magic, and it lashes against your buttock.
  1010. >You yelp, leaping away from it, and Rarity laughs.
  1011. >"And I think I'm on the money by saying you're a sub. You don't have any femininity, but that's alright, we can still get you suited to your role-- Faust gave us all -two- holes, after all."
  1012. >She catches your eye and chuckles at your expression.
  1013. >"Life in Equestria is perfectly happy so long as you know your place in the hierarchy. I think the first port of call is all that unsightly body hair. Come along, let's get you sorted out."
  1014.  
  1015. *
  1016.  
  1017. >You tried to resist, but Rarity has magic and you do not.
  1018. >You find yourself lying on a table in one of her back rooms and Rarity's horn hums as her magic keeps you held down.
  1019. >"I know you're nervous, but I've seen this all before."
  1020. >She dumps a box of brightly coloured and exotic-smelling supplies on another table and rummages through it, speaking as she does.
  1021. >"Sweetie Belle was like you. They were -convinced- they were a dom. Always going on and on about how they were going to breed Applebloom. Ha! Little dear didn't stand a chance when I bred them in the end, and they've been a happy breeder ever since."
  1022. "I-isn't that incest?"
  1023. >"Of course it is. What's your point?"
  1024. "Incest babies are born with defects."
  1025. >She blinks.
  1026. >"If that was even a little bit true it'd never happen. No, all foals are born perfectly healthy, regardless of whether it's inside the family or out. Quite a lot of families prefer to keep things amongst themselves, but then again it only takes a particularly dominant pony to show up one day and subjugate the power structure."
  1027. "Is it all about power around here?"
  1028. >Rarity shrugs.
  1029. >"That's just how the world works. The strong breed the weak. If you don't want to be bred, become stronger. That's what Twilight did, after all."
  1030. >Rarity returns to your side, tittering at your straining against her magic, and begins lathering your legs with a brush covered in a foul-smelling wax.
  1031. "She was a... sub?"
  1032. >"They were indeed. I was going to claim them for myself, but then we all found out they were Celestia's protege and... well. I don't have a death wish. A few years later they're a princess themselves and now they sit at the very top of the hierarchy. Such is life."
  1033. "Such is liiaAAGH!"
  1034. >Rarity grins, a strip of wax paper hovering beside her head is covered in thick hairs.
  1035. >You look back down at your bare leg.
  1036. "Wh-what."
  1037. >"I said I'd be getting rid of your hairs, Anonymous. All of them." She studies your face. "Hm. Well, I'll leave your eyebrows and lashes, they add a lovely charm to your face, but the stubble's got to go. We'll trim the hair on top into something nicer too. Something elegant. Don't worry, it'll hurt at first, but there's magic to ensure it won't grow back ever again. I'll be applying that as I go along, so don't mind the hot tingling."
  1038.  
  1039. *
  1040.  
  1041. >Hairless, smooth, and emasculated, you're dragged off the table by Rarity's magic and carried into another room, where she sets to work clothing you.
  1042. >She's telling you about the first time she bred another pony when a purple pop makes you jump.
  1043. >Princess Twilight glowers at you, but Rarity continues trimming her fabrics and humming.
  1044. >"Hello again, Twilight," she says without turning back, and Twilight grunts, not taking her eyes off you.
  1045. >You glance at the clock.
  1046. >It's been three hours. You've only got three more until you're out of here. Your Twilight promised.
  1047. >The Princess' face twists into a smirk.
  1048. >"I figured it out," she says at last, her eyes progressing slowly over your now hairless form. You hear a meaty slap, but can't place it.
  1049. >You shiver, and scoot away from her.
  1050. >"You've got magic bound to you. I could tell that much from the start, but it was the -style- of magic that intrigued me."
  1051. >"Something interesting, Twilight?" Rarity says candidly, paying more attention to the fabric she's comparing against your leg than the Princess.
  1052. >"You could say that. Our friend here is wearing magic. -My- magic."
  1053. >Rarity pauses. She turns and frowns at Twilight.
  1054. >"Come again?" she says.
  1055. >"Anonymous. They're bathed in -my- magic. I can't understand why, but now that I know what sort of magic it is, I can do something about it."
  1056. >Her horn flares, an effulgence to dwarf Rarity's gentle glimmering, and your skin prickles with electricity.
  1057. >You glance down at your fingers and can't help a short, breathy laugh.
  1058. "Nice try, Princess."
  1059. >Violet sparks build between your fingers, and as they climb your hands and wrists you know this short, strange trip is at an end.
  1060. >The familiar tug of unreality tugs at your back, preparing to drag you back to Equestria under threat of a magic it recognises as a danger to you.
  1061. >The sparks build, wreathe your form--
  1062. >And then dissipate without warning.
  1063. >The tingling abruptly vanishes, Princess Twilight gasps, and you regard her, speechless.
  1064. >A few seconds pass, and she chuckles.
  1065. >"Close. That was close! Really close, but I nipped it in the bud. Now that's interesting, wouldn't you say, Rarity?"
  1066. >"What's that, Twilight?"
  1067. >You stare at the Princess, not wanting her to speak, a horrible, building sickness growing within you.
  1068. >"They were enchanted to teleport away from danger, and the signature was -my- magic."
  1069. >"But how can that be?"
  1070. >"I don't know. But I've dispelled it, they're not going anywhere."
  1071. >Rarity clops her hooves, clearly delighted.
  1072. >"Wonderful! I'd have hated to see all my work preparing them to go to waste. Well done, Twilight, quick on the draw as always!"
  1073. >Twilight does a mock bow.
  1074. >"Not my finest work, but I like to think I've saved us a headache." She turns to you again, and your heart skips a beat as the intensity of those eyes find you. "So! You're not from here, are you? Wanna start talking? Why did you just appear in Bon Bon's house? Why don't you have even a hint of femininity on your scent?" She comes close and puts her face close to yours. "And why are you wearing my magic?"
  1075.  
  1076. *
  1077.  
  1078. >Anonymous, courageous multiverse explorer: imprisoned once more.
  1079. >You stare at the wall of your crystal cell and consider your options.
  1080. >The failsafe is gone. You're trapped here.
  1081. >Trapped in a world where power is all that matters and the strong dominate the weak.
  1082. >You sniff and cock your head in silent admittance.
  1083. >Probably not too dissimilar from life on Earth, to be honest, but at least on Earth it wasn't so blatant. People at least pretended things were better than they were.
  1084. >Twilight wasn't satisfied with your answers to her questions, so here you are in a cell under her castle.
  1085. >It's at least comforting to know that across dimensions, Twilight still has a thing for basements.
  1086. >Perhaps there are other similarities you can abuse.
  1087. >The thought of sitting in a cell makes you pine for the bagels and sunshine of Maretime Bay.
  1088. >They at least knew how to treat a prisoner.
  1089. >Meanwhile, you haven't eaten in maybe seven hours. It's entirely possible that Twilight just forgot you were down here.
  1090. >As you ruminate on your problems, the door to the cellblock is thrown open, and Princess Twilight comes to the bars of your prison.
  1091. >She grins. It's not a nice grin.
  1092.  
  1093. *
  1094.  
  1095. >"Since you're unwilling to give me real answers, I thought we'd just skip straight to the interrogation."
  1096. >Sat naked in a chair in an upstairs bedroom, this is hardly what you'd call an interrogation chamber, but then you don't know how they do things around here.
  1097. >Though you can guess, and you cross your legs tight at the idea.
  1098. >Your eyes dart from Twilight to the only other mare in the room: Rarity.
  1099. >She winks, her expression smug.
  1100. >"I'm sure you can tell where this is going," Twilight continues, "so why don't you just make it easy on yourself and tell me what I want to know?"
  1101. >If you told her where you actually came from, what would she do?
  1102. >Would she obsess over it, like your Twilight? Would she find a way to break through to your Equestria? Would a race of bigger, stronger, more dominant futa-mares rampage across your beloved Equestria and subjugate it?
  1103. >You can imagine it happening.
  1104. >Arms folded, you look away and spit at the floor.
  1105. "Fuck you."
  1106. >Twilight nods.
  1107. >"I'm... really glad you did that. Truth be told, we weren't gonna go easy on you anyway. Rarity did a good job making you presentable."
  1108. >She runs a hoof over your arm.
  1109. >"You're so... -smooth-. And you smell nice, and your hair looks great," she turns back. "Really, Rarity, amazing job!"
  1110. >"Aww, why, thank you, Twilight."
  1111. >"I'm sure you'll have a great time breaking them in."
  1112. >Your anus clenches, and even Rarity looks surprised.
  1113. >"Wh-- Moi?"
  1114. >"Of course," Twilight beams at her friend. "I wanna claim them as much as the next pony, but you put in all this effort already it wouldn't be fair. Go ahead, have your fun, I'll wait my turn."
  1115. >You tear your eyes from Twilight and look to Rarity with horror.
  1116. >The mare's horn springs to life immediately, and you're dragged from your seat and positioned on the bed, face down, ass up.
  1117. "Wait, wait wait wait, I can tell you what you want to know, come on!"
  1118. >Twilight shrugs.
  1119. >"Even if you did we're still gonna claim you. I don't know how things work where you come from, but here a pony is expected to seize what they want."
  1120. "But I'm your prisoner, don't you have to treat me with respect?"
  1121. >The mares laugh, Twilight louder than Rarity.
  1122. >"Prisoner? No no no, Anonymous, you're fuckmeat. Prisoners are criminals and enemy soldiers. Political enemies, villains. You're just an interdimensional vagrant with a tight hole that needs stretching."
  1123. >Rarity positions herself atop you, her magic restraining you, and a bottle of lubricant oils both your puckering hole and her hardening shaft, the only small mercy being its size - perhaps only a third the girth of Hitch Trailblazer's and half his length. She pays special attention to her dick's flat head, moaning lightly as the oil soaks into the skin.
  1124. >Twilight continues as Rarity prepares.
  1125. >"Oh, yes, I know what you are. I figured out that much, too. There's no reference to anything even remotely like you in any of our archives, but Celestia confessed earlier they'd once heard of a magic to split the veil between worlds."
  1126. >Rarity presses her cock head to your back-door. It slides effortlessly past the smooth cheeks and kisses your once-virginal hole.
  1127. >"Don't tense up, dear," she whispers in your ear. "Though I'd appreciate it more if you did."
  1128. >"That's what you are, aren't you?" Twilight says. "You're from another world, where another Twilight sent you out, expecting you to come back." She titters. "I wonder what they're thinking now. Are they waiting for you to return? Maybe if you tell me how the magic works we can meet them again one day together--"
  1129. >Rarity presses her flare into you. It breaches your entrance and you scream into the mattress.
  1130. >Twilight settles on the bed, resting against the headboard.
  1131. >Her hoof finds her pussy beneath her bulbous sack and she kneads it, her tongue wetting her lips, fixing you with a vicious grin.
  1132. >She sighs as Rarity gets into a rhythm, forcing an inch or so inside before retreating, then pushing back inside deeper than before, then repeating. Each time her length plunges farther inside you.
  1133. >Twilight giggles at your stricken face and pleas for Rarity to stop. Her hoof quickens against her clitoris.
  1134. >"Th-that's it, Rarity, show 'em a good time. Hey, you know, this reminds me of Sweetie Belle--"
  1135. >The explosion knocks Rarity clear off the bed.
  1136. >Princess Twilight squawks, her wings flapping erratically as she's launched sideways too.
  1137. >Being prone, your body is less-affected by the shockwave, but you're still rolled to one side so that you face the source of the explosion.
  1138. >A little purple unicorn stands in the centre of the room, her entire form smouldering and burnt in places, her horn smoking, her expression tempestuous.
  1139. >You can't speak, but your heart leaps.
  1140. >"I guess it really does work," your Twilight says softly.
  1141. >And then she's hurled backwards.
  1142. >Princess Twilight vaults straight over you and the bed.
  1143. >She adopts a wide stance, wings fully extended, hackles raised, and pawing at the rug.
  1144. >"So this is the slut," she says with glee.
  1145. >Your Twilight staggers away from the cupboard her head had been introduced to, her back-end momentarily facing the Princess.
  1146. >The Princess gasps, and she takes a step back.
  1147. >"You-- You're completely feminine!"
  1148. >You can almost see her hairs stand on end. Her cock throbs beneath her, and a glob of precum oozes from her blunted tip to soil the carpet.
  1149. >"You're entirely feminine. That... You're only a sub! Nothing but a sub!"
  1150. >Your Twilight shakes her head woozily and turns to see her larger double fixated on her like a lioness seeing a wounded antelope.
  1151. >"You're nothing but a breeder. Nothing but -meat- born to be -bred- by your betters! You're MINE!" she roars.
  1152. >The Princess lunges.
  1153. >Twilight yelps and instinctively blasts the Princess away with a ray of violet energy, but her assailant recovers immediately.
  1154. >No matter how many times Twilight scores the Princess with spells, the Princess redoubles her efforts; deflecting with her own spells and blocking with shields.
  1155. >And then she has Twilight.
  1156. >She tackles her to the ground, a blast of her own magic doing something to disable Twilight's horn, and Twilight screams.
  1157. >"N-no! Get off! Anon, help!"
  1158. >You leap from the bed, invigorated, and make it half-way across the room before you're yanked back by your throat.
  1159. >You grip the invisible force dragging you away, but your hands are suspended in blue light.
  1160. >Rarity has risen from the floor, a nasty gash across her forehead weeping blood down the side of her face.
  1161. >"Now now, Anonymous, let's not ruin the fun, hm?"
  1162. >She rests you against the bed. Again on your front, but this time facing the centre of the room where the Princess wrestles with Twilight.
  1163. >Rarity settles back atop you, and the warmth of her cock settles between your cheeks, pulsing in time with her heartbeat.
  1164. >"Isn't this better?" she says softly into your ear. "Just lying there, letting those stronger than you have their way? This is the law of the land, Anonymous. It's how things have always been here."
  1165. >Her tip reenters you, and you spasm again, your limbs straining as hard as possible to be free, but her magic holds you fast. All you can do is thrash your midsection, but all that does is stimulate Rarity further.
  1166. >Elsewhere the Princess, her lip split from a stray hoof from the thrashing Twilight beneath her, finally gets her victim into position under her.
  1167. >"Stars," she says over laboured pants. "I can't even say how many times I've fantasised about this. You're perfect. Absolutely perfect. You're me, but smaller, and all you can do is be bred. You can't fight, you can't fuck, you're nothing but fuckmeat."
  1168. >She draws back, positions her cock over Twilight's entrance, and Twilight shrieks as she's impaled.
  1169. >"Ooh, that's it-- that's IT! YES!" The Princess groans.
  1170. >She begins fucking in earnest, her powerful thrusts ramming Twilight against the rug just as hard as they shunt her forward, but the Princess' hooves hold her toy in place.
  1171. >Twilight's screams are nearly deafening, but you can do nothing but watch, tears streaking down your eyes, as your friend is mercilessly raped before your very eyes.
  1172. >For your part, Rarity is picking up the pace. You feel her medial ring pass you as she ploughs evermore cock into you, her ladylike gasps gradually giving way to more primal grunts. Her sweat drips off her coat and patters against your back.
  1173. >All the room is filled with the stench of musk and vocalisations of its four occupants.
  1174. >Twilight sobs, begging her counterpart to stop, but her mewling only spurs her double on to a harder, more violent pounding.
  1175. >The Princess has shed all pretence of civility, gasping and cursing with each thrust, completely lost to her rutting.
  1176. >From where you are, you see her cock, easily thicker than your forearm, spreading Twilight's folds with each motion.
  1177. >As it pulls back, you see red smears marking Twilight's purple coat, and her little body trembles with her begs for mercy.
  1178. >Rarity hilts inside you. The pain is unlike anything you've felt before, like your intestines have been ruptured, and the analytical part of your mind considers the very real idea that you may have internal bleeding.
  1179. >But death might not be so bad, you think, if the alternative is life in a place like this.
  1180. >Rarity bites your ear. A startled, strangled yell escapes you, but she clenches tight and presses herself into you as hard as she can. Your ear stings, you feel wetness running down its contours.
  1181. >Her balls rest against your cheeks, and they pulse, and a hot flush fills you, dulling the pain somewhat but only slightly.
  1182. >"Haah," she releases your ear, "th-the first of... of many breedings, pet. Many... we'll make a breeder out of you yet... Oh my, my head--"
  1183. >She huffs and collapses to the side, and you wipe your face of tears with a hand.
  1184. >...
  1185. >You regard your hand in shock.
  1186. >Your wrist is free from the blue aura of Rarity's magic, as is the rest of you.
  1187. >The mare lies on her side, panting with a dazed, happy expression, despite the blood soaking one side of her head.
  1188. >And that's all the opportunity you need.
  1189. >It is violence that claims you then. An anger born of desperation and the human will to live, as adrenaline surges into your system and all pain is swept aside, your pupils dilate with the realisation that this is your only shot.
  1190. >You throw yourself on top of Rarity and flip her onto her back.
  1191. >Her eyes widen, but before her horn can spark to life you curl a fist, haul back your shoulder, and bludgeon her in the throat.
  1192. >It gives. She wheezes, hooves finding her neck and the spirit of fear gripping her.
  1193. >Her horn thrums again, but you grip it with both hands, pushing with one and pulling with the other.
  1194. >It doesn't give, and with a snarl you instead grip her by her neck and drive her body head-first straight into the crystal floor.
  1195. >Her horn cracks on contact, the sensitive nerves running the internal length flaring with unconstrained leyline energy.
  1196. >Rarity tries to scream, but her dented windpipe won't let her. She writhes on the floor, desperate for a breath that won't come.
  1197. >But you're not looking at Rarity. You're bearing down on another target.
  1198. >The Princess has already filled Twilight with her seed. Twilight's belly bloats, but the Princess continues to fuck her regardless, her cock still turgid and ready to delivery another injection into her new favourite toy, each driven motion drawing globules of cum from Twilight's depths, making room for the next batch.
  1199. >She's so lost to her rutlust that she doesn't hear Rarity's whispering howls, and doesn't hear your heavy footsteps until you've already grappled her.
  1200. >She comes out of her trance as you grip her head, but not fast enough to act before you crush your knee against her snout.
  1201. >She sneezes blood, stunned, and you slam your knee again into her muzzle.
  1202. >Something cracks. A weak, hoarse cry driven from her. You drive your knee again into her face.
  1203. >You grab her horn in your hand and, holding her mane with the other, drag her body off Twilight and drive her head into the wall.
  1204. >Instead of her horn cracking, the wall does. You slam her against it again. The Princess chokes, hooves batting against you impotently, but her horn doesn't spring to life.
  1205. >You drive her against the wall again and again, skull against crystal. When it becomes obvious her alicorn horn won't break like Rarity's, you crush your knee against her jaw a final time and drop her.
  1206. >Every inch of you won't stop trembling. Your heart is in your ears and you can hear a distant whimpering but pay it no attention.
  1207. >Your tunnel-vision has you locked onto the Princess and her bloodied maw. She paws weakly at your feet, struggling to come around.
  1208. >The whimpering then breaks through and sudden clarity douses you.
  1209. >Twilight is on her side, facing away from you.
  1210. >You rush to her, hands hovering over her and taking in a sight you never thought you'd see, and would never want to see in your darkest fantasies.
  1211. >Your little landlord is curled into herself, shivering. Little choked whines escape her every other second and you don't know what to do.
  1212. >You lay a gentle hand on her and she flinches away from you.
  1213. >"N-no, no no, no," she stutters.
  1214. "Twi, it's me," you take her more firmly and roll her back to face you.
  1215. >She stares up, her face tear-soaked and snotty, reddened eyes peering up at you through a veil of brine.
  1216. "It's just me."
  1217. >"I-it hurts."
  1218. "Shh, it's alright," you lift her into your arms and rise, the unnatural strength of an adrenaline rush making her light as a feather. "Just keep looking at me."
  1219. >She does so, but you hear a growl.
  1220. >You turn, and see the Princess staggering to her hooves.
  1221. >She sways this way and that, her gaze unfocused, her muzzle crooked near the end and blood soaking her nose, chin and neck.
  1222. >She regards you with such hatred that you back away from her, clutching Twilight to your chest.
  1223. "Twilight," you say softly, but with a shuddering voice, "you need to send us home."
  1224. >"No, I can't, i-it hurts too much," she buries her face in your chest.
  1225. >The Princess rests a hoof against the cracked, blood-flecked wall, and uses it to support herself as she rises, her eyes locked onto yours.
  1226. "Twi, you need to do it now."
  1227. >The Princess' horn sparks. Magic starts to swell at its base, but it shorts out. Each time she attempts to flood it with power, it shorts, but it also gets a little bit farther along towards the tip.
  1228. >There's no sign of Rarity, but she was never the threat.
  1229. >Twilight's own horn thrums faintly, but she tenses, screwing her face up and pushing herself.
  1230. >For a moment there's only the three of you. You clutching both your friend and only salvation, and the two ponies trying to charge their respective magics.
  1231. >Whoever casts first wins, and the Princess has the benefit of alicorn physiology.
  1232. >She snorts, stamps a hoof, and shakes her head. Her gaze is focused now, teeth gritted. You doubt you could take her in a brawl at this point, even without her magic.
  1233. >"I'm gonna fuck you to death, ape," she spits.
  1234. >You don't doubt her for a moment, and as her horn surges with energy, it reaches all the way to the tip.
  1235. >Her spell reaches its zenith, and your grip on Twilight tightens.
  1236. >Then you explode into starlight.
  1237.  
  1238. *
  1239.  
  1240. >You re-explode on the other side, and the force of your entry has you bouncing over a steel floor and into a wall.
  1241. >For a moment you behold unknowingly the strange, shifting light of your new locale, and its watery ceiling.
  1242. >There's chaos around the lab. The explosive entry has twisted the machinery closest to the arrival point, and most of the lamps on the wall have given up.
  1243. >One or two remain resolute, flickering their meagre light into the laboratory.
  1244. >You stand, tottering.
  1245. >A small form lies crumpled on the other side of the lab, and you stagger to it.
  1246. >Twilight is still, and you stare down at her motionless form with a knife in your heart.
  1247. >Then she coughs, and you collapse to your knees, the stress of everything overwhelming you at last.
  1248. >You wrap your arms around her protectively, pull her body to you, and weep into her fur.
  1249. >That's all there is for a while.
  1250. >Twilight coughs again, and she twists in your clutches, rolling onto her back and staring at the ceiling.
  1251. >"So that's what it's like, huh," she says, her voice distant.
  1252. >You stroke her mane, not knowing what else to say or do.
  1253. >She looks to you and forces a sad smile.
  1254. >"I'm... sorry, Anon."
  1255. "No, it's fine, we're fine, see? We're back home, we made it. You brought us back."
  1256. >She nods, but one of her hooves trails down her sweat-slick body to rest over her tummy.
  1257. >A trickle of white still leaks from her ravaged entrance, and she swallows.
  1258. >"I guess I'm... probably pregnant," her voice is still faint. "How about that."
  1259. >You just hold her.
  1260. >"I've never been with a pony before. Thought my first time would be... kinder."
  1261. >She curls into herself again.
  1262. >"Anon, please could you do me another favour?"
  1263. "Yes?"
  1264. >"...Please carry me home."
  1265.  
  1266. *
  1267.  
  1268. >Celestia knew, of course. Even Twilight can't outsmart her.
  1269. >She's waiting for you when you emerge from the hole in the wall that leads to the secret lab.
  1270. >Her stone-cold expression holds firm, depthless eyes drifting from you to Twilight, but her resolve evaporates when her student mewls in pain.
  1271. >Then Twilight is taken from you and she's wrapped in the seraphim embrace of her teacher, great white wings shrouding the unicorn from view. Celestia turns her back so you don't see her cry.
  1272. >You stand where you were for a moment, but find a chair close by and sink into it.
  1273. >Your eyes linger on the Princess for a short while. Your lids become leaden. You welcome the dark, and know no more.
  1274.  
  1275. *
  1276.  
  1277. >Twilight lies in her library bed under the covers, and you sit next to her atop them, feet crossed.
  1278. >She hasn't spoken for a while, but that's alright. You're happy to wait here with her.
  1279. >"Hey," she says, and you turn to her. "If I vanished one day, would you hate me?"
  1280. "I'd understand why you did it, despite your setback."
  1281. >She doesn't answer for a while, eyes moving to and fro over the bookcase opposite.
  1282. >"I've perfected the spell, Anon," she says quietly. "It's possible now. I can cross time and space on a whim. I can't... give that up."
  1283. "Even if it kills you?"
  1284. >She won't face you.
  1285. >"I need to do this. Celestia's holding me back."
  1286. "Celestia loves you."
  1287. >"And she's holding me back."
  1288. "And this?" you pass a hand over her lower body.
  1289. >Her hoof moves after your hand, and she rubs her tummy in ponderous circles.
  1290. >"I'd... I'd raise it, whatever it ends up being."
  1291. "That's fair."
  1292. >"But once it's grown up..."
  1293. >You put an arm around her and she sags against you.
  1294. >"Will you help?"
  1295. "Raise another mare's kid? Do I look like a cuck to you?"
  1296. >Twilight scowls, and she looks at you for the first time in an hour. You call that a victory, and smile down at her.
  1297. "Sure, we'll help. Everyone will. Me, Spike, the girls."
  1298. >"Thanks Anon."
  1299. "I've got an idea for a name if that helps."
  1300. >"Go on?"
  1301. >You smirk.
  1302. "Twilight Squared."
  1303. >She sinks down under the sheets and covers her eyes with a foreleg and a laboured sigh.
  1304. >"I'm still your landlord. Go make me some coffee before I pull out your spine."
  1305. "There she is," you pat her chest and rise from the bed.
  1306. >As you reach the door, she calls out to you.
  1307. >"Thank you for saving me, Anon."
  1308. "Thanks for saving me, Twi."
  1309. >"When I go... will you come with me?"
  1310. >You think of Earth. Of your family, and the internet, and the humanity you left behind when you were torn from it all. You think of your mother clutching you in her arms and weeping for her lost son returned to her.
  1311. >You think of Ponyville. You think of the market, and Applejack's cider, and the festivals, and the pristine air, and the magic and wonder of this realm beyond imagination, and lucky you: the only human to ever experience any of it.
  1312. >But mostly, you think of Fluttershy knocking on the door every fucking morning.
  1313. >And that alone settles it.
  1314. "Yes."
  1315.  
  1316. The End.

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