Beyond the Looking Glass

Morning. It comes whether you want it to or not. It comes after the best nights and the worst nights. Morning arrives with the raising of the sun the next day. It arrives like clockwork. And in Equestria, that clockwork is set by the will of the princesses.

The light of Celestia’s sun shone through the window of Twilight’s tower. It arrived softly, starting on the ceiling and moving downward as the sun was ordered into position by the princess. Its position caused the light and its corresponding warmth to shine upon the alicorn-sized bed in the room.

The bed itself was rather unique. There weren’t many calls for beds that could support Princesses Celestia and Luna comfortably. In the Crystal Empire there were two: One for the royal couple, and one as backup incase something happened to the first one. That was a lesson they had learned the hard way.

In Canterlot there were three: One for Celestia, one for Luna, and one for backup. The sisters’… fun wasn’t quite as extreme as their niece’s.

It wasn’t because this was that very bed that made it unique; rather, it was the four bodies that were lying on it. All four were nude as the day they were born. On the left side was a tall, tanned girl laying with her right hand over the girl next to her. Her hair was spread out messily behind her, some hanging over the bed. Her fingers draped across the smaller girl’s bare right tit.

The girl in her arms was in much the same state. Twi was laying with her back pressed against Rainbow, their bare skin pressed up against each other. Her butt-length hair served as no barrier what-so-ever for their embrace.

In her arms was a cyan pegasus, her head resting between the girl’s ample D-cup breasts. The pegasus’s fur was matted, as was all their hair. More so due to their activities after their nightly shower than the shower itself.

Facing the pegasus, with her head pressed against Dash’s coat was Twilight. The alicorn was lightly sleeping, the sounds of Dash and Rainbow snoring not enough to break her out of such a peaceful moment.

That was, not until the sun’s rays added themselves to the mix. Cuddled up against a log-sawing pegasus, with the addition of a new source of heat shining on her body, Twilight was forced to say a fond farewell to sleep, even though she really didn’t want to.

She really tried to fight it. Twilight pressed her muzzle deeper into Dash’s coat and scrunched up her eyes. She knew—on a subconscious level—that getting up meant that she had to leave those hooves. And that was something she wanted to put off for as long as possible.

Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. Twilight had no choice but to admit defeat and open her eyes. All she saw was cyan-blue, which wasn’t unexpected, but when she went to raise her head, something unexpected did happen.

“Ow!” Dash jumped as Twilight poked her with her horn.

Twilight was embarrassed beyond belief at what she had just done. “Sorry, sorry!”

“Too early,” Rainbow complained as she moved her right hand over her face to help block out the sun.

“What’s going on?” Twi asked as she did likewise.

“She poked me with her horn!” Dash said as she rubbed the bottom of her jaw, trying to get the pain to stop.

Rainbow laughed. “Didn’t hear you complaining last night.”

“It wasn’t in the fun way,” Dash said as she yawned, loudly.

“I’m sorry,” Twilight protested again as she tried to pull away from the pegasus, only to find that the cyan hooves around her prevented her from going anywhere.

“Nuh uh, you gotta make it up to me, egghead.”

That got Rainbow’s attention in a big way. She sat up, letting Twi go as she watched what was going to happen next. “D-dash?” Twilight asked.

“You poked me with that thing, so I want to return the favor.”

Twilight looked at her confused until Dash unfolded her wings. “Dash, you can’t be serious.”

Rainbow and Twi laughed at that. Morning sex was always a blast in their opinion, and they both thought that it was cute that Twilight believed Dash would be satisfied just because they had a great night together last night.

“Dash, we both stink, and I’m still sore from last night.”

Rainbow bit back a chuckle. That’s not going to stop her, she thought.

“And? What’s your point? Like I said, you poked me, so now I need to get you back,” Dash said with a smirk.

Twilight sighed and shook her head before an evil grin crossed her muzzle. Taking what energy she had and all of her willpower, she pulled herself out of Dash’s hooves. “You can do that, Dash.” Twilight gestured for Twi to let her go and then stepped over the pegasus who was still laying down.

“Orr,” Twilight purred into her ear. “I could show you what ‘magnesium iron silicate hydroxide’ is.”

“W-what?” Dash asked, suddenly turned off by sciencey stuff.

Twi laughed her ass off. “I gotta remember that one!”

Rainbow turned from the alicorn that had an ‘I’m going to fuck you raw’, look upon her muzzle to her gut busting laughing girlfriend. “You going to explain that one?”

Twi stopped, looked up at her, and grinned a devilish grin. “How about I show you?”

“Dash, say yes,” Rainbow said without even looking away.

“Huh?” Dash asked.

“Shut up and listen to me—you, whatever, just say yes.”

“Um… yes?”

“Well in that case…” Twilight trailed off as she nipped at Dash’s ear and kissed her muzzle quickly before stepping off of her. “We should really get ready, we’ve got a big day. Today’s the day we finally return home to Ponyville.” Twilight jumped down and walked towards the bathroom, glancing over her shoulder and giving her marefriend a wink.

Dash’s wings went from a state of full extension to being pinned to her sides as her eyes grew wide. “Wait, what? What just happened? What about… whatever that sciency stuff was?” Dash’s heart was beating a mile a minute now thanks to Twilight getting her excited. Her marefriend jumping off threw her for a loop.

Twi laughed her ass off a second time.

Dash turned from her marefriend sauntering into the bathroom and to her other self. “What in Tartarus…”

Rainbow’s eyes were wide as she, too, tried to comprehend what had just happened. Twilight was in the mood because she had seen all the signs, Rainbow had heard her girlfriend say that it would be something she’d show her. But… that had been the end of it.

“Dash,” Twi said between chuckles as she lightly took the pegasus’s muzzle in her hand and moved it took look her face to face. “You sure are cute when you’re horny.”

Dash pulled back; she had been expecting an explanation, instead all she got was more of the same bad joke as Twi laughed again and got off the bed. She followed Twilight into the bathroom.

Dash and Rainbow just started a each other, confused. “Explain?” Dash asked.

“Heck if I know. Twi can be playful when she wants to be, but this is a first even for me.”

Dash’s eyes narrowed as she glared back at the bathroom. The two Twilights had shut the door behind them. “We’ve gotta get them back for this.”

“We? What’s this we stuff?”

“Hey, you said you are me, and that I should listen to you. That means this is your fuck up too.”

“Pony logic makes my head hurt,” Rainbow said, rubbing the side of her head.

“Oh please, I’ve heard you make the same argument!”

Rainbow scooped up Dash. “Hey, let me go!”

The girl just laughed as she gave herself a nuggie. “I’m just giving you shit. What’s your plan?”

“Giving yourself shit?” Dash asked as Rainbow let her go and she rubbed the top of her head.

“Favorite pastime, especially when I fuck up. Now what’s your plan?”

“Well since somepony who shall remain nameless decided to wake me up and then leave me hanging, a cold shower would be ideal. But since the other two are already in the bathroom, a quick flight around would do just as well.”

“No, I meant about getting them back, featherbrain,” Rainbow said with a roll of her eyes.

Dash ruffled her feathers, and a crimson hue appeared on her face. “I uh… totally knew that.”

“Yeah, right.”

“Hey, if you call me featherbrain you’re one too. We’re the same, remember?” Dash grinned.

“Yeah, yeah, now shut up and get on with it.”

“Hey, don’t tell me to shut up.”

“I can tell myself to shut up if I want!” Rainbow and Dash glared at each other, right before breaking into laughter at the situation.

Dash rolled on the bed a bit before spying the ‘leftovers’ on the plate, the stuff they didn’t finish last night. She turned to Rainbow who had seen the exact same thing. The two Rainbows looked at each other and then to the door to the bathroom.

“You thinking the same thing?” Rainbow asked.

“They left us hanging so we fuck each other? Hell yeah.”

“No,” Rainbow shook her head. “I like the way you think, but no. Not this time.”

Dash looked confused for a moment before she realized what Rainbow was saying. An evil, grinchy grin appeared on their face and muzzle at the exact same time.

***

“That was an awesome joke, Twilight,” Twi said with a smile as she got out of the shower and started to dry off.

“Thanks, I just thought of it,” Twilight said back, smiling as she brushed her teeth and hair from the bathroom mirror. It was then when she realized that Twi and Rainbow would both need their own toothbrushes. She opened her cabinet and pulled out her spare toothbrush and the spare for her spare toothbrush. “Here you go.”

Twi took it, noting that the brush was barely half the size of a normal toothbrush. She shrugged and reached for the toothpaste. “Kinda feel sorry for leaving them clueless though.”

“Think we could get some distance from this joke?” Twilight asked after spitting into the sink and then starting to run a hairbrush through her now freshly washed coat.

“Do it too much and Rainbow will look it up on her own,” Twi said. “When it comes to sex, I’ve never seen the girl more motivated.”

“Might explain Dash’s eagerness. They’re the same after all,” Twilight noted with a humm.

“Are we so different?” Twi asked.

“Nope, it’s actually been kinda nice having someone like me around, even if you don’t really do magic.”

“That’s not exactly what I meant,” Twi said with a chuckle. “I mean are we so different from them? Just look at us from a few days ago. It looked like all four of us were sex crazy.”

Twilight blushed and looked down. Something that Twi saw in the mirror. She spat out the toothpaste in her mouth and after a quick rinse, bent down to the alicorn. “I don’t mean it in a bad way.”

“I’m a princess, not a lovestruck sex-crazed mare.”

“No, first and foremost you’re Twilight Sparkle. A Princess of Equestria. Just because you have a girlfriend doesn’t change that.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Not really. You somehow think that being in love is who you are. Your identity doesn’t change just because you gave your heart to another.”

Twilight glared at her. If this is what I sound like when I give others advice, I owe them an apology.

“What I’m trying to tell you, Twilight, is that being in love is not mutually exclusive from being who you are. It’s just another aspect. And what you do with the one you love is no one’s business other than yours and Dash’s.”

“I don’t know if the others will accept me like that. What about my friends? What about the other princesses?” Twilight asked.

“Your friends will accept and see it if they are real friends.” Eventually. She didn’t say it, but she thought it. “And for the princesses, I doubt we’ll have problems with Luna or Cadance. Only Celestia might still be a bit… suspicious.”

“Cadance seemed rather close to Rainbow,” Twilight said.

“Yeah, don’t remind me,” Twi replied.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well, if your Cadance has such an open… relationship with Shining, does mine?”

“Can we not talk about the sex activities of our sister-in-law and brother?”

“Fine,” Twi said, smiling a little as she got up. “Now c’mon, let’s give them the bathroom while I get dressed.”

“Sounds like a plan,” Twilight replied as the pair walked to the door. “Of course, they’re probably fuck-fighting on the bed again.”

Twi laughed at that as she opened the door. “Probab—”

“Fire!”

At that moment whip cream, chocolate syrup, cherries, bananas, ice cream, and more hit Twi and Twilight as soon as they walked out of the door. The combination of leftovers drenched the girl’s chest and head while soaking the mare’s fur.

“Twi sundaes, my favorite!” Dash exclaimed, laughing her flank off.

“Rainbow, I’m going to—”

Twi’s outburst was cut off as Rainbow cleared the distance between them in the blink of an eye and pressed their lips together. The taller girl didn’t care in the slightest about the wide assortment of food covering Twi and pressed herself against her without hesitation.

Twi was left agasp and breathless when Rainbow pulled back, she watched as the girl licked her lips clean of the taste of Twi and whip cream. “Had to celebrate you two getting us like that,” Rainbow said with a laugh.

“You think you're cute, don't you?” Twi asked, half pissed and half touched.

“Please, we both know I’m adorable,” Rainbow replied.

“I’ll clean us up,” Twilight said as she made to power her horn, only for the spell to fade when Dash licked across it. The action sent shivers of unexpected pleasure down her spine.

“We’ll take care of it, I think we could all use a shower now, anyway. And look at that, we just so happen to have one that’s big enough for all four of us.”

“That… sounds like a plan,” Twi said as she removed her arms from Rainbow.

“Heh, we get to have fun after all!” Dash cheered.

“Hold on a second, Dash,” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Getting clean. No funny business!”

Dash pouted, “Aw.” What followed was the most powerful puppy stare Twilight had ever seen so far.

“No.”

“Pretty please?”

“Dash…”

“C’mon, Twilight! Please with whip cream and sugar on top!”

“Argh! Fine!”

Twi grinned at Rainbow. “Good thing I’m immune to your stare by now.”

“Oh, are you?” Rainbow said.

Twi smiled. “Oh yes.”

Rainbow’s mouth dropped down into a small pout. Twi just shook her head. So Rainbow upped her game again. She let her shoulders slouch, her cheeks fall, and her eyelids drooped.

Twi had to do her best not to laugh. “Rainbow, please, if that’s the best you got, you might as well—”

Rainbow shoved her face right between Twi’s exposed breasts and motorboated.

“Rainbow!” Twi called out as she pushed away.

Rainbow’s—now chocolate covered—smile was ear to ear. She looked up with a grin on her face that simply made Twi laugh; partly because it brought back all the memories of good times with the girl but mostly because of how much food was now caked upon it.

“Told you you’d fall for my stare,” Rainbow said, licking her lips.

“What makes you think I fell for it?” Twi asked in all seriousness.

Rainbow was taken aback by that. “Y-you didn’t?”

Twi moved a little closer and licked Rainbow’s cheek. “What do you think?” She asked before walking back into the bathroom with Twilight. Notably, this time they didn’t shut the door behind them.

Dash looked up at Rainbow and raised a hoof. Rainbow bent low and fist bumped it. The two followed their marefriend and girlfriend into the shower. Twi had already started the shower and was standing off to the side, still covered in toppings. Twilight was under the water, washing her face clean. As she blinked her eyes clean, she was finally able to see Rainbow and Dash. Their entire front had food crusted over it. The sight caused her to smile, and also caused a very familiar feeling to return to her.

In a word, Rainbow looked tasty, and not just to eat.

“Not too late to the party I ho—wow!”

Rainbow was taken completely by surprise when Twilight surrounded her with her magic and pulled her close. The girl was pulled to Twilight who immediately started in on her legs, licking clean the food that was transferred over from Twi when the two hugged.

“Someone’s in the mood,” Dash said with a smile as she watched her marefriend licking her human self.

“She’s not the only one.”

Dash did a double take, trying to figure out who had just said that. It took her a minute to realize that it had been Twi. The girl squatted down and opened her knees ever so slightly.

Dash salivated. The sight before her was one of the most erotic she had ever seen in her life. Twi was presenting herself as a delicious dessert treat, topped with some of her favorite toppings. Needless to say, she didn’t need a second invitation.

Dash jumped at the opportunity. Her nose gently traced Twi’s bare folds, coating itself in the sweet and sticky remnants of last night’s activity. Licking it off quickly, she again leaned forward, this time tracing her tongue from the bottom of the girl’s slit and continuing up until she ran out of sweets to lick. Twi shuddered at the feel of the pegasus’s tongue delicately cleaning her off.

The girl shuddered, and her back fell against the wall of the bathroom. She relaxed even more, enjoying the feeling of the pegasus’s tongue with the addition of the rapidly building steam in the shower. She knew that the steam wasn’t entirely from the water either.

Twilight didn’t have the same idea as Dash, who went straight for the candy; Twilight, on the other hoof, enjoyed the tease. She licked the sides of Rainbow’s legs, her tongue going up and down, cleaning off the small amount of syrup and cream that was on there.

Rainbow looked down, smiling at the sight of the alicorn licking her bare. “Too bad you already washed yourself off, I’d love to return the favor.”

“Consider this returning it,” Twilight mumbled as she switched legs and started up the other side. Rainbow wasn’t anywhere near as covered as Twi was, her transfer only coming from the hug, but that wasn’t really the point either.

The girl did surprise Twilight by lightly placing her hand on the alicorn’s head. She moved her fingers up to the top and lightly placed them on either side of her horn.

Twilight’s eyes went wide as she felt Rainbow move her finger up and down the horn. The mare quickly figured out Rainbow’s game plan; the shots of pleasure that went from her horn and to her brain could mean nothing else. She stopped teasing Rainbow and moved straight to the honey bucket.

Rainbow rewarded her with a stifled moan and a tightening grip around the horn, starting to stroke it gently, but firmly at the same time. The alicorn was nearly lost and barely managed to focus on the licking.

She shot Rainbow a quick and playful glare before her tongue hit all the right spots in one swipe, making Rainbow’s grin falter, an unfiltered moan making it’s way to her ears.

Twi moaned as she felt Dash’s tongue press deeper and deeper inside of her. The rough texture was just the right feeling of massaging and grinding that she had come to know all too well from Rainbow. She’d never admit it—not in a million years—but between the two, Dash definitely had the better tongue.

Granted, the fact it was three times longer than Rainbow’s helped out in that regard too, something she was reminded of when half of it was inserted inside of her. “Ah, Dash.”

Dash just looked up and mumbled through an otherwise full mouth. “Want me to stop?”

In reply, Twi just placed her hand on the back of Dash’s head and pushed the mare deeper into her pussy. The pegasus took that to mean exactly what it did and went back to work on Twi’s snatch.

Rainbow did her best to try and stay standing. As soon as she felt weak in the knees she leaned back against the wall, letting it support her weight. It just wasn’t enough; at three and a half feet tall, Twilight was the perfect height to eat the girl out, something she was not shy about doing while they were alone.

After a minute, Rainbow’s knees were no longer up to the challenge of holding herself up. She started to slide down the shower wall, keeping her legs spread and her pussy presented for the mare’s tongue.

Twilight had a new appreciation for competitions. With Rainbow’s hand working her horn almost as if it were a cock, she wanted to make the girl cum before she did. Before they all did. She lengthened her licks, even going so far as to ensure that each time she completed one, she paid extra attention to the now engorged bud at the top of Rainbow’s slit.

After three licks, she latched her lips around Rainbow’s slit and suckled as hard as she could. Rainbow moaned loudly and increased jerking the horn. She was close—beyond close—and she knew it.

Dash supposed that she should be jealous. She had been the one to be promised pleasure, she had been the one that came up with the idea to do this in the first place. And yet, here she was pleasuring Twi, her muzzle buried between the girl’s legs. However, right at that moment, it mattered not. She loved her treat, her Twi sundae.

Any concern she had was erased when Twilight’s horn went off. To her credit, Twilight did manage to beat Rainbow. She caused the girl to cum two point five seconds before her horn released. But unlike last night, she gave no thought to Cadance’s lessons and did not focus on anyone for it to go to.

As such, the horn release displayed exactly as it had in Cadance’s bedchambers and the human word. Rainbow, Dash, and Twi all shared in the sudden magical release.

Rainbow had cum first. Hers was from the ministrations of Twilight. However when the magical release shot into her, her own moan became a scream of pleasure. She fell to her butt, her head resting against the wall.

Twi looked at them with a smile. “Good thing we’re so high—ahh more Dash—in the air,” she moaned. “That scream would have wakened the whole campus in our place.”

“Y-yeah,” Rainbow said, smiling as she realized that an orgasm that had knocked them out a few days ago was now just one of pleasure beyond belief.

Twilight collapsed between her legs, the mare’s muzzle resting over her pussy. “You’re amazing, Twilight. You know that?”

Twilight glared up at her and chuckled. “I’m not that amazing.”

“I’d… have to disagree,” a voice called out from being her. One that Twilight never expected to hear such words from.

“Dash?” Twilight asked, turning around to look at Dash.

“You’re definitely amazing, Twilight,” Dash said with a well-fucked expression on her face.

The alicorn blushed, even more as she saw Twi reach over and scoop up the pegasus to her chest. Dash didn’t even fight; she simply let herself be held by Twi.

“See? All that teasing, and we all enjoyed it anyway,” Rainbow said with a laugh.

“It wasn’t about not enjoying it, Rainbow,” Twi said as she let the pegasus go and watched as she scooted under the water.

“Don’t give me that ‘you’ll appreciate it more if it’s rare’ crap Twi. I couldn’t love you more if I tried, having sex or not, so why deny ourselves the pleasure?”

“You two have had this discussion before?” Dash asked from under the shower head.

“Few times. Normally it’s just Twi trying to make excuses,” Rainbow said.

“Rainbow, can we not?” Twi asked.

“That’s kinda what I’m arguing against,” Rainbow said with a laugh.

Twi didn’t return it.

“Maybe we can work it out later, for now we should get clean… again,” Twilight said as she moved under the showerhead and started to run her magic through her coat, working out some of the stains.

She paused when she felt a set of fingers take her magic’s place. Turning around, she saw Rainbow working her soap-covered hands through her coat. Twilight was about to say something until she saw a look of seriousness on Rainbow’s face. She simply turned her head and let the girl work, somewhat relieved that Rainbow did have a serious side after all.

“She’s cleaning Twilight?” Dash whispered her question to Twi.

“With all her playfulness and flaws, I can still rely on her. After all, she’s got a serious side to her as well.” Twi smiled before pulling her closer.

Dash smiled as she was held, both by the words, the gesture, and the actions of her other self. “Well, I am the Element of Loyalty after all.”

“And I’ve never known a more loyal friend,” Twi said as she started to clean the pegasus off. Her coat wasn’t bad, but it did need a quick once-over.

“I’ll do you,” Dash said.

“You already did,” Rainbow replied, chuckling.

“Oh hush, Rainbow. Dash, don’t worry, let me clean you off; it’ll be easier this way.”

“Plus the train leaves at eight-thirty,” Twilight said. “It’d be a lot easier for them to clean us than the other way around.” She purposely left off the fact she could clean them all with her magic.

“What time is it?” Dash asked.

“Last I saw, six thirty, but that’s before we got into the shower,” Twi replied.

Dash huffed at that as she spread her wings and left herself easier for Twi to clean. She started doing so, using some soap and a nearby loofah. Twi began cleaning herself and the pegasus off at the same time.

They finished a few minutes later. The majority of the mess, having come off by tongues before they even got under the shower, was taken care of with soap and water. Twilight smiled as she walked out of the bathroom side by side with Dash. The mare glanced over to her towels and levitated six over. One for her, one for Dash, and two for each human.

Rainbow caught hers and then immediately wrapped it around Twi. The girl laughed as Rainbow went to town, drying off her back, shoulders, and chest while paying special attention to the latter.

When Dash looked at Twilight with a smirk upon her face, the alicorn just grinned and tossed a towel over her muzzle.

“Hey,” Dash complained, moving the towel off her head and starting to dry herself off.

Twilight blew her a raspberry and chuckled. She stopped when she saw Dash pout a little. The mare walked over and nuzzled into Dash’s coat, not saying a word.

Twi and Rainbow smiled as they watched. The two ponies were so cute together, and so familiar as well. When the ponies broke apart, the two humans turned around and headed out of the bathroom. Twi jumped a little when Rainbow pinched her bare ass. But when she turned her head to glare at her, Rainbow just smiled and kissed her.

Twi grinned and moved to the left, in search of her clothes. Last night had been… eventful and she was no longer sure exactly where they were. After looking under the bed, she found Rainbow’s shorts.

“Think fast!”

Rainbow looked up just in time to get her shorts tossed over her head. She pulled them off and sighed. “Ah man, I was hoping it was your panties.”

Twi laughed at that. “Actually, I’m still looking for those.”

Rainbow chuckled at that. She wasn’t going to say anything, but the last she saw of those they were on their way out the window. And, while they’d never know, the panties found a new home with a bat-pony mare that enjoyed the way they felt.

“Here’s your shirt, Twi,” Dash said as she dug out the cloth from the side of the room.

“Thank you, Dashie,” Twi replied as she took it from her and rubbed the top of her head.

Dash smiled happily before looking for more clothing from the girls. They were scattered around, but with Twilight’s and Dash’s help, they were able to find everything. Well, except for Twi’s panties.

“Rainbow! What did you do with them?” Twi demanded.

“Nothing, really!”

Twi glared at her, she knew better than to believe that answer. However, before she could press the issue, Twilight chimed in. “We need to get going, it’s already seven thirty. The train station is close by, but we still need to pick up Spike and say goodbye to the princesses.”

The girl huffed; but with no choice, she simply put on her socks and shoes.

“Yeah, Twi! Listen to you and let’s go!” Rainbow laughed and walked out the door since she was already dressed.

Sadly, she was also quicker than Twilight could shout.

“WHAT THE—!” they heard Rainbow scream.

In the blink of an eye, Dash was gone. The pegasus flew at speed directly out the door and down the length of the tower. A split second before Rainbow would have ended up as a pancake on the ground, Dash swooped her hooves under Rainbow’s armpit and saved her.

Up in the tower, Twi felt her heart jump into her throat. She gasped and ran to the edge, not wanting to see what happened in case it was the worst possible scenario, but unable to do anything. “Rainbow!” She yelled at the top of her lungs.

“I got her!” Dash called back.

The words were like a lake of water delivered to a dehydrated man in the desert. At the edge of the ramp, Twi fell to the ground. Her knees unable to support her weight as relief fought off the dread she had felt at those few seconds Rainbow had disappeared from sight.

Twilight ran to her side, she had tried to yell, but her reaction just wasn’t fast enough. Her panic and fear was just as real though. In all the years she had stayed at the tower, she had never had this problem, but she also wasn’t as big as Rainbow. Two steps had been enough to topple her over the edge, something that would have taken the alicorn six at least.

“Oh thank Celestia,” Twilight said upon looking down at the pair. Dash sat Rainbow down upon the ground, shaken but unharmed.

“Get me down there,” Twi said, her voice took on an emotionless tone, one that conveyed nothing of how she felt.

Twilight nodded, and in a flash of magic, teleported the two down to the ground.

Twi stood up and walked over to Rainbow. To her credit—or stupidity depending how one looked at it—Rainbow was laughing a little about it. The experience was frightening, but in an exhilarating way.

“Wow, that was—”

Smack!

Rainbow shut up as soon as the hand hit her face. She raised her left hand to her bruised, reddening cheek and rubbed it tenderly. “Twi, what was that—”

It was then she noticed the tears falling freely from Twi’s eyes. “Twi?”

The smaller girl threw herself at Rainbow, burying her head into the girl’s cheek and wrapped her arms around her back. Twi sobbed out, “I… I… I thought… I thought I lost you.”

Rainbow stopped trying to talk at that moment. Wrapping her arms around Twi, she placed her hand on the back of the girl’s head and held her. Rainbow looked up at the top of the tower; it was a good forty feet high by her rough estimation, and the equivalent of falling from a four story building.

“Twi… I’m so sorry,” Rainbow cooed out. “I’m sorry. I didn’t…” She didn’t know how to finish that sentence. Anything she said was just… wrong. It was just an excuse for how she had almost died.

“Rainbow, our world is different than yours. There are threats here beyond just a tower,” Twilight said.

Rainbow looked at her and nodded. She then turned to Dash. “T-thanks.”

Dash just sat up in pride. “It was nothing.”

“Nothing?” The question came out as a sobbing cry, yet still fully understandable. “Nothing?” Twi pulled herself away from Rainbow and turned to the pegasus. Her face was still soaked with tears. “Dash you… you…” She walked over to the pegasus.

Dash didn’t know if she should flee or stay. For now, she went with stay. Truly looking at Twi, she figured she'd be hit or kissed, and didn’t know which one she’d get.

“Y-you saved her,” Twi cried as she picked up Dash. Twi kissed her on the top of the head and pressed her muzzle directly between her breasts. “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you,” she cried.

Dash looked at Twilight for help. But from the alicorn, there would be none. Twilight just grinned a grin that let Dash know she deserved every second of this, regardless if she felt it or not.

As Rainbow watched, her face still burned, the pain was nothing compared to the one in her heart. She had laughed about it, about her near-death experience, at not paying attention to where she was walking. But now… she knew that laugher must have been like shoving a dagger into Twi’s heart over and over again.

The feeling wasn’t a pleasant one, not in the slightest.

By the time Dash was put down, she had a face covered in kisses, something that would have been obvious had Twi had lipstick on. However, rather than be embarrassed by it, she simply felt unworthy of it. She had just done what felt natural, what her instincts told her to do; it wasn’t anything worthy of all this.

Twilight walked up and kissed her on the cheek. Dash turned to her. “What was that for?”

The alicorn just smiled. “For being a hero; a humble hero.”

“Yeah, yeah, I learned that lesson once,” Dash replied, blushing a little.

“You are a hero, Dash. You’re my hero, and hers.”

Dash looked up. In her time talking with Twilight, Twi and Rainbow were hugging again. From the looks of her, Twi didn’t want to let Rainbow go ever again, something that became apparent when the two broke their hug and Twi kept her arm around Rainbow’s back.

“Let’s get going,” Twi said, as she raised her hand to wipe her face. Rainbow beat her to it though. The girl wiped Twi’s face clean of the tears.

“We might still catch breakfast,” Dash said.

“Not hungry,” Twi replied.

“Still, we can get something to go, just in case you get hungry on the train,” Twilight said as she started to walk to the castle.

Rainbow might have been the one that almost died, but they all felt affected by it. Twilight and Dash walked abreast, far closer than even two married ponies would normally do so.

The two girls walked side by side, Twi’s hand glued to Rainbow’s hip. She still felt her heart beating a mile-a-minute in her chest. Her body was shaking, and her palms were sweaty. She didn’t know what to think, what to say, or how to act; she just knew that she never wanted to let Rainbow go again.

“Twi, not so hard please!”

Rainbow, wincing, reminded her where her arm was. Deeply sunken in her thoughts, she had started to pull Rainbow harder and harder towards her until she was squeezing the tall girl more than tightly, squeezing the air from her.

“Sorry.” Twi looked at the ground as fear and anxiety washed over her, just to be stopped dead in her tracks as Rainbow quickly swept her off her feet and hugged her tightly, pressing her lips passionately on Twi’s.

“Never apologize to me again,” Rainbow said as soon as they broke the kiss. She whispered the words as a friend, a lover. “I’m the one that owes you an apology.”

Twi looked into those magenta eyes. She felt like they were a great ocean that she was drowning in, like the eyes themselves were stealing the breath from her body, making her unable to speak, unable to think, unable to breathe.

“I’m sorry, Twilight Sparkle,” Rainbow said.

Twi just wrapped her arms around Rainbow’s neck and rested her head against her chest. She broke eye contact and, in doing so, found herself finally able to breath again. Rainbow kissed the top of her head and continued to walk forward—the slight gesture telling the ponies that they should continue leading the way.

Twilight grinned at that as she turned to Dash with a smile on her face. The pegasus looked at her, confused. Her silent question was answered when Twilight kissed her again. Blushing, Dash turned and led the way back into the castle, but not before wrapping a wing around the alicorn.

It got her a few strange looks from the guards, but those were quickly redirected to the humans walking behind them. But even if that hadn’t been the case, Dash found that she just didn’t care.

***

“Twilight!” Spike yelled as soon as soon as they turned the corner to head into the dining room.

Dash pulled her wing back, and Twilight welcomed the little dragon’s embrace with a hoof. She hugged Spike tightly to her. “Hey Spike, you sleep well?”

“Best sleep I’ve had in weeks!” Spike said with a smile, his face still buried in Twilight’s coat.

“That’s good to hear,” Twilight said.

“Hey, little one,” Rainbow grinned and ruffled the spikes on his head.

“Hey, I’ve still got a name!” Spike pouted into Twilight’s coat.

Rainbow just laughed before shutting up as Luna walked around the corner. “Good morning, Luna.”

“Good morning to thee, Rainbow.” Luna smiled. “Our sister is awaiting all of you in the dining room. We shall go to bed now.”

“Luna, can I ask you something really quick?” Rainbow asked with a grin. “Alone?”

The blue alicorn raised an eyebrow, but nodded. “Very well. Thou may follow me.”

Twilight and Twi shared an uneasy look as they watched Rainbow follow Luna. Whatever she had planned, they were sure it wasn’t something good.

“There’s no use in asking what she might be planning,” Dash said, shrugging after some confusing looks. “Let’s go get something to eat real quick.”

Twi and Twilight still looked worried, but they followed Dash as she made her way to the dining hall with Spike. Two guards opened the massive double doors for them, and they stepped through, welcomed by a warm smile from Celestia.

“Twilight, it’s good to see you all,” she said before blinking. “Isn’t there someone missing?”

“Yes, Rainbow. She is talking with Luna.”

Celestia raised an eyebrow at Dash, but let it be. “Please, sit down and take what you want. I hope you don’t mind that the plates are already served?”

“No, not at all.” Twilight smiled and sat down at Celestia’s side, Dash right next to her.

Twi was a bit more hesitant, but soon took a place near Twilight and Dash, hoping Rainbow would be back soon. As if on cue, the tall girl stepped in, a huge grin on her face. A small blur followed the girl in, noticed only by Celestia as a grin graced her regal features.

As soon as she sat down, Twi whispered, “What did you talk about with Luna?”

“It’s a surprise, I’ll tell you later.”

Twi looked at her, unsure if this was good news or bad. Knowing Rainbow, it was a bit of both. Rainbow just smirked before loading her plate with pancakes, doughnuts, and other assorted treats and diving into the food, her near-death experience obviously no longer affecting her. Twi wasn’t as able to push it to the back of her thoughts.

“Aren’t you hungry?” Celestia asked.

She looked up at the sun princess. Celestia’s muzzle looked concerned, and Twi knew it was because she wasn’t eating and that the alicorn had no idea what had happened just a few minutes before. But even still, Twi couldn’t shake the feeling that Celestia just knew. “I just don’t have much of an appetite right now, sorry.”

“She filled up last night,” Dash said with a snicker.

Twilight chuckled, and then stopped herself as soon as she realized what she had just laughed about. It was a gesture that did not go unnoticed by Rainbow, whose ear-to-ear smile spoke volumes about how she felt.

“It’s fine, we just had an eventful morning,” Twilight said as she collected herself after that unintentional laugh. “We’re going to take some for the train if that’s okay. Just in case we get hungry on the way back to Ponyville.”

“Twilight, you know all you have to do is ask. I’ll go ahead and get something prepared for you,” Celestia said as she nodded to one of the serving ponies.

“What happened this morning?” Spike asked.

“Before or after the shower?” Rainbow muttered, low enough for the dragon not to hear.

“Dash got to be a hero,” Twi said, smiling over to the pegasus with a look of pure gratitude.

Dash was about to say something about her always being epic but stopped when she looked at Twi’s face. She had saved foals from falling off cliffs, rescued fillies from wells, and even stopped many crises from destroying all of Equestria. But this time… such praise just felt underserved.

“Twilight, is Dash… blushing?” Spike asked.

Twilight turned her head to the cyan pegasus. She grinned at the sight before her. “I think she is, Spike,” Twilight said and then kissed Dash on the cheek.

Spike chuckled. “I think this is a first for her—I mean the blushing!”

“Sure, small one,” Rainbow said.

“My name is still Spike!”

The tall girl chuckled as she finished a second helping of pancakes. “Yep, yep, and it was Spike in our world too. Although there you weren’t half as cool.”

“I thought you said you liked Spike?” Twi protested.

“I do,” Rainbow said, “but c’mon, a dog versus a small, talking, dragon? One kinda has the other beat, hands down.”

Twi huffed at that, but Rainbow didn’t let her slouch for long. She placed her arm around the girl’s shoulders and pulled her in close, somewhat regretting that they had separate chairs that morning. There had been something nice about sharing one yesterday. “Chillax, egghead. There’s nothing wrong with your Spike. Even if you still get all uppity when I say we should break out the pean—”

“Rainbow, you finish that sentence and I’ll kick your ass.”

“Noted,” Rainbow said with a gulp. She highly doubted that Twi would follow through with that threat, but it wasn’t worth the risk.

“I think I missed some context there,” Celestia said. “And what was this event that occurred?”

“I’ll tell you,” Twilight started to say but stopped when she saw the time, “later, in a letter, we gotta get to the train station.”

Twi, Rainbow, and Dash’s eyes looked up at the clock. It was already eight o'clock, meaning they had thirty minutes until the train left. Which shouldn’t be an issue, but only if they left now.

Rainbow reached down to grab the last doughnut from her plate only to return empty handed. Staring down at the empty spot on her plate she saw two adorably beady eyes attached to an opossum staring back up at her, doughnut hanging from his maw. Rainbow shrieked and lunged back in her chair as the charming marsupial gave her a wave with his small paw and ran out of the room with the doughnut. A loud “huzzah!” could be heard from the hallway, followed by overly exaggerated munching as the Lunar Princess retreated to her chambers. “What the heck was that?” Rainbow stared at Twi as Celestia giggled.

“It seems that Luna decided to have a snack before retiring for the day, and Tibbles never could resist a treat.” Celestia stifled her remaining laugh with a hoof over her muzzle.

“Aww, is Rainbow afraid of a small, adorable opossum?” Twi snickered at her girlfriend as Rainbow calmed down.

Rainbow just glared at her girlfriend. “It looked like a damn rat!”

“It’s just smaller in this world, like everything else,” Twi said with a giggle.

Rainbow huffed, blushing at her sudden outburst. But when she saw everyone else beginning to leave, she started to shovel the remaining food into her mouth, only for Twi to pull away her pony-sized pancake and put it back on the plate.

“Twi, I was eating that!” Rainbow protested.

“We gotta go, Rainbow. If we let you finish you’d keep us here all day.”

Rainbow huffed, mumbled something indecipherable, but got up all the same. Twi smiled and did likewise. “Princess Celestia, thank you for having us as your guests. I do hope we’ll get to meet again before we go home.”

“Likewise, Twili—Twi,” Celestia said with a smile. “If you two need anything at all, let me know. I hope you find Equestria to your liking while you’re here.”

Rainbow got up and stretched her arms. “It’s been pretty good so far,” she said, grinning.

Dash and Twilight got up next. The former took wing and flew over to the exit, the latter lingered for a bit. “Thank you again, Princess Celestia.”

“We’re both princesses now, Twilight. You don’t have to be formal with me.”

“Force of habit,” Twilight replied with a blush.

“Oh, and your food,” Celestia said as she turned to a serving pony off to the side and levitated over the bags he had been holding in his magic to her former student.

Twilight took them gratefully, nodded once more in thanks, waved Spike over to her, and started to walk out the door. The two caught up to the others as they waited by the exit. Rainbow reached down and took the bags from the mare. They were big and packed full of food, for a pony, but to Rainbow they were nothing more than a to-go bag from the cafeteria.

They walked in silence after that, not because they had nothing to say, but because there was no need to say anything. That is until Dash landed right next to Twilight. “Can’t wait to get home?”

Twilight turned to her about to say yes. But something about the question struck her as odd. She really did want to go home, and yet… there was something disconcerting about it. Her brain told her to just say yes, that she really did want to get back and see Pinkie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity again. And yet…

“Equestria to egghead, you okay?” Dash asked, concerned.

“That’s her ‘lost in thought’ face,” Rainbow replied with a laugh. Even though Twilight was a pony, and her Twi was a human, she’d recognize that face a mile away.

Twi saw it too, she changed the subject. “So how are we going to get to the train station anyway? Is it okay to walk there?”

“Want me to carry you?” Rainbow asked.

Twi blushed at that.

“Maybe we’ll take a chariot,” Dash replied.

“Really? That sounds cool!” Rainbow said.

“Yeah, that’s way faster!” Spike agreed.

“That’s way too much, I seriously doubt it,” Twi replied.

“Actually, I think that’s the plan,” Twilight said as they walked out of the castle and saw a flying chariot waiting for them with two pegasi guards to pull it.

“Heck, with this we don’t even need the train!” Dash said with a laugh.

“No, Dash. Even with the best of the Royal Guard, with all five of us we’d need my chariot. With this, we’d be way too big of a load for them to get us all the way to Ponyville,” Twilight said.

“Why?”

Twilight sighed. “You know how big the chariots from the Guard are? Now imagine the three of us, and then add in Twi and Rainbow, who are even bigger than us, into it. For a ride that’ll be over an hour? Not going to work.”

“I could do it,” Dash said with a huff.

“Maybe,” Twilight replied. “But not everypony is as awesome as my marefriend.”

Twi smiled at that. A grin that increased even more when she saw the look of pride that took over the pegasus’s face. She turned and looked at the chariot. Her brain was telling her that there was no way this thing would ever achieve flight, that the laws of aerodynamics said it couldn’t happen. But they also said the same thing about Dash and Twilight being able to fly, that their wings were simply too small for their body mass. But that didn’t stop them from being able to. She knew that if she asked, the answer would most likely be ‘magic’, so she didn’t say a word. Rather, she just got aboard with Rainbow and Spike right behind her.

Twilight and Dash followed soon after. “To the train station, good sirs,” Twilight said.

“Yes princess,” they both replied and started off walking. After less than ten steps they flapped their wings and the chariot was off into the air.

Rainbow and Twi stuck their heads over the side. They had a bird’s-eye view of Canterlot, and a lot of Equestria for that matter, and didn’t want to miss a moment of it.

Dash grinned as she watched them eyeing the city, the buildings, and the surroundings. It’d be a short flight to the train station, but if there was one pony in all of Equestria that truly appreciated what it was to fly, it was her. In a way, she somewhat envied them. After all, they were experiencing the joy of this for the first time in their lives. Well, in this world anyway.

“Well, since you two seem to love this so much, next step into the world of flying is making love on a cloud,” Dash snickered before shutting it down after a glare from Twilight.

Rainbow turned to her and laughed. “We did that already.”

“Oh… yeah,” Dash replied with a blush.

“Smooth, Dash, really smooth,” Twilight said with a laugh as she brushed up against Dash.

“Heh, sorry. I already feel like we’ve been together for a lifetime, so forget my old head.” The pegasus laughed before realizing what she just had said.

“Really, Dash?” Twilight asked softly.

Dash scratched her head. “Yeah, it’s like our destiny. It just feels so right and… natural?”

Twilight surprised her as she leaned in, giving her a passionate kiss. Soon, Dash leaned in as well, totally taken by her marefriend while Twi and Rainbow smiled.

Twi’s eyes turned to Rainbow. They were in the air, in a flying chariot, in a strange land no human had ever been to before with wondrous sights all around; but, at that moment, she was all Twi wanted to look at.

Rainbow felt the same.

Both humans almost fell to the floor of the chariot when it landed in front of the train station. “We’re here,” one of the two pegasi pulling the cart said, his voice somewhat strained from the effort of flying with such a heavy load.

“Oh, thank you,” Twilight said as she pulled away from Dash and looked at all the ponies going to and fro, or all the ones that were going to and fro. Every pony at the station had stopped to look at the two humans in the cart.

In an almost protective gesture, Rainbow placed her arm around Twi’s midriff and pulled her in tightly. Twi just looked embarrassed, unused to this much attention.

“I guess we shouldn’t have been surprised, it’ll take awhile for the word to spread to everypony,” Dash said as she took wing and eyed the crowd.

“Yeah, you’re right about that,” Twilight said. She closed her eyes and took three deep breaths, in much the same way that Cadance had taught her all those years ago. Relaxed, she started down from the chariot and to the train.

Twi, Spike, and Rainbow followed. They walked up to the train and followed Twilight onboard after the mare gave the train conductor their tickets. Normally, there was no need from a princess, but Twilight rejected the fact that she could do whatever she wanted. It didn’t seem right for her to get everything for free, so she still insisted on paying for everything.

He eyed the humans suspiciously, but didn’t prevent them from getting aboard. Once again, Twi noted how the train doors were far bigger than necessary for ponies, and how the train cars were the same, but she said nothing about it. It was just one more mystery to add to a long list in her book.

“Can’t wait to introduce you two the the rest. Boy will they freak out!” Dash said, smiling as she followed everyone onboard.

Rainbow muttered to herself, “If only you knew the half of it.”