The Cost of Asylum

Star Struck stopped while walking down the hallway to his room. There it was again. A faint giggle in the wind, something you could dismiss as your ears playing tricks on you. He knew better though. It usually was followed-

"Whatcha' doin' Struck?" Lancing Nova asked, landing on his back from her hiding place in the rafters.

Having experienced it so many times by now, he continued walking, carrying the mare with him on his way to his room.

"I'm trying to think of what to do now. I managed to take Twilight to the meteorite shower, but I know she wasn't thinking of it as a date. Now that it's over, I want to try something else, something a bit more..."

"Something that is undeniably a date," Nova finished, popping open her brothers door with a burst of magic.

Star nodded.

"Yea, I know you may think it's silly but I just want this to go well."

"Eh, you like her, she...breaths I guess? I've never seen her so much as look at another pony, let alone a stallion. She spends most of her time with her nose stuck in books. From what mom and dad said, sometimes it seems like the only time she notices stallions is when she's in heat. So basically when her biological clock is slapping her around. Otherwise she's completely dedicated to her work.

"Point is, if you like the mare you should go for it. Make sure its a nice place you take her too though. If you end up taking her to the Drunken Clam I'm going to rip you a new one."

Star Struck snorted, shifting to drop his sister off of his back.

"You really think I'm going to take Twilight to a bar for a date?"

"You've done dumber things in the past," she answered nonchalantly.

"I can't believe you're here trying to tell me how to woo a mare," Star said with a shake of his head. "Do you know the first thing about romance?"

The green furred alicorn mare opened her mouth to object, but Star stuck his hoof to her nose to stop her.

"Sleeping with anything that has a pulse, and some creatures where the answer was questionable, does not count as romance."

The mare pouted.

"Just because I enjoy learning about different races in a more...intimate setting doesn't mean I don't know about romance. Did you know diamond dogs consider it romantic to bring a significant other on a tunneling trip? Or that a diamond dog considers giving up one's gems, even to a lover, to be the height of stupidity? What about dragons? Trading treasures, even if its a simple trinket with no real value, is one of the most romantic things you can do for a dragon. Don't even get me started on changelings, if you understand how to focus your emotions you'll be treated like royalty in any hive. That includes a few servants who will see to your every need."

"My sister, everybody. The mare of a thousand lays," the stallion said while gesturing to the bowing female.

"I know it doesn't sound like much, but I do wish you the best, Struck. If anyone can get that mare laid, its you. Her pussy is screaming in anguish, brother," Nova said, laying a foreleg over her eyes dramatically and raising her other in a warding gesture. "Only you may save it from its owners neglect!"

"It doesn't always have to be about sex, you know," he shot back in irritation.

Nova rolled her eyes.

"We're alicorns, we have some of the strongest heats on the planet. It has everything to do with sex. Oh, stay away from mom and dads room in a few years. I think mom's getting that sense of longing again. She's going to be going after dad like a rabid dog soon."

Star nodded.

"Thanks for the warning. So before you go, what would you suggest for a date?"

"I'd go with a night on the town, lots of alcohol and some flowers the next day, but that's just me," Nova said, waving off his scowl. "For you, I'd go with a fancy restaurant, wine and ties, the whole nine yards, and then take a walk in the garden or go see a movie. Talk, be it about science, magic, star charts, whatever gets her tail hitching. That's what you want to do, talk to her, get her to open up a bit. If she starts looking at you as a friend, maybe you can bridge that whole 'I was at your birth and this is weird' thing she's got going on."

Star nodded. According to mom, that was the main issue Twilight was having with his coming on to her. Waving goodbye to his sister, he watched as she disappeared in a shimmer of light, her favorite cloaking spell removing her from most forms of detection.

Dad had broken down laughing when she'd worked that cloak out. Then he'd taken her out and trained her in a special weapon he'd held back from the front lines, a rifle he called it. After that, he started calling her his little ghost and laughing about changeling rushes.

'He's so weird sometimes.'

Pulling out a pen and paper, he began writing down all the possibilities and things that would be needed for a good date with Twilight Sparkle. The mare in question would have approved after he was finished, as his checklist ended up nearly four pages long.

<-(0)->

A chestnut earth pony mare in a gorgeous blue dress took her seat at a table in a fine restaurant. She smiled brightly as her blind date, a second earth pony mare in a business suit, sat across the table from her.

The mare giggled before reaching across the table and tapping her hoof against her date's hoof.

"It's wonderful to see you. You look lovely."

"Same to you. I'm surprised how much fun this is," the mare said grinning widely.

The chestnut mare rolled her eyes.

"The point is to not give yourself away Chrysalis. You lost in your first sentence."

The business mare's eyes widened and she slammed a hoof into her face.

The earth pony smiled brightly.

"It's fine, you'll learn how to do it eventually. I've messed up my guess a few times as well. I'm not giving myself away just yet though, so you can still learn a thing or two about this."

"Do we look for the others or-"

"No, we just talk and enjoy the meal. In fact, it's the meal where you can usually get a good idea of which pony you're dating. For instance, is the food spicy, or is it sweeter? What wine did they choose? How did they react to your own questions and answers?"

"Alright," Chrysalis said, looking over the menu curiously. "I've never actually done this kind of thing before. A date I mean."

"Truly? A shame. It can be a delightful experience for both parties," the chestnut mare said, taking a delicate sip of water.

"Are you ladies ready to order?" a dragon asked, a cloth draped over his arm as he topped off their waters.

"Of course, I'm ready if she is," the first mare said, gesturing to the queen. Chrysalis nodded, folding up her menu and placing it on the table.

"I will try the Lovely Lasagna. Red wine would...do you have any Barb?"

"Of course. Shall I bring the bottle or-"

"The bottle is fine. We'll both be taking our leftovers with us, including the wine," the earth pony said with a gentle smile. "I'll be having the garlic butter scampi with a bit of Merlin. I believe you have a good selection of those? A sixth-year bottle will be fine."

The drake gave a nod and took their menu's. Chrysalis, still in her disguised form, looked at the mare across from her with a scowl.

"This is harder than I thought it would be. Your emotions don't give me anything to work with."

"Of course they don't Chrysie. If they did, it wouldn't be much of a game," the mare chuckled, showing a bracelet on her hoof to the shape shifter.

"You're wearing a blocker. Of course you are," Chrysalis muttered, taking another sip of water. She stopped a moment later, perking up and looking to the door. "Hmm, this place is rather popular."

The mare frowned in confusion before lifting a knife in her hoof, allowing her to catch the reflection of the room behind her. Her eyes widened when she caught sight of the pair that just walked in.

"Well that's unexpected."

Star Struck, in a clean black suit and tie combination, was currently escorting Twilight to a far table. The mare was dressed in a beautiful black dress that matched her date's outfit well, including a red flower in her mane to go with his tie. The couple took a seat in a side booth, Twilight looking around nervously at the attention while Star looked to be sweating bullets.

"Huh. I didn't know he talked her into a date."

Chrysalis cocked an eyebrow at that comment. Luna was talking with Twilight for the last few days, so that left.

"Tia."

The mare giggled, giving Chrysalis a predatory grin.

"incorrect guesses means you have to pleasure your date to a full climax before you get any stimulation. I'll take mine in the form of a blowjob."

"Ares?" Chrysalis whispered in shock.

"I told you it could have been anybody," the disguised stallion said. "See the brown stallion and the pink mare over there? No, don't look, use your knife like I did earlier. See them?"

The queen did as instructed, soon spotting the whispering couple three tables away.

"That's Tia and Luna. They've been giggling nonstop from the moment Star and Twilight walked in, and I can tell the stallion is Celestia because Luna's had to stop her twice from moving closer to the little lovebirds."

"It's bonus points to figure out who the others are, but you have to get your date correct first. If you mess that up, you don't get to guess on the others. If I'm right and both of them mess it up, I'm the winner of the night and all three of you have to listen to me. If Luna or Celestia guess correctly, that means that the winner gets to demand something of the loser. If you win your date and both winners guess the others correctly, well, we keep it to just the date winners. Otherwise we'd be arguing over who guessed correctly first for longer than it's worth."

Chrysalis nodded, pouting a bit at her loss. Still, Ares tended to bend the rules for her so maybe...

"If you're a good little mare, I'll even pretend you didn't guess," Ares added, the sweet smile on the face of a mare completely at odds with the simmering tone he used. "I've not had changeling nectar in a while."

The queen flushed, giggling nervously at the comment and taking a drink of water to cool herself. Those kinds of comments were definitely something Ares would say.

The dinner arrived shortly after, leaving the two to enjoy the meal in companionable silence. Mostly silence anyway.

"Lovely Lasagna. It's made with changeling honey, isn't it?" Ares asked with a soft smile.

The shape shifter nodded.

"It is. I found out they cater to changelings as well and was curious. They've added gel to several dishes that won't be too changed by the strange flavor that the emotion gel leaves on the tongue. It's also in low enough quantities that it wouldn't incapacitate a pony who ended up eating too much of it."

"Just remember what I said next time. Don't order a changeling-specialty dish, as that kind of gives you away."

Taking a bit of his shrimp, he offered it to the mare.

"Here, try some. I'll try a bit of yours, too if you don't mind."

Chrysalis added a bit to her own fork and the two exchanged bites.

"It's not bad. I can taste the emotion, too...happiness?" Ares asked.

The queen nodded.

"It is, with a bit of love added in. Not enough to keep a changeling going for a week or two like a cup of pure love, but it is there. Interesting, I like the garlic."

"Garlics always been one of my weaknesses. Even the smell of it tends to make me hungry. Garlic potatoes, garlic in my pasta, garlic in my spaghetti sauce...if I can get it in there without ruining the dish, I'm going to try it."

"I'll have to keep that in mind next time," Chrysalis said with a smile.

Enjoying the rest of the meal, the two had the leftovers and wine bottles bagged for them before leaving together. As they walked down the quiet city streets, Ares bumped against Chrysalis, drawing her attention.

"I was going to suggest a walk in the park or something, but seeing as I don't know what Star Struck has planned I suggest we head back home. We can cuddle for the rest of the date. Then we can tease the others when they arrive."

Chrysalis nodded, the idea of curling up with the stallion after a warm meal on a cool night sounding most appealing. Perhaps she'd finish a bit more of that wine, as well. It was surprisingly good.

<-(0)->

Luna and Celestia whispered quietly to themselves as they walked to their room.

"I can't believe he managed it!" the white mare giggled.

"Oh, I agree," Luna nodded, a wing holding the slightly inebriated alicorn upright. "Though you know Star's been after Twilight for a very long while now. I'm still surprised he managed to convince her. Now, let's get back to the room. You owe me, especially after I had to stop you from stopping to chat with the cute couple a few seats away."

"I wasn't going to give us away," the pink-maned mare pouted.

"Tia, you were giggling about how the adorable filly was growing up. Very few people in the city knew Twilight when she was a filly, in fact I cannot think of any off the top of my head. Those that would remember her are nearing the end of their natural lifespans."

Celestia's mood fell and she leaned in to her herd-sister's side.

"I hated seeing her like that. When Night Light and Twilight Velvet passed away she was just..."

"It's an unfortunate part of being as long lived as we are, Tia. You know this," the blue alicorn said, her mood falling. "Cadance is already trying to mentally prepare herself, as Shining is not doing well. He's getting older every year, slowing down a bit more. She can no longer tease him in the bedroom, I don't think. It's going to be very rough on her."

"He's already told her to find new love when he's gone," Celestia sighed. "I think that hurt her more than anything. He's already accepted his fate."

Opening the door to Ares' bedroom the mares stopped at the sight of the stallion currently spooning the changeling queen, his head on her neck as he held her tightly. They didn't smell of sex, but the several discarded wine bottles on the floor gave the mares a good idea of the state of their herd-mates.

"I'd be willing to bet five bits Chrysalis gave herself away in the first two minutes of the night," Luna whispered, using a burst of magic to lay a blanket over the two before stepping back into the hallway.

The white mare laughed as she closed the door, already moving to the room next door.

"I'd be surprised if she didn't Luna, that's a sucker bet. I'll go as far as to say her first three sentences gave her away."

"Hmm...first three words out of her mouth," Luna said, jumping onto the spare bedroom's mattress.

"I doubt she was that bad so sure. If its any farther than that, I add five bits. I only need three more wins before you owe me."

Celestia jumped up onto the mattress as well, cuddling with the blue alicorn.

"We'll answer all bets and rewards tomorrow, okay?"

Luna nodded in agreement, sighing as she relaxed into her sister's embrace. She smiled as she dozed off, idly wondering how her son's date went.

<-(0)->

"So I uh, guess this is goodnight?" Star chuckled nervously, standing outside Twilight's room. Rooms was a better word, though, as the mare had several rooms stuck together that were all considered hers.

"Uh yea. It was nice, kind of uh, nerve-wracking but I...had fun," Twilight mumbled, blushing hotly. She still couldn't believe she'd let herself be talked into this.

"I'll speak to you again tomorrow, Twilight. Enjoy your night," Star said, lifting the mare's hoof and planting a kiss on the fetlock.

Twilight nodded dumbly, staring at the stallion as he slowly lowered her hoof. Just as he was turning to leave she coughed, drawing his attention back to her.

Taking a deep breath to steel herself she moved forward, planting a kiss on his lips that she quickly broke a moment later.

"Itwasfungottabeuptomorrowbye!"

Rushing into her room and slamming the door shut behind her she buried her face in her hooves.

'Oh Tartarus what did I do that for?'

As much as she tried to come up with reasons to try and let him down gently the next time she saw him though, her brain wouldn't let her. She'd had fun, he was nice, it was nothing but positives.

'I'd also be legally able to call Celestia mom...'

She blushed even more at that. The mare that was a second mother to her, the one who held her close at her parents funerals. She'd called the white alicorn mom on several occasions during those horrible times, crying almost constantly while Celestia held the smaller mare against her barrel. To be able to do it publicly... and while it would be weird referring to Ares as her father-in-law, he did come across as a supportive father figure sometimes.

She squeaked in embarrassment, teleporting to her bed and diving under the covers. Luna's words from earlier that day were echoing in her mind.

"You're practically a daughter to most of the herd already, Twilight. Star enjoys spending time with you, almost you enjoyed your time with him."

She hid her head under her pillows, her wings tenting under the blankets. Why did he have to be smart and handsome? Why?

Star walked to his own room in a daze, not even noticing as his sister came up along side him and asked how his date went. She rolled her eyes, dropping a comment about love-poison lipstick before walking along behind the stallion. She helped the dazed, grinning alicorn undress and pushed him into bed, pulling the covers over him and turning out the lights

She knew he wouldn't remember it but she found she had to say it. Closing the door behind her, a smile split her lips.

"Good night, nerd. Good job."