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The following is a work of fiction copyright Radical Gopher. This story contains adult themes and situations and should not be read by anyone under the age of 18. I have rewritten and added additional material to this part as I felt the first version was a little short. Enjoy

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THYME AFTER TIME - part 09 (Redux)

"HOLD STILL... DAMN YOU!" Sherman cursed as he fired yet another blast at the Professor. The twin bolts of energy struck the techno-mage square in the chest, but instead of flying back against the wall, the image merely blurred, faded out and reappeared on the far side of the room.

"I KNOW YOU'RE NOT TELEPORTING. I CAN'T DETECT ANY RESIDUAL ENERGY TRAIL," the computer's simulacrum said, whirling to face his opponent again. "YOU MUST BE USING YOUR SPELLS TO SLIDE BETWEEN DIMENSIONS."

The Professor laughed, "Your tendency to assume instead of using hard fact isn't very becoming for an A.I. of your caliber. Combine that with your lack of understanding of magic and it's a fair bet you won't win this duel."

"I DON'T NEED TO WIN," Sherman replied. "ALL I NEED DO IS WEAR YOU DOWN. DESPITE YOUR SKILL YOU ARE VERY MUCH A HUMAN; A CREATURE OF FLESH THAT CANNOT CHANNEL YOUR ENERGIES INDEFINATELY. YOU WILL TIRE, AND THEN I WILL BE VICTORIOUS."

Sherman fired once more. This time however the Professor raised his wand. "Occulus Reflecto!" Instantly, the inside of Sherman's glasses transformed into a pair of mirrored lenses, the reflective surfaces of which were against his eyes. The simulacrum was blown back across the room, smashing head first into a nearby console. His glasses dropped to the floor reverting to normal. It took him a moment or two to get unstuck. Standing, he whirled angrily on the Professor.

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! THIS IS NOT HOW THINGS ARE GOING DOWN! YOU'RE PLAYING IN MY BACKYARD NOW! I SET THE RULES..."

Sherman felt a light tap on his shoulder. Turning, he came face to face with a fully recovered Cymbalaria.

"Now, now... this is no way to behave towards guests."

He sneered at the android pony. "WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT? I'VE BEEN IN YOUR HEAD. YOUR PROGRAMING WON'T ALLOW YOU TO HARM A HUMANOOOOIIIIIDDDDD!"

Cymbalaria's kick to Sherman's crotch launched him across the room in a ballistic arc that missed the ceiling by mere inches. He crashed to the floor, punching a hole in it as he fell into the next level.

"Simulacrums and lawyers don't count!" she retorted matter-of-factly.

The Professor quickly joined her. "You okay?" he asked with some concern.

"Perfectly," the android pony responded. "I had to reboot my auto-repair system but once I had that going the rest of my damage was easily corrected." She cautiously peered over the edge of the hole. "I can't detect him down there... You don't suppose I knocked him off-line?"

"One can hope," the Professor responded, "but I'd be careful all the same... LOOK OUT!"

A huge arch of energy erupted suddenly from below; blowing Cymbalaria off her hooves and pushing the Professor back several feet even as he threw up a shield. The android pony pulled herself up and looked just as a massive, robotic hand appeared at the edge of the hole. This was followed by an equally large torso, which was attached to a kind of mini-tank complete with treads. The head of the behemoth was a clear dome within which sat Sherman.

"A robotank?" taunted Cymbalaria. "That is so retro it just.... wrong. Why not come up with something original, say a giant space-spider, or better yet a good old fashion death-ray? This is pitiful."

"I'LL SHOW YOU PITIFUL," Sherman yelled as he drove his fist at the android pony attempting to pound her into the floor. Instead of dodging however, she deflected the blow, knocking it to one side before ignited the rockets in her hooves. Upward she zoomed, executing a combination outside loop and back flip as she reached the apex of her flight. She dove on Sherman, firing twin bolts of plasma-energy from her wrist mounted launchers. They struck the robot dead center, rolling him back to the edge of the hole.

"OKAY," the simulacrum said. "YOU WANT TO GO NUTS... LET'S TAKE THIS OUTSIDE!" He held up a small sphere, which in his giant robot hand looked to be no bigger than a pea. He flicked it at Cymbalaria, striking her in the forehead. A disc suddenly opened directly in front of her and she flew in, unable to break in time. Laughing, Sherman launched his robotank through the other side of the portal. An instant before making contact, the dome popped open and he bailed out of the machine.

"LET'S SEE HOW YOU HANDLE MY TOY ON FULL DEATH MODE," he laughed. Both it and the android pony vanished with a small pop.

Holding onto both his wand and carpetbag, the Professor uttered a hurried spell

before leaping in after them. He landed hard; staggering, and then falling forward. He instinctively tucked in and turned the fall into a roll. In seconds he was back on his feet as long, unused skills pushed their way into the forefront of his mind.

The Professor looked around him. He was alone in what looked like a pine forest, untouched by anything more than nature's own hand. Neither Cymbalaria nor Sherman was anywhere to be seen, nor was the portal. He held the wand aloft. "Equi Machinam." A beam leapt out from the wand's tip, pointing to his left. It pulsed seven times, indicating a distance of seven leagues.

Pocketing the wand, the Professor opened up his carpetbag and removed a leather strap, a skullcap with goggles and what looked like a witch's broom with a concentric ring of five small rocket motors mounted around its straw head. He donned the skullcap then attached the straps to clips at either end of his carpetbag, slinging it over his shoulder like a knapsack. He quickly straddled the broom.

"Ad caelum usque," he muttered. The broom lifted from the ground clearing the trees within moments. A pair of foot pedals snapped outward from the broom shaft. Bracing his feet against them, the Professor pulled his goggles into place; turned the broom in the direction the beam had pointed, gripped it tightly, and then tapped the left pedal firmly. The rockets ignited with a roar and within seconds he and the broom were out of sight.

* * * *

"Okay... What exactly do we do now?" asked Clover.

"That's easy," Cinnamon responded, "we try to find Cymbalaria and pummel Sherman before he causes any more mayhem."

"Better still," offered Rekooh, "we head for the control room. Once there I can access the ship's mainframe, get Sherman under control again and find out where your friend's gotten to."

Cassia looked over at both Cyanide and the other ponies before turning her attention back to the Prefect. "We really don't know how far we can trust you," she observed. "What's to keep you from springing some kind of trap on us?"

The copper-skinned alien's eyebrows twisted skeptically for a moment. "I would think it's more a matter of my trusting you... Especially since your hybrid boyfriend there is carrying a cosmic multi-tool."

Cyanide looked down at the strange rod. "You mean this remote controller?"

"It's a lot more than just that," she replied. "If you want proof you can trust me, then you keep it. Just don't play around with the master setting dial."

The chimera looked down at the control rod and for the first time noticed there were a series of symbols encircling the base. There was also a single, white dot positioned above one of the symbols. Curious, Cyanide tried twisting the base. It wouldn't budge.

"Alright," replied Cassia. "I suppose we can trust you. What do you suggest?"

Rekooh looked around at the collies lying scattered across the deck. "First, we should gather up the girls and lock them in their rejuvenation chambers. That way, they can't be used against us. Then we access the mainframe so I can figure out how much of my ship's systems have been corrupted. We can build a strategy around what we find there."

Cyanide was only half-listening as he continued to examine the rod. Curiosity, a trait he shared with the Professor, had grabbed hold and he was determined to figure this thing out. Perhaps there was some kind of safety lock, like a childproof cap on a bottle of aspirin. He gently tugged on the dial, pulling it away from the base. He was rewarded with a soft snap and the dial began to move freely, one click at a time.

"Okay," Cassia said turning toward Clover. "You go on back through the portal and bring Mora and that German collie..."

"Heidi," Rekooh corrected her.

"Alright, Mora and Heidi back here. We'll start putting these others in their sleep chambers."

"On it," the blue-furred mare replied. She vanished in a burst of speed through the first monolith, returning an instant later carrying two unconscious forms. Rekooh and the other ponies begin picking up the collies lying around the room. The only one who didn't move was Cyanide, focused as he was on the cosmic multi-tool.

Counting off four clicks to the left, Cyanide pushed the control rod's base back into position.

"Hey, horn-dog," Cinnamon called, "a little help here?"

The chimera looked up. As he did, the heel of his hand accidentally brushed against the lowest button. A sudden burst of light filled the chamber. Everyone turned towards Cyanide, their mouths opened in shock.

"How many times do I have to say it?" the naked female chimera pouted. "Don't call me Horn-Dog!"

Cyanide noticed the way the other ponies were staring at her. "What's wrong," she asked as she looked down at herself. All she could see were a large pair of black and white-furred breasts. One hand instinctively reached for her crotch. What she didn't feel there caused her to panic and scream in a decidedly feminine voice.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!! I'MAGIRLI'MAGIRLI'MAGIRLI'MAGIRLI'MAGIRL!"

Rekooh calmly strolled over to Cyanide and took the cosmic multi-tool from her hand. "I told you not to play around with this," she chided her. The copper-skinned alien examined the device's settings.

The other girls quickly gathered around the chimera who appeared to be in shock and on the verge of breaking out in tears.

"You know" said Clover, trying to be encouraging, "for a girl, you look really attractive."

"Um, yeah," agreed Cassia, searching for a compliment. "I like your white mane. It goes all the way down to your tail and contrasts your black fur perfectly."

"Hey!" grumbled Cinnamon. "How come your tits and ass are plusher than mine?"

That did it

"Whaaaaaaa!" Cyanide sobbed. "I don't want to be a girl."

"Oh for Rho's sake! Would you please get a grip and quit whining?" Rekooh ordered. "It's not as bad as you think."

"It's not?" sniffled the chimera lass.

"No, its not," the Prefect said. Now, do you want the good news first or the bad new?

Cyanide hesitated for a moment. "Uh... The good news?"

"Alright. The good news is you didn't activate the genetic scrambler. If you had the change would be permanent. What you did do was temporarily switch bodies with an alternate dimension version of yourself. Your mind remained in this dimension and your parallel self's remained in hers, but your bodies flip-flopped."

"So right now there's a female version of him going through the same trauma in some other dimension?" asked Cassia.

"Undoubtedly," Rekooh said, "though the fact you're naked might indicate she was in bed, asleep when the switch occurred."

"Or in the middle of having sex with someone," Cinnamon offered.

"That's an unsettling thought," muttered the alien. "We're so glad you decided to share it."

"Maybe that's why I feel so lightheaded and confused," sniffed Cyanide, trying to analyze the situation for herself.

"Well, undoubtedly your 'male' brain patterns are having a hard time dealing with a body loaded with estrogen, but that's not the only reason; or maybe it is."

"What do you mean?"

Rekooh sighed. "Well, the good news is your change is temporary, you will automatically revert in about fourteen point one, seven hours. The bad news is you're in the middle of your heat cycle."

"Why would that be bad news?" asked Cinnamon. Both Clover and Cassia bopped her on the back of the head.

They all looked at Cyanide who had unconsciously crossed his legs and arms in an attempt to be modest. The inside of his ears were blushing. "So... what should I, er, you know... expect to happen?"

Rekooh looked at Cassia and shrugged. "You can explain it to him better than I."

The pink-furred pegasus sighed and took the chimera-girl aside while the others began retrieving the deputy dogs and putting them in their hibernation chambers. "Ever have a niacin flush before?

"Yeah, when the Professor first put us on those equine vitamins last year, but I got use to it, Cyanide answered."

"Well, this is a lot like that, Cassia explained, only more intense, especially around certain parts of your body."

"Do you feel this all the time?"

"Yes and no," Cassia admitted, "It tends to come in waves, which fade, but never completely go away. You also might feel a slight fever, not enough to put you down, but strong enough to make you feel like you're on the verge of coming down with something."

"Wonderful," muttered Cyanide. "That's probably why I feel so out of sorts right now. So how do I deal with this?"

"Well, you can either bull your way through it for the next several hours until you get your body back, or you can find some young stud to relieve your more intense symptoms..."

"Ugh! I may be stuck in a female body, but my mind is still wired like a guy! I don't think I'm inclined that way.".

"Well," said Cassia, "there's always the four-fingered cure."

Cyanide shook her head. "I don't think we have time for anything like that right now. I guess I'm just going to have to focus on the task at hand and put up with it."

Cassia smiled and tosseled her mane. "Spoken like a true PowerPuff Pony."

Something suddenly clicked in the back of the chimera's mind. "Wait a second... Is this one of the reasons you get off on pounding bad guys so much?"

Instead of answering, the pegasus simply smiled knowingly and rejoined the others, leaving Cyanide to her newly found wisdom.

* * * *

The Professor brought the broom in low as he approached Cymbalaria's coordinates. Doing so, he hoped, would allow him to take Sherman's robo-tank by surprise. Popping up from behind the last tree line he spotted the android pony in the clearing ahead of him. She was literally ripping a new opening in the giant machine's backsides. The robot responded by backhanding her with one of its giant claws.

Cymbalaria flew cross the clearing and landed face first in the dirt, gouging a small trench in the ground with her muzzle. She leapt to her hooves and turned, dodging a boulder that had been chucked her way. Snorting, she cleared the dirt from her nostrils, crouched and then launched herself at the behemoth. Two more boulders arched across the sky, both of which she avoided with ease. She could not, however, dodge the force field that suddenly appeared between the robo-tank and herself. The android pony slammed into it and was repelled backward, but instead of crashing into the ground she somersaulted in mid-air and landed upright.

The giant robot dropped the force field and charged Cymbalaria, its tracks ripping at the earth even as its upper cylindrical torso raised its arms menacingly. The pony stood her ground. A small blue gem appeared at the base of her throat and a beam of energy scythed across an arc in front of her. Anything touched by the beam that was inorganic vaporized instantly. This included rocks, earth and the support piston connecting the robot's upper torso with its lower tank-like drive system.

The upper half of the giant machine toppled over while the lower tracked drive continued forward slamming into Cymbalaria. Bracing herself against it, she was pushed back a good twenty-five feet before its forward momentum was halted. A huge cloud of dirt and debris was kicked up, obscuring the android pony from the Professor's view. Though not as physically strong as the other ponies, Cymbalaria had the advantage of both leverage and a good set of micro hydraulics working for her. She pushed back against the tracks, slowly levering them up, inch by inch until they were poised at q tipping point. With one final shove the android sent them falling over backwards. The lower half of the robo-tank slammed into the ground in an inverted position, clawing impotently at the sky above them

The Professor landed his broom about ten feet behind Cymbalaria. "And here I was worried about you," he chuckled.

The pony girl turned to respond, but was slammed sideways by a force beam fired from the robo-tank's upper half. She crashed into a nearby tree, shattering it before hitting the ground and rolling out of sight

The Professor immediately drew his wand and waved it at the behemoth. "Destrue te!" A bolt of blue-white magic struck the robot and enveloped it. There was a loud shuttering clank as the machine raised its arms menacingly in the air, snapped its claws wildly and set about ripping itself apart. Within moments there was little left but a pile of scrap metal.

The Professor went over to where Cymbalaria silently lay. Her left leg had been torn off at the knee and her right arm separated at the shoulder. Bluish-green fluid dribbled from the arm socket.

The android pony suddenly sat up and looked around her. Seeing the Professor she smiled in a quirky sort of way. "Did we win?"

TO BE CONTINUED