Part 13: On a Whistle of Wind

I’d give a content warning on this chapter, but seriously… if you’ve read this far, you know what you’re in for, right? So all I’ll say is… smexy times ahead! —Firesight

MUSIC: Clarified Relations

Lunch, Ferro was relieved to see, had far less tension than breakfast, with everyone chatting happily.

Even Maya, he noticed, seemed far more at ease than she had previously. Where before, she had been casting jealous glances at Twilight and Phoenix, now she was openly teasing them, though she carefully chose jokes that would go over Pearl’s head.

Wonder what Twilight did to Karma? he couldn’t help but wonder, having watched their discussion with Celly out the window, the latter apparently making sure her student didn’t go overboard in expressing her anger.

He chuckled at the memory. Franny has no idea how easily she got off. And she clearly has no idea about Tia or Twilight, or she’d know you don’t EVER threaten a mare’s stallion in her presence… particularly when you’re talking about THESE two! he shook his head and grinned as he remembered seeing the young prosecutor’s face go deathly pale from a distance, just wishing he could have heard what Twilight said to her. He had personally never much liked the young lady, between her overbearing manner and constant whip use, but did allow that she was at least a far better person and prosecutor than her father. Certainly, that bank fraud business in Geneva a couple years back showed she’s on the side of angels when she wants to be…

After their noontime meal—and Ferro was personally getting a little tired of vegetarian fare—they gathered in the viewing room again as Maya took out the final movie in the trilogy from its blue jacket, slipping it into the player with a now-familiar whirring sound. “Let’s see… last train out leaves out the town at five, so we should have enough time to watch it and still get you guys ready to go,” she nodded with satisfaction.

“That works. So should we summon Firefly again? She did say she was interested in seeing the end of the story,” Phoenix noted as the disc loaded, leaving Twilight wondering not for the first time how it all worked.

Maya actually grimaced a bit. “I’d say yes, but… in all honesty, I’m still a little spent after last night.”

“Oh! Oh! Let me do it, Mystic Maya!” Pearly piped up. “I’d love to channel a pony again!”

Maya’s grimace became more pronounced as everyone else in the room instantly locked on to the last word in her cousin’s sentence. “Wait… channel again? Pearls, do you mean you’ve channeled a pony before?” Phoenix asked.

Pearl had a sudden guilty look that Phoenix had last seen when he’d caught her with her hand in his jelly bean jar. “Oh! Um…”

“She has,” Maya confirmed shortly, cutting the questioning off before it could go any further. “Sorry Nick, we’re sworn to secrecy on the circumstances, but—she has. She did it perfectly and was even able to hold it for longer than I could!”

Phoenix and Celestia glanced at Twilight, who had no more idea of when it happened than they did. “Well, Firefly did say she wanted to meet Maya…” she shrugged. “Why not?”

“So can I, Mister Nick?” Pearl hopped up and down in front of him.

Phoenix glanced at the others and then looked to Maya. “As long as Maya says it’s okay, sure…”

“YAY!”she leaped and shouted in a tone that very strongly reminded Twilight of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. Guess she picked up a few things from them! she noted as Maya led her young cousin into a side room where she could undress and channel. And just two minutes later, the door opened to reveal…

“Welcome back, my old friend,” Celestia said happily.

“My princess!” Firefly replied and immediately opened her wings and bowed before her, less startled than she had been the previous night, immediately accepting another hug from her humanized regent. “I assume I am here to watch the rest of the ‘mo-vie’ story?” she looked towards the screen, then back to Celestia.

“Indeed. And I believe you also wanted to meet Miss Maya?” the sun princess nodded toward the young mystic with a grin, who stepped forward.

Firefly turned around in surprise. “Greetings, Captain Firefly. I am Maya Fey,” Maya brought her palms together and bowed low, speaking in an unusually formal tone. “It’s funny that I’ve channeled you twice, but never actually met you…”

“Greetings to you, young mage. ‘Tis an honor to finally meet you as well,” Firefly bowed back as she appraised her, then blinked. “Wait… if you are here, then… who is channeling me now…?”

“Pearly,” Ferro replied. “Maya needed a break.”

“The child…?” Firefly blinked, looking down at her borrowed body in disbelief, then noting Pearls’ clothes folded neatly off to the side in the room from which she’d just emerged. “I see… ‘tis a pity, then.”

Celestia’s eyebrows went up. “A pity?”

“A pity that Miss Maya cannot channel. While I was reminiscing after last night’s viewing, Wind Whistler came upon me, wondering why I’d departed the Summerlands. After telling her of this event, she now wishes to see this story as well,” the deceased captain explained.

Phoenix blinked. “Wind Whistler? As in, the mare who kept you from going… completely mad when you got that amulet?”

Firefly closed her eyes and smiled. “The same. My lifelong friend and confidant, my sister in all but blood… and later, my most trusted lieutenant and the one mare I wouldst never go into battle without.”

“Wind Whistler? Truly?” Celestia spoke up, hopefully. “We would not have withstood the Gryphon invasion without her sharp mind and strategic vision. Yes, I would very much like to see her again.”

“And she very much wishes to see you again, my princess,” Firefly nodded, then turned back to her left. “That is, if Miss Maya is willing…?”

Maya looked uncertain. “Well, aside from not knowing what she looks like, I’m afraid I’m not really up to the task of channeling a pony at the moment,” she looked down apologetically at Firefly and Celestia’s disappointed looks. “I’m sorry, Captain. Channeling you last night used up most of my mystical power.”

Celestia regarded her for a moment before speaking. “Miss Fey… you draw energy from your magatama for channeling, do you not?” she nodded towards the jewel around the young mystic’s neck.

Maya looked down at said jewel, then picked it up between two fingers. “Oh! Well, yes, in part… I draw on the magatama for the power boost required for the initial transformation, but maintaining it draws on my own internal supply of mystical power, and that’s rather drained right now. I mean, I could channel a pony, but… I don’t think I could hold it for very long. Certainly not the duration of the movie,” she explained apologetically.

“But if the magatama had enough power, could you draw on it for the duration, similar to how Twilight uses her own crystal battery to maintain her transformation?” the sun princess suggested, making Twilight blink, wondering why she hadn’t thought of that herself.

Maya looked surprised. “Huh. Well, I guess… never tried that before. Like I said, it’s normally just for an initial power boost, but if I could continually draw on it… then sure, probably.”

“If I may, then…” Celestia’s eyes closed and her ethereal horn flared, causing a surge of magical energy both Twilight and Maya could feel. The alicorn aura collected around the jewel, making it glow brightly as the sun princess powered it up. “There.”

Maya regarded her intensely glowing orange pendant with no small surprise. “Cool… only time I’ve seen a magatama glow like this is when Nick’s got his green one out,” she noted. “Okay, then. Just let me get changed…” she said, ducking into the side room to strip down, then emerging wearing only a robe—she had learned well by then to not wear her regular clothes while she was channeling. “Ready! But I’ll need a picture of Wind Whistler as well…”

“Easily accomplished,” Celestia replied, closing her eyes and projecting one of her own memories from the distant past, showing Firefly and… a blue-furred pegasus mare with a pink mane and three-whistle cutie mark.

Maya saw and smiled, while Phoenix had the thought that Wind Whistler and Firefly looked like a deeper-hued version of Aloe and Lotus. “Wow, you two really could be sisters! Okay, that’s all I need…” the teenaged mystic said, sitting in a lotus position and concentrating on the projected image. As she was channeling a new pony, the transformation wasn’t as quick this time, but her features flowed and within seconds, a new equine figure materialized from her previously human form, rose to all fours and blinked.

“Welcome, sister,” Firefly grinned. “You are being channeled, as I am.”

“Firefly? I am truly… on Earth?” the blue pegasus mare looked around in surprise, Phoenix noting she had an even deeper, more classical accent than Firefly, one that spoke to him of an upper-class upbringing from the renaissance era.

“Indeed, dear friend,” a familiar voice answered with some audible emotion. “Welcome back.”

“My Princess!” she whirled to the sound of the voice, shocked to behold a very human Celestia, her hair changed back to its usual flowing state. “I… did not expect to find you here as a human!” she said, shooting a quick accusing look at Firefly, who was watching her reaction in great amusement.

“Well, I could hardly walk the earth as an alicorn, my friend. I have come to enjoy this world and use it as a respite,” she said, leaving no doubt as to her meaning when she raised and kissed Ferro’s hand, causing Wind Whistler’s pale purple eyes to widen further and Firefly to stifle a chuckle.

Introductions were made quickly. Wind Whistler seemed intrigued at her surroundings, looking with some interest at the unfamiliar technology of the room, from the overhead ceiling fan to the large flat-screen television already showing the preview page of the movie, its lilting music on an endless loop. “Fascinating. I had no idea humanity had advanced so much!”

“Indeed, my friend,” Firefly nodded. “’Twas a great surprise to me as well. Perhaps one day we may have the chance to explore this world in greater earnest?” she suggested with a hopeful look at Phoenix.

“If Maya and Pearls are willing, that could certainly be arranged. Any other requests?” Phoenix asked their honored guests with a grin.

“Actually, methinks I have one…” Firefly grinned back. “Could we perchance have more of that ‘popcorn’ from yesterday…?”

The final movie did not disappoint any of the Equestrian visitors, in either its action or ending.

From the opening scene with Saruman to the final departure of Frodo and Bilbo in the company of the elves, Twilight watched riveted, often clutching Phoenix’s arms, less out of fear than a renewed and reflexive desire to protect her stallion from the violence being shown.

The lighting of the beacons of Minas Tirith, traveling from mountaintop to mountaintop as the call for help went out from Gondor to Rohan gave her chills, and the unyielding devotion of Sam to Frodo brought tears to her eyes.

Sam would make a fine Element of Loyalty… was all Twilight could think as he returned to save Frodo from Gollum’s treachery and the monstrous spider queen Shelob, later proclaiming that though he couldn’t carry the ring, he could carry Frodo, hoisting him over a shoulder and taking him up the mountain.

While all this was happening, the other characters were not idle. She watched the story reach its climax in the form of massive battle before the great white city of men—one very similar to pictures she’d seen of the Gryphon Kingdom’s capital city of Arnau, some distant part of her noted—from the initial siege of the Minas Tirith and struggle to hold on to the charging Rohan riders smashing into the orc lines. In the end, the field in front of the white city was dotted with bloody, slashed and arrow-riddled corpses of man and orc, horse and Oliphant, and here and there was a severed limb… the moviemakers had clearly known their craft only too well.

“That, my student… is a battlefield,” Celestia confirmed, her voice numb.

“Troubled, My Princess?” Firefly asked, an empty bowl of popcorn between her and Wind Whistler, the pair happily lounging on beanbags.

“Memories, dear friend,” the sun princess bowed her head low. “Of scenes such as this… they never go away.”

“‘Tis well that they do not,” Wind Whistler spoke up. “For we should never forget the ruin war wreaks, lest we grow too fond of it.”

For their part, Firefly and Wind Whistler had watched attentively and unflinchingly. Intrigued by the story and enrapt by the battle scenes, they discussed tactics and shared observations in low voices. The pair were most disgusted with Denethor for the wanton sacrifice of his son and several hundred soldiers in a futile effort to retake Osgiliath—“My princess, if you ever gave such an order, would you forgive me if I led an immediate mutiny?” Wind Whistler asked, to chuckles—but they also had harsh words for King Theoden for sending his mounted soldiers to attack the Oliphants head-on, costing many lives.

“Foalish when they could have run rings around them, rained arrows upon them from afar and brought them down without the loss of a single horse or rider,” Wind Whistler shook her head in disgust.

Though disturbed by the sheer carnage level, which dwarfed even the battle of Helms Deep, Twilight wasn’t impressed by Gandalf in his white wizard form, noting that despite his supposed power boost he used very little actual magic and his staff was too easily broken. She also wasn’t sure what she thought of the deus ex machina of an undead army summoned by Aragorn winning the Battle of Pelennor Fields, though their initial appearance gave her a couple shaky moments.

The dead do not suffer the living… she repeated the line to herself, then realized with a glance at the channeled forms of Firefly and Wind Whistler that in fact, they very much did.

Still, in the end… she found the final resolution and key to victory only too familiar. It was friendship that saved the day. Friendship among nations, friendship among races… and the simple bond between two hobbits that allowed them to reach Mount Doom and destroy the ring against incredible odds… she nodded to herself. Well, I certainly wouldn’t show these movies to foals, but I think I WOULD like to show them to my friends… well, maybe not Fluttershy! she quickly added, but knew Rarity and Rainbow Dash would likely love it—the former for the exquisite costumes and scenery, the latter for the endless action scenes. Not sure how Applejack or Pinkie would take it, though…

When the movie done and it was time for their channeled guests to depart, Celestia crouched down and took both her old friends into a hug. “Whoever else you may know in the Summerlands… those fallen, those past… tell them their princess remembers and misses them all.”

“Of course, my princess,” the pair chorused, tears in their own eyes as they were parted from their regent once more. “And please tell Miss Maya and young Pearl that should they ever need us… they may summon us at any time,” Firefly spoke as Twilight magically draped their hosts’ robes over them. With that, they stepped away… and their spirits departed for the Summerlands, leaving behind two robed humans in their wake.

“So… how do you two feel?” Phoenix asked.

“Tired…” Pearly yawned, as her own magatama hadn’t been charged as Maya’s had, blinking sleepily. “Did they like the movie…?”

“They did,” Phoenix confirmed, making a mental note to get the story of when she’d channeled a pony before. “And you, Maya…?”

The older mystic blinked and stretched. “I’m… I’m fine…” she said in some surprise, standing up and pulling the belt on her robe tight. “Wow, I’m not tired at all! You were right, Princess! Drawing power from the magatama the whole way worked like a charm!” she held up her jewel, which had lost about half the intensity of its glow.

“You are welcome. But I should be thanking you, Maya Fey,” Celestia answered, still teary-eyed. “You have allowed me to see friends and champions long gone and for that I am forever grateful. You truly are a special young woman. Both of you are,” she nodded to Pearly, giving her a magical hair ruffle.

They both bowed, causing Phoenix to avert his eyes when Maya’s robe lapels fell slightly open. “Our pleasure, Princess,” they replied in unison, Maya taking Pearly and herself to get dressed as their guests made ready to depart, their train for Los Angeles scheduled to leave in just over an hour.

“So, did you like it?” Phoenix asked Twilight before they parted to get their things from their respective guest rooms, giving her shoulder a squeeze, noting she’d been very silent since the movie ended.

“It was like nothing I’ve ever seen…” she shook her head in wonder. “None of our movies even come close to that kind of spectacle. I guess I do have one question, though…” Twilight finally settled on the thing that had been bothering her.

“Yes?”

“Well… if Gandalf had command of those giant eagles, then… why didn’t they just use them to deliver the ring to Mordor…?”

A half hour later, they had gathered at the Kurain bus stop, awaiting a ride to the train station in the town at the mountain base.

Twilight and Celestia bade Pearly goodbye with a hug and promise to see her again before leaving, at which point she somewhat wistfully wished she could return to Equestria with them to see all her new friends again. “It could perhaps be arranged…” Celestia gave a coy grin but otherwise no real indication what she was thinking, telling the young human girl to ‘take good care’ of her cousin and Mister Nick.

The two-hour train ride back to Los Angeles was uneventful, as Twilight ended up sleeping most of the way back with her head resting against Phoenix’s shoulder, making up for the time she had spent awake and brooding the previous night. While she napped, Phoenix noticed that Maya was hunched over her tablet, in seemingly deep discussion with the Princess and Ferro as she sat between the two.

Upon arrival, they stopped by the office to find a trio of letter scrolls waiting for them. One was an oddly plaintive message from Spike asking Twilight to ‘please let me know you’re okay,’ another was from her friends asking for news—“So, Pinkie ain’t had more twitches… ain’t y’all gonna do it again?” Applejack asked in her usual direct manner to equally eager agreement from Pinkie and Rarity—as well as a reminder from Pinkie “To Feenie—keep your promises!” causing him to flinch and Twilight to give him an odd look.

There was also a rather ornate scroll bearing a dark blue wax seal with a crescent moon imprint which Celestia immediately seized on, an expression of concern on her face. “From my sister,” she said shortly, scanning the contents quickly and then smiling. “Well. It would seem Luna is having some… difficulties trying to keep my regular schedule and attend to both the sun and moon. She also finds the business of holding daily court and settling disputes between nobles ‘a most infuriating and exasperating chore’,” she chuckled, going on to quote her sister asking if it “would not simply be easier to lock the lot of them in the Canterlot Mines and keep them there until they settle their petty squabbles for themselves?”

“Wow… never met her, but I think I like Luna already!” Maya volunteered as the sun princess chuckled again, immediately setting to pen a response as Twilight did the same, worried Spike was getting lonely as she ignored Applejack’s question but told her friends about Pearly, the movies and Kurain, saying they would be keeping in daily contact for the rest of the trip and that she would “have a HAY of a story!” to tell them later.

They had barely sent the messages before a response was received in another puff of green flame, Spike saying he had sent Celestia’s reply to Luna but also asking if he could have some more human “nan-gas”, saying he’d really liked “the dragon ones” and also asking if they were any human equivalents of “Power Pony” comics he loved.

“Well, hell… if he likes action and dragon mangas, I can recommend several!” Maya piped up, saying she’d pick out a few for him later, Twilight writing an additional response telling Spike to get himself out of the library and spend time with her friends, Pinkie Promising him she would return with Celestia and plenty of souvenirs in four days’ time, as scheduled.

“Well then… guess we should be parting now?” Phoenix asked, increasingly eager to get Twilight alone again, and judging by her slightly impatient manner, he wasn’t the only one. “I think it’s time for us to head home.” He gave Twilight’s shoulder as squeeze.

“Home? Not the penthouse suite at the Gatewater I reserved for you both?” Celestia put on a pouting look that would have done Rarity proud.

“Oh! Um…” Phoenix rubbed his hand behind his head. “With apologies, princess, there are some… bad memories associated with that place,” he explained somewhat sheepishly. “I really do appreciate the offer, but…” his voice trailed off as he realized that Maya, Ferro and Celestia were suddenly wearing identical grins.

“Well, actually Nick… you won’t be taking Sparkle back to your place, either,” she told him, her expression like she was about to tell the punchline of a joke.

“Uh… what?”

“On the ride home, I talked with the princess and Iron Man here. She was hoping you’d take her up on the Gatewater like she said, but I told her that even aside from the fact that… we used to have our office right across from the street from it, that place really wasn’t your speed.

“So…” her grin got broader. “With the help of Ferro’s smartphone, my tablet and Celly’s credit card, we’ve made you both reservations for three nights at a luxury beach villa in Santa Monica!” she announced, causing Phoenix to gape. “Limo should be out front in thirty minutes, and they’ll get you there in an hour! And after that…” she gave him a sideways grin. “And after that, enjoy!”

Phoenix was still gaping, stunned at not only the offer but Maya’s collusion in it. “But… but… the cost! Those places rent for thousands a night! I can’t let you…”

“No buts, Nick!” Maya told him, waggling a finger at him. “Private beach, lots of natural scenery, lush green hills and hiking trails close by… that’s right up your alley for a romantic getaway! And I hope Sparkle’s as well…?” she turned her gaze on a surprised Twilight and bowed her head fractionally, in unspoken apology for the way she’d acted.

“That’s very generous of you, Maya…” she acknowledged, instantly raising her opinion of Maya by another notch. Guess she’s really trying to accept us, regardless of whatever she may feel for Phoenix… “And of you, Princess!”

“You are very welcome, my student. Both of you are,” she nodded once and gave a warm smile. “It is the least I can do.”

“Princess, please… I really can’t accept this…” Phoenix tried again, even though internally he was wavering. Really WOULD beat the hell out of my apartment… he conceded, suddenly imagining all the things he and Twilight might do on a private beach or bungalow.

Celestia shook her head and grinned. “I insist, Phoenix Wright. I wish to do something nice for you and my student. Please allow an old alicorn to indulge her more motherly impulses,” she bowed her head again, her eyes betraying her age for a bare moment. “You have more than earned this. You both have, and I wish you to fully enjoy the remainder of our stay… and your time together.” She closed her eyes and gave her coy grin.

“Well, um…” Phoenix was speechless. “Thank you…”

“Hey, you know me, Nick. I’m always ready to spend someone else’s money!” Maya gave him a lopsided grin of her own.

“You’re one lucky man, Mister Wright, to have such good friends who know you so well,” Ferro nodded towards Maya. “But myself… I’m afraid I must part with you all now—I’m picking up my daughter for a scheduled visit over the next two days, but I’ll be sure to come by again before Sunshine and Sparkle here depart.” He stepped forward to shake Phoenix’s hand. “It’s been an honor to meet you, Phoenix Wright… to say nothing of a great pleasure to finally have someone else I can talk about things with!” he gave a slightly wry smile towards Celestia, who gave another coy grin.

“Likewise,” Phoenix smiled as he returned the gesture, wincing again at the larger man’s grip. “I don’t know to say, really…”

“Just say you’ll take it!” Maya prompted as Ferro kissed Celestia goodbye with a promise to spend another night with her before she left. “And then when you get there, take a page from those two!” the eighteen-year old mystic motioned to them with a thumb and a wry grin of her own.

I kind of already HAVE! Twilight couldn’t help but grin herself, reflecting on all the myriad ways the princess had been both teaching and influencing her during their stay… and certainly the lead-up to it. “We’ll take it, Maya. And thank you,” she said, giving the teenaged mystic a grateful look, bringing her hands together for a respectful Kurain-style bow.

Maya returned the gesture. “Take care of him, Sparkle,” she asked, a shadow passing across her face for a moment, but it was quickly subsumed as her tone turned teasing again. “Just be warned, Nick can be kind of high-maintenance at times!”

Phoenix flushed. “Uh, I’m right here, Maya…”

“Most stallions are,” Twilight giggled, joining in the banter. “But don’t worry. I’ll be sure and give him all the attention he needs…”

MUSIC: The Magic of the Moment

With the change in plans, Phoenix ran home so he could get several fresh changes of clothes and a swimsuit while Celestia and Twilight waited, the former exchanging a few more messages with Luna via Spike and the latter asking her scribe between royal missives if anything was amiss.

After some written hemming and hawing, the baby dragon finally admitted he was afraid Twilight wouldn’t come back, which made her expression soften. Just like Maya, he can be snarky but he really IS a softie at heart… she noted with a grin, wondering how best to reply.

“Let me answer him…” Maya offered, and immediately wrote out her own response assuring him she knew exactly how he felt, having had the same anxiety over Phoenix. “Listen, Spike—been there, done that, and I’ll tell you the same thing I was told—don’t worry about it. Sparkle and Nick may visit each other, they may even enjoy each other, but they’ll always come home. And listen, whenever we meet up again, let’s swap stories of Nick and Sparkle! Bet we’d have some doozies to share!” she offered, to which the scribe thanked her and immediately agreed, causing Twilight to blush and Celestia to chuckle.

Phoenix got back just as the limo pulled up, the group piling their luggage into it after closing up shop, leaving Twilight marveling at the Limousine’s spacious, amenity-filled interior. Wow… this is fit for a PRINCESS!she couldn’t help but think as she climbed in, deciding it was certainly a much more stylish and pleasant way to travel than the ‘buses’ and taxis they’d been utilizing to get around to that point. Can certainly see it’s expensive, too…

Celestia apparently agreed as she greeted the driver, who recognized her and immediately opened the door for all of them, promising a comfortable ride as the sun princess tipped him generously. She quickly availed herself of some of the minibar drinks as they pulled away, apparently favoring some sweet sake. She even got Twilight to try a sip, who blinked in surprise at the taste, a surprisingly good rice-based flavor with only a mild undertone of alcohol.

“Wow, that’s… smooth…” she admitted, licking her lips, suddenly understanding why her mentor seemed to like it so much, asking for her own cup. A little deceptive though… she also quickly realized, as despite the seemingly innocuous alcohol level she found even the single drink affecting her, giggling and swaying lightly. And what would Applejack say that I couldn’t hold my cider…? she wondered as she planted a few kisses on a surprised Phoenix as Celestia and Maya looked on, the former with the air of a proud mother and the latter that of a reluctantly happy friend.

Regardless, the conversation was good and the ride was fun despite LA traffic, and Twilight’s eyes lit up when they reached the beach and she saw the ocean for the first time—for all her travels and study, it was a place she’d rarely been even in Equestria, and found herself admiring the endless expanse of blue sea, the pounding surf and sandy beaches… though she did wonder what the odd offshore platforms in the distance were.

After passing through the main Santa Monica drag—a town with plenty of attractions that was made for walking, Maya noted, saying that was part of the reason why she’d selected it for them—they arrived at the beach house just as dusk was falling, a very well-appointed three-bedroom waterfront villa with spectacular views of the ocean, the mountains, the town… and even a fairgrounds off to the right.

“Wow, Maya, this… is really nice…” was all a gawking Twilight could immediately say, liking what she saw of Santa Monica far more than she had the downtown area of L.A.

“It really is! Thank you. Thank you both,” Phoenix sketched a bow to Celestia, who smiled.

“I am gratified you find these accommodations to your liking, Phoenix Wright. And I believe I may spend my remaining time here myself now,” she nodded happily, announcing her immediate intention to explore the unfamiliar area—for all her travels to Los Angeles, she had not been to Santa Monica, but she, too, certainly liked what she saw.

Not wanting to be a third wheel again, Maya immediately offered to show her around, and the sun princess agreed, giving the pair a parting hug and promise to check on them occasionally, but to otherwise “Enjoy yourselves, with my compliments… my new friend and loyal student.” She gave her coy grin again before turning on her heel to leave. “And Twilight? If you should change back into a pony… do remember your lesson this time?” she winked, causing Twilight to flush hard.

Phoenix barely had time to wonder what she meant before Maya spoke up. “Treat Sparkle well, Nick…” she admonished him, but stopped to turn back from the doorway, her expression turning mischievous. “You know… like how you wanted to treat me last night?” she winked as well, making Phoenix flush just as hard as Twilight, his manhood twitching once in his shorts.

“Uh… so what was that about? Your ‘lesson’?” Phoenix asked as the door closed behind them, still staring after Maya. Was she just teasing or…?

“Oh, um…” Twilight shifted uncomfortably, finally deciding that there was no point in keeping it from him. “Celestia told me that I was, um… broadcasting when you made love to me as a pony a few nights back…”

“Broadcasting…?”

She explained shortly, leaving his cheeks even redder… and his shaft even harder. So in essence, I made love not just to Twilight but… CELESTIA? He felt his mind start to overheat at the idea. “Then that means…” he couldn’t say it out loud, even as he was suddenly and very vividly visualizing it.

“It means exactly what you think it means…” Twilight admitted with a hand behind her head before her tone turned teasing—another thing she’d been picking up from the sun princess, she decided. “Oh, and… she said that your oral technique is superb, and you’d be more than welcome to do the same to her anytime!” she delighted in his squirming reaction. You know, I really think I’m starting to understand why the princess enjoys teasing… and speaking of which…

“So, Phoenix Wright…” she sauntered up to him and put her hands on his shoulders briefly before snaking them behind his head. “We’ve both been away from each other for two nights, we’ve both been pent up, we’ve both been turned on by close friends…” her aura brushed the front of his pants, making him twitch, “and we both really need to do something about all that.” Her eyes sparkled and phantom horn glowed pink as she reverted her hair and irises to their normal vivid colors, giving him a deep kiss.

“I see… and what did you have in mind, Twilight Sparkle…?” he asked slightly breathlessly when they finally broke the embrace, recognizing her desire if not her exact intention.

In response, she stepped back and in a move she’d practiced repeatedly that morning, she magically disrobed before him, her clothes falling with a soft whisper to immaculate tiled floor of the foyer, her cheeks flushed, pupils dilated and phantom horn visible in a wispy pink glow as she repeated her words from the park several days earlier, hoping they would have exactly the same effect they did then:

“Show me what it is to be a woman, Phoenix Wright.”

His erection nearly burst out of his pants.

* * * * *

Phoenix thought he was the luckiest man in the world as he beheld his equine lover’s human form, picked her up and carried her to the luxurious master bedroom, Twilight giggling in his arms the whole way. Whether that world was Earth or Equestria no longer mattered to him, and nor, did he suspect, did it to Twilight.

Though he did at least mildly regret the fact that he didn’t get to undress her himself, he set her down and took her naked body into an embrace, kissing her deeply as they were bathed in the orange rays of the setting sun pouring in through the big bay window. His hands automatically traveled over her and hers did the same to him, finding and squeezing his well-toned ‘flanks’ repeatedly as her aura found its way inside his clothes and began caressing her human lover from inside them.

Her aura now quite practiced at removing human clothing, tendrils of magic converged around his fly and shirt buttons, popping them one by one, slowly revealing more of his lightly-furred chest, well-toned abdominals… freeing more of his bulging shaft and balls, which her magic continue to work to engorge as his hands moved freely over the soft curves of her human rump, squeezing them once before moving up over her hips and torso to settle on her breasts, causing her to arch her back forward into his grasp as the sensitive mounds of flesh were kneaded, a soft sigh escaping her as the flesh was worked and her nipples were tweaked.

I… love… this… BODY! was all she could think as he continued to pleasure her with his hands. And I love… THIS… MAN!

Despite a few lapses in focus caused by the increasingly intense sensations she was feeling, Within a minute her aura had completed the work of undressing him and he stood as naked as she did, awaiting her next move. It was not long in coming as she gently pushed him down on the bed into a sitting position and she then knelt before him, his malehood filling her purple eyes with its form and promise of pleasure to come.

Finally able to inspect it up closely, she paused, some part of her mind automatically categorizing its features even as she stared somewhat breathlessly at its visibly pulsing form. Sheathless… 7.42 inches in length… fifty-degree outward angle… three degrees of upward curve… no medial ridge… slightly tapered shaft with a gently flared head… she admired its form and function, clearly meant to be used for mating face-to-face, as humans did. Not quite as big as an average equine’s, but certainly up to the job! she remembered well from several nights before.

Phoenix was having a very hard time holding still as she inspected him, her tingling aura and hot breath on him very keenly felt by him… his hands clutching the sheets to keep from going to her head and pulling it down on him as her magic continued to tease him, bathing him in its light and feeding his desires, its effect quite noticeable even though she was in human form. He had just enough restraint left to not to do so, remembering that she had said that pony stallions didn’t perform oral on mares and worried the same held true in reverse, fearful of her reaction should he try.

Finally, she grasped it lightly in her hand and he barely kept himself from creaming all over her naked form, a shuddering gasp escaping him as he gave an involuntary thrust, an unbidden image of her face and chest covered in his seed nearly causing him to lose control a second time.

Twilight watched, deeply gratified by the intensity of his reactions as she began to squeeze and stroke him lightly, deciding that it was time to put one of Celestia’s suggestions to the test… sensing his increasingly desperate need and that after four days spent as a human, she had a much better idea as to why human males might enjoy such an act. “This is for you, Phoenix Wright…” she said somewhat huskily. “For saving my friend, for being the stallion of my dreams, and the finest man a mare could wish for…” she announced as she lowered her head down on him, taking his shaft into her mouth.

“Ah! TWILIGHT!!!!” It was all Phoenix could do not to climax right then and there.

* * * * *

Twilight found herself quickly getting the hang of the unfamiliar act as she bobbed up and down on his smooth shaft, her magic only barely holding his impending release in check as she continued to pleasure him, wanting him to know what he had already done for her so many times before. Before meeting Phoenix she might have considered what she was doing obscene and alien, yet here… it felt like the most normal, natural act in the world… and not an unpleasant one at THAT!

From the musky, pleasantly earthy scent of his human body to the heat and hardness of his shaft to the slightly salty taste of his sweat and clear fluid that continued to run in a steady trickle out the top of his organ, she drank it all in as she made love to his malehood as best she could, taking great pleasure in not just the deepest intimacy and sheer exoticness of the act but Phoenix’s gasping, grasping reactions, alternately arching his back and bending forward to grasp her head, instinctively trying to push it further down on .

He loves ME! He wants ME! He needs ME!The thought made her very heady and happy even as she slowed up, sensing Phoenix was at the ragged edge and wanting to prolong the moment further…

Not wanting him to climax before she had a chance to spring her final surprise.

Abruptly, she released his slickened shaft, a thin string of his fluid connecting her lips to it as she sat up a little further, catching his glazed and disappointed gaze. “But… wh-why… why did you… stop?” he barely managed, barely able to hold a sitting position.

She gave him a coy grin worthy of a Celestia herself. “So I can do one more thing. And you can thank the princess for telling me about this one…” she said with a twinkle as her hands went to her breasts… and she pushed them into the sides of his organ, pillowing it within their soft, warm mass as she went back to work on his head.

His eyes went wide and jaw fell open. “B-but… th-that’s…” all rational thought was lost to Phoenix as she engaged in an act that he knew full well only a very comfortable and experienced human woman would normally perform, the mere sight of which was nearly enough to make him orgasm instantly, squeezing his eyes tightly shut so he would not.

Twilight was immensely gratified by his reaction, sending a mental thank-you to Celestia for the hint. And yet, her thoughts were somewhat idle even as she continued to pleasure him. She wondered if Celestia and Maya could sense what was happening despite her human form and recent practice at not broadcasting. She wondered if her friends were eavesdropping again through Pinkie Pie, and what they would think of the act. She wondered how it felt to Phoenix and even wondered if she’d ever want to have sex as a mare again given the demonstrated benefits of her human form, but found she didn’t care at all. All that mattered to her was Phoenix Wright…

Her man…

Her stallion…

His pleasure…

Her validation as a woman and mare.

Through it all, Phoenix was in utter ecstasy, some distant part of himself amazed he’d been able to hold on as long as he had in the face of such an incredibly erotic assault. But he was at his limits, both physically and mentally, and finally opened his eyes to behold… Twilight Sparkle in human form, her large naked breasts pressed into and massaging his rigid and incredibly swollen shaft, her head bobbing up and down on his tingling, tortured head while her stripes of dark blue, pink and violet hair cascaded down over her shoulders and his legs…

Unable to hold back any longer, he screamed her name and arched his back, giving a single, very powerful thrust as his overstimulated organ and badly swollen balls erupted directly into her waiting mouth. Her eyes went wide as her own aura was fed back to her in the form of Phoenix’s very potent and extremely copious magic-infused seed, triggering a sudden and very unexpected feedback loop that fed his pleasure back to hers and caused her to immediately climax as well, her mouth losing its grip on his organ.

Very surprised, she cried out as her phantom horn went off with its own eruption of magical multicolored sparkles that was equaled in intensity by Phoenix’s still-surging organ, a massive, magically-boosted discharge of milky white streamers that showered them both, though somehow the bulk of them found Twilight’s face and breasts, coating them with his seed.

Spent and exhausted, Phoenix collapsed backwards onto the bed and Twilight into him, her sodden cheek resting against his still-hard and tingling manhood, which continued to produce a slowing stream of fluid that pooled against her lips.

If either had remained conscious after that, they might have noticed his seed was glowing weakly in the evening’s fading light.

The sun was setting over the Pacific Ocean as Maya showed Celestia around—for all her previous visits to the Los Angeles area, the city of Santa Monica was not a place she had been before. She took in the sights methodically, reading every historical placard and admiring the architecture, but seemed to most enjoy removing her sandals and taking a barefoot walk on the beach, looking out over the water and basking in the breeze and last rays of the sun before it settled into the sea.

You know, of all things I ever thought an 1800-year old demigod pony princess might be, she’s certainly not any of them! Maya could only shake her head in amazement.

As twilight fell, Maya followed Celestia to a beachfront gift shop, the sun princess looking for some curios to take home with her—“My sister is not the easiest pony to shop for,” she noted—when they both abruptly sensed a muffled magical burst that marked Twilight’s climax.

While the sun princess closed her eyes and smiled, nodding in satisfaction, Maya looked away, her shoulders slumping.

I did this for you, Nick… she mentally announced, still unable to stop herself from feeling a sense of loss. If Sparkle is truly who you need, then… I swear that from here on out, I’ll do what I can to help you keep her…

Celestia noticed her change of mood. “Come, young Maya,” she suggested, laying a comforting hand on the young mystic’s shoulder. “Let us talk over a late supper.”

“Oh. Uh, sure…” Maya agreed, deciding she could use a distraction. “Where would you like to go, Princess?”

“Well, in truth… there is one human food craving I haven’t satisfied yet,” she said, her coy grin back. “And I was thinking that perhaps this was the time to do so.”

“Oh? And what’s that?” Maya asked, thinking that given the sun princess’ clearly expensive and exotic tastes in food, it couldn’t possibly be something she would want.

“Well…” Celestia said, her tone suddenly teasing. “Is there by chance a good burger place nearby…?”

Author's Note

So, out of curiosity, is anyone doing anything for the side-story contest we announced awhile back during Turnabout Storm? Official rules are here, if anyone is still interested.

—Leo

Hey folks… hard to believe, but we’re heading into the home stretch of this story. I really do appreciate all the support and people asking for new chapters. This has been a pleasure to work on, rocky launch aside, and I’m gratified that so many people are enjoying it. Needless to say this wouldn’t be anywhere near as good without Leo’s co-writing and the feedback from all my prereading crew, including AJ_Aficionado and SilentWoodFire, music and idea man James CyberLink, and returning from a hiatus, EbonHaste. Thanks guys!

Wind Whistler, like Firefly, is a G1 pony we’ve repurposed. The story of her and Firefly is told in Before the Storm: The Rise of Firefly. If you’re at all interested in a first-person war epic that tells the story of the Gryphon/Equestrian war Firefly and Celestia have mentioned, give it a read!

—Firesight