"Come on!" Sunset called upstairs to Sonata, "We don't want to be late for our first day!"

"Sorry," the door slammed as Sonata emerged, "this outfit took way longer than I thought."

"What the fuck even is it?" Sonata was wearing impressively long black heels, a tight black skirt of significantly less than knee-length, and the strangest jacket/blouse combo Sunset had ever seen. Despite being two pieces, both were cut egregiously low: the jacket ended below the swell of her breasts, perfectly positioned to push them up, and the blouse ranged from barely higher in the middle of each breast, to not at all higher in the middle. Even to Sunset, who had a real weakness for Sonata's breasts, the effect was so tasteless it was less sexy than a normal shirt.

Of course, she could stare at Sonata's breasts for some time in a normal shirt, but that was neither here nor there.

Sonata shot her a look.

"I wasn't going to be a not-sexy secretary, silly."

"Okay, the position is administrative assistant. And it's been decades since--wait, is that an actual Halloween costume?"

"I know, right? I couldn't find this stuff anywhere else!"

Sunset just rolled her eyes.

"Well, we don't have time to fix it now. But we're going right to Rarity's at the end of the day, if you really want to be a 'sexy secretary', she'll at least keep it a classy sexy. But come on, we gotta go!" Sonata nodded, and the pair rushed to Sunset's motorcycle, buckling on helmets as they went.

It was a short ride downtown to the new office. Sunset's hair emerged from the helmet indistinguishably wild. Sonata's hair, and indeed her entire outfit, despite being completely unsuited to a motorcycle ride, remained pristine. Sunset couldn't claim she had sex with Sonata daily in order to help her regain such minor magics, but it was certainly a nice bonus.

Their new office was on the third floor of one of the nondescript office buildings, in a suite labeled "Sunheart Associates" on the building directory. Sunset and Redheart both planned to put out word, discreetly, among their supernaturally-aware friends that this was the place to go to report strange activity, but it hardly seemed wise to advertise too overtly beyond that. The rest of the directory was sparse - the building seemed nowhere near occupancy.

Neither woman had yet seen the finished suite, so they paused on entry to look around. Sonata's desk, of course, guarded the entrance, though they didn't plan to open the office to the public until next week, so where the computer would soon sit was just a mess of wires. Beyond it, a half-plexiglass wall and wooden door separated it from Sunset and Redheart's desks, and the conference room. The door was unlocked, but Sunset tested her key in it just to be sure, nodding in satisfaction when it worked. Then they hurried to the conference room. It was 8:59am. Sunset grinned. Redheart was waiting for them, fiddling with a large map of the city on one wall.

"Hey partner," Sunset said.

"Hi boss!" Sonata echoed.

"Hey Sunset. Hey Sona-what in the world are you wearing?"

"I'm a sexy secretary, duh."

"It's...it's just a Halloween costume, isn't it?"

"Don't worry," Sunset sighed, "we're going to go see Rarity tonight."

Redheart nodded. "Well, good enthusiasm anyway, Sonata." The siren had started to look downcast, but perked up and grinned. "I'm glad you're serious about your role, even if your priorities are, uh, interesting."

Since the office wasn't open, Redheart wasn't wearing any concealing clothing like she'd been when she originally approached Sunset about teaming up. Even having seen her new appearance several times in the lead-in to opening the office, Sunset still found it striking. Two deep red horns now sprouted from Redheart's hairline, above each of her eyes, and curled over her hair, tapering to fine points most of the way along her head. She wore her red leathery wings, partway between a bat's and a dragon's, folded over her shoulders like a cape. Sunset thought her thin tail, ending in a broad heart-shaped tip, would likely trail below her knees if she let it, but she wasn't sure, as she'd never seen it still; it seemed to have a mind of its own, sometimes lashing like a cat's, others upturned in a way that seemed almost inquisitive.

"Are your horns longer?" Sonata asked.

"A bit," Redheart said, "since you last saw them. I think they've stopped, though, it's been a few weeks since they've grown out any more."

"That's good," Sunset said. "And still no idea if there's any change other than cosmetic? Like, can you fly or anything?"

Redheart sighed.

"I've been too afraid to try. And even if they can hold me up, it's not like I know how to use them. I mean, who's going to teach me something like that?"

"Oh yeah. I guess when Princess Twilight got hers, she at least had pegasus friends to help."

"Oooh," Sonata said, "maybe you'll get lucky and find another person with wings while you look!"

Redheart shrugged. "Maybe so. Or maybe I'll be able to get the Bureau to swing me some time at a high-clearance wind tunnel or something. But until then, they're just something I have to keep hidden most of the time."

"At least you get that private eye thing," Sonata said. "You look so cool!"

Redheart laughed. "I'm glad you think so."

"Anyway, what have you got there?" Sunset gestured to the map, which was covered in green and yellow pins, some large and some small. Many more, plus red and black ones of both sizes, were set aside in a hanging plastic tray below the map.

"Our first data points," Redheart said. "The pin color indicates disposition. Green is friendly, yellow is neutral, red would be hostile, black unknown. Big pins are for things with some kind of magic that's significantly different from normal human ability. Little pins for things without."

"Oh! There's us!" Sonata grabbed Sunset's hand in her own left, and pointed with her right to their house, where a large and a small green pin were stuck.

"Right," Redheart said. "You get a big one, Sonata, since you're getting some of your powers back, and I expect you'll get them all pretty soon."

"Mmmm-hm! Sunny takes good care of me!"

Redheart flushed. "Yes, well. Sunset, you get a little one, since your minor transformations don't really offer any unusual capabilities."

"What about when we defeated the sirens with the power of rock?"

Redheart shrugged. "There's only so much you can do with two types of pins, obviously we'll also have to keep files with details. That was a team effort, involved Princess Twilight, and seemed more like a counterspell than anything active. But yeah, it maybe could have gone either way. Since it's you, it barely matters in practical terms anyway."

"Fair enough," Sunset said. "I see the others too. You gave them pins since they can pony up?"

Redheart nodded. Sunset looked at two large green pins right next to each other, relatively close to the school.

"I don't recognize that street, who are those?"

"Celestia and Luna," Redheart said, blushing harder. "They claim they don't know why their semen changed me, but I don't believe it. It's just too weird, and too many other people have used the potion without it happening. But they seemed genuinely concerned about it, so I don't think they'll use it again. And they've been running the school for ages, and if anything it's safer than you'd expect compared to similar schools, so I'm okay with calling them friendly."

"Yeah," Sunset said. "They're so powerful in Equestria I always thought it was weird they were just humans here. But I think you're right, they're probably just used to hiding it. Maybe someday they'll want to talk."

Only two other pins remained, two small yellow ones right next to each other in the seedier part of town. Sonata fingered them with a downcast look.

"Aria and Adagio."

Sunset stroked her hand.

"Yeah," Redheart said. "It seems like everyone knows better than to give them any more magic, and they don't seem to be doing anything serious, so I left them yellow. I maybe should have gone red."

"I think you should," Sonata said. Wordlessly, Redheart replaced them. For a while all of them were silent.

"What about the river?" Sonata said finally.

"What about it?" Redheart said. It was Sunset's turn to blush.

"Uh, I knocked Sonata up last year by accident. Sirens are kinda like fish, they're not much for parenting, just lay a bunch of eggs in the water and wander off. Aria and Adagio had some too."

"Wait, a bunch of your kids might be in the river and you aren't like, checking all the time?" Redheart stared at them.

"Maybe I'd feel different if I carried a kid around for a year like you mammals," Sonata said, "but most of them die anyway, you can't get attached. Until they grow up and wake up, it's not like they're people."

"I don't really like thinking about it," Sunset admitted.

"That's what I get for hiring teenagers," Redheart sighed.

"I'm somewhere in my mid twenties," Sunset said.

"I'll be one thousand, three hundred and seven next month," Sonata said.

Redheart just shook her head. She reached for a pin, then stopped. "So what are they like?"

"Probably still tadpoles," Sonata said. "If they can hatch somewhere without ambient magic at all. It wouldn't even be worth looking for a year or so."

"Okay then, what will they be?"

Sonata shrugged. "They'd be seaponies in Equestria, but so would I. Maybe mermaids?"

Redheart pulled out a large black pin and a post-it note, wrote a large question mark on the note, and stuck it over the widest part of the river with the pin. "It'll do for now," she said. "Anyone else I'm forgetting?"

"Not unless I am too," Sunset said.

"All right," Redheart said. "We'll have to see what we can come up with for leads, but first we should make files for these." She gestured to the table, where a pile of office supplies awaited their attention. "Shall we?"

"Darlings!" Rarity grinned as Sunset and Sonata walked into her boutique. "What a pleasant surprise! What can I do for...oh dear, Sonata. Is that a 'sexy secretary' costume?"

Sonata nodded.

"Well, I see why you've come, then. That simply won't do! You've far too much natural sexiness to need something so crass. Let me take care of you. How many outfits would you like?"

Sonata looked at Sunset and shrugged.

"I've got three pairs of work pants and jackets, so I have some choice, and a dozen or so tops, so I don't get in trouble if I can't do laundry for a week," Sunset said. "That'd probably be fine. We haven't gotten paid yet, though, so if you get it done before next week, we might not be able to cover all of it."

"Nonsense," Rarity said, "I'm doing quite well for myself. I wouldn't dream of charging Sonata for her very first work outfits. Especially for such important work!"

Sunset knew Rarity would allow no argument now, but resolved herself to at least cover her friend's materials, if she could think of any way to make Rarity accept. Perhaps if she came and picked up the outfit alone...

Before she could finish her plotting, Rarity strode over swapped the boutique's sign to 'Closed', as it had just hit 6:00.

"Oh, do we need to come back?" Sonata asked. "I didn't realize how late it was."

"Of course not," Rarity said, "I always have to make appointments to do measurements outside open hours. It wouldn't do to have you in your unmentionables when just anyone could wander in off the street. Besides, getting my hands on you is always a pleasure."

Sonata darkened, and Rarity herded her off into the back, out of sight of the boutique's windows. Without anything else obvious to do, Sunset followed.

"Don't be shy dear," Rarity was saying, "I can't do my measurements with that costume pushing your poor breasts all around, never mind what the heels are doing. Off with it!"

Sonata giggled and nodded, and pulled down her skirt. She was between Rarity and Sunset, and facing the seamstress, so Sunset was treated to the exquisite rear view of the action. As the tight skirt fell, Sonata's full rear bounced free, followed by the tops of her shapely legs. Sunset saw no sign of panties; either Sonata was rocking a very narrow thong, or she'd gone commando to their first day. If Rarity's suddenly deep crimson cheeks suggested the latter, Sonata herself confirmed it moments later when she bent to remove her heels, revealing her familiar but no less enticing sex. Before Sunset could announce her presence, Sonata rose again, unbuttoned and tossed aside her jacket, and yanked off her undershirt. She was braless as well, and now stood fully exposed. Rarity's mouth was slack. Sonata let out a giggle. Sunset's pants felt suddenly tight, her mind hazy, as her pony cock made itself ready for its usual duty.

"Oh my," Rarity said. "You know, I never quite got a good look at you in Twilight's basement, dear. I confess I had other things on my mind. You have quite the figure. I can certainly work with this." She glanced past Sonata at Sunset. "And I believe so can Sunset," she giggled.

Sonata followed her gaze and grinned at the obvious bulge in Sunset's pants.

"Oops, sorry," she said, though she did not sound fully sincere.

"It's okay," Sunset said. "We'll have plenty of time to take care of it once you're done here."

"Mmmm," Rarity nodded, and began her measuring work.

Though Sunset had downplayed her alchemically induced arousal, she knew it was important Rarity get her measurements right. She suffered in silence, head swimming. Despite her admittedly biased emotional state, though, she suspected Rarity was more hands-on with Sonata's naked body than she would have been in a purely professional context. Of course, within the last year the two women had spent an entire night in Twilight's basement being inseminated by Twilight and Sunset, first for science and then just for fun. So Sunset supposed some familiarity was warranted, and she knew Sonata did not object, and would not hesitate to tell Rarity if she did. Still, it was hard to miss that her hands lingered on Sonata's legs and back as she placed her tape, or that she pressed the ends harder than she might otherwise need to, no doubt causing the tape to leave a line of pressure across Sonata's flesh.

Sonata certainly noticed - by the time Rarity was finishing up her measurements, the siren's nipples were rock-hard atop her generous breasts, and Sunset could smell her arousal in the air. She was nearly frantic to rut her lover, but suspected Rarity might have something slightly different in mind.

"Thank you for your patience, darling," Rarity said. "I know it's tiresome. But I cannot bear to see beauty such as yours divorced from class for even one more day! I shall be sure to have your first outfit ready first thing tomorrow."

"Oh thank you Rarity!" Sonata's eyes were wide, and her voice held the timbre Sunset usually heard when she was begging for cum. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to show you how much I appreciate your generosity?" She leaned forward in a transparently seductive stance.

Rarity grinned. "Sonata, I would never dream of taking advantage of--"

"Take advantage," Sonata said, voice deep. "Please."

"Oh very well," Rarity said, "if you insist," though Sunset was now even more sure she'd been teasing Sonata mercilessly. "I must say, Sonata, I don't know what it is, but your magnificent figure makes even a dedicated cock lover such as myself yearn to penetrate you. It is surely a gift. Sunset, do you have any potion on you?"

"Of course," Sunset fished one out of her bag. "You want the safe one, I assume?"

"Ah, yes please," Rarity said, "the river already seems in danger of overpopulation."

As Rarity walked over to Sunset and took the bottle, Sonata, giggling, put her heels back on. With her already stunning legs further toned, and now with the added height to make the geometry work, she walked over to Rarity's work bench and bent over it, now at the perfect height for this to spread her thighs and reveal her treasure.

Rarity's lip quavered. "Oh my," she said, reaching under her skirt, deftly removing her panties and staring at the potion. "I never thought I'd want to take one of these. But I say darling, you do look inviting. I can hardly wait to be inside you." She uncorked the bottle and downed it in a single long pull, tossing it aside heedlessly. Brief moments later, the front of her skirt ruffled with displaced air, the only sign of her new member.

"Goodness," she said, "no wonder men get so eager sometimes. This is so urgent! It makes me want to behave quite ungently."

"Oh don't be gentle," Sonata said, "you got me so wet, teasing me like you did, just come fuck me deep and hard!"

Rarity seemed to need no further encouragement. She hurried over, eyes never leaving Sonata's luscious rear and ready pussy. As she approached, she flipped up the front of her skirt, and Sunset caught a glimpse of her pristine ivory shaft, long and elegant, before she plunged it, firmly but not hastily, into Sonata's sex to the hilt.

"Oh no darling," Rarity said, "I intend to savor your lovely body. This is my first time with a cock, after all." She slid in and out, again firmly but deliberately. Sonata moaned. So did Sunset.

"Oh! Sunset darling," Rarity said, "No need to feel left out just because I'm fucking your lovely girlfriend! Take out that wonderful cock of yours. I don't speak for Sonata, but you're certainly welcome to enjoy me howsoever you like."

"Oh, you know I'm yours," Sonata moaned. "But we're trying to thank Rarity." She reached behind herself with some difficulty and unbuttoned and opened Rarity's skirt, which fell to the ground. "I think she has a killer ass," Sonata continued.

Sunset had to agree. Rarity was slightly hunched over as she thrust into Sonata - even with the heels, the fashionista was slightly taller. As a result, her cheeks opened invitingly when she pulled out, revealing her pink pucker.

"You're right," she said, and dropped her pants, revealing her rampant pony cock.

"Come on," Sonata said, "I want some of me in there too, so I'll get you nice and wet."

Sunset didn't need encouragement. She hurried to the far side of the work bench, where Sonata eagerly took the entire shaft into her mouth. Sunset felt her working her cheeks, coating it with as much saliva as possible. She moaned at the feeling of the warm liquid oozing around her shaft. Sonata winked at her and opened her mouth, deliberately not removing it, leaving Sunset's dick dripping.

"Go help me thank her," she panted.

Sunset didn't need to be told twice. She hurried behind Rarity, but wanted to make sure her friend's rear entrance was as ready for her as possible. She reached under her coupling friends, whetting her first two fingers in Sonata's dripping fluids, then fully coating them by running them teasingly over Rarity's well-coated shaft as it emerged. Both girls moaned. Finally she dipped them, ever so briefly, into Rarity's also-dripping sex. Now they were totally covered. She moved them to her friend's inviting looking pucker, rubbing it gently before pressing both fingers in. They slid in easily.

"Oh yes, darling," Rarity panted, "I'm ready for you."

Carefully, Sunset waited until Rarity buried herself fully in Sonata, then positioned her ready prick just behind Rarity's clenched ass. Rarity pulled back for her next thrust, her own movement parting her gorgeous cheeks to reveal Sunset's target, and the strength of her thrust impaling her fully.

"Oh...oh my," she said weakly, suddenly stuffed with cock.

Sunset could only moan in response, still processing the feeling of Rarity's tight rosebud grasping her shaft, top to bottom. Before she quite had, Rarity began fucking in earnest, powerful, fast mating strokes in and out of Sonata, making it clear she wanted only for all of them to climax as rapidly and forcefully as possible. It seemed unlikely to take long.

Sunset was on the verge when she heard Sonata's characteristic increasing moans, signalling that the siren had passed the point of no return. She knew from long experience that her pussy was now clenching all over Rarity's shaft, and suspected that the first-timer could not endure for long. The thought, compared with the sight and delirious tightness of Rarity's gorgeous ass, brought her too to the brink, and she felt her flare deploying in her friend's bowels.

Rarity started pumping first. She plunged into Sonata and stopped her thrusting, leaving only Sunset's flare inside her, but as she did so, either intentionally or due to orgasmic collapse, she fell across Sonata's squirming back, leaving her asscheeks spread wide. Sunset needed no further invitation. She hilted herself in Rarity as her own orgasm washed over her, and she pumped Rarity's warm ass full of warmer seed.

As she felt herself cresting, she thought about how much she loved the sight of Sonata swollen with two full loads, how much hotter it would be to know both were the result of claiming Rarity's phallic virginity. She reached between her friend's legs, caressing her still heaving balls, and running her hand lightly over her slit, pinching her clit. She was rewarded with the telltale clenching that indicated Rarity was going to unload the remainder of her seed into Sonata's eager womb.

"Ooooh," Sonata moaned, pressing her ass back into Rarity in a vain attempt to get the other woman's cock deeper.

Sunset didn't expect Rarity to return the favor. When her delicate fingers traced teasing patterns over Sunset's balls and pussy, that was nearly enough alone to drive her to fully unloading. When she took those then-soaked fingers and used them to gently massage Sunset's virgin asshole, it was too much. Rarity's hand fell away in shock as Sunset bore down on her in wild delight, nearly howling with the unexpected sensation, and emptied the last of her seed as deep inside her as she could manage.

Both magical cocks vanished, and for a moment the only sounds to be heard were three sets of breathless pants and a plop as Sonata's overloaded pussy spilled on to Rarity's workroom floor. No drop of Sunset's seed escaped Rarity's ass.

"My," the seamstress managed, "your load will keep me nice and warm while I burn the midnight oil on tomorrow's outfit." She winked at Sunset. "A pity my poor pussy is so neglected, but if I don't start now, I shall never finish it, so must accept an IOU. Sonata dear, I refuse to see that lovely body in less than the best for even one more day. You simply must come back first thing tomorrow to get the first outfit."

"But Rarity," Sonata said, "what if we just don't leave? That solves both your problems at once!"

"As I said, darling, I have inspiration now. If I let myself delay, no matter how pleasant, I may lose it!"

"No, she's right," Sunset said, "or I mean, she could be, if you're willing. We could go wait in your room. That way we won't have to come back tomorrow, and we can finish rewarding you when you're done."

"Oh," Rarity's eyes widened, "oh my. Sonata, you are as brilliant as you are beautiful!" Sonata, who Sunset was ashamed to realize had probably never been complimented on her mind before, blinked but smiled, adorably shyly. "I shall treat it as a rush order," Rarity continued, "and will join you in my chambers as soon as I can. Please enjoy the bed for whatever you'd like to do until then." She winked, and set about working furiously, without even bothering to put her skirt or panties back on.

As it turned out, 'whatever they'd like to do' was kiss chastely, then take a nap. Both lovers were exhausted after their first session with Rarity, and eager though they were for the continuation, they knew it would take several hours before Sonata's body absorbed the magical seed that was overflowing her womb and distending her stomach and made room for more. Besides which, they suspected they'd need to get their sleep while they could.

They both awoke as Rarity opened the door, gloriously naked, and it proved right. She was nearly insatiable, and encouraged Sonata to match. While Sunset pounded one girl, the other teased the rest of Sunset's body with hands and mouth, ensuring she dumped the full double load into her current lover. Then they handed Sunset another potion and swapped. All told, Sunset unloaded full double loads in ass and pussy of both, and one more into their mouths. Somehow they timed it perfectly so that they replaced each other with each jet of sperm, wasting none, until both felt full and, grinning, pressed their breasts together and let the rest coat their heaving chests.

Sunset thought Rarity's usual fastidiousness would make herd them all into the shower, but instead, finally, she fell, giggling, to the bed, bloated belly up.

"Good thing I can sleep on my back," she laughed. "I hope you don't mind, but I'm so tired I could barely move."

Sunset nodded. "I doubt any of you have room left for my cock in you, what with all the cum."

Sonata giggled. "I bet I could find a bit. But yeah, I'm tired."

"Oh, I needed that," Rarity sighed. "Of course I am, as always, inundated with suitors, but it just isn't the same. They always want things. Another date, promises. They get jealous. It's so nice to know that when I'm tired of it all, you girls are there for me. Now, before we all drop off, do tell me about your day."

They did, and Rarity listened intently.

"Why, I may have a lead for you right now," she said, after they finished. "Have you never heard of the Spirit of the Everfree?"

Sunset shook her head.

"I didn't even know there was an Everfree on this side," she said. "Though I guess I shouldn't be surprised."

"Oh yes," Rarity said, "it's quite a large forest, southeast of the city. I used to go to day camp there for many years as a child and teenager. The interesting thing is there's a whole ring of camps around the edges, as you might expect, but all the nature trails and lakes and things are between them, around the edges. No one ever goes to the center of the woods.

"Now, I didn't think too much of it at first. After all, all the interesting things seemed to be between them anyway. But every year, campers claimed they'd seen strange things from the deep woods. And this was at different camps, as well, from different people, who as far as I could tell had never met. They were remarkably consistent, as well: a beautiful lady, roaming the woods, looking sad. But they said she was a spirit, because she looked not unreal, but too real.

"In my last year there, and this was only a few years ago, at the end of my sophomore year, there was a week at the end of camp where we could stay overnight. I chose to, and on the second to last day, I finally got up my courage, and determined I'd solve the mystery. So I stole out of the cabin in the dead of night with a flashlight and a compass. Once I was clear, I made for the middle of the woods. And Sunset, I swear I saw her! And they were right, she was like the only real thing there, like the woods were green-screened, and she was the actress. But when I tried to follow, I found no matter how hard I tried, I always kept getting turned around. I'd try to follow the compass, but suddenly it would have turned at a right angle, and I wasn't sure how it had happened. Before long, I got spooked. I ran back to the cabin. I swore I'd try again the next day." Rarity blushed, and rubbed her swollen belly.

"But the boy I'd been flirting with managed to make his way into my cabin that night, and we spent the whole time making out, instead. Oh I was young and innocent then! I didn't solve the mystery and I only got a few awkward kisses. Such is the folly of youth."

"Interesting," Sunset said with a yawn. On her other side, Sonata was already snoring lightly. "Thanks, Rarity. I'll tell Redheart and we'll check it out. But I'm beat, you girls really wore me out."

Rarity grinned. "Likewise. Let's retire. If any more scary stories of my youth come to me, I'll save them for the light of day." Sunset had almost drifted off, when something else seemed to come to Rarity.

"Oh, and darling, should you happen to wake up before me and wonder, I do enjoy coming to with a cock inside me, and you should feel free to arrange it. Goodnight."

The office wasn't finished until the end of the week, which was just as well, because they didn't finish the files until then, either. While there was precious little information about the few known supernaturals, they did their best. They interviewed students about the sirens and, in fairness, Sunset's brief time as a strange demonic creature, and recorded the accounts. They researched Celestia and Luna to see if they could figure out when they became the principals of Canterlot High. It ultimately proved inconclusive, because while they were able to find records of the transfer of power in 1983, which given the apparent age of the duo was suspicious enough, they also found, quite by accident, a photo of the ribbon cutting of the new library in 1956, featuring an apparently unchanged Celestia. They even went down, on the last day before the office opened, and spent a few fruitless hours at the river with strainers, buckets, and Twilight's magic-detection gear, seeing if they could find any unusual tadpoles.

Each day of that week, Rarity made at least one more outfit for Sonata, and each night she invited them to stay over, because "I have one more almost done darling, you might as well collect it in the morning." That she invariably went to bed those nights stuffed with cum, and woke up on those mornings with Sunset's cock nestled inside her, or Sonata lapping at her sex, clearly was an added bonus.

But then the outfit was done, and the office finished.

"Darlings, I have so loved having you here," Rarity said as Sonata put on the last new outfit and they got ready to head out. "But I hope you'll understand I'm not quite ready for us to move in together. I think I shall need my space for a while, and perhaps need to attend to my more promising suitors. May I call on you if I find myself lonely again? And will you be all right carrying on without me?"

They assured her that both were fine, and spent a pleasant weekend on their own. They even had dinner and a movie as a real date, something they'd decided they wanted to try, and both seemed to be finding, thus far, to their liking, though neither had any expectation of exclusivity, and they'd discussed as much.

On Monday, the office was complete, and open for real. Sonata was ready to hold the fort in case anyone should call or wander in unannounced, and Redheart and Sunset were ready to take to the field. In the absence of any other good leads, they'd decided to check out Rarity's.

"It does sound like a campfire story," Redheart admitted, "but we don't have anything better, and the sirens were myths too."

"Yeah," Sunset said, "not like we have any better leads. Besides, this isn't exactly friend-of-a-friend stuff. I trust Rarity, and it was only a few years ago she had her weird experience. She might have gotten herself scared or bought in too much, sure, but at least the compass thing is pretty weird."

Redheart nodded in agreement. She took her hat and long coat and put them on, and for the first time the partners went out to the lot, where their new car waited. It was nothing extremely special, Sunset had to admit. Just a black SUV of the type that screamed "feds", despite the mismatch with their assignment, and had a siren in the glove, in case of need. Still, getting in felt momentous. She'd never expected to have a real job in the human world. One reason she'd tried to take over the school, indeed, other than bull-headed stupidity, was that she had no other exit strategy.

"Kind of wish I had a bottle of champagne to break on it or something," Redheart said.

"I was thinking something similar."

"We could at least give it a name. Something out of a story about magic, maybe."

"I was never a big reader here," Sunset admitted, "but Shakespeare had some of those. What kind of name do we want?"

"Ships are always ladies," Redheart said, "but I feel like maybe we should restore the balance, and it's an SUV. Everyone knows they're phallic symbols."

"How about Prospero, then?"

"I don't know that one."

"It's Shakespeare. I don't remember the play name, but he's a wizard who just wants to help his daughter, and gives up his power. I had to memorize some of his lines. 'And deeper than did ever plummet sound, I'll drown my book.'"

Redheart nodded. "Having magic but not using it. It works." She patted the hood of the car. It didn't respond. "Godspeed then, Prospero! To the Everfree!"

Sunset laughed, and they were off.

They stopped briefly on the way to get gear: compass, map, chalk, and generous amount of rope. They also decided on tents and supplies to spend a night, just in case. They didn't expect to need to - the woods were small enough that it looked more likely they'd walk across them before dusk - but Sunset felt it couldn't hurt to be prepared. Besides, Redheart figured, they might need them later. And in any case, the Bureau was paying.

The woods were pleasant, but unremarkable. Several campers, many with RV's, were already at the site, some cooking lunch, others enjoying the summer sun. None seemed put off by their arrival, though Redheart's outfit drew a few idle glances.

For the first few miles of the journey, the map apps on their phones got a clear signal, and they had no trouble navigating towards the center of the woods, though as Rarity had noted, no trails went that way, and under an hour after leaving the camp, they had to start trailblazing. Fortunately the tree cover was thick, and so while it was dim on the forest floor, there was little enough undergrowth that they could pass relatively easily.

Then, around two in the afternoon, things started to become more difficult. First, the phones lost service, though this at least was neither unexpected nor obviously supernatural. They took to marking trees with chalk, and using the compasses to make sure they kept heading southeast towards the center of the woods. But soon the flat ground and lack of undergrowth gave way to deep ravines filled with thick brambles. Some they were able to avoid, but not without going too far south or north, and it seemed always difficult to correct once they'd gone a little off course. After a few of these, Sunset grabbed a stout branch from the ground and scrambled down the ravine, hacking a path through the brambles before clambering up the other side. This kept them on course, but slowed them considerably.

Then, right around 4:00, they found Rarity's wall. They were walking along, steadily southeast, through what looked like open ground, and then found themselves facing northeast, with what seemed like five minutes or so of missing time, or an equivalent amount of missed distance. They were able to find their chalk mark again, thankfully, and so avoided becoming completely lost, but each time they moved beyond it, the same thing happened.

"All right," Sunset said. "Any ideas?"

"I've got one," Redheart said, "inspired by the mythical sirens. I'm wondering if this is a visual problem. Let's try this: one of us stays here, holding the rope. The other puts on a blindfold and walks forward. The one holding the rope navigates. If the blindfolded person needs to turn, they pull the rope taut, then pull once for left, twice for right. Once she's facing the right direction, the watcher lets it go slack again. Once the walker's out of sight of the watcher, she'll pull it tight and pull three times. Then the walker takes off the blindfold and tugs once if things look okay, twice if they look bad. Then she keeps going, and once she gets to the end of the rope, she pulls it tight, then lets go with no tugs if she feels safe going on. If there's ever a double tug, the watcher does her best to pull the rope back."

Sunset nodded. "Nice. I like it. Who should be blindfolded?"

Redheart thought. "If they do get through, they'll be the one to meet the spirit. Neither of us are really prepared if it's hostile, so we'll just have to run, but I think you might be better at talking to it. You look human, but know about magical things, so you don't seem threatening, but might have some common ground. It's more dangerous though, so if you don't want to go, I will."

Sunset shook her head. "No, that makes sense. Let's do it."

Though she put on a brave face, being blindfolded was the thing that scared her the most. The terrain looked open, and she'd have Redheart guiding her, but still, it was hard to avoid thinking of all the mundane things that could happen in the woods while blind, even aside from anything supernatural. Still, what kind of supernatural agent was she if she couldn't face this? Taking a deep breath, she put the cloth over her eyes tight, making sure no light got in.

"Okay," she said, "I can't see shit."

Redheart laughed. "Good, I guess." She handed Sunset the rope, then spun her in the right direction. "Have you got the compass?"

"Yep, all set." So saying, Sunset started walking.

It felt like it took forever. Each step she expected to trip and fall, or just find the ground fall out from under her in another bramble-filled ravine. As she'd heard, her hearing seemed stronger, but even the crack of a twig she felt snapping under her own foot startled her slightly. It felt like she must have been walking an hour before the rope first went taut and Redheart tugged it twice. Turn right.

It made sense, Sunset thought, if she had indeed hit Rarity's wall and begun facing northeast. She turned what she felt was ninety degrees, and felt the rope go slack again.

There were two more eternities, each followed by a direction, first left again, then right, then one more, before the rope went taught and Redheart pulled three times. She'd lost total sight of Sunset.

Sunset took off her blindfold and looked around. The rope stretched back behind her, over a low hill, explaining why Redheart had lost sight. It would be easy to walk back over and wave to her, but she dared not, in case she wandered back into the wall. Then she looked ahead, and saw what was unmistakably a figure, gliding off through a leafy wall directly ahead.

Her throat went dry, but she tugged once on the rope before letting it go slack again, and kept it loose in her hands as she went on. It felt like there was at least enough slack left looped around her hands to get her to the concealing vegetation the figure had vanished through. She took a deep breath and went on.

Part of her training had been in firearms, of course, and she did have a pistol. She thought about reaching for it. But neither Rarity nor any of her stories had said the woman was hostile, and she'd certainly have been able to get the jump on Sunset while she was blindfolded, had that been her plan. So she decided not to risk escalating, and walked through with only the rope in her hands. She nearly let it drop at what she saw.

She emerged into a large glade. Though there was no tree cover above her, it was no brighter than the woods. Indeed, instead of the late-afternoon blue she knew she should find, the sky above her was black and studded with stars - far more than she'd ever seen from Canterlot's polluted nights, or even on Equestria, and far brighter. They filled the glade with light brighter than moonlight, letting her see just as well as she had in the deep woods.

And what she saw was no less remarkable. The glade was dominated by a crumbled building that appeared made entirely of marble. Though pillars and stones littered the ground around it, indicating it was once much larger, only one room still stood, though it appeared intact, including door. In front of it was what could only be a tomb, though if the figure carved on it were life-sized, the inhabitant was a tall man, and handsome even to Sunset, who of course preferred her humanoids female. He was carved in plate armor, intricately wrought, and wore a tall crown engraved with stars. To the side, a placid pond covered much of the rest of the glade.

But remarkable though this ruin was, it was all an afterthought, compared to the woman.

She was tall, nearly as tall as the carved figure on the tomb, which she stood in front of, but later, whenever Sunset tried to guess her height, no number seemed right. Similarly, though her skin was smooth and flawless as if airbrushed, and her hair was dark as night with no hint of fading, Sunset could not think of her as young, because she seemed somehow timeless. She wore a gown of deep blue like the dusk, finely filigreed with a metal that shone brighter than silver. Indeed, her whole body seemed not to shine, but rather to just stand out, as if, as Rarity had said, she was simply far more real and present than anything around her. Sunset met her eyes. They were as dark as her hair, not black, because she could see some tone in the irises, distinguish them from the pupils, but not any color she could name. And they were the saddest eyes Sunset had ever seen.

"Who are you?" Though Sunset understood the words, she was confident they were not English nor Equish, and each syllable hummed in her mind like the notes of a song.

"Sunset Shimmer," she said, feeling like a dog, trying to speak human while only able to bark.

"A curious name. I am Arwen Undomiel, last of my people. How have you come to my living tomb? I saw you and your companion overcome the maze. It was cleverly done, but the final curse laid on me stops all of the race of men."

"I'm not really human," Sunset said. "I just look like one. I'm not even from this world."

"Ah! Another from the Undying Lands, before the world was broken?"

"I don't know what that means."

Arwen shook her head. "Forgive me. I am here long beyond my time, and speak of a world which long ago ceased ever to have been true, much as I should have. What brings you to my house of sorrow, Light of Evening?"

"One of my friends told me she'd seen you, or someone like you, here. I work for the humans, along with my partner, who's outside holding the rope. We're supposed to track down other creatures like us, and make sure they're okay. Make sure they're safe from the humans, and the humans are safe from them."

Arwen laughed, a sound that made Sunset think of wind chimes, and rain on a wooden roof.

"Humans have nothing to fear from me. Once they called me Queen, and I was mother to heroes. But many ages now have passed since then, and you look now on all that remains of our kingdom, and the father of my worthy children." She glanced at the tomb. "But no, Light of Evening, I am no threat to anyone. And no one may aid me. I will linger here, in twilight, like my namesake, until the world is broken, and all the other stars gone out. For I chose mortality, to leave the world in truth once my time was gone, and so join my beloved. But I learned too late that one can be mortal and yet still ageless, and now no power is left in this world that can end me, save the end of all things. Even I am too drained by the curse to depart, though once it would have been as easy to cease breath as to take it."

"Wait," Sunset said, "you want to die but can't? How is that possible?"

"That is a weapon on your belt, yes?" Arwen looked at Sunset's gun. "Use it. End my vigil. I promise, dearly do I wish it."

Sunset pulled out the gun and aimed it. She told her finger to pull the trigger.

She told her finger to pull the trigger.

No, really, pull the trigger.

"You see," said Arwen, "the great Enemy is defeated, and I am still the Queen. None left in the world can wish me harm. Nor, it seems, those from outside it. Could you pull the trigger on your strange crossbow, the bolt would not find me, much as you, while yourself aware of doing so, could not pass the maze. The world itself wishes to remember me, though it has forgotten all my kin. Only I could choose to leave, had I the power. But those who made the maze stole it from me, to do so."

"You need power? Like, magic?"

"Some have called it that, though to my mind it is strange. Is your heartbeat magic? The quickness of your breath? All life is a wonder."

Sunset blushed. Arwen was beautiful, there was no doubt. So beautiful, in fact, she ached to look at her. But it was a beauty that, until now, seemed completely divorced from the physical. Sunset wasn't sure she could even touch the Queen; whether she'd pass through or burn up as if touching a star, she wasn't sure. But, if there was a chance...

"You look troubled, Light of Evening," she said. "Do not mourn for me. I made my peace long ago. I remember my people and my lord, and sing their memory to the stars. Already ages and ages have passed thus, and someday even my vigil will end. And it was pleasant to talk to you. I am grateful you found your way in, where so many others have failed."

"It's not that," Sunset said, though she did pity Arwen, in fact. "I just...I might have a way to give you more power. But it's really awkward, and I don't know if it's even possible." She realized belatedly she was still holding the rope. Clearly in no danger, she pulled it taut and let it fall untugged, giving the all-clear.

"Speak, then," she laughed again, just as enchantingly. "With all the ages I have longed to break this prison, I cannot imagine a method I would find awkward, though if it be dark sorcery or the arts of blood, I will refuse, and lose my good opinion of you."

"No, no, nothing like that! My girlfriend lost her magic too, she's a siren, anyway, that detail's not important, and I'm rambling. Anyway I'm a girl, err, a woman, but I like to uh, have sex like a man, so I have this potion," every word felt more awkward, like she was talking to a nun. "It gives me a penis. And when I, uh, get off in her, she gets some of her magic back."

Arwen was silent for what felt like it must be another of those ages of the earth she kept talking about.

"Would my lord understand, I wonder," she spoke softly, clearly to herself. "For all the long years we could not be together he was true, though his road led through countless taverns, and many a maid he saved would gladly have shown her gratitude. But never was there need, no purpose to it." She looked at the tomb, then finally turned sharply and looked at Sunset, her eyes intense.

"You have given me no reason to distrust you, Light of Evening, and all my senses say that you are true. And it is clear the world has changed more than I know, when woman lies with woman but as man, and can offer same to stranger seeking solace, without fear her love desert her as faithless. Yet to me this bond is most precious, and I would not give it with any risk of deception. Also, I still do not know that your 'magic' is the power I need. I must be sure, if I am to share with you that which in endless years I have withheld in my lord's absence. May I touch your mind?"

"You can read my mind?"

"Only if you allow it."

Sunset thought a long moment.

"I can't think of anything you could find out that would make me more embarrassed than this conversation has," she finally said, laughing.

"You have a strange humor, man-that-is-not-man," Arwen said. She strode over. Though she stood taller than Sunset, she did not loom, but rather all the world seemed to fall away, she was so close. She reached out a hand, pale fingers more delicate than any mortal's, and laid it gently on Sunset's head. She felt like her mind were setting a toe into an ocean. A sense of vast, serene weight impended upon it, but she knew she could pull out her toe, or lower herself in.

She'd said it was okay, so she chose the latter. Emotions swirled around her with a sound of leaves. Love, loss, frustration, remembered joy. A welcoming house in a deep ravine. A father's kind eyes. The king on the coffin, full of life and joy, wise and powerful. And, buried deep, long years of frustrated desire.

Her mind surfaced, shook itself off. Arwen had broken the bond.

"You are a remarkable person, Light of Evening," she said at last. "So young to have faced so much. To have let love triumph in your heart, even if you name it merely friendship, over such opposition would have shamed many who lived a thousand of your lives. But ever is the way of mortals. They fight battles in a heartbeat we elves can win only as the trees break through the rock. Still, I see much in you that reminds me of him. And you do tell true." She sighed. "Of course, this makes my choice the harder. But I will take this hope you offer, if you still wish to give it.

"For I must warn you, though it seems you shall be the one who leaves your seed in me, no mortal can love an elf unchanged. And love it would and must be, for now I know you well, Light of Evening, and would call you friend. And well enough I know myself and my people to know that were we to share this, I should count you kin. I know not what change this would bring in you, but like the Men of Numenor before, my noble husband's line, you would grow great among your kind. But do not view this as easy, for greatness carries with it many burdens, though they are ones you already choose to bear. Are you willing to bear the memory of the elves, merely out of compassion towards me?"

"Sure." Sunset said. She wasn't sure she really understood what it meant, but it seemed Arwen didn't either, and she certainly wasn't going to leave the poor woman alone until the end of the universe just because she might get yet another weird power she didn't really understand. That seemed to happen all on its own.

"Then come with me," Arwen said, and swept off towards the ruin.

Sunset followed, and Arwen opened the door. Inside, the room contained very little. A loom and washbin - both things Sunset was surprised Arwen even needed - lay in one corner. In the second, a chest of drawers and footlocker. Finally, in the other half of the room, a large bed. It was to this, unsurprisingly, that Arwen moved.

"Forgive me," she said, "it has been so long. I have lost the art of seduction. May we just begin?"

Sunset's swallowed hard. She wondered what she had been thinking. She barely felt real when faced with Arwen. She was way, way over her head.

"Do not be afraid," Arwen was suddenly in front of her. She'd been so lost in thought, she hadn't noticed her approach. "I will not judge you. You come in compassion, and this is something we will share, if still you are willing. If I am an elder to you, so too I was to him, and found no cause for complaint. In truth it has been so many years, I fear you may find me a disappointing lover. If nothing else, there is but one of me."

Her own hesitation broke the spell. Sunset couldn't help but laugh.

"You're right."

Arwen turned with a smile, and moved again towards the bed. With a flick of her hand, she slid her gossamer robe off her shoulder, and it fell silently to the floor, a pool of midnight. She wore nothing beneath it. Sunset's breath caught in her throat.

All of Arwen's skin was like her face: flawless, unmarked by life or age, pure white like starlight. She was willowy in figure, but still the gentle sway of her hips and pleasing roundness of her rear made it easy for Sunset to believe she'd mothered heroes. She turned to beckon, and her breast in profile was a flawless handful, topped by a nipple hard and red as a cranberry. Sunset reached for her pants even as her cock sprung forth. By the time she was naked, Arwen lay face-up on the bed, crotch modestly covered by her thin sheet, though Sunset could see the dark triangle of well-kept hair through the translucent fabric.

Sunset approached, herself feeling modest as a virgin, despite being anything but. Arwen looked at her shaft.

"Why have you given it such form?"

"You saw, I'm not really human. For some reason the magic gives me my pony dick. I didn't choose it."

"Have you tried?" Arwen asked.

"I-" Sunset was going to argue, but thought better of it, and tried. She looked at her dick, and thought about changing it to a human one.

Unceremoniously, it did.

"What the-?" She thought again, and it changed back. "What did you do?"

"Nothing. We have not yet coupled, so no influence of mine is upon you. You stand between two worlds, my friend, but live in this one by your choice. It is a choice you can change, and this can reflect it."

"You prefer the human one?"

"It is familiar."

Sunset shrugged, and thought her cock back to human. She picked up her pack and sat on the edge of the bed, downing a potion. Then she turned to Arwen, looking again at her splendor. She felt nervous.

Arwen reached out a hand and gently stroked her cock.

"You are beautiful, my friend. For all my hesitation, it has been far too long, and dearly have I missed this, though I buried it so deep I had myself forgotten. Even were it to fail to save me, you will be doing me a great kindness if you lie with me now."

Then she shook off the blankets, and spread her legs, and revealed her slender slit, opening like a flower. The scent of honey and fresh water filled the room. Her dark eyes blazed with fire.

Sunset's fear vanished. She crawled quickly over Arwen, and pressed the tip of her cock between the elf's legs. She was dripping wet, her fluids warm yet soothing. Sunset prepared to sink gently in, feeling it would be unkind to be rough with such a lady, and that she risked failing to satisfy her lover as well, so attractive was Arwen in that moment.

Arwen locked her legs around Sunset, pulling her to hilt in one strong motion.

As soon as her balls pressed against Arwen's delicate lips, she was gone. Her orgasm broke over her like a storm, and she began pouring her seed into the delicate elf's body, not even in spurts, but in the continuous, ball-emptying stream that normally took a second orgasm to achieve.

But she had no time to feel guilty, because Arwen herself was lost to pleasure as well. Having decided to welcome Sunset in, her body simply saw no reason to waste time, and broke over both of them shattering orgasms. As when they touched before, she felt Arwen's mind rolling over her, only now it was all sensation: fulfillment after so long, joy in intimacy, and an irresistible tide of inhuman pleasure, swamping everything else, leaving only the desire to make the very most of the opportunity to be with such a wonderful creature, to do her best to ensure that this union bore fruit.

Without even thinking, as she felt her orgasm fading, and knew her magical dick would soon vanish, she reached into her bag and downed another potion. Arwen writhed beneath her, perfect mouth half-open, deep eyes closed, flawless breasts heaving. Still Sunset pumped seed into her, and still a yearning for more rolled off of her and into Sunset's mind. She took a third potion, and a forth. She looked in awe at Arwen's slender belly, completely unchanged midway through the fourth load that would have bloated Sonata or Rarity and left seed spilling out. She drank her fifth and last potion, dimly realizing that this meant she'd taken two red ones.

What does it matter, she thought sadly, the whole point is to let her die.

But another thought filled her, and she realized with a start it was Arwen's. Yes, breed me, breed me! Pour fertile seed into me. If it be the will of the Valar that life again is kindled in my womb, I welcome it. Valar, will I welcome one last child to carry my legacy?

It was too much. Even without the potion, the magic that made her cock appear full-formed in times of need kept it present, poured more and more into Arwen's eager body as her orgasm rolled over them both, filled the room, brought Sunset to endless heights of pleasure. She gazed again at Arwen's unchanged form and saw with a start her belly bulged, very slightly, as if she were just beginning to show a pregnancy. She quaked in pleasure, and grabbed the sheets with one hand, and Arwen's hand with the other. The elf looked down and saw her belly, and rose into Sunset's arms. Their breasts pressed together. Their lips met hungrily. The kiss was fire and water and life. Sunset forgot herself for a moment, forgot everything, saw endless days outside of time, in the light shed not by sun and moon but massive trees. She heard the roar of waves and the cry of gulls, and the ocean was the sea of Arwen's thoughts and feelings around her, and it was the flow of life-giving liquid pumping between their bodies still.

Arwen broke the kiss, gasping.

"Enough," she said, though still her body quaked and waves of pleasure rolled off her, and still Sunset spurted cum into her eager body. Then the cock at last disappeared. Arwen scooted back, breaking their contact, and her thoughts fell to a dull roar. Sunset came down from orgasm, though her whole body ached, and the sheets were drenched. Arwen still looked slightly pregnant. She smiled, then frowned.

"I do not know if this is a blessing or a taunt," she pressed her hand against her belly. "We have made new life together. I thought the last light of evening had faded, leaving only my star, but perhaps the sun has not fully set." She smiled again at Sunset. "Still, I must end this curse, or else you cannot leave, and there is not enough here for you to survive, even were it fair of me to ask you to stay with me until I could bring our child to term, which it is not. Your Redheart needs you, and your lovers and friends among your own kind."

She kissed Sunset again, and it was a kiss of bittersweet wine, nights well but truly spent, and slight regret. She rose, still naked and radiant, and moved to her footlocker. From it she pulled a green stone set in silver.

"I name you elf-friend, Light of Evening. Truly you have been that to me, a last ray of hope long after all was thought lost. Carry this with you, though none now know its meaning, and remember that you helped me." She smiled again, though her eyes were sad. "Though I think my touch on you may serve as reminder enough, in any case. As I said, none leave an elf's bed quite the same as they entered." She sighed.

"But I have dallied long enough. That was a fine note to end the song of a long life, and it is foolish, after all the ages I longed to end this, that I should fear it now, and so delay. You have given me power enough. I will break the curse on this place, and let you leave. And when I do, I think that time in all its mercy will be upon me, and I shall join my lord at last. I know not why the Valar opened my gates of life for your seed, when I will see my end before it bears fruit, but I do find it some comfort. Perhaps in Their mercy that was enough."

She looked at her robe, still pooled on the floor, then shrugged. "I came into this world naked, what does it matter if I leave it so? Enough."

She gestured to the sky, and the bright stars began, one by one, to go out. Slowly the glade fell into darkness, until at last only one bright star on the horizon remained. Sunset could see nothing else, but Arwen's pale perfect skin still shone but cast no light, so only she was visible. She leaned down, and pressed her lips again to Sunset's, and it was pure spring water and a warm blanket on a cold day.

"Goodbye elf-friend," she said, breaking the kiss, and waved her hand. The evening star went out. The pitch black sky faded, revealing in its place the darker stars of the earthly sky, the moon, and the lights of Canterlot, away in the northwest.

Sunset looked around. She was alone in a clearing barely bigger than her bed at home. A small still pool lay on one side. She was naked and drenched in sweat and another sticky liquid around her crotch. She scooped some up on her finger and brought it to her mouth and tasted honey and spring water. Sadness washed over her. She put on her clothes. Beneath them was a dark dress traced in silver, and on top of it, a green stone set, also, in silver. There was no ruin and no tomb.

The world forgot, but Sunset Shimmer remembered.

As she followed the rope back, she found tears streaming down her face.

Sunset waved and yelled as soon as she crested the small hill and saw Redheart in the light of the portable lamp. Her partner turned, ran to her, and grabbed her arm. As soon as they touched, she felt Redheart's fear and relief wash over her.

"Oh," Sunset said. "Shit."

"What's wrong?"

"When you leave an elf's bed," Sunset said slowly, "you're never quite the same." The fear and relief turned to confusion. "I'll explain on the way. You might want to take your hand off me until I do."

Sonata was still at the desk when they returned near midnight, but she was fast asleep. Sunset couldn't blame her. She called out to her, careful not to touch her to try to wake her. Finally Sonata stirred.

"Oh! Thank goodness. Are you okay? Why didn't you shake me awake? You know that works better."

"I'm fine," Sunset said. "But something did happen. If I touch you now...I can feel what you're feeling. I didn't want to intrude."

"Oh!" Sonata sprang to her feet, kicking the desk chair back, and jumped over her thankfully empty desk, and without hesitation into Sunset's arms, where she planted a kiss on her lips.

It wasn't honey or water or wine or sadness, or anything like that. It was Sonata, just as she always was. And when they touched, Sunset knew something about Sonata, and something about herself.

She let herself savor the kiss. It might not be once in a lifetime, but then, she didn't want it to be. She broke it with a smile.

"You're right," she said, "I love you too."

Sonata grinned and took her hand. "Come on," she said, "let's go home. I want to hear the whole story, and if telling it makes you hot, so much the better."

In the conference room, Redheart looked at the map. The edge of the Everfree was barely on the map of the city they had. Sunset had told her, of course, that Arwen had vanished. Still, she'd told her about the elf's confusion, too: her conviction that she was pregnant, and that some higher power had allowed her to become so.

I always have been too much of a romantic, Redheart thought to herself, and put a big green pin on the Everfree, just in case.

Author's Note

Since I expect a lot of "guest stars" in this story, I'll credit them in the author's notes for each chapter.

Prospero is from The Tempest, despite Sunset failing to pay attention to literature class while plotting a coup.

Arwen and Aragorn, are, of course, from The Lord of the Rings.