Mac opened her eyes and yawned. The leg draped over her shoulder didn't surprise her, Luna had been getting a little "huggy" for the last two days; it had been a week since Mac had joined the Lunar Guard.

"You have a date tonight, don't you?" Luna spoke the words right into Mac's mane, sending a warm shiver down the smaller mare's spine. "Your second, isn't it?"

"Yeah." Big McIntosh stretched, pushing her back into an arch and shoving her legs out hard. Even as her back pressed against Luna's belly, Mac gave a nod. "He is nice, easy to relax with and just… talk."

"Have you thought more about us, too?" Luna didn't want to spook Mac, just held still and let her precious butterfly squirm and slip away.

"I asked you to take it slow, Luna, and you have." Mac smiled at the princess and began walking for the bath. "So 'us' is a thing, I guess." She slipped down into the water, giving a happy sigh. "Coming?"

Luna melted at the glance Mac gave her, she knew the mare didn't mean to do it but it had her breath catch in her throat. "You bet I am." It was a less elegant dismount of the bed, but Luna didn't care. With her eyes fixed on the dark bat pony mare, she gave a soft sigh of happiness.

Mac drifted over to Luna, barely swishing her wings in the water for propulsion. "Anything exciting happening tonight?" She leaned down, pressing her snout to Luna's wing and, when it spread for her, Mac began arranging the alicorn's primary feathers appropriately.

"Oh, we have a special visitor, she will be dropping off something very important." Luna almost flopped in place, the attention to her feathers relaxing her completely. "Princess Cadance, too, will be arriving."

Mention of the "Empress of the North" got Mac's attention. "About that. There was a raffle, the guard… we all had a raffle for something."

"Did you win?" Luna looked at Mac, having trouble keeping the silly-happy smile off her snout. When Mac nodded, she lost a bit of the smile. "That raffle was to see who would 'accompany' Cadance's retinue. It is a tradition that the guard on duty offer the visiting dignitary all the honor of their homeland." Luna gave a suffering sigh.

Mac stopped her preening task. "Their homeland? But that is the Crystal Empire, they-"

"Keep pleasure slaves, yes." Luna leaned down and finished off her primaries. "You know what happens if we refuse?" She looked to Mac and saw the mare shake her head. "Cadance would 'leave', then return during the day. Who do you think Princess Pudgy-Plot would assign?"

"My little Apple." Mac sunk her head under the water, wanting to be away from the world. It is a new thing to me, too. The Crystal Empire was not… the way you see it now. Mac lifted her head out and shook her mane. "What will they want me do?"

"Depends who she brings, if she brings Shining and Chrysalis, try to get Shining." Luna used her magic to float the mane shampoo over to Mac, working it into the mare's dark mane. "They are not allowed to use anything permanently enchanting on you, but they may… try to talk you into it."

"So I just have to stand at attention and tell them 'No'?" Mac reached up with a wing, rubbing her mane and working the shampoo through it.

"You will need to oblige them. They are going to want to play with you, Mac." Luna reached out her other wing and started preening the feathers. "They will be arriving later in the night, however. You have your date with Jade first."

Mac stopped and turned to look at Luna. "If you are trying to tell me something, please spell it out." She is suggesting you share Jade's bed, so your first time isn't with one of Cadance's guard. Mac froze what she was doing. "I will have to sleep with them?" Mac felt an anger rise, an anger that wasn't her own. Mine, sorry. Hearing Night Reign's voice, so soft in her head, cut the anger back.

"They will not be allowed to demand it, but they will use tricks to encourage it." Luna's enjoyment of the bath had ended. "She is… an ally, where Equestria lacks any. Sister… has not lifted a hoof to run things since shortly after I left. Captain Night Light keeps his guards as ready as he can, but without our shining star, Twilight Sparkle, we are nearly defenseless. We need Empress Cadance to side with us."

Blue magic grabbed hold of a cane by the big map of Equestria on the wall of Luna's chambers. "Before I… was sent away, all of this was Equestria." Her magic rolled back time on the map, taking away the lines and markings of the other nations. "Sister ruled, albeit in a little odd way, but ponies were happy." The marks around Manehatten once more changed it to a city-state. "Then Manehatten claimed independence of her twisted rule. Seeing weakness, the dragons pushed in." Luna added more marks. "And in the last few years, the Changeling Collective, the remains of Chrysalis' leaderless hive, took our southern cities."

"I know… okay, I didn't know it was all Equestria." Mac studied the odd map critically, she had never seen one so old, modified to modern times. She climbed from the pool, letting Luna worry about running a towel over her body. "So this," Mac brought a hoof up to point at what she had always thought of as "not Equestria" on the mainland, "used to be Equestria?" It would take at least two strong armies to do this. One to defend, one to strike. "Cadance has an army?"

"She has two, Mac." Luna joined McIntosh at the map. "She has her Crystal Guard, and she has an army of changelings. She could take Manehatten… retake it that is." Smiling at the map, Luna showed little flashes and then showing Manehatten becoming part of Equestria again. "We could then push down, block off the dragons and drop a hammer from Cloudsdale." She motioned on the map, showing the two huge "bites" out of Equestria fading.

"And then we push on the Collective?" Mac brought a hoof to the changelings in the south.

"No, they," Luna lowered her head, "they are mostly at peace. We don't officially like how they are treating ponies, but reports have come from there, the ponies are alive and well." Luna inhaled, it was the one sticking point of these plans. "Despite being fodder for the changelings."

There is more, she is holding back. "What aren't you telling me?" Mac studied the map, military thoughts pouring through her head, courtesy of Night. "There is another player, another piece to this puzzle."

Luna froze, she hadn't expected Mac to figure that out. "Night is helping?"

I am not! You are just learning from me, you are not a silly filly, Big McIntosh, not by half. "She is." And you play games with my lover. Don't break her, Mac. "She helps me with this, but her guidance is only that. If we had both these armies together, why not retake the south? Either there is something missing, or you don't want whatever army Cadance provides meeting with them."

"Either army would have changelings in it, don't doubt it. And no, I don't want her establishing any ties down there. But there is more, Mac. More that I cannot tell you about." Luna turned, started drying them off properly. "You will know about it all by the time you are leading my army."

"Leading?" Leading? Mac and Night both were shocked.

"Leading. By the time these plans move forward, you will be the best hope Equestria has. But that is some years ahead." Luna smiled. "You can't go on a date looking like that."

Mac groaned as Luna set to work, fitting her mane with all kinds of clips, getting it flowing down her neck and withers.

In no time, and with no talk, Mac's mane and tail were both primped and, despite having been a stallion most of her life, it felt nice. "Is he on door duty again?"

"Jade? He should be." Luna grinned and gestured forward with a hoof. "If you would, my guard, please see me out to the hall."

Mac snapped off a salute and opened the door. She saw Jade and boy did he see her back. Her heart raced a moment and she gave him back a smile.

"Jade, Night, you are dismissed for the evening. I expect you back, Night Reign, around four." Luna used her magic to give Mac a little push to ward the other bat pony. "Lead on, Sooty Rose."

"You okay, Jade?" Mac noticed the stallion acting a little odd.

"Fine… just a little out of sorts still, from that drug I was slipped." Jade leaned closer to the mare and inhaled deeply. "Something about you is just… amazing, Night."

It isn't me he likes, silly, he likes you. Mac smiled and gave a little nod. "Tonight was dinner?" She reached her wing out and brushed it against Jade's. "Where are you taking me?"

"Not to the fruit bar, you deserve something nicer." Jade spread his wings and looked to Mac. He laughed when she did the same and with a jump and a flap they were into the evening together.

Mac followed Jade's lead, tilting her wings as she had been shown. I really love flying. "I do too." Mac's words were lost to the wind, but of course Night heard them loud and clear. Not sure if that is me or just you. You are flying well considering you just learned how.

"Did you say something?" Jade turned his head to watch Mac flying at his "four." His target was just below them now and he slowly spiraled down to land lightly. "Here we are!"

Mac's jaw dropped open, it was one of the classiest restaurants in Canterlot. A million thoughts rushed into her head, she knew not all of them had to do with Night, but some did. The one about wanting to wear a nice dress for this isn't me, I hate dresses. Mac blushed a touch, her own little bent exposed… at least within her own head. "You should have told me we were coming here, I could have dressed up." She deepened her blush just admitting it, but it felt nice.

"But then I would see less of you." Jade's eyes danced in the evening light. "Come on, I reserved us a table." Jade led the way, opening the door for Mac and guiding her inside. "A table for two." He beamed at the maitre'd.

"Of course." The unicorn bowed and led the way into the fancy place.

Mac couldn't help but prance a little, she had been done-up by a princess, after all. When offered a seat, she took it. There was literally a table and a single candle between her and Jade and, somehow, they seemed closer than when she had brushed his back with her wing. "The food here is… good?"

"Yeah, the owner is… well, they like us bats. Some of these sorts of places wouldn't even take my booking." Jade tried to relax but something kept prodding his senses, poking him into excitement at having Mac to himself. "Sorry, Night, I need to… to freshen up." He got up and trotted for the little colts room. Inside he gasped and felt the "ache" ease. "What is going on?"

Mac blinked as her date seemed to gallop away from her. "What was that about?" Beats me, he seemed to have a problem walking straight, too. It came to Mac first, what the stallion's problem was. "Oh…" It was impossible not to blush when thinking of a stallion having a "seating issue" because of herself.

"Would you wish to order? Or would you like to wait for your dining guest to return?" A waiter had arrived and it suddenly occurred to Mac that some time had passed.

Getting up, Mac ignored the waiter and headed for the little colts room too. "Jade?"

"Night Reign?" Jade's voice held strain, ache. He could smell her more than hear her, his body ached, reminded him of a few nights earlier. "Night please… go."

Mac opened the door to the stall Jade was in. "What's wrong? Are you-" She cut off mid sentence, Jade was laying over the receptacle, one hoof under him and stroking. "Is it that drug again?" The stallion nodded and gave a whimpering groan. "I'll get help." Mac turned to leave, she got out into the main area of the bathroom before she felt a wing-claw grab to her flank, almost pulling her off balance. "Jade?"

"Night… I can't stop it, you smell so good…" Jade leaned forward, pushing his snout up and under the mare's tail. Bliss overcame the stallion for a moment, all the need that boiled in him was fulfilled for a split second. "Night, you are… estrus…" His mind tried to shout, to tell him that this was some holdover from the drug.

Stopped dead by the brush of the stallion's snout against her vulva, Mac heard the word. "Jade, I," she squirmed in place as a tongue ran up the length of that private place. "Jade," Luna's warning rang in Mac's head, "be gentle." I don't know as he can hear you, Mac.

A weight fell on Mac's back, she felt Jade's wings wrap around her, gripping her belly. Something inside sparked with excitement at the feel of him. Not me, that is all you. "Don't care." Mac felt her body become still more complicit, she cocked her tail to the side and leaned back.

He didn't hit his mark first, or even second, but Jade was suddenly so determined to mount his mare that he was lent the persistent stubbornness of a donkey. Finally, his mark was made and Jade grunted. His shaft pushing just inside the mare at first, he adjusted his back legs, gripped a little tighter and pulled the mare back and around him.

Mac's eyes flared wide at that first penetration, but fluttered closed as he pulled her back. She didn't need Night's help to know that pushing back was going to help. "Jade…" The word trailed off, it came from deep in her throat and felt like it never left. The stallion pulled and pushed, soon pressing his groin in against Mac's plot. He was huge, monstrously so, at least so Mac thought. With the huge shaft, came waves of pleasure.

Jade pulled back and slammed forward again, repeating the action, then again, driving himself into the mare. Grabbing at her body, their wings seemed to tangle a little, so he leaned forward and grabbed hold of Mac's mane with his teeth. Bucking, driving himself into the mare, Jade felt everything else in the world slide away.

"Wait, estrus?" The one word sank into Mac, but not as far as the stallion did. She felt him give two more fast bucks before the hot swelling started. It was enough to cause all those banked-up waves to suddenly rush in, crashing around and causing Mac to grind back, shoving against the ejaculating stallion to make sure she could claim all of him. Lightning strikes blast all through Mac and she felt amazing, but then the worry returned, along with that word. "Estrus…"

Author's Note

So I do this "Ask x" thing, x can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and ~~I~~ they will definitely hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories and of course, ~~I~~ They will answer the best question(s) in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer, try and keep it to one answer per post! ~~I~~ They will pick one question per chapter.

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