The next area was much cleaner than Pinkie Pie's jungle. They were still trees all around, but now there was a wide, clear path cut through the trees meant for travelers, so unlike the loose collection of displaced dirt in the jungle.

Tali moved on to the next stretch of road. Taking a minute to look around and appreciate the serenity of the place, he went and rested his back on a nearby tree. Resting his hands on his knees, he breathed a sigh of relief at the fact he had escaped both Fluttershy and Garth for a second time, and appreciating it would be some time before Fluttershy finished with Garth and could come chase Tali down again, if she were even so inclined to risk coming after him after the misadventure she had earlier. She would probably make Garth indulge her the way she had done to Tali, and afterward, would either swallow him whole or, if a merciful whim struck her, let him and Ferdinand go with a warning to never come back.

Tali got up and ambled down the road. He put his hands around his mouth and called out for his horse.

“Talos!” Tali shouted, looking all around. “Talos!”

Tali made his way further down the path, still calling out Talos' name.

“Talos! Come here, boy!” Tali put his fingers between his teeth and whistled. But there was no reply, not from his horse, not from a Guardian, not even from a hypothetical passing bird flying overhead.

“Talos!” Tali said, losing hope the longer and further he got into the road without any sign of Talos. “You can come out now. They're gone. They're all gone.”

Tali turned around, checking to make sure he hadn't passed Talos in the event Talos was walking behind him or taking up a hiding place in the trees.

“Come on, Talos.” Tali said. “This isn't funny. Where are you? TAAALOOOOS!” He bellowed out into the vast wilderness, screaming as loud as his lungs would let him.

Yet still, there was no reply. Not by the sound of a hoof trampling on the dirt, not by the whinny of a horse, nor even by the rustle of leaves as an animal moved through him.

Tali let out a sigh. “Talos ...”

He went over to a tree and sat down, trying to take in and struggling to process what was becoming clearer and clearer. His horse had left him, and wouldn't be coming back.

“You were an excellent horse.” Tali said. “You were so loyal. A true beast of burden and a loyal companion. When threatened by the Celestia's servants, you didn't turn and flee, unlike Garth's horse.” Tali chuckled at the memory of seeing Garth's horse rear up and flee, so unlike its fearless and reckless owner. “Why, I could almost say … you were my only real friend.”

Tali flopped over on to his side, trying to wrap his head around it. He still couldn't believe it. Talos had left him. Talos had gone.

“No, no.” Tali muttered. “He's not gone … he's just … misplaced. Yeah, that's it. Someone will find him. Someone will find him and adopt him and take him to a good home. Even if it's not my home.”

Tali grimaced as he realized, this far into the forbidden territory, the only ones beside him who would be likely to find Talos would be either the Guardians, or another would-be thief attempting to steal the crown either before Tali did or after he failed to.

“Someone who's not a Guardian will find him.” Tali said. “Surely, another seeking to steal the crown would have need of a good horse, right?”

Tali looked to the side. In the distance, covered by fog and clouds, he saw the tip of a mountain top. It rose high into the sky, standing tall and proud as if were an impenetrable fortress made by the finest of masons, sculpted and crafted by only the most skilled makers of brick and stone. Of course, it being a mountain whose hands were finer and more skilled than nature itself?

“That must be where the crown is kept.” Tali reasoned. “After all, what other reason would the Guardians have to set their base camp here, if not to use the mountain as a vault for safekeeping?” He would have to face the mountain to get the crown. He might even have to scale it to the top. The thought made him shudder. No one mentioned scaling a mountain to him, and he hadn't brought adequate supplies for climbing.

Tali blinked. He leaned back against the tree, pushing thoughts of scaling heights and stealing crowns aside for the time being. His thoughts wandered back to Talos. He tried to think of a time when he felt as alone and abandoned as he did now. He felt alone and ostracized at Talon's castle amongst the guards plenty, but he still had his horse. Those times paled in comparison to this and now. This – this feeling of being completely and utterly alone, without even so much as a insect to share his feelings with.

He thought of one. A time when he felt so abandoned and alone as he did. It was on the day he learned why Talon was so hard on and resentful of him ...

The young prince Tali, only eight years of age, was wandering around the castle, as children are prone to do at his age. Laughing as he imagined he was running from an invisible monster of some kind, he rounded a corner. His laughter stopped and his eyes widened at seeing Ferdinand and Garth down the corner. Tali dug his heels into the floor, trying to stop his momentum from propelling him forward. Garth and Ferdinand froze in alarm, their eyes soon joined Tali's eyes in widening as well.

Tali skidded forward on the tile, bumping into Garth and Ferdinand each like they were a pair of double doors left ajar. He pushed himself off from them and dusted his clothes.

“I'm sorry.” Tali said. “It was an accident.”

Garth narrowed his eyes and glared at Tali, clenching and brandishing a fist, offended by Tali's intrusion into his personal space. Ferdinand held his hand out in front of Garth, and it was enough to get Garth to relent – though not enough to get him to calm down.

“Hey, no trouble, young prince.” Ferdinand got down on one knee and ruffled up Tali's hair. “We know you didn't mean to. Just watch where you're going next time, okay?”

Tali nodded.

“See?” Ferdinand stood up and turned to Garth. “No harm done. There's no need to rough the kid up.”

“Hmm.” Garth said.

He and Ferdinand moved on, Garth giving Tali a dirty glare before turning his attention to his own chin, tapping his fingers at the light hairs growing around it.

“Trying to grow a beard, Garth?” Ferdinand asked. “How's that working out for ya?”

“I'll have you know that a well-groomed beard is a respectable fashion statement among men.” Garth said. He pinched at the loose hairs. “Now if it would just grow in all the way ...”

Ferdinand chuckled, his laughter echoing as he and Garth went down the hall, leaving Tali alone.

Tali went down the hall, his mishap with Garth and Ferdinand taking the playful mood out of him. He heard familiar grumbling from behind an open door and stopped. It was the voice of his father,

Tali peeked over the side of the door and saw his father inside the room, sitting down at a desk and writing on a scroll with a quill.

Tali was overcome a sense of curiosity and his playful mood returning. His curiosity was twofold. First, he wondered what his father was doing. Second, he wondered if his father could be persuaded to stop what he was doing and play with Tali instead.

Tali snuck into the room, moving quietly and slowly to avoid detection. He walked up to the side of the desk, being short enough he could hide behind it and easily stay out of Talon's sight. While Talon continued to scratch at the scroll with his pen, Tali grabbed the side of the desk and raised his head up over the edge. Tali looked around the desk and was awed by his reflection in the faceted glass inkwell his father was using.

Tali stared into the inkwell, being amazed by the distortion as he moved his head around. Tali ducked under the desk, still playing with the reflection. When he peeked his head up again, there was something else on the desk next to the inkwell. Their patron, Discord, shrunk down to size and standing next to the ink pot.

Discord waved at Tali, smirking. Tali awkwardly waved back.

“Hey there, sport.” Discord said. He gestured his head at the inkwell. “You like playing with this here inkwell, don't ya?”

Tali nodded.

“And you want your father to play with you. Am I right?”

Tali nodded again, a bit more eagerly.

“Well, I bet if you picked up this inkwell, that would get his attention and you could get him to play with you.” Discord pointed at the inkwell. “Go on. You know you want to.”

Tali, with some slight hesitation, reached over and picked the inkwell up. It was shaky in his hands, Tali not having learned how to keep a firm grip on objects.

Discord poked the side of the inkwell, tipping it over and causing the ink to spill and splatter all over Talon's cape, dotting the red cape with messy black splotches.

“Oops.” Discord said before disappearing in a flash of light.

“Ah!” Talon complained, rising up from his chair. He looked and saw Tali cowering behind the desk. “Tali! Look what you did! You got ink all over my cape!”

“I'm sorry!” Tali shouted. “It was an accident! I didn't mean to!”

Discord's laughter could be heard from outside a window.

Talon glared at the window. He grumbled about Discord and sighed. Talon picked up his cape and folded it up. “It will take the servants some time to wash this out.” Talon took the cape off and folded it up neatly.

He walked to the door to take the cape to be washed, and he stopped. He turned over his shoulder and looked at Tali.

“Tali … you don't play with the other kids your age. You don't train with the knights for the day so you might become a squire and a knight before you become a king. What do you do?”

Tali shrugged, hands behind his back as he tried to look innocent, balancing on his heels.

Talon scoffed. He placed a finger to his forehead. “If only … well, it doesn't matter now, does it? I'm stuck with you, one way or the other. Still … perhaps if she were here … you might have turned out into less of a burden.”

Talon left the room and went down the hall, leaving the way Tali had entered. Tali stepped out of the room after Talon had gone, peeking out the door to be sure he was gone.

“Hey there, kiddo.”

Tali turned around and saw his uncle Theo coming down the hall from the other direction.

“Uncle Theo!” Tali happily embraced his uncle. Theo chuckled and bent down to return the hug.

“That's the spirit.” Theo said, wrapping his arms around Tali and lifting him up, squeezing and almost crushing him in a tight bear hug before setting him down. “Say, I was looking for your father. Where is he?”

“You just missed him.” Tali said. “He went to go get a servant to wash his cape after I, uh … after Discord tricked me into spilling ink on it.”

Theo chuckled. “Oh, Tali. You should know better than to listen to Discord. Someone really ought to teach you better.”

“I know ...” Tali whined.

“Talon's not upset, is he?” Theo asked.

“I think he is.” Tali admitted. Tali looked at the ground, rocking his feet as he considered whether or not he wanted to ask the question on his mind. “Uncle Theo?”

“Yes, Tali?”

“My father … after I spilled the ink, he called me a 'burden'. Why … why does he seem to, I don't know, resent me so much?”

Theo gave a pained chuckle. “Picked up on that, have you?”

“Yes.” Tali nodded.

Theo heaved a great big sign. “Well, I suppose you're going to find out one day. Might as well let you know now so your teenage years are entirely spent agonizing about it. Come. Sit down.” Theo gestured to the wall. “This is going to be a lot to take in.” He and Tali sat up against the wall.

“Tali … do you ever go down into the town?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“And when you do, do you see other kids like you?”

“Yes.”

“Kids with families? Kids with parents? With fathers … with mothers?”

Tali nodded again. “Yes.”

“Do you ever wonder … why you're not like them?” Theo said. “Why you only have a father? Why you don't have a mother like they do?”

“Not really.” Tali said. “I hadn't really thought about it ...”

“Hmm.” Theo said. “Well, there's a reason for that. Before I go on, has Talon or anyone spoken to you about life? About … the end of life?”

“You mean about killing and death?” Tali said. “Yeah. Garth talks about killing big animals for meat all the time. Like, all the time. It's really annoying. He won't shut up about it.”

Theo chuckled, a smile on his face, even though there was a pain in his eyes. “Okay. Your mother … you've really never wondered why you don't have a mother? Your mother … she died giving birth to you. That is the reason why Talon resents you so much. He loved your mother very much. She was very dear to him. When you were born, she lived just along enough to gaze upon your face … to touch your cheek. And then she died. If we had better medicine, better healers … she might have survived. But she's gone now. And in a way, Talon blames you for it. It's like he lost your mother and got you in exchange, without any say from him.”

Tali looked at the floor, thinking about the implications of this. Theo did say it was going to be a lot to take in …

“Now ...” Theo reached over and cupped Tali's check. “That's not to say Talon blames you. He knows it's not your fault. You couldn't have had any control or impact on whether your mother lived or died. But … the loss upset Talon. He's still grieving. He's still angry. And, to be fair to him, he would never give you up or leave you. He knows that's not what she would have wanted. But he doesn't know what do with all that anger, so at times … when's he not thinking about it, when he's tired and not thinking straight … he takes it out on you.”

“I … I see.” Tali said, tears forming in his eyes. He stood up. “Excuse me, Uncle. I think I need to be alone for a moment.”

“Take all the time you need.” Theo said.

Tali ran down the hallway, crying and grimacing his teeth. He ran into his room, shut the door, and turned his emotions on the wall, kicking it again and again.

“No wonder my father hates me!” Tali shouted, even though nowhere did Theo nor Talon ever say that. “And my mother … my mother just … died? Minutes after I was born? It's not fair.” Tali banged his fists on the walls. “It's not fair! I never got to know her!” How could she … abandon him like that? How could she decide to just leave this mortal coil? To choose to leave him?

It wasn't her fault. Tali had to remind himself. She didn't choose to leave that way. Did she?

He rested his head on the wall, still banging it with his fists, tears streaming down his cheeks. How many other children in the kingdom could relate to what he was going through? How many in the castle? The village? In all of Maretonia? How many of them had lost their mothers before they could even walk?

Tali turned around and slumped against the wall, sinking to the floor. He supposed, being a prince, he could send out a mandate demanding all the other children and any others whose mothers had suffered the same fate as his come forward. He could have someone to talk to, to relate to.

No. He told himself. He didn't want to let Talon know he knew this. He'd get upset at Theo for telling him and he'd get upset at Tali for suggesting such a mandate, and it would complicate their relationship, which was already struggling.

No, Tali told himself. He wouldn't want to out anyone who wanted to keep their mother's death by childbirth a secret, as Talon so clearly wanted to. For the sake of the people, and the best thing for his and Talon's relationship, as far as Tali knew, would be for him to suffer in silence.

Tali stirred, his attention caught by the sound of steps approaching, snapping him out of his reverie.

He stood up, reaching over to grasp the handle of his sword, ready to draw his blade the first sign of danger.

Tali leaned in, narrowing his eyes to focus on the figure coming into the distance. It was a tall, large, and bulky.

Almost the shape of … a horse. Tali thought. Could it be?

As the figure drew closer, the shape became distinct. It was unmistakably a horse. But more than that, it was unmistakably Talos. He must have heard Tali's shouts and whistles and come running, having been further away than Tali realized.

“Talos!” Tali shouted and ran towards him. Talos stopped at the sound of Tali's voice so he didn't trample over Tali, letting Tali come close.

Tali ran up and embraced Talos, hugging Talos' chest and wrapping his arms around Talos' neck.

“I'm so glad to see you!” Tali said. He placed a hand on Talos' cheek. “I was so worried about you. I hope we never have to get separated like that again!” He nuzzled Talos' nose.

Talos made a snort which resembled the sound of someone clearing up their throat.

Tali withdrew from Talos, taking his arms off. “Yeah, okay, maybe I was starting to make this a little weird. But still.” He patted Talos' nose. “I'm glad to have you back, my trusty steed.” He went around and climbed onto Talos' back, taking his place on the saddle. “Hi-yah!” Tali shook the reins, and he and Talos went galloping down the road.

With Talos back by his side, it didn't take them long at all to reach the area of the next Guardian. After some of the things Tali had seen between the wide forests, the barracks, and the deep pit inside a jungle, this Guardian's accommodations were, by comparison, lacking.

She didn't have much. She barely had anything at all. Just four logs spread around in a square around her, and a campfire which was put out.

The Guardian herself was resting, lying down across a log with her hand supporting her head and her legs stretched out. All four of them. Like Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie, she was a normal, if slightly good-looking woman from the waist up, but from the waist down, she was an animal, in her case, a brown horse with a long, dark tail. She was dressed with a leather vest, a straw hat, and a long braid of blonde hair which reached down her human back onto her horse body.

“Mmm?” She twitched an eyebrow, opening her eyes and letting out a yawn. “Well, I'll be. What have we here?” She climbed to her hooves, stepping in place to adjust the ground beneath her.

Tali shared an uncertain glance with Talos. He stepped down off the horse and approached the Guardian. “Greetings! I am Prince Tali. I have come to steal the crown of Celestia so that I may win the respect of my fellows and peers. Before you try to stop me, know that I have bested all of your companions before you and triumphed over one of the greatest swordsmen in Maretonia!”

Talos let out a scoff. Kicking him down and running away was not most would agree was “triumphing over a great swordsman.”

The Guardian adjusted her hat. “Well, shoot, you're a real big shot, ain't ya?”

“Well ...” Tali said, exalting in her admiration.

“Except y'all really ain't.” The Guardian said, crossing hers arms. “I ain't never ever heard of this great swordsman from … where did'ja say? Maretonia? And just because you past all my friends, that don't mean you're gonna make it past me. Oh. I'm Applejack, by the way.” Applejack pointed a thumb at herself.

Tali stepped forward, taking umbrage to her assertion. “I beg your pardon? What makes you so sure you could stop me?”

Applejack rubbed her chin, sizing Tali up. “I'm gonna guess, looking at ya, that y'all took up Rarity's offer of a spell to enhance yourself?”

Tali raised an eyebrow. “Er, Yyyyessss? Why?”

“Well, that spell is gonna have a few … drawbacks for ya.” Applejack said. “For one thing, it's gonna make ya a bit more lustful than normal. For another, you're gonna have a really hard time fighting that urge with the … eh, enhancements, to certain … reproductive parts.”

Tali raised both his eyebrows. “Really? I hadn't noticed.”

“Well, sure. Just take a look inside your leggings if y'all don't believe me.” Applejack said.

Tali glanced downwards. “I'll take your word for it. Though that would explain why my garments have been feeling uncomfortably tight in that region ...”

“R-really?” Applejack said. “You didn't notice? At all? You haven't had random flashes of lust wash over ya?”

“What can I say? Moments after I accepted the spell, I was fighting for my life or running for my life pretty much non-stop, and then I got turned into a woman before being turned back again!”

Applejack nodded. “Yeah, okay … that sounds like something Pinkie Pie would do … not sure why you were being chased, though. Well, anyways.” Applejack said. “I'm gonna bet Fluttershy hypnotized you when you ran into her, right? Maybe more than once, even.”

Tali stepped back. “I'm not going to be stupid enough to answer that question. Rarity's spell is one thing, but I'm not going to tell you something which I know could lead to a direct advantage for you.”

Applejack shrugged. “Okay. I guess I'll just have to find out for myself. Before I do that, though, would y'all mind coming over here and uh … being gentle with me?” She crooked a finger and winked at Tali.

Tali's jaw hung agape. He recovered and stomped his foot. “No! No, no, no! I have done some crazy stuff since coming to this land. Things I never thought I would do, or was even capable of doing! But this? This right here? This is where I draw the line. I will not, I repeat, NOT be intimate with a horse!”

Applejack smirked. “Oh no?”

“No!”

“Let's see … one … two … two and a half.” Applejack snapped both her fingers.

Tali had some kind of spasm. Lust crept up into his body and overwhelmed him, his eyes fading into faint after images of Fluttershy's hypnotic patterns. He was full of sexual desire, his equipment chafing uncomfortably inside his garments.

He had to go to Applejack. He had to be with her, to love her, to be inside her. Undoing the laces around his pants, he ran towards Applejack and hopped up on her, forcing his enlarged equipment inside her own. Only now did he see what Applejack was talking about. He could feel the effects of Rarity's spell having made him and his equipment more … sizable.

“Oh, well, aren't you eager.” Applejack said, wrapping her arms around Tali's back to hold him steady as he did everything he could to pleasure her and himself. Tali bucked and grunted, moving in and out from inside her, his equipment pulsating, desperate for release.

“Mmm ...” Applejack moaned, closing her eyes as she anticipated a release from him.

“Aaaaah ...” Tali moaned, feeling himself throb, his release building up. Finally, he couldn't take it any more and he released into Applejack, filling Applejack with his relieving release and fulfilling the requirements of Fluttershy's trigger, allowing him to exit himself from her, making his way out of arms and dropping down on his feet, where, in a daze, he had enough wherewithal to pull his leggings before he fell onto his back and passed out.

Tali slept, and while he slept, he dreamed.

He dreamed of a deer in a forest. He dreamed of the times when he went out with his father and Garth and others and formed a hunting party which went into the forest in search of game.

Tali held his bow and arrow up, pulling tight on the drawstring. The arrow shook in his grasp, the drawstring vibrating as it awaited the release of tension from Tali letting go.

“Come on, Tali! Fire already!” Garth jeered.

“Yeah, fire!” The other knights shouted, joining Garth in heckling Tali.

The tip of the arrow was lined clearly with the deer's flank. It would never know what hit it.

Tali stuck out and bit on his tongue, wondering what to do. He couldn't bring himself to kill an innocent, defenseless creature. Perhaps if it was a fierce lion or tiger which had been terrorizing villages and eating chicken, he could justify the dead and bring himself to let go of the arrow … but a deer?

He adjusted his bow, aiming off to the side, and let go. The arrow flew between two trees, creating a whoosh of air which startled the deer and caused it to fly. Sparing the deer's life, as Tali had done so many times before.

“Come on, Tali!” Garth shouted. “You can't even hit a single deer?”

All the other knights laughed while Talon brought a palm to his face.

Tali grimaced, thinking he had made the wrong choice. He tried to assure himself he had done the right thing, even if Talon and Garth disagreed, but his mental assurances fell short of comforting him. I did the right thing. I did the right thing. I did the – quit laughing at me!

There was a noise, a sort of “plonk!” as the arrow hit something. Tali looked to see what it had hit, and all of the knights fell silent.

The arrow had hit Goddess Celestia, straight in the chest, with the arrow sticking out from her cleavage like a flagpole without a flag.

“Oh my.” Celestia breathed, Fluttershy resting on her coils next to Celestia. “Tali, surely that are far more subtle ways to get my attention.” Celestia reached up and grabbed the arrow, yanking it out of her chest without much discomfort, if any.

“Yeah, Tali.” Fluttershy said. “If you wanted Celestia's attention, all you had to do was approach her ...” Fluttershy reached her tail around Celestia's ankles and wrapped it around, looping it up and coiling it upwards until it reached Celestia's chest, where it wrapped around and gave Celestia's breasts a gentle squeeze.

“Gently, dear, gently.”

“I … I don't ...” Tali stepped backwards. “What's going on?” He bumped into something which he didn't recognize, but he knew was something he didn't want to see, not least because of the massive looming shadow it was suddenly casting over him where there was light before.

He looked up and instantly regretted having done so.

The knights had disappeared, and Talon had been turned into some kind of hideous monster. It had three extended necks like tree branches, each with Talon's head at the end, six grotesque arms of the same bark material, and one of the arms was holding up the severed head of a sewn plush doll, meant to stand in for his mother.

“It's okay, Taliii ...” Talon droned, his voice horribly distorted as he lumbered towards Tali. He brought the doll's head towards him. “I know it's not your fauuult ...”

“Oh-oh yeah?” Tali stuttered, trying to remain brave in the face of this monstrosity. “Then … then why do you keep getting angry at me? Why do you get so upset every time I don't follow your instructions to the letter?”

“I'm upseeet!” The Talon heads droned. “Isn't a father allowed to be upset when he's widowed? I just want what's best for yooou ...”

The Talon heads all smiled, showing gnarled, nasty, uncared for teeth, made of rotten wood crawling with bugs and carrying the stench of death.

“To become a cold-blooded killer, hahaha!” The primary Talon laughed.

“And for the record, I do blame you.” The Talon head on the left said.

“Don't say that.” The one in the middle said. “It's not his fault.”

Tali continued to back away while the heads began to bicker among themselves. He continued walking backwards until the back of his head came into contact with something soft. With his luck, he didn't even have to look to know he had bumped his head into Celestia's cleavage. Tali pulled his head out and turned around to face her.

“Tali!” Celestia exclaimed with joy. “It's so good to see you finally reaching out to take what you want.”

“I didn't – I mean – I never said that I wanted -”

Celestia ignored him, slapping her hands onto his cheeks and taking a hold on his head. She pulled him forward, leaning down and giving him a forceful kiss on the lips. The squishy, squelching sounds as Celestia pressed her lips against his were enough to arouse Tali terribly. He moaned, fluttered his eyes, and melted into the kiss … until he remembered the Talon monster was still behind.

He's still coming. Tali thought. He's still coming! Tali began to flail in his panic.

Celestia seemed to hear his his thoughts, as she gave Tali a smack on the back of his neck which made his body turn still. Still kissing him, she raised one hand and formed a golden sphere. The sphere launched from her hand and the next thing Tali knew, he heard a boom and could smell burning wood, the flaming branches and parts of the destroyed monster's body falling down like raindrops.

“Mmmwuah!” Celestia pulled away from him, taking her lips off with a loud pop. She put her hands on Tali's shoulders, smiling.

She moved closer to him and rubbed up against him, bringing their laps far, far closer than Tali was comfortable with. Tali brushed and broke into a sweat. He glanced upwards and saw Celestia wearing an eager, predatory smile.

Much to his relief, the dream ended here.

Tali groaned as he stirred as he awoke. Blinking, he opened his eyes. It had become night time. The stars were out and staring down at him while the sky was dim without the light of the sun bathing the sky in its warm glow. Had he really slept that long?

Groggy, Tali reached around to feel his surroundings. His head was resting on a log. A campfire was burning in front of him, its gentle flame keeping him warm and from freezing. Talos was laid down by an adjacent log, curled up and sleeping on the ground.

Applejack walked over, carrying some deadwood in her arms which she tossed onto the fire to keep it burning.

“About time you woke up.” Applejack said, watching embers fly up from the flames. “After you passed out, I went ahead and invited your horse to rest with you awhile. You were grunting the whole time you slept. Having a bad dream?”

“Yeah.” Tali admitted. He nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

“Y'all want to talk about it?” Applejack asked.

“It was nothing.” Tali rubbed at his head. “Just … all the things I've been thinking about recently. Everything that's plagued my mind.”

“Mmm.” Applejack nodded and turned her attention back to the fire.

Tali looked up at her. He pulled himself up, sitting on the log. “I have a question. Why are you being so nice to me?”

Applejack chuckled, giving him a smile. “It's just who I am, I guess. It's in my nature to be carin'. Besides, it was sort of my fault y'all passed out. It wouldn't be right to just leave you there like that until you woke up and got sorted.” She picked up a stick from the ground and poked at the fire with it. “Truth be told, I have always been kinda maternal.”

“Now ...” Applejack walked over to the log and sat down next to him, her front legs bundling up in front of her while her back legs collapsed on the ground behind the log. “I've got a question for you. Why do y'all want the crown? I mean, why do you really want it?”

“I … I don't know what you mean.” Tali stammered.

“While you were talking earlier, I kinda got the sense you weren't really after the crown.” Applejack said. “It seemed like it was … well, like my friend Rarity would say, more of a means to an end for you, rather than the end itself. I'm curious as to why.” Applejack raised up her hand and rested her cheek on her palm.

“Well ...” Tali intertwined his fingers. “I meant it when I said I wanted the crown to earn the respect of my fellows and peers in Maretonia.”

“Why don't you tell me about it?” Applejack said, placing a hand on his shoulder. “I can tell you've got a lot on your mind.”

Tali heaved a sigh. “Well, the reason … one of the reasons I went on this quest was Garth. He's a knight in my father's army, his most respected champion. He's always picking on me, saying I'm too weak, that I'm wimpy, that I'm more like a maid than a prince because I prefer to read rather than engage in pointless duels with the knights. And all the other knights follow his lead. They do what he says. They laugh when he embarrasses me. They trip me and send me into the pig's trough and claim it was an 'accident' … argh!”

Tali shook his fists. “All because I'm not constantly flexing and boasting like they are. They spend their entire days thinking about fights, thinking who would win in a fight, thinking about who last won in a fight ...”

“Well, they're knights, ain't they?” Applejack said. “Fighting's what they're supposed to do, isn't it?”

“Yes.” Tali said. “But knights are also supposed to be honorable. Kind, chivalrous, respectful … they're none of these things. They just want to swing swords and shoot arrows and then brag about the hits they've given and the wounds they've survived … and then because I don't like getting wounded and then showing off, they mock me for it!”

Tali sighed again, following Applejack's example and resting his head on his palm. “And there's another reason … my father. The king. He's embarrassed by me, for many of the same reasons. I like to read and write. He … doesn't look kindly on intellectuals. Says that a king doesn't need 'frivolous' skills like good penmanship. Who cares if I can quote a book or recite a poem as long as I can beat others with a sword and crush pebbles with my biceps?” Tali flexed his arm, pretending to squash an imaginary rock in his muscles.

Applejack chuckled. Tali turned silent, stewing on his treatment by the knights and his resentment of them.

“I should done more to Garth than just escaping from him when I had the chance ...” Tali grumbled. “I should have cut his head off, or thrown him into that pit ...”

“Hmm.” Applejack said. “You're hiding something.”

“What?”

“You're holding something back.” Applejack said. “Something you don't want to talk about.”

Tali looked away from her. “I – I don't know what you're talking about.”

“Come on, Tali.” Applejack draped an arm around Tali's shoulder and pulled him close to her. “You're never gonna learn to let go it if you don't talk about it. Why don't you tell me about it? That way, you can work on being at peace with it.” Applejack waved her hand out and exhaled a deep breath to represent letting go. “Now come on. Talk to me about it.”

“Okay ...” Tali said. “It's about … my mother.”

“Oh?”

“I never knew my mother.” Tali said. “She died shortly after giving birth to me. And my father … I know he doesn't blame me for it, and I know it's not my fault, but … it still hurts, you know? For me and him. And sometimes, he can't help but take it out on me. He … hasn't handled his grief well. He would never talk to anyone about it. He'd sooner take his own sword to his neck and kill himself instead of talking about to anyone … like I am to you now.”

Applejack nodded for him to go on.

“And sometimes ...” Tali said. “I wonder … what it would be like … to have a mother. If things might have been different if I had grown up with one … if my father had remarried, perhaps … but … that's all fantasy and wishful dreams.” Tali looked somberly at the ground.

Applejack scraped her hoof. She looked to the side, as if to check if there was someone around to judge her for what she was about to say.

“I … could be your mother.”

Tali looked up at her in shock. “Wha-what? Really?”

“Sure! I mean, well, why not?” Applejack said. “I could adopt you. It may not look like we much, but you could live happy here. Truth be told … I've always wanted a child. But uh, when you're the demigoddess servant of Celestia, it doesn't leave you a whole lot of time to go down to the bar and find compatible mates.” Applejack winked, and Tali chuckled. “What do you say?”

“Well, I, uh ...” Tali stammered. “It's … certainly a tempting offer.”

“We could start right now.” Applejack reached down and wrapped her arms around Tali, lifting him up and bringing his head into her chest. “How old are you? We got a lot of catching up to do.”

Applejack began to undo the knots of her vest, exposing her breasts. Ignoring the blush forming on Tali's cheek, she cupped his head and brought him forward onto her breast, where his mouth was on the end.

“From start to finish.” Applejack whispered to him, wrapping her arms around Tali's back and holding him gently. “And that means feeding you some fresh milk. Go on. Suckle for a bit.”

Tali wanted to protest, but when he struggled, he found Applejack's grip, though gentle, was strong and firm. Resigning himself to it, he closed his eyes and began to nurse Applejack's breast.

“Mmm ...” He found himself enjoying, much to his own surprise. Her milk was warm and sweet. It had a distinct aroma to it, like fresh flowers. It soothed him, making him relax as it dripped on to his tongue.

“We have so much to catch up on ...” Applejack whispered as he continued to suckle. “There's so much I could teach you … how to cook … how to clean … how to garden and grow and tend to crops … how to care for others and take care of someone who's sick. Mmm.” She closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder, rocking him back and forth as she enjoyed the feeling of him nursing her chest. He kept suckling, eagerly drinking her sweet milk.

“Tali … why don't you go back to sleep?” Applejack suggested, pulling her head off him. She let out a yawn. It would seem to Tali nursing Applejack took a lot out of her. “Moving into a new family is a big decision to make … you shouldn't do it so late at night. You should do it in the morning, when you're well-rested and wide-awake with bright, clear eyes … mmm.”

Applejack grew wobbly on her hooves, stumbling left and right. “Why don't y'all go to sleep with me? It'll be just like when the little ones are young and have to stay by the mother for protection ...”

Tali's eyes widened and he grunted. He struggled to get out of her grip, not liking the idea of going to sleep with Applejack. Her grip had slackened during the time Tali was nursing her, allowing him to pry himself with free with ease.

“Oh, alright.” Applejack said, getting the hint. “If you don't want to, you don't have to. I won't force you.”

“Thank you.” Tali said, backing away.

“Oh, uh, Tali?” Applejack asked.

“Yes?”

“You're not still thinking about trying to get the crown, are you?”

“I haven't completely removed that option from the table, no. Why?”

“Well … because if you are ...” Applejack said, her voice growing serious. “Back when I used Fluttershy's trigger on ya, I didn't do that to have sex with ya. I did that to make a point. That point being, if you still wanted to steal the crown, I'd have to stop ya ...”

Applejack kicked a hoof, striking Tali in the chest and knocking him to the ground. Applejack moved forward and stomped her hoof into his chest, pinning him down.

“And if I had to stop ya, I'd use everything I have on you. All the tools and triggers, all my strength.” Applejack glared at him, narrowing her eyes. She took her hoof off him. “I'll give you as long as you need to decide on whether or not you want to let me adopt you as a son … but if you try to take the crown, you will … not … get … past … me. Understand?”

Tali nodded.

“I'm gonna go over there and give y'all time to think on it.” Applejack said. “You can either live here with me, be an idiot and try to get past to steal the crown … or I can give you my mercy and give you one last chance to turn around and go home. If you decide that, I'll help you out of here. Think about it.”

Applejack walked away from him, going over to another log and sitting down by it.

Tali grimaced, wishing Applejack hadn't brought up when she used Fluttershy's trigger on, as he realized it meant if he accepted Applejack's offer to go be with her as his new mother, it meant his new adoptive would be someone he had mated with. The thought sent shivers down his spine and made him reconsider whether or not he wanted to even contemplate the offer.

Tali walked over to Talos, who had woken when Applejack pinned Tali down. He lifted his head up and looked at Tali.

Tali got down on his knees and gave Talos a pet on the cheek. “Hey there, big guy.” Tali patted Talos' mane. “It's good to see you're happy.”

Talos gave a complimentary huff, as if telling Tali the same thing.

“Hmm.” Tali looked over his shoulder at Applejack, who had curled up on the far side of the campfire. He looked back to Talos.

Getting an idea, he looked back at Applejack, taking note of the equine half of her body. He looked back at Talos, making a note of the fact Talos was a horse.

Tali bit his lip, clenching his fist in guilt at the idea he had. He had hoped not to get separated from Talos again, but if he wanted to steal the crown … and he did still want to steal the crown. He had come too far to turn back now, and the fact he had mated with Applejack kiiiinda ruined the idea of letting her adopt him.

“Okay, Talos ...” Tali said. “I'm going to have to ask something of you. A very big request of you.” Tali said. “I don't want to, and I know that you know that I don't want to and I wouldn't ask if it wasn't necessary. But I've got to get to that crown, and I'll never make it past her if you don't help. When she had her hoof on my chest and pinned me down, I could feel how much how strength she had, how much power she was holding back to be nice. I'd never beat her in a fight. So, that's why I have to ask you to do this. Will you do it for me?”

Talos looked up at him. After a tender moment of looking into Tali's eyes, he nodded.

“Great.” Tali said, a tear shedding from his eye. “Thank you, Talos. I won't forget this. I'll come back for you. I promise.”

Tali stood up and walked away from him.

I can't believe it. I just got him back, and I'm about to give him up again.

“Hey, Applejack?” Tali asked.

Applejack rolled over. “What?”

“I … well, I mated with your human half, right?” Tali said.

Applejack nodded. “That's right, yeah. Why?”

“Well … I was wondering ...” Tali said. “Doesn't your horse half have its own … needs to meet?”

Applejack pushed herself up. “Where are you goin' with this, Tali?”

“I was thinking ...” Tali said. “If it did, we have a perfectly good horse right here for you to mate with ...” Tali stepped to the side and presented as Talos stepped forward.

Applejack rubbed her chin. “I suppose it has been awhile since the last time I laid eyes on a stallion …come to think of it, it's been at least a few decades ...”

“Come on!” Tali said, gesturing to Talos. “You already did to me. Might as well do it to him. You know, make it fair.”

Applejack rubbed at her chin some more. “All right.” She stood up and crooked her finger. “Come on over here, Talos.”

Talos whinnied and galloped over to Applejack's position, where he went around to her back and mounted on top of her.

“Oh yes.” Applejack moaned. “I didn't realize how much I needed this. Yes, that's it, Talos. Aaah ...”

While Talos proceeded to mate with Applejack, Tali went around and walked past them. He spared a painful glance at Talos, torn up over leaving him again so soon. He wiped a tear from his eye before reaffirming his resolve and moving on.

The next morning, Applejack woke up after a long night spent with Talos. She groaned and stood up, stretching her arm. The campfire had smouldered out, Talos was curled up next to her, and Tali was nowhere to be seen.

Wait … Tali was nowhere to be seen.

“Tali?” Applejack asked. “Tali?” She looked around for him. “Where did he go?” Applejack paused and froze as she realized what had transpired. She stomped her hoof. “Tarnation! That no-good low-down lowlife used Talos as a distraction so he could sneak by me!”

Talos was awoken by Applejack's shouting and swearing. He lifted his head up to look at her.

“Oh … hey there, Talos.” Applejack bent down and petted Talos' mane. “Did he leave you behind? It's okay. It's not your fault.”

Talos gave a guilty look off to the side. He had been complicit …

“Well … it's okay.” Applejack said, cupping his chin. “I forgive you.” She gave him a kiss on the nose. “Why don't y'all stay here with me and rest with me for awhile?” Applejack laid down and wrapped her arms and legs around Talos, and the two of them went back to sleep in the embrace of the other.

Tali walked on ahead down the path, the shadow of the mountain looming large over him. Either his mind was playing tricks on him, or the mountain had changed, shifting into a curled shape which resembled a monstrous claw.

Tali stopped, taking the appearance of the mountain in. It dawned on him just how large the mountain really was. He hoped with all his being he wasn't going to have to climb it. The mountain was enormous, and he would surely fall or die of hunger before he reached the top. Perhaps that was the point.

Realization sunk in to Tali. Having used Talos as a distraction for Applejack, there was no else with him to aid him against the Guardian. He had likely severed all chances of any help he could have gotten from Garth or Ferdinand. Perhaps if he had tried, he could have convinced them not to take him back home to Talon and to join him in stealing the crown. Garth would probably have been too stubborn, but he might could have persuaded Ferdinand. But what was done was done, and not Garth, not Ferdinand, nor Talos would be able to help him now.

He was going to have to face the sixth and final Guardian … alone.

Author's Note

In hindsight, perhaps I should have put Applejack into Fluttershy's role in this story, and vis versa, as while Applejack has a caring side to her, she's far more aggressive than Fluttershy, who is much more motherly. But oh well.

The whole 'his mother died and his father blames him for it' bit was planned from the start ... but it is only upon reflection that do I realize how cliche and tripe that is. "Oh no! His mother died! Feel sorry for this poor boy!"

Bleh.