Arkraiththeepicbrony - I wish I had time to answer all of your reviews separately and in detail, but unfortunately, life doesn't often grant me that luxury, so I'll answer the highlights here: I'm glad you're enjoying everything so far, I don't use a beta reader, and yes, everyone (at least so far) has naturally-flavored lips... and other body parts.

PBJFanFiction - Yeah, just a wee bit. Lol I'm always getting better. ;)

mlp brony fifer - Hmm... you're actually the first person to point that out. Thanks for that, I'll go back and fix it as soon as I have a chance.

TurnupGrain43 - Lol it's entirely possible that they will... and yes, she's been waiting far too long for that particular 'candy'.

KillerBeast1998 - I know I am. Lol Just kidding ;) I know I've got a lot of room for improvement.

centaurus2 - Well now you know :P

DragonLovingBrony (Ch93) - Right? I've always pictured Twilight as a more gentle and loving lover than most of the others.

DragonLovingBrony (Ch92) - Oh, I know, all too well... At least it's over... for now... (Dun Dun Duuun)

coldshadow 92 - Lol I know, I'm terrible about that :P

ShadowfireAngel - Can you really blame her after something like that? Especially after he attacked Blake the last time.

PyraohXBlaze - Thanks :D And don't worry; We'll be learning plenty more about Shimmer as time goes on.

The Ten Ton Hammer - Lol right?

shadows being - Lots and lots of it.

DarkSpider 11 - Sure, I can do that. I'll try to go back and amend older chapters too so that they have the same thing. When I have time, that is...

Zero the Warrior of Chaos - Lol maybe you should read it more often :P And you're about to find out what I have planned for the new year ;) (At least in part)

Mikalzilla - I know, right? Poor Twi's been patient as a saint about it too.

Kyguy - Lemony, yet sweet... like good lemonade :D

A/N - Howdy everypony! Sorry for the late update, I've been out of state visiting family for a belated Christmas, and only just got back in last night. Needless to say, after over 4 hours of driving, I was exhausted and in no mood to do much of anything. I'm back in business now though, and hopefully everything will be running again smoothly soon enough. As always, don't forget to follow/favorite, review, and most importantly; enjoy!

I once again woke up in my dreaming state and found myself in an open meadow. Since I recognized the place, I immediately turned around and came face-to-face with another familiar sight. "Oh come on! What's happening now?" I asked with a groan.

Starswirl grinned and chuckled at my apparent lack of enthusiasm. "Oh, don't worry, I'm not here for that… I'm just here to talk with you more about what I was telling you last time."

My stance relaxed somewhat, and I regarded the wizened stallion. "Ok, so shoot; what's wrong with Twilight?"

He shook his head, causing the bells on his hat to jingle. "Technically nothing; it's the being that's co-habitating her body that's in trouble."

I paused as those words registered in my mind. "Wait… what do you mean 'co-habitating'? You mean like a parasite or something?"

He shook his head again. "No. This being is no mere mindless animal; in fact, I believe you humans have a word for what it is… Let me see if I can remember." He placed a hoof to his chin in thought. "Ah! I remember now; the being is called a 'succubus' in your language."

I reeled back in surprise. "And you're only telling me this now?! Do you have any idea how dangerous succubi are?!"

The aged stallion waved a hoof dismissively. "Oh relax; if she was really a danger, I would have told you about it before now. The reason I'm here isn't for Twilight's safety, she's in no danger at all; my concern is for the succubus's well-being."

I gave a small sigh of relief, and crossed my arms in front of my chest. "Ok, I'm listening… But this had better be good, I don't exactly feel comfortable with the idea of something like that possessing Twilight."

"No, no, no; not possessing, merely co-habitating. Think of it like this; If Twilight's body were a house, and their souls were the occupants, then the two would merely be roommates." He paused for a moment to let the analogy sink in with me. "Well, this roommate isn't doing so hot; she needs food desperately, but she can't leave the house to get any, and her roommate doesn't even know she's there, so she can't help the poor thing get anything to eat."

"So… she's not dangerous?" The bells jingled as he once again shook his head. I still wasn't convinced, but I had come to trust this stallion. "Okay… so what can I do? Somehow I doubt even my magic could help with something like that. And even if it could, I wouldn't know where to start."

Starswirl took a step towards me, a serious look in his eye. "If you want to save her… and she is dying, mind you… you'll need to use your healing magic to undo some of the magic that brought you into this world." He seemed to notice my shocked expression, and held up a hoof before I could say anything. "It won't harm you; once your soul entered your body, that magic became superfluous, but there will be side-effects."

I was silent for a moment as I thought about the prospect of something like that. "What kind of side-effects?" I asked after some time.

He let out a slow, quiet sigh. "That depends on how you go about this; right now, that magic sustains your ability to speak Equestrian, your immunity to poison, and your body's ability to live on an Equestrian diet. To allow the succubus inhabiting Twilight to feed from you, and therefore live, you'll need to remove some of this magic from your life-force so she can have access to it. Each of those things is supported by its own, separate magic stream, so severing one will only remove that particular attribute from you."

I was silent for another long moment as I considered his words carefully. "I… I guess I could live without the poison immunity…" I didn't say anything for nearly a minute as I took the time to truly evaluate the gravity of the situation; Starswirl said that this being wasn't a danger to anyone, and he had yet to lead me astray, so I was inclined to believe him, though the thought of the consciousness of another being inhabiting my marefriend's body alongside her own disturbed me. "Ok, I'm willing to help her out. I'll need to talk to Twilight about this first though; this is her body we're talking about after all." I said after a long sigh.

Starswirl nodded. "Very well… If you'd like, I can speak to Luna and ask her to bring the three of you together here; it would be breaking just about every rule in the book, but saving the last of a dying race is something I consider to be worth the risk."

I was silent for yet another long moment. "Can Luna even bring the succubus here? I mean, I know she can link the dreams of other ponies, but I have no idea if her power would include something like a disembodied spirit… at least, that's what I'm assuming this is."

The old stallion nodded. "Perceptive as always; she is indeed a disembodied entity, though not quite a 'spirit', and this fact would normally mean that such a feat as bringing her into a dream-state would be all but impossible for Luna, but I believe I can help her. I should warn you though; after we've accomplished this, I won't be back… perhaps never again, depending on how this goes."

I nodded. "I agree with you on this one; I think the risk is worth it to save a life. Before you go though, I have to ask; why only tell me about this now?"

The wizened old stallion was silent for a moment. "The answer to that is two-fold; firstly, I couldn't simply come to you again straightaway, I would have been discovered and we never would have had the chance to speak again. The second reason is that I needed time for my magic to recover so that I could cast this spell again; being dead doesn't completely negate my magic, but I have to consciously will it to restore itself, a feat not many unicorns in the afterlife can accomplish, and even fewer can use it to influence the living world. Needless to say, maintaining focus for days on end, even without a corporeal body, is rather stressful. Fortunately, Nightmare Night, like your Halloween, exhibits certain supernatural properties that allow spirits easier access to the living world, which made this meeting all the easier. Now, we shouldn't delay any longer; the longer we wait, the greater the chance that one or more of you will wake up before we're ready."

I nodded to him. "Can you have Luna bring the succubus here first? I want a chance to talk to her before Twilight gets here."

He regarded me with a smile. "That's a splendid idea; that will make it easier for you to understand her plight, I think." Without another word, his horn lit, and he disappeared in a flash of white light.

I had no idea how long I waited before three more flashes appeared, two of which dissipating into the forms of ponies, while the third dissipated into a more humanoid shape. When the light faded, I was faced with Starswirl, Luna, and what appeared to be a human woman. "Sorry Blake, Luna wanted to talk to you before she brought Twilight into this." Starswirl said as he took a step towards me.

"Indeed. I must ask you; do you really think this is wise? I mean, a rogue changeling is one thing, but we know nothing of this being."

Before she could say anything else, I looked to what was undoubtedly the succubus. "You know, she's right there beside you, Lulu, you probably shouldn't talk like she's not there."

Luna looked to her left and regarded the succubus as though she'd forgotten she was there. "My apologies; I am used to being able to feel the presences of other beings in a dream-scape, but I can't feel yours… or Starswirl's for that matter."

The succubus waved a hand dismissively. "Please, don't worry about it." Her voice was oddly relaxing, almost like she was singing softly rather than talking. "I'm just glad that someone is willing to hear my plight… or that they're even capable of hearing it… It's been so long since I've been able to make contact with anyone I've sought help from…"

While she was speaking, I took a moment to get a good look at her; her skin was completely flawless, as smooth as silk, and lightly tanned, like someone who enjoyed being outdoors in the sun, but didn't actually sunbathe. Her fiery red hair swept down her shoulders to her mid-back, while at the same time framing her ice-blue eyes and hauntingly beautiful face. Her body was barely covered at all, leaving little of her well-toned and beautifully curved body to the imagination; she was being covered by what was little more than a skimpy, bikini-like ensemble that seemed to be made out of a combination of leather and silvery metal. All-in-all, she looked more like an otherworldly beautiful cosplayer than she did a dangerous demonic being.

I turned back to Luna when the succubus was finished speaking. "I'm not sure yet, that's why I asked you to bring her here first; I want to talk to her before anything gets decided." I turned my attention to the strikingly beautiful woman. "If nothing else, I want to know what you want."

Her eyes went wide for a split second, as if she hadn't expected me to say that, and she nodded slightly. "Such kindness…" She breathed quietly. "I suppose I owe you my name, at least; I am… or was called 'Aerith', though it's been more years than I can count since someone else has called me by my own name."

Luna regarded Aerith with a newfound curiosity. "A beautiful name. I must admit; I am also curious as to what it is you want from us."

Aerith sighed heavily, and wrapped her arms around herself, as though she were hugging herself softly. "I… I just want to live…" She spoke softly, her tone speaking of frustration and sadness even through the strange singsong nature of her voice. "You wouldn't think that that's so much to ask, but… its beginning to seem like I'm not allowed to have even that simple request…" Her voice sounded close to breaking by the time she finished, and I wanted to step forward and wrap my arms around her.

Surprisingly enough, Luna actually beat me to the punch, rearing up and wrapping her forehooves and wings around the distraught being in front of us. "Shh… worry not my dear; Blake and I are willing to help you through this ordeal… though we must also speak to the pony whose body you are currently sharing and ask if she wishes to allow you to stay."

Aerith nodded into Luna's shoulder. "I understand. And, thank you, for believing me."

Luna pulled back from the hug and hopped back down onto her hooves. "Not at all; Starswirl has crafted this dreamscape so that no lies may be spoken, and I have verified that this is the case, so I know without a shadow of doubt that you've spoken truly."

Aerith nodded gratefully and turned to me. "I must thank you too… I know how your kind views mine… and for many of us, that depiction would have been accurate, but we were not all heartless life-drinkers." The way she said the word spoke volumes of her disdain for much of her own species.

Starswirl nodded. "Quite; it's true that succubi require the life-force of another being to survive, but many detested their own food source, and found other means of attaining sustenance, or even refused to eat at all until they had nearly starved themselves to death." He looked to the beautiful woman next to Luna. "Aerith here has been inhabiting Twilight since before you left the Kokello camp, and she hasn't once tried to force her to be intimate with you, even though she's literally starving to death."

Starswirl's words shocked me. "But… why would you do that?"

She shook her head softly. "Because she loves you, deeply, and it would be wrong of me to interfere like that, even to save myself…" She looked me in the eye before speaking again. "When you found her in the library earlier this week, and what happened between you last night… those are her true feelings for you; I played no active part in that."

I was dumbstruck; this poor being was literally dying a horrible death, yet she refused to coax Twilight into being intimate with me so that she could have what she so desperately needed. A heartbreaking thought suddenly came to me. "Wait… Twilight and I were just intimate last night, so…"

She nodded, and surprisingly enough, coming from a being like a succubus, tears began to flow. "Yes… your life-force was there… I-It was right there… but I couldn't feed from it… not even if I'd wanted to…" She wrapped herself in her arms as she continued to cry.

Her stomach growled fiercely as she wept, and the realization truly hit me; she had had food right there in front of her, literally within her grasp, but she physically couldn't feed from it. It would have been like hiding a sandwich from a starving man behind a locked cage The situation must have been nothing short of torture. I walked up and wrapped her in a hug of my own. "I'm sorry… I didn't know… but, it's like Luna said; we're all here to help you now."

She wrapped her arms around me, and continued to weep into my shoulder, though her tone changed slightly. "Th… thank you…" It was a simple statement, but I could feel the sincerity in her words.

I rubbed her back comfortingly for some time, until her tears slowed, and eventually ceased. It was then that I was compelled to ask something that had been on my mind since I had first met her. "If things are so bad for you… why haven't you tried to communicate with us, to let us know you were there and in trouble?"

She pulled back from the hug, new tears streaming from her ice-blue eyes. "I tried… I really did, but… I just couldn't… it was like something was blocking me."

"I believe I can answer that question." We all turned to Starswirl as he spoke. "The short answer is that pony magic interferes with her own magic. The long answer… well, the long answer is simply too long at this point, I'm afraid."

I nodded to him, remembering that we were on a time-crunch, and then turned to Luna. "Alright. I think it's about time we brought Twilight here, though you might want to give her a heads-up on what's going on first."

She nodded to me and her horn lit up. "A good idea; we wouldn't want her trotting into something like this blind, after all." With a flash of white light, she disappeared.

We waited for what felt like several minutes, and I could see the apprehension in Aerith's eyes as the moment of truth approached. I couldn't blame her though; Twilight's decision could very well spell her Doom, though if she knew Twilight like I did, she would know she had little to fear about that.

Suddenly, Starswirl turned to us. "I should probably leave now, before Twilight arrives." He chuckled and winked at me. "You and I both know just how curious that mare can be, and if I'm here when she gets here, I'm afraid we won't be able to get her to take her focus off of me long enough to help Aerith."

I nodded with a sigh. "Yeah… you're probably right." Without another word, merely a nod to each of us, the wizened old stallion disappeared in a flash of white light.

Soon enough, another pair of flashes appeared, dissipating to reveal Twilight and Luna standing before us. Twilight stepped forward, towards Aerith. "I'm sorry for what's happened to you…" She started before pausing. "Luna told me what you've been through, and I want to help, but I'm not sure I'm comfortable with you living in my body like that…"

Aerith nodded solemnly. "I… I understand… I know it's too much to ask, but please, at least consider it… I...I don't want to die…" Aerith's voice still carried that sing-song tone to it, but it was sad, almost defeated, and it was utterly heartbreaking.

Twilight looked to me, wide-eyed. "Is… is it really that bad?"

Before I could say a word, Aerith's stomach growled violently, even moreso than before, and she clutched at her abdomen as she dropped to her knees, and then to her side, face a twisted mask of pain. The only sound the poor succubus could make were agonized groans and gurgles, and I could see a shift in Twilight's eyes as she watched.

Twilight walked over to the suffering woman and rested a hoof on her shoulder. "A-alright… I'll do it… I can't just sit here and watch you suffer like this… please, just tell me what I need to do."

A moment passed, and the agonized sounds died off, replaced by ragged breathing. "You… thank you… All I need… is for you… to be intimate… with him…" Her breathing calmed slightly as she spoke, but it was obvious she was still in considerable pain.

Twilight looked first to Luna, then to me. I could see the wheels turning in her head as she looked between us. "Wait… doesn't she need to feed on your life-force in order to live? Won't that kill you?" I was dumbstruck; how had such a simple, yet vital concern never crossed my mind?

Aerith coughed, and rose to her feet. "N-no… I only need a small amount, perhaps a week of his own life to sustain mine for a month. With his long lifespan, he would hardly even notice that I was there at all."

Luna stepped forward. "And once he receives the second infusion of my blood, he will become truly immortal, and it will no longer matter how much Aerith feeds from him." She shuddered at her own mention of the word 'feed'. "That concept is going to take some getting used to…"

Twilight was silent for a long moment, and I was starting to think she was having second thoughts, but she eventually nodded and smiled at Aerith. "Alright, let's do it!" She looked to me and giggled. "I was hoping to surprise you when you woke up, but I don't think you'll mind either way."

I chuckled and smirked at her. "Nope, not one bit. Though I do need to do something first, otherwise Aerith won't be able to feed from me like she needs to."

Luna nodded. "Yes, that is a very important step. Though, which attribute will you choose to relinquish?"

I didn't hesitate in my response, having already made my decision. "Simple, the poison immunity; it's the least vital of all of them, and I can always find other ways to protect myself. I've only been doing it for the past thirty years or so, after all."

Luna nodded, and her horn lit. "As good a choice as any, I suppose. Now, let me awaken the two of you that you may do what you need to. I'll make sure you're undisturbed for the time being." I watched as she faded away, followed quickly by Twilight.

Aerith walked up to me as I felt the familiar tug of my own body awakening. Before my unconscious mind left the Dream Realm, she wrapped her arms around me in a tender embrace. "Thank you… even if this doesn't work… thank you for trying to help me…"

The next thing I knew, I was staring up at the ceiling of the guest bedroom, a familiar weight resting on my chest. "Blake… did… did we really just agree to that?" Twilight's voice asked from next to me.

I sighed, and wrapped an arm around her. "Yeah… yeah, we did Twi." I shifted and looked down at her. "Do you regret it?"

She looked into my eyes for a moment, then looked away. "N-no… at least, I don't think so…" She let out a long sigh. "But, even if I did, that poor mare doesn't have time for me to worry about it… you saw how much pain she was in…"

I nodded, and sat up, carrying her gently with me. "I did… and that means we should get started." I closed my eyes, and looked inside myself for my familiar magic streams.

Once I found what I was looking for, I began searching for the ones Starswirl had mentioned, the ones that were surrounding my own life-force. Soon enough, I came across an unfamiliar sensation, a feeling I never would have found if I hadn't been actively looking for it; three tendrils of magic, magic that was obviously not my own, surrounding a fourth stream, a stream that looked and felt like nothing like I'd encountered before, but was very obviously my own. "This must be it…" I mumbled. "Now… how to tell which one is the right one…"

I reached out with my mind and tugged on one of the strands surrounding my life-force, and felt a strange pinging sensation in my mind. "That is what allows you to live on the same diet as your pony friends." Falathiel's sudden voice was startling, but that quickly faded into gratitude as I realized she wouldn't let me sever the wrong magic stream. "Don't worry, I am aware of what's happening, and I'm here to help you." I felt a new confidence in my actions at knowing I wasn't alone in this endeavor.

It took a few more tries to find the correct magical stream; even though there were only three, each stream felt identical to the last, and was hard to tell apart from one I had already connected with. Eventually, I got fed up with trying to do them individually and grabbed two at a time, with the second one fortunately being the one I had been looking for.

Once I had found the magic stream I had been looking for, a new problem arose; how to actually sever it. I had never even thought something like that was possible, let alone thought about actually doing it. After examining the alien magic, I had at first thought about finding a way to cap it off, like closing a valve on a hose, but Falathiel was quick to inform me that that was impossible; even if I could find a way to do it, the magic would continue to build up behind the blockage until it ultimately became too much for my body to handle and destroyed me.

With that option obviously not available, I continued to feel around for others. Eventually, I realized that the magic didn't have one particular source; it entered my body from the outside, seemingly absorbed through every square inch of my flesh, then coalesced into the coherent stream I had been working with.

With that thought in mind, I began looking for ways to block off the flow of magic entirely, but the only solutions I could come up with involved magics that required constant focus to maintain, and I had no idea what would happen if I lost that focus.

Frustrated, I relinquished some of my focus, bringing my mind partially back into the conscious realm, and cleared my throat. "Ok… so I seem to be having some trouble here, Twi; I've found the proper magic stream, but I have no idea how to actually sever it." I explained to her exactly what I had encountered and what I had already thought of to staunch the flow.

My well-studied marefriend was quiet for a time, before finally speaking up. "Well, have you tried applying Starswirl's Third Law of Magic? 'Magical energy can neither be created nor destroyed, only its form can change'."

"So… what you're saying is; I just need to find another outlet for this thing?"

I felt her nod against my chest. "Sounds logical enough to me."

It was then that another idea popped into my head. "Wait… if that's true, then wouldn't that mean that the stream that's inside my body is acting like a siphon, drawing in latent magic from my surroundings to power it?"

I felt Twilight facehoof. "Of course! Why didn't I think of that?! All you should have to do is use some of your own magic to push the stream back to its origin point and then out of your body from there, that should stop the flow entirely."

I resumed my focus, and did as she suggested, using both of my own magical streams to try to push the unwanted stream back to its source. The resistance of the magic I was pushing against seemed to be almost too much, and I was about to give up on the approach when I remembered Starswirl urging me to focus on advancing my healing magic.

With that thought in mind, I altered my innate flow, changing it into healing energy as Cadance had taught me, and felt it quickly envelop the external stream I had been struggling so hard against, pushing it back as if it was hardly there at all and removing it from my body. The whole process reminded me of an antibody fighting off a foreign organism. I released the magic once I was sure it had done its job, and waited; no matter how much time passed, the stream did not return.

I released my focus again, and opened my eyes, looking down to the worried mare clinging to me. I smiled warmly at her, and gave her a deep kiss, a kiss that led to so much more for the purple unicorn and I, including the salvation of a certain spirit that now resided within her.