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mrsshabana · 4 months

Note

Mkay, so hear me out. I wanted to ask if you could write about gyutaro and the reader being in a fantasy universe that's similar to final fantasy or the legend of zelda, but Gyutaro is part dragon and maybe even the guardian of like a temple or something along those lines. Be creative with it, I know whatever you come up with will be great :> You can make it NSFW or more fluffy, all up to you!

Either way, I hope you have a great day ^^

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐨𝐫𝐭

꒦꒷‧₊ Summary You are a Princess of a crumbling kingdom. Desperate for help, you set out to free an ancient dragon in hopes that he will be able to restore order to the land. But you were naive to think he would be so gracious. Things take a turn for the worse and you have no choice but to rely on each other.

꒦꒷‧₊ Content Dragon!Gyutaro x Female!Reader, violence, gore, death

꒦꒷‧₊ Note 3k words. A lot of the lore for this story is based off of Elden Ring. I know you asked for other games but I'm not familiar with them so I hope this is ok. I absolutely adore Elden Ring so this was very fun to write. I'm sorry that I ended up making this way more complex than it needed to be but I couldn't help it! I was having too much fun coming up with lore for this universe. I have so many ideas for this so if you'd like me to continue this story then please let me know!

Finally after days of searching through the Swamp of Aeonia, narrowly avoiding the toxic scarlet rot that infects these lands, you found the ruins only spoken of in ancient legends.

It is said that deep within the heart of Caelid there is a place where Gyutaro, the son of the Lichdragon Fortissax, has been imprisoned for the last 100 years.

Legend says that he was forsaken for being the most hideous creature in all the land. While his twin sister was worshiped for her beauty. He was born corrupted by the scarlet rot, consuming him from the inside out. And Gyutaro was known for his jealousy. He would destroy and devour things that were beautiful or more fortunate than himself. He brought great suffering to The Lands Between, so a knight was sent to imprison him.

You don't know for certain if the legends are true, but you sure hope they are. Growing up you've always been incredibly fascinated by dragons and the tales your mother would tell you. But since you are a princess you were never allowed around such ferocious beasts. But now you have no choice.

Your kingdom is crumbling and your mother has fallen ill. As the war across The Lands Between rages on, your soldiers dwindle. You feel helpless as more and more of your soldiers die. More innocent lives.

But you remembered the tales your mother would tell you and it gave you a glimmer of hope. It is told that the Lichdragon Fortissax was defeated in battle by Godwyn the Golden. But instead of death, Godwyn offered his friendship to the Lichdragon. Fortissax was loyal to Godwyn ever since, protecting him even after they both succumbed to corruption.

You thought that perhaps the rumored son of Fortissax would be just as loyal as his father. If you were to free him from his imprisonment then perhaps he would return the favor by protecting your kingdom.

It's a long shot but it may be the only shot you have.

You cautiously descend into the ruins of what appears to be a dungeon, slowly decayed by the scarlet rot. You're careful not to touch anything as you make your way down a long staircase.

At the bottom of the staircase lies a corridor. A deep rumble can be heard as you walk through, your footsteps echoing through the passageway. As you get closer to the end of the hall the rumbling gets louder and louder.

Finally, you make it to the end, welcomed by a giant chamber. And there he is.

Gyutaro, the son of the Lichdragon.

As soon as you lay your eyes upon him you are stricken with a combination of fear and amazement. His beauty takes your breath away.

His large form lays sleeping in the middle of the room. But as soon as you step foot into the chamber he begins to stir. His eyes shoot open, slit pupils surrounded by glowing yellow stare wildly at you. With a deep growl, he rises to his feet, towering at least 20 feet over you.

His body is covered with black scales, accented with green. Though his beautiful scales are interrupted by dark splotches scattered across his face and body, these scales don't shimmer like the others do. They appear dull and corrupt in some way. Razor sharp claws adorn his paws and two large horns sit atop his head.

Though his body looks different than you had imagined. He is very muscular but his stomach is hollowed out and you can clearly see his ribs and spine. You imagine he doesn't get much to eat here, so perhaps that would explain his emaciated stature.

He spreads his massive wings, blocking the light from the torches behind him. And his long tail sways behind him as he glares down at you. And that's when you hear it. A deep rumble coming from within his chest as he begins to open his jaws, revealing a bright red light glowing from within him. He's about to envelop you in flames.

"G-Gyutaro!" You immediately get on your knees and bow before him, "Son of Fortissax! I have come to free you!"

The rumbling stops, and you feel the ground shake as he begins to circle you. Too afraid to look up, you stay staring at the cobblestone. Hoping that he spares you and gives you a chance to explain yourself.

He leans closer to you, inhaling your scent. "Human... you are of royal blood," he rasps. The sound of his voice sending shivers down your spine.

"Y-yes," you stammer, "I am Princess Y/N."

"Princess?" he smirks, "What is a princess doing in the Swamp of Aeonia?"

"I came searching for you," you finally muster the courage to look up. Staring into his golden eyes. "The Lands Between suffer greatly these days. W-we need the ancient dragon to return balance to the land," your voice shakes as you muster a half-truth. It is true that the world hasn't been graced by an ancient dragon in many years and their presence could help restore the world to order. But you also seek his aid in restoring your kingdom.

"You are quite bold for a human," he scoffs, "Attempt if you must. But these are no ordinary binds."

He lifts his legs, jingling the chain that wraps tightly around his ankle. You were too enamored by his magnificence to notice them before.

You shakily get up onto your feet to examine the chains. A glowing blue tint shines off of the thick metal. These chains must be enchanted somehow. For if they were ordinary he would easily be able to break free. But you came prepared.

Gyutaro doesn't know how to break the spell that binds him to this place, but you do. As a princess, you have access to all of the records and literature you could ever want. You know what will free him.

A kiss from a beautiful maiden of royalty.

The knight that imprisoned him, an ancestor of Lord Tengen, was smart when he enchanted these chains. He thought of something that could never possibly happen, something that Gyutaro would surely never allow even if someone had tried. Especially since when Gyutaro was free he set out to destroy all beauty.

You clear your throat, "I know what will set you free. But you need to trust me."

Gyutaro narrows his eyes at you. What could possibly be your angle here? Are things really that bad that you came to free him? You do know his history, do you not? He is no peaceful creature, always leaving violence and death in his wake.

He doesn't understand what your motives are, but he isn't afraid of a mere human. He figures that if you try anything funny then he can just devour you. But, he's been imprisoned here for so long that he's willing to hear you out.

You slowly reach up towards his face. He doesn't know why he feels so drawn to you, but he lowers his head and you gently place your hands on his cheeks.

"You will be free," you whisper as you look into his eyes.

You lean forward and kiss him. Pressing your soft lips to his scaly ones. He feels something warm blossom within him as he closes his eyes.

The chains slowly disintegrate into dust, effectively ending his 100-year imprisonment.

His eyes widen in surprise, "I-I'm free..."

Your heart beat quickens as you slowly step away from him. Fear overtakes you as you stand before this mighty dragon, now completely free. Will he return the favor to you? Or will he devour you now that he's gotten what he needed from you?

His lips curl into a smirk as he puffs out his chest and lets out a mighty roar. So loud that it shakes the entire dungeon, echoing throughout the infected lands of Caelid and possibly beyond.

The walls of the dungeon begin to crumble as debris falls from the ceiling. This place is on the verge of collapsing.

Quickly, Gyutaro scoops you up in his arms. Holding you against his chest as he lunges upwards, bursting through the ceiling of the ruins.

He flies into the sky, marveling at the rot-ridden swamp below him. The sun hitting his scales for the first time in 100 years, he's filled with vigor.

You hold on for dear life, though he has a firm grip on you. Gyutaro flies above Caelid, triumphantly roaring to alert everyone that he is back. You aren't sure if his return will cause hope or fear amongst the people of The Lands Between.

He flies east, a safe distance away from the scarlet rot, and into a nearby forest. Carefully landing, he gently sets you down on the ground.

"Princess..." he lowers his head, "You freed me from that accursed prison. Thank you..."

You feel a surge of relief and power course through you as this all-powerful creature bows before you. Reaching out to him, you gently lay your hand on his snout. "You're welcome. I'm glad to have helped."

He quickly recoils from your touch, feeling an unfamiliar emotion stir within him. His brows furrow in discomfort. This feeling doesn't sit right in his stomach, and he doesn't enjoy it.

With a sour taste in his mouth, he launches back into the sky. Leaving you behind.

"W-wait!" you shout, trying to run after him but there's no point. He's already long gone.

Gyutaro couldn't take it any longer. The attraction towards you that blossomed within him was too foreign to him. Though after being imprisoned for the last 100 years it was nice to have some company. Especially that of a beautiful princess. But he pushes those thoughts aside and focuses on more important things. Like reuniting with his sister.

You have no choice but to go back to your kingdom alone and empty-handed.

｡o°✥✤✣ 　　 ✣✤✥°o｡

Weeks pass and things only get worse. The war wages on and your mother's health worsens. You don't see or hear from Gyutaro. You only hear about the occasional sighting of a massive dragon or about a beast wreaking havoc on small villages.

That is until one day you hear a commotion outside your castle.

Gyutaro lands on the bridge before your castle, digging his massive talons into the cobblestone. Then a loud rumble stirs within him, he opens his jaws to spew crimson red flames across the other side of the bridge. Blocking the path of anyone that intends to visit the castle. Engulfing it in flames that spread the scarlet rot that harbors within him.

The castle guards rush out towards him, readying their crossbows and shooting arrows at his back. They bounce off of his tough scales, but one of them pierces his wing.

"Pathetic humans," he growls. Turning around and letting out a powerful roar that shakes the bridge beneath him. Gyutaro bares his fangs and lunges forward, catching one of the soldiers in his mouth. He closes his jaws, impaling the soldier with his many teeth before swallowing him whole.

Gyutaro lets out another roar, a clear warning to anyone who dares to attack him again.

"Cease fire!" You shout, running out of the castle and towards Gyutaro. The guards try to warn you that it's dangerous and you should stay inside, but you don't listen.

"Princess!" his eyes widen when he sees you, wasting no time and coming towards you.

Your guards point their crossbows at him as he approaches but you hold your hand out to signal that it's ok.

"Gyutaro, what are you doing here?" you say in shock.

"Your castle will come under attack shortly," he looks behind him briefly before turning back to face you, "My flames should hold them off for a while but it's not safe here."

"Wait what? What do you mean?" you begin to panic.

"There's no time to explain!" he growls, "I'm getting you out of here."

"No! I can't leave my mother behind! And what about everyone else?" your eyes begin to well up with tears.

"Fine," he huffs, "I'll carry you and your mother to safety. I couldn't care less about everyone else..."

"I refuse," you say sternly, "We will not leave our kingdom behind."

"Insolent human!" he roars, "I'm not giving you a choice!!"

Gyutaro opens his maw and swoops forward, catching your coat in his mouth before you can run away.

"Let me go! Let me go!" you kick and scream.

He doesn't know why he even bothered coming to help you. The old Gyutaro would never do something like that. But ever since you saved him he's been longing for your touch again. Longing to be in the presence of someone who didn't see him as a hideous beast. And perhaps he craved more of your affection.

Whatever the case, he needs to get you and your mother out of here as soon as possible. Even though he honestly doesn't care about your mother's well-being, he charges through the entrance of the castle anyway. Guards shoot at him as he passes, but the arrows aren't strong enough to penetrate his scales.

The large castle doors are just big enough to fit him if he collapses his wings to his back. While still holding you in his mouth, he bursts through the castle doors and into the foyer.

It's ginormous and filled with elaborate decorations and luxury furnishings. Your mother sits frail and weak on the throne.

"What is the meaning of this?" she calls out in a strong voice despite her sickly appearance.

Gyutaro's eyes go wide and he stops dead in his tracks, gently setting you down on the lavish rug beneath his feet.

You huff and straighten your coat as he releases you from his grasp. Giving him a stern look before moving your attention to the queen.

"Mother, the kingdom is-"

"I know," she cuts you off and stands from her seat, walking towards you and Gyutaro.

"I've known they would come for our kingdom," she passes you and walks straight towards Gyutaro.

He feels his blood run cold, and a strange sense of tranquility wash over him as she approaches. He lowers his head to show respect and that he isn't a threat.

Your mother stands in front of him, looking into his eyes.

"Gyutaro, son of the Lichdragon Fortissax," her voice is soft yet commanding as she places a hand on Gyutaro's head, "You will be my daughter's guardian. Protect her at all costs."

His eyes widen as he feels something change within him. He doesn't understand what's going on, but he suddenly feels as light as air. A strange golden mist forms around him, enveloping him.

You stare wide eyed and in complete shock. Your mother wouldn't hurt him would she? What in the hells did she do to him?

His body seems to shrink and become completely concealed within the mist.

It seems like forever but it's only after a few seconds that the mist begins to disappear. Revealing... a man?

He's hunched over on his hands and knees, breathing deeply as he feels his human lungs inflate for the first time. A familiar tail sways behind him, and a set of horns sits atop his head.

"G-Gyutaro...?" you whisper, slowly coming closer to him.

His body trembles as he tries to stand. You reach out to him hesitantly but are interrupted by a loud rumbling sound as the ground beneath you quakes.

"You must leave at once!" Your mother yells to you.

"I'm not leaving! I won't leave you behind!" you cry, tears flowing down your cheeks.

The front walls of the castle begin to crumble.

"I'm sorry my dear," your mother says in a somber tone, "I love you."

She raises her hand, then slowly lowers it. You can feel your eyes closing with the motion of her hand as she casts a spell on you.

All you can do is whimper, "I love you too," as you drift off to sleep.

｡o°✥✤✣ 　　 ✣✤✥°o｡

You wake up to the sound of heavy footsteps and someone cursing.

"Fuck this! Aaaaaahhhgg!!"

Slowly opening your eyes you see Gyutaro in what appears to be a humanoid form, thrashing about in a fit of rage.

"How dare I be reduced to the form of a mere human!!" he roars up into the sky. Birds flying out of the trees that surround you. "I am an ancient dragon!! I will not attune to this form!!"

He stomps around angrily before your soft whimpers catch his attention. His scowling visage faces you. And all of the anger of this ancient beast fades away when he sees your huddled form. Crying in agony.

"Princess?" his features soften as he approaches you. He kneels beside you and puts a hand on your shoulder.

"She's gone," you sob, "I'll never see her again."

Gyutaro feels yet another foreign emotion swell up within him. Could it be sympathy? He remembers when his father died and how hard it was for him. His heart aches as he recalls similar emotions to what you're feeling now.

He's not good with words, let alone emotions. So he just leans forward and wraps his arms around you. Wrapping you in his warm embrace.

You cling to him and sob into his chest.

"I know Princess... I know," he consoles, "Your mother entrusted me to protect you. And I'm going to do just that."

Knowing that you'll have him by your side gives you a glimmer of hope for the future. Though you both don't know what to do or where to go.

Gyutaro is determined to find his sister who he hasn't seen in 100 years. But first, he needs to find a way to transform back into a mighty dragon. He can't stand this pathetic form he's currently in. And you need to find a way to stop the war that rages across The Lands Between. And possibly recover whatever is left of your kingdom.

Neither of you knows what's to come. But at least you have each other.

#gyutaro #gyutaro shabana #gyutaro x reader #gyutaro x y/n #gyuutarou #gyuutarou x reader #kny x reader #demon slayer x reader #dragon x reader #dragon au #elden ring

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lady-adaneth · 2 months

Text

Romantic Inclination

To whoever finds this, hello friend! I’m super excited to be sharing my first ever fan fic with you! What an incredible thing that we’ve found each other on this vast platform. I’m looking to improve my writing, so if you have a moment I’d be very grateful if you shared any criticisms or requests. I hope that this little one-shot brings some tranquility to your day!

Synopsis:

You and your betrothed sneak away from the wedding festivities for a romantic moment alone.

Legolas x gender-neutral elf!reader

No use of y/n

One-Shot (but if you’d like more don’t hesitate to send a request)

Meleth Nin = My Love

Content Warnings:

Spice scale: Mild kinda smoky salsa

Physical/romantic touch

Word Count:

500+ words

‧₊˚ ✩°｡⋆♡ ⋆˙⟡♡ ⋆˙⟡♡⋆｡°✩˚₊‧‧₊˚ ✩°｡

The forests of Mirkwood were fabled for the ghastly creatures that lurked beneath its thick canopy. The treacherous floor remaining untouched by the glow of stars nor the suns kiss; the darkness teeming with monstrous spiders and unforgiving elves…

The centuries old fable had kept your elfling self from wandering at night, much to your father’s relief. If only he could see you now, dancing amongst the Mirkwood elves in their sacred forest; marrying a Mirkwood elf under thousands of glimmering stars.

Your steps faltered as your mind wandered to your betrothed; and your dance partner took notice. Gimli and you had fought side-by-side against Sauron and his hoard. Combat was a dance in itself, and Gimli’s ax was a perfect complement to your blades. So it’s no surprise that he was privy to what troubled you.

“You’ve suddenly got lousy footwork for an elf, what’s on your mind lassie?” A smile graced Gimli’s face, however his eyes betrayed true concern. Your mind had been wandering to Legolas ever since the ceremony. Tradition mandated that both of you greet and dance with as many guests as possible, reuniting hours later for a final dance. However, as much as you enjoyed the company of others you couldn’t help but scan the motley crowd for his circlet-adorned hair.

“Well,” you began, eyes still searching.

“I have so many more guests to thank…” Gimli cut you off in an explosion of laughter.

“Screw tradition, I’ll keep these unruly guests in check. You go find that damned elf, wherever he may be,” before you could muster a retort, Gimli twirled you in a surprisingly artful spin, abruptly letting go of your hand and launching you into the open. You opened your eyes, searching for any sign of your beloved dwarf friend amongst the crowd, to no avail. Rolling your eyes, you took stock of your immediate surroundings. To the left, the merriment continued; with Pippin and Gandalf leading a rather humorous waltz that had everyone hollering. To the right, you found yourself flanked by the seemingly endless Mirkwood forest.

Suddenly, a set of encompassing arms wound their way around your waist.

“Meleth Nin,”

The whispers warm air lingered by your ear, a firm chest pressed up against your back. Despite his choice of words, you could recognize his intoxicating scent of fir and amber anywhere.

“And who might you be?” You say coyly. “Are you my savior, prince?” Legolas chuckled, his voice inches from your ear.

“I’m here to rescue you from the endless dancing and idle chatter, my princess,” you spun to face him, a mischievous smile on his saintly face. Heavens, that face. You could feel his heart rate accelerate with your own as your hand found his jawline. His arms still encompassed your body. You felt yourself melting as he gently leaned down to meet your lips. The rhythm of the kiss was gentle-familiar, and you melted farther into his touch. His arms tightened around your figure as the kiss deepened. His teeth gently grazed your lip, sending a chill down your spine. You pushed farther into his chest in an almost primal effort to meld into one. Your heart rates grew louder, your shared breath drowning out any sound. His right hand ascended to rest in your hair, carefully grasping the roots. Suddenly, you pulled away, gasping for air as the sounds of merriment returned to you. His eyes found yours, a combination of adoration and worry; searching yours for any sign of injury.

“What are your thoughts…” your forehead found his as he held you tightly. “On taking our leave from the festivities, only for a moment of course?” His reverence shone brightly in his eyes.

“I’d be honored to steal you away for the night, Meleth Nin,” he smirked, pulling you hand-in-hand through the glistening forest of Mirkwood…

—————

Thank you for reading! If you have any criticisms or would like a part 2 please let me know!

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ficthots · 10 months

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Bonded: Chapter One

A/N: This is my first time dabbling in the Star Wars Universe so I would like to add a couple of notes regarding my choices for this story. It is not canon to actual Star Wars events (as in do not expect a Kylo Ren death). Also, I am fully aware that some of the main plot points are not canon to Star Wars lore and the real stories. This is also posted on my AO3 account under the same username. I hope you all enjoy this and please let me know what you think!

Summary: Being from a royal family from the small planet of Bar'leth should have been enough of a clue to what type of future you could expect to lead. One identical to your parents. Get married, have a couple of children, and then rule with one another. Where does love fit into this all? Arranged marriages are the normalcy in your world, but what was not a normalcy was when that marriage was to the Supreme Leader of the First Order, Kylo Ren. Your entire world gets turned upside once you become the Empress, but will your hopes and dreams of true love be squashed with this arrangement? Perhaps the presence of the force in your life has other plans for you.

Word Count: 6.3K+

Chapter Two

Very rarely are there things that can be a universal experience amongst a general group of individuals. Typically, most do not dream of the same things as others, but this one event is something that some, if not most, do. A wedding day.

The most joyous day of your life, most would expect. A blur of memories filled with a dress tailored exactly to you, decorations filling every nook and cranny of the selected space, surrounded by those most special in your life. Most importantly, the person whom you love most in the entire galaxy, standing there, waiting to start the rest of your lives together.

A universal experience. For most, anyways.

Despite knowing that this was just a fantasy to you, it didn’t take the sting away from the realization of it being exactly that. A fantasy. Something that would never happen to you or in your world in general.

Filled with false hope that one day, that dream would come true. Yet, here you were, awoken from said dream, crushed to a final understanding that your life was about to change. For better or worse you were still uncertain, but change was on the horizon.

Just like the sun you were watching rise over the mountain top from your balcony. Peeking over the horizon to welcome another day. A day you had been dreading and fearful of since you had been told. The arrangement had been made only some weeks prior.

Of course, it should have been expected. Those in your position were never given the opportunity to go out into the galaxy and select the person you were certain you would be in love with for the remainder of your days. Another choice ripped away from you, stamped for you, not a care about you and your thoughts on it.

A heartbreaking, soul crushing reality you had been too numb to face. Unable to sleep for days leading up to his arrival. A showcase of unity across the galaxy was the goal here. The entire purpose of your bond to this man.

A man you had never seen or spoken to before in your life. A match made in the heavens according to your mother, father, and brother. What more could your small planet of Bar’leth ask for? Their princess was going to marry the Supreme Leader of the First Order.

Celebrations had been planned and you watched from afar as many citizens rose with the sun and began their preparations for this wondrous and joyous day. Was it joyous? It was your duty. Your responsibility.

To put up a front to the entire galaxy that the First Order was on a mission to bring peace to all planets. A glimmer of hope was being birthed today. Your peaceful planet that had roots back to ancient traces you couldn’t even begin to track if you dedicated your days to it. The perfect match.

Situated in the Core Worlds, inhabited by lovers of the arts and education, most with family ties dating back as far as your own. A distinguished university in which you were a proud graduate of was the crown jewel of your planet. People and species coming from across the span of the vast galaxy to attend and gain an education unmatched elsewhere.

A chance to strengthen relationships that most planets had never fathomed would even be a possibility, yours included. Because of you, this was the opportunity presented. A bond creating this all. Today.

It was what you had been trained for since you were a child. To be a diplomatic functioning member of this society to be given a chance at getting your planet's name spread for all to hear. When your father, King Erix, had been requested for a special meeting with the highest officials of the Order, not much thought was given to it.

A regularity for your father and brother, Prince Azra, as he trained to inherit the throne. What was not expected was for a deal to be made that same day between the two governing bodies for your hand.

The agreement was signed that evening.

While you could admit that this was a serious opportunity for your people, you couldn’t help but feel defeated. You at least had hoped you would have set eyes on your future husband before your wedding day.

Optimistic indeed.

An early riser you always were. It was one of the only solitary moments you were granted as a royal. Giving you a moment to breathe and think on your own. Something you would never take for granted as there was always somebody by your side.

Your pocket of peace was disrupted by the deafening sound of ships entering the atmosphere. For what, you were hoping they wouldn’t follow through. A silly hope you knew was slim, but it slipped away the moment they entered your eye line.

Only seconds later were your chamber doors thrown open and a slew of people entered. You didn’t startle, expecting them to have arrived any minute. “Princess, your morning tea. We must begin preparations immediately. Your mother is on her way and should be here momentarily with your gown for presentation.”

Nodding at your lady in waiting’s rushed words, her formality dropped as she set the tray down on the outdoor table. “How are you feeling, dove?” A sigh escaped your lips after sipping the scalding liquid, eyes roving over the ginger’s porcelain like features.

“Fine.” You could tell as she cocked her head at you she didn’t buy it for a second. Your warm hand enclosed around her cold one, softening your features. “Truly, Tamsyn. I’m fine.” Only a brief nod, your mother’s chirpy voice bounced off the walls.

The heavy gown tossed onto your made bed, her bright eyes took in your figure as it sat in the iron chair. “My darling dove is getting married today.” Seeing her eyes sparkle as tears welled, you stood and approached her.

She pulled you into a tight embrace, a kiss on your head. “Okay, we need to begin. Your presentation is in only two hours time. They have already arrived and are being shown the plans for the ceremony and celebration.” Being ushered into the vanity chair, you sat patiently, staring at your reflection as they made a miracle happen on you.

As the final lace was adjusted on your gown, Tamsyn squatted, placing your feet in the matching slippers. She smoothed down a pleat on the dress as she stood back up, giving you a final once over. Tamsyn, while only slightly older than you, had been the closest thing to a best friend your entire life.

Having been your lady in waiting since you had turned thirteen, your mother was the one to claim it was of the utmost importance to have at least one of your ladies be relatively close to your age. You two bonded almost immediately and hadn’t spent a day apart since.

Once she had become of age, she took over as your main lady and began training the others as they came and went. She was the only one accompanying you on this new journey to which you were eternally grateful for.

She was giving up everything to go with you. Leaving her family, friends, her entire life. Claiming she would never let you depart on your own. It had been a relief despite the guilt that pummeled you whenever you thought about it too much. Tamsyn placated your worries, stating this was her duty and she was proud to be your lady, but most importantly your friend and confidant.

The wedding wasn’t for hours, supposed to occur later that evening, but the most important part of the day was about to occur. Trailing behind your mother, father, and brother, you entered the drawing room, attempting to steady your breathing.

Chatter that filled the room stilled as you four entered. Eyes quickly scanning the figures, you saw a group of men, possibly five or six First Order generals and officials standing on the opposite side of the room in their uniforms.

The man in front was older, but unlike his comrades had a small smile on his features. “King Erix, Queen Gaia, Prince Azra, what a pleasure to see you all once more and on such a happy day, yes?”

Your father spoke up first. “General Waylan, how wonderful to see you. I believe I speak for our entire planet as well as the galaxy when I say the pleasure is all ours.” Not able to see him any longer as you stood, anxiously awaiting your acknowledgement, you tried to still the shake in your hands.

Hearing a clap, who you now knew as General Waylan spoke. “Well, wonderful then. May we see the princess?” Just as you had all practiced for hours the night before, your parents parted, giving you enough space to step forward.

A small smile gracing your lips as your chin tilted ever so slightly up. General Waylan was entirely white, his beard and hair matching, but perfectly trimmed. His gray suit was fitted to him perfectly. Despite being in what you assumed was his sixties, his skin had few wrinkles. The only give away being the crows feet around his eyes. His dark blue eyes bordered on gray. Quite a handsome man.

His hands enclosed around one of yours as he gave a bright smile. “Princess, what a pleasure to finally meet you. Your family was quite right about your beauty. We are overjoyed to welcome you to the First Order. General Raj, if you would please?” He released your hands, your smile never faltering as the man he addressed made a quick walk around you entirely.

A small nod in General Waylan’s direction and his smile grew once more. “Fantastic! We shall see you all in the hall this evening for the union of the princess and Supreme Leader.” An audible breath of relief escaped your mother as the First Order officials filed out of the room.

Unlike Waylan, the others never showed an ounce of emotion. Not in their eyes, faces stoic, entirely motionless. It sent a chill down your spine. Turning, your father was beaming. He pulled you into a small embrace. “You did wonderful, dove. Now, you need to go get prepared for this evening. Azra and I have paperwork to attend to in regards to the wedding. Your mother will go with you, I assume?”

She quickly nodded in response. “Yes, we do not have nearly enough time to get you fully ready.” You eyed her. “What do you mean? Don’t I just have to change?” She laughed loudly at you, before pushing you towards the door.

“If only, dear. If only.”

If anyone understood the importance of this union, it was you. For star's sake, you had studied diplomatic alliances and treaties the entirety of your education. It was the area you were most well versed in which is why you were selected in the first place.

What you did not understand was why this had to be so massive of a production. The halls were overflowing with workers hustling around trying to ensure everything was perfect. Your mother was swept away every opportunity they could grab her. You weren’t sure you had seen anyone for longer than ten minutes the entire day.

With the clock ticking closer and closer, your chamber doors burst open. There stood the event coordinators. One from Bar’leth and one from the Order. Both out of breath and visibly nervous. Your mother eyed them expectantly. When neither spoke up, your mothers irritation peaked.

“What is the matter? Why do you burst into the chambers in such a way?” They exchanged a nervous glance before your coordinator spoke up. “We-we have news Your Highness.” Eyes narrowing in their direction, you hissed as another pin entered your hair and scraped your scalp.

The Order’s planner clutched their data pad closer to their chest. “The Supreme Leader arrived only minutes ago and upon his arrival there has been a change of plans.” Worry filled the room, bordering on panic. “He has requested a private ceremony with no one in attendance apart from the royal family and the Order’s officials.”

Confusion filled you and you spoke up before your mother had the chance, turning in your seat to fully face them. “That’s preposterous. The entire purpose of this is to be done publicly with the people in attendance. Why would he want a private ceremony? Will he attend the celebration following the ceremony?”

Another nervous glance shared, a shifting of feet, causing your jaw to set. “It is unclear at this time, princess.” Whipping around to look at your mother, you could tell she was unsure how to proceed, but in only a second she snapped out of it.

“No bother. If that is what the Supreme Leader has requested then we will be compliant. We can only hope he chooses to attend the celebration.” Shaking your head and going to speak again, she shot you a look of warning, telling you to keep your mouth shut.

Facing back towards the vanity mirror, you sat in angry silence as they finished getting you ready for your wedding. It was the oddest thing you had ever experienced. You did not walk down the aisle, only ushered in by your father from a side door that you didn't even know was in the grand hall.

The pews that were supposed to be filled by hundreds of people, sat empty, but decorated nonetheless. Eyes closing momentarily, you breathed in the sickly sweet scent of the thousands of florals that overflowed in the room. Only the first two pews were taken. One by your family, the other by the First Order. Your soon to be husband not there at all.

Unsure of what you were supposed to be doing, you looked to your mother for guidance, but she seemed as perplexed by this just as much as yourself. Shifting awkwardly to the side, the officiant finally looked up to see you had entered the room.

Standing there, he smiled warmly at you, beckoning you over. It was eerily silent, no music, no chatter, nothing. It was roughly five minutes drenched in the quiet before a sound finally happened. When the doors opened at the end of the hall, it caused you to jump in surprise. A large man stalked forward at a hurried pace to reach where you stood.

As he grew closer, the larger he became. Dressed in all black, his garb was floor length, long sleeved, a belt in the middle, boots, gloves, and oddly a helmet with a cowl draped over it. Not a word was spoken as he stood next to you, grabbing the pen that sat on the tabletop next to the certificate, signing it.

Not sparing a glance in your direction, he turned and left just as quickly as he had appeared. No vows exchanged, no first kiss, nothing. Not a sliver of skin visible on him. Entirely hidden by his clothing choice. You weren’t sure what you were expecting, but this was far from any possibility that crossed your mind.

Nervous and unsure of what to do next, you turned and looked at your parents. Father making a signature motion, your trembling hand picked up the same pen, signing your name and looking at the officiant. “Congratulations, you are officially married.”

Brow furrowing, you spoke up for the first time. “No vows?” He shook his head, that stupid faux smile still on his oddly thin lips. “No, vows do not need to be exchanged for this to still be a legally binding service. Again, I offer my sincerest congratulations.” With that, he stepped off the altar and walked from the room.

In a single blink, you turned around and looked at the nine attendees, but what you were not expecting was what happened next. “Congratulations, Empress.” Your father spoke, leading the others in a bow of respect to you. Your mouth went dry, throat closing, hands bunching into fists.

You had just become Empress of the First Order by way of marriage and you hadn’t uttered a single word the entire time. What you had missed was the simple black band sitting on the table that your mother grabbed and placed in your palm.

“What is this?” You inquired, feeling the cool object against your skin. “That is your wedding band.” General Waylan chimed in, a smile still in place on his features. A small oh escaped you, slipping the band on your finger yourself, an instantaneous weight dropped onto your shoulders.

Still holding to the tradition of your people, in an hour after the ceremony had transpired, or whatever that had been, you two were to step out onto the palace’s front balcony and greet the citizens who were thrilled about the union.

The room was buzzing with excitement, everyone getting in the correct order for which they were to file out. Standing next to the massive man, you didn’t look at him, your meek voice hardly audible. “I must take your arm.”

He visibly stiffened. As the announcement was made to the gathered crowd, he had yet to offer his arm for you. The double doors opened and the group began moving forward. You spoke again, more hurried and snippy than before. “I must take your arm.”

His elbow popped from his side begrudgingly.

A deep breath expanded your lungs as you slipped your arm through his, the First Order officials the first to step onto the balcony, your family following, and lastly the newly betrothed couple.

He was hard as a rock as your hand rested on his forearm. The fabric surprisingly cool and smooth under your fingers. Standing as close as you were, the smell of leather and a soap of some sort, filled your senses. It was only audible from the close proximity, but small breaths were picked up by the modulator in the mask. Obviously, his jaw was clenched and forcing air through his nose.

Your mind began to run with thoughts of him. Why was he dressed in such a way? Why does he choose to not show any skin? Does he have undisclosed injuries? Perhaps he’s horribly malformed. You were also betting he was well into his later fifties, possibly around your fathers age. Wonderful. Your new husband was an old man, with extreme deformities, and horribly rude manners. Jackpot.

Unwavering from his tight stance while still extremely rigid he led you out.

Forcing as large of a smile as you could, you graciously waved to the cheering people below. Easily thousands had gathered in the square to set eyes on you both for the first time as a pair united by marriage. The first front of harmony and peace being presented to the galaxy then and there.

The officials and your family turned towards you both, clapping and cheering for the newly wed couple. Continuing with the facade for show, you tilted your head back in his direction and offered as genuine of a sincere smile as you could. Watching as his mask tilted in your direction, you knew in there, you were maintaining eye contact with him.

You were the first to break it, turning back to the adoring civilians' cheers and chants, continuing to wave. His helmet did not turn back towards them, still eyeing you. Twitching ever so slightly, a sharp pain hit the front of your forehead. Indication of a massive headache impeding, you tried your best to ignore it.

It was quick after that, him refusing to stand there for longer than a few minutes, but as soon as you were back inside, you withdrew your arm as he dropped his away from you and stalked off.

Once the doors shut behind your family returning inside, General Raj began rattling off instructions. It was hard to focus, happy you had others there to fully listen to them as your mind was elsewhere. Where in the world could he be running off to?

There was still a massive celebration planned for that evening that you two needed to be in attendance for. Or so you thought, anyways. It’s how it had always been done. Was he embarrassed to be seen with you? If anything, you could have done much better than him! There were king’s, prince’s, elected officials lined up around the galaxy that would have loved a chance with you.

Instead, you got a black mass of a being as your husband. Betting on him being a vile creature of some sort instead of the handsome dreamy prince you had always envisioned as your husband. What bullshit.

General Raj gathered your attention back to him. He understood that you hadn’t been listening to a single word he had uttered in the last two minutes, so he kept it simple.

“Empress, you are to be on your shuttle within the next hour. Your belongings are already packed and the final items are being loaded now and will be in transport to the residence momentarily. Welcome to the First Order.” Shaking your head, you stopped him before he could leave. “No, what about the celebration?”

Facing you once more, irritation was present on his face. Knowing he had given you the explanation of that just before, you didn’t care that you were making him repeat it. After all, you were his boss now. “The Supreme Leader has stated he will not be in attendance and requested you be on your way to the Supremacy as soon as possible.” He bowed before turning and following in the direction of where the others had just gone.

Turning to your mother, her face couldn’t mask the pain and disappointment. “It's alright, dove. I’m sure they are going to have a massive event upon your arrival. Now, come on, we need to get you ready to go.” You knew there would be no event waiting for you.

Hustling back to your room, you wanted nothing more than to get out of this dress, and wait for this wretched day to be over. Fighting back tears as you practically ran to your room, when you arrived you saw it stripped down to nearly the bare bones. Everything was gone.

All of your memories from childhood and your time spent on the planet you loved most had disappeared in just the few hours you had been gone. Your garments to change into were laid out on your bedding, Tamsyn turning to see you flustered as she went over the list she had in her hands for the last time.

“Dove?” Immediately throwing yourself into her grasp, she hugged you tightly as you sobbed. Everything as you knew it was over and done with. A new life starting from the ground up was waiting for you on a far off ship you had never heard of just fifteen minutes prior. Some stranger who was now your husband refused to even speak to you.

She soothed you, wiping at your tear stained cheeks. “Alright, enough of that. Let’s get you changed, come on, you can tell me all about it on the way.” Refusing to wait until you were on your transport, you recounted the “wedding” to her. You watched as her face twisted every now and then, opting to bite her tongue so as to not make things worse, but you could tell even she was taken aback by how brazen it all had been.

She stated how shocking it was when a random general entered your quarters and demanded it all be packed within the hour. Everyone assumed you would at least stay long enough to enjoy the celebrations, but no.

Here you were being ushered out of the only place you had called home, unsure when or if you would ever see it again. Only having a brief moment to mutter goodbyes to your family, you could see the worry evident in your mothers eyes.

“Ensure you’ll let me know of your arrival, okay?” Smiling as she cupped your cheeks, you agreed. “Yes, mother.” She nodded, still refusing to let you go. “I love you. I am just a transport away if you need me. I plan to visit soon so I expect private quarters, am I understood?” As she was tugging you into a hug, your brother spoke up. “Mother, she is the Empress of the Order. Let her go and do not give her orders.”

It was a wet laugh that escaped her throat, but as you stepped back, they all made their courteous bows to you. Your father and brother not offering any more than that interaction. Once in the shuttle, you watched as your father placed his arm around your mothers shoulders, seeing her hands clasped tightly against her chest, tears made tracks on her cheeks as she waved.

The shuttle took off, leaving the palace in a hurried blur, it grew smaller and smaller as you went further and further from your home. Former home. You weren’t sure if you would ever be able to think of another place as home.

Home was Bar’leth. Where you attended primary school and painted in the university’s courtyards as a child. Where it was common for the galleries and museums to be open late for those to wander through at their own discretion. Where creativity blossomed and those who came here left as a better version of themselves.

Nowhere else could ever be home.

From what you had learned about the Supremacy you weren’t sure how to feel about it. The largest ship you had ever heard of, floating in the middle of space, a population only consisting of First Order employees you did not know what to expect.

In all honesty, when you tried to research the history and relevance of said ship, there was little to no information. The Order doing a sound job of keeping the information as locked down as possible. Which you understood, it was a massive security issue. The Supreme Leader resided there mostly, or so you hoped, and their top ranking generals and officials. As well as being home to the largest base for them. Now, their Empress was going to be calling this distant thing her home.

Empress.

A title you weren’t sure what to do with. The significance of it still uncertain. At least until the Supreme Leader made up his mind. He did not frighten you like how most others claimed they feared him. For the time being, you had no sound reason to. You just hoped it remained that way.

Needing to occupy your time in the shuttle and then the ship ride to the Supremacy, you began going through the various documents that had been given to you. Some background information on the expectations placed upon you as well as some knowledge of what you were getting yourself into.

Tamsyn was in contact with the workers setting up the residence, ensuring everything was going to be nothing short of perfect for your arrival. While you were relieved to know that it was going to be a two day trip to get to your destination, you knew it was there waiting for you.

Would he be?

Your thoughts, despite how much you were trying to deter these thoughts, were riddled with him. Never having heard of a ceremony allowed to be legally binding without at least both parties saying ‘I do’, your sadness was dissipating. What was left in its wake was anger. In all honesty, you felt incredibly disrespected.

This had been a day you hoped would be filled with light and love. Not only did you have no idea who he was, what he looked like, or even sounded like, you were robbed of that. Of having a romantic ceremony followed by an evening of fun celebration. He had ruined that.

Simply because he was too high and mighty to indulge in such activities. That was one thing you had never heard about him. Seeing him at any public outing for the Order. Suppose, that is why you were married to him in the first place. Someone else of significant standing being in attendance, if not being the one to host, such things.

No longer were the people frustrated by his lack of appearance, but now overjoyed because you were going to be there. Oh, joy. What a self-centered, prick! While spending all of your time stewing in anger, Tamsyn watched from afar as you continuously shook your head in silence, jaw grinding teeth together, unsure what was going through your mind.

Although, she had a fairly good idea.

Five meals had come and gone during your journey, and before you knew it you had reached the unknown location of the ship. Tamsyn immediately placed a large coat over your shoulders, letting you know it was going to be brisk.

It had your jaw dropping as you docked inside of the ship. The hanger being one of the largest you had ever set eyes on. An entire fleet of ships and then some were sitting and waiting for use. How much did something like this even cost to construct? Let alone keep staffed?

Every so often one would depart or another would land. Hundreds if not thousands of troopers, workers, anyone you could think of shuffled through the area. Some were doing maintenance on the ships, others trying to get to another area, your head was on a constant swivel as you followed Tamsyn to wherever she was leading you.

Not a single person paid you any mind. It was hard to mask the disappointment bubbling within you. Any hopes of a celebration were squashed immediately. It had been like any other day. The only difference being you were now permanently tied to that wretched man.

It was loud in the hangar, but as soon as you left the area, the noise died down significantly. Did they do some kind of sound modification to make that happen? Quite impressive, you thought to yourself.

You knew you were going to have to be accompanied by someone at all times in order to figure out the floor plan of this place. Far too many turns and doors to go through, you had lost count after the third turn and fifth blaster door.

Arriving after an almost forty minute walk, there stood massive double doors to greet you. A happy face waiting for you as well. “General Waylan, thank you for taking the time to personally seek me out for my arrival.” You stated with a smile, accepting his outstretched hand.

“Of course, Empress. I wanted to be here to give you the tour of your residence aboard the Supremacy. I hope it will be to your standard. Alas, a bit different from what you are used to, but I think you will adjust quickly.” Offering instructions on the scans that needed to be done for security measures, the doors rescinded into the walls with a loud rush of air.

You would never get used to that. Honestly, it was dangerous. If your hand had been even just a millimeter from the indentation where the doors rescinded into the wall, your fingers would be cut clean off. You shuddered at the thought.

Inside, sleek black floors that were polished immaculately shined so well you could see your own reflection. Directly ahead of you was a large living space equipped with a plush couch. To your left, a massive kitchen, a man standing in it with another smaller woman next to him.

“Empress, may I introduce you to your cook and his assistant. They will be preparing all of your meals. An extra security measure taken by the Order to ensure your safety.” A quick hello was all you managed, truly taken aback by how large this residence was. Multiple hallways breaking off in every direction from the main space.

Not expecting something so expansive, you were almost certain it was larger than your home palace. A private dining hall, many refresher rooms, main chambers, guest chambers, every time you turned a corner there was another room. By the time you had finished, you knew the only rooms that would ever get used were your private office and your personal chambers.

What you did not notice was anyone else's belongings in the home. “General?” He turned at your address, smiling widely. “Yes, Empress?” Still looking around to see if perhaps you had missed something, you finally asked. “Where does the Supreme Leader reside?”

His brow furrowed. “Beg your pardon?” Waving your hand around at the open rooms. “Which of these does he reside in?” A small chuckle fell under his breath. “I apologize, Empress. I believe you misunderstood. This is your residence. Solely yours.”

Turning and looking at Tamsyn, her face mirrored yours. “He does not reside here?” He shook his head. “No. His own residence is on the other side of the ship, closer to the hangar.” Feeling irritation bubbling within you, your jaw clicked.

“Let me be clear on this. The Supreme Leader, who is my husband, is to live apart from me? Permanently?” He nodded, confirming your asks. Turning to look at Tamsyn again, her face did nothing to hide her emotion. “I do not understand, General. How will this work?”

He sighed, ushering you towards the couch to sit for a moment. “Supreme Leader Ren has made his intentions clear. He expects you two to live entirely separate lives, Empress. Only a facade for the galaxy, otherwise duties are separate. They do not coincide hardly ever. We apologize that this was not made clear beforehand, but that is his wish. We must follow Kylo’s demands.”

It was the first time you had heard someone use his actual name since the first mention of him all those weeks ago. Kylo Ren. A bitter taste landing on your tongue by just thinking about saying it.

“Now, you are expected to report for your duties the day after tomorrow. You will be explained about your role by an official on that morning. You will also meet your personal assistant then as well. In the meantime, please get adjusted. Everyone is thrilled you are here and we want to make you feel welcome. If you need anything, please, let me know.” He departed right after.

What a lie. Everyone was not thrilled you were there. No one even knew who you were! It was obvious that many of the First Order’s people had no indication that this marriage had even taken place.

Only having a moment to catch your breath, the door opened once more and in walked Tamsyn with two other women with her. When had she even left? “Empress, I am pleased to introduce you to your ladies in waiting. On my left is Calista and on my right is Layana. They will of course be reporting to me and I to you.”

Standing and smiling at the two ladies, you greeted them. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Calista and Layana. Tamsyn has been my lady in waiting since I was only thirteen. I trust we’ll all get along just fine. Thank you.” They said nothing as they bowed and hurried off towards your room.

Eyes going wide, you collapsed back down on your couch. “I don’t like this, Tam.” She sat next to you, propping her feet up as well. “It’s weird, right? Him living apart from me? No one knowing I was arriving? Us having no interactions? ” Shrugging, she rested her hands on her stomach.

“I don’t know. I think it’s pretty normal for most arranged marriages, you know? Your parents were not the normal standard. They were lucky, getting to choose like they did.” You sighed, eyes closing tightly.

Head turning towards your room, you pouted at her. “Can you get a fire going for me? It’s so cold in here.” She stood, immediately going to your room and getting it prepared for the night. As you had been touring the residence, you noticed her wandering eyes, ensuring your belongings were exactly where she had instructed them to be.

Denying dinner as you did not have an appetite, you were ready for bed quicker than normal. Everything was there. Anything and everything you owned had been placed in the quarters exactly like how you had them back at your previous residence.

Homesick.

That was the best word to describe how you were feeling. Wanting nothing more than to return back there and get into the bed you had slept in for years, with the same people around you that you knew like the back of your hand, on the same planet that had been your home your entire existence.

Instead, you were in an unknown place. On a ship you couldn’t begin to fathom the size of, surrounded by people you had never seen or knew of your own existence or purpose, in a bed that was foreign to you, staring out the massive window at some distant stars, wondering where your husband was.

This was not home. It would never be home.

You had always dreamed of your wedding day. Wearing the perfect gown, having had a picture perfect ceremony, followed by an evening full of laughter and love. Having said your beautiful vows to the person you loved most. Looking forward to spending the rest of your life with them by your side.

What did that even look like? A fairytale life where you slept next to them every night, talking and laughing about fond times shared. Thinking about what your respective tasks looked like the following day. Possibly thinking about children in the near future. The picture perfect life.

Yet, here you laid, entirely alone, having no one to talk to until you fell asleep. No one to wake up next to and be happy that their face was the first one you saw every day. Alone. You had never felt so alone. Hot tears escaped your eyes, hand landing over your mouth to stifle your sobs.

You were living a nightmare.

#ficthots #kylo ren #kylo ren x you #kylo ren x y/n #kylo x reader #kylo ren x reader #kylo smut #kylo ren smut #star wars #star wars fanfiction #star wars imagine

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bingbongsupremacy · 10 months

Text

Masquerade

Pairing: Ellie Williams x Reader

Warnings: Homophobia and abuse. Lowkey wrote this bc some ppl in my family are pretty homophobic and I figured I'd try to write out how I feel and all that shit. Anyways, that's why this is how it is.

Summary: Reader runs into a stranger who makes the boring dance she's forced to attend slightly more tolerable.

* Not Proof Read * TLOU Masterlist

Idfk how royal shit works so that part of this might be bad. Just play along.

*****

I look around at the happy girls twirling around me. How the fuck are they so enthusiastic about being here? These shoes are killing me. This mask is itching my face. My clothes are irritating me. I want to go home.

I danced with one man already, can't that be enough to please my mother?

I can feel her frustrated gaze on the side of my face. All she wants is for me to marry a nice man. A nice rich man.

What she doesn't understand-what she refuses to understand, is that she'll never get that. No matter how many times I tell her, she seems to think one day the right man will come along and change my mind.

" I take it you're not a dancer? " A voice asks from my side.

" Quite the opposite. I like dancing. It's the people I hate. The parties. The drama. My mother. " I nod slightly in the direction of my mother. She's thankfully been roped into a conversation with another socialite. At least she's distracted.

" Parties are...draining. " The woman agrees.

I glance over at her, my posture quickly straightening. Even with the dark lacey mask that takes over majority of her face, I know exactly who it is. Her elegant dark blue suit is a stark contrast in outfit choices from many of the other guests, most opting for black or white.

" Princess Ellie. " I mutter while taking a deep curtsy. " I had no idea. I'm so sorry. "

Of course, only I'd be luck enough to shit talk a royal dance to the person who helped throw it.

" Oh please. Stand up. " Princess Ellie's voice is laced with annoyance.

Confused, I look up at the woman.

" It wasn't my idea for this stupid party. Sarah's been wanting to throw one for weeks. Of course I got roped into helping her. " Princess Ellie doesn't move from her spot against the wall. She takes a sip from her drink, eyeing me up.

I shift, slightly uncomfortable.

" You're welcome to lean back against the wall. " She nods to my previously taken spot. A glimmer of playfulness shines in her eyes. " I don't bite, I promise. "

Carefully, I take my spot back to the princess. " If you don't like parties, why did you come? " I ask curiously.

Princess Ellie shrugs, her shoulders brushing against mine. " Had nothing better to do. Figured I might as well find some pretty girls to talk to . " She grins slightly.

A feel a warm rush climb up my cheeks.

Of course I knew Princess Ellie was gay. Everyone and their mother knows. It caused quite the controversy when she was first caught making out with her now ex-girlfriend in front of thousands of people at her 17th birthday party.

I thought it was nice. I didn't feel so...alone. It was nice to feel normal, like my feelings were okay.

My mother didn't think so. She refuses to attend anything with Princess Ellie, insisting it'll 'ruin' me further.

" What's your name, pretty girl? " Princess Ellie asks, turning her body towards mine. She leans against her arm, cocking her head to the side. Her warm green eyes stare into mine, sending a hoard of butterflies tumbling through my chest.

" Y/N. " I manage to reply. " Y/N of Weston. "

" Well, Y/N of Weston, I'd love to take you- " Princess Ellie is interrupted.

" Y/N! " My mother shrieks. She roughly grabs my hand, pulling my away from the princess. She quickly curtsies and mumbles a polite 'your highness' before turning to me. " Apologies, Your highness but we have to go. "

" But mother-" I being to protest, trying to pull away. The tightness of her grip sends pain through my wrist. " Fuck, mom! " I yelp. I can already feel the bruise forming. My mother doesn't let up.

" Y/N no. " My mother's eyes are fierce, an anger I've never seen before flashing through them.

" Lessen your grip! " Princess Ellie orders, her voice laced with concern. " You're hurting them! "

The loud music has died down. All attention has turned to us. My mother, now clearly embarrassed from the situation, pulls me more urgently.

" What is going on here? " A voice asks. All chatter around the room quiets down.

The king.

My mother's eyes widen. " You're majesty! I'm so sorry. My daughter...she's not listening. You know, children. My husband...he's fallen ill. I'm merely trying to get her home. Our page just sent news. He's had a stroke. Forgive me for disturbing your dance. "

My heart drops. " What? "

My mother doesn't look at me. " Your father has had a stroke. "

Fear runs through my body. No! He can't be ill. He was doing just fine earlier. What happened?

King Joel scans over my expression, trying to decide what to do. " You may go. But release your daughter. "

My mother nods, letting go of my wrist. " Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you. Come now, Y/N. We must go. "

I glance up at Ellie. Her face displays concern and disbelief. She quickly turns to her father, whispering something into his ear. He brushes it off, shaking his head.

My mother and I curtsy and quickly turn to leave. I numbly follow in her footsteps.

This doesn't make sense? How did the page get here so fast? Our home is hours away from the palace. How was he able to get here so quickly?

Once we're down the long row of stairs, my mother grabs onto my arm. " You know better than to fraternize with the princess. " She hisses, pushing me into our carriage.

Confusion fills my body. " What? We were just talking. "

My mother glares at me. " You don't talk to women like her. You know this, Y/N. "

A pit begins building in my stomach. " Dad didn't have a stroke, did he. "

My mother's gaze doesn't faulter. " No. You are no longer allowed to go to parties at the palace. If you can't find a suitor for yourself, I guess I'll have to take matters into my own hands. I'll be picking a suitor for you. I already have the perfect boy. You're to be married in 2 months. "

My heart drops. " Mother, no! "

" I tried, Y/N. I really did. " She shakes her head. " I tried to let you grow out of this faze. To let you find a good man. You leave me no choice. You'll learn to love him just as I learned to love your father. "

" Please mother, you can't do this. " My voice is filled with desperation. I don't want to get married to a stranger. All I did was talk to Princess Ellie! " Please. "

My mother doesn't crack. " You'll thank me later. "

#ellie williams x reader #fanfiction #fanfic #ellie the last of us #ellie williams x you #ellie x you #ellie williams #ellie williams tlou #ellie williams x female reader #ellie tlou #ellie williams drabble #ellie williams fanfic #ellie williams fanfiction #ellie williams x y/n #ellie x fem reader #ellie x reader #ellie x y/n

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powerpolyculeshowdown · 1 year

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POWER POLYCULE SHOWDOWN POLYSHIPS

I didn't make a proper bracket image because there's too many names but here's a list of our 44 contestants under the cut!

MASTERPOST

REMINDER: I'll answer questions about the choices but if people start to be rude, anon will be turned off and I will start blocking.

If your guys didnt make it in just know I was happy to see all the nominations anyway so at the very least you put a smile on my face :)

The Showdown is finished!!

WINNERS

let me know if you want another one!

The contestants!

Tulio/Miguel/Chel (Road to El Dorado), Yoo/Han/Kim (Omniscient Reader), Mane 6 (My Little Pony), Sasha/Anne/Marcy (Amphibia), Rey/Finn/Poe (Star Wars), The Doctor/Rose/Jack Harkness (Doctor Who), DaveJadeKat (Homestuck), Sora/Riku/Kairi (Kingdom Hearts), Cosmo/Kathy/Don (Singing in the Rain), Ferris/Sloane/Cameron (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off), Amaryllis/Sir Damien/Lord Arum (Penumbra Podcast), Arthur/Guinevere/Lancelot (High Noon Over Camelot - The Mechanisms), Star Allies (Kirby Star Allies), Wu Zetian/Li Shimin/Gao Yizhi (Iron Widow, Hardison/Parker/Elliot (Leverage), Geralt/Jaskier/Yennefer (The Witcher), Sadie Kane/Walt Stone/Anubis (The Kane Chronicles), All 1008 Pokémon (Pokémon), Suki/Sokka/Zuko (Avatar: TLA), Sonic/Knuckles/Shadow (Sonic), Fred/Daphne/Velma/Shaggy (Scooby Doo), Luka/Adrien/Kagami/Marinette (Miraculous Ladybug), Sweet/Cap’n/K_K (Deltarune), Shiver/Frye/Big Man (Splatoon 3), Wonder Woman/Superman/Batman (DC Comics), Megaera/Zagreus/Thanatos (Hades), Dekubowl (My Hero Academia), Jolyne/Ermes/Foo Fighters (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure), Bocchi/Nijika/Ryo/Kita (Bocchi the Rock), Tsukasa/Emu/Nene/Rui (Project Sekai), Trevor/Sypha/Alucard/Greta (Castlevania), Heizou/Kazuha/Scaramouche (Genshin Impact), Rachel/Chloe/Max (Life is Strange), Quanxi/Tsugihagi/Pingtsi/Long/Cosmo (Chainsaw Man), McCoy/Spock/Kirk (Star Trek), Frodo/Sam/Rosie (Lord of the Rings), Cassandra/Rapunzel/Flynn (Tangled Series), Vivi/Lewis/Arthur (Mystery Skulls Animated), Aizo/Yujiro/Hiyori (HoneyWorks), Panchito/Donald/José (The Three Caballeros), Catra/Adora/Glimmer/Bow (She-Ra and The Princesses of Power), Amethyst/Peridot/Lapis (Steven Universe), Hunter/Willow/Luz/Amity (The Owl House), Bucky/Steve/Peggy/Angie (Marvel)

#powerpolyculeshowdown #brackets #polls #tournament #polycule #polyamory

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hiatuswhore · 1 year

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♕ 𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝐻𝒾𝓈𝓉𝑜𝓇𝓎 𝑜𝒻 𝐻𝑜𝓊𝓈𝑒 𝑀𝒶𝓇𝒾𝓈𝑜𝓃

♕ A/N: This has been sitting in my drafts for weeks now. Feedback please!

♕ SUMMARY: Rich like a Lannister, cold like a Stark, and fearsome like a Targaryen. From the ashes, words of the Great House Marison. While many play the Game of Thrones, history plays the game of lies. In this game all play the fool, except one.

♕ WORD COUNT: 2.7K

♕ WARNING: Triggering content briefly, proceed with caution.

previous — Masterlist — next

The Viper circles the Lioness, standing in the markets, each donning well-hidden agendas. Offering curt smiles to blanket the evident tension.

“The Princess is a lovely girl. Her enthusiasm for her studies most refreshing. Her favorite is the story of the great Dornish farm girl, (Y/n) Marisol.”

“You mean Princess (Y/n) Targaryen. Formerly Lady (Y/n) of House Marison,” Cersei covers her frown with a dry chuckle. Oberyn chuckles, wetting his lips with a shake of his head.

Your love for your home began on your very first day in the world. Leaving your mother not a blubbering bundle of tears and red skin but wide-eyed and curious. You can recall the sun's hug and the sand's tickle. The many spices and elaborate dances in your visits to Sunspear. Most of all, the quaint solace of your home by the water's edge.

Summers often entailed your brother of six and ten chasing you by the tide. The edge of your skirts made your dress heavy as water soaked the ends, your feet sank lower into the damp sand, your strides clumsy and with haste. Deziel’s laughter booms as your own pierce the air. The shrill sound garnered a smile from your mother, often missed. The coverage of trees shielded the beach from your home, but your mother could make out her children from any distance. Your brother wrestled you down, the sand irritated your neck and dampened your dress, but it mattered little.

“Bend the knee, Dornish scum! Swear subservience to the Targaryen crown or perish!” Deziel’s northern accent as poor as his understanding of the frail peace between your people and the Targaryens. His fingers fiddling at your sides fervently, unrelenting. Your shielded youths evident in your choice of playful jests.

“I swear! I yield!” You cry out between heavy breaths. Tears left you in a fit of laughter that bordered joy and pain.

“What!” Deziel scoffs, his hands leaving you with crazed disbelief. A dopey grin paints your face, squinting up at your brother. His fingers return to your sides, a loud squeal leaving you as he drops his weak accent, “Have you gone mad! Make an oath breaker of yourself at once! We are dornish, wild girl!”

No matter your answer, Deziel would bring the brunt of the Targaryens or the Dornish upon you. A game made only for you to lose. At the orange glow of the sky, you both march home smelling of saltwater. You caked in mud, Deziel always wiping dirt upon his skin, so you both get the whole of your parents' scoldings. Not that Deziel ever had to. With one look at your round cheeks and brown eyes, the voices of your mother and father would soften.

“Not at all. Many stories circulate about Lady (Y/n). Yet many fail to remember that she grew in a time when the people of Dorne were rather petulant to the other six kingdoms. A time Targaryens often terrorized our shores.” Cersei raises an eyebrow at his words. Every lesson taught on history being challenged before her, discounted.

“A false rumor. Histories often altered over time by wrong interpretations. By your admission, you accuse the Great House of Marison to be built upon a lie.” Oberyn’s smile widens, nodding his head to her words without care.

“A great dornish lie.”

You can recall your mother often reminding you both of a debt owed to her by the Prince. If trouble were ever to strike, it was your assurance of safety.

For many years, you lived in a false glimmer that only held joy with no place for despair. With time your brother's responsibilities grew as your mother forced lessons of etiquette and customs down your throat. You never understood what would politeness and formality do for a farm. Still ever the sheltered girl of the Marisol family.

Despite their efforts, an inevitable truth loomed. Not a single place in the world can be sheltered from the horror inflicted by men.

You are no stranger to these horrors.

You can remember the day from the sweet smell of honey bread your mother made. To the seconds before your father and brother's departure. According to your father, a hunts no place for a young lady. Reading between the lines, a long sigh left you, no place for a lady.

Inside, you sat at the family table, huffing at the boring pages your mother put before you. Her instructions were clear. You were free to leave the table once you read the story and could explain it to her. You cannot recall the story, only the dreadfully boring time you spent attempting to read it.

Your head whipped right as your body stiffened. The slam of the door and your mother rushed across the room. Her sudden movements sent your heart into a speedy gallop. She ignored as you called out to her, pulling back the carpet and removing a false panel.

“Mother?” You called out, her hand wrapped around your wrist, ripping you from your seat. She laid you down in the ample space, a kiss on your forehead.

“You do not make a sound, do you understand? Do not come out unless I, your father, or Deziel retrieves you,” Not once had you ever seen your mother cry, but the mist in her eyes was not well hidden. She finally kissed your forehead, muttering her love before she closed you in. The cracks in the floor left you with a slit-like view of above. You squeezed your eyes shut, dust falling over you as heavy steps shook the panels above.

And there it was. Your first true encounter with the Westerosi people. The man held a gruff tone. You bit back a whimper at your mother's cries, fists bawling so tightly that not even the broken skin gave you pause. The groans of strange men and the smacking of flesh forced you to swallow down growing nausea. You were no fool to what occurred above, already a young maiden grown and flowered.

You squeezed your eyes shut, and your nails dug further into your skin. Escaping to your mind with a steady tempo, one, two, three, four…silence halted your count at one thousand two hundred and thirty-seven seconds.

Opening your eyes, you clamped them back shut, red clouded your vision. The warm drips did not cease, so constant drip you believed it would drown you. Even as that plagued you, your mothers' directions were clear.

Deziel pulled you from beneath the boards, shielding your face as he swallowed thickly. Your father's cries filled your home, leaving you without an inkling of its beginning. When it end arrived, the three of you journeyed to Sunspear, typically a two-day trip with stops and games—became a silent day trip. Your father’s movements mechanical, with a refusal to look at either of you. Poor Deziel. He made sure his father ate, and you were clean and cared for.

At Dornish court, if the news of your mothers' murder hurt the ruling Prince, you saw no evidence of it. Much of the conversation between your father and the Prince had been lost on you. You could only recall pieces that made no sense at the time but later clicked without issue. The three of you boarded a ship with men, coin, and servants. You kept your eye on the shore, even when it was long from view.

Princess Rhaenys Targaryen—Velaryon and her husband, Lord Corlys, welcomed the three of you. You can recall the panic the Princess immediately eased as your brother and father parted from you to join Lord Corlys.

“(Y/n) is it? Worry not. You are safe here,” Her accent made you shudder, akin to the one the man in your home had. It would take you weeks to not flinch or tear up at the sound of it. “A dear friend of mine asked to aid you in acquiring a safer life. What comes next will not be easy. You will need to convince the people of the realm that you are a noblewoman. But not just any noblewoman, the very best of them. The prettiest, smartest, and most pristine. You will work far harder than any other in these coming years. Can you do that?”

You did not answer the Princess’s question. Nor were you fully processing all before you. Deziel’s betrothal to Laena Velaryon cleared much of your confusion. The final nail in the coffin to your simple farmer lifestyle. With his bride comes lordship and property, not in Driftmark but in Duskendale, the closest castle to Driftmark. Your father, now a Lord with the respect of an Old Valyrian house and a beautiful daughter without a reputation. No longer bearing the name Marisol, with clear foreign descent but House Marison. A new, smaller house with riches and the favor of Lord Corlys and Princess Rhaenys.

The rapid changes made it all finally click in your mind, your mothers' teachings. Her insistence on your education and understanding of etiquette and the functions of royal courts. She hoped for the best and expected the worst, and the very worst arrived.

“Princess Aliandra kept a book where she often documented her days. She detailed meeting her father's beloved family friend and their time together. The Princess described her friend as having a brown complexion. Light during her travels from the north and dark during her time in the south. Beautiful brown coils of hair. Princess Alisandra believed many of her friend's attributes came from her father, born in the isle of butterflies. Today known as Naath.”

Not a dime was spared in the erasure of your history. Your golden complexions and coily hair, a feat that cannot be removed. But your accents ripped from you with blood and tears. The crack against your back leaves you gnawing your bottom lip. Hot tears flood you, your septa calling for you to continue to read the story.

“The year continued without further crisis or test as Jaehaerys and Alyssane—“ You fail to stop the cry that leaves your lips as your septa draws blood. Gripping the edges of the book tightly, your toes curl as a shaky breath leaves you.

“You cry now, but this will be nothing if the crown ever learns how you aim to deceive them. You must forget this savage dialect and move forward, Lady Marison. Do you understand?” Septa Oleyna offers you a knowing look. She wears a natural grimace, nudging her head toward the book. Nodding, you turn back to the book, another cry leaving your lips at the crack against your back. “Understand?”

“Yes, Septa Oleyna.”

Your days continue like this until your accent fades into a distant memory. The dialect sour on your tongue, the Targaryens chipping away at another piece of your beloved culture. Every aspect of Westeros bores you. The clothing dull, the food bland, and the women docile. You cannot help but wonder if your father or Deziel share your sentiment. If they do, it never shows.

While you grow to accept your new reality, your quest for the truth of the past does not cease. At first, your father's not forthcoming when you inquire about the dealings behind the attack on your previous home. Still, you did not relent even at your brothers' pleas for you to drop it.

The news is unveiled at a private dinner between the three of you. Your fathers' mood already sour, and before you knew it, he was spewing the reality in a fit of rage. By order of the crown, soldiers were sent to Dorne to remind the Dornish that attempts at an uprising would prove foolish. A premature act of aggression. Your father storms from the room, slamming the hall door behind him. Deziel’s eyes soften, and he places his hand atop your own. A comfort far too small to dim the growing flames.

Coals sit in your throat, twisting and burning akin to hell fire. You do not wail or collapse into your emotions as expected. A grimace consumes you with an ire that sets your skin ablaze. The brutalization of your mother and destruction of your family not an act of politics but a personal slight.

“So you truly believe the Targaryens and the Northerners allowed a dornish family to settle and form a house built on false names and histories?” This time Cersei chuckles, shaking her head. Oberyn’s confidence did not falter.

“How can one allow or disallow a deception they are unaware of? You see, in Dorne, we sing songs and tell the tales of the great (Y/n) Marisol because she did what many of you believe is not possible today?”

“And what’s that?”

“She took your customs and expectations, outdoing every noble lady in the realm. A little dornish girl with Dragons in her palm. They terrorized our lands, and she made them pay for it.”

As the others prepare for your brother's pending nuptials, you immerse yourself into Septa Oleyna’s process. Your lessons come with fewer tears, resentment a great motivator in your education. Not only in doing away with your accent but the history of Westeros and every bit of information available on the living royal family. Even taking the time to study High Valyrian before bed.

The weeks pass you rapidly, (Y/n) Marisol long gone with Lady Marison’s machinations growing. Deeming you ready, your father brings you along during his travels across the realm. He introduces you to Lords when the opportunities present themselves. You master the art of knowing when to speak and when to remain silent. What topics to broach and what others wish to hear. With each passing moon, your ability to read others growing sharper than a blade's edge.

Every feast. Every great house. And every appearance makes every tear and drop of blood worth it. Doing what girls train years for and often never achieve in mere months. Perfection. The word spreads like wildfire.

Lady Marison. Ward of Princess Rhaenys. Beautiful. Smart. Reputable. A perfect bride in all categories. You masquerade with poise, a Dornish girl exceeding in all they deem above you, above your people.

Dragonstones, unlike your other destinations. On the ships, your father reiterates the danger a mishap can hold. No longer will you be in the presence of Lords but Princess Rhaenyra Targaryen, heir to the Iron Throne.

“Put your trust in me, father. I work only to secure our safety,” You say. No fool to Lord Corlys and Rhaenys protection being minuscule against the truth sweeping the realm.

The Princess of greets Lord Corlys, your father, and yourself, with presumably her entire family. Three dark-haired boys and two silver hair babes. At her side stands a tall looming man, doing little to hide his boredom. Corlys greets his “grandsons” with large smiles before beginning introductions.

“It is an honor, your grace,” Curtsying, like all the others you push a broad smile to your face. Your eyes squint while beaming at whomever you address.

“I have heard much about you, Lady Marison. Your reputation proceeds you,” As does yours. During your time at Driftmark, Laena made sure you knew every inch of it. The history, good and bad, every little detail of her family to prepare you for the pending wedding—and portraits of her brother. Of the three Velaryon boys, not a single one took Laenors likeness.

“The gossip speaks far too highly of me,” Feigning humility, you smile and nod as your mind resides elsewhere. No longer rumors, the truth standing before you. A female heir with bastard sons and younger brothers. Your gaze cuts to the Rogue Prince, his eyes not leaving you. Offering a curt nod, his eyes merely cut to your father's. The same scrutiny in his eyes.

“Your accusations against the history of House Marison deem almost every great house illegitimate. A Marison can be found in the lineage of all the houses. Even—“ The Queen pauses, her hands clutching her necklace. Oberyn clasps his hands in front of him, a knowing smile on his lips.

“(Y/n) Stark née (Y/n) Marison the second, grandmother of Eddard Stark. Nadia Tyrell née Nadia Marison. The Arryns, Tully’s—“ Still, the Queen stares off aimlessly, a blank resolve leaving much to the imagination.

“Are you reaching a point, my prince?”

“A Marison can be found in all histories. In mine, your sons, even yours. Joanna Lannister née Joanna Marison.”

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the-fiction-witch · 4 months

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Snow Queen

Media IRL X Fantasy

Character TBS

Couple TBS X Reader (Snow Princess)

Rating sweet + Spooky

Fictional Advent Day twenty Four

It was said, that she comes with the snow, that she rides atop of snow heavy clouds on a stallion of bright white and silver, That she leads an army of creatures with icey wings and skin black with the cost of frostbite. There are many more stories, told to children to keep them in their beds away from the icy cold storms that come in the night. But stories cannot help me now. I walked with shuffled feet, using all my strength to move my feet inches at a time, I wrapped my arms around my body as tightly as possible, and I hid my face into my shoulder trying to hide away from the world before me. My body was frozen so cold I was unable to even shiver, icicles forming in my hair, snow building up in my boots unmelted given how cold I was, my lips blue and numb but still I pushed forward desperate to get home. For a moment I looked up the darkness had swallowed us all, the snow bright white as it swirled around me as if this snowstorm was personally trying to spin me away, the snow so thick it reached my knees, so bright the white burnt my eyes, the fluffy so fast and hard I couldn't even see the lights of the village, the church tower utterly lost in the clouds snow. My knees gave out and my body fell to the ground, snow piling on top of me the moment I stopped moving. My body was so numb, frozen, so weak. I perked up as I heard this ghostly song, soft-sounding bells tingling, and a ghostly voice seemed to circle me. I caught the look of something moving just beyond the snow flurry. "Someone there?" I asked "Hello?!" I called out And suddenly through the harsh snowstorm, I saw her. A woman with skin as pale as snow, long light blue hair braided in tight skilful plats, littered with snow and glittering ice, her lips a deep blue, her eyes a harsh white and icy blue, sharp glitter across her face, a long blue and white gown glittering and glimmering as if the dress was craved from ice and snow, Boots made of pure ice with a sharp icicle heel. She sat atop a snow-white horse with a glittering mane and tail, with a saddle carved from ice with a layer of snow. I knew the stories well but hadn't believed them since I was a child, but fear ran through me, if she was real what else was? She looked down at me from the top of her horse and held out her hand to me covered in a white velvet glove "No. Please…" I begged, tears welling up in my eyes and slipping down my face by freezing before they reached my chin She sat firm and still, and I knew I had little other choice if I didn't take her hand I'd freeze to death, but I didn't know my fate if I did. I forced my body up from the snow and gently took her hand.

I woke up with a jolt sitting up, my body on a pile of fresh fluffy snow in a large cave of ice on all sides with a long tunnel in front of me. I was fearful, to say the least, but I forced my body to stand the cold and weakness of my body were gone but at the same time I didn’t feel cosy and warm I felt… empty. I pushed myself through moving down the small icey corridor chasing the light at its end trying desperately to find where I was or what had happened to me as I gained my strength my steps got faster and faster until I began to run. I saw the light at the end hoping to see home but I stopped short as the tunnel stopped at a sharp cliff edge in a straight drop. That if I had been a few inches closer I’d have gone tumbling over. I gripped the edge desperately to make sure I wouldn’t lose my balance, And I saw where I was. Beyond the cliff edge was a city made of ice and littered with snow, the houses and barracks were built into the ice and snow, an army larger than any other I had ever seen the bodies of the army were dark green or black from frostbite, skin broken and flaked off exposing bone and frozen muscles, their skin white from the cold. A castle at the head of the kingdom was carved from ice intricately and carefully, snow falling heavily enormous blue dragons gliding across the sky.

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baggebythesea · 7 months

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Princess Glimmer and the Day of Many Choices: Follow Catra to the portal world (33/?)

"CATRA!" Glimmer cried, and - just a moment before the portal closed behind her lover - grabbed Adora's hand and teleported the two of them into the closing portal.

"No!" Perfuma gasped, white in her face.

"Well then…" Corrupted Catra said, looking at Shadow Weaver with downright gleeful expression. "Seems like we have some catching up to do, mommy."

- - -

"Catra!" Glimmer yelled the moment they materialised, but no one answered.

"Where is she?" Adora gasped, holding Glimmer's hand tightly.

"I don't know." Glimmer gently let go of Adora's hand. "Let's figure out where we are."

She summoned an orb of light and they looked around. They were surrounded by crystal, sparkling and bright in Glimmer's light. But at the same time there was something wrong to the way the light fell.

"Brightmoon…" Adora said, voice shivering.

"Brightmoon," Glimmer grimly confirmed. "Or whatever shadow of it we will find."

She started to walk along the corridor, with Adora following her

"Last time I was here, this place was perfect…." Adora said with low voice.

"No, it wasn't," Glimmer muttered, walking with brisk steps without looking at Adora.

"Your parents were still together…" Adora mumbled. "The three of you were happy. The Horde had not destroyed everything… until I came and took your…"

"I know!" Glimmer snarled. "I know what happened. You told me. And I know you will twist it to make it your fault somehow."

"It was my fault," Adora insisted. "If I hadn't looked for you and Bow, Angella would not have…"

"…stopped you from sacrificing yourself," Glimmer retorted. "Which is the only thing your fucking guilty consciousness will accept, isn't it?"

Adora gave her a hurt look.

"Glim, I try to apologise here."

"Well, maybe I don't want you to," Glimmer snarled. "Maybe I don't want to accept that responsibility."

Adora said nothing. After a moment, Glimmer took a deep breath.

"Sorry, Adora," she muttered. "I'm on edge and I take it out on you. Again. Sorry."

"It's OK," Adora mumbled, not looking at her lover.

"It's not," Glimmer sighed. "The truth is, I'm scared of what we will find here."

"Maybe your father…" Adora begun, but Glimmer violently shook her head.

"You don't get it," she spat. "Sorry, Adora, but that's the truth. You have never got it."

"Got what?" Adora asked, bewildered.

"Me," Glimmer said. "You think of me as that perfect, magical girl that saved you from the Horde and brought you to a place full of rainbows and waterfalls."

"That's what happened," Adora protested.

"And you blame yourself for ruining it," Glimmer went on without taking any notice of the interruption, "which was absurd before and even more so now when we met Horde Prime. He made Hordak what he was. He started the war."

"I know that," Adora said. "I just…"

"'Should have made more to stop it'," Glimmer said with mocking voice, causing Adora to flinch. "Sing a different tune for once, hero."

"Glimmer, what are you saying?" Adora whispered, eyes full of tears.

"That perhaps I never wanted you to stop the war," Glimmer said, voice full of self loathing. "That perhaps I never wanted to be the happy little mommy's girl you saw in the Portal world."

Adora stared at her.

"I never got a say," Glimmer snarled. "Neither of us did. I was born into war just as the rest of us. But if I had had a choice… I would have chosen war. I would have chosen all that death, all that strife, all of the Horde piece by piece destroying our world. And do you know why?"

Adora numbly shook her head.

"Because then I could win," Glimmer whispered. "Because I needed a great enough foe to make my victory count. How fucked up is THAT?"

"Glimmer…." Adora tried.

"That's who I am," Glimmer spat. "You think you are bad because you were not enough of a hero. Well, I wanted a whole world plunged into a generational war just to prove that I'm not my mother. How is that for a monster?"

"But you didn't cause the war either," Adora gently said. "Even if you think of yourself that way…"

"You don't get it," Glimmer forcefully interrupted. "This world, this place… whatever it is. It's a place for second chances, right?"

"Um, I guess…?" Adora begun.

"Like, Catra had her little dorm room fantasy with the two of you back in the Horde," Glimmer interrupted. "And mom had the dollhouse idea of a happy family with dad alive and me and Bow as her cute little dolls."

"I don't…" Adora tried.

"Well," Glimmer shot back. "We're here. We are in the portal world version of Brightmoon. What do you think my messed up wish fulfilment looks like?"

She more or less dragged Adora into the throne room, glaring at the short figure who sat on the throne, regarding them with an amused expression.

"My, my, my," Evil Queen Glimmer said from her throne. "What do we have here?"

This one is for @jidblogger :-)

Part 32 is here: https://baggebythesea.tumblr.com/post/727960676590600192/portal-world-episode-next-installment-will-beup

#spop #princess glimmer and the day of many choices #chose your own adventure #glimmer #adora #evil queen glimmer #portal world #corrupted glimmer #evil glimmer

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seyaryminamoto · 7 months

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The Shadows in her Reflection: Sokkla Saturdays 2023

One day, the moon that reigned over the skies darkened. Concerned by the rare phenomenon, the last thing Sokka expects to learn is that Azula, of all people, might be the key to solving this lunar mystery. By traveling the world together, the Water Tribe Warrior and the Fire Nation's Fallen Princess will seek to fulfill Yue's final wishes in what might just become a lifechanging, memorable adventure for the unlikely pair...

Rated: M

On FF.net//On AO3

A/N: Life's becoming very busy for me lately, so I went out of my way to start this one ASAP in the hopes of finishing it on time for the event. Alas, I haven't fully written everything for it yet, but here's my first entry nonetheless. Worth saying this is a comics-compliant story, a rarity coming from me, yes... it takes place around 10 years after the war ended. It's quite possibly my first attempt to fully write an Azula redemption story based on canon itself (Gladiator is, quite clearly, its own thing and her arc there isn't exaaactly a redemption arc, at least, not the one some people are looking for when it comes to Azula). While obviously Sokka and Azula are very important and at the core of this tale, there's one more connection for Azula in this story that's crucial for her development, and I really hope you guys will have fun seeing it develop and unfold.

Anyway, this is not a one-shot collection, for once: we're here for 8 chapters of a slightly unusual plot choice for my standards, but that I really hope many of you will have plenty of fun reading!

One day, a comet crashed into the moon.

It wasn't Sozin's Comet, which might have destroyed the cosmic body altogether with its power: it was smaller, but harmful nonetheless. The collision couldn't be seen from the planet the moon orbited around, either, for it happened on the dark side of the moon.

A cloud of debris, of filth, rose from the collision spot, where the remains of that comet embedded itself into the moon. It seemed to wish to merge with it, perhaps to take over the moon altogether: the exosphere grew polluted, and the debris from the collision didn't float away into space in due time. It remained locked around the moon, instead… it obscured it. The sun's light had once reflected powerfully upon its surface… but as bright as its rays might be, that noxious cloud muddled and impeded their connection.

And so, the moon started to fade from the sky, leaving but a vestige, a faded glimmer of white, to be seen in the night sky.

The shackled and restrained women wouldn't threaten the Fire Lord anymore. His patience had long run its course after ten years of sabotage by their group. He stepped up to the leader, chained and on her knees, merely a few paces away from the location of her last act of vicious cruelty. Hiding behind a mask of white and purple, she was responsible for the latest case of reckless arson in which he had finally captured them…

Zuko tore the mask away from the woman's face forcefully.

It was not his sister.

His shock, and the time he wasted standing near her without saying anything, emboldened Zirin sufficiently to spit on his face.

Zuko growled, pushing back and wiping the insult off his cheek hastily: his guards rushed in, as though to beat the woman up further, but Zuko raised a hand.

"Stop!" he exclaimed, glaring at the woman again. Zirin's fury failed to be disguised behind the dangerous smirk she offered him. "You… where is she? Why are you wearing her mask?!"

"Because someone had to," Zirin responded. "Because… she has matters to resolve. But she'll come back stronger… and when she does, she'll tear you to shreds as she always should have, Fire Lord Zuko!"

Zuko snarled: he had never understood why the false Kemurikage had joined Azula's ranks, or what kind of loyalty she elicited in them. But part of him suspected, even from some time ago, that it wasn't true loyalty to Azula… rather, it might be pure, unbridled hatred reserved for him. Why?

But he hadn't captured the group for the sake of understanding their grudges. While he certainly meant to make every last one of them pay for their crimes in due time, the main reason why he had chased them for so long was to find Azula.

"Where is she?" he hissed. Zirin scoffed.

"You're too late. She's going to find what she seeks, and with its power, she will destroy you. She's going to…"

"Do you realize that I could kill you right now?"

Zirin finally stopped talking. Zuko's glare froze her heart over for at least an instant: he elicited genuine fear out of her, as well as the rest of the women chained and crouching behind her. The Fire Lord scowled, making his point apparent even more effectively by raising a hand and evoking his flames in it.

"The last time you lot caused more trouble than you were worth, I told myself that another misstep of that magnitude would be enough. I'd do it. I'd execute you all. And you just went and outdid yourselves, of all things. Makes matters rather easy for me, doesn't it?" Zuko hissed. Zirin snarled.

"You wouldn't dare…"

"Azula wanted me to be a stronger Fire Lord, didn't she? The kind who makes the difficult choices, no matter how appalling they might be. Maybe it's time I live up to her expectations," he said: there wasn't a hint of falsehood in his voice. He meant every word he had spoken.

Zirin shivered as Zuko stepped closer to her, still wielding the fire dangerously.

"She's not going to come here to save you. She won't get here on time if I decide to deal my justice to you, right here, right now," he said. "The only way you get to live longer than a few more minutes is if you tell me, right now, where she went. I'm willing to go through each one of your friends, one by one, until I get my answer. Might as well start with you."

He had her. The fear in her eyes was genuine. No, this wasn't the Fire Lord he wanted to be… but they truly had forced his hand. He found patience and compassion at short supply whenever it involved his sister's terrorist group these days.

"So, now that we've established your life means nothing to me and I could snuff it out in a second… tell me: where is Azula?"

Zirin might have meant to continue fighting back… but when she opened her mouth, she spoke with words that Zuko feared might be a trick of some sort, for they were the last he had ever expected to hear as an answer to his inquiries:

"The Northern Water Tribe."

He had looked into the phenomenon in the sky: every astronomer he spoke to would reiterate that they didn't understand it any more than Sokka did. The Water Tribesman felt a worse pang of fear every time he gazed up at the moon these days: its brightness faded more each day, it felt like… was it drifting away from their world, for no reason? Would that make any sense? As much as it was harder to see it lately, it didn't appear to have shrunken in size…

The sun's glow hadn't changed, either: otherwise, life in their world would have also been impacted severely by a weaker source of sunlight. Everything was normal. Even the tides were normal. The moon was the only thing that wasn't.

"I don't know, Sokka. I've tried to communicate with Yue in the Spirit World, yes, but it just doesn't work that way," Aang sighed, after Sokka asked about it for the umpteenth time during dinner, in Air Temple Island.

"She has to look for you instead, is it? You told me she came to you once when you had run away from us, when we were only just approaching the Fire Nation," Sokka said, frowning. "Do you have to wait for her to do that again? Aang, I… I don't like this. I don't know if it's a spiritual thing or if it's something else, something more material, but it's freaking me out."

"It's not affecting my bending," Katara said. "Which, yes, I know isn't your primary concern, Sokka, but I think it means the moon is there. It very much is."

"But why is it so dim? Am I the only one who thinks something's got to be messed up here?" Sokka groaned.

"Well, I have no idea what's a bright moon or a dim moon, so you might just be," Toph said, wiggling her toes as she relaxed by the table, feet propped upon it. At this point, nobody even bothered telling her not to be so careless.

"Sokka, I'll keep trying, but…" Aang started, only for his words to be cut off by a squawking messenger hawk.

"What…? Zuko?" Toph raised her eyebrows, turning her head towards the sound. "Or are you expecting letters from someone else lately, Twinkle Toes?"

Aang rose to his feet, approaching the creature immediately. Sokka merely spared a moment's attention to the matter before frowning again at the food before him, on the table: what could possibly be wrong with the moon? He had looked into it everywhere, and nobody had ever registered a phenomenon like this…

"Uh… uh-oh," Aang grimaced, turning towards the rest of the group. "Guys? Zuko needs our help."

"Why?" Sokka said, with a grimace. "The hell did he get up to now? And hey, I asked for your help with this first! If anything, he can get in line…"

"I don't think he can," Aang said, eyeing Sokka with uncertainty. "Look, I'd love to help you, Sokka, but I'm not sure how to go about it to begin with. Aside from that? Well… Zuko's problem may be more immediate and more urgent. Didn't the moon start acting up a year ago?"

"It did, but it feels like it just gets worse!" Sokka exclaimed. "It is urgent!"

"Well, so is what Zuko told me," Aang said, breathing deeply. "I don't know, maybe it'll even help you find clues if you come with me. Maybe the Northern Water Tribe has information about the moon, they ought to be experts…"

"Wait… the Northern Water Tribe?" Katara frowned. "Why? What's going on?"

"Nobody really knows, but… apparently, Azula is on her way there," Aang said.

The room fell silent. Tension rose quickly, even if everyone remained silent: the Fire Lord's estranged sister, ten years on the run, wreaking havoc across the world, had been a sore thumb for Zuko ever since he had taken the Fire Nation throne. She turned up once in a while, but never for anything good. She continued to be a menace that terrified the bulk of the world population, a feared terrorist who mainly operated, however, in the Fire Nation itself… hence, the rest of the nations had never involved themselves in her capture. Some leaders, particularly those who still had not forgiven the Fire Nation for the Hundred Year War, appeared to thrive in knowing that the dangerous firebender was on the loose and causing chaos in her nation now, rather than in everyone else's.

They certainly would set aside such thoughts going forward, though, if she had finally started venturing into their lands.

"What the hell is she doing in the Northern Water Tribe?" Sokka asked, frowning. "She had nothing to do with that place. She wasn't even in the siege of the north…!"

"Whatever her intent is, it can't be good," Aang grimaced. "Come with us, you can investigate the moon there if you want, Sokka, but we have to go."

"Not a dull day in this life," Katara sighed, shaking her head. "Toph? Can you stay and watch over Bumi?"

"Pfft. Take him with you. I'm not babysitting no weird, loud kids," Toph snapped. Katara huffed, and Aang smiled a little at her.

"He'll be safe with us. Let's take him too, might as well…"

He was nervous. Fear guided their every choice: whatever Azula was up to, this was a profound change of behavior, entirely unlike her. Had she decided to return to the old Fire Lords' legacy after all? Did she intend to destroy the other cultures again, rather than solely focusing on sabotaging her brother's rule?

And with the moon being in such shape… Sokka didn't think he could do right by Yue when it came to that particular problem, but he certainly could help by keeping her people safe. As much as he wanted to learn more about the moon's condition, Aang wasn't wrong to suggest that he joined them. Even if he had no idea if he'd be able to help much against Azula, should it come to that, he meant to be there to offer whatever support Aang and Katara might need of him.

"Alright. Let's get going," Sokka said: his compliance, and the fact that they didn't need to say more to convince him, appeased and surprised his friends.

His mood hadn't been the brightest over the past months. Perhaps over the last year, altogether. It didn't suit the typically rambunctious man to grow withdrawn and thoughtful, but to most, it seemed to be a matter of guilt and fear pertaining the moon and its status. His constant investigations on the subject, his anguish, seemed to drive many people away from him… though no one had drifted quite as far from him as Suki. After making up her mind to move to Republic City, two years earlier, misfires in their relationship had resulted in their return to a long-distance relationship, though this time, one that hardly seemed to be a relationship at all. She was back in Kyoshi Island right now: Sokka hadn't seen her in over six months.

Katara often suggested that he ought to visit her again, trying her best to be supportive of her brother while also struggling to keep up with his fluctuating moods. After a first visit to Kyoshi Island after she left Republic City, Sokka never agreed to go again. His travels, as of late, solely related to meeting astronomers and researching whatever he could about a darkening moon. To this moment, he had found nothing.

Thus, he hoped things would change for the better once they landed in the Northern Water Tribe: local troops received them, standing in a rare alliance with a cluster of Fire Nation soldiers, too. That the day had come when they could work together rather than fighting each other certainly felt like a miracle, but it was one that Sokka couldn't even bother cherishing right now.

"We're expecting Azula to arrive by sea, on a stolen hot-air balloon," Zuko explained, once Aang, Katara and Sokka arrived – Bumi nestled in his mother's arms, sucking on his thumb. "It seems she took one from the Air Force's base…"

"What, she took it just like that?" Sokka asked. Zuko grimaced.

"She beat up everyone on her way in and out, if you really want me to specify that much…"

"Any deaths?" Aang asked. Zuko shook his head.

"Not that I know of. She just wanted the balloon, I guess," he said. "I have no idea if she even knows how to pilot them, but if she doesn't, then she'll take longer to arrive, or she might even…"

"You're not wishing an accident will stop her from getting here, are you?" Aang grimaced.

"Well… I'm not, not fully. A non-lethal one, maybe, but… who the hell can control how that kind of thing happens?" Zuko sighed, shaking his head. "At any rate, we'll keep watch over the skies. She'll be arriving in the shroud of darkness, we're in the dark period after all… so spotting her won't be easy. But we have to do our best to catch her once she shows up."

"We'll find her. Appa can patrol the skies, and if anything's amiss, we'll track her down at once…" Aang said. Sokka sighed, running a hand over his hair.

"It sounds like you guys have most everything under control, right?" he said. Zuko eyed him remorsefully. "I'm just going to go find a lunar expert, if there's any. It's the main reason why I wanted to come anyway, and… I think you guys will get her without issue, right? Right."

"Sokka…" Katara sighed. "Please, at least don't get your hopes too high. What's going on with Azula is manageable, at least, but…"

"Is it? Girl's been on the run for ten years and nobody's locked her down since we took her to look for their mom," Sokka said: his words hit square in the pride of his three friends. "I'm just saying…"

"If that's the kind of thing you'll be saying, maybe go find your astronomer after all," Zuko scoffed. Sokka shrugged, raising his hands defensively.

"Call me if there's anything I can do… though I rather doubt it," he said, turning on his heels and marching out of the Palace room where Zuko had been outlining their plans and strategies to capture Azula so far.

Sokka did exactly what he intended to do: the experts in the north were finally as concerned and eager to find a solution as Sokka was… but they had no idea what was going on, either. That discouraged the warrior at once.

After several hours of meetings with experts and visits to the local libraries to, as usual, find nothing on the phenomenon that concerned him so much, Sokka's patience was at an end. He felt demoralized, broken in ways he shouldn't be over what might just be some cosmic cloud of some sort hugging the moon…

But there more to his misery than that. He had failed Yue once, he hadn't been able to protect her from the terrible sacrifice she'd needed to make. She had been as good as a child, and she had given up her life to save her people. The magnitude of her sacrifice seemed to hit him harder and harder every time he thought about it…

His struggles with Suki weren't related to Yue, but the moon's state had certainly worsened matters further between them. His unwillingness to open up to Suki came from an obvious place: she didn't care to be second place to Yue in his heart, and no matter how many times he told her love didn't work that way, she refused to hear it. Suki's anxiety over the moon had nothing to do with his: she didn't care that it was obscured or not. She wanted him to have his head down on earth rather than up in the sky… and the more she had pressured him about it, the less he wanted to do that.

Memories of Yue shouldn't have been so painful, he had lost her so soon… they barely even had a relationship by the time she kissed him goodbye. He'd never know what might have been. Perhaps that, over all, tormented him beyond reason. But deep down, what hurt most was the knowledge that someone as valuable, as loyal, as true to her people was gone… the Northern Water Tribe would grieve her death forevermore, he knew they would.

His feet carried him aimlessly across the Water Tribe's streets until he reached a location he had approached by instinct: the bridge where he had met Yue for their very first private outing. Where he had given her a gift… where she had kissed him before running away from him. The mixed signals he got from her never made sense to him… perhaps that was why the moon's condition anguished him so. It certainly was much like Yue to show distress signals that simply didn't make sense and that he couldn't interpret, try as though he might…

The bridge finally came into view. He was of half a mind to step on it, to talk to the moon from there, in the abstract, irrational hopes that doing so would help Yue… when he realized that someone else, clad in a heavy blue parka, stood exactly where he had wanted to go.

He frowned: it was quite late by now. Was someone else meeting their beloved at the bridge that night? Maybe it was a popular spot for that purpose, and he just didn't know it…

But even though he could only see the person from behind, he had the feeling they weren't actually waiting for something. No, whatever they wanted, it was already there…

In the water, right underneath the bridge.

Had they dropped something? No, they weren't acting with the urgency of someone who had lost a valuable in the canal. Instead, they were… speaking. It was a female voice, he realized, as he approached it…

A familiar female voice, he thought, with a dark shiver.

It wasn't enough that she was speaking when there was no one else around: she was gesticulating in strange ways, too, as if... as if she were arguing with something. With someone. With the water? With the river?

Sokka's heart sank: Azula was already here. And from what he could tell, Zuko's claims that her sanity was somehow restored were entirely untrue, just as Sokka had constantly suspected.

"… You're entirely out of your mind if you expect I can get there just like that! He's already here, he brought soldiers, and if any of them spot me, I'll be done for!"

Sokka frowned, inching closer quietly: she knew Zuko was here, then. Of course she did…

"And no, I refuse to send the hot-air balloon away as a decoy. If I did that, I'd be stuck in this frozen hellscape unless your people so very kindly tossed me into the sea and I miraculously survived long enough to reach the Northern Earth Kingdom. And as powerful a firebender as I may be, I would not survive a dip in your terribly frozen sea."

Who the hell was she talking to? Sokka frowned. Before, she constantly spoke to someone, or about someone, who appeared to be her mother… but not this time. Now, she was talking to someone from the Northern Water Tribe…? Who had she ever even met from the Tribe? She wouldn't have come across anyone from the North Pole in the last decade, she only ever operated in the Fire Nation after all…

"Ugh, just… shut up. I brought you where you wanted to go, didn't I? Isn't this enough? Flow into this river and find your pathetic fish. Get back inside it and leave me be."

A pathetic fish? Sokka frowned. A northerner… and a fish? His heart pounded, and he frowned as he glanced towards the arguing Azula again.

It made no sense. It couldn't be.

But… could it?

Curses, was Azula connected to whatever was happening to the moon?

The idea made him see red for a moment. He snarled as he stopped hiding, striding up to the bridge with a heavy scowl: she didn't notice him, busy as she was scoffing at whatever she had just heard from the river now…

"I am absolutely unconcerned with your sad stories of failed romances, understood? What do I care if you shamelessly kissed that idiot here? Honestly, though… what kind of terrible taste in men did you have to do something like that, Yue?"

Sokka froze on the spot. His footfall startled Azula when he stopped abruptly.

She jumped, immediately taking up a defensive stance… and her eyes widened when they found his.

"W-what…? You…! Wait. Wait… oh! Oh, so that's it!" Azula exclaimed, lowering her hands again at the sight of him. Sokka gritted his teeth, taking a defensive kata of his own. "This is what you wanted! Yue, he's here!"

She turned towards the river: Sokka gritted his teeth, glancing at the water to find there was nothing there. Azula, however, spoke with such enthusiasm he was taken aback entirely.

"Azula…?" he called her, his voice trembling and uneasy.

"There you go! He came to see you! Aren't you happy now? He still loves you, congratulations!" Azula smiled wildly. "Now, would you so kindly get out of my head and leave me be?!"

The final declaration caused Sokka's confusion to increase… far more than his apprehension, though. He blinked blankly before stepping closer, startling the fallen Princess.

"You. Stay where you are. What do you think you're doing?" she said, her previous, near hysterical excitement shifting completely into wariness.

"I… need an explanation. Right now," Sokka said. Azula scowled, eyes scouring him and their surroundings quickly.

"You're… alone? Where's the Avatar? I saw the shaggy beast descending into the city," Azula said. Sokka grimaced.

"You… for how long have you been here, exactly?"

"I arrived about a day before Zuzu did. The wretch couldn't have taken residence in a more inconvenient place of the city for my purposes," Azula said, with a dry grin. Sokka scowled. "But I should be used to it by now. My brother's certain my entire life is a matter of inconveniencing him, but the longer this goes on, the more certain I become that it's the other way around, instead."

"No kidding," Sokka said, skeptically. "What, exactly, were you trying to do? You said something about… wait, Azula. You… you mentioned Yue. A fish, too. W-what were you…? Are you trying to kill the Moon Spirit too?"

"Ah. Of course you'd think that," Azula said, before letting out a derisive smile. "I would not be quite so self-defeating, mind you. If I did that, I might just cause a major catastrophe, where the ocean would go berserk as it tried to tear me to shreds, much as it did with Admiral Zhao. I wouldn't quite wish to share in his fate, you see… not to mention, that damnable fish is my only hope to get rid of the unpleasant stowaway I'm carrying in my head, so, mind you, I'd like to keep it alive and healthy for the time being so I can send her back there as soon as possible."

"Well… the experts said the fish, Tui, is alive and healthy," Sokka said. Azula shrugged.

"Good for it. Her. Whatever you want to call a fish," she sighed, shaking her head before glancing at the river again. "What do you mean….? I'm not going to do that. You haven't pestered me for a year just for me to play nice and greet your ex for you. Shut up."

"Azula… this is weird. I'm supposed to be here to help them capture you because evidently that's why Zuko came here, I don't need to tell you that…" Sokka said. Azula scoffed, glaring at him sideways.

"Indeed. And yet you're here, talking to me, not brandishing weapons, just… looking at me like you're a terrified puppy too curious for his own good," Azula said, eyeing him skeptically. "Why?"

"Because…! Because I've overheard what you're saying to the river and I…! Okay, you know what? Just… tell me: what the hell is going on?" Sokka asked, eyes wide and pleading. "Look, I should be raising alarms and telling everyone that you're already here and up to no good…"

"But you're not," Azula said, raising an eyebrow. "Which suggests you're either having a leave of your senses or… you don't trust them to help you handle me. Not that you stand a chance on your own either, but still…"

"You don't want to kill Tui, you said. But you're… talking to Yue? In the river?" Sokka grimaced. Azula huffed and rolled her eyes.

"If it makes you feel any better? I'd much rather not be doing that at all. Your adored favorite princess is actually a colossal pain in the ass," she said, with a dry grin. Sokka shuddered.

"I… I don't understand," Sokka said, shaking his head. "I don't get it. Azula… you're talking to Yue? You're seeing Yue? B-but… why? Wasn't it your mother you used to see before?"

"Heh. Funny. I thought you'd never realized what my problem was," Azula smirked derisively. "My brother certainly never did. Maybe I should commend you for having basic intelligence rather than lacking it entirely, as he and the rest of your friends do, but that's as far as I'll go with flattery in your direction. As for why am I seeing your ex? Beats me. I don't know. I didn't ask for this. It just… started happening. A year ago, or so."

"A year?" Sokka said: he raised his gaze towards the moon, darkened as it remained. "That's… that's when the moon started to darken, Azula."

"Oh?" Azula said, blinking blankly and glancing into the night sky as well. "Huh. So, this annoying fool decided she was bored of being the moon and took to hounding me about nonsense instead? Isn't that nice of her?"

"What nonsense? Azula, what is she saying?" Sokka asked. "I…!"

"Wait," Azula frowned, raising a hand as to slow him down. She raised an eyebrow slowly, inching away from him. "Mind you… if I had an ex, which I don't, and my worst enemy started saying they're seeing said ex in all reflective surfaces they come across, and even in dreams on occasion, I would likely assume they're lying because normal people don't do that."

"We've established that you see things since well over ten years ago," Sokka said, with a dry grin. "But usually, as far as I could guess, it was stuff related to you. Right?"

"Right," Azula said, folding her arms over her chest.

"Look… if this were anything else, if you were doing this at some other time, I'd assume you've lost it and that you're going crazy again. But… the moon is like this. It's been a year. Nobody has given me any answers! I've never been able to figure out what's wrong with it, and you're finally a way to unravel that, if just a bit? So… so, please, talk to me. Tell me what's wrong. Tell me what she wants. I-if we achieve it, maybe the moon will clear up again! And then…!"

"And then you'll appease your conscience and I'll somehow get rid of her?" Azula asked, with a dry grin. "I expect otherwise. She's fickle, annoying, childish…! Yes, you're childish! You are as good as a child to me! You're sixteen, aren't you? Learn your place and stop speaking up against your elders!"

Sokka froze on the spot: yes, Yue would be sixteen, stuck forever at that age… the age she was when she had sacrificed herself. He was ten years older than her right now. Somehow, the thought hadn't truly materialized in his head so far.

He leaned over the bridge slightly, glancing into the reflection of the river… to find nothing. Just his muddled reflection, along with Azula's.

"You can't see anything, can you?" Azula asked him. Sokka sighed and shook his head. "Well, she can see you right now. She says… that you were more handsome back when you were younger."

"She… what?!" Sokka squeaked, cheeks flushing. Azula turned up her nose, a devious smirk spreading over her face. "Y-you… take that back! She didn't say that! Even if it were true, she wouldn't have, and you…! Can she actually see me? Azula, can she really…?!"

"Oh, only vaguely. She mostly sees whatever's around me," Azula said, with a shrug, as Sokka approached her. "Or so she says. Anyway, you do believe me when I say that she speaks with me, even though it's uncalled for constantly, and that it's truly your former girlfriend, or…?"

Sokka was nearly in contact with her when she trailed off, glaring at him in disdain as she inched away from him. Sokka smiled awkwardly.

"I just figured, I need to stand closer for her to see, so maybe if I stand close to you, I'll see her too…?"

"Step back or I will send you to the next life faster than you can say 'Yue.'"

"Okay, fine! Damn, I just… fuck, you have no idea what this means to me," Sokka said, stepping back indeed and smiling slightly. "I've spent a year thinking she's… she's catatonic! That she's been attacked, maybe, or that she's in trouble…! But she's just… what, taking a vacation inside your head?"

"If only she could've picked a better head to spend time in," Azula growled, glaring at the reflection again. "Oh, shut up. Empty praises will get you nowhere."

"What? Did she… praise you?" Sokka blinked blankly. Azula scoffed.

"She does more often than not. Empty words, not unlike the ones I've spent my entire life hearing," Azula said, bitterly. Sokka grimaced.

"Yue was an honest person, though. If she has something good to say about you…"

"She might as well save it. I don't want to hear it, and I'll never believe it," Azula said, firmly. She shook her head. "I'm not here, however, to discuss my confidence, self-esteem or people's willingness to sing my praises. I brought this annoyance to the Northern Water Tribe because she missed her people and I figured I might be able to get rid of her, at last, if I brought her here. She's a deceptive little brat, though, and asked to come to this bridge first, only to reminisce on whatever nonsense you two shared as teenagers here, and then she told me that I'll have to enter this terribly secret and secluded oasis hidden somewhere behind the Palace she used to live in, because she might just be able to flow out of me and into the fish if I take her there. So… that's why I'm here. I do not care for this place, I don't have the slightest intention of bringing anyone harm unless they do it to me first, and all I really, truly need is to be free from voices and illusions and seeing things that aren't there!"

Azula's chest heaved as she finished her rant. Sokka listened patiently throughout it all, and she glared at him defiantly after she was done, waiting for an answer. Her flow of thought had gone slightly overboard, it was true, but…

"Okay," Sokka said. Azula frowned. "Look… I don't think I should trust you. I'm not sure I'd ever know how. But at the same time… you're bound to be the only way I'll ever find a solution for Yue, for saving the moon, outright. Maybe… maybe if you see her in the oasis's pond, you'll truly be able to set yourself free from this connection. Although, before that, could you ask her if she wants to connect with me instead? I wouldn't mind… I wouldn't mind seeing her again."

"You're disgusting," Azula said. Sokka shuddered, glaring at her after her words sank in. Azula turned over the bridge and scowled. "This fool has been with a face-painted Kyoshi Warrior loser for the past ten years and yet he wants to see you again, isn't that right? Not only was he disloyal to you by choosing her, now he's disloyal to her by being here, asking to see you. Is this truly the man you were quite so keen on, Princess Yue?"

"You already questioned her taste in men before, thank you very much," Sokka said, eyebrow twitching. "I want to see Yue again, and that's not a crime, damn you! I care about her, I always will! She was my first love. I'm not expecting for her to come back from the dead, she has a duty as the Moon Spirit and she has to fulfill it…! But I… I have unresolved business, okay? I have burdens and things I'd like to talk about with her. If there's anything she needs, anything she wants, I'd love to make it happen. And no, I don't mean I want a reward, or that I want two girlfriends…! I just want her to be at peace. I want Yue to be safe and sound. I want to look up at the sky and believe she's watching over me, and that she'll always be watching over her people, too. Is that so awful of me?"

"It… sounds embellished and far too idealistic now. Either you're not being honest or you're far more upstanding than I expected. And I would sooner believe it's the former," Azula said. Sokka scoffed, pressing a hand to his face.

"Leave it to my luck that the one person who can help me communicate with Yue would be you," Sokka hissed. "Look, you'll kill two birds with one stone if you can transfer her to me somehow! You won't have to take her wherever you go anymore, and I won't pester you constantly about how Yue is doing, which I would otherwise, so…!"

"Wait. Wait," Azula frowned, staring at him in chagrin. "Are you trying to tell me… that if I don't do whatever you want me to do, you intend on stalking me for the rest of our miserable lives in retaliation for my unwillingness to cooperate with you?"

"Exactly. That," Sokka said, with a proud, sarcastic smile.

Azula scoffed, rolling her eyes and glaring at him.

"I refuse to play anything by your rules. The fact that you haven't rushed off to tell my brother that I'm here is… alarming," Azula snapped. "You'll give me away to him whenever you've had your fill of talking to Yue through me, I'm sure…"

"Not that you've done any of that for me so far," Sokka said, with a raised eyebrow. "Can she hear me?"

"Somewhat," Azula said, and he couldn't gauge whether she was being truthful or not.

"And you won't tell me what she's saying, even if she's talking to me, or will you?"

"Don't take it the wrong way, but she's long learned that I'm the only one who hears her. She smiled like a fool when she heard your voice and when she could hear you, yes, but she didn't speak directly to you so far, and…" Azula's word were cut off by a most unwelcome interruption. Her nose twitched slightly with irritation before she rolled her eyes and said. "Fine. Never mind. She says 'hi.'"

Sokka, to his utter disbelief, actually blurted out a chuckle at Azula's frustration. The fallen Princess glared at him reproachfully.

"I'm sorry this is happening to you, Azula," he said, with surprising honesty. "I bet it's incredibly inconvenient. But… it feels like you and her are the most unlikely combination, doesn't it?"

"Tell me about it," Azula huffed, shaking her head. "But that's not my concern right now, is it? I'll happily break off the unlikely combination and set her free, but I need to get to that place and… and I need your word that you won't give me away to Zuko after that's done. There's that, too."

"Oh. Uh…" Azula glared at him fiercely, and Sokka grimaced. "Look, I… wouldn't really want to give you away to him, true, especially when you're the first chance I've had to talk to Yue in over ten years. But… Zuko's not in a good place right now, Azula."

"Well, he's freezing his ass off in the North Pole, evidently, but…"

"I don't mean literally, I mean emotionally, or psychologically, or… whatever," Sokka sighed. "Your antics have had him on his toes for a long time. Reforming the Fire Nation is easier said than done…"

"Why, of course it is."

"And international pressures are always gaining on him. My point is… he captured your allies, and he made them tell him where you had gone. He… basically threatened he'd kill them if they didn't cooperate, going by what he told me."

"Pfft," Azula smirked, shaking her head. "And they didn't call his bluff? That's…"

"It wasn't a bluff," Sokka said. Azula's mirth dwindled. "I'm serious, Azula. I think he wouldn't kill you, no, but… he doesn't want you causing trouble anymore, and he's becoming harsher, and colder, and… well, maybe closer to your father, in a sense."

"Well, that's… not good for me, now, is it?" Azula said, with a weak smile. "While I would gladly have him resemble my father in the respectable senses that he could…"

"Would you, really?" Sokka asked, with a distasteful grimace.

"I'm certain he's going to take after him in the worst ways. Such as… treating his sole sibling as a problem to be rid of. Which…"

"Which is exactly what you've been trying to be for him over the past years, isn't it?" Sokka asked. Azula's discomfort couldn't be more apparent. "Look, you're the key to sorting out whatever's going on in the sky. I can already tell that you are. But Zuko… he's going to be a hazard for you. So, whether you work with me, whether you get rid of Yue, whether the sky is restored or not… ultimately, your brother is going to hunt you down and…"

"And lock me up somewhere so I will no longer embarrass him," Azula recited, her voice muted. Sokka grimaced. "Someplace like… the asylum, I suppose. He did it once before. No doubt he'd do it again if he had the chance. More so if… i-if he knew I'm seeing and hearing things that aren't there again. I… Sokka, you…"

"Huh. We're on first-name basis, are we?"

"You've called me Azula, I might as well do the same," she hissed, staring at him intensely. "Swear to me you won't let me fall into his hands. Help me… and whatever the hell I need to do to fix your Princess and send her back into her fish, I'll do it."

"It's honestly quite messed up, isn't it?" Sokka said, running a hand over his hair as he scrutinized her with uncertainty. "It's like… like you're holding Yue hostage against your will."

"Or she's holding me against hers. Which is illogical," Azula hissed. Sokka sighed. "I may be wrong to think I'm a victim in all of this, but I swear to you, I asked for none of it. It was bad enough to see my mother in my head only to realize later that it was never her, and that I truly had lost my senses…"

"Azula…" Sokka said, eyeing her with compassion. She snarled, stepping away from me.

"Don't… don't pity me. That's the last thing you ought to do," she hissed. "My mind's broken state is my business. Hence why I'd much rather your former girlfriend stopped making it hers. But clearly… I'm at a standstill in a crossroads that I'd much rather not be in. So all I can think of doing, right now, is fixing this mess by returning her to where she's supposed to go. Either you come with me and help me do it, or…"

"I will."

Azula frowned. Sokka breathed deeply and nodded.

"I'll get you there. I know a way," he said, glancing back towards the cliffs that hugged the Water Tribe's Palace. "Just… will be a slightly long hike. But if you're up for it…"

"I'm ready for anything. Most of all, to stop seeing and hearing Yue," Azula said, with a dry grin. "If you're serious… then lead the way."

Sokka nodded: within moments, he and Azula, who hid her face under the hood of the parka she most likely had stolen at some point in her journey, had walked all the way to the outskirts of the Northern Water Tribe. A long climb uphill, exhausting and draining, more so under such low temperatures, eventually saw them reaching the cliffs, and from there, they had to walk the icy trek all the way to the back of the city: long ago, Zuko had escaped with Aang through the zigzagging trail that led into the oasis from the tall cliffs of the polar casket. It stood to reason that they would be able to enter the oasis undetected that way, too.

"Say… I've agreed to not hand you over to Zuko," Sokka said, walking by Azula's side: she was much calmer now, when there were no reflections from which Yue could peer at her. "But even though I did… are you going to keep causing trouble for him after this is said and done?"

"That's not your business," Azula answered, curtly. Sokka sighed.

"It kind of is. He'll kill me too if I help you keep messing with him," Sokka groaned. Azula smirked.

"He might. You could wind up stuck with me just as badly as Yue is, how about that?" she said. "A most unfortunate fate for you, peasant."

"You already proved you know my name. Use it," Sokka said, huffing.

"I'll call you whatever I please," Azula said, simply. Sokka rolled his eyes.

"Either way, my point is… can you just do something else with your life?" Sokka asked. "It has to get old, trying to piss off your older bro-…"

"No, it really doesn't."

"Seriously?"

"It's better than anything else I can do anyway. It's not like I have anywhere to be, anywhere to go, I… I belong nowhere to begin with and he's sitting on the throne that might have given me a purpose otherwise," Azula said, with a careless shrug. "As bad as his situation might be, mine is certainly worse. He can have his throne all he wants, but he's not going to keep it without pushback of any sorts."

"You're way too smart to waste your life away doing something as nonsensical as being someone's… personal pain in the ass?" Sokka said, with a grimace. Azula scoffed. "Come on, now. You can't even tell me it's still fun for you. More so when your friends, or just allies, whatever they are, are in danger. I can try to help you break them out if you want, you know? Would be dangerous, but if you promised…"

"I'll make no promises of good behavior," Azula scoffed. "I couldn't care less to spare Zuzu from my worst…"

"And your friends from getting killed?" Sokka asked. Azula frowned.

"Are they even that?" Azula asked. "Granted, you think Zuko tried to kill them, but…"

"Threatened to, if anything…"

"It's not like they hadn't already stabbed me in the back before that, anyhow."

Sokka frowned as he stopped. Azula didn't slow down, stubbornly trudging on, her bag strapped over her shoulder.

"What…? They betrayed you?" Sokka asked, frowning. "And how the hell did they know where you would be, if that's the case? Did you ask them to come with you and they refused?"

"I'm only here now because they demanded that I came," Azula hissed. Sokka sped up, catching up to her again. "I was… distracted. Constantly scattered because of Yue popping up at every possible reflective surface around me. I was jumpy at first, when I didn't understand what was going on. I couldn't even look at poorly reflective metal without seeing a reflection of a silhouette, of something that wasn't there. She shows up in every liquid surface I see... and mirrors. Steel armor, anything of the sort. At first, when I realized what was wrong, I tried to hide it… but then, things got complicated. Zirin… she caught me talking to Yue more than once. She thought I was slipping again.

"I came clean about what was happening. They told me to get it together. I tried. Our latest operations, however, had been failures and… and yes, in part, because I'm hardly fully there. Yue is… is taking a real toll on me, damn her. And damn Zirin all the more for… for telling me to either sort this out, get rid of her, or get lost for good."

"She told you that?" Sokka said. Azula smirked, eyeing him with unrestrained deviousness.

"Funnily enough… she failed to pull off whatever it is she wanted to do when I was gone. When I was the leader? I only got a handful of us captured. One operation under Zirin's leadership and the whole group goes under. Serves her right for being so full of herself…"

Azula cackled without remorse, and Sokka raised an eyebrow as he watched her with uncertainty. In any other circumstances, he wouldn't have wanted to hear a single word Azula might say… and he found that was probably a terrible reaction now. He didn't truly understand the first thing about the woman walking beside him now… and because he didn't, now Yue was her unwilling hostage, or Azula her unwilling host, and he had no idea how to approach her. If he'd done better, tried harder to be as friendly to her as they'd been to Zuko, after he turned…

There was no denying that Azula didn't make it easy. But talking to her now revealed that her dangerously clever mind was nowhere near as hopelessly broken as Azula herself might think it was.

"Either way, it's just me and Yue, going forward. While I wouldn't particularly care whether my former allies are free or not, I certainly would rather they're not murdered," Azula said, after her amusement receded. "I understand I failed as their leader, anyway. I'm in no condition to lead the group at all, and I failed to deliver on my many promises. Nonetheless… it's a sore spot for me, as you may imagine, to so much as think of allowing my allies to turn their backs on me. I've had enough of that for a lifetime."

"Surprising that you didn't lash out at them for it, though," Sokka said. "Or did you?"

"Some insults were traded, sure. A bit of fire. Some lightning. Maybe a slap or two."

"Who landed those?"

"Me, of course. Not that Zirin didn't try, but she failed."

Sokka smiled a little, shaking his head. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"And that amuses you, somehow?" she asked.

"Sounds like you were giving as good as you got. Not much of a crime when you see it that way," Sokka said. "Look… there's just got to be a better future for you. I don't know what it could be, but…"

"Stop trying to fix my brother's messes for him. He doesn't deserve that much devotion or help," Azula said, shaking her head. "Hell knows how so many of you are so eager to eat off his hand, let alone to convince me to walk away and leave him be…"

"I don't eat off his hand," Sokka squirmed, looking at her in chagrin. Azula smirked. "But… he's my friend. And more than that, his role in the world is a little bit essential at making peace a reality, you know? But he's got, uh… quite the temper. And that means that, if he gets angry or anything sets him off, he might just end up derailing all our hard work at restoring balance so far."

"How is that any of my business?" Azula said, bluntly.

"Why would it not be? He's your brother," Sokka said. Azula scoffed.

"Ask him what that means to him. I give as good as I get, as you put it before," Azula said. "I don't need a brother who doesn't need me."

Her words struck deeply in Sokka's gut: truthfully, he had seldom tried to think of things from Azula's point of view. He had sympathized with Zuko over his struggles… but suddenly, standing on the other side of that ordeal revealed that maybe Azula acted out as she did for reasons beyond what was apparent.

"At any rate, you should shut up," Azula said, startling Sokka. "This is the first chance I've gotten for some peace and quiet for hours and you keep rambling. Be quiet."

"Well… I can't be quiet just like that," Sokka pouted. Azula huffed, rolling her eyes. "There's a lot of things I want to know, a lot of things I want to ask, and…"

"And I should be the least of your concerns. You're here for Yue, aren't you?" Azula scoffed. Sokka winced.

"Right. Uh. Thing is, it's hard to figure out what to do with that, but… say, you can see her, you said? In every reflection you look at? Like, in place of yourself, or…?"

"Behind my reflection, usually," Azula answered. "What about it?"

"Well… what does she look like?"

"Oh? Either you're finally questioning the veracity of my tales or you're being a creep. I'm not sure which one is worse," Azula said. Sokka winced.

"I just… well, maybe more the first one than the second?" Sokka admitted. "Though a part of me does wonder if she really is stuck at sixteen. I'm not sure why I didn't think about that ever before…"

"Because you've grown older and you foolishly assumed so would she. Not the case," Azula said, simply. "She's indeed a sixteen-year-old girl with dark skin, blue eyes, white wavy hair that seems to float, much like her fancy white robes. Frankly, that dress she wears is far more elegant than anything I've seen the rest of her people wear. Guess they left the good fashion for the royalty…"

"Or that's just her moon outfit," Sokka said, with a careless grin. Azula raised an eyebrow.

"Huh. I have no idea how spirits handle dress codes," she admitted. "But frankly, I doubt I'll ever understand the first thing about them. Spiritual matters are unnerving."

"Really? Says the girl who was masquerading as a spirit…"

"I assumed everyone else would think they were unnerving too, and they'd run away or die of fright if we presented ourselves as such," Azula said, simply. Sokka eyed her skeptically. "What?"

"You make no sense," he said, though he smiled slightly at her. "It's kind of entertaining, though."

"Why, I aim to please," Azula said, with a sarcastic grin that suggested the opposite thing, instead.

They reached the chasm then, and Azula glanced down at the oasis. From this distance, she couldn't see Yue… but she knew she would, once they were in the oasis itself.

"Come," Sokka urged her, approaching the entrance of the zigzagging trail that led into the oasis. "This way."

Azula followed him down, and they moved as quietly and inconspicuously as possible: they could see from afar how the military alliance between the Fire Nation and the Water Tribe happened to be in full swing. Numerous hot-air balloons were ready to intercept hers… firebenders, waterbenders, non-benders, everyone wanted a piece of her, from the looks of it. She sighed: it was a good thing that Yue had been able to navigate her into the city safely, and that she had lain low in it for as long as she could manage.

The oasis was a rare location in the Tribe, where it was warm enough that Azula finally stopped stoking her inner fire to get by. She sighed in relief as she followed Sokka, crossing small wooden bridges until she finally reached the pond…

Two koi fish, one black, one white, swam in its waters. Sokka sighed happily at the sight of the white one.

"Seems untouched. Good," he said, smiling kindly at the spirit. Tui and La continued swimming together, and Sokka turned towards Azula. "As you know, if you do anything you shouldn't…"

"I won't hurt the one thing that might just get me out of this mess, damn you. You don't need to say it again," Azula huffed, approaching the pond and glaring at the fish.

To Sokka's surprise, Tui broke formation from La… as though to stare at Azula. The Princess scowled… and upon looking into the water, she soon saw Yue.

"Well? Get going. Your ride is here," Azula hissed.

Youthful, kind and earnest, Yue smiled at her, and then at Tui.

"My manifested form upon the human world… it's good to see that it remains intact. This is the Moon Spirit, Azula."

"I can see that. Now, kindly get out of my head and into the fish, would you?" Azula scoffed.

Yue's smile soured slightly: the clueless expression on her face brought a scowl to Azula's.

"I… I'm not trying to say that I can't do it, but, uh, I… I don't really know how."

"You… what? You don't know how?!" Azula exclaimed.

"Don't be mad! I just…!"

"You brought me all the way here just to make fun of me? Get out of my head and into the fish, right this moment!"

"I would love to! But I don't know how, I said!" Yue exclaimed, flustered, tears in the corners of her eyes.

Azula's chest heaved as she glared at her. Yue's manipulative remorse would not affect her. It couldn't. It wouldn't. She was just…

"You miserable, irksome, spoiled brat!" Azula roared. Sokka gripped her shoulder, and Azula shook her off.

"Be quiet!" he urged her, startling Azula. She had expected a scolding over how she was treating Yue, instead. "They're going to notice you're here if you keep this up. So… shush. If you have to berate her, do it… quietly. Nicely."

"Nicely? Fuck off," Azula said, rolling her eyes, even though she didn't raise her voice again. "I've been stuck with this annoyance for a year. And she can't even figure out her problems and help herself out of my head! I'm quite certain it can't be a nice place to inhabit, even I would like a break from myself from time to time, so I sincerely doubt that she's…!"

"W-well… you're quite smart. I do like the way you think, even if you do things that aren't that nice. But you're so skilled at seeing through people, at devising plans quickly, and…!"

"Stop it! I want no pointless, ridiculous, empty praise from you!" Azula scoffed. Sokka grimaced.

"She was praising you again?" he asked. Azula snorted.

"I know! It's maddening," Azula shook her head.

"What… what was she praising about you?" Sokka asked, puzzled. Azula stared at him skeptically. "I'm just wondering…!"

"She said I'm smart. That she likes the way I see through people," Azula said, with a sardonic grin. "And I'll give her a new one right now: you're thinking there's nothing about me worth praising, aren't you?"

"What? No! I mean, there definitely are things I'd praise about you, but I'm just… surprised that Yue would pick up on them?" Sokka said, with a weak smile. Azula glared at him.

"You're a worse liar than she is."

"I'm not lying, though! You are smart as hell, that's why you're a menace to begin with!" Sokka squeaked. "And along with that, you're an incredibly powerful firebender, the strongest one alive as far as I know..."

"And don't you forget it," Azula said – somehow, his words were hitting the right place that Yue's seldom ever did.

"And you're…!" Sokka started, before freezing where he was. He cleared his throat and shook his head. "Anyway…"

"I'm… what?" Azula said, raising an eyebrow. Sokka grimaced.

"Can I tell you later?"

"Later, when?"

"Later when Yue can't hear it," he said. Azula scoffed.

"What? You're…? Oh, wait. You were going to praise my godlike beauty, weren't you?" Azula smirked, turning towards the pond again. "See how reliable he is? You're so stuck on him and hung up on the fool who can't see half a pretty girl without thinking…"

"You're much prettier than what you think you are!"

Azula froze: Yue's eagerness caught her off guard entirely as the reflection in the pond almost seemed flustered to say it.

"I wasn't about to say it because I knew you'd think I was lying, but it's not a lie!" Yue exclaimed, enthusiastically. "You're a very beautiful lady. Or, uh, well… runaway. I don't know what term you'd prefer for me to use…"

"Can spirits get hit on the head and lose all sense?" Azula asked. Yue blinked blankly.

"W-well… maybe? I don't know. Could they?"

"I'm asking because I'm starting to think that's what happened to you!" Azula exclaimed. Yue winced. "I'm taunting you, damn it: he's your ex! He's awkward about praising another girl's beauty in front of you! Why would you…?"

"Oh! Oh. Well, I don't think there's anything wrong with that, actually. A lot of girls are beautiful after all, many of whom I never knew, many of whom I never will. But I can see you very clearly sometimes, and I know that you're…"

"That's not the point, damn you!"

"Well, if you think I should be jealous… I'm jealous of a lot of things, actually. But that's neither here nor there."

"Oh, so you are jealous after all? Of… of what?" Azula said, frowning. Yue bit her lip and shrugged. "Yue…"

"Let's just say… I just want Sokka to be happy," Yue smiled, hands upon her chest. "I want him to live a full life, too. That I can't do it… it's no reason for him not to. And if he likes a girl, or loves one, well… I hope he'll find all the happiness with her that I couldn't grant him."

"You… you can't be this nice. That's ridiculous," Azula said, with a disgusted expression across her face. "Moreover, why are we discussing this at all?! Get into the fish!"

"I can't do it, I said. And with you being this cranky and constantly pretending I'm lying, I feel even more disinclined to stay in the pond forever."

"What, you're going to hound me until I decide your way of thinking and living is correct?" Azula asked, with a sardonic smile. "Well, yippie, then! Yue is right about everything, ever! Sokka is allowed to ogle every girl that crosses his path because she just wants him to be happy, like the absolute selfless koala-bear cub that she is!"

"Hey, don't talk to her like that!" Sokka huffed, though he frowned. "But… she said that? For real?"

"That she just wants you to be happy? She did. Isn't it ridiculous?" Azula said, rolling her eyes and shaking her head. Sokka frowned. "What? You're not going to tell me that…"

"I feel the same way about her."

Azula raised an eyebrow. Sokka's face shifted into a fierce mask… one that gave away his regrets and remorse far more profoundly than anything else might. She blinked blankly.

"Well, that's… good. Good for you," Azula said with a sarcastic smile. "But it has nothing to do with me. In fact, as you're both such selfless, pure, kind souls, maybe you should look into turning into the black fish. The ocean, right? Go on, do that, swim with her forever. Or, better yet, become her host in my stead. How about you do that? Then you can spend your life looking at your reflection in a mirror and telling Yue that you want her happiness while she tells you she wants yours and…! And I'll be free. Which is all that matters to me. How about it?"

"I… look, I'd take her off your hands if I could, but if she doesn't know how to go about it, neither do I," Sokka said, rubbing his forehead with his fingertips. "At best, maybe we could ask Aang if…"

"Not a chance. You're not involving the Avatar in this. Three's already a crowd, the Avatar would turn it into a full-blown party," Azula said, shaking her head.

"I don't know what to do, okay?" Sokka said, with a heavy sigh. "I'm sorry you're involved in this because... well, technically, it shouldn't have anything to do with you. You never even knew Yue and you've already spent a year stuck in this situation…"

"Exactly," Azula said, raising her hands emphatically before running her fingers through her hair.

"But at the same time… you're the only chance I have to communicate with her directly and figure out what's going on," Sokka said. Azula scoffed.

"Why would I…?"

"If we sort out what's going on with the moon?" Sokka said, gesturing towards the grey sphere in the sky. "Maybe we can break the two of you free from each other. So ask Yue… or tell me her answer, anyway, if something changed recently. Or rather, a year ago. Ask her… if there's something wrong and we can fix it. Please."

Azula frowned but turned towards the pond again. Yue gazed at her helplessly, and Azula crooked an eyebrow.

"Well? Cat-owl got your tongue? You're a lot more chipper than that, usually," she said.

Yue sighed, lowering her gaze. Something immediately alerted Azula that Yue might be lying when she answered that question… but that was no one of Azula's business, even if that were the case.

"I… I don't really know," Yue said, nervously. "One day… something crashed into the moon. I think it was a comet? I'm not sure, I don't really know what it was. I just felt it, and it jolted me around violently. It felt like something loosened up in me, I guess. Ever since, I… I've been able to see you. Whatever happened that day, I… I can see you and only a little bit around you. I see you through every reflection. But as for why it happened, or how, or what it was, I… I don't know any of that. I also don't know how to fix it."

"So, in short, you're not much use," Azula said, cuttingly. Sokka frowned. "You don't know what happened beyond this strange cosmic collision or what you need to do to fix it."

"Cosmic collision?" Sokka repeated.

"Something crashed against the dark side of the moon, or so she says. After that, she wound up here," Azula said, pointing at her head.

She didn't say more. Didn't pressure more. She could tell that Yue was hiding something. She didn't know if she could trust Sokka to keep his cool if he realized Yue wasn't being completely truthful about whatever she had just explained.

"Then… maybe something loosened up?" Sokka grimaced.

"If you're about to wonder how does someone fix the moon, why, don't ask me. Get your earthbending friend to fly across space and do it herself," Azula suggested. Sokka grimaced.

"She wouldn't go for it," he sighed. "But… damn. Then something did happen. Something physical. And maybe… maybe she's here because of a bigger reason than we know. Like… you know how sometimes people say spirits haunt the living because they have unfinished business?"

"And she does?" Azula asked, glancing at Yue in the pond with utter skepticism. Yue's eyes gleamed upon hearing Sokka's latest idea. "I don't know about that. What kind of unfinished business are we talking about here, and how would she go about fulfilling it? Because so far, I'm carrying her around with me, but she isn't controlling me or anything of the sort. So, if you get any funny ideas of being with her through my body or so…"

"If she can't even go into the fish, how's she going to possess you completely?" Sokka sighed. "Look, I know what it looks like, but… I get it. She's the girl I lost years ago. But I'm not that boy anymore. I'm fully grown… and I just want to do right by her. I failed Yue, okay? Right here, in this very place, I couldn't stop Zhao from doing what he did, I couldn't save her from her fate. I've carried that with me from the moment it happened and I don't think I'll ever stop being burdened by that, so…"

"So… that's it. It's your fault," Azula concluded. Sokka winced. "She can't go back to business as usual because she has to fix whatever's fucked up in your head."

"Wait, what? No! It… it can't be about me! There's a lot of people here who loved her too!" Sokka exclaimed, blushing. Azula hummed, glancing about herself.

"True, to a fault. I suppose… she had her people's love. Her father's love," Azula said, bitterly. "You were but a footnote."

"I… hey!"

"He was much more than that."

"Oh, really?" Azula regarded Yue with a sneer once more. Yue frowned.

"Sokka… was my first true friend. My first chance at knowing something beyond the boundaries of the North Pole. He… he was fascinating to me. Him and his sister and the Avatar… they were younger than me, but they were heroes in the making. I looked up to them. I wanted… I wanted to know what it was like. If I hadn't died, I… I would have liked to join Sokka one day, maybe, traveling the world. But of course, that never could happen, so…"

"So, it is his fault for giving you false expectations."

"That's not true. And… actually, I know now! If Sokka is right and I have unfinished business… it's because of the dreams and hopes I couldn't fulfill. If that's why I'm still here… then that's what you have to do. Azula: I want to see the world!"

"Oh, really, now? And you think I'm some sort of magical entity that grants wishes willy-nilly?" Azula asked, hands on her hips. "You want to see the world? In case you haven't noticed, Yue, I'm not exactly welcome anywhere in this damn planet, I'm not even supposed to be here to begin with. I can't take you anywhere you want to go."

"Wait… she wants to see the world, then?" Sokka said, a slow smile spreading over his face. Azula scoffed.

"What's it to you?" she said.

"Azula… this might just be the chance to fix things," he said. Azula rolled her eyes. "I know, this all sounds stupid to you… but it's not. I never could do anything for her, but if I can help you do this, if the two of us can show her the world…!"

"Wait, help me do this? You'd help me travel wherever she wants to go?" Azula asked, amused and dismissive. "I doubt even you can pull that off, Sokka, and…"

"And what if that's the only solution for this?" Sokka asked. "What if she won't leave until she's fulfilled, happy, satisfied with everything she saw?"

"Then she'll be unfulfilled, unhappy and unsatisfied for as long as I may live, and then we'll just go our separate ways once I die. I'll just spend my entire life burdened with a spirit that decided to hitch a ride in my head," Azula snapped, glaring at the pond again. Yue pouted.

"I might just leave if it works out. If we see all the places I'd like to see, I… I'll at least shut up more often. Can I offer you that much?"

"That's hardly worth anything, as far as promises go," Azula grumbled.

"Well, beyond doing this, I don't know what else we could do. And frankly, Azula, you could do much worse…"

"Oh, I could? And what made you the judge of that?"

"I won't be that needy, I won't be that picky! I just… I just want to experience things alongside you. I could be asking you for far worse, like… like spending a year or longer folding paper cranes so that they can fulfill my wish to, say, gain a new body so that I can experience all those things myself! Would you rather do that, instead?"

"Don't get cheeky with me, you…"

"Then listen to me, please: you came this far. I love my hometown and I missed it and I'm glad that we came…"

"Just admit that you told me to bring you to the fish just because you wanted to come back and see everything."

"Well, yes, but I did think this would work. I never imagined it wouldn't. When I sacrificed myself, I just flowed into Tui's body myself. I didn't expect it not to happen now… which I think means some part of me is still there, maybe. Either way, though… maybe all spirits go through moments like these. Where you suddenly regain access to the human world, and you long for what you've lost…?"

"Like a midlife crisis, but with spirits?"

"Yes! I mean, maybe? Does that make sense?"

"None of this makes the slightest bit of sense, Yue, so that question is unnecessary at the moment," Azula huffed, shaking her head.

"I'm just saying… I'm not asking you to do anything that awful. And besides, we both know that you're not even sure what to do next. Your friends weren't very nice the last time you were with them. So… why not give this a chance? Maybe, by traveling, we can also learn more about this kind of thing, about spirits and their cycles, and even learn if there's legends about the Moon Spirit that preceded me. Might be that they went on a journey like this! Right?"

"Beats me," Azula sighed, shaking her head and glaring at Sokka skeptically. "You."

"Me?" Sokka said, arms folded over his chest. "What is it? What is she saying?"

"She's adamant that she wants us to go on this damn road trip you proposed. You say you'd go too," Azula said. "You want to do right by that girl, which means you'll be stuck with me for the foreseeable future. Do you love her quite so much that you'd bear with me for that long?"

"Uh… yeah. I think so," Sokka said. Azula laughed.

"I have the feeling you're going to regret that," she said. Sokka shook his head.

"I don't think so," he said. "But then… we're doing this? We're traveling the world together?" he asked. Azula sighed heavily, rolling her eyes.

"I'm all out of ideas. And I have nothing better to do. Getting pushed around and annoyed to death by this fool sounds like all I've got at hand at the moment," Azula growled. Yue, despite the insults, grinned giddily at her. "I'll just say it's rather inappropriate of you to say you love her or that you want to do right by her when you're taken, Sokka. What would Suki say, I wonder?"

Yue winced, eyeing Azula guiltily. Azula teasingly mouthed the word 'homewrecker' at her, and Yue pouted in her direction as Sokka sighed, shaking his head.

"I don't know what she'd say. She'll be fine, though," Sokka said. Azula raised an eyebrow. "I've spent the last year trying to figure out how to help Yue, she knows I have, and I'm not about to stop now. So…"

"Terribly trusting of her if that's how it is," Azula said, a pang of guilt, and even envy, blooming in her heart. To think Sokka had someone who trusted him to that extent, to the point where she wouldn't mind seeing him off on a journey where he would be reconnecting, possibly, with his first love… a relationship of that nature had to be incredibly strong.

"Yeah, well, that's neither here nor there. Where's your hot-air balloon?" Sokka asked. Azula shrugged. "I'll get my things and meet you there. Is that too much to ask?"

"I left it in a cave right past the city's walls," Azula said. "Yue navigated us into the city from there. Somehow, she didn't lead me astray. Can you get there on your own?"

"I hope so," Sokka said, breathing heavily. "I'll leave a message behind for the others to know I'm okay. I won't tell them about you, though. They'd hound us and hunt us down if I did."

"Just for the record… do you think you'll be safe, traveling with me?" Azula asked, amused. Sokka huffed.

"I'm not so brittle or breakable as to be scared of you like that, Princess," he said. Azula's amusement increased. "Along with that… if you did anything that could hurt me, I'm sure Yue would be very upset about it too. And then you'd get scolded by her constantly for having hurt me. You wouldn't want to put up with that, now, would you?"

His words did give her pause. Her amusement receded and she sighed as Sokka grinned proudly at her.

"Whatever. Meet me at the balloon in an hour. If you take any longer than that, we're leaving without you."

"Well, now, damn! No need to be so grumpy! In fact… wait here. I'll come back right here, we'll climb out, then we'll get to your balloon much easier that way. I don't know if I'd lose my way otherwise…"

"Get it over with quickly, then," Azula sighed, shaking her head.

Sokka grinned and sprung off through the wooden door at the other side of the oasis. Azula watched him go at first, before focusing her gaze on Yue. The Princess in the water smiled warmly at her.

"What weren't you telling me before? I didn't ask in front of him, but I ask now," Azula said. Yue winced. "Something's wrong with you, isn't there? Something weirder than we know. What's your purpose, exactly?"

"I'm not lying when I say that I wish I knew. But I really, really don't," Yue said, gazing at Azula earnestly. "Moreover… you'll be better off just enjoying the journey."

"Isn't the journey about you? You're the one who ought to enjoy it, not me," Azula huffed. Yue smiled.

"Going on the road with Sokka… I barely even let myself imagine that possibility. You haven't really set out yet, but it already feels like you'll help me fulfill a dream, Azula. Thank you."

"Why on earth are you so hung up on him?" Azula grimaced. "Not that I can't tell that he loves you lots, but… you are a Princess. Surely there were other better catches for you…"

"He's very handsome. You know he is."

"That's not my point," Azula said, stubbornly. "He's annoying, obnoxious, rambunctious, sanctimonious, loud…"

"He's fun. He's caring. He's kind. He's loyal. He loves people with his whole heart."

"Don't you think maybe you idealized him a little much?" Azula said. Yue giggled and shrugged.

"Then maybe I'll get to know him better, his real self, thanks to you. I do want to know what kind of man he has grown into… what kind of person he has been ever since I lost him. You could be right, but… I won't know unless we travel with him, anyway."

"Say what you will… I don't like setting out on this journey when you have ulterior motives," Azula said, curtly.

"Funny thing for you to say, considering you've been up to no good and having ulterior motives with everything you do for as long as I've known you, and most likely all your life…"

"Sass doesn't befit someone who looks as delicate as you."

"Unfortunately, I have plenty to offer you even so," Yue said, stubbornly. "I know you don't want to trust me. You don't want to trust anyone. But I swear… I don't want anything bad to happen to you. Or to Sokka. I want this journey to be… well, liberating for all three of us. It might do you good, even beyond what you expect. Don't you think?"

"Beyond cutting you loose and out of my brain? Perhaps," Azula said, curtly.

A journey with no ill intent, no deeper meaning beyond… sightseeing. Traveling. Tourism, she supposed. The concept was odd, out of place, especially considering she was a wanted criminal in at least two nations. Then again, a devious part of her couldn't help but wonder if she could give people the slip… if she could escape notice and avoid capture by Earth Kingdom or Fire Nation forces alike. Mocking Zuko and King Kuei that way certainly had its appeal…

She smirked after that. The Avatar's friend as her companion might just be a boon rather than a curse too, provided he could give her access to places she couldn't reach as herself. She could very well go incognito, hide behind other identities…

"Maybe you truly were a blessing in disguise all along," Azula told Yue: the Princess's reflection in the water offered her a broad grin.

Five minutes later, Sokka turned up. Azula nodded in his direction, and he cast one last glance at the pond, at the place where he had lost Yue, before setting out, following Azula in the uphill climb out of the oasis, and towards her hidden hot-air balloon. Strange circumstances had brought them together, but for the first time in a year, Sokka had broken his standstill… he was ready to get going. If there was anything left for him to do to help Yue find peace, he'd endeavor to do it, without question.

They faded from view again. The light faded, once they did.

Yue smiled, tightly hugging herself as she sat in place, in that unsettling darkness with tendrils that wrapped around her legs, slowly rising. She simply wanted to wait for the next glimpse into Azula's world, for any sign of life, of wonderment… of the fulfillment she ever felt whenever she could see the woman she had connected with.

"Yue…!"

A deep growl, and afterwards, a devious chuckle. The smile froze over her face, and tears bloomed in her eyes.

"You still have hope, I see! Hope, hope, hope, you silly girl, you beautiful girl, you wicked girl…! You know they cannot save you. You know no one can save you. No one would care to. Not even that boy you crave so much…"

She didn't truly crave him that way anymore. It didn't matter if she explained: no one listened. They thought they understood her human needs… they truly didn't. She knew her fate had been sealed when she gave up her life to save the Moon Spirit, and that all hope of a future with him had died at that moment. There was but one thing she wanted anymore, and it was all she could possibly want…

"You are safe here, with me. You are mine here, mine! Mine alone! And you will never belong to anyone else again!"

The tear spilled. She covered her ears: it didn't suffice to keep the noise from booming inside her head, reminding her bitterly that she would never go free… never again.

#sokkla #sokklasaturdays #sokkla saturdays 2023 #sokka #azula #yue #I have no idea where this plot came from honestly #I had no idea what I was going to do this year #but lightning strikes sometimes #maybe it's DJATS's soundtrack's doing #I may have listened to The River an unhealthy amount of times before and after starting this #and without realizing it a lot of lines in the song actually can connect to what I wrote #funny things are funny that way #anyhow #hope you guys enjoy this one!#consider it yet another of my middle fingers at people pretending multiple things are impossible #shit's only impossible when you're a writer if you want it to be #redeeming Azula without cruelty or violence or sanctimonious selfrighteous crap to guilt-trip her into her growth #is 100% possible #and this story shall stand as proof of that #so have at it!

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freedfromthegalactichivemind · 2 years

Text

Dignity

She-Ra fanfiction Entrapdak Entrapdak Mini Month Prompt / Theme 10 - Formal Summary: A formal event unlike any other. --------------------------

Dignity Today was a special day. He had to look his best. He had dyed his hair three days prior, with Entrapta’s help. It was back to the midnight-blue hue that made him feel like himself. His eyes had become their stunning red. All that he needed now was a formal dress and polished armor, which Entrapta was adjusting for him. She was dressed well, too. It was not like Entrapta to wear dresses, so her clothing took on something closer to masculine business-attire, or perhaps something bordering on a tuxedo. The suit was dark in color, a dark gray, almost black. Her shoes were polished and they shined, quite a departure from her usual steel-toed work boots. Either way, they were both very formal. The tabard-dress that Entrapta had purchased and re-cut for him did not bear any hint of the Horde-wings. It was, however, black, with a kind of shimmer to it. In the right light, it took on many colors, like an oil-slick. Metallic fibers in the fabric picked up all of the reds, the deep blues and the sparks of purple that made up his armor, his eyes and his hair. They were going to be stunning when they stepped out into Bright Moon’s main hall. It was the public event of the century. Guards, in polished armor and brandishing spears, finished their greetings and escorted them both. The two lab partners scanned the room as previous guests had already arrived. They took their place in the center, upon the long carpet. People were standing all around. The Queen was about to address the crowd, as was her father, the elder King Regent. Queen Glimmer was dressed to the nines, with all of her badges of office upon her person. Entrapta’s eyes quickly found Adora and Catra, and she looked down and away. Being in her formal attire, she did not have her mask available to her. She also found Bow and Scorpia. Again she looked down and away. Hordak looked straight ahead, his gaze meeting Queen Glimmer’s. He had almost forgotten about the shackles upon his wrists, binding his arms behind his back. A guard pressed Entrapta back as Hordak stepped forward. “Hordak, former Lord of the Horde,” Queen Glimmer addressed him, “Your fate has been decided.” “Good, finally,” he rumbled. “Are you willing to accept it? Today is your formal sentencing.” “You do remember my requests, do you not?” “We do,” King Micah answered. “Entrapta has been fully exonerated. Your child shall be cared for in your absence. Your brethren are free and are already being given over to caring families and counseling for cult deprogramming and habilitation into Etherian life.” “Good. Than I accept my responsibilities and my formal sentence.” The King and the Queen both looked sorrowful, regretful. Hordak noted the kind of shocked look on Catra’s face, and Adora putting a hand on her shoulder. Adora did not look too well, either. Princess Mermista of Salienas had a sour look. Princess Perfuma of Plumeria seemed to be clutching some kind of crystal. Castaspella, sorceress of Mystacor, looked impassive. Scorpia was fidgeting with her claws and twitching her tail. The archer looked anywhere but in his direction. The elder princesses, the holdouts from the first rebellion, looked grim and serious. “I am afraid,” Queen Glimmer announced, “That the governments of our alliance-planets have given us no choice. This is not usual Etherian-justice,” she narrowed her eyes, “but considering the damage you have caused, it is probably better than you deserve.” Hordak stood straight and tall, keeping his formality and his dignity. “The sentence is Death,” King Micah told him. “I have been elected to carry it out. It will be by a magical life-taking sigil. I assure you that it will be swift and painless. We shall inter your remains with dignity. A life for the lives you have taken. An insurance that you shall do no more harm. The sentence will be carried out at dawn in three days time, giving you a chance to make your peace.” “No!” Entrapta shouted. Guards were quick to hold her back. “It’s okay,” Hordak mouthed to her as the pair of guards that had led them in took their positions beside him to lead him back to his cell. Hordak pinned his ears back and looked at his feet the entire way, trying to shut out the sound of her wails and the sound of her struggle against the guards. She knew better than to fight it. He could hear her trying, anyway.

#spop #she-ra fanfiction #entrapta #hordak #entrapdak mini month #entrapdak

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captainswanapproved · 2 years

Text

The Queen's Gambit- Chapter 5

A03, Chapter 1, Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 4

Daemon x Rhaenyra Multi Chapter AU: Rhaenyra is now 18 and eager to prove herself. Having never been forced to marry Rhea Royce, Daemon has matured and given up his gallivanting through the Street of Silk. Queen Aemma survives her final birth but the baby does not.

Queen Aemma knows of Daemon’s devotion to Rhaenyra. She also knows that this devotion is not unrequited. Aemma goes to Viserys with a proposition: one that will ensure the future and legacy of House Targaryen.

Aemma had a trunk of her daughter’s clothing sent away to Dragonstone. There was no telling how long it would take her husband to send the Hightowers back to Oldtown after the news of Daemon and Rhaenyra’s elopement came to King’s Landing.

Aemma was trusting the safety of her daughter to Daemon. It was an easy choice to make, especially seeing her daughter’s misery the past few days. Misery because of her husband’s wish to separate Rhaenyra and Daemon.

Still, Aemma gathered her strength to say goodbye to her child. Rhaenyra would not know it was a goodbye.

Rhaenyra was pacing her chambers when Aemma arrived. “You seem troubled, my dear.”

“Not troubled, Mother. In truth, I am excited. Will you keep a secret?”

“You can trust me, sweetling.”

“I am going into the city tonight, with Uncle Daemon.” Rhaenyra said, her eyes glimmering.

Aemma smiled. Everything was in place. “You deserve a chance to see the people you will one day rule.”

“You are not angry or worried?”

“A mother always worries for her children, but I know you will be safe with Daemon. I trust you both.”

“If only Father would extend us the same courtesy,” Rhaenyra said ruefully.

“Your father will be made to see sense,” Aemma said, kissing her forehead. “Be safe, my darling. And enjoy your taste of freedom.”

Rhaenyra threw her arms around her mother. “Thank you,” she whispered.

A few hours later, Ser Erryk came to the door with a wrapped bundle. “A gift for the Princess.”

“Thank you, Ser Erryk,” Rhaenyra said. At least one of her father’s Kingsguard was sensible.

Rhaenyra changed into the rough spun garments, and tucked her conspicuous silver locks into the cap. She surveyed her appearance in the mirror. She looked like a boy rather than the future Queen of the Seven Kingdoms.

A thrill of anticipation raced up her spine as she followed Daemon’s written instructions and found the secret passage. He was waiting for her at its end, wearing a thick cloak that concealed his identity as a prince of the realm.

Daemon took her hand and kissed it. “You are still beautiful, my little dragon. Stay close to me. There are many unsavory men and women in the capital.” His voice was rough, even while speaking the beloved tones of High Valyrian.

Rhaenyra grasped his hand. Where he led, she would gladly follow.

***

The streets of King’s Landing were alive with activity. A strange miasma of scents filled the air; perfume, unwashed bodies, fire, and spices. It was intoxicating. Rhaenyra swayed slightly from the overpowering aroma. She was steadied by Daemon’s hand at the small of her back. A frisson of something heretofore unknown raced through her body and straight to her center.

Daemon led her down the narrow streets through the throngs of people. She held on tightly, knowing that she would be in trouble if they became separated. He handed her a flask, and she drank deep. She nearly choked on the blackberry wine, but she swallowed and her belly filled with the fire of strong drink.

Daemon smiled down at her, and Rhaenyra wondered when he might kiss her again. Surely that was how he meant to end the evening.

“Would you like to know your death, child?” An old hag with matted hair stepped in front of her. Rhaenyra was grateful when Daemon pushed the woman out of the way.

They soon reached a troupe of performing mummers. The story was that of her future succession. She listened with disgust as they proclaimed in rhyming verse that she was an unworthy heir. “Slander,” she called as the crowd cheered, encouraging the insults of the mummers.

Daemon dragged her away, his voice low. “Calm yourself, my little dragon. There are many of the smallfolk who believe that a man should sit the Iron Throne.”

“Their wants mean nothing to me.”

“They should if you are to one day rule them. Have patience. One day you will prove them wrong.” Rhaenyra was touched by his faith in her, and she knew that he meant it. Daemon was not a man who offered false praise.

“One day,” she agreed, “but for one night I wish to be free of the burdens of my inheritance.”

They continued their journey through the city. When they came across a cart bearing fruit, she grabbed an apple without thinking.

A rough voice called, “Four coppers, boy. In King’s Landing we pay for our pleasures.”

Having no money, Rhaenyra’s instincts told her to run. She heard the shouts of the vendor behind her. She had lost Daemon in the scuffle but had faith he would find her.

Not watching where she was running, she ran headlong into a man of the Kingsguard. “And what are you running from, boy?” A gruff voice asked.

“Ser Harwin?”

Harwin Strong looked down at her. “Princess?”

“Don’t,” Rhaenyra said, urging him to keep her secret.

Harwin looked over her shoulder. Rhaenyra turned and felt a surge of relief. Daemon had found her.

“Take care, boy,” Ser Harwin said. “Next time you may not be so lucky.” The knight brushed past them.

Daemon whispered in her ear, “Strong is wiser than most. Come, now. There is more to be seen.”

Daemon led her into a large stone building. Rhaenyra was startled to see that it was filled with naked men and women. A few young and scantily clad girls carried trays with goblets of wine for the patrons. Daemon took one and drank before handing it to Rhaenyra. This was fine Arbor Gold, and it warmed her insides.

“What is this place?” Rhaenyra asked.

Daemon did not answer her in High Valyrian. “It is where people come to take what they want, Princess,” he said in a raised voice.

Rhaenyra noticed several of the patrons turned to look. Daemon removed her cap, allowing her silver hair to spill over her shoulders. He took her in his arms and kissed her deeply. Then in his carrying voice he said, “You see, Princess, your marriage to the Hightower boy will be duty, but fucking is a pleasure. Your betrothal should not stop you from taking what you want, what we both want.” Then he was kissing her again, his deft fingers working the laces of her shirt and pushing the fabric aside to bear her breasts.

She understood what he was doing. Rumors would spread like wildfire that Daemon had seduced her. If Otto Hightower was wise, he would not wed his son to a ruined woman, even if she was going to be queen.

“Uncle, we must make it convincing,” she said. She threw back the hood of his cloak and ran her fingers through his long hair. He kissed her roughly, and she moaned. One hand wandered to her breast, lightly stroking the nipple with his thumb. A jolt of sensation. Heat pooled between her thighs.

Daemon swallowed her moan with another kiss before saying, this time in High Valyrian, “This is real, my little dragon. I want you.”

And she suddenly took control, responding to his passion with equal fervor. She pressed him against the rough stone wall and explored his body with her hands, pushing aside his clothing.

He was beautiful.

In the flickering candlelight she could see some of his battle scars, puckering his otherwise unblemished skin. She kissed each of them in turn and was rewarded by a moan of pleasure from Daemon. It gratified her to elicit such a response from the man she loved. This man who had spent much of his youth whoring his way through the Seven Kingdoms, yet he was holding her and caressing her as though she was precious.

One of his strong hands wandered lower and caressed her hips beneath her small clothes. She pressed herself into his hand. But then he pulled away. “I will not fuck you in a pleasure house, my little dragon. You deserve a better first experience.”

“Then take me somewhere else, away from prying eyes.”

In the common tongue, he spoke again, loudly. “As you wish, Princess. To Dragonstone then.”

Daemon placed the cap back on her head and laced up her shirt. He drew his hood to conceal his noble Targaryen features.

“Are we truly going to Dragonstone?”

“Yes, Princess. We are going to our ancestral seat.”

“And there you will make me your wife?” Rhaenyra asked, her heart practically leaping out of her chest.

“If you wish it, my little dragon. I am yours to command.”

In answer, Rhaenyra kissed him, long and deep and glorious.

When she pulled away he was smiling. “There will be time enough for that later, my love. We must make haste if we are to escape the capital.”

My love. He had never called her that before, but she knew it to be true. She followed him to the dragon pit.

The dragon keepers did not seem surprised to see them. Syrax and Caraxes were already saddled and unchained. Daemon gave them a heavy bag of gold from his pocket. “For your service and loyalty,” he told them.

***

Syrax and Caraxes landed at Dragonstone just as the colors of early dawn were streaking the sky.

The castellan awaited them, as though he too had been expecting them. “Princess Rhaenyra, Prince Daemon, you are most welcome. Your chambers have been prepared. The princess’s possessions arrived in good time.”

“Thank you,” Daemon said. “We are not to be disturbed by anyone. I will summon a servant when we are in need of something.”

The castellan bowed.

“Tongues will wag,” Rhaenyra said.

“And word will be spread throughout King’s Landing that I seduced you and took your virtue. I do not want the rumors to be false.”

A thrill of delight pulsed through Rhaenyra’s body. “Did you make the arrangements yourself?”

Daemon shook his head. “Your mother left nothing to chance, my love. She only wishes for your happiness.”

Her mother. In hindsight the revelation was not surprising. Her mother had encouraged her to enjoy her freedom, and entrusted her safe keeping to Daemon, who would soon be her husband. But she had no desire to wait to consummate their love until they recited their vows and bound their blood. In that regard, she and Daemon were of one mind.

He barred the door of her chambers the moment after they arrived.

He wasted no time in pressing her into the bed, kissing her with reverence. Rhaenyra responded in kind. Her hands explored his torso through his clothing, and soon she was removing his shirt, greedy and eager to feel his flesh against hers. She ran her hands along the newly exposed flesh as Daemon kissed the slender column of her neck, biting, and licking, sending shivers of sensation through her that only made her crave him more.

Her hand slipped under his smallclothes and caressed his buttocks, earning a guttural moan from her lover. Lover. She liked the sound of the appellation.

“Rhaenyra,” he said, uttering her name as though it was a prayer. He claimed her lips again, his hands moving rapidly to rid her of clothing. In time she was naked and pressed against his warm body. She felt his hard length pressing against her thigh.

“Make me your wife,” she urged, lifting her hips to meet his.

“As you command, Princess.”

He pushed into her, gloriously stretching her body. She wrapped her legs around his waist and begged him to continue. Daemon was happy to oblige, taking her tenderly, caressing her as he did so, and murmuring endearments into her flesh.

Rhaenyra’s body was on fire, and her pleasure increased with every stroke, building and building to a pinnacle. Her release hit her as a wave crashes against the shore. She clung to Daemon and cried out his name.

A moment later, she felt him spill his seed into her, and a hope for a child to come of their coupling was entertained. The prospect was enthralling.

Daemon seemed reluctant to pull away, but he rolled them so that he was not crushing her into the soft feather mattress. He kissed her forehead and held her close. “You are mine, little dragon. Now and forever. And I am yours. I always have been.”

This, Rhaenyra thought, is utter bliss. In the circle of Daemon’s arms, she finally found peace.

#daemyra #daemon x rhaenyra #My muse is going crazy with this story #It is so much fun #HOTD The Queen's Gambit #Chapter 5 #my writing #there may be smut #:D

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geniequestria · 2 years

Note

What if Twilight had left Starlight back at the archives after their battle?

Note: This is a What If scenario bonus story. This will not effect the current story still ongoing.

______________________________________________________________ Stillness fell over the archive.

Twilight stood motionless, wide-eyed and dumbstruck, for what felt like an eternity

“Starlight? Starlight! Can you hear me?” Her voice was trembling

Starlight was gone. The only evidence of her having been there at all were the two gashes cut through the archive’s tile floor. And the shimmering dark purple lamp.

“Starlight, please… No, I didn’t… I didn’t mean to…”

Slowly and carefully - very carefully - the princess plucked the lamp off the ground with her magic. The lamp was very still now. It felt quiet and seemingly inert.

“Starlight, I’m so sorry… I know you were going to hurt ponies, but… you didn’t deserve this…”

On the side of the vessel, Twilight noticed a new mark. A pair of rising, two-toned blue-stripes, and a smaller purple lamp. Almost as if Starlight’s cutie mark had become imprinted on the side.

On one hoof, the day had been won. Starlight’s invasion of the archive had been prevented, and no serious lasting damage had been inflicted on Equestria.

But on the other hoof, Twilight still felt dejected. Carefully carrying the lamp out of the archive, the Alicorn reflected internally upon how remarkably dangerous the vessel had proven itself.

Twilight thinks about taking the lamp back to Equestria, in hopes of finding a way to free Starlight… if she’s even still alive in there. But now that things are a bit more tranquil, perhaps she should heed the warning about the place she’s in. And read what information there is about the lamp beforehand.

She sits down and pulls out the scroll about the lamp to read it.

In time, her face gradually grimaces the more she reads it. And she is suddenly full of conflicting feelings about the information she read.

(“If… if this is accurate… then… it’s unfortunately too dangerous to take this home… but… would I really feel right just leaving her here…? Starlight was up to no good…but if there’s a way to save her… I’d prefer to do that… but… if she’s going to be even more amped up… and possibly even more corrupted due to the crystal… then… I have no choice but to abandon her here…)

“I.. I… I am so so sooooooo sorry, Starlight… I never meant any of this to happen to you… this must at least be a little bit of how Celestia felt… when she banished her sister…” Twilight felt heartbroken, to decide to seal the fate of another pony for who knows how long is a heavy burden. She didn’t think Starlight deserved a fate like this, but she can’t risk Equestria’s future all for one pony. She’s at least somewhat comforted by the fact Starlight wasn’t killed, though slowly it dawns on her that maybe she’s leaving her to a fate worse than death. Forever alone, trapped in this dark vessel.

Twilight’s eyes fill with tears, but she closes her eyes as she turns back and floats the lamp back onto the pedestal it was on. She then slowly walks towards the exits to the archives, looking back one last time longingly.

And from that time forward, Twilight, nor any pony else from her generation ever saw Starlight Glimmer’s face again.

The Storm King and his forces would prove to be a tough foe for Equestria, but Twilight and her friends ultimately prevailed. And from then onward, peace ruled in for Equestria for days, that became weeks, then months, then years and even centuries. Aside from perhaps the Alicorns, dragons like Spike, or other types of creatures like Discord. The generation of Twilight’s younger years would die out and make rise to many other generations. Eventually, there came a time where Twilight’s world was considered the ancient past.

At least 5,000 years have passed since Twilight’s generation now. And since then, odd happenings seem to have come about to Equestria. For in the current state of the world, the ponies lived separately. The earth ponies in the sea-port city of Maretime Bay, the Unicorns in a dense forest called Bridlewood, and the Pegasi living it up in the highly technical Zephyr Heights. None of the ponies had their magic, and even more mysteriously… Nopony knew exactly why that was. There are many theories, and some that were obvious misinformation that placed the blame on the other pony races for what happened. But otherwise, no actual consensus on what caused magic to go away.

Perhaps even more somberly, most ponies grew to not care enough about what happened. And went on with their lives despite the knowledge of the existence of a happier time. Many could only refer to Twilight’s reign as “The Golden Age” with pessimistic views of society ever reaching the highs of Equestria’s history ever again.

But, there was certainly at least one pony willing to change all that. A mare by the name of Sunny Starscout, raised by her late father who was most certainly a historian that knew more about the ancient times then others. She hoped to prove that what friendships the ponies had in Twilight’s age could still happen now, even against all odds.

One day, a unicorn came by Maretime Bay and made the citizens freak out. It was none other than the happy-go-lucky Izzy Moonbow who had coincidentally received a friendship message sent many years ago by Sunny. The two then ran from Maretime Bay to explore Equestria, hoping to spark a widespread change to society.

Sunny’s childhood friend Hitch would however be on their tail the entire time. Although. he certainly has trouble catching up to the swift and idealistic mares full of optimism for the future. He refuses to give up however.

Eventually, Sunny and Izzy’s journey brings them to the beautiful Zephyr Heights. Where they meet none other than the Princess sisters of Zipp Storm and Pipp Petals. After being briefly imprisoned, the two of them are freed by the older sister. The three of them gather at the ruins where the trusty pegasus has a secret hideout.

“Where are we?” Sunny asked curiously

Zipp nodded proudly “It’s amazing, right? I’m pretty sure it was some sort of station for when Earth ponies and unicorns used to visit Zephyr Heights. It’s like every pony just… forgot”

“This is proof! All pony kinds did use to be friends! My dad was right. It must be really weird being the only pegasi that can fly” Sunny comments

Zipp however sighs and tells the truth. “The truth is we can’t fly either. We’ve been faking it”

Izzy and Sunny both gasp. “Faking it?! But… but how?”

“You’d be surprised what some wires and good lighting will do. But I’m just so tired of living that ridiculous lie. That’s why I come down here, to get away from all that. And… well… to do… this!”

Zipp jumps onto a lever that activates a ground-based fan. Allowing the pegasus to sort of glide, even without the actual ability of flight. She laughs and smiles smugly as she shows off her way of getting as close as she can possibly get to a simulated flight.

All Sunny can say is “Wow!” as Izzy says “Whoa! Her sparkle is so bright right now!”

Zipp soon gently glides down back on the ground.

“But that’s not why I brought you here. This is what I wanted to show you…” Zipp points to a large stained glass window. However, it seems both Sunny and Izzy’s eyes are drawn to something else nearby.

Sunny gasped “Oh, my stars…!”

Zipp initially thinks it’s about the window. “This was made a long, long time ago, when we still had magic.”

“It’s beautiful!” Izzy can’t take her eyes off whatever she and Sunny are looking at

“What is that?” Sunny inquired

Again, Zipp thinks it’s about the window “That’s the pegasus cry-“

Sunny interrupted “No! Not that Zipp! The dark purple thing on the pedestal with the interesting markings!”

Zipp blinked twice “…Oh that lamp? I don’t actually know. I found it and the pedestal it’s on scrounging around this place. Some papers were nearby that had a huge warning text. However, the paper has completely weathered to near unreadable status aside from said warning symbol. Who knows if the warning is even related to the lamp

I mostly ignored it however, it seems like a nice art piece from what I can gather but nothing I’m entirely interested in”

Sunny steps up closer to examine the lamp in further detail. It was crafted really well, the symbol completely unfamiliar to her. “Zipp, may I… touch it?”

“Sure, knock your socks of-“ Zipp is once again interrupted, this time by a very familiar voice

“ZIPP!!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH THE ESCAPED PRISONERS?!” Pipp ran straight to her sister’s side.

“The whole city’s in a panic! Please tell me you were about to bring them back…” Pipp frowned

Zipp however looks determined as she tells her sister the truth “Pipp, who do you think was the one that let them out in the first place?”

Pipp gasped “WHAAAAAAT?! ZIPP, ARE YOU INSANE?! This… is a scandal that could ruin your life! It could ruin MY life! Maybe even our mother’s life! Uh… uh… uh… Zipp! Quickly, if we play it out correctly… we could livestream us bringing the prisoners back, and we get back to the city as heroes. Nopony will ever know!”

“Absolutely not, sis! I’m not adding to our family’s big lie that’s forced us to pretend we can fly anymore! There will come a day they find out, and we’ll be in a position no worse than aiding the escape of two prisoners. Especially, since these two don’t mean any actual harm!” Zipp looks straight in her sister’s eyes.

“But… but… that’s different! We say we can fly because it keeps our citizens’ morale up! As long as they think we can fly… we won’t be as paranoid or superstitious as the earth ponies and the unicorns!” Pipp tries to bargain with her sister, though her last statement wasn’t exactly amusing to Sunny.

“You know we’re right here…” Sunny deadpanned

Zipp turned to Sunny “Just ignore my sister, go ahead and grab the lam… huh? What the, where’d it go?!” It seems during Pipp and Zipp’s conversation the lamp that Sunny asked to touch has gone. Sunny and Zipp look around until they see Izzy, who was now holding it.

“This lamp is amazingly crafted! Though… I wonder if it could use jussssst a little glitter on it…” Izzy takes out from her large mane a small vial of light blue glitter and starts rubbing it all over. The lamp is no longer just purple with blue swirls but now dots of shiny glitter on it. Though as Izzy continues to decorate, Izzy can feel the lamp suddenly rising in temperature.

“What the… is this some kind of heater..?!” Izzy drops the lamp in case it’s going to get too hot to touch. A dark glow envelops the lamp, the lamp seeming to writhe and condense on itself multiple times. The lamp starts jumping, and gets ever higher with each jump and moves surprisingly far. It’s as if something inside was trying desperately, impatiently to get out.

All four of the mares watching the lamp were a bit freaked out, just what was happening. Zipp feared it was some kind of explosive that was ticking. “Every pony! Get to cover! I have a feeling that thing’s about to blow!” The others waste no time listening to Zipp as they all group together and hide behind a fallen pillar that should be strong enough to avoid any deadly shrapnel should it explode like Zipp thinks it will. The four mares huddle together waiting for the inevitable explosion. But what greets them is not the sound of a boom, but a very, very loud…

FWWOOOOOOOOOOSSSSSSSHHHHHHH!

Lilac smoke pours out of the dark lamp and swirls above it. The sounds of an insane laughter increasing in volume as dark purple and light blue sparks as shiny as the glitter that Izzy put on the lamp pop. The mares take a peek at what’s happening and gasp in horror.

“Oh no! Zipp, that isn’t… poison gas is it?!” Pipp worriedly asked her sister.

Though the white pegasus shakes her head. “If it had been a poison gas canister, it’d have already covered the whole area. And we’d be knocked out… or worse. And gas doesn’t move like this… this thing… seems like it’s somehow alive! Didn’t you hear that strange… laugh?”

“a-a-a-a-Alive?!” Pipp shivered

“I-i-i-Izzy! What did you do?!” Sunny asked

“I-i-i-i don’t know! I was just trying to give it some of my own sparkle… but then it got hot, started jumping wildly, and now all this smoke is pouring out!” Izzy frantically frowned watching.

Suddenly however, a voice of a mare unfamiliar to the ponies below echoes throughout the station. And two glowing white eyes with small wavy blue smoke at the corners of the eyes appear.

“Spar… kle….? Did… some… pony… say… SPPPPPPPAAAAAARRRRRRRRKLEEEEEE?!” The mares scream as they hear the mysterious smoke cloud speak, and in a very threatening booming anger coming out of it no less. That’s when the cloud started to shape into something, every one of the ponies cowered in fear watching the smoke condense. Soon the smoke at the tail end starts to form a silhouette. Starlight Glimmer begins to fully fade into the real world for the time in many millennia. Her eyes were still glowing as she looked down at the ponies that had released her from her imprisonment from within the lamp.

Starlight’s voice booms and echoes throughout the station again “Tell me, where… is… TWILIGHT SPARKLE!”

Most of the mares just stay quiet, but the mention of the name of her idol actually seems to perk Sunny into some sudden bravery as she asks the figure a question.

“Wait… you… knew Princess Twilight?!” Sunny asked the figure. The intimidating glowing eyes and smoke finally begins to dissipate as Starlight looks a bit more normal, aside from of course her really long elongated smoke tail from her hips to the spout of the lamp.

“Knew her?! Why I…” Starlight initially was going to say what she really thinks of her, but realizes this is an opportunity for some trickery. If Twilight is still around somewhere, she’ll need to fool ponies into thinking she was at least a well-known acquaintance. In the thousands of years she spent in the lamp, she figured her name would be wiped out of any history books to prevent anyone from letting her out one day. But now that she was finally free, she could proceed to make her move and get her revenge should she find Twilight. And her time in the lamp has left her terribly impatient for this moment. Her glowing eyes fade away, and in a more softer tone of voice. She responds to Sunny.

“Ahem… yes… I knew Twilight… we… were greaaaaat friends~” Starlight turned her back and smirked devilishly. This was certainly a lie, but one she knew there was no way these ponies would have a way to fact check after all this time.

Sunny’s eyes fill with stars. “Oh my gosh… oh my gosh! Not just some pony who KNEW Twilight… but actually befriended her?!” Sunny immediately jumps out from the cover and approaches closer to Starlight”

“Sunny! What are you doing?! I don’t know if we can trust her yet!” Zipp warns her, but it falls on deaf ears.

Though Sunny does turn around to answer “If they were friends with the legendary Princess Twilight, then I 100% trust them no matter what!”

Starlight turns her back again and mutters quietly to herself “Phbbbt… ‘legendary’…” Starlight figured that with the rule of “History is written by the winners” that Twilight would have become an icon even this far in the future. But it still irks her just to hear. She turns around however and puts up an act as if she had been close with the Princess.

“Yes… indeed. Me and Twilight went… waaaaaay back… but please, how about you girls introduce me to yourselves” Starlight floats forward putting a hoof to her chin as she awaits the name of the ponies that have not just found her, but released her from her seemingly eternal imprisonment.

Sunny nods “Of course! My name is Sunny Starscout!”

“Ahhh… it’s a pleasure to meet you, Sunny. My name is Starlight Glimmer. Now how about the names of your friends on the other hoof?” Starlight points to the other 3 mares who are still scared of the imposing sight of the mare towering over a long and shifting tendril of smoke.

After enough awkward silence Starlight chuckles and speaks up “Your friends aren’t very social, are they?~”

“Actually… all 3 are fairly social in their own ways… they’re just kind of… scared of you right now…” Sunny frowns.

Starlight just shrugs “Well, it’s understandable. All that power display from my emergence must have made one intimidating sight… if they’re not going to introduce themselves. Maybe you should do the honors, Ms. Starscout?”

Sunny nods once more. “Certainly! The unicorn is Izzy Moonbow. She hails from Bridlewood Forest where all the unicorns live. The two pegasi here are the royal princess sisters of Zephyr Heights of Zipp Storm and Pipp Petals. Oh and I suppose I haven’t said where I’m from, I am from Mareti-

“AHAAAAAAA!” A familiar male voice is heard before Sunny can finish mentioning her hometown's name.

Sunny gasped “Huh? Hitch? Is that you?”

“Of course it’s me! Were you about to give a suspicious pony like… this strange floating unicorn directions to Maretime Bay?! Not on my watch!” He stood firm, though he seemed to be breathing a little heavily. Chasing after Izzy and Sunny has taken its toll on the dedicated sheriff. A few more seconds is all it takes before he collapses and becomes prone on the ground.

“Ugh… sometimes I wish I was as nimble as you girls were…” The exasperated Sheriff lamented his relatively short endurance.

What the sheriff just said perks up Starlight’s ears. She swoops straight down next to the stallion, startling him as he drags himself backwards while sitting. His back turned to a standing pillar as Starlight’s face was in front of him. “You wish you were as nimble as a mare? Hmmm, I might be able to help you with that~. Long have I waited for my chance to grant some real wishes!”

Hitch blinks a few times. “W-w-w-what d-do you m-m-mean by t-tha- aaaAAAAH!” Hitch is quickly enveloped by a magic blast from Starlight’s horn.

“Oh no, Hitttttchhhhhh!” Sunny shrieked, as for a moment she thinks Starlight just hurt her old friend. But there were no sounds of pain coming from the stallion.

“What… the… huh?!” From inside the smoke cloud, Hitch could see his own hooves just slightly shrink, and on his line of vision his snout shrunk as well. He could also feel both his mane and tail lengthening. “What… is… happening… to… meeeeeeee?!” As Hitch said each word of that sentence, the voice raised in pitch until the voice of a stallion had faded away to make way for a more feminine voice. And a shriek from the sheriff’s new voice is what’s heard as the smoke dissipates.

Now that it was clear, the four mares looked in awe. As Hitch’s stallion body was gone, he was now a mare just like them. What they had just witnessed, just had to be an actual legitimate use of magic.

“H-h-huh… whaaaaaa…?!” Sunny is just speechless

“OH MY GOSSSSSSH! HITCH IS A MARE NOW! Yoooo! Do you know what this means?! STARLIGHT HAS REAL MAGIC!” Izzy excitedly exclaims.

“No way…” Zipp was astounded.

Pipp on the other hoof squee’d. “Oh my gosh, Zipp… I HAVE TO LIVESTREAM THIS!” Pipp pulls out her gold and white phone.

Starlight tilted her head. “Livestream?”

Pipp put hooves over her mouth “Oh that's right! You said you haven’t been out of your lamp in 5000 years! So you don’t know about our technological advances! It’ll take a while before you get used to what’s new Starlight. So I’ll try not to blow your mind all at once. But basically phones can do so much now! All you need to know is phones can download apps that allows ponies to do many things, even without magic! Like recording live events and allowing hundreds or even thousands of ponies watch it from their own phones even if they're miles away!”

“Hm, interesting. So with just your phone. You can reach the eyes of literally hundreds if not more ponies at once?” Starlight curiously asked

“Yep yep yep! Exactly!” Pipp nodded enthusiactally

“Hm hm hm… interesting… verrrrrryyyyy interesting… (Oh the propaganda I could send… this world may barely resist full genification within a week)”

“If you need to know anything more, just ask me later. I’m sure I can show you the wonders of our modern world!” Pipp tilted her head and smiled. “But let’s begin the stream. Looks like you’re a special guest, Starlight!”

Pipp pulls out her golden phone and doesn’t waste time pressing the go live button. “Ohhhh Pippsqueeeeaaaaaaks! You won’t believe what I just witnessed… you see this yellow mare behind me? You’re going to think this is total clickbait, but she used to be a stallion! Just barely a minute or so ago!” She then aims her phone up towards where Starlight is floating. “And this strange, floating unicorn mare named Starlight seems to have been the one who did it! So not only did we just witness a gender swap! But we witnessed actual real magic!”

Meanwhile Hitch was just bewildered, he…. or rather she could hear the other mares but could hardly believe them. “W-w-what? No! I’m not a mare! I can’t be a mare, I’m a full grown stall-” Next to her was a mirror where she could clearly see her reflection. She stares wide-eyed at it for a few seconds before a loud shriek pierces the air. “WHAT IN EQUESTRIA DID THAT UNICORN DO TO ME?! AND HOW…?! I thought everypony’s magic was GONE!”

“I did too, Hitch! This is AMAZING!” Sunny beamed happily.

“WHAT? NO! IT IS NOT AMAZING! This is TERRIBLE! You up there, I don’t know how you did it. But you better change me back right now!” Hitch demanded of Starlight.

Starlight just giggles a little deviously. “Oh, but you look SOOO much cuter! Though what your ex-girlfriend just said does irk me… she said magic has completely disappeared?”

“Well yeah… it’s been like that for so long. What have you been living under? A roc…” Hitch suddenly realizes Starlight said something that didn’t sit right with her “HEY, WAIT A MINUTE! DID YOU CALL SUNNY MY EX-GIRLFRIEND?!”

“Oh? Am I wrong? Are you two still dating?~” Starlight smirked

“No! We’ve never dated! We’re just friends!” Hitch replied a bit furiously

“Oh… then I guess you live a sadder life than I thought… left in the friend zone… you aren’t using your job as an officer of the law to stalk on these mares are you? Maybe you wished to be a mare yourself just so you can finally get a close enough look at a mare’s body without getting slapped~” Starlight giggled, continuing to push Hitch’s buttons.

Hitch’s face was growing redder. Whether it was by rage, or a little bit of embarrassment was hard to tell. But she wasn’t going to take this going down. “GRAAAAAAAH! WHO DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! And what even ARE you?! No pony else has magic! Why do you?!”

“Hehe, I’m glad you asked that. As the others are just as curious I imagine. I must first express some curiosity about the loss of magic in Equestria… is the cause known by chance?” Starlight turned to the group with a sincere curious look.

Just about every pony below Starlight simply shrugs and/or shakes their head as Sunny explained ”There’s many theories of what’s happened. But none that are entirely conclusive. It’s been like that since long before any of us were born. But whatever happened, it caused what was once Equestria’s greatest heights to split into the 3 places of civilization we live in now”

“Hmmm, I see… (Ha, goes to show that I’ve been right all along that Equality was the way to go… so much for Twilight’s reign…. things have turned out worse than Celestia’s sole rule! Oooooh I really hope she’s still out there somewhere… I really want to see the look on her face now!)”

Starlight then decides to fly on down and transforms her elongated smoke tail into her hindlegs and ponytail. “I suppose I’ll gradually learn more as I spend more time out here. Though I suppose if I may at least ask you girls once again… do any of you know of Princess Twilight Sparkle’s whereabouts?”

Hitch raises an eyebrow “I’ll repeat what I said earlier… where have you been living under? A rock?! Nopony has seen Princess Twilight for many, many, years!”

Sunny looks frustrated with Hitch “Hitch! You have no idea what this mare’s been through! What if whatever threat brought Twilight’s kingdom down had trapped her in that lamp, and she’s just now waking up to see what has befallen her world! And to hear that a dear friend of hers like Twilight has remained hard to find… you’re going to devastate her!”

“…She doesn’t seem very upset though.” Hitch points out that Starlight hasn’t really expressed any sort of woe for the state of the Equestria she once knew.

Which prompts Starlight to quickly change her tune, if slightly overdramatic putting a hoof over her forehead. “Oh! Of course. oh nooooo… every pony I once knew may all be gone! The world isn’t what it used to be! What happened to our unity?! I so dearly miss my friend, Twilight! Oh where could she be?!”

Hitch and Zipp aren’t really convinced by Starlight’s act. But the other 3 are on the more naive side. “Oh, don’t worry Starlight! We’ll help you get accustomed to the world! We seek to bring back the unity that we once had in your time! And you could be the key to doing so! If you were able to change Hitch into a mare. There’s no telling what else you could do! From what I recall, instant gender change was a spell considered out of reach for even Twilight’s repertoire back in the day!”

“You mean Starlight could be even more powerful than Twilight was?!” Izzy asked Sunny.

Zipp expresses some skepticism “No offense, Sunny. But that sounds impossible… no one could have possibly had more magic then the Princess of Friendship and Magic herself…”

Starlight just laughs deviously “Is that so?~. Maybe it’s about time I answered your cop buddy’s questions from a little while ago… both what I am exactly and why I still have my magic while no pony else does~.

You see… I’m not just any normal pony. How about you just take what you’ve already seen as hints… what does a being trapped in a lamp, a wish being granted, and a smoky tail remind you of?~”

As each of them recall what those three things tend to be associated with, it’s only seconds before Izzy starts waving a hoof frantically. “Ooo! oooo! OOOOOOO! I know! I know! I know! This means… you’re some kind of GENIE!”

The rest of the ponies gasp. Pipp whispers to her livestream “You hear that Pippsqueaks?! A REAL LIFE GENIE!”

Hitch on the other hoof wasn’t amused. “Do you really expect me to believe in such fairy tales?”

“You deny it, even though I granted your wish?~. Then how about this… each of the rest of you give me a wish of some sort. And I’ll grant it to the best of my ability. If turning this smart aleck into a mare truly wasn’t enough.” Starlight suggested.

“Hmmmph, if you’re really this powerful genie… then you should have no problem restoring me and Pipp’s ability to fly…” Zipp got straight to the point.

Though Pipp muted the microphone for her stream just before she said “ability to fly”. “Zipp! Don’t just say that so casually while I’m streaming!”

“Hey, if Starlight can really do what she claims. It won’t matter too long if they find out, cause then she could give them the ability to fly too” Zipp winks

That gives Pipp some thought “Hm… I guess that’s true… though I certainly think finding a genie to restore Zephyr Heights ability to fly first would be the better idea. We don’t even have to tell them we never had the ability to fly!!” Zipp admittedly inside is still unsure of having to completely cover-up the fact they’ve been unable to fly. But in all the excitement that all pegasi could fly again, there would be no need to rain on that parade. So she shrugs and lets it go.

“Though say… I have a bit of a worry…” Pipp mentions “If you’re a genie… don’t you only have three wishes before you go back into your lamp, and possibly sent somewhere where we may never see you again?”

Starlight shakes her head. “Heh, no. You don’t need to worry about that, this may be my first time out. But I feel no constraints from the lamp. You can make as many wishes as you want later!”

Pipp clapped in excitement “Oh wow! That leaves so many options, I’ll have to poll the Pippsqueaks for what other wishes they’d like!”

“But let’s get this show on the road, you still need “I wish” to be said before every wish. Right, Starlight?” Zipp asked the genie

Starlight nodded. “Correct! Allowing you and your sister to fly should be a cinch~”

“Then, I wish me and Pipp were able to fly!” Zipp confidently said, extending her wings out. Almost as if preparing for being able to soar into the air under her own power for once.

Starlight nods. “Goooood! Though before I grant the wish for the both of you, I thought I’d hear what the others want. What could prove my power more then being able to grant everyone’s wish at once?~” She then turns to Sunny and Izzy. “What would one or the both of you like?”

“Oooh! I’m so excited! Although… I think my wish probably will fall under the same bubble as Sunny’s wish. So I technically don’t need to say a wish yet, but I may keep in mind some ideas for later!” Izzy giggles.

Sunny nods “Yeah, Izzy’s wish if what I think it is should easily be doable under my most wanted wish too. In fact, I think Zipp’s wish would actually fall under a similar bubble too! For I wish that every pony in Equestria had magic again!”

“Hahaaaa! Perfect, prepare yourselves fo-“ Starlight starts charging her magic as she’s suddenly interrupted

“HEEEEEEEY! WHAT ABOUT ME!” The mare-ified Hitch exclaimed

Starlight tilted her head and raised an eyebrow “Oh? I was just thinking you already got your wish? Do you have another in mind?”

“Yes… I WISH YOU’D CHANGE ME BACK!” Hitch demanded raising both her hooves up in the air.

Starlight just rolled her eyes. “I’ll… see what I can do for you… Officer…”

“Hmmmph… finally…” The impatient former stallion huffs, now awaiting to be changed back at last.

Now that Starlight was free to grant the wishes, she smirked. “Now… as I was saying, prepare yourselves! You’ve given me the perfect wish to begin my plans!~”

Sunny gasped, that didn’t sound like Starlight was up to any good. “Plans…? What do you mean by that?!”

Starlight laughed “Oh ho ho, don’t worry yourselves… I only mean my plans to bring every pony together again~. You five will be getting a special sample of what's to come for the rest of the world, as a thanks for letting me out. For a bonus, I’d like to ask if you girls have any favorite objects. Even better if they’re capable of carrying or otherwise contain something. Though it’s certainly no requirement. Being out of there for the first time in many milennia has left me in a good mood so I'm very much willing to give you something worthy of my thankfulness, or at least… enhance an already beloved object of yours”

“Enhance it? Oo oo ooo! Like decorating some of our stuff?! Wow! Who knew unicorns from way back were into crafts like me!” Izzy clapped happily

Zipp put a hoof to her chin “Favorite objects? Admittedly that’s hard for me to say…. I suppose the closest is this water bottle for when I’m exercising” Zipp holds up a bottle that’s similarly colored to herself.

“Well, my favorite object is obvious! My phone! Isn’t that right, Pippsqueaks?!” She speaks straight into the phone.

“Mine is easy as well! My badge, of course!” Hitch pushes her chest forward as to present her badge

Izzy took some time to think “Oh, but there’s so many objects I love! I don’t know if I can just pick one. And at home I have like… duplicates of almost everything you can imagine! I feel like I’d need something totally new that I don’t have! The tennis ball the Pegasus guards put on my horn was kinda neat. I’d like to know what those are packaged in.”

Starlight made a mental note as each of the four answered her including creating a tennis ball can for Izzy. “All of those fit you nicely! (And soon... you'll all fit right in them too~) But how about you, young Sunny? What is your favorite object? A book like your idol, or perhaps a figure of Twilight Sparkle herself?”

Sunny goes deep into thought, as much as having more items related to her favorite historical figure or enhanced one she already has by some pony who knew her. The idea of her favorite object falls onto something else entirely. She shakes her head. “No, my favorite object is something else. It’s… one of the remaining reminders of my late father…”

The subject of a deceased father makes Starlight’s confident face change. She looks with sincerity. “Oh, I’m… sorry to hear you don’t have a father around… what about your mother?“

Sunny shakes her head “She was gone even earlier than that, before my first memory. My father was the only one of my family left…”

“Oh… I see… that’s… unfortunate. I’m doubly sorry to hear that family-wise you’re all alone. Like you I actually had a loving, if naive father. I’m sure as with every pony else from my time he’s gone. Also like you, my mother was not around for my early life. I have to presume your mother at least loved you, one thing I cannot say for myself” Starlight continued her sincere tone.

“Oh gosh… I can’t imagine what that’s like… abandoned by a parent like that…” Sunny gives Starlight an empathetic look.

Starlight then shakes her head “But never mind any of this… please feel free to tell me what your favorite object is. Whatever this reminder of your father is.”

Sunny nods “Right, it’s this tall little carousel diorama lamp that had colored wood cuttings of each of the three types. One yellow pegasus, one blue unicorn, and one purple earth pony. When the key spins the keyhole, it would shine a light that creates shadows that depict all three types moving across the walls and ceilings of my room. It was most helpful as a nightlight before bed. As it’d get me thinking of a future I hope to restore… it’s just too bad my dad won’t get to see it if that day comes…”

Starlight nods solemnly. “I’ll need to pick into your mind a little to bring this object here, as unlike the others it’s not currently in this room nor is it something I know I can just create it out of thin air, as otherwise I don’t know exactly what it looks like. Would you be ok with that, Sunny?”

Sunny does think for a moment, as someone seeking to peek into their mind would normally sound a little suspicious. But if it was only to know what this special lamp was, is there really any harm in it? Especially since Sunny is in full belief that Starlight will bring magic back to Equestria. “This… won’t take long will it, Starlight?”

“Nah, don’t worry. All I have to do is place my hoof on your forehead and I’ll quickly make a mental note of what your precious lamp looks like and where it likely is back at your home~” Starlight assures her

“Then go ahead…” Sunny bows her head forward.

The lilac genie then reaches out and places a hoof on the earth pony mare’s forehead and focuses her magic on Sunny’s memory banks. It only takes a couple of seconds for her to find what she’s looking for. Starlight thinks to herself (“Ah yes… I do almost feel bad about deceiving you, young Sunny… key word being almost… but I’m sure you’ll love having such a sentimental and meaningful vessel once you’ve joined me~”).

Starlight then takes her hoof off of Sunny's forehead, the optimistic mare raises her head back up “Did you get it?”

Starlight nods “Mmhmm, now that you’ve each told me your favorite item… it’s time to collect~” Starlight charges her horn and soon levitates Pipp’s phone, Hitch’s badge, and Zipp’s water bottle towards her.

“HEEEEEEEY! What are you doing?! Give me back my phone!” “AND GIVE ME BACK MY BADGE IMMEDIATELY!” Both Pipp and Hitch responded respectively.

“Don’t you two worry… I’m only… upgrading them a bit~” Starlight smirked

Pipp was actually sort of intrigued “Upgrade…?” though Hitch was unamused “I get how you upgrade a phone, but how do you upgrade a badge? I’m already the Sheriff!”

“Oh you’ll see~. Though let’s create Izzy’s and bring Sunny’s vess- I mean… item here too so I can enhance them all at once!” Starlight charges her horn again and out of thin air a transparent cylinder tube wide enough to fit tennis balls in them appears. And another poof brings Sunny’s special nightlight lamp to Starlight’s side. Starlight then proceeds to make all 5 items glow for a short while as the rest of the ponies watch in awe. Starlight is soon finished as the glow dissipates, although those who already had items don’t exactly see what’s different about them Sunny’s vessel seems to have slightly changed where the ponies on the carousel have a genie tail instead of back halves. Though it’s a detail that nopony picks up to immediate alarm. Starlight attaches Hitch’s badge back on her chest, while she keeps the other items next to her.

Hitch does a proud look as she gets her badge back, but she doesn’t understand what’s really so different. “Uh, so what now? I… don’t exactly see anything different about it…”

“Say! There’s no tennis balls in this container! What gives?” Izzy looks disappointed.

“Oh, you’ll both see very soon. I can promise you that~” Starlight smugly smirked

Starlight then picks up Pipp’s phone and starts using it.

Pipp gasped “Hey hey hey! That’s mine! Don’t be playing with something that isn’t yours!”

“Chill out, I’m just making sure it restarts for one last system update. Then it’ll be complete” Starlight assures Pipp

“But… that’ll end the stream I have going! I didn’t even say my closing outro for every stream!” Pipp frowned

“Don’t worry yourself, little Princess… I’ve made it so your stream doesn’t skip a beat while it’s upgrading~” Starlight smiles.

Pipp looks surprised “Wait, really? So the stream is still going?”

Starlight began to wickedly laugh “Indeed it is! And we’re about to get to the best part~. For there’s no more time to waste… I shall grant Sunny’s grand wish for you all… Magic shall return to Equestria once more… as soon as you’re all GENIES LIKE ME!” Her wicked laugh belted out louder as she opened up or pointed the items that were now to be their vessels all at once.

All of them gasp simultaneously, though as Hitch is about to run up she screams when suddenly the backside of her badge moves forward and starts pulling her in from the chest, her face and head soon curve downward along with her front hooves. Her cheeks blush for a few seconds, but the suction absorbs Hitch’s face before he could really feel what the badge was doing to her

Pipp’s tail stretches toward her phone and she exclaims to her sister “ZIIIIIIIIP! DO SOMETHING!” Zipp quickly uses her contraption that allows her to glide and tries using it to give her some momentum to save her sister, but as she approaches the phone. Suddenly the water bottle that Starlight had gets in her path, Zipp having no way to stop her momentum. She quickly falls face first into the water bottle, resulting in the bottle quickly absorbing her up to her hips. “NOOOOO! ZIIIIIIIP!” Pipp screamed.

Pipp’s tail then connects with her phone’s camera. An automated voice from the phone says “Downloading a new application”. Pipp turns around “HEY! What are you downloading?! You better not be giving my phone a virus!” “Oh, don’t you worry about a thing my little techie Princess… this is a necessary part of the upgrade… you’ve obviously held your phone for a long time… maybe it’s about time the phone held you… Prepare to be downloaded, Princess Pipp!” “WHAAAAAT?! NOOO! THAT CAN’T BE POSSIBLE… YOU CAN’T DOWNLOAD A REAL LIFE PONY… SURELY?!” But sure enough, Pipp could see a progress bar on her phone’s screen with a percentage going up the more of her tail enters. The moment she sees the progress it says 8%, a few seconds more it’s 10%, and then 12%. “This is awfully slow for my usual connection speed!” Starlight smugly smiles “Well, then I guess that just means you're a big file for a small pony~. You should thank me for upgrading your phone’s memory size so you’ll fit more than comfortably inside!”

Pipp tries running and even tries to flap her wings as fast as she can to try to escape. Though she seems to have another concern… “Stop this, PLEASE! My… my tail is covering the camera! My fans can’t see anything!” Indeed, as the entrance into the phone was made the camera. All the streamers could see is the purple of Pipp’s tail. They could still hear the screams and words of the others, which worried many of the people in the comments of what was happening. Then Pipp got an idea. “Starlight! I wish there was a 2nd camera and it appeared on stream!”

Starlight seemed confused. “You’re trying to get away, but you’re so concerned about your precious stream that you insist they must see you?” Pipp’s priorities baffle Starlight, but as she thinks on it a bit more. She gets a smirk “Actually… not a bad idea… they’ll get to see what’s in store for them soon and watch every little detail of your transformation~” Starlight grants Pipp’s wish and now a mounted webcam is pointed at Pipp.

As soon as Pipp knows the camera is active she begins to speak, another window pops up on the stream and those watching can finally see Pipp again. “I’m so sorry about that, Pippsqueaks… now if you’ll excuse me… and again this isn’t clickbait… I’M BEING DOWNLOADED INTO MY PHONE! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!” Pipp frantically focuses back on trying to escape.

Sunny and Izzy themselves scream in fear at the sudden turn of events as their tails stretch toward their respective items. Starlight had made an empty tennis can to contain Izzy herself, not tennis balls. And Sunny’s tail was approaching the direction of the keyhole at the side of her diorama lamp. Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp all try to run for the door but they soon come to a complete stop as they can’t drag themselves any further. Their tails acting like a leash keeping them from advancing, and they can only look in horror as they’re not just stopped from advancing. They’re slowly being dragged backwards! As they hear Starlight’s maniacal laughter, they realize this has been a trick all along.

“Waaaiiiiiiit! I’m not a tennis ball!” Though Izzy stops herself and thinks for a moment “But maybe that tennis ball they put on my horn gave me Tennis ball DNA…” She shrugs and then goes back to shrieking and trying to run away from the cylinder’s suction.

Zipp and Hitch in the meantime could not speak with their entire front halves already within the water bottle and the badge respectively, they could only kick their hindlegs and swish their tail. Though their kicking gradually begins to slow as more of them are brought in…

For the other 3, their tails have given way and their hindlegs spun around each other they fused, Giving the three of them a similar tail to what Starlight had. Purple, orange, and pink tails waving towards their destination.

“Starlight! What is this?! I thought… you said you were a friend of Princess Twilight! None of her friends would do something like this!” Sunny yelled in an accusatory detail at what seemed like betrayal of her trust.

Starlight shook her head before telling Sunny the truth “Tch, tch, tch. Sunny, I’m sorry to say… but I lied. Me and Twilight were never friends… she was the one who trapped me in that lamp for more than 5,000 years in the first place! There’s no way I could EVER consider her a friend after that!”

Sunny went wide-eyed “Whaaaaat?! Why… why would Twilight do such a thing…? To ANY pony… that… isn’t right… what could you possibly have done to deserve that?”

“Let’s just say… we had our differences. Let me warn you Sunny that you should never meet your idols. Especially those from far in the past, you never know what kind of secrets that they censored from the history books. The Equestria of back then may have been better then how Equestria is now, but it wasn’t perfect. Most villains get at least 1,000 years for trying to take over Equestria themselves, but try to seek equality for all ponies and suddenly you’re left for more than FIVE TIMES that!” Starlight gritted her teeth.

Even as she was slowly being drawn closer to being captured in her night light lamp. Sunny was more shocked that Twilight would really have punished a pony that hard. “No… she couldn’t have done that… there had to have been a reason for it… you… you had to have done something real horrible… like… like what you might be doing to us now!”

“Hmhmhmm… let’s see if you still feel that way in just a short moment now… it may have been a very long time since my transformation… but I still can never forget that first time I felt my body enter my lamp’s spout~. You and all of your friends are about to experience a power and pleasure that your ‘hero’ hid from every pony for years!” Starlight cackled.

Pipp flaps as hard as she can, but she still can’t get any further from her phone. The progress bar reaching near halfway, the number becoming 49% just as what was her hooves are mere seconds from the camera.

Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp continue to scream as their back halves in smoke form near the entrances to their vessels. Sunny desperately trying to reach out and stop herself from being sucked in “Nooooo! It can’t end like this… I… have… to… stop… you! That’s… what… Twilight… would.. d- aaaaAAAAaaaaaaAAAH!” At that precise moment, all three of the tails enters the tennis container, the camera of the phone, and the keyhole of Sunny’s lamp. They are instantly overwhelmed with a brand new feeling, and they stop screaming. All three instead express a loud moan that echoes through the station.

They didn't know how to feel at first, but regardless they had stopped any means of trying to escape. Their faces blush a deep pink, their eyes drift upwards as the pleasure bubbles up to more of their bodies. Pipp and Izzy are even already smiling, Pipp’s eyes go lidded while Izzy beams a very wide grin in reaction to the pleasure she’s feeling. Sunny doesn’t smile but her mouth is open, her eyes are closed and her hips are arced up as the magic is channelingthrough her body.

“You know… maybe I am a tennis ball! I can’t see any other reason why this feels soooooo good~” Izzy giggles, and coos.

Pipp meanwhile turns to the webcam pointed toward her. “Oh my gosh, my lovely Pippsqueaks… this… this is the greatest feeling in the world… you all deserve to see the best possible angle for this~'' It's a bit hard for Pipp to reach, but she manages to move the camera to a position where they can fully watch Pipp get fully absorbed into her phone's camera. The progress bar on the phone reads 60%

Pipp giggles “If I had known it feels like this to be downloaded… I might have envied every file and app imaginable!”

She wiggles her body slowly and seductively, tossing her beautiful purple mane around, cooing and moaning as more of her body enters her phone. “Oooooh~ Yes… YESSSSSS! You’re all getting a real special show now~.”

Sunny breathes heavily a few times before turning to Starlight’s direction “S-s-s-starlight… I… ooo~ h-how…. or why… does this feel so good? And… if… this is what Twilight did to you… why… are you bitter towards her? Cause this… feels more like a reward than a punishment…”

“Maybe if Twilight had let me out after I had experienced it, things could have been different between us. But that wears thin when you’re left to be alone for thousands of years… at least I had my near limitless magical powers to keep me occupied in that time, but I had no pony around to show… or shall I say… share it to… until you girls showed up~.

Think of it like this, instead of Twilight or another pony getting my thanks for releasing me. You girls got something special for helping me out of there, you shall all help me restore magic to Equestria. But not in the way it was before, let them experience what I’m currently giving you… there will be no need for petty squabbles between the three races if we’re all in Geniequality!

Just think about it, Sunny! The future you and your late father strived for… it will all be for the taking if everypony were genies!” Starlight proudly pointed out.

Sunny goes into deep thought even as she’s made to moan some more from the process of her transformation. A part of her still feels like this probably wasn’t what her father had in mind, but the more pleasure that pumped through her. The more she was convinced this was a much faster and efficient way to bring all pony kind together again. A grin finally appears on her face as she thinks about how Equestria’s ponies will see each other as equals again soon.

Starlight knows she’s got her now “That’s it, Sunny. Now you’re thinking my way on changing the world, we won’t just have the magic back from the era of Equestria you glorify so much. We will make Equestria even BETTER then back then. Your fangirling for Twilight might make you think there couldn’t be anything better than her reign, but I promise there is much more that could be done then whatever Twilight did in her time!”

The thoughts just keeps swirling through Sunny’s head. Whereas Pipp and Izzy are already enjoying their transformations in their own way. Pipp uses her wings to fly up, and it turns the phone into a vertical position as she does. Moving herself so she can be sucked in downward, her wings were now moving and massaging her body along with her own hooves. In fact Sunny and Izzy’s hooves did the same swirling around their shortening tails. The pleasure intensifies as their hooves massage every area of their lengthening and smoky bodies.

“Tee hee! We kinda look like strange worms. Oooo~” Izzy giggled while she too felt the pleasure pump through her body.

Zipp and Hitch were getting their tails slurped by their vessels, a schooomp sound for the water bottle and a cling for the badge is heard as they finish up sucking in the two mares.

Now Sunny, Izzy, and Pipp who were down to their necks. The pleasure ever intensifies through them, their moans reaching a new crescendo. Izzy and Pipp are now very open to the idea of what being genies could do for them before their final moments of being simply normal ponies.

“My longtime Pippsqueak fans, you are witnessing the birth of a new era of my channel… just think of the possibilities! And…. OOOOOOoooo~ for the new followers.. DON’T FORGET TO LIKE, COMMENT AND SUBSCRRRIIIIIIIIiBbb-mmmmmmmmmmmmph!” As Pipp is fully brought in, a notification makes a ding sound on the phone with text and the automated voice from before saying “Genie Pipp.app successfully downloaded”. On the phone’s menu, a circle appears with what seems to be Pipp’s musical cutie mark, though the music note seems to be in the process of getting sucked in or coming out of a vessel in the corner

“OH MY GOOSSSSSSSHHHHHH! I’VE NEVER FELT SUCH SPARKLE IN MY LIFE! I NEED IT! I NEED IT ALL! SO MUCH SPARRRRKLLLLLEEEeeee–MMMMMMPPPhhhhhhhh!' A pop from the can is heard as Izzy’s pulled in completely

All that’s left now was Sunny’s head, she saw all her friends around her get sucked in as she was too. She saw that Izzy and Pipp were overwhelmed with their transformation. And despite it being done by a pony who was actually an active antagonist to her longtime idol, and the nagging feeling that this isn’t how her father pictured the ponies would be back together. It was at this point she let go of those concerns, because everything was beginning to click for her. Partly because she couldn’t resist the pleasure welling up inside her, but it makes her feel better when she pictures that no pony else will too. As long as the three types of ponies are happy, living together, and making active friendships again. Could it really be that bad if it likely wasn’t by what her father’s methods might have been? Regardless of the means, it was certainly sounding better then the current society they have now.

“Soon, Dad… it’ll be over… our dreams… magic will be back… AAHHHHH~ AND A NEW GENERATION OF FRIIIIIEEEENNNNNSSSHHIIII-mMMMpppppph!” The last of Sunny’s face swirls into her lamp. The key closes the keyhole, making a click as it turns to lock Sunny in. And the lamp glows for a short time as if fully absorbing Sunny had given it energy. Lights shine from the lamp, though instead of ponies depicted on the wall, they were of Sunny’s cutie mark. However, a lamp is added directly where the trail of the shooting star ends at.

Zipp’s, Hitch’s, and Pipp’s remain relatively unchanged on the outside. Though Izzy’s vessel becomes no longer transparent as it turns the color of Izzy’s coat. The circular top is colored like Izzy’s mane. A changed mark on Izzy’s as well with her buttoned heart being drawn downward into a vessel

With all 5 ponies completely in their vessels, Starlight laughs victoriously and wickedly. “Oh… that felt good! I’d almost say it was worth the wait, but I’m still miffed it took this long. It would have been nice to have this back when ponies I actually knew were still around… I bet Our Town doesn’t even exist any more. And I won’t get to have my revenge on Twilight’s family and friends… and if TWILIGHT’S known to be missing… who in Equestria knows what happened to Celestia, Luna, and Cadence. But oh well… I’ll take being free in this future then still being stuck in there forever… let’s meet the first members of our new Genie-ration!~”

Starlight uses her magic to lift the key and the tennis container’s top from Izzy’s and Sunny’s vessels. She shakes Zipp’s bottle, presses the new app on the phone menu,, and opens up a flap on the back side of the badge for the rest. She then lays them all on the ground. Pipp’s phone vibrates constantly, both the Carousel on Sunny’s lamp and Hitch’s badge spin wildly fast, Zipp’s water bottle and Izzy’s vessel compresses on itself. All leading up to a huge…

FWOOOOOOOSSSSSSSSHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Pink, Orange, Yellow, White, and Purple smoke pour from their respective vessels with the colors of their manes and tails being sparks that mix around everywhere. Five tendrils of smoke that rise into the air of the station that may have very well been once part of Canterlot. Magic was back in a whole new way, and in Starlight’s opinion…. As well as the soon-to-be fully formed genies, it would be better then they could have ever imagined

The smoke clouds from their top halves turn into the silhouettes of the 5 mares. Their colors soon fading in completely. The colors of their veils and leggings were as follows: Blue for Izzy, Gold for Pipp, Brilliant Raspberry for Zipp, Dark Silver for Hitch, and Purple for Sunny. All of them sigh together in satisfaction after their transformations.

Pipp quickly flew down to the webcam down onto the ground. “Behold, Pippsqueaks. Feast your eyes on a whole new me! Me and my new friends have become genies! And we can all make your wishes come true soon~” The comments in the chat quickly get filled with requests for wishes, that the moderators have to put in a slow mode for the chat. Pipp giggles, don’t worry all of you… I have a link I can send to you to download my app. And send me your requests there… who knows… I may even show up in your own home depending on the wish~ (And then I can get downloaded over and over again~)”

“In the meantime… FIRST SELFIE AS A GENIE TIME!” Pipp swoops down near Starlight’s side. Who just looks rather confused with Pipp’s actions. Starlight imagines there will be plenty of technology she’ll get to see, as in a world without magic (Even if not for long now). It probably was more necessary here.

Zipp was just enjoying the feeling of being in the air, she did many tricks that she developed while simply gliding but was now actually using them in a proper flight. She couldn’t have imagined she would be doing this with the lack of hindlegs. Though she knows she can disconnect her tail just as Starlight did..As for now, she finds it fun to sort of draw loops with her new genie tail.

Izzy just squee’s in happiness. She created an empty canvas around her and started using her magic to create more at once then she ever could before. Glitter, Macaroni art, paint, everything an arts and crafts pony would imaginably have.

Sunny just looks around astounded at her and the rest of her friend’s forms. She also notices that her vessel seems to have lit up. She sees that her release has activated its glow and her cutie mark now spreads all around it. She also takes a look at the three wooden ponies on the carousel. It was there for a little while but she hadn’t truly noticed it as she had been too focused on meeting Starlight and then trying to run from the lamp’s suction. She smiles seeing the three ponies who were now genies, it was like a preview of what was soon to spread all over this world. “This… this is fantastic, Starlight! I love everything about this! And you say we’re really going to share this with every pony else?!”

Starlight nods happily “Of course, Sunny! While I did lie to you before, I was fully telling you the truth about what I have in store for the world~.”

Hitch in the meantime was still basking in his transformation. “Wow… that felt like my last trip to the massage parlor… but 10x better!” Though as Hitch finally begins to note some things, she looks at herself and notices… “….WHAT THE BUCK?! Starlight! Why am I still a mare?! I thought you heard my wish!”

Starlight giggled. “Oh I did… I just chose to ignore it~ or... perhaps… I just nixed one word from your wish. Instead of changing you back. It became ‘I wish you’d change me’ and change you I did! Haha!””

Hitch growls, but then another realization dawns on him. “Haha… hahahaha.. HAHAHAHAHA! You fools! You have given me equal power with you girls! I can put you all under arrest with the power you gave me!”

Starlight raises an eyebrow “Are you sure about that?~ It's 5 against 1… and need I remind you that one of those 5 being me… a genie with more than 5000 years of experience…”

“Yeah, officer… You’re kind of outnumbered on this one…” Zipp bluntly told her.

“Also, Hitch… as you are a genie now… you could simply just turn into your stallion self again if you really insist on it…” Pipp reminded

“Oh, that’s right!” Hitch goes ahead and poof himself to be a stallion. “Hehe, now I’m back to myse-“ But he notices that he still has the rather feminine looking veil and leggings on him. “Oh heck… now this just looks embarrassing!” He grumbles and crosses his hooves as he turns himself back into her mare form. “Ugh… I’ll at least admit… I kinda look good as a mare… those accessories would just have me laughed off by Sprout if I came back as a stallion like that…”

“But he wouldn’t be laughing any more as soon as you genify him, isn’t that right?” Sunny suggested with a smug smile.

Hitch thinks for a good moment and soon grins “Hmm, that is a good point. Heh, that might actually be sort of… fun”

“And one more thing, how would you like a name for your new mare self? You don’t have to of course, but if you’re averse to wearing feminine clothes while you’re a stallion. Maybe you’ll want a new name to associate your mare self with.” Starlight offered

“Oh gosh… I guess that’d be a good idea too… but I’m no good with this kind of creative stuff. What would be a fitting mare name for me?” Hitch turns to the other mares. And the most creative out of them raises her hoof.

“Oooo ooo ooo! Instead of Hitch Trailblazer… you could be… HARNESS PATHFINDER!” Izzy beams a grin

The mare that was once Hitch thinks on that for a moment, and smiles. “I guess that’ll do! Sheriff Harness it is!” She puts her hooves on her hips, raising her nose in the air making a proud pose.

With their genifications settled, Starlight gives them some time to talk things over and do some magic tricks with their newfound magic. Before she approaches the group as their discussion settles down. “Now that you’re basking is winding down… how do you girls feel about beginning our spread to the world~. We could even split into our respective pony races and we’ll then come together again once a good majority of each population have become genies like us! The pegasi Princesses spread this to the city above us, Sunny and Harness go back to their hometown, and I’ll go with Izzy to see what has become of the unicorns of this world.

“Ooo ooo ooooooooo! This will be great! I can’t wait to show you the mystical forest of Bridlewood and all the trees and crystals you can shake a stick at!” Izzy grabs Starlight for a hug and spins around as she still floats in the air. Starlight becomes dizzy after being let, go but she recovers and then giggles. “I’m sure it will be a great time, Izzy. Anything I should know before we go?”

“Ah yes of course… you’ll need to know… the unicorns have become quite superstitious. They instantly go say this 'Bing bong' chime whenever a cursed word is said” Izzy warns

“Oh really… can you give me one of those words?” Starlight curiously asked

“Mayonnaise is one of them” Izzy says, barely skipping a beat.

Starlight reacts in confusion “What? Why is Mayonnaise a curse word?”

Izzy shrugged “I don’t know! It just is!”

“Well… I guess to be fair, I’m not exactly a fan of mustard myself…” Starlight admits

“Huh! Is it just a unicorn thing to dislike some sort of common condiment and/or food topping even back then?” Izzy wonders

Sunny giggles “That might actually be a thing! I’ve heard rumors of Twilight not being a fan of foods with too much cheese!”

“WHAAAAAAAAT! How could Twilight dislike having MORE cheese! The cheesier the better I say!” Izzy protested

The entire group just erupts in laughter. Soon things settle down enough though for both the Pegasi and the Earth ponies to respond to the idea of Starlight’s plan. “Sure, me and Harness will go to genify every pony in Maretime Bay.”

Zipp nods “And me and my sister will get every pony here in Zephyr Heights”

“Ooooh~ I can’t wait to fulfill all my darling Pippsqueak’s wishes! Especially ones that will genify them… mua ha ha ha!” Pipp beamed a devilish grin.

Starlight is delighted to have these ponies from a future far from her own time listen to her. It’ll take time for her to get used to this world, but she’ll soon have what she’s waited so long for… Geniequality for all.

Though as they all split up, Starlight thinks to herself one more time.

(“If you are still out there somewhere, Twilight… I WILL find you… and you WILL find out what it’s like to be isolated for 5,000 years!”)

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