Universal Acceptance: Avatar

Chapters

2 – Luna – Dream Therapy
3 – Trixie – Marefriend Management
4 – Ms. Harshwhinny – Inspection
5 – Spitfire – Meet and Greet
6 – The Big Meeting
7 – Twilight Sparkle – Watchdog
8 – Mane Six – Wiping the Slate
9 – Correspondence
10 – Cadance – Universal Love Pt. 1
12 – Twilight Sparkle – Confrontation
13 – The Cure
14 – Celestia – First Session
15 – Luna – Late to Bed
16 – Moondancer – Catching Up
17 – Moondancer – Brunch
18 – Spitfire – Deeper and Deeper
19 – To Date Night
20 – Derpy – Dinner Conversation
21 – Derpy – A Honeymoon Of Sorts
22 – Luna – Dream Filly
23 – Trixie – Enchantment
24 – Raven – Paperwork
25 – Beauty In Bloom
26 – Celestia – Second Session
27 – Twilight Sparkle – The Vault
28 – Twilight Sparkle – Informality
29 – Twilight Sparkle – Actualization
30 – A Small Meeting
32 – Human Magic
33 – Ritual of Acceptance
34 – Celestia – A New Lease on Life
35 – Roll Credits
1 – Derpy – A New Lease On Life
11 – Cadance – Universal Love Pt. 2
31 – Celestia – Third Session

2 – Luna – Dream Therapy

I was balls-deep in Princess Celestia's pussy, when suddenly:

"I think I'm cured now."

I was more than a little taken aback, especially by how flat her tone was. "R-Really?"

"Yes." I was forcibly shoved away from her with magic. In an instant, she was off the bed, had all her clothes back on, and was glaring at me sternly as though none of what we went through had happened. "I have no further need of your..." She grimaced and rolled her eyes. "...'services.'"

Before I could even get my wits about me, she walked away, leaving me confused and alone in the dark with only a spotlight over my head. And then Derpy came out from the shadows, a similar glare on her face.

"I am so bored with you," she muttered, folding her arms under her breasts. She put her black nipple pasties back on, and her breasts shrank down to the mere handfuls I'd first seen on her. "If I'd known that all you wanted was titfucks, titfucks, every damn hour of every damn day titfucks, I would never have agreed to be your marefriend." She walked back into the darkness, grumbling, "I get having a fetish, but seriously, TRY SOMETHING ONCE IN A WHILE."

I started rubbing my eyes. Meanwhile, other mares one by one walked past me dismissively, muttering something disparaging in earshot:

"I don't like stallions that way," Bon Bon growled as she walked by. "Men, even less. And yet you made me cheat with one."

"Humans suck," Lyra said sadly, her head hanging low. "I can't believe I spent half my life obsessed with them..."

Trixie stomped through the light. "You made me your sex slave, but hardly used me for sex at all. I've got NEEDS, dammit."

The magician was promptly followed by Moondancer. "You broke me out of my shell, but honestly... I know I can do better than you. Who doesn't like the hot-and-cold librarian type anyway?"

Fluttershy passed by with purpose, her gigantic chest swinging proudly. "Now that I'm happy with my breasts, I'm going to find a REAL stallion to appreciate them. Everyone knows I have no lack of admirers."

"Thanks for setting me up with Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said as she flew by, "but for everything else: Go fuck yourself."

Spitfire followed suit. "Yeah, the team's all good now. And I found someone with a bigger dick to assfuck me. See ya."

Pinkie Pie bounced around me. "Whee! Now that the topless party has got you all acclimated, I never have to invite you to another party again! WHEEEEEE!!"

Finally, Princess Twilight Sparkle herself stepped out from the darkness and stood in front of me, wearing the robe she'd been wearing on that fateful night. Like everyone else, she was grumpy. Hands on her hips, she said, "You tricked me. I was willing to let that slide for a while, but it's clear that we've gotten as much use out of you as we're going to get." Her horn began to charge up with a powerful spell. "I'm taking this power away. Oh, and I'm separating you from your dick, too. That's the only part of you that we need anyway."

I put up my hands and braced myself as Twilight's horn fired. A ripple of energy passed through the space all around me, and when I looked again, her spell was frozen mid-cast just above my heart. Time had somehow stopped.

A familiar blue figure emerged from the dark, glanced at Twilight, then looked at me. "Anxious much?"

Realizing where I was, I stepped back and slumped my shoulders. "Hey Luna."

The eight foot tall alicorn, modestly endowed and garbed in a flowing purple dress, waved her hand at the apparition of Twilight. The deadly spell disappeared, and Twilight moved some distance away. The other mares that had appeared so far also reappeared, standing in a circle, staring at me, judging me.

I waved my arms around uselessly. "I dunno, you wanna tell me what this all represents?"

"Seems rather obvious to me," Luna replied casually, putting her hand under dream-Twilight's chin and appearing to study it. "You're afraid that none of these ponies actually have any affection for you. You have such abysmal self-regard that, on the subconscious level, you believe you have to keep being 'useful' or else everypony will abandon you."

With a sigh, I rubbed my temple and muttered, "Sounds about right..."

Luna turned her head back towards me. "You have to consciously know that that's not true, right?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know."

"Hmm," Luna grunted in a way that made it clear she wasn't convinced. "I wonder what could have gotten you to think this way..." Her horn sparked, and another ripple passed through the dream. The dream-mares disappeared, and suddenly the blackness gained dimension – we were standing in an empty police interrogation room, lit by a single bright light bulb.

"This is what I always think. I have to."

That had been MY voice. I spun around and stared up at a corner of the room. There was a speaker there, and somehow my voice was being broadcast through it.

"Because let's face it, I'm a loser, a dropout, a pervert, and I was almost a supervillain for a little while there. I have to keep that in check, or else I'll just... do something reprehensible, and I'll have become such a monster that I won't even realize it. I'm awful. I'm stupid. I don't deserve anything I have. And... and this is my inner monologue, isn't it." I grabbed handfuls of my hair; I felt like I wanted to die. "Shit. Ohhh shit."

Luna idly stretched her fingers. "Truly pleasant words you have for yourself."

I opened my mouth to speak, but the PA system beat me to the punch. "Are they wrong, though? Haven't I done a bunch of fucked-up shit? I didn't even have the power for two goddamn hours before I had Twilight Sparkle giving me a magicjob in a public restaurant."

The Princess's eyebrows bounced up for a second. "Well, that's exciting. From what I understand, though, you weren't expecting that to happen either."

"It doesn't matter, though," the PA went on, and my shoulders sagged even further. "You've given this power to a lazy good-for-nothing. The only reason I've managed to pull this out and pretend I've got any kind of morality is because I didn't LET myself turn evil. I refused to be so proud as to think I deserved to be Pleasure King of Equestria. Because otherwise I probably totally would've."

"Do you honestly believe that?"

"Yes," went the PA. "No," my own mouth replied.

Luna tilted her head and gave me a strangely sympathetic look, then stepped towards me and took my hand. "Here. Let me show you something." I followed along placidly. A doorway appeared in the empty, mostly featureless room, and we walked into a bright light.

When I could open my eyes again, I was in Ponyville. It was nighttime. The Princess was no longer holding my hand or even standing at my side anymore. Many ponies were out in the streets, though none of them noticed me or my nudity. And above us all, there was a giant star-creature trying to rip a hole in reality.

I recoiled. "Is that–?" I reflexively asked, and cut myself off to avoid saying too much. But I certainly recognized the Tantabus.

Looking around, I could see the signs of Do Princesses Dream of Magic Sheep playing out, except with anthro ponies. Princess Big Macintosh. Lyra and Bon Bon conjoined at the hip. Manly Spike riding on the shoulders of a giant Derpy. Filthy Rich flying on a cloud of golden bits. Scootaloo with gigantic wings. Rainbow Dash and Applejack in the guises of Zapp and Mistress Marevelous respectively from the Power Ponies comics. Fluttershy commanding a giant demonic Angel Bunny. Practically every pony in Ponyville pitching in with superpowers.

In the center of it all was Princess Luna in a magical sphere, the spiral of her horn glowing with the effort of holding the giant meta-dream together. Her muzzle contorted with the effort and the internal struggle of her guilt, and tears were streaming down her face.

As for the Tantabus itself, we were apparently at the climax of this episode, because it had taken the form of a giant feral unicorn nearly half as tall as the mountain beside it, and was striding towards a glowing tear in the dream as tall as itself. Which meant that Luna had just revealed that she had created the Tantabus to give her nightmares every night, and everyone else had realized that it was her guilt powering the creature.

"How can I forgive myself?" Luna – the past Luna, I realized – shouted from her sphere, kneeling down and holding her head in her hands. "I am no better now than I was then. My creation is about to turn the world into a living... NIGHTMARE!!"

"But look at what you're doing!" the past Twilight Sparkle shouted back desperately. "Nightmare Moon would have wanted to turn Equestria into a nightmare! You're doing everything you can to stop it!"

I looked up again at the Tantabus. Its head was halfway through the tear, and even though I knew what was going to happen and that Luna was basically replaying a past event for me, it was hard not to feel the tension in the air. This one had been close.

"Don't you see? That proves you're not the same pony you were then!" Twilight lectured on regardless, her friends gathering behind her and offering encouraging smiles towards the Princess. " Everypony who knows you knows that Nightmare Moon is in the past! We all trust you, Luna! Do you trust us enough to believe we're right?!"

There was a long moment as Luna grappled with her feelings, and the Tantabus's entire body was halfway through the portal. Finally, Luna shut her eyes tightly and, with a small smile on her face, humbly proclaimed, "I do."

The Tantabus recoiled in shock, and in a matter of seconds shrunk down to Luna's size. The tear in the membrane between dream and reality closed and disappeared. The Tantabus approached Luna and, after a nod from the Princess, walked straight into the alicorn's chest and merged with her.

Then the world went white.

A door closed in front of me, and I found myself standing on a red carpet stretching infinitely in either direction, with an infinite number of doors lining both sides of the aisle. I looked left, right, and then when I looked left again Luna was standing just a few feet away, smiling. In a slight daze, the first question out of my mouth was, "How long ago was that?"

Luna – the present Luna – thought about it for a moment. "As recent as last month. Not long before you arrived, in fact."

My brain spun to work. Did... Did that mean I was still in the middle of 'Season 5'? That everything canon was still happening, and that future episodes that I would no longer get to see would still take place, assuming I didn't do anything to throw events off course?? The last one I'd seen was 'Rarity Investigates!'... and that was me being an episode or two behind! There was still half a season and the inevitable blockbuster season finale to go! Not to mention any new seasons! And with the show's slice-of-life storyline so blatantly not giving a shit about temporal consistency and time skips, how was I supposed to know when something like a season finale was about to happen?!?

"Are you alright?" Luna asked worriedly. "I didn't think the vision would be that harrowing... and I lived through it."

I snapped out of it and swallowed the lump in my throat. "Ah, sorry, my brain was somewhere else for a second. No, um..." I put my hand on the door. "I'm not sure the equivalency you're trying to draw actually checks out here."

"Well..." Luna mused as she stepped toward me, "I suppose giving myself nightmares to punish myself is a little more dramatic than a constant undercurrent of verbal self-abuse..." She crouched down to meet my eyes. "...but I think it comes from the same place. And the stakes were fairly similar too, I think. A living, eternal nightmare... A living, eternal wet dream... Not so different, if you ask me."

I just looked away and shrugged.

Luna gave me a comforting smile. "To paraphrase what Twilight told me: The act of sacrifice you performed for my sister proves that you aren't merely a pervert who got lucky, or the vengeful demigod we feared you were. They would have wanted to turn Equestria's sexual nature against itself and start a neverending orgy. You were ready to lay down your life to protect who we are as people. We trust you, Pascal. Do you trust us enough to believe we're right?"

I was moved, but not convinced. "That's really nice, but... Doesn't mean as much when I've got this–" I threw up my hands in exasperation. "–mind control aura that makes everything I say and do seem okay!"

"You've made Ditzy Doo almost entirely immune," Luna pointed out. "She still wholeheartedly supports you. You won the trust of Moondancer, who actively resisted you from the moment you met. And when my sister finally had a chance to be free of you and your influence, she chose, of her own free will, to accept you back into our world instead. Those are your endorsements."

"It doesn't count–" I turned around to see the PA speaker from before now bolted onto a futuristic hovering drone, flying up to us and stopping a few feet away from me. "–when I basically bribed them with sex and feelings of acceptance. I'm a charlatan, a snake oil salesman. 'Don't worry, girls, just follow me and I'll respect you juuuuuuust enough that I can use you for my own pleasure without feeling bad.' That's this whole debacle in a nutshell!"

"Holy fffffffUCK that's annoying," I muttered.

While the angry drone defaulted to muttering things like "Loser, Pervert, Scumbag, Dropout," over and over again, Luna stepped around me and stood next to it.

"This isn't what you believe," Luna said, "but it is what you believe you have to tell yourself. To achieve some sense of balance, to prevent yourself from failing again." Glaring hard at the drone, she continued, "But in reality, it does exactly the opposite. It gives us a comfortable excuse when we make a mistake or things go wrong. 'Oh, we were always that bad. Nothing has changed.' And so the self-fulfilling prophecy is fulfilled. Just like you saw with the Tantabus. And we have punished ourselves for nothing."

I couldn't keep myself from a rolling of the eyes. "So... if I don't change my inner monologue, you're saying I'm gonna eventually create a Tantabus-sized disaster?"

"I'm saying this isn't an improvement," Luna muttered, not looking at me, her voice swelling with emotion. "This doesn't make you better. And yes, if this wears on you long enough, you might make a mistake so big that you surrender to it instead of fixing it. And it might not turn Equestria into a living nightmare, but it will destroy you and something you love. That is what I am saying."

I lowered my head. My inner monologue went, "Sounds about right. One way or another, I'm gonna cause my own destruction. And the world will be better off without me."

I swallowed again, this time to keep the tears from my eyes. Looking up at Luna, I asked, "What... do I do to change this?"

Luna let out a small sigh of relief and smiled back at me. "You have to disrupt the message. Think positive things, instead of negative."

"Easier fuckin' said than done," my subconscious whined.

"It won't be easy. It will take time and diligence." Luna took my hands in hers and kept her deep cyan eyes in contact with mine. "Start small. For example: Whenever someone genuinely says 'Thank you,' think, 'I have done something good. I have earned this.' When your lovers smile, say to yourself, 'I deserve their love. I have made them happy, and they make me happy. I deserve to be happy.'"

"But what happens if it WORKS?!" the drone screamed, getting right up against the side of Luna's head and making her flinch away. "What if I start getting so confident that I believe I can do no wrong?! What if I think I'm a good person but I'm actually evil and I just don't know it?! What if I've fooled everyone around me too?! I don't deserve this! I don't deserve nearly absolute power! I will be corrupted!! I will become an asshole if I don't watch out! I CAN'T STOP! I WILL NEVER STOP FUCKING UP!"

"I-I'm fine."

Everything stopped as soon as I said that. I felt like I was going to be sick.

"I..." I took a deep breath. "I deserve to be happy. I've earned this."

"No you fucking don't," the drone growled, flying in towards me.

I squeezed my eyes shut. "I-I'm a... g-guh-good person." Saying that felt like the hardest thing I'd ever done.

"That is the most blatant lie I've ever heard," my inner voice replied, but it sounded farther away now. I opened my eyes and saw that, in the dream-realm, the drone had literally been pushed away from me and was trying to fly back and close the gap again.

"I... I have proven myself." It was getting easier; my voice was growing more confident. "I've proven myself to the only person that matters at the end of the day: Me."

The drone was far enough away that all I could hear was distant, muffled epithets.

"I don't need to beat myself up anymore..." I nearly whispered, my heart growing heavy in my chest. "I have friends, I have love... I've worked hard to... to make them real. My libido doesn't make me a bad person. ...I am a good person."

By now, the drone was just a speck on the horizon of the dreamscape. My eyes stung, and suddenly I was fighting back tears and sniffling. I didn't need the manifestation of a loudspeaker to feel cheap for being a crybaby right now, but the floodgates were open and I was having a hard time stopping it.

Luna knelt down and hugged me, holding me tight against her chest. "Just like that," she whispered. "Just like that." I pressed my face into her shoulder and tried not to break down, while she rubbed the back of my head reassuringly. "It will come back. It's a strangely comfortable habit to get into. But as long as you keep fighting it, eventually... what you are telling yourself will become the truth." Pulling back and looking into my eyes again, she said, "Not in the sense that you will always be right and everything will be okay, but in the sense that you are truly striving to be better than you were. It's harder that way; it makes our sins harder to bear, it makes our mistakes sting that much worse. But if you really want to change your course, the first step is to change what you tell yourself."

I pulled away and wiped my eyes dry. My dignity was shot, but I was feeling a little better now. "Thanks for the– pfft..." I couldn't help breaking out into chuckles. "...'friendship lesson'..."

Luna giggled along with me. "You will get used to them. They are not so frequent as everypony likes to joke they are."

"That's a relief," I snarked. I took a deep breath and looked around. "So... why'd you come here anyway?"

"You were having a bad dream," Luna said matter-of-factly. "This is my duty. Or did you forget?"

"Right, right..."

"And, after all, if you're going to be taking care of my sister, I thought it only fair–"

"Ah, there it is," I muttered, vaguely pointing at her. Of course there was an ulterior motive; it wasn't like she would actually care about...

"A-he-hem-hmm-HMM," Luna cleared her throat pointedly.

Oh, right. Not beating myself up and assuming the worst. I tried to smile. "Sorry. What I mean is: Thank you, Luna. It's an honor. I hope to– No, I want to... live up to your expectations. I'll try to– I'll help your sister in any way I..." Stop giving yourself a climb-down, Pascal! "I mean, I'll help your sister. Period."

"I have no doubt," the Princess replied with another pretty smile. "And if you ever feel low again, or want to talk to somepony about your responsibilities... I will always lend a listening ear. I owe you that much."

"Thank you," I repeated.

We kept hugging for a while, and then Luna sighed. "I must confess, I had in some small measure hoped that this would transition into a night of sweet lovemaking..."

I was taken aback. "Buh, pardon?"

"Well, it's not as though your marefriend would mind. And we wouldn't have to worry about the malicious interplay of our biologies – that is, the effects of your semen – here in the non-physical world." Luna pouted. "But I feel I have soured the mood too much for lust."

"Yeah, uh... Kinda got me thinking about heavy things, here." Hardly believing my luck, I added, "I-I'll take a raincheck, though..."

"Another night, then." Luna released the hug and stepped away, fading out of sight with the rest of the hallway. "Pleasant dreams, Pascal."

I don't fully remember how the rest of that dream went – something about swimming in Giant Derpy's cleavage like it was an Olympic swimming pool – but I know how I woke up: With an orgasm.

It took me by surprise. One moment, the dream was getting hotter and hotter, and the next I was wide awake, in the dark, able to sense nothing but sweet suction and rhythmic swallowing all around my twitching penis. My head rolled back into my pillow, and my hands grabbed the cushions for dear life. This was so intense, it was almost familiar...

Near the tail end of a solid minute-long orgasm, I finally managed to look back down. The door to the guest suite was closed and the curtains around the room were drawn, so the only light illuminating the bed was a dimly glowing, gently waving aurora mane.

I had stopped cumming, and we made eye contact. Celestia's magenta eyes locked on mine, and we just stared at each other. While my dick was still in her mouth. With a level of awkwardness only a Princess could generate, her lips slooooowly let go of my cock, with a long slurrrrrrp and then a wet smack as the head popped free. A line of drool still connected her tightly closed lips and my penis.

Entirely at a loss of what to say, I just whispered, "...Hi?"

Celestia's horn flashed, and I was blinded by a flash of teleportation. I covered my eyes and stifled a series of curses, but the Princess was completely gone.

Next to me, Derpy propped herself up on an elbow and looked around blearily in the dark. "What... wazzat?"

Rubbing the bridge of my nose and blinking the stars out of my eyes, I said, "I think... that was Princess Celestia. Getting a midnight snack."

"Oh." Derpy shrugged. "Yeah, I guess she's still got it bad." She dropped back onto her pillow and nuzzled into it. "When I met with her a few hours ago... she kept putting her face near my boobs. I think she was smelling your cum. Not sure if it was on purpose..."

God, so she was still affected, despite my power helping her keep her sense of self. "It really is like crack to her..." I said with no small amount of awe. "How in the world am I supposed to rehabilitate that?"

"I dunno what 'crack' is, but... That's why Twilight's coming tomorrow, right? So we can fill her in and she can... make your cum not addictive anymore, somehow..." Derpy yawned. "After that, I guess it's just one day at a time."

"Sure," I muttered. "But what the heck do I do on Day 1?"

3 – Trixie – Marefriend Management

Monday morning, after breakfast, some lovemaking, and a shower, Derpy and I made our way through the palace towards the entrance hall. Derpy was nude as ever, and I was garbed in a complimentary robe – white with gold trim – and slippers. Sure, I didn't have to wear clothes thanks to my power, but after discussing it with my pegasus lover, we hashed out that, regardless of any societal pressure, I just preferred my modesty once in a while. I found it equally as comfortable as Derpy found her toplessness.

As we were about halfway to our destination, Derpy slowed down and scoffed at the whole situation. It was the least bubbly I'd ever seen her. "I can't believe– I know I said this already, but... Of all the girls in the world to be our 'third,' your 'second,' it had to be..."

"Trixie?" I slowed down to match her pace. "Great and Powerful Trixie? Magic Duel Trixie? Alicorn Amulet Trixie?"

"Put a Glass Dome Around All of Ponyville Trixie," Derpy muttered.

"Yeah, that's the one," I chuckled a little nervously. "I mean, that's kind of why we're meeting up, to touch base and see if this whole... thing will even work out between us. It's a mutual thing. Your input is just as valuable as mine. If, y'know, you're not really comfortable..."

"I don't know," Derpy replied, pouting. "You and Luna have told me all about how she helped you, and you've said all these things about how she's reformed... And I guess Twilight did forgive her back before she became an alicorn." She sighed. "I can trust she's not a villain anymore; that I can believe, no question. It's more like... I expected Lyra, or Fluttershy, or even Princess Twilight to be the first pony we try this poly thing with. Not Trixie."

"She's definitely an unusual choice. But..." I threw up a helpless shrug. "I guess I charmed her. And now we get to see where this goes."

"Where do you think it will go?" Derpy asked as she picked up the pace.

"I dunno."

"No, I mean – do you think she'll want to be a part of this?"

I had to think about that for a few moments. "Well... She didn't really mind being my sex slave for a day... Then again, I didn't really treat her or use her as a sex slave; more of a... subordinate sexy cheerleader." I shrugged. "But she's the one who suggested this whole polyamory thing. She's the one who sent the letter asking to meet up ahead of tonight's, uh, meeting. She's the one who wants to clear things with you." I couldn't help but start to laughed. "If anything, she's driving this fantasy more than I am!"

Derpy chortled back in kind. "That's a good sign."

We reached the entrance hall via the second-floor east-wing passage and started climbing down the stairs. Or at least I did – Derpy took flight and hovered beside me. I was briefly mesmerized by both the subtle bouncing of her breasts and the motion of her large wings, the feathers of which looked a little bit uneven. I made a mental note to ask somepony about wing grooming later.

When I regained my wits, I lowered my voice (the acoustics in the entrance hall were powerful) and said, "If there's anything I'm worried about, it's that... I might not be the same guy now that she got smitten with. Back then it was life-or-death and I was doing all this crazy stuff, and she seemed to like that. Now, by necessity, I'm gonna mellow out a bit, and I don't know if she's gonna find that as exciting."

Derpy rejoined me down on the landing and said, "I think the last few days have proven that... well, you're gonna get in those situations whether you try or not. You kinda can't help yourself. So if she's looking for crazy..."

She had me squarely pegged there.

"Mr. Pascal?" A royal guard approached from the first-floor hall to our right.

"Ah, hello," I greeted him. "Has our guest arrived?"

"She has."

"We'll welcome her, then."

The royal guard nodded his head respectfully, turned around, and walked towards a room immediately down the hall with another guard standing beside the door – I assumed it was some kind of waiting room. He opened the door and said, "Ms. Lulamoon." A few moments later, the guard stepped aside and allowed Trixie to confidently strut through, carrying a bag.

During that chaotic Saturday, the great and powerful unicorn had traveled with me throughout Canterlot wearing only a spare magician's hat and a pair of boots. Today, she was back in her street-legal performance outfit, but somehow even more alluring for it. Her blue breasts, even bigger prize pumpkins than Derpy's prize watermelons by a small margin, were contained by the triangular cups of her magician's leotard. Her long, shapely legs were clad in stockings. Whereas Derpy was chubby and soft, Trixie was curvy and toned.

When the unicorn caught sight of me, her violet eyes widened and a wide, excited smile grew on her face. "Pascal!" she cried out, and came rushing over to give me a running hug. I snuggled back against her, enjoying the feeling of her breasts crushing against my chest. She pulled back and looked me up and down. "You're alive! And– and looking sharp! Nice!"

Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Derpy studying the mare intensely. Not just watching behavior, but she also seemed to be looking at the unicorn's breasts and comparing them to her own.

Trixie set the bag down by my feet and turned towards the naked pegasus. Her smile transformed into a smirk briefly – no doubt taking in Derpy's nudity, knowing full well that I was the cause. She extended her hand and said, "The Grrreat and Powerful Trixie, formerly this human's sex slave for a day. Nice to meet you."

Derpy laughed a little in good nature, but then said, "Ditsy Doo. Ponyville resident."

The unicorn pulled her hand back with a start, all smugness gone. "Ah," she said flatly. "I see..."

Derpy let Trixie stew in guilt for only a few seconds before putting up her hands reassuringly. "Everyone's told me you're fine now, so I believe them." She then stepped beside me and wrapped an arm around my torso in a not-so-subtly possessive gesture, brushing the sides of her milky boobs against my arm. "And you helped my coltfriend out when he really needed it, so if it weren't for all that amulet stuff, I'd owe you one. I'm happy to call it square if you are."

Trixie swallowed nervously, her eyes darting between me and her. "Yes, right... Heheh, sounds good to me..."

This was getting awkward, and I thought this whole power play Derpy was doing might be a little overboard. Desperately wanting a change of topic, I reached down for the bag Trixie had carried in. "What's this?" I opened it up. There was a bundle of clothes inside – my clothes!

"Fleur had your old things laundered in case you wanted them back," Trixie said. "I offered to take them to you personally. Oh, and she said she found a little extra in one of your pockets..."

Sure enough, off to one side of my neatly folded stack of socks, shirt, and jeans was a small black item. I pulled it out, and it unfolded into an extra-large pair of...

Derpy blinked, and her yellow eyes swiveled. "My panties!"

"Yours, huh?" Trixie asked. "What are they doing with Pascal's clothes?"

I just started giggling, red with embarrassment. "Oh gosh, these were in my pockets the whole time...?!"

"You forgot about them?" Derpy asked incredulously.

"It was a crazy day!" I protested, waving the panties around in the air. "Life or death!"

Derpy waved her hands. "Okay okay!"

"Awwwwww," Trixie cooed, looking between the two of us. "They must've been a good luck charm! How romantic. You were protecting him the whole time..."

Both of us looked at her, then back at each other, blushing in tandem. It was a silly situation, but darn it, it was our silly situation.

"Speaking of which," Trixie went on, stepping up to me and poking me in the chest, "it's time you told me what went down. I got your letter, and you're clearly still alive, but... I'm dying for some details."

"Well, that's what the meeting tonight is for," Derpy pointed out.

"Ugh! Like I'm going to wait all freaking day to hear why we were fighting Normality for an entire Saturday. C'mon, what's the holdup?"

I glanced past Trixie's face. The guards standing by the waiting room probably weren't within earshot, but this was still too public a place for this sort of conversation. "Let's head back to our room," I said, leading the girls back towards the stairs. "So we can have privacy, and... Trixie, you're probably going to want to sit down for this."

The Great and Powerful Trixie's jaw hung open.

She was sitting at the side of our suite's bed, while Derpy and I stood in front of her and spent the last few minutes going over the events of last night. My mad dash through the castle, Derpy's flight and staying with Luna, Celestia's geas-powered interrogation, turning it around and forcing the truth out of her, nearly getting fucked half to death by a crazed sex-doll version of the Princess of the Sun, and everything we'd been told about the ancient human Masters who created ponykind as a slave race.

About twenty seconds after we'd finished speaking, Trixie regained motor control. She took a deep breath and alternating between looking down at her own vast cleavage and looking up at us. Her mouth opened and closed multiple times as she searched for the words she wanted to say, until finally: "How..." She shook her head in bewilderment, her breasts jiggling side-to-side in their confinement. "How do you know this is all real? Like, maybe, um, the Princess could have lied, or..."

I sighed and put my hands on my hips. "Fat chance. They both told me essentially the same story independently – Luna in my dreams, and Celestia in person. It matches up with all the evidence I'd seen up to that point... but really, what more evidence do you need than what she turned into that night...?" I couldn't help but shudder at the memory. I was a hyper fetishist through and through, but I'd never seen my fetish used to torture and subjugate someone before. As much as I'd been terror-roused by the abundance of flesh at Sex-Dollestia's disposal, it was still... well, a perversion of my own perversions.

"What kind of worse thing could this story possibly hide?" Derpy pointed out. "Like, even if this was the story they made up and agreed on, what would be left? And I have a hard time believing they'd make up a story that's so... painful and shameful about themselves."

I nodded solemnly. "And it makes too much sense. Celestia hating me from the start, the scraps of rumors after she scrubbed humans from history, the addictive cum thing, the sheer size of every asset of every sapient bipedal creature..."

Trixie stood up abruptly and, without saying anything to us, marched towards the private bathroom. Derpy and I only followed a little bit, keeping our distance. Trixie pushed the bathroom door open with her magic and stood just in front of the doorway, presumably so she could see herself in the bathroom mirror. She pouted with her full lips, and her hands gently ran across the undersides of her titanic breasts.

"Trixie has always been proud of her body," she said after a minute of glaring at her reflection. "The way it draws everyone's eye, the way it paralyzes her lovers... And now you're telling me it really was a curse all along?"

"Ehh..." was my helpful answer. I wasn't really able to comment as an impartial observer. I thought her body was still sexy as hell, especially viewed in stark profile like I was seeing Trixie now.

"I like my boobs too," Derpy mumbled, taking a hesitant step forward. "But, um, I guess it helps to know where they came from..."

Trixie's hand idly tugged at the valley between the cups of her leotard, as though she was considering tearing the whole thing off. Then she suddenly said, "It doesn't matter, right?" When I expressed confusion, she clarified, "Your power. You don't have to worry about becoming a stallion anymore. ...Take it off me. All of it."

I knew from my experience with Moondancer that this always made things more complicated than it actually helped. But I'd gotten to know Trixie pretty well, and I trusted her. "Sure thing," I said after a moment, and snapped my fingers. Sparks of blue magical light flashed, and I was taken aback. I hadn't expected that to actually work...

The unicorn actually swayed a little bit, blinking multiple times as the events of the entire weekend re-contextualized themselves. When she righted herself, she stared at herself in the mirror again for a little while, and then peeled the cups of her outfit away from her breasts. Her dark blue nipples bounced into view, and I tried to ignore the very poorly timed tightening sensation beneath my robe. All eyes were on Trixie's magnificent naked boobs, even hers. Trixie twisted from side to side, as if studying them for the first time.

"Hmm," Trixie grunted. "I was right." She turned to face me, and smirked a bit as she caught my captivated expression. "I don't think that differently than how I did Saturday. Sure, if you'd outright asked me to be your 'sex slave' normally, I would've refused, but... I don't regret helping you out at all, or what we did. If anything, I'm actually more impressed with you."

My shoulders slumped in relief. "Thanks. Though it helps that you're not as conflicted as Moondancer was."

"Yeah, she told me about all that..." Trixie murmured, then went back to contemplating her naked tits in the mirror. "What's your take on all this, Pascal?"

"Mine?"

"You're on a planet full of sexy alien babes with sensitive bodies who'd love the taste of your cum," she said with a bit of a grin. "Sounds like a dream come true to me... but you're no average pervert. So what are you thinking right now?"

Feeling heavy-hearted, I made my way to the end of the bed and sat down. "I dunno, the first three weeks kinda set a precedent. You guys look like sex objects but you hate being leered at or treated like sex objects."

"Depends on the situation..." Trixie mused.

"So I did my best to stop thinking like that and see you all as, well, people. With lives and careers and goals and desires." I leaned back on the bed and shrugged. "Just with, y'know, humongous assets that I can't look away from." Gesturing at Derpy, I said, "And then I met you, and you showed me the other side of it. That a bunch of ponies – and others – carry around these assets, but you're told to basically pretend they don't exist. So now I'm like, 'Well, sex is still an issue... Ponies still want it, and some ponies need it.' Y'know, in sort of a psychological way. And a lot of what I saw after that kind of confirmed it."

"But what do you think now?" Trixie asked, rounding on me. "Now that you know that we're descended from former sex slaves!"

"Erm, that's what I'm trying to say!" I replied. "My opinion hasn't really changed. I respect your civilization even more now, because you literally fought for your freedoms, but... Learning about the Masters didn't alter my view of you guys in the present; it just answered the million questions that'd been building up. Really, it just made me realize that... I'd nearly fucked up thirteen-hundred years of progress."

"'Progress,'" Trixie muttered, staring down at her jutting ovaloid mammaries. "More like 'projection,' by Celestia."

Derpy frowned, and finally spoke up after listening to us talk for a while. "She had a strong reason. I don't agree with the sexual repression at all, but considering what the Masters did to her, I don't blame her. She probably wanted to balance out against our natural urges."

Trixie snapped her fingers loudly. "That's it. That's what killing me about all this." She turned back towards the mirror. "It's the same propaganda Moondancer was spewing at us at first. 'Sexual desire is corruption! Any attraction is a sin! Love should only be expressed between two ponies, behind closed doors, with the lights off, and in the missionary position for the purposes of procreation!!'" Trixie took a deep breath to calm down after her rant; her hands were balled into fists and she was practically snarling at the mirror. "But here it is: Celestia's proof. Proof that maybe we don't really control our sexuality. it's just on loan." She looked back at me over her shoulder. "So is she right? Was she right all along??"

Huh. If that was the real question... "I-I don't think so," I admitted. "This is my opinion, so take that for what it's worth, but I disagree. I think her idea of a healthy sex-life balance is WAY off the mark. How couldn't it be? Sexual addiction was her leash. And no pony since has been able to satisfy her like a human can. She hasn't ever had a healthy sexual relationship."

"So you think she's wrong," Trixie confirmed a little triumphantly. "You think everypony can determine for themselves how much sex is 'right,' and whether it makes them happy."

"Yeah, more or less," I said with a bit of a nervous laugh. "Was that what you wanted to hear?"

Trixie finally tore herself away from the mirror. "I guess a little..." She sat down on the bed at my left. Derpy mirrored the motion and sat down to my right, so they were both flanking me with their sexy bodies and humongous tits. Trixie just stared off into space and muttered, "When you finished talking about the whole Masters thing, I got worried that you'd boarded the same 'Sex is Evil' train as the rest of Equestria. Sure, this whole thing is... disturbing really, but..." Trixie trailed off and let out a sigh.

Derpy started to snicker. "You were worried for his libido?"

"I mean, yeah!" Trixie replied seriously. "Here we are, two mares with breasts more than twice the size of our heads, and you aren't even getting a little bit handsy!"

"Talking about heavy crap like this always ruins the mood," I muttered with a shrug. "And I did some stuff with Derpy before you got here, so, y'know, my mind's clear right now."

"Only a matter of time," Derpy added, still giggling and setting her breasts a-quakin'.

Trixie hummed thoughtfully, and from the side I could see a somewhat cat-like smile push her cheeks upward. "You know..." she mused, her tone conspicuously sly all of a sudden, "who else is coming to this meeting tonight?"

Putting a finger to her chin, Derpy said, "Um... The Elements of Harmony, me, you, Moondancer and Spitfire, Lyra and Bon Bon, I guess whoever in the royal staff the Princesses think should know about this... Oh, and Princess Cadance and Shining Armor from the Crystal Empire are coming too."

I audibly swallowed.

"Ohohohohoo~!" Trixie chortled teasingly. "And hasn't Cadance been getting much, much bigger from the pregnancy?"

My legs and thighs tensed up.

Derpy let out a little gasp as she realized where Trixie was going with this, and suddenly she was wearing an evil sneer to match Trixie's. "Maybe," she replied, "or I heard maybe she was always that big, and she's using the pregnancy, and the power from the Crystal Heart, as an excuse to 'grow out.'"

"Either way, she's huge and she's not afraid to hide it," Trixie agreed.

Unconsciously, I squeezed my thighs together and pressed a hand down over my crotch. "Uh, girls...?"

"What are we going to do, Ditsy?!" the great and powerful unicorn cried out in mock horror. "With Pascal around that many busty ladies, there's no telling if he'll be able to resist the temptation! He could blurt out something perverted and enslave every top official in Equestria in one fell swoop!"

Derpy's muzzle scrunched up in seriousness. "You're right, there's only one thing we can do."

Both mares turned their heads toward me as one. Experiencing fear, I started crawling backwards on the bed. "Um... y'know... that's not really... necessary..."

Undeterred, Derpy crawled after me, dragging her fat nipples across the sheets. Trixie undressed with her magic, sending her boots, hat, and cape flying away, and peeling off her leotard and stockings (moaning in exaggerated pleasure as she did so) before dumping them at the foot of the bed. Then, utterly naked with her curvy body on full display, she got into the 'prowling lioness' routine too. "We're going to have to drain you dry, Pascal," Trixie half-growled. "For the good of Equestria."

My head bumped against the cushions – I had nowhere to run. At the very least, some part of my brain thought, this would be much more pleasurable than the last time a mare literally drained my balls.

Both mares had my knees completely buried beneath their breasts, blue and gray rubbing their sides against each other. And then, briefly, Trixie stopped. "If, of course, you'll let me join in," she said, dropping the act and looking at Derpy.

Derpy also stopped and looked back at Trixie. She seemed to think about it for a moment, and then smiled and nodded. "Sure. I think you'll be a great addition to the harem."

"You're officially calling it that??"

"Well, not yet, but yeah, I wanna try it out. Sounds fun."

Trixie chuckled and shook her head at the incredulity of it all. "Oh, you two are just perfect."

Then both of them were back in 'lioness' mode. Trixie's horn glowed again, and my robe flew open and was yanked out from under me. My dick, not completely hard yet due to intimidation, raised up to meet the two mares' gaze. Both mares shifted forward so that their boobs buried my dick – not between their cleavages, but between Derpy's left boob and Trixie's right boob. I groaned and, unable to resist anymore, brought my hands to the outside breasts and started squeezing and rubbing.

"Ooohh," Derpy moaned, unused to this new kind of stimulation of her sensitive breasts.

Leering at the pegasus, Trixie chuckled and said, "Of course you're a boobgasm mare. You're going to be just as bad as him, aren't you? Better make sure you're satisfied too..." Her horn sparked to life again, and a second later, Derpy's moans intensified. All I could see was a faint glow coming from both mares' behinds, so I assumed that Trixie was going for magical clit stimulation on both of them. Girl was still as talented as ever.

I went for Trixie's left nipple with my hands in response. "Like you're one to talk..." I groaned out, still overwhelmed by the feeling of two slightly different boobs rubbing against my cock. Derpy's was heavy and flowing, while Trixie's was smooth and bouncy. It was a delicious contrast, as titfucks went.

Trixie did her best to keep a straight face, but she was losing the fight. Not that she could complain, since she was the one playing with her own pussy. "Ahh... s-somepony has to make sure this group of near-virgins knows how to actually have fun..."

Derpy gasped and tried to catch her breath. "Oh, is that what you're after? A bunch of easy targets...?" She lunged at Trixie, grabbing her muzzle and forcing her into a kiss with one hand, while reached underneath to maul Trixie's cunt with the other. Trixie squeaked into Derpy's mouth in surprise and moaned even stronger. Her horn's glow intensified, and both girls' pussies practically hummed with the magical vibration as they kissed each other deeply.

This change in position – Derpy's lunge and pulling Trixie to the side – had the side effect of putting all four breasts closer to my cock. I propped my arms behind each set of tits and mashed them together, completely smothering my cock in a four-way cleavage, and I just started humping with wild abandon.

Trixie's eyes opened and rolled back as she came first. An extra blast of magic sent Derpy over the edge shortly after. Both mares gasping and taking heaving, pleasured breaths not only turned me on further, but it made their now-sweaty breasts bounce and shift against my dick. Thirty more seconds of vigorous thrusting later, while the other two were cooling down, and I exploded into the cloverleaf cleavage.

"That..." Trixie murmured as she enjoyed the feeling of me pulsing between her breasts, "that, or I get you two to shape up, and I still win."

When my orgasm finally petered out, I groaned, "Yeah, that's kind of her strategy. Dom, rile us up, then switch."

Derpy got breathlessly giggly. "Heehee... Alright, that was kinda fun." With a sudden whap, the tip of her wing swung down and swatted Trixie on the ass, making her jump a little. "My turn, then."

Trixie 'oooooh'd in renewed interest.

I raised a hand. "Do I get a turn?"

"Your 'turn' is having two beautiful mares give you outercourse all day," Trixie replied. "So no."

"That's the other thing," I muttered. "There's a lot of hours between now and the big meeting. If we avoid the addictive cum thing, is there even enough stuff for us to do...?"

"I'm sure we'll think of something," Trixie purred, then cast a spell to clean up my semen from their breasts.

Next thing I knew, Derpy was swinging a leg over me and straddling my chest, casting my face in the shadow of her big beautiful butt. I didn't even get a chance to respond before she crushed me under her glutes – though I hardly minded, because it was high time I got Derpy's fat cheeks on my face. I wasn't really in tongue range of her pussy yet, so I started motorboating instead, which made her laugh.

"Good choice, Mistress," Trixie cooed, crawling forward and cozying up to Derpy's sensitive tits. "I was apparently his first cunnilingus, but that just means he's all trained up for you!"

Derpy rearranged herself so that I could start exploring her folds with my tongue. "Mistress... Ooh, I like that." A few moments later, she abruptly sat upright. "Hey, I got an idea for later! Do you think we could convince some royal guards to let us 'borrow' their armor?"

4 – Ms. Harshwhinny – Inspection

"I'll ask you again: How many orgasms?!"

"I– nnngh, I don't know!"

"Sounds like he needs a few more moments to 'think,' Private Derpy!"

"Yes, ma'am!"

My pegasus lover smothered my face beneath her enormous rear again. Trixie continued to stroke my cock with her hands, while her magic enchanted the base of my cock, delaying an orgasm that was almost a half-hour late now. Both mares were wearing golden Royal Guard helmets – the female guard armor could only contain so much boob, but the helmets by themselves were generic and plentiful.

I pulled at the magical cuffs holding my wrists, to no avail. I vigorously shook my head back and forth, jiggling the two huge asscheeks on either side of my head. Derpy lifted her butt off my face and looked at me upside-down. "It's okay, mister," she said in a disproportionately sweet tone of voice. "Just tell her what she wants and you can let allll that cum out."

Since when does the Good Cop literally smother the perp? part of my brain demanded. Then Trixie licked my turgid, throbbing cockhead, and my entire lower body trembled in anticipation of an orgasm that just... wasn't... coming. In comparison, facesitting wasn't so bad.

"It's very simple," Trixie said, a dangerous edge to her voice. "How many orgasms, including masturbation, did you have from the moment you got the power to the end of your confrontation with the Princess? This shouldn't be hard – sex was practically all you were doing."

Half-delirious, I shouted, "I told you, it was a lot! I'm thinking!"

"Thinking, or stalling?" Royal Guard Trixie mused, then lovingly tugged my aching ballsack with her hand. "It's a shamefully high number, isn't it? But these balls will stop being blue as soon as you tell me..."

Truth told, I really was trying to count. Every single encounter had been so mindblowing, I didn't want to gloss over or forget a single one. But holy shit, by any measurable standard, I'd really gone on a sexual rampage. It was especially hard to count the ones during orgies or the couple of times I went three times or more with a single partner. And then there was the encounter with sex-crazed fatalistic Celestia, which had me lapsing in and out of consciousness multiple times and blacking out, so I could only assume she had fucked me all night and into the morning. I could still hear her panting like a dog...

"Hmm, he's gone quiet. Private, maybe you can jog his memory..."

"48!" I blurted. "G-Give or take a couple, and I only remember 4 from Celestia, but that's how many!"

"Really?" Trixie cooed, tightening her grip around my member. "Why that's... 16 per day. You've been a naughty boy, haven't you?"

I could hardly believe it myself, but at this point I would say anything to cum. "Yes! Yes I am!"

Trixie finally released her magic blocker and stroked my shaft furiously. What happened next was excruciating, like the flashpoint of an orgasm playing out in slow motion. First my urethra felt real hot, then semen started to bubble out of my cumslit in copious amounts, and then the spasms actually began.

"Woaahh!" Derpy gasped as my cumshots sailed over their heads and halfway to the ceiling. My eyes threatened to roll back into my head from the intensity. It just seemed to go on forever in an attempt to drain every last drop from me.

Finally, it tapered off and started to shrink and dribble in the busty unicorn's hands. My hands were now free, so I just held them against my head and groaned, "Fucking hell, Trixie..."

I couldn't see it past Derpy's rear end, but Trixie had caught all the semen I'd shot upward in a great big telekinetic ball, and with a zap it all disappeared. "Seriously, though," she said, licking the remaining cum off her fingers (hey wait), "48 orgasms in 72 hours? For all your talk about body issues and performance anxiety, that's pretty impressive even for a stallion."

"The... The procedure on Friday helped a lot..." I gasped out. "It picked up after that."

"Trixie..." Derpy muttered, and you could just hear the grumpy frown on her face.

"What?" Trixie asked innocently, sucking her fingers clean.

"You're doing it again."

Trixie looked down at her hands as if mildly surprised. "Hmm, so I am," she replied in a not terribly convincing way. "Whoops."

"That's the third time!" Derpy accused her, as she adjusted and sat down on my chest. "And you keep saying you're not a junkie?"

The great and powerful unicorn got up and stretched, then started unstrapping her helmet so she could carefully lift it off her horn. "Look, I just don't buy it. Celestia might still have it bad, but the rest of us have been living just fine without human semen for nearly 1300 years. I personally think we've evolved past it."

"Some ponies have," I muttered, rubbing stars out of my eyes. Derpy got up from my chest and sat down beside me, and I pulled down a cushion to prop up my head. "I think you're half-right, but different ponies responded to different aspects of my... human-ness across those three days. I think depending on your genetics or your personality, the taste might not get you but the pheromones will, or the aesthetics."

"So maybe I'm one of those ponies that isn't all that affected by it," Trixie argued.

Derpy folded her arms above her boobs. "That's still one heck of a risk to take before we get him cured! What if it's the sort of thing that builds up over time?"

Trixie stroked her chin for a few moments, then shrugged. "You might have a point there. For the record, I just think it's tasty and a mild aphrodisiac to me. Mostly, it's just..." She growled in frustration and stomped a foot on the carpet. "I'm dying for a deep dicking. No offense to your tongue, Pasky, but fuck."

I groaned out in sympathy. Over the past four or five hours (excepting lunch), I'd gotten boobjobs, handjobs, magicjobs, even a buttjob... But now I was really starting to crave a wet pussy or a warm mouth or even a tight ass – just any sort of tight, lubricated penetration. My basic breeding instincts had been crying out for attention all day, making me want pussy-sex the most. Here I was, the outercourse addict, quietly craving some basic vanilla. It was kind of sad, really.

"I'm fine..." Derpy mumbled contritely.

"Sure you are, Miss I-Can-Get-Full-Body-Orgasms-Just-From-My-Nipples," Trixie grumbled back, swishing her tail. After thinking for a second, she continued, "I know it's a long shot, but do you think there are any sex shops in town? I think a few toys would help us get across the finish line here."

I raised an eyebrow. "Under Prude-cess Celestia's watchful eye? You think she'd allow that?" Both girls giggled at the stupid pun, which made me feel a lot better.

"It's not like she's outright banned them," Trixie said once she'd stopped chuckling, "not unless she wants a revolution of lonely mares on her hands. I'm sure if you make it 'normal' for us to ask around, we'll find it in a snap."

"Sure, permission granted."

Derpy got up off the bed and walked across the room to open one of the big windows, letting the combined musk of our fuckfest-in-progress start to slowly filter out. "If we're going out," she said, "maybe we can get our own air freshener? So we don't have to keep waiting for the staff to spray this room."

"Sounds good," I said, "but if it's all the same to you two... I think I wanna rest." I rubbed the heels of my palms into my eyes. "Fucking orgasm denial... I am not ready for that level of play yet."

Trixie grinned as she slipped into her leotard. "Hey, it's just payback for that stunt at the doughnut shop."

Oh, right, I suppose I had tried to mentally deny her during our first fuck with Moondancer. I guess fair was fair. "Still though..."

"Fiiiiiine."

"Should we get permission to get this stuff for free?" Derpy asked as she flew over to the door. "I didn't exactly bring my wallet."

Trixie levitated her hat and pulled a bit-pouch out of it, but stopped as she heard Derpy's question. "I'll definitely second that."

I raised my hands and started counting off on my fingers. "One, I don't wanna push to see which force is more powerful, Normal or Capitalism. I want to have an income and be paying for things eventually. Two, if you run into a pony with a business cutie mark, it's not gonna work. Three, I'd rather not give you blanket permission to rob a store blind."

"Phooey," Trixie muttered just a little bit sarcastically, putting her hat on her head. "Lucky for you two I'm on vacation and have cash to burn." She opened the door and said, "Shall we, Derpy?"

"Only my friends call me Derpy," the pegasus said abruptly.

That put Trixie rather suddenly on the spot. "Uh, well..."

Just as quickly, Derpy went back to smiling. "Yes, friend, let's get going," she said, walking past Trixie and giving her a pat on her dumbfounded cheek.

Trixie just stared for a second, then scoffed and waved to me. "See you in a bit, Pascal."

"See ya," I mumbled back as they left the room. A minute later, I was out like a light.

I didn't immediately know how much time had passed when I woke up, but Derpy and Trixie were not back yet. All I knew was that I was parched as hell. I rolled out of bed and walked over to the endtable where a pitcher of ice-water and some glasses were laid out on a fancy tray. Thankfully, the water was still very cold and refreshing, despite the muggy atmosphere of the room. I had to wonder if the pitcher was enchanted to keep it cold. Which made me wonder what did and didn't get commonly enchanted in this universe, because it looked to me to be somewhat inconsistent...

There was a knock at the door to the hallway. This surprised me. The door wasn't locked, and if the girls were back they could just walk right in. If Celestia was looking for a 'feeding,' she would just teleport in and make sure no one saw her. If it was the housekeeping staff, they'd just walk right in too, since we kinda needed them to change the sheets regularly and had no need for a 'Do Not Disturb' door hanger thanks to my power. Who would be knocking, then? Was it a guard with some kind of urgent message?

I chugged the rest of my water, grabbed a robe from the bathroom to wrap around my waist (so I wasn't answering the door completely nude), and went to open the door. Out in the hallway was an orange, gold-maned earth pony in a mulberry pantsuit.

"Ms. Harshwhinny?"

"Mr. Pascal," said the Equestria Games Inspector, smirking at my half-naked appearance. Her muzzle scrunched up as the wave of muggy musk from my room hit her nostrils, and she waved her hand in front of her face. "Whoo! It certainly seems like you've been... busy."

"You could say that," I replied. This was a mare who had turned the tables on me and laughed in my face when I tried to pass myself off as a 'Professional Breast Inspector,' so I didn't feel like I had any dignity left to defend from her – which was oddly freeing. "What brings you over to my neck of the woods?"

Ms. Harshwhinny seemed to adjust to the smell as quickly as she could. "I just finished my meeting with the Princess – you know, the one you forced me to reschedule."

I looked over at the wall clock. It was just a few minutes after two o'-clock in the afternoon. Trixie and Derpy had left at around 1:35, and I didn't know when they'd be back.

"I found myself curious about you again," Harshwhinny continued, "so I asked the guards on my way out if they knew where you were. Imagine my surprise when they told me you were a guest in the Palace! And now, here we are."

"Well, I appreciate the, uh, check-up," I replied, one hand keeping my towel up and the other idly playing with the doorknob. "But what are you so curious about? Didn't think I made that much of an impression."

"You certainly did. May I?"

"Of course." I stepped aside and allowed her to walk into the room, and closed the door behind us.

Harshwhinny looked around. "Alone?" she said incredulously. "You generated this muck by yourself?"

"No, no, the girls are out–"

"The 'girls'!" Harshwhinny exclaimed, bursting into laughter. "You picked up more companions?!"

I mouthed 'here we go again' under my breath. "Yeah... Look, you gotta understand, what you saw at the doughnut shop was just the beginning. It was tame compared to the craziness we got up to later."

"Hmmmm," the middle-aged mare hummed slyly. "You'll have to tell me about it someday. I'm afraid I have other business to get to, however, so I only have so much time."

"Uh... Time for what?" I asked a little nervously.

Harshwhinny, her back to me, unwrapped her pink neck scarf and tossed it onto the bed. She turned around, unbuttoning her coat. "Why, another 'inspection,' of course." Maintaining her usual grace, she slipped out of her coat and tossed it aside, then lifted her white shirt over her head and tossed it too, leaving her only in her pants and a black, utilitarian G-cup bra.

I was completely taken aback; my right eye twitched and I let out a staggered laugh. "P-Professional Breast Inspection...?!"

"Yes!" She reached back and unhooked her bra, allowing it to fall away from her perky orange breasts. "Don't tell me you've lost your appetite for it."

Fat chance of that. "Haha... Uh, I just didn't realize you... liked it that much? I thought it was a gag that backfired, y'know, and you were just humoring me. You certainly seemed to be getting plenty of humor out of it..."

"Then let me be absolutely clear." She looked around, found the one comfy armchair in the room, and went to sit down. "Considering what I was there for, I left that doughnut shop in a very good mood, very comfortable and relaxed. I legitimately enjoyed your breast massage." She spread her still-clothed legs and straightened her back to present her tits as directly as possible. The necklace still around her neck highlighted her bare shoulders and the upper swells of her mammaries. "And before I embark on a long train ride to Manehattan to pass along a less-than-ideal report to the Equestria Games Board, I thought another one would be just the thing for me."

My lagging brain suddenly caught up fast. Sometimes free boobs were stupefying, and sometimes they were an easy way to wake me the fuck up. "Well then... Who am I to say no?" I said as suavely as I could manage. I approached the armchair and, after a moment to consider, dropped the towel from my waist. Harshwhinny's eyes dipped down only for a second to admire my tackle, but nothing indicated she thought my nudity crossed a line.

I knelt down between her legs and raised my hands to gently cup those breasts. G-cups were pretty small by adult mare standards, but they were still more than handfuls for me. And Harshwhinny's were exceptionally firm, just like I remembered them. They practically leapt off her chest, forming a spherical shape with only the slightest bit of sag. Next to impossible on a normal woman her age, I figured, but anthro ponies lived in a magical universe where breasts always looked sexy. Of course, now I knew why, but...

Time to put that out of my mind. I rubbed with my palms along the sides of both breasts, then around and down the cleavage. With my fingers, I stroked from the outside and converged on each nipple, then pinched and wobbled both tits. They bounced with more energy than I expected, as though their perkiness temporarily disappeared as soon as someone applied force to them, only to return to a firm rest.

Harshwhinny sighed as though a weight was lifted off her shoulders and sunk back into the armchair. "Hands as magical as before... You really should consider doing something like this full-time; otherwise it's such a waste of your talents."

I had to wonder, did her reaction have something to do with another aspect of the whole humanity thing? Or did it just boil down to 'mares are easy to please but repressed so they don't know it'? Because I had a hard time believing my fumbling and groping was anything near expert. But I didn't want to dump all that on her, so I just asked, "Really? No one else has given these the attention they deserve?" before I pressed my face into her cleavage and smooshed them against my cheeks.

Chuckling, she replied, "If you're asking about my sex life... there's no Mr. Harshwhinny. No time, really. Just the occasional one-night stand, always professional and discreet."

"Shame," I remarked, pulling away from her boobs, cupping them, and giving them another vigorous shake. She really seemed to like having them bounce, judging by the way she cooed.

"I don't think it's that much of a shame," she said, a smile playing at the corners of her lips, "just not what I'm looking for in my day-to-day."

"Yeah, I can get that." I gave her a quick kiss on both nipples, teasing her with my mouth before going back to rubbing in circles.

I didn't need to look down to know that my cock was mostly chubbed and rubbing against my thigh. A pang of desire crept through me, along with more than its fair share of temptation. I was dying for some old-fashioned in-out. Harshwhinny was a prime target. I'd never fucked her before, so the risk of addiction was low. She wouldn't have a problem with it, no one in my inner circle would have a problem with it; there was nothing stopping me. All I had to do was ask.

Eventually, I managed to force it down. I didn't have to fight for my life anymore, and we had a plan to find a cure. Any risk of addiction at this stage was still an unnecessary risk. If nothing else, I had to prove to myself that I could resist a few base urges for a single day.

"Enough about me. How did your meeting with the Princess go?" Harshwhinny asked. "The one you said was 'life-or-death and the future of Equestria at stake'?"

That question gave me pause. I didn't want to say too much. "Well... I'm still standing, and Equestria's still standing, so... All things considered, I think we got the best possible outcome."

Harshwhinny grinned. "Good, good. Wouldn't want Equestria's premiere caretaker of all things breasts to be– snnrrkkhhkk!" She broke out into snickers, covering her mouth with her hand.

I rolled my eyes and focused on my task. Though I wasn't sure what the endgame here was, besides Harshwhinny's relaxation. She told me herself her breasts weren't as sensitive as other girls, so I wasn't going to get a boobgasm out of her. And I didn't detect the telltale smells of mare arousal. She was just here for a bit of casual breast worship. Y'know, like you do. Because that's Normal.

When she finally calmed down, Harshwhinny said with a grin, "And what of your future as a Profressional – hmhm! – Breast Inspector? Put any more thought into it?"

Another question I had to think about. Though it had started as an admitted gag, the events that unfolded on Saturday night and Sunday morning kind of took my professional future in a possibly legitimate direction. "Actually," I said as I placed my fingers under both breasts and started gently bouncing them, "I think I might end up as more of a, I dunno, sex therapist."

"Aha! No point, mmm, restricting yourself to just one set of pleasures, hmm?"

I shrugged and bounced her tits some more. "Breasts will still probably be a big part of it, let's be honest."

"Indeed, haha!"

Narrowing my eyes for a second, I pulled back my hands and shifted back a few inches on my knees. "In fact... I've noticed that mares' breasts tend to be sort of characteristic of their owner. So, for instance, in your case..."

"Really?" Harshwhinny leaned forward, cupping her breasts in her hands and presenting them to me teasingly. "By all means, give me your 'reading,' Mr. Pascal."

I sighed and suppressed a chuckle, but tried to get back on point. "You bind yours up tightly. No jiggling, no distractions. Just like your carefully maintained reputation. But as soon as the clothes come off – as soon as the defenses come down – suddenly your exuberance knows no bounds; you're just bursting with energy. Same goes for your tits!" I raised a finger and pointed at those lovely orange globes. "True or false: When you're facing the mirror or in the shower or just putting on clothes in the morning, you like to hop on the arches of your feet or shimmy your shoulders, really get 'em bouncin' and shakin'. Consciously or not."

Harshwhinny's eyes widened, then narrowed, and then she settled a slight smirk in my direction. "Hmmmmm! Maybe! And what would you suggest based on this expert insight, Counselor?"

The best I could manage in response was a weak shrug. "Uh, next time you're on one of your 'professional' and 'discreet' one-night stands, let them know that you'd appreciate some energetic foreplay?"

The mare's face fell a little bit and she stared off into space disdainfully. "Hmm, in the wrong circles, though, that sort of information spreading could be seen as a sign of weakness. It would depend on if I trust my 'date.'"

I threw up my hands. "Well, I tried." We both chuckled at that, and I added, "Frankly, ma'am, you don't really look like you need a sex therapist. You're confident, you know what you want, you seem comfortable with your sexuality and the balance it has with your work... There's only so much I can do!"

A bit of a smile pushed up Harshwhinny's sharp cheeks. "I suppose I should consider myself lucky in that regard, and that is the real takeaway." She got up from the chair and rolled her shoulders (which had the side effect of bouncing her boobs a couple of times, I noticed). "Still, not everyone goes to a therapist only when they're in crisis, just like it's wise to see your doctor even if you're not feeling sick. Sometimes, it's just worthwhile to keep a helpful professional on retainer."

If you can afford it, I thought to myself. Man, I'm really gonna have to think about pricing soon, aren't I...? Then a thought occurred to me, and I gave the mare a sneaky look. "Ahhh, so you're getting your free sessions in while you can, aren'tcha?"

Harshwhinny began a laugh that started as a chortle and then transformed into full on belly-laughter, making her whole bare torso quiver. "Oh sure, yes, 'free!' For the low low price of letting a human put his hands on my mounds."

"I thought we established that was the whole point of this visit," I pointed out playfully, standing up and retrieving my towel.

The mare winked and walked past me towards the bed. "Just pointing out the natural incentives on your end. You'd do this for free anyway if money was no object, wouldn't you?"

I laughed. "Well, demonstrably."

Harshwhinny responded with a happy hum and picked up her bra off the sheets. Without asking me to turn around or avert my eyes, she set the cups in place, lifted the straps over her shoulders, and then presented the ends of the clasp to me. "Would you mind...?"

"Sure," I said automatically, and helped her set the clasps into place (with a little fiddling; it wasn't like I'd seen a lot of bras in this magical world or the one before). A little wistfully, I looked at the wall clock – it hadn't been a great deal of time since Ms. Harswhinny had walked in. "Leaving so soon?"

"I only– Thank you. I only had so much time, I'm afraid." Moving a little more quickly, she started to put on her white shirt. "If I let you 'play' any longer... well, I would have to catch a different train to Manehattan. And maybe I wouldn't mind so much." She gave me a warm smile as she adjusted her necklace so that it was on top of her shirt, then reached for the jacket. "But my professional reputation is staked on, among other things, timeliness. If I show up exactly on time, every time, everypony who works with me knows to be exactly on time too. It's a very useful tool."

These days I also feel like a very useful tool, my brain snarked. I let it slide – I was trying to limit the self-flagellating inner monologue stuff like Luna suggested, but I was willing to make an exception for bad puns. "Well, I wouldn't want to keep you."

"Your understanding is very much appreciated." Harshwhinny wrapped the pink scarf around her neck, completing her look. You wouldn't have guessed that this horse-woman had just willingly had her breasts groped for a few precious minutes. Though she certainly looked just a hair more relaxed, and had a certain spring in her step. She offered her hand for a shake, which I accepted, and she said, "Pleasure meeting you again, Mr. Pascal."

"I'd say it was all mine," I replied, "but I think we can agree it was shared in this case."

"Agreed," she said, and started making her way to the door.

I watched her leave, still wearing nothing more than a towel held haphazardly in front of my genitals, and pondered the crazy events of the past few minutes. As she opened the door, ready to truly leave my life for a while, I found myself burning to ask one question before she had to go. "Hey, Ms. Harshwhinny?"

She paused at the doorframe. "Yes?"

Sheepishly, I asked, "Why do you find this so funny? Like, I get that you don't have a problem with any of this, but... Is it really that stupid?"

"Stupid?" she echoed. Harshwhinny shook her head and thought about it for a moment. "No, stupid's not the word... I guess I just find it very surprising." Looking directly into my eyes from across the room with her big blues, she said, "I'm not laughing because I think it's crazy. Well, part of it's crazy, especially the part about what you get out of it. But I'm honestly shocked that no one's ever tried something like this before, especially in such a brazen, but approachable, way. I like the idea, Mr. Pascal. Quite a lot. I hope it goes far."

"Well, thank you," I said, nodding my head at her and feeling quite a bit better. "I hope I do your endorsement justice."

"As well you should," Harshwhinny replied, nodding her head back. "...Have a good evening, Mr. Pascal."

"Same to you," I said, and watched the door close behind her.

That was officially weird.

Sure, okay, part of it was definitely the Normal affecting her mind. (Was I still calling it the Normal? It was definitely easier on the tongue than saying 'the Acceptance' all the time. The latter sounded like I was talking about an awards ceremony speech.) But emotion, logic, and opinion was still a two-way street with this power, which meant part of it also had to be how she'd react if, say, fondling a mare's breasts under the guise of therapy was a perfectly acceptable idea. The enthusiasm and humor was all coming from her.

Where did my influence stop and another being's thinking begin? Could I even track the gradient? To what degree was I responsible for another pony's actions?

My shoulders drooped as I came to the depressing realization that the 'mind control carousel' way of circular thinking had never truly gone away. The spiraling debate during the first three days had been, 'Am I falling down the slippery slope into total corruption?' Now that I knew there was a solid foundation to my morality, the question had changed to, 'How much of other people's behavior should I blame myself for? All of it? None of it? Only the weird parts? Does that obligate me to make corrections?'

Another reason I needed companions like Derpy and Trixie. All alone, I could spin every side of an issue in my head until the cows came home. Having someone to call me out on my bullshit and focus on tangible effects in the real world, rather than edge cases and hypotheticals, served as a helpful circuit breaker. I guess part of me hoped that I was past some of that, but nope – my brain still worked like my brain.

Hell, considering the existential battle I'd just been through, there was a small comfort in knowing my brain had the same flaws as ever. That at least meant it was my brain, not a pony's.

Thankfully, I didn't have to stew in my own thoughts for long. It was only a few minutes later when the door burst open and my two extremely busty mares came through. Derpy had a can of air freshener ready to go, giving it a few test sprays around the room and giggling with glee. Trixie was levitating a paper bag, which utterly failed to hide the head of the black horsecock dildo sticking out of it.

"I hope that's not for me," I said, laying on the bed and pointing at the dildo.

"Oh, we've got other things for you," Trixie assured me. "Are you ready to get back in the fray, stud?"

Honestly, after a break for my balls to recharge, and a bit of stimulating foreplay with Ms. Harshwhinny (that I would tell the girls about later), I was raring to go. "I think I've got a few left in me," I said with unusual confidence. "Bring it on."

5 – Spitfire – Meet and Greet

We learned a few things before our sex marathon ended in a big, tired, sweaty, stained, panting, heaving fuckpile.

One, we learned that we needed more air freshener than we got. We ran out about an hour before we were done. In general, we kinda discovered a lot of things about participating in day-long sexual escapades, which could be summed up as 'Preparation preparation preparation.' The next time we did something like this, there would be snacks, plenty of ice water, towels, and lots more air freshener.

Two, turned out Derpy was open to the idea of bondage. Like, really open. As soon as Trixie brought out that silken rope and tied it around Derpy's wrists behind her back, a change came over the busty gray pegasus. She just seemed to melt into Trixie's chest, and was more than happy to let us ravish her helpless body. She mentioned afterwards that a lifetime of being clumsy had given her a feeling of being out of control at all times. Being tied down and used in such an intimate way by someone she trusted and loved (directed more towards me than Trixie), well, it made it feel like the world had finally stopped spinning, that someone was finally in control of her. I wondered if she felt similarly about my power of Normal. It was the first indication that an honest-to-God sex dungeon might actually be in my future.

Three, I really hated fleshlights. From the idea of them to the feel of them, I hated it. I would honestly prefer to use my own hands for the rest of my life than a male masturbation aid. The feel of pumping soft plastic up and down my dick, even heated and with lube, filled me with such disgusting embarrassment that I couldn't manage a minute before tossing it aside. Which was a shame, because I was dying more than ever for tight vaginal intercourse.

So towards the end of the marathon, the multi-orgasmic mares were finally reaching their limits in terms of stamina, but it was I who was still antsy because I hadn't cum in nearly an hour. Not for lack of trying, but because my cock was so used to titfucks, handjobs, magicjobs, hotdogging, and even thighjobs, my fuck-addled brain was screaming, 'No! Just cum inside something for once!' But I couldn't go for a mouth, pussy, or even an asshole, because my cum was addictive when taken internally and we'd all agreed to avoid unnecessary exposure.

It was Trixie who came up with a solution to my need for a final orgasm, which happened to be our final position for the evening.

I sat at the head of the bed while Derpy smothered my cock with her sweaty, lubed-up, milky breasts. Her hands were pressing small bullet-vibrators against her nipples, making milk spray erratically. Trixie's magic helped squeeze the two prize-watermelon-sized tits together even more tightly, nearly flattening them against my dick, enhancing the pressure. (Derpy didn't seem to find the harsh squeezing of her breasts uncomfortable, thankfully.) Trixie, meanwhile, was up on her knees behind Derpy, gently thrusting into the pegasus's bubbly ass with a curved double-headed dildo that was deeply inserted in the unicorn's pussy.

Oh yeah, Derpy was also opening up to anal. She refused to take anything in her pussy because she wanted to save it for me ("How romantic!" Trixie had teased), but she quickly agreed to let Trixie 'train' her ass with magic, lots of lube, and a small army of increasingly large dildos.

At my end of this train, after a few long minutes, I was finally starting to feel release. Derpy's cleavage was as close to that old hentai standby 'titpussy' as it was ever going to get. It was hot, wet, and tight – and if I closed my eyes, I could almost mistake it for a pussy that I was on the verge of breeding with my spunk.

My eyes crossed. The eruption began, exploding out of Derpy's tightly squeezed tits and splattering onto her muzzle. Trixie's horn released Derpy's boobs and focused on buzzing her own clit while she humped Derpy's ass, making her cum a short while later. Derpy, who'd been having tiny nipple-gasms pretty much the entire time thanks to the bullet vibes, moaned out as one more full-body orgasm finally overtook her. Her tits spurted out their last milk, drained again for what had to be the third time today. The girl could produce.

We all extracted ourselves from each other and collapsed onto the bed. Covered in cum and milk, on utterly ruined bedsheets, all of us in contact with the other two with at least a hand or a leg.

"Thank you," I gasped out. I rubbed my eyes to get them to focus again. My overworked dick finally wilted into softness. "I think that's it for me... Fucking hell..."

Trixie crawled up to the head of the bed, planted her cheek onto a milk-soggy cushion, and gave me a pat on the stomach. "Well done Pascal..." she said as she slowly pulled the dripping double-ended dildo out of her cunt. "You've reached the end with two satisfied mares. Still worried about your performance?"

My head immediately went for a self-deprecating comment. I caught it, held my tongue and reconsidered, then said, "As much as I appreciate the ego boost... Fairer to say you exhausted one mare and one man, since you were basically in charge of this whole thing."

"Uh-huh..." Derpy mumbled into the bed, her hands beneath her, rubbing her tender nipples.

"But yeah," I continued, seeing Trixie narrow her eyes at me, "I guess."

Trixie rolled over, one of her legs drooping off the edge of the bed. "Oh, for the love of..." she muttered weakly. "You just had sex for, what, six or seven hours today? And you're worried that you didn't fuck us hard enough?"

"I didn't fuck you at all," I fired back, staring up at the ceiling. "My tongue and my hands did the work. And that one time, my foot."

"You get what I mean..." Trixie replied. "Sex is a team effort, Pasky. You don't have to be the big, brutish stallion power-fucking beautiful mares 'til they can't walk anymore every fucking time. You just have to be a team player."

"Oh, I'm not walking anywhere," Derpy groaned as she rolled over. She reached up with her hand and lovingly rubbed the top of my thigh. "And you were a great team player..."

I sighed, grinned a little despite myself, and shrugged. "Eh. Lifetime of porn, unrealistic expectations. Par for the course."

"Something we'll work hard on," Trixie breathed out, her massive blue breasts rising and falling on her chest.

We all laid together in a big, tired, sweaty, stained, panting, heaving fuckpile while the setting sun cast rays of orange and red through the window curtains. The clock on the wall showed that the time was about 6:15. The big meeting was at 7:30, just after the change from sun to moon, when both Princesses would be able to attend.

"Ah fuck, we gotta shower and get ready, don't we..." I muttered.

I blinked–

–and the next thing I knew, Derpy was calling out "See ya!" as she and Trixie walked out of the bedroom. They were both clothed, Trixie in her magician's outfit and Derpy in another white-and-gold robe fitted for busty pegasus mares. I looked over at the clock and realized I'd lost about 30 minutes of time to my impromptu nap. Seemed the girls were planning on arriving early and seeing who showed up. As the door closed behind the mares, leaving me alone in the room on the heavily stained bed, I groaned and made my best effort to roll out and stumble towards the bathroom, my muscles burning every step of the way.

I was already naked, so I just stepped into the vacant, finely crafted tub and turned on the spray. It was still warm, and my body relaxed in the heat. I entertained myself by thinking about the size of this shower; it was fairly snug when Derpy and I shared it, so I wondered if she and Trixie showered together and if their ginormous breasts inevitably rubbed up against each other. I grinned and let out a breath of relief.

There was a flash of golden light. Just outside the tub stood Princess Celestia – nude, but not her huge Sex Doll form, just her tall and 'petite' self (which meant D-cups and a tastefully curvy bum). Without saying a word, she turned around and knelt down on the tile floor, her legs spread. Because of her incredible height, she had to get on her knees just to put her ass at my crotch level. Her waving auroral tail gently flagged to the side, and her insanely plump pussy lips parted of their own accord, 'winking' her oversized clit at me and showing the bright pink depths within that were dripping with the Princess's steamy arousal.

One whiff of that pussy brought me to half-mast almost in an instant, along with reminding me of the other sex marathon I'd had recently. The one with the Princess of the Sun I'd been trying to put out of my mind. Terrible, arousing memories.

Celestia didn't wait. My hips were gripped with golden magic, and I was thrust into the Princess's backside, cock-first. My feet banged against the edge of the bathtub, but the pain was quickly drowned out by the pleasure of, at long last, vaginal sex. I could almost hear the screaming 'YEEEESSS!' in my mind as the hot wet embrace of Celestia's cunt squeezed around me and milked my cock to full erection.

Knowing that we were both long gone, I planted my feet and started to thrust. We had no choice, I thought, and I assumed she had to be thinking much the same thing. We both moaned helplessly, slamming our bodies into each other with wanton abandon.

The Princess's body was just as addicting and all-consuming as before. She'd been crafted to be the ultimate gangbang sex slave, and by God, she was using everything she had on me.

I had no concept of how much time passed – only that the next thing I knew I was spewing as deep as I could into Celestia's womb, flooding it with the very last sperm I had left. My brain burst into fireworks of true satisfaction, not just patient orgasms hard-fought for, but the pure and primal joy of fucking. I realized whole seconds later that Celestia was moaning too, and her cunt had a vice-like grip on my cock, holding me hostage balls-deep inside her.

The high came down for both of us and we were left panting for breath in a palace bathroom. The sound of the hot shower still running couldn't drown out the blood pounding in my ears, nor Celestia's heaving breaths that were quickly threatening to turn into sobs.

"H-Hey," I said reflexively, placing a hand on the small of her back. She flinched under my palm. I tried my best attempt at a comforting rub. "We'll... We'll get through this."

Princess Celestia glanced back at me out of the corner of her eye. She looked distraught and ashamed. But before her horn lit up and she disappeared, I could have sworn that her expression lightened for a split-second.

I stumbled back into the shower and slid down onto my bottom, letting the showerhead soak me from head to toe. "Somehow," I added.

After spending extra time getting rid of Eau de Princess Pony in Heat, I got dressed in my old street clothes from Saturday and left the royal guest suite. Halfway down the hall, I turned around and saw a small team of ponies wearing surgical masks storming our room with an arsenal of cleaning products. Blushing in embarrassment, I soldiered on.

A royal guard gave me directions to the meeting. I passed by a number of other guards and servants who would occasionally give me a glance but otherwise paid me no mind. My first impressions of the palace had been when the western wing was emptied out (to prevent me from Normalizing anyone else on my way to the Princess), so it was nice to see this place when it had life and activity. On the other hand, it was Monday evening at the changing of the guard, not Saturday night when a potential enemy of the state was coming to visit.

I turned down a hallway and spotted a yellow pegasus wearing a blue officer's uniform. The thunderbolt patch on the shoulder could only mean one person. "Spitfire?"

The Wonderbolts Captain turned around, Starbucks-esque paper coffee cup in hand and F-cups swinging within her dress shirt. "Pascal?" She blinked and seemed to see me a second time. Spitfire grinned and waited for me to catch up. "Pascal! Hey, how're you doing? Besides being alive, obviously."

I fell into lock-step for a walk 'n' talk with the third mare of Saturday's Normal Pervert Squad. Thinking partially about the dull ache in my balls, I replied, "Um, tired. Relieved and tired."

"Yeah, I feel that." Spitfire took a sip of her coffee. "So what was the 'third' option?"

After glancing around to make sure nopony was in earshot, I said, "Turned out to be... going to sacrifice myself and then having Celestia accept me of her own free will anyway."

"Huh. How'd you figure that one out?"

"We didn't figure it out, it just kinda... happened that way."

Spitfire looked over at me, grinned, and clapped me on the shoulder. "So! Your inner angel won out."

"Yeah," I said with a sheepish smile. "Couldn't handle the total perversion route. Wasn't worth it."

The Wonderbolt gave me a playful shove and said, "Heh heh heh! I knew you had it in you." When I gave her a skeptical look, she added, "Sure, I was worried you were on the fence. But I could see the potential for good inside. I'll only take as much credit as I deserve here."

We came up to a large doorway guarded by a pair of royal unicorn guards, an entrance to a restricted section of the palace. They nodded as we approached because we were expected, and they opened the door to allow us through before closing it behind us. Ahead was a four-way junction, and just beyond that was another large doorway opened up to a fairly large conference room – where the upcoming big meeting was going to be held. Inside, seated at the round table, was Derpy, Trixie, and Moondancer. The three of them waved to us when they spotted us in the hallway. There was also Raven, one of Celestia's top aides, and a few other official-looking ponies I didn't recognize.

The two of us stopped in front of the open door to the conference room and turned to face each other. "Well, thanks for helping me Saturday either way," I said to Spitfire. "I know I kinda foisted a lot on ya."

Spitfire shrugged, then lifted one finger from her coffee cup to point at me. "Speaking of: We had our first meeting about the, ah, 'issue' today. It went..." She lifted her other hand and wiggled it horizontally. "...kinda meh."

"Sounds about right," I admitted.

"Funny thing was, everypony was in agreement about the problem. Everyone agreed that sexual frustration was a big, longstanding issue. Lot of ponies were happy that we were finally taking it seriously. It's just that people are skeptical that making the Wonderbolts more sexually active will solve the problem. Some ponies tossed up some interesting alternative ideas, but... I dunno, your 'maintenance sex' proposal is probably the strongest so far."

I chuckled a bit at that. "Not bad for an idea I threw out there on a whim to save my life."

"I'm wondering if the power's making it seem more appealing, though."

I tilted my head from side to side as I thought about it. "I think it's taking out some of the social negatives, sure, but... Otherwise, it sounds like you're judging it on practical terms, which is the one big stumbling block for the power. An idea can seem 'normal,' but if the logistics don't check out, it's not really a 'good' idea anymore."

"Yeah, but... Somepony else suggests a different idea, and it's not as 'normal' as yours. You get what I'm saying?"

"Hmmm. Maybe I should go over there and say something like, 'It's Normal for solutions to serious sexual problems in the workplace to be judged with an open mind.'"

I felt a weird pulse from somewhere deep within me, and Spitfire blinked and shook her head like it had been gathering dust. "Right. Yeah, that's just common sense. Don't know why we made such a big deal of it."

I was given pause by her casual statement. There was something weird about what just happened and what Spitfire had just said...

Had I just used my power in some way that worked... retroactively?

Without having to be spread via word of mouth?

No, it couldn't be... Could it?

The guarded door at the opposite end of the hall from us opened, revealing a mint-green unicorn and a beige earth pony. "Oh my gosh, this is so cool!" the unicorn mare squeaked. Then she saw me. "Pascal! You're here!!"

I was glomped by a running tackle. "Hey, Lyra," I mumbled into her shoulder.

Lyra let go and grinned at the Wonderbolt right next to me. "Oh wow, and Captain Spitfire! You know each other? Can I get your autograph?"

"Sure. Later, after the meeting," Spitfire replied.

"Awesome. Hey, so this is it, huh?" Lyra said, turning to me without missing a beat. "We finally, finally get to learn the truth about humans! Did you convince her to come clean?"

Spitfire took a sip from her coffee and raised an eyebrow. "Humans, huh? I came here to be told about why Equestria's been sexually repressed for hundreds of years." She looked at me with an expression that easily read, Those issues are probably related, huh?

My mouth scrunched into a tense frown and I nodded back. Yeah...

"Really?!" Lyra exclaimed in equal parts obliviousness and excitement. "Wow, this meeting's gonna have everything, huh?"

"Pretty much..." I muttered. One of the items on the agenda was going to be... me, the Avatar of Acceptance. And I couldn't help but remember what happened back in the Ponyville train station.

Bon Bon finally caught up to us at her casual strolling pace. Her expression was barely disguised relief. "You're still ah-... here," she said, and I didn't miss how she replaced the word 'alive' at the last second.

"Yeah..." I answered carefully.

"So... there's finally peace?" Bon Bon asked hopefully in that coded way of hers.

I nodded. "It's over. We're both fine."

The secret agent finally allowed herself to relax, and actually wiped a bit of sweat off her forehead, dragging her hand down the side of her face. I understood why – she'd been assigned by Celestia to watch over me in case I was up to something dangerous, but with next to no intel and having her girlfriend borderline obsessed with me. It must have been a stressful 17 days or so.

Struck by a pang of conscience, I grabbed Lyra's hand and gently pulled her away from Spitfire, leading them back up the hallway. "If I could just speak with you two for a sec..." I explained to Spitfire as we gained distance. The Wonderbolt watched curiously but stayed put.

"What's up, Pascal?" Lyra wondered. Bon Bon's face fell as she realized what I wanted to talk about.

I let go of her hand and rubbed the back of my neck with it. "Look, um... Saturday afternoon, right before I left Ponyville..."

The green unicorn blinked. "Oh, the blowjob? I know about it."

I froze. My whole body tensed. Internally, I thought, One day, just one of these damn days, I'm gonna get through a whole 24 hours without these ponies throwing a wild curveball at me.

"I told her," Bon Bon murmured, looking aside.

"Yeaaahhhh... The awkward thing about that is..." Lyra pressed her index fingers together in front of her soccer-ball-sized bust and twisted them pensively. "I had already asked if we could bring you in for a... threesome. And Bon Bon had finally agreed. It was just a matter of when to ask you."

Wait, so it wasn't cheating? my brain immediately went. I gave myself a mental slap across the back of the skull. No, it still was because I didn't know at the time, dumbass.

"Well... still," I restarted, doing my damnedest to recover, "what I... made Bon Bon do was beyond the pale."

"I agreed to it," the undercover agent mare muttered, not meeting eyes with me. "You hardly 'made' me."

I shook my head. They were about to learn what I could really do, so I had to get in front of this now. "I did, through... some kind of social psychological pressure. And I did it out of malice and anger. Without knowing about any plans for a threesome, without asking anything. I... I asked for it because I thought it would be hot to get a blowjob from a lesbian." I sighed and hung my head. "So there you go. I'm... sorry."

Lyra watched me with a pout. Bon Bon took a deep breath and finally turned her head towards me. "I accept your apology. You were angry. If I was in your position, learning what you just learned... I might've taken a little revenge too. All in all, no harm was done."

I couldn't accept that that wasn't just the Normal talking. "I... It still shouldn't have happened." I didn't have a great number of regrets about the first three days of my power, all things considered, but I'd finally come to terms with that incident being one of them. "I was out of line."

"I know," Bon Bon replied, her voice firm but warm. "I still accept your apology."

I finally let myself release the breath I'd been holding. "Okay... okay. Thank you."

Lyra smiled and hugged us both. "Awwwww. I seriously can't get enough of you two getting along! It's like my favorite people in the whole wide world finally working together!"

"And the people you want to get in bed with the most," Bon Bon teased her 'best friend.' Lyra's response was to stick her tongue out at her 'best friend' and giggle, which didn't fail to get a smile out of her. The special agent broke the hug apart and said, "Let's go ahead and get seated. The sooner we do, the sooner the meeting can start, and the sooner we can all find out the 'truth.'"

Lyra saluted. "Yes, ma'am!" She and Bon Bon headed towards the conference room, waving at me.

I walked back towards Spitfire, who was just kind of smirking at me over her coffee. "It wasn't just Saturday, was it? You had this power since, what, Thursday? How many shenanigans did you cause in those three days?"

Chuckling nervously, I made vague upward gestures with my hands. "It was kind of a... ramp. Started out small, and then..."

"Suddenly you're hypnotizing Wonderbolts and blowing up sexual blimps in the stadium?" Spitfire finished with a grin. "Turning a Prince's fundraiser into a theologically driven orgy?"

"Yeah, something like that."

The doors at the other end of the hall opened again, this time followed by a sound that was an awful lot like boing! Boing! "Whoopee! I've never been down this hallway before!"

I turned around, and there they were: Pinkie Pie, Princess Twilight Sparkle, and the other four Elements of Harmony. Six ponies that I had last seen together at... a topless party thrown on my behalf. Judging by the mildly embarrassed looks on their faces as they noticed me, they also remembered that night quite vividly. It had just been last Friday, after all.

Except for Pinkie, who was as chipper as ever. "Heya Pascal! How ya dooooin'?"

"Just fine, Pinkie," I called down the hall.

I watched the parade of larger-than-life breasts roll by. Pinkie Pie happily bounced past us and into the conference room, her enormous balloons flopping around menacingly within her t-shirt. Rarity walked by with a polite smile but not a word, carrying bags from Canterlot Fashion Week beneath her tastefully dressed megabust. She was followed by a blushing Fluttershy who was hiding behind her mane but visibly smiling a little bit, her hands interlocked over the biggest pair in the room that obscured her whole torso. Applejack lazily raised her hand in acknowledgement but otherwise didn't seem to care about me as she walked by with her tits bouncing within her red plaid shirt. And then there were the spectacular buttocks on these horse-women...

Rainbow Dash (the relatively petite one) flew up to me and Spitfire, her posture stiff and her arm raised in salute. "Captain Spitfire, ma'am! Honor to see you– Didn't– Didn't expect you to be here!" she declared, tripping over her words a bit.

"At ease, Reserve," Spitfire replied smugly. "I'm off duty."

"Yes ma'am," Dash answered, and landed her feet on the ground. It took her a couple more seconds to remember to lower the salute.

Twilight Sparkle (the average one, breasts merely the size of regular melons) walked up to me with a concerned look on her face. "Pascal... I'm sorry I had to leave, but... Should you really have left on your own? To Canterlot?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, Twilight. I had healed rapidly. And I kinda had to. If I hadn't, I wouldn't be standing before you as Pascal. I would be..." I wracked my brain for the most normal-sounding name for a pony stallion. Weirdly, one came to mind very fast. "'Crystal Ball,' the most boring pony on the planet." Oh, please don't tell me that's what the 'other me' was going to pick if he won...

Twilight's eyes widened as I talked about the spell candidly, looking worriedly at Spitfire and Rainbow Dash.

"Don't worry about them," I muttered as I caught her panicked expression. "That's what this meeting is about anyway."

"O-Oh, it is...?" Twilight mumbled, her big purple pupils shrinking a tiny bit. "Oh no..." In a daze, she hurried into the conference room.

Yeah, that was going to be a tough one. 'This perverted human got demigodlike power and it's all thanks to Twilight!' I wasn't sure how much Normal was going to cover that. I wasn't sure if I should try to cover it against Twilight's eventual anger.

I at least hoped she hadn't found out about her super-endowed parents fucking in front of the stadium yet...

"So, um," Rainbow Dash mumbled, looking between me and Spitfire, "you two know each other?"

Speaking of ponies who were going to murder me... I scrambled to think of something to brush it off. "Oh, well, y'know, we just kinda... It was sort of a thing where... Y'know, I was just walking around, when–"

"He fucked me in the ass twice," Spitfire stated flat-out, and then took another sip of her coffee.

I made a sound like a cricket had gotten lodged in my throat.

Rainbow Dash's eyes widened, then she looked over at me, then at Spitfire, then at me, then at Spitfire... This went on for too many cycles. She finally scratched the back of her unkempt rainbow mane and said, "Is... Is that right...? Um... Great? I guess?"

"Is there a problem, recruit?" Spitfire challenged her.

Dash put up her hands defensively. "Oh no no no! That's um, that's your business... Uh... Yeah, I'll just... Yeah." She spun on her heels and marched into the conference room robotically.

I glared at Spitfire. "Haaaate," I muttered under my breath. Spitfire hid her mad giggling behind her coffee cup.

Rainbow poked her head back out, and the two of us straightened out. "Oh yeah!" she said, pointing at me. "You survived your meeting with Celestia, so I guess I owe you a... thing." She trailed off as she stared at the two of us again, and that stare turned into a thousand-yard stare into the wall behind us, like the image of us together couldn't get out of her mind. "Um... But not if you and the Cap'n do, uh... somethin'... before... yeah..." She awkwardly popped back into the room and left us alone.

I went back to being grumpy, and Spitfire went back to being smug as hell. "Pascaaaaaal," Spitfire said to me with a teasing lilt. "What did you do to my Reserrrrrve?"

Scratching my arm, I muttered under my breath, "I may... have convinced her that she likes... sucking... my dick."

Spitfire's eyes bugged out and she immediately turned towards the wall, bringing her arm up to her muzzle and hiding her hysterical burst of laughter in the crook of her arm. After three rounds of whining like a whistle from within her lungs, she finally pulled her arm away and whispered, "How the hell did you manage that?!" with a massive grin on her face.

"It... was a party!" I mumbled back. "She was being kind of a jerk, a little. I needed to test how far my powers could go. It kinda..."

The doors opposite from us opened again, and I grimaced. Great, who else from my past was about to walk in and remind me of my failures and the impending drama I was about to cause when my secret was revealed?!

When the doors fully parted, I had a few thoughts all at once, causing a mental six-lane pileup.

I've never met her in-person before.

She's tall. Of course she's tall.

Goddamn he's tall though!

She's bigger than Fluttershy!!

Only the tiniest bit smaller than Luna, too.

Jesus, that crotch-bulge – how much is her husband packing?

Princess Cadance's boobs entered the hallway. Followed by her baby belly. Followed by the rest of her and her husband, Shining Armor, walking beside her with his arm hooked in hers. They walked slowly – Cadance seemed to have a little trouble walking at a full pace, and there were signs that at least one of them was using magic to keep her whole... front-carriage from wobbling around too much.

My eyes locked on to the pink-and-gold dress with heart motifs that was covering Cadance's expansive body – and the expansive booty behind her as well. The cleavage window was scandalously large, exposing everything from her collarbone to three-quarters of the way down to her nips, the fist-sized indents of which in the pink fabric were impossible to miss. Even so, they were deformed and spread out around her round belly. She looked like she could be expecting in a couple of months at most. On any other woman, such a feature would be front and center. But on Cadance, that growing symbol of life was eclipsed by the mother's growing readiness to feed. Eclipsed like a beach ball being fought over by two curled-up children.

And they were getting closer. God help me.

A rugged clearing of the throat broke me out of my boob-worshiping stupor, coming from the husband standing next to her and glowering at me. Shining Armor stood barely an inch shorter than his wife, which meant they both stood about a foot taller than the rest of us. And beneath the formal soldier's uniform he was wearing, he was very clearly ripped, giving him an incredibly imposing presence. Not to mention the bulge to rival Big Macintosh or Fancy Pants or Prince Blueblood down below, making me feel more than a little inadequate. These damn ponies...

"Princess Cadance. Prince Shining Armor," Spitfire said cordially, trying not to smile at my complete lack of tact.

"Hello Captain Spitfire," Princess Cadance replied with a little nod of her head. "And this must be–"

"Pascal, Twilight's newest 'project,'" her husband finished for her without taking his eyes off me.

I repressed the urge to roll my head in despair. Of course Twilight would've CC'd these two while she was writing to Celestia. Why wouldn't she keep them informed of the new developments in Ponyville? Composing myself the best I could, I said, "I take it Twilight wasn't terribly... flattering about me."

With a bashful smile, Cadance said, "Oh, just the facts." She reached over and placed her other hand on Shining Armor's bulging upper arm. "I mean, getting torn from your own world and waking up in another where everyone is ten times, well, 'bigger'... Can you imagine?"

"Hmph," was all Shining Armor said as he kept glaring at me.

I knew this glare. This was the protective Big Brother glare. This had been leveled at me once before by Big Mac. It was a look that said without words, 'There better not be any funny business between you and my sister if you know what's good for you.' In any other instance, I would love to assure Shining that we were fine and I had no ill intent towards Twilight Sparkle... except for the fact that the 'funny business' had already happened. Thrice. And if he didn't know yet, there was no way he wasn't going to find out.

Whoops.

"So! Uh..." Cadance said awkwardly – you could almost see the sweat drop running down the side of her head. "This meeting is about your status in Equestria, then?"

"That, and... one other big thing," I mumbled back, doing my best to look her in the eyes.

"Right, riiiiight... Shall we?" And Cadance practically pushed Shining Armor into the conference room before he could invent a way to shoot laser-eyebeams at me.

Spitfire watched them enter and looked into the room at large. "That seems to be everypony," she remarked. "All we're waiting on is the other two Princesses." She pulled back and shot me an evil grin. "They're all about to find out you're a mind-controller, aren't they? And that you've had sex with more than half of them. You are so fucked."

I sighed. My nerves started to creep back into my arms, making my fingers twitch. "Well... they're also about to find out the reason why I'm still valuable enough to keep around... But yeah. I'm just a little bit fucked."

Considering the events of the day so far, that was saying something.

6 – The Big Meeting

"We hereby call this council to order!" Princess Luna announced, and the room fell silent.

Myself and all the named ponies I recognized were seated around the large round table in the center of the conference room, while several more official-looking ponies stood around the perimeter. Princesses Celestia and Luna sat at the 'head' of the table in tall chairs themed with their respective cutie marks. Luna seemed to be the one taking charge and leading the meeting. Celestia... was looking morose, and avoiding making eye contact with just about anyone in the room.

I was seated over on the Canterlot Princesses' left, situated in the middle of Derpy and Moondancer on my left and Trixie and Spitfire on my right next to Luna. Then, from right to left, the seating order went: Lyra and Bon Bon, Cadance and Shining Armor, and then Princess Twilight and the Elements of Harmony. The Elements were basically sitting directly across from my Normal Pervert Squad. (When had I started calling it that on a regular basis?)

"Now then," Luna spoke, her voice projecting easily to all corners of the room. "We have two agenda items to cover this eve. The first item is... not quite a protected secret. It would be greatly preferable not to spread it around, but we will not issue any gag order or the like. The second item, however, is one of the gravest secrets we possess. There is a plan in motion to declassify it for the rest of Equestria and the world, but you will be forbidden from speaking to anyone else about it until that timetable is complete. If you dare, you may be liable under the law. Any civilians in the room who are not comfortable with that may leave now."

No response. The room had quickly filled with a quiet tension, everyone holding their breath.

"I should also say that the topics we shall cover will go into graphic detail. If you are not comfortable with that, you may also leave."

Fluttershy moved to cover her eyes. "W-Will there be any b-blood...?"

Luna shook her head. "No, no gore. Just sex. But graphic and extreme detail of sex." This caused some of the castle staff members in the room to gasp and mumble in surprise. This had to be quite a turnaround from business as usual in Celestia's palace, no doubt.

To my surprise, Fluttershy slowly lowered her hands. "Oh. Um... okay then."

The Princess of the Night looked around the room. No one else raised objections or vacated their position. "Then I take everypony's continued presence as assent. We shall begin." Luna rose from her seat and gestured over to where I sat. "Agenda item number 1: Pascal, the Avatar of Acceptance."

I stood, with a bashful look on my face. There were murmurs from the ponies that were unfamiliar with me, broken up by the Princess of Friendship saying, "WwwwwwWHAT?!"

"Yes, Princess Twilight, we will get to that," Luna responded calmly. "For those who aren't yet aware, a summary: 29 days prior, a freak casting caused by a discharge from the arcanosphere brought this human, Pascal Zenovich, from his home planet of Earth. He was promptly taken to Ponyville General Hospital to be quarantined, treated for his injuries, and to run a battery of physical and psychological tests on him to ensure he would not be an immediate threat to ponykind. After a week's stay, he was made the ward of Princess Twilight, and given shared residence with Ponyville citizens Lyra and Bon Bon.

"That is when the trouble began two-fold. The first problem was that, as some of you know, what little the public knows about humans paints them as evil. We know now that Pascal is categorically not the same kind of human as from our past, merely biologically similar, but at the time the Crown was not sure enough to make a public statement. So resentment was allowed to grow. The second problem was Pascal himself. Being a red-blooded male of his species, with an active libido, finding himself in a world where every citizen's... sexual characteristics were so pronounced... Well, despite his efforts, he could not conceal his base reactions, and tensions between him and the citizenry grew.

"These tensions came to a head late Wednesday night. After an unfortunate encounter with a local flower shop owner, a great portion of the town's population worked into a frenzy. They mobbed Pascal and drove him to Princess Twilight's castle. The situation was dire..."

Twilight grumbled, "And then Discord happened." Her eyes had been narrowing this whole time.

"Yes," Luna said, "Discord appeared before them and offered a solution. Pascal was a magicless creature, so it might be possible to implant a cutie mark, a cosmic concept, into his being with the same modified spell of Star Swirl's that previously led to Twilight's ascension. Discord proposed that the concept be that of one of his counterparts: Embodying that which is normal, acceptable, inoffensive. Given little other option than letting Pascal be run out of town, Twilight accepted and cast the spell."

Twilight raised her hand. "It wasn't just like that!" she protested. "There were risks involved. I made sure Pascal was aware of those risks before I cast that spell on him."

"A good point, Twilight. Taking this pony concept into himself threatened to transform Pascal into the most normal, acceptable, and inoffensive pony in both body and mind. But that is not what happened. At least not at first. The spell appeared to work as intended – the mob lost their ire, and Pascal was allowed to return to his regular life, without offending the townsfolk with his occasional glances. But he quickly learned that wasn't all the spell had done."

At the other end of the table, Princess Twilight buried her face in her hands. I could barely hear her mutter, "Oh no..." Smart as she was, she'd probably worked out where Luna was heading with all this. I had to wonder if at least some part of her had suspected the possibility the whole time.

"The spell did not just make Pascal 'normal' enough to get by. It made everything he says and does normal. With a few exceptions, he can do anything he wants, and no magical creature in this world would bat an eye."

My hands clenched. A few whispers echoed around the room, but most eyes were just focused on me, studying me. Scrutinizing me. Derpy reached over and placed her hand on mine in support.

I braced myself and stood up. "Actually, it's not quite that simple...? It's kind of a complicated power."

Luna nodded. "Yes, you would know more about the particulars than anyone. Why don't you explain–"

"WAIT A FFFF- gosh darn second!" Rainbow Dash shouted, springing into the air and angrily pointing at me. "You! You made me do the... thing! You made them do those... things! You're a mind-controller!!"

A little ways to my right, Spitfire chuckled and kicked back in her chair. "She finally figured it out."

"Shut up..." I muttered back, sick and tired of her antics at the moment.

"Yes, Master," she replied with a knowing grin.

"Oh, you are so not helping!"

Applejack slammed her hands on the table (making it visibly wobble a little with her strength) and stood up too. "The party. That whole party was your idea, wasn't it?!"

"I don't get it..." Pinkie Pie placed her hands on the sides of her head. "Wait, I DO get it??"

Rarity said nothing, but just stared at me in wide-eyed suspicion. Fluttershy's mouth fell half-open in shock. Twilight Sparkle, arms over her head, looked like she wanted to burrow into the table and establish a new Princessdom of the Mole People beneath the conference room. Bon Bon fixed me with a familiar glare. Lyra looked confused at everyone's reactions. Cadance was remarkably calm, a hand under her chin. Shining Armor glared at me with his arms folded, but seemed to be keeping control of himself. "I assume," the former Canterlot Captain of the Guard said aloud, "there's a reason we haven't turned him to stone already?"

Luna sighed at the chaos of the room. "Yes, there is. If I may have order..."

"What possible ffffriggin' reason could there be?!" Rainbow Dash shouted, apparently trying not to swear in front of the Princesses.

"Cease!"

I covered my ringing ears too late to protect them from the Royal Canterlot Voice. The room fell silent.

"The reason," Luna stated firmly, "will be covered in agenda item number 2. For now, let me say this: When Pascal and Celestia confronted each other Saturday night... he proved he had the morality to use his power responsibly, somewhat, and proved its worth as a power to heal, not just to control. ...Equestria can benefit from someone who can break through certain social barriers. And Pascal has agreed to use his powers for good. Much like the Spirit of Chaos, Discord."

"We have a counterspell for Discord," Shining Armor pointed out, "in case he tries to go rogue again. What's the backup plan for this guy?"

"We are... working on it," Luna hesitantly replied.

"Harmony."

All eyes turned to Princess Celestia, who was looking at the wall with her chin resting on her fist.

Without looking at anyone, she said, "If Pascal's actions threaten the balance of Harmony... no amount of Normality or Acceptance will protect him. The Rainbow Power within the Elements of Harmony will empower them to act, with immunity. As for what happens to Pascal after that, whether he's turned to stone or banished or transformed... I cannot say for sure."

Once again, Celestia managed to find a way to chill my blood when she wanted to. "Was... Was that a thing the whole time?" I mumbled. The Princess looked at me out of the corner of her eye and nodded stiffly.

Princess Twilight stood up. "That's for the end-of-the-world scenario. But what about all the things he's done up 'til now? Without us even realizing that we were under his influence?!" Oh shit, she was getting mad now.

"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash called out, gently flapping back down towards her seat. All of Twilight's other friends also voiced their agreement. Almost all of them, anyway.

Luna placed her hands on the table and leaned forward. "At this point, I should bring up something important. Pascal remained human, not a pony, after Twilight's spell because he specifically resisted, perhaps with Discord's advice. But the original spell resurged in its original purpose within a day, and continued to threaten him all through Sunday morning. Pascal was given very good reason to believe that his very mind, body, and soul was under attack unless he persistently did abnormal things – like public sex. So while yes, his actions can be attributed to perverted desires open to a lack of consequence, they were also driven by a sense that he had mere days or hours left to live. He was checking off his 'bucket list,' as the saying goes. Under those circumstances, we might consider ourselves lucky for what respect he showed and how little lasting damage he caused during those three days."

At this point, Cadance gestured something to her husband, and Shining Armor helped her (and all her wobbling assets) stand up.

"So let me get this straight," the Princess of Love addressed the room. She waved over at me with her free arm. "This young stallion- er, man... He's a social pariah for weeks, and then suddenly gets a semi-godlike power that lets him influence people, fulfill his desires?" And then she shrugged and smiled. "Yeah, I'd say anyone in that situation would go a little crazy."

The entire room broke out into confusion, including me. Was Cadance actually coming to my defense?!

"They're growing pains," Cadance continued. "When we find out we are capable of something new and exciting, it's natural to push our limits to the point of being a little reckless and dangerous. I mean, let me ask the unicorns in the room: How many of you went overboard once you learned how to use a growth spell, hmmm?"

Not all of the unicorns blushed and turned their heads, but it sure was most of them. Twilight, Rarity, Moondancer... Shining Armor even, and Luna too... Lyra... Well, Lyra was just grinning widely, and Bon Bon was rolling her eyes at her marefriend.

Satisfied, Cadance said, "Now, this is definitely bigger than that, since it involved other people. And if anyone's been hurt, I think it's Pascal's responsibility to give reparations, absolutely. But I think it's also important for those ponies, who were involved, to reflect on the personal reasons for why they followed along. Because it's not an absolute mind-control power, right? It just makes him normal. So everyone who chose to interact with him in the ways he asked had some kind of internal reasoning. Maybe not a healthy reason, and if so that's even more worth reflecting on, but you can't just write it all off as brainwashing and call it a day."

Princess Twilight looked up at her sister-in-law with a bewildered, and even mildly hurt, expression. "Cadance..."

"I am not saying that the blame should be shifted from Pascal to the ponies he engaged with. He should absolutely take responsibility for everything he did. But I agree with Luna – we should consider those first few days as magical growing pains. Those days would have been filled with some kind of strife and chaos no matter what. And if he's standing here now, ready to come clean, make amends, and help out in the future... Then we should take that as a sign that he's maturing, and getting used to his new powers. There should be honest and tough dialogue between him and whoever he's wronged, but..." Cadance smirked a little at me. "I mean, would he be standing there letting us judge him if he was intending to mind-control us all?"

"Certainly sounds like he's mind-controllin' you," Applejack muttered, sitting back down with her arms folded under her plaid-covered mega-mammaries. "He doesn't even need to say anythin'; it's just an aura, right?"

"Well, let's just say I still have my own personal reasons," Cadance answered mysteriously.

Shining Armor looked skeptically at his wife. "Seriously?" he muttered, just barely quiet enough for me to hear.

"C'mon," Cadance replied at a similar volume, "you know where I'm coming from on this."

Shining blinked. "What? No, this is nothing like 'that.'"

"This is exactly like 'that.'" What were they talking about?

Princess Cadance and Shining Armor sat back down. Luna let out a breath and glanced over at me. "Pascal, you were about to explain the particulars of how your power works."

"R-Right..." I shifted my weight from side to side, working out the soreness in my legs from standing in fear for so long. Everyone in the room watched me with their own unique mixture of expectation, confusion, and contempt. It took me a few moments to find my words. "Um. So... It makes everything I say and do seem normal. It doesn't always make what I say and do uninteresting... not always. It just means I toss up way, way fewer red flags. But it also depends on the person... er, pony, whatever. There's no such thing as a perfect blanket change I can make. Everyone reacts a little differently. The ways ponies process the dialogue of ideas, logic, emotion; that's still intact. I've just changed my side of the equation, to be more... neutral, I guess. No matter what I say. ...Oh, and I can give permission to others to do abnormal things, like... go around nude, for instance..."

"Speak up, Pascal, you are mumbling," Luna said.

"Sorry! Um, so there are three major limitations to my power that I know of so far! First is cutie marks. I can't convince anyone to go against their destiny, their core identity. I can't tell Celestia to give up control of the sun and have her think that's in any way a good, normal idea. I can't tell Pinkie Pie to stop throwing parties."

"Heck no you can't!" Pinkie called out.

"Trixie's illusionist show. Lyra's music. Applejack's love for her farm and family. I am absolutely blocked on all of these fronts. Admittedly, I can attempt to talk around them, but that's honestly... dangerous to me."

Across the table, Applejack frowned further and raised an eyebrow at me. "How the heck do you know what my cutie mark represents? Don't recall tellin' ya."

Don't say Season 1 Episode 23. Don't say Season 1 Episode 23. "Well, you're the Elements of Harmony, your cutie mark stories are practically legend," I fibbed quickly. "I don't remember who I heard it from."

"The second limitation, Pascal," Luna reminded me.

"Yeah, uh, related to the first one, it's basically 'core values.'" I made a point of looking more or less directly at Rarity as I said this. "Even if I'm normal, there are still some things you deeply care about, that you'd rather I didn't trample over. I'm not as strongly blocked as I am with cutie mark stuff, but... I've learned to look out for it."

Rarity's eyes widened, and her head tilted down and to the side in thought.

Looking around at the rest of the room, I put on a nervous smile and said, "And it's like you guys all... being mad at potentially being mind-controlled, heh heh... If this power worked perfectly, eventually you'd just brush this off because it's me..."

"Eventually we will," Moondancer spoke up near me. She stood up. "For those who are objecting or voicing concerns, the power is still working on them. It does not stop. It has no maximum range. Resisting may force it to take a while, but it will win in the end. It'll push you towards a conclusion in your own words that favors Pascal. ...Whether it's totally sane or not." The bookworm sat back down. The tension in the room ratcheted up a couple of notches.

I clenched my fists on the table and glowered at the surface. "Yeah, that's the part that fucking sucks..." I half-muttered. First Moondancer, then Celestia, and now there was a whole table of ponies who were being told the truth, a good portion of whom were going to be angry and resistant. How much more complicated was it going to get with all of them?

"I... suppose that would explain some of the more extreme reactions," Luna said cautiously. Had that little tidbit been news to her, too? "If that is indeed the case, we should perhaps endeavor to keep this more of a secret as well, to at least spare other ponies this sort of... crisis. And the third limitation?"

I sighed. Now that I had been reminded of my power's worst flaw, most of my energy had left me. "In a word, 'logistics.' If you're an expert in your field and I try to convince you something's a good idea when it's just not practical, you're gonna disagree. That's that."

"Very well." Luna nodded and rolled her shoulders. "There you have it. You know of Pascal's powers and how they came to be. I sense that all of you could use some time to digest this. We will take a five-minute break – you may not leave the room, but you may deliberate among yourselves and ask us questions. Starting now."

My heart skipped a beat as the room got into motion. Rainbow Dash rolled up her sleeve like she was going to sock me across the jaw, but Pinkie Pie grabbed her and started talking into her ear. Shining Armor whispered to his wife and watched me out of the corners of his eyes. Twilight Sparkle got up and immediately marched over to Celestia. Applejack organized the other five girls into a quick huddle. The other staff ponies in the room got some distance from me, as though to get away from my corrupting influence.

Moondancer scooched her chair back and looked up at me. "Sorry for raining on your parade," she apologized.

I turned around, bracing against the edge of the conference table, and shook my head. "Nah. It needed to come out. ...Fuck, though. "

Lyra and Bon Bon got up and walked around to face me. The green unicorn mare looked a little bit distraught. "So..." she said, "you and me... Was that...?"

I gave her a pitying look. "No, that..." I thought about it for a moment. "I want to believe that was all you, but that my power made it acceptable for you to ask. And to do it."

Lyra's face softened in relief. "You mean... so that ponies don't think I'm a freak for having, um, done it with you?"

"Yeah. It's not like I put the idea in your head. At least I don't think I did..." I blinked, and then facepalmed. "Wait, shit. The bench in the park. When I asked you to imagine something you wouldn't normally do."

Bon Bon's eyes narrowed. "And when you told Lyra she could masturbate. And we helped her 'finish.'"

Trixie, Moondancer, and Derpy looked among themselves awkwardly. Spitfire looked away and stifled her laughter behind her hand.

"Yeah, okay, so..." Lyra's head bobbed back and forth as she worked out the series of events. "I came up with that idea, and your power was on at the time, so when we were alone that night, the power helped me think it was okay? Is that about right?"

"Pretty much..."

Lyra nodded. "Okay. so it was definitely your influence, but I still brought a lot to the table. Basically what you said about how the whole thing works, right? It's a two-way street."

I nodded back.

Then Bon Bon dropped the other shoe. "So what happened at the station..."

I hung my head and said, "Like I said before, anger and malice."

The cream-colored earth pony put her hands on her hips and frowned at me for a long, long moment. I couldn't really make eye contact with her. Then she let out a groan and said, "That's why you apologized ahead of time. Ugh, Pascal..." She sighed and rubbed her temples. "You're pushing it now, but I guess I still accept your apology."

"I know..." I mumbled pathetically, still looking away. "Thanks anyway."

The two marefriends walked away, and Derpy looked up at me with those big yellow derped-up eyes. "You okay, Pasky?"

"I'm really not, actually," I admitted. I looked back over my shoulder at the Mane Five huddle-group, catching one of them occasionally looking my way every so often. To say nothing of the other critical eyes in the room constantly trained on me. "That whole 'resistance equals crazier rationalizations' thing... We just set that in motion, and I don't know how to stop it." I looked down at my hand and shaped it into a snapping position with my thumb and middle finger. "I guess I could make everyone in the room immune..."

Trixie stood up abruptly and grabbed my wrist. "Don't... do that. Turning it completely off and on causes more trouble than it solves. You'd be making the problem even worse."

"And some of these ponies look out to get you if it weren't for the whole 'it'd be rude' thing," Spitfire pointed out, leaning back in her chair.

"But what am I supposed to do?" I asked urgently. "I mean, it worked for you three, right? Trixie, Dancer, and Derpy are immune right now."

Spitfire's chair dropped back onto four legs. "The fuck you say? Why wasn't I included?"

"I'm not," Derpy said suddenly.

The four of us all looked at the gray pegasus.

"I mean, it's different on me. All of the positivity, none of the deception. You tweaked it in my case, remember?" Derpy grabbed my other hand and lifted it so it clasped my snapping hand. "Maybe you could tweak the general aura the same way?"

I stared wide-eyed at my hands and remembered. "That's right... The power's fully integrated now. I'm... I'm mastering it. It responds to my words... Maybe..."

Moondancer gasped and stood up. "We can edit how the Normal works!"

"Hold on, let's not rush into this..." Trixie muttered.

Now all four of the girls were standing up alongside me. Spitfire walked around to face me and said, "Kid, I know that whole mob situation's gonna make you worried about security." She pointed at the rest of the room. "But if you wanna make this crowd feel a lot safer, I suggest taking away some of the major felonies you can do."

"That's right," Moondancer agreed. "That stallion we talked to didn't care if you committed murder or not. Take that away!"

"Do we need to do that?" Trixie asked. "I'm not advocating for Pascal to be able to kill somepony, but doesn't the whole 'cutie mark' loophole mean some detective pony will arrest him anyway?"

"Not if normal ponies don't think to report the crime," Spitfire pointed out.

Trixie blanched. "Okay, yes, let's not play with that fire if we can help it."

"Pascal," Derpy said soothingly, placing a hand on my chest, "I know you're not the kind of guy who would do something like that..."

"No, I get it, that's a good limitation to have," I agreed. Derpy smiled and nodded. I took a step away and placed both hands over my non-existent pecs. "Okay. Okay okay okay... Hoo, let's do this..."

"Quit stalling!" Spitfire growled.

"First up, murder and assault," Moondancer said.

"Alright, alright." I took another deep breath and widened my stance. "Ahem... It is not acceptable for me to murder or assault another living being, except in extreme cases of self-defense."

My hands glowed bright blue. My vision went blurry for half a second. I could definitely feel something happening, like something was flowing out of my chest. A tingling warmth spread from my fingertips to the rest of my body, giving me goosebumps and forcing a few hairs to stand on end. I wasn't sure exactly what was happening, but I was fairly confident I was doing something.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Shining Armor roared, standing up so fast as to knock his chair onto the floor. He looked about ready to blast me with his horn.

I turned around, hands still on my chest, and announced, "Using my power on myself. Taking away some of my excessive liberties."

The whole room was silent and tense. All other conversation had stopped and all eyes were on me.

After another deep inhalation, thinking back to Rarity at the topless party, I said, "It is acceptable for people to turn down sex with me. It is not acceptable for me to aggressively proposition or forcibly rape anyone." Again: glowing, dizziness, a sensation of something leaving my body. All good signs so far.

Moondancer reached out and took one of my hands away from my chest, a worried look on her face. "Okay, Pascal, that should be enough for now..."

I shook my head and pulled my hand back. "Nuh-uh. Still the most important one to do."

Princess Luna stepped away from her moon-chair and yelled, "Pascal, stop!"

I paid them no heed. Why would I stop now? "When someone learns the extent of my power, they are allowed to form... their own opinion about it... and... me..." After groaning out the last word, I crumpled onto the floor like a sack of potatoes.

7 – Twilight Sparkle – Watchdog

"...He's coming out of it! Pascal, Pascal!"

"Easy there. Don't shout at him, filly."

I opened my eyes to a bright flashlight being shined into my pupils. After a few seconds of disoriented vision, I came to realize that I was sitting on a raised cot in what was otherwise some kind of official-looking office. The decor matched that of the Canterlot royal palace. There was a name plate on the desk nearby that read, in part, 'Assistant Royal Physician,' and then a name I couldn't quite focus on from here. The flashlight was being held by a middle-aged orange unicorn mare, who seemed satisfied by my reaction.

"How're you feelin'?" the doctor-looking mare asked, hooking her stethoscope into her ears and placing the cold instrument on my bare chest. "Any pain? Unusual sensations? Fatigue?"

"Very tired, and... kind of embarrassed," I replied. "Other than that... feels like there's kind of a hole in my chest, that's... filling up?" It was a very odd thing to describe.

"Sounds about right," she quipped, nodding to herself and removing the stethoscope. "Princess Twilight tells me you're new to this whole 'magic' thing–" I looked around the room and spotted two other occupants: Derpy, standing anxiously next to the cot, and Twilight, staring out the window into the night sky. "–so I'll give you the kindergarten version: You've only got so much magic in you. Casting a bunch of giant spells all at once leads to what we call 'burnout.' That's when you run out of fuel for the spells and it starts to eat away at your vitality. You were this close to shaving off a year or two from your life, pal."

"Oh," was all I could say.

"Here, drink this," she then said, levitating a cup with a brown-colored drink into my range. I grabbed it, took a sip, and squeezed my eyes shut – it tasted less than pleasant. "Herbal supplements that'll help you recharge your magic faster. Drinkin' that three times a day for two days and bedrest, that's what you need."

"Thanks, ma'am," I mumbled, trying my best to be polite.

"Sure, no problem. Not like I was gonna head home or anything when you showed up." The doctor packed up her things and looked towards Twilight. "You know how to ping me if anything comes up. Lock the door behind ya." And she walked out of the office.

I looked over at Derpy. "Did I miss... 'agenda item number 2'?"

The pegasus drew up a chair and sat at my side, a sad smile on her face. "Yeah... She told them about the humans. They... They showed their 'full' forms. They even brought out some old records from the vault, stuff from Star Swirl the Bearded, to prove they weren't lying."

"Damn," I muttered. I should have been there, if only to provide moral support. "How did everyone take it? Lyra...?"

"She was devastated," Derpy said, pouting at the floor. "Accused Celestia of making a fool out of her and stormed out in tears. Bon Bon went to go comfort her. Spitfire was pissed off that she kept it a secret for so long. Moondancer... seemed conflicted. Like she's not sure whether to be sympathetic or mad too. I don't know about the others, but Rarity fainted as soon as she saw Celestia's... y'know."

"Good, so I wasn't the only one who blacked out," I joked. "How about... the thing I did? Do we know if it worked...?"

"The four of us were doing thought experiments for a while," Derpy explained. "Well, mainly Spitfire since she's not immune, but we also asked some of Celestia's staff. If you attacked someone, that'd be bad. Murder, no question. Rape, out of line. At least right now, it looks like all that stuff seemed to work."

"And... and the last one?" I asked.

Derpy sighed. "We don't know. It's a hard thing to figure out, what kinds of opinions ponies are making and whether you're affecting them. And everypony kinda split into their own camps after the meeting ended."

"Ditsy Doo?" Twilight suddenly said without turning around. "May I speak to Pascal, alone?"

The pegasus looked back at her and asked, "Are you gonna kill him?"

That got the Princess to turn around. "W-What?" she sputtered. "No, I... I just need to speak with him one-on-one."

"Why?" Derpy demanded.

"Because what I want to talk about is personal," Twilight insisted. "Is that a problem?"

Derpy gave the Princess her best grumpy glare, then patted me on the stomach. "I'll be right outside." She got up from her chair and stepped out of the office.

As Twilight approached my cot, I asked her, "So what do you think?"

"What do I think?"

"Yeah. About... the Princess, and humans, and..."

Twilight put a hand up to her forehead. "Ugh, I don't know. History got rewritten before my very eyes, Pascal. Can I be excused for not knowing how I feel about it yet?!"

"Yeah, yeah! Geez..." The Princess of Friendship now stood firmly just a foot or so away from me, looking down at me with a judgmental expression. I did my best to sit up, but my chest hurt doing so. "So uh... what about you and me?"

"That's exactly what I want to talk about," Twilight muttered. "You hid this from me, and then you used me."

A bit of old anger from barely a week ago resurfaced within me. "Gee, I'll give you one guess for the extremely strong reason why I didn't want to tell you."

Twilight groaned. "The mob..."

"Bingo." A bit of my fire dimmed and I said in a quieter voice, "...Yes, I was afraid if you found out, you'd take it away from me and we'd be back to square Mob. By the time I even knew what was going on, I... I didn't want to lose the peace I had finally gained."

"And you got me to jack you off, so there's that," Twilight grumbled sardonically.

The gaping sensation in my chest was joined by a chill of shame. "I-I really didn't expect that to happen."

"You sure did the second time. And you had no problems asking me to do surgery on your... your penis!"

"Actually, that turned out to be extremely necessary, so..."

"Excuse me?!"

"No, really! If I hadn't been operated on, I probably would've died Saturday of a heart attack, or been turned into a stallion. And all this human stuff would still be one of Celestia's dark secrets. I'm so, so sorry for using you like that, but I don't regret the operation. Or the party. I mean, what happened to you at the party, I deeply regret, but it also gave me the first sense that there was something really suspicious about my semen... What I'm trying to say is, I needed both events to survive what went down Saturday."

Twilight shook her head, gritting her teeth. "I can't believe this... You really think you did nothing wrong."

"I did plenty wrong! But I was panicking! I was gonna die, Twilight! I almost did, many times! But now I want to make amends!"

"Sure had a lot of fun for a man supposedly in his final days!" Twilight snapped back.

My eyes widened in horror. "Oh my God... You really need to believe I'm a villain, don't you?" Twilight's face started to turn red, but I kept it up. "That's the only way this makes sense to you. I have to be the pervert who betrayed you, strutted into the palace, and perverted Equestria under your nose. It can't be because some damage was already done long before I got here, oh, absolutely not!"

"You...!" Twilight's fists clenched and unclenched, and her horn sparked with potential energy. "RRRGH!" She turned away and stomped off to the side of the room.

"I'm sorry, Twilight," I repeated as earnestly as I could. "I'm sorry. For everything."

The purple alicorn seemed to compose herself, and was silent for a few unbearable seconds.

"At least one good thing came out of this," she said in a mysteriously calm voice. She turned around, holding her hand out – cradling a matrix of glowing blue magic. A very familiar blue. "Your magical signature."

From my perspective, the whole room seemed to darken. Twilight. Had access. To my magic. Can you say 'This is bad'?

"When your third spell fizzled, it left this trace–"

"It fizzled?!" I shouted, grabbing at my hair. That was way more important! Was that why I'd blacked out? My attempt to protect the others from suffering the backlash of resisting the Normal... completely failed?!

"...Yes, the spell failed for whatever reason, and when it did, I was able to analyze the traces of your magic left behind before they dissipated. So now..." She crushed the magical lattice in her hand, and her horn glowed the same color. It cast a cone around the room before settling on me, revealing a faint blue glow around my body. "Now I can detect your direct influence. And not only that..."

Twilight lifted her head, her horn pulsed, and a wave of blue magic passed over her from head to toe.

"...I can enchant anyone I want with temporary immunity," she declared, grinning.

My response was, even to my surprise, neutral. "Oh."

"'Oh'?!" Twilight echoed incredulously, re-clenching her hands into fists.

"Well yeah, that's a good thing, isn't it?" I took another sip of my disgusting brown herbal drink. "That means you have a counterspell for me that doesn't involve ripping the magic out of my soul... like I just tried to do, apparently. So now you have a way to check my actions and make sure I'm not crossing any more lines. That makes me less dangerous, and you more comfortable. Tell me that's not a win-win."

Twilight's eye started twitching. "What– You– How can you..." She marched on over to the door and gripped the handle firmly. "I'm going to use this spell on the other Princesses and my friends, see what they REALLY think of you. What do you say to that?"

"Uh... Well... Go ahead, but..."

"Buuuut?"

"Just don't say I didn't warn you about Celestia. Taking off that spell won't be pretty."

"I'll be the judge of that," Twilight grumbled, then yanked the door open and marched out. Derpy watched her leave, then stepped inside to keep the office door ajar.

"The third spell fizzled?" my marefriend asked worriedly.

I sighed, rolled my eyes, and slumped back to being horizontal. "Yeah..." It boggled my mind. It seemed to be the first time I had outright failed at something since getting this power, instead of making a critical misstep or having a curveball thrown at me. What had been the problem? Trying to do too much at once? Attempting to subvert the very nature of my power? I couldn't be sure at this juncture. But I tried to stay positive for Derpy's sake. "Two out of three ain't bad, I guess. Unless you count Twilight having a counterspell now as number three."

Derpy pouted as she stepped up to the cot. "I didn't want to say it while she was here, but... Twilight's probably taking everything the worst of anypony. I can see why, it's her mentor and all... People say she practically worshiped the ground Celestia walked on."

Frowning, I added, "And she was my warden for a whole three weeks. She knows me better than anyone else. To find out I went behind her back and did all this crazy stuff... That one-two punch couldn't have been easy to take."

"I don't know about her knowing you that well," Derpy muttered. She sat down next to me and said, "She knows the version of you that landed in Equestria, the one that was scared and horny all the time. But... well, would you agree if I said you're different now?"

"That's the whole crux of my argument to stay," I replied, waving my hands. "This 'reborn' Pascal is the kind of guy who would lay down his life for the pony who hates him the most. I'm still kinda coming to terms with that myself..."

Derpy sighed. "Are you really fine with her having some kind of power over you?"

"I kinda have to be... But yeah, I think it's good. Society works because we're all supposed to be watching each other, right? But the power puts me in this space where I'm practically immune to judgment. That's a scary place to be."

"Yeah, I saw," Derpy said with a little laugh, referencing the first time we met.

"It's out of my hands, but I really do think it'll help in the long run," I added. "Whatever makes it possible for me and ponies to live in peace without... well, me no longer being me."

Derpy nodded, and reached under my body with her soft but surprisingly strong arms. "C'mon. Let's get you back to our room."

"Just in time for a mob of angry mares to kick down the door," I said, only half joking.

8 – Mane Six – Wiping the Slate

Moondancer came by to wish us well, trade theories about what had just happened concerning my magic, and promise to come back tomorrow to help with things like curing the addictive quality of my semen. She didn't really bring up the topic of what happened after I blacked out, but it was easy to see that she was a bit shaken by it. I knew by now that she preferred to process these things on her own, so I didn't push her.

Spitfire bitched about Celestia's bullshit, wished me good luck, and said to write a letter if I ever wanted to take her up on her still-standing job offer as the Wonderbolts' hypnotherapist. I told her I would have to check my schedule, because I already had a client.

We didn't hear from Lyra and Bon Bon. No one we crossed paths with could tell me yet where they were or what they were doing.

Trixie had said her goodbyes for the night and left for her hotel room at the Canterlot Inn. Her reasons being, one, she paid for the room so she might as well use it, two, in her opinion it was actually a little nicer than this palace guest room, and three... she bashfully admitted to talking in her sleep every so often, so she preferred to sleep alone and not bother anyone.

So it was just me and Derpy in the room, and we tucked in for bed early. Awful herbal drinks and bedrest, that's what I needed. And no doubt there was plenty more work to do tomorrow now that everypony important was on the same page, so rest was doubly important.

...Except that a knocking on our door occurred just as I was about to fall asleep. Derpy was already snoozing, so I gently extracted myself from the bed, threw on a complimentary robe, and opened the door.

Standing out in the hallway, lit by only a few sconces and the ambient moonlight from the distant windows, was none other than... Applejack?

"Hey, got a minute?"

I was more than a little apprehensive, but the fact I wasn't being sucker-punched right out of the gate was a fairly good sign. "Uh, sure, I guess." I carefully stepped out of the room and closed the door behind me so we wouldn't bother Derpy. "What's up?"

"Jus' wanted to kinda go over things with you," she mumbled a little nervously, scratching the side of her face. "Twilight just cast that new counterspell on us and... well, we kinda had a long talk about what happened Friday night."

I sighed. "How many apologies and/or free gut-punches do you want?"

Applejack chuckled at that. "Ya might have to look out fer that from Rainbow. But let's put the other ponies aside and just talk about you 'n' me, alright?"

"Sure."

The farm-girl took off her stetson and ran a hand through her tied-back blonde mane. "After some soul-searchin', I... I kinda came to realize that I didn't really... I dunno, put my virginity on that high a pedestal in the first place? Part of me thinks I should be mad that we had sex out of wedlock, but... Deep down, I'm not sure I ever really cared about that sort of thing. Always assumed the right stallion would come along some year and settle down and be part of the farm, but sex was never somethin' I factored into that, y'know? So what happened with you didn't really affect that, since you didn't put foals in me and you ain't marryin' into the family. You followin' this at all?"

"Sort of," I replied, but in truth only barely.

Applejack started to chortle. "Ah mean, if you had done an awful job at sex, this would be an entirely different conversation. Hooee. But, uh... Heh heh. Shoot, I kinda lost the plot there..."

"Let me know when you find it," I remarked. "I'm kind of flapping in the wind myself."

"Well, that's more what I wanted to talk to you about, I suppose," she said. Applejack stepped to the side and leaned back against a pillar of the hallway. "Sort of what your future plans are, or will be. The more Ah think about it, the less concerned I am about you and me, and more about what you'll do to all Equestria, y'know what Ah'm sayin'?"

I nodded a little bit. "That's fair..."

"Ah mean, li'l Apple Bloom just got her cutie mark, so now she's–"

I did an honest-to-God take. "Apple Bloom what?!"

"Yeah, it happened over the weekend! The CMC figured out that what they wanna do is help other ponies with what their cutie marks really mean! Counselors! I mean gosh, can ya believe it?" The farmer actually wiped a tear from her eye. "And she got it by finally makin' amends with that Diamond Tiara filly she'd been feuding with. Couldn't be prouder of her. She's really growin' up."

To say I was flabbergasted would be underselling it. "The Cutie Mark Crusaders... actually got their cutie marks?!"

"Hey, they've been searchin' for a heck of a while," she said, glaring at me a bit. "It's about time."

"No no, I get it," I defended. "Just... I dunno, when I got here, that just seemed like one of the facts of life in Equestria. Pegasi fly, unicorns cast, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders tear everything apart looking for their cutie marks." Not to mention that I couldn't believe it would actually happen in the show, as canon. Had I had something to do with this, indirectly, somehow?! It couldn't be, right? The plot she was describing certainly sounded canon enough...

Then the other realization dawned on me. The three young anthro mares, who already looked like young supermodels by the standards of human women, had just gotten their cutie marks. Which meant they were about to start... growing...

"There it is," Applejack muttered, seeing the look on my face.

I put my hands up. "I... I know I have a reputation, but... I'll leave Bloom and her friends alone, you have my word," I said a little fearfully.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Hoped that would go without sayin', but Ah might as well get a Pinkie Promise while you're at it."

I didn't hesitate. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye?"

"...You didn't do the motions. And how do you know what a Pinkie Promise even is, anyhow?"

Still panicking a little, I fibbed, "Look, I was a social pariah for two straight weeks, and Twilight wouldn't let me stay home. Wasn't much left to do but overhear things. Sorry to say."

Applejack shook her head and put her hat back on. "We're gettin' off-track. Ah'm not talkin' about any direct funny business with the upcomin' generation. That's between you and the law. Ah'm talkin' about the ways in which you can alter the world they're growin' up in."

She took a moment to consider the point she was trying to make.

"Li'l Bloom is, like you suspect, about to come in to a whole new world of size and urges. And hell, she's excited for it. Practically calls it her 'boobie mark' half the time. Otherwise she's got a good head on her shoulders, the whole lot of them do, and it's not like Ah don't trust them to make the best choices they can..." She sighed and tipped the brim over her eyes. "Jus'... what should Ah tell her once you start changin' things? Letting super-sized mares go topless and the like? What're ya gonna change in total, and what am I gonna tell Apple Bloom while she's growin' up, or her little grandkids a decade down the line? What'll Equestria look like then?"

I was a little more genuinely speechless this time, even quite a bit humbled. "That's... a very strong question, Applejack. Not sure what to say to all that."

"Yeah... figured as much," she muttered, and got off the wall.

I took a step back. "I can't look into the future, but I can tell you my general thought process right now, if you like."

"Please do."

Taking a deep breath, I said, "I really don't think I have the expertise or knowledge to start making wholesale changes to the entire world. I just can't predict or control how everyone will react."

The farmgirl nodded. "Makes sense."

"What I can do, though, is help the people I can see. Tackle the problems that are within my reach. And I think what'll end up happening is... all those little changes, those personal changes, will pile up, and a bigger change might emerge out of them. Maybe even taking a life of its own. So I think, if I'm at all qualified to make changes to the world, it's only through that way. By focusing on individuals first."

Applejack hemmed and hawwed, and then her shoulders slumped a little. "All that to say 'No idea' and 'Depends.'"

"M-More of a grassroots effort," I said, my face flushing a bit red.

She thought about it some more. "So you say you'll tackle the issues as you see 'em. What do you think those issues will be?"

"Sexual repression and discomfort," I said straight-out, composing myself again. "Ponies who don't feel comfortable in their own skin, or find it hard to reach out to others, or ponies who are just plain frustrated. ...Hell, I think a lot of regular therapy will happen, too. Probably even more than the sexual healing stuff in the long run. I don't know yet."

The busty orange earth pony mare snorted. "You'll change the world by bein' a perfectly normal sex therapist..."

"That is, generally speaking, 'the plan.'"

"So when Apple Bloom asks me about the topless mares walkin' through town square, I say, 'Well, there's this sex therapist in town, and he's the one who recommended they do that.' That's what Ah tell 'er?"

"Ehhh... You don't have to be that generous," I said with a small laugh. "Feel free to call it like you see it if I'm making a mess of things."

"Ah'm sure I will."

The conversation lulled in the empty hallway.

"So, uh..." I said, "what do the others make of it? This whole thing?"

Applejack grimaced and blew air upwards, tossing aside a few stray golden hairs. "I don't know if I can really put words in their mouths. Everypony seems to be kind of in-progress. Lots of stuff to reflect on, like Cadance said." Rubbing the back of her head, she added, "What I said, though, while we were talkin' was: 'Alright, this situation was a thing long before Pascal arrived. He just kinda fell into it and cracked it open. Part of that's because of how he is, but it means he ain't entirely to blame, either. He stepped into an old second-story room with rotten floorboards, and now we're walkin' in and seein' that half the floor is gone. Gotta at least hear him out.'"

I laughed. "Thanks for the defense."

She looked a little bashful and shrugged. "Eh, best analogy I could come up with on the spot. It weren't just me, though. Fluttershy seems to think you're alright, and, y'know, that by itself helped calm ponies down. At the end of it, we took a step back and said, 'Alright, Pascal's here to stay. Celestia's wishes. It's up to us individually to figure out where we stand with him and what lines to draw.'"

"That's what this is?" I asked, pointing between the two of us. "Figuring out where you and I stand?"

"Yup."

"So where do we stand, then?"

"Actually..." Applejack chuckled. "Ah kinda wanna hear what you think first. Been doin' most of the talkin' so far. Where do I stand with you, loverboy?"

That sounded fair to me, but hell if I knew what to say. "Uh... Well..." I shrugged with a wide gesture and let my hands bounce off my sides. "I'm scared of you. I respect you. I'm worried I hurt you. That... goes for all six of you, really."

A knowing smirk grew on the side of her mouth. "But you'd still wanna fuck us if you could, huh?"

My eyes darted down to the twin bulges in her red plaid shirt. I winced. "Yeah... But that's the same for just about any adult mare. If you want nothing to do with me from here on out, I completely understand."

"Don't get ahead of yourself just yet," Applejack replied. Then she peered over my shoulder and said, "Looks like mah time's up."

I turned around and saw two more mares coming down the moonlit hallway: Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie wasn't bouncing like usual but she still had a spring in her step, and Rainbow Dash was rubbing her fist against her other palm.

"Well, see ya 'round, Pascal." The Element of Honesty turned around and walked confidently in the other direction. "I'll meet y'all at the train station. Don't leave too many bruises on 'im, Dash!"

"I won't!" the brash pegasus called after her, then grinned evilly at me.

"Hey Pascal?" Pinkie Pie asked, coming to a stop next to her marefriend.

"Y-Yeah...?"

The jubilant earth mare's face fell. "What the Masters did to Celestia... It's really– uhuhugh..." She shuddered from her tail to the little curl at the top of her mane. "...really SKEEVY, right?"

"It– It is, yeah!" I agreed.

"Like OH MY GOSH!" Pinkie shouted to the ceiling. "What has to be wrong with you to turn a fun thing into an awful thing?! Like, what if it was cupcakes instead of sex? Having a lot of cupcakes is fun. Maybe you have too many cupcakes and you forget that you had things to do that day and that's kinda bad but still not evil...! But! But! You make a whole species to do nothing but make cupcakes and eat cupcakes all day every day, and you program their minds so that every cupcake fills them with ecstasy so that they can think of nothing but more and more cupcakes?!? That's just so incredibly wrong I CAN'T EVEN– GRAAAAH!!"

Rainbow half-lidded her eyes and lowered her hands. "Yeah, 'cuz that's what this is about. Cupcakes."

Pinkie Pie stopped her freakout and patted Rainbow on the head. "It's a metaphor, silly."

"I feel the same way," I told Pinkie. "Hyper-endowment is my fetish, but... Seeing it on Celestia, seeing how they used it to torture her... It was like, 'Great going guys, it was fun at first, why'd you have to go that far with it?'"

Pinkie switched back to freakout mode and threw her hands in the air triumphantly. "You get it! YOU GET IIIIT." And then she was her chipper self again, smiling innocently. "That's all. We're good now. Rainbow?"

Rainbow Dash smirked. I took a fearful step back.

"Oh, calm down," the speedster muttered. "I'm not actually gonna punch you in the solar plexus. Much as I want to."

That was a worryingly specific promise. It did nothing to reassure me.

Rainbow folded her arms. "First off, I just want to know the answer to one question: Why?"

Why had I convinced her that she enjoyed human cock worship? Slumping a little, I replied, "One part petty payback for crashing the party, two parts wanting to test the limits of my power over other ponies' minds. Y'know, my ability, or lack thereof, to actually dictate what another pony thinks. Your 'method acting' rationalization actually helped me and Derpy understand a lot..."

"Ohhhhh," Rainbow grumbled, rolling her eyes, "so I was a test subject. Well that makes it allllll betterrrrrr."

She turned her head towards Pinkie and covered their mouths with her hand, and they started whispering to each other very quietly. The only part of the exchange I could catch was "You still wanna...?" and "Heck yeah."

Grinning back at me, Rainbow spread out her arms and announced, "Good news, perv! I'm willing to let the whole mind-control blowjob thing slide. Heck, I'll even still give you them from time to time."

"They'll be Marefriend Approved!" Pinkie jumped in, giving me a thumbs-up.

I looked between their smiling faces, feeling the color drain from my cheeks. "How big is the other shoe?" I hesitantly asked.

"In return," Rainbow responded, "you owe me – us, actually – big time. And you'll pay off that debt with favors. That I can call in at any time. No questions asked." The grin on her face widened to its maximum. Pinkie's less smug smile nonetheless matched Rainbow's for size.

Comprehension dawned. These two mares... the prank queens of Ponyville. "Ohhhhhh no..."

"Problem?" Rainbow asked knowingly. "I can go back to being vindictive if this ain't working for ya."

I opened my mouth to speak... paused, closed my mouth, opened it again... then gave up. "Fine. I reserve the right to ask some basic questions about what you want to do. But you've got me morbidly... morbidly curious." I sighed and raised my arms in a dramatic shrug. "Sure, Rainbow. The Avatar of Acceptance is at your disposal."

"Awesome." Rainbow Dash reached over and gave me two pats on my shoulder. "We'll be in touch."

The two of them practically jaunted away, one skipping and one flying, both giggling amongst themselves. I was left with the sense that I had committed to a hilarious mistake.

But at least Rainbow Dash wasn't going to knock me on my ass.

I reached for the bedroom door and grabbed the handle, but I was interrupted by a soft voice. "Pascal?" I turned to see Fluttershy and Rarity approaching from the opposite end of the hall, and I thought, Really?! I'm actually getting kind of sleepy now!

Wiping my face to wake myself up, I said, "Hello. How are you doing this evening?"

"Oh, um, just fine, I guess..." Fluttershy mumbled awkwardly, her hands fidgeting beneath her absolutely titanic breasts within her overgenerous sweater. Next to her, Rarity stood expressionless, her arms folded and one finger tapping. Fluttershy said, "Are you alright? We got worried when you just... dropped like that."

"Yeah, uh... Magic burnout. Tried to do too much too fast."

"Twilight told us," Rarity said evenly.

"Are you fine now, though?" Fluttershy asked.

"Mmhm, I can at least stand under my own power again. Not gonna try to cast any big spells anytime soon, but hey, a rookie like me has no business doing that anyway, right?"

"So you can use magic now?" Rarity inquired with some measure of piqued interest.

"Sort of? The Normal was always magic. Just sort of passive and I could tweak it. But I guess I'm starting to unlock these new abilities that actually cost energy to use? It's weird. I'm hoping Luna or someone can help me through it." I looked down at my hands. "It would be rad if I could learn to use TK, actually."

"I think you could sign up for remedial magic lessons," Fluttershy pointed out.

Rarity looked off to the side distractedly, a hand on her chin and her elbow pressing against her bosom. "Hmm, yes..."

Our small talk petered out, and I waited for the inevitable pivot to the topic of the night. We all looked at each other, thinking the same thing but not sure how to start talking about it.

Finally, Rarity said, "I have something I want to say to you, Pascal."

"Go for it," I said back.

"You respected my boundaries that night, and I appreciate that. But moving forward, I want it to be absolutely clear: Those boundaries shall stay firmly where they are."

It made enough sense, except for one part. "So... wait, so what about the masturbation...?"

Rarity's white face made spotting the early signs of a blush much easier. "If... If my body inspires lust in you, I won't be offended if you accidentally display or... have to exorcise that lust. Managing overactive sex drives is practically part of your job description now. I can accept that... so long as we can remain professional about it, and not take it any further between us."

I took in her words and nodded. "That's actually more than I was expecting, to be honest. I'd say that's fair."

"Good," Rarity noted. "Good."

Fluttershy took her turn to speak up. "Pascal, I... Oh..." She partially hid her muzzle in her hands and turned towards Rarity. "You won't hate me if I say this, will you?"

"What? No, of course not Fluttershy!" Rarity took the pegasus's hands in hers. Standing so close together, their massive busts inevitably smushed against each other, making the tops of all four breasts practically bulge up to their necks. "I'm here for whatever moral support you need!" Glancing at me, she said, "I think you should avoid getting attached to him, certainly... Make it about yourself, not him. But I will never scold you for wanting to explore yourself."

"Okay. Thank you," Fluttershy breathed, forcing herself to come down from a mild panic attack. She turned to me, her massive breasts swinging slightly, and tried her best to smile. "Pascal, um... I actually... really like what happened. I know it was technically mind control, but... You made me feel better about my breasts than I have in a long time. And... And I'd really like to do more of that again sometime."

"Well, obviously I do too," I said, blushing a little myself and rubbing the back of my head. "But yeah, if it makes you more comfortable with yourself, even better. Figure that's one of the ways this power lets me do some real good in the world."

"So... next time you're in Ponyville?" Fluttershy asked hopefully.

I was surprised. "That soon? Uh, yeah, sure. We'll see if we can make it work."

"Great. Thank you, Pascal." The top-heavy pegasus stepped back and turned to her friend. "Thank you, Rarity. Have fun with Fashion Week. I should probably be getting to the train station with the others..."

"It's been a long night," Rarity agreed. "Have a good week, Fluttershy."

"You too." And Fluttershy walked down the hall, her huge breasts visible from behind as they bounced with every step.

Once I'd had my fill of the sights, I looked over to Rarity. "You're... here for Fashion Week, huh?" I said carefully.

Rarity nodded and turned to walk away. "Yes. Even have my own room in the palace. Though I doubt we'll see much of each other." She managed about five steps before she suddenly stopped mid-stride. Her high heels clacked back into position, and she slowly craned her head over her shoulder to stare back at me. "Pascaaaal... Is there something I should know about Fashion. Week?"

I laughed nervously. "Heh heh heh... Heh heh... As it turns out...!"

20 minutes later...

"At the very least, if you ever find yourself in the situation where you're about to inject a brand new counter-culture fashion line into the highest-profile event in all of Equestria, you must please, please consult me first!! This is my livelihood! This is my passion!"

"Okay! Okay!" I protested. "I don't plan on making a habit of it anyway!"

"I should hope not!"

Rarity looked ready to continue her tirade even further, but we were interrupted by the sound of hard footfalls coming down the hall. We both turned our heads, and saw Twilight Sparkle emerge from the shadows and into the light from the sconces. Her purple-and-pink mane was completely disheveled, and even her clothes were haphazardly askew.

"Are you two busy...?" Twilight asked quietly, her voice soft and meek.

Rarity and I shared a meaningful glance and immediately straightened ourselves out. "We were just finishing up," Rarity explained, turning towards her friend. "Twilight, dear... What happened to you?"

Seeing Twilight in this state, my breathing became shallow. "Did you...?"

The young alicorn nodded and rubbed one of her eyes. "I... I used the counterspell on Princess Celestia." From the tone of her voice, it sounded like it went about as badly as I could have feared.

"It... didn't go well, I take it," Rarity said.

"She had a breakdown right in front of me."

Rarity stifled a flinch and pouted at her. "Oh, Twilight...!"

The Princess's gaze stared a thousand yards straight between us. "She started drooling."

"Um..."

"Drooling from everywhere."

Rarity put her hands up. "Okay Twilight, that's, um..." She caught herself. "Come here, darling." Rarity beckoned Twilight over with arms wide open, leaning over a bit so her bust wouldn't get in the way. Twilight stumbled over to her and buried her face into the white unicorn's shoulder, sniffling hard a couple times. Rarity stroked her mane and said, "There, there..."

"Oh boy..." I muttered, covering my mouth and looking aside. It sounded like it had been worse than I thought. Part of me had hoped that Celestia would've recovered a bit after we'd reached our accord. No such luck. My magic-empowered encouragement really seemed to be a key support in her psyche right now. I could hardly believe it. Was her mind really in that rough shape without my help?

Of course it was that bad, I realized. There was 1300 years of shame, fear, paranoia, and repressed lust all coming back to the fore now that a human was in town. My little mental barrier at least kept the nasty voices at bay. Truly frightening to think about.

Twilight broke away from the hug and looked at me with puffy eyes. Seemed she'd been crying a little while ago. "I owe you an apology," she said in a halting voice. "I didn't want to believe it was all true..."

"Believe me, none of us do," Rarity said, reaching over and rubbing Twilight's shoulder comfortingly. "It would all be so much easier if we could pin it all on Pascal here. But at this point, I'm afraid that would be sticking our heads in the sand, wouldn't it?"

"It's fine, Twilight," I said. "I understand."

The Princess stepped away, staring at the wall as if it might have any answers. "I just feel like... I failed." Turning back to us, she said, "I feel like we all failed here. None of this should ever have happened in the first place. If Celestia had reached out to somepony before this all happened, if that planetary discharge had been a few degrees off, if the scraps describing humans didn't paint them as demons, if Pascal didn't have his... particular interests, if Ponyville wasn't the type of town to mob up, if Pascal had felt safe enough to tell me about this...!"

I sighed and shrugged helplessly. "It was the perfect storm."

"And we were all caught up in it," Rarity agreed.

Twilight's hands became fists. "We could have avoided all this, I know it. But we didn't. We let it get to the breaking point. And now our best chance to make things right is to let Pascal be a free agent with a passive brainwashing power. ...We failed."

A depressing silence came over us, and I felt like I had to say something to bring things back up.

"Twilight, I'm sorry I didn't let you in on this. And I'm sure Celestia feels the same way. We didn't want you to get tied up in this... lewd web of secrets." I sighed and said, "But I think this is it. This is us bringing you in. Laying all our cards on the table, sharing every secret we have. And that's because you're the pony we trust to help with this. It took us a while, but... we really need you now. This adventure isn't over."

A low grumbling noise came from deep in Twilight's throat. "You need me to figure out how to make your semen non-addictive."

Rarity grimaced a little. She was probably very glad she had refused to take any of my seed earlier.

"That's only the beginning," I responded. "I'm here to help with the physical part of her recovery, and keep her from falling apart, but..."

"She's going to need friends," Rarity interjected, picking up what I was getting at. "She's been bearing this all alone for a dreadfully long time. Celestia is going to need Luna, Cadance, and you. The ponies she trusts the most."

Twilight likely didn't feel very trusted at this moment, but she nodded anyway and sniffled again. Then, reluctantly, she staggered towards me until she was standing only a couple of feet away from me, her chest nearly touching mine as she looked me in the eyes. "If we're going to do this," she said very seriously, "there's one thing I need from you. One condition going forward."

I braced myself. I'd had several caveats and rules thrown at me already in this gauntlet, what was one more? "Name it."

Rarity politely stepped back to give us some space.

Twilight closed her eyes hard for a second, frowned, and then gave me a very hardened look. "What happened between us, while I was under your influence... It doesn't count. I don't want you coming to the castle for a 'booty call' or to 'have a sample taken' or anything like that. We don't have a sexual relationship. We never had a sexual relationship."

In my surface thoughts, this seemed harsh but reasonable. Deep down, though, my heart actually sunk a little bit. It was hard to articulate why. I really did care a lot about Twilight, maybe even beyond just as friends. Being asked to distance myself hurt a lot more than I was expecting. I got more than a little angry. Why take this so far? Did she not want to face what she did? To avoid grappling with the idea that maybe she wanted it too? I quelled such thoughts as quickly as I could. This was not a battle I could fight today.

This was the gamble inherent to dubious consent. With her, I lost.

"Clean slate?" I asked.

Twilight nodded firmly, her face softening a bit now that I was getting the picture. "Starting from scratch. You're not my ward anymore. You're the Avatar of Acceptance, I'm a Princess of Equestria. And that's all we are."

I closed my eyes. "Okay." It hurt to say it, but I said it as firmly and clearly as I could.

"Okay," Twilight echoed. She turned around quickly and started to walk away at a brisk pace, hiding her eyes. She stopped for a moment and said, "First thing in the morning, I'm going to take another 'sample.' After that, and after all this is done, I don't even want to think about your genitalia for a very long time."

"That's fair," I mumbled.

"Goodnight," Twilight said back, and disappeared down the dark hallway.

Rarity watched her go, then looked over at me. I was the one sniffling now and taking deep breaths. She stepped forward and gave me a sympathetic smile. "You've come a long way," Rarity reassured me. Morphing her expression into a smirk, she added, "You've been making more eye contact lately."

I scoffed, but still laughed a little in spite of how I was feeling. "Sure, sure, roast me while I'm down..." I muttered.

"I just mean to say, you're not quite the same human we were afraid of a week ago. I think that's starting to shine through."

"I hope you're right, Rarity..."

"We'll see, won't we? Goodnight, Pascal."

"Goodnight."

9 – Correspondence

I slept somewhat fitfully due to stress, but when I woke up earlier than I usually did, just as the earliest rays of the sun were peeking through the curtains, I didn't mind so much. Multiple near-death experiences in a row had really taught me the value of a quiet, peaceful morning.

Knock knock knock.

...Just in time for it to be taken away.

I slid out of bed, though not without causing Derpy to stir awake as well. The busty pegasus sat up and stretched her arms and wings. Her proud nipples trickled pure white milk onto her thighs, demanding a good draining. All in due time, I promised them mentally.

Rubbing my eyes, I threw a robe around my shoulders and opened the suite's door to reveal Twilight Sparkle. The purple alicorn princess was now wearing a lab coat and goggles over her usual outfit, along with a custom messenger bag (with her cutie mark as the clasp) slung over her shoulder. As soon as she laid eyes on me, her magic pushed a small plastic cup into my chest. "Here. Take your own sample. I'll wait." With that flippantly said, she wrested the door's handle out of my grip with her telekinesis and shut the door between us.

Well that was slightly rude.

I walked back to the bed and stared at the plastic cup in my hand. I could understand her not wanting to get, erm, 'physically involved,' and I could even get her being a little snappy about it. But something was off about how cold she was behaving towards me, I could feel it.

Derpy took notice of the cup and figured out its purpose pretty quickly. "Want some help with that?" she asked as she turned to place her hoof-feet on the carpet beside the bed.

"Oooh, yes please," I replied, and walked over to stand in front of her. Being only in a robe and my underwear, it took no time at all to expose my morning wood to her. She placed her hands under her big gray boobs and raised them to meet it, capturing my dick between her cleavage and rubbing away. I sighed and let my eyes roll back – this never stopped being heavenly.

I wasn't there yet, but we were in no hurry. Derpy let out little 'mm's and 'ah's as she fondled her sensitive jugs all around my big, hard, hot shaft. Every time she pressed her nipples against my pelvis, her nipples would let out a small spray of milk that stained by thighs. "Mmm, will you return the favor after this?"

"Of course," I replied, grinning. Sucking her sweet milk dry and bringing her to several boobgasms in the process would be a great interlude between round 1 and 2 of the day. "Man, it's like we didn't even have a whole marathon yesterday."

"I've still got a bit of a dehydration headache..." Derpy said, yawning cutely while she casually fucked me with her tits.

I nodded. "That... That checks out. You fed me all that milk yesterday... Oooh." I started to thrust my hips back and forth, my length twitching in front of her chest.

"Let me know when you're close."

"Not quite yet. Getting there."

"Mm. I love that I had so much milk to give you, but yeah... I should've drunk more water."

"We all learned a lot for next time...!" I grabbed her breasts with my own hands for a second, humping them furiously, and then I drew back. My whole dick was pulsing angrily, dripping precum. "Okay, I'm right on the edge!"

Derpy nodded and took the cup out of my hand and grabbed my shaft with her other hand. She angled my dick down and stroked like she was milking me for a change. Even with all this drama surrounding my seed, I couldn't help but enjoy the fetishism of having my cum be such a prized commodity to these ponies, to have scientists study it and princesses crave it...

My whole lower body twitched and I started squirting into the cup, guided by Derpy's patient hand. This was an unusually dry position for me in the midst of orgasm, just standing there and cumming, but then again there was something satisfying about just standing upright and spilling my seed without a care in the world. I closed my eyes and let myself shoot and shoot and shoot.

When I finally cooled down and I gazed upon my work, the cup (which was not small, about a pint's worth) was nearly overflowing. A trickle of my cum had dripped over the lip and over Derpy's fingers, but the rest had formed a swirling, goopy pool. It... was a little gross to me, actually, but what can you do?

"Here we go!" Derpy chirped. She got off the bed and headed for the door while I wiped off my cockhead on the sheets.

When my marefriend opened the door with 'sample' in hand, I heard Twilight grumble, "That was fast..."

Derpy just said "Morning wood," and handed the cup into Twilight's magical grip.

I heard the zap of what I assumed to be a preservation spell, then: "Pascal! One more thing."

"Sure." I pulled my underwear back up, closed my robe, and met up with Derpy and Twilight. The princess had put a lid on the cup and was storing it in her bag.

Looking at me with a neutral expression, she said, "There's one more thing we need to test. This whole idea of 'curing' you hinges on the theory that you can be transformed, which gets us around not being able to change... to change Celestia." Twilight lost her composure and became saddened for a brief moment, but collected herself. "Luna has a theory that you don't have a transformational 'template,' which means you might be able to experience permanent alterations. That would definitely make things easier, but we don't actually have any data to support that yet."

I nodded, getting where she was going with this. "You gotta try something on me." I spread out my arms and said, "Fire away."

A smirk appeared on Twilight's face, which put me on edge. "I was hoping you'd say that." Her horn zapped me like a slap to the chest. I looked down at myself to figure out what she had done, but nothing obvious appeared at first.

And then a really weird sensation occurred just above my butt – my tailbone. A very unnerving stretching feeling pulled out of me and downward.

"Any pain?" she asked a little too innocently. "There shouldn't be, but just to be sure..."

I looked behind myself and lifted up my robe. "No, um, uh..." It wasn't painful, per se, just extremely odd. In just a few moments, the unusual feelings ceased, and I beheld my newest transformation:

A tail.

Not a pony tail, I knew that for certain, but I was at a loss otherwise. Starting from the natural color of my skin around my tailbone, the new appendage transitioned to a thick but streamlined covering of... fur, I guess, the same hue of my body hair, before terminating in a large poof that matched the hair on my head. I moved my hips, and I could feel the weight of it as it swayed from side to side. Most bizarrely of all, it felt kind of natural. Once the initial weirdness of the spell itself had passed, my brain had no trouble processing this thing being part of me. I could even swish it upwards with a little concentration, like I'd always had a tail.

"Well! That should do it," Twilight said, still smirking. "I'm off to the Canterlot Medical College to get this study going. I'll be bringing in Trixie and Moondancer, since they've been 'exposed' to you the most and should make good test subjects. Can you think of anyone else I should pull in? The bigger sample size, the better."

I tried to put the tail out of my mind for the moment so I could remember who I'd cum inside that showed signs of addiction. "Um... Uh... I guess Golden Harvest back in Ponyville?"

Twilight's smirk fell and she blinked hard at me. "Golden Harvest? The mare who, because of you, threw a torch through–"

"Yes."

The Princess put a hand to her forehead and muttered something under her breath. "...Alright, I'll see if she's available. Enjoy the tail." She promptly walked off at a brisk pace.

I sighed, but then noticed that Derpy was looking at my backside, trying not to giggle and failing at it. "What's so funny?" I asked, turning my hips so I could look at my new tail again. Again, not a pony tail, but the way it was long and furry and ended in a big tuft of hair, I knew I recalled the shape from somewhere...

Wait a minute – was it a donkey's tail? Was this Twilight's way of calling me an...?

"Oh, COME ON!!"

Derpy clutched her gut and burst into tit-jiggling laughter.

I got my 'revenge' on the pegasus in the shower, sucking her nipples so fiercely that they throbbed in my mouth and her knees nearly gave out from under her. Then she got her 'revenge' on me by giving me a slow, steady titfuck in the same shower and denying me once to build me up to a toe-curling climax. By the time we got out the morning had officially begun – the sky outside was bright and blue – and we gave up the whole 'revenge' schtick to go have breakfast.

Throughout the morning meal, my tail was, um... kind of a pest. It would keep swinging around randomly every time my brain remembered it was there, smacking my marefriend in the butt or any passers-by in the legs. And, of course, all the staff who saw the human with the tail of a donkey sticking out of his robes got a good chortle at my expense. I couldn't even complain that much because it was for science. That wily, wily Princess...

When we returned to the room, our sheets had been changed (the staff was starting to get proactive about us) and there were two envelopes and a sealed scroll on the bed.

"Oh, we have mail!" Derpy observed, and picked up the items. "Oooh, this one has Luna's royal seal... That's for you. Plus a letter from Lyra to you... and a letter from my boss to me..."

"Lyra?" I echoed, and let Derpy hand my messages over to me. I'd been quite worried about her after passing out and missing the second half of the big meeting... I hoped she was okay. I set the night-sealed scroll down on the end table and sat at the side of the bed to open Lyra's envelope and read her handwritten letter. Or was it a horn-written letter? Whichever it was, the hand- or horn-writing was mostly neat but a little crazy here and there. Just like her.

Hey Pascal,

Sorry I left. I had to just get out of there. Think about things on my own for a while. Well, on my own plus Bonnie. You know I can share this sort of thing with my best friend, even if she does work for Celestia directly from time to time.

I don't even know where to start. I guess how I felt from moment to moment? I felt betrayed. By her. I had it in my head that the whole "humans are demons" thing was just exaggeration, that they were really maligned, misunderstood. I think I'm ready to say I was wrong now... sort of. But when it stopped looking like she was lying and started to look like the truth, all I could think was, "She LET me believe this." She had to have known I was studying this crap, but Celestia just let me believe what I wanted to believe because APPARENTLY that was easier than just telling us the freaking truth. So yeah, I felt like the butt of the world's biggest joke and couldn't take it anymore. Still kinda feel that way, to be honest.

I've been trying to sort out how I feel about all this after the fact, and I think I've got it sorted out. Do I think the humans that did that to Celestia are dicks? Absolutely. Do I think ponies deserved to free themselves? No question. Do I think all humans deserved to get kicked off the planet forever? No, that's the sticking point for me. Couldn't we have tried to find the "good ones" and let them stay, kick off just the assholes? I mean, I guess if they were all demigod wizards they probably came out of it fine. But I can't help but think some of them must have been nice people just trying to settle down in a new land, even if they were complicit in all the sex slave stuff. I don't know.

I had to flip over the letter; she'd written on both sides.

I wanna know what you think. You're not human like them, but you're close enough. And everything bad that happened to you is basically because of their legacy. You probably hate them for what they indirectly did to you, right? I wouldn't blame you.

I don't know, I keep putting myself in all these different shoes, and then I pop back to being Lyra again. "What do I do now?" I keep asking myself. Just move on? I guess that's what Celestia wanted us to be able to do the whole time. We've got lives of our own, and that's not changing. Even if we do have big boobies. (I like having big boobies, just between you and me. And Bonnie won't admit it, but she does too.) So maybe she was right and now is a good time to come out with the truth, but I'd argue that she probably could've done it about 800 years earlier, too.

I'm running out of space, and I hate overstuffed envelopes. Let me just finish with a few things then:

– Write me back to let me know you're okay. You had us all worried with whatever you did back there.
– I wanna hang out when you get back to Ponyville. No sex or drama, just the three of us hanging out.
– Pascal, YOU'RE exactly the kind of human I was imagining all that time. YOU'RE my fantasy human. Not those stupid wizards.

Much love and thanks for everything,
Lyra Heartstrings

My heart heavy in my chest and my eyes stinging, I looked aside at Derpy and asked, "If I wrote a reply, could you help me send it? I haven't... actually... sent a letter since I got here. I'm not 100% sure I won't mess something up."

"Oh, sure," Derpy mumbled, frowning at her opened letter.

"Whatcha got over there?" I asked.

Derpy let out a huff and muttered, "Oh, just... my boss letting me know that I gotta be back on my route by Thursday. I wasn't sure how many days off I was gonna get for this 'family emergency,' but it looks like it's just gonna be three."

I scooched over and hugged her from behind. "That's a bummer. Hopefully I won't be in Canterlot too long after that and I can come back to Ponyville for a while. I don't think Celestia will need me full time – she probably shouldn't for her own sake really..."

She looked back at me, pouting. "Pascal... I was thinking... When you get back to Ponyville..."

"Yeah?" I asked encouragingly.

"Um... Would you like to... I mean you could just stay at the castle forever if you wanted and I wouldn't blame you, but would you want to move in with me?" she blurted out.

I blinked in surprise. "Really?"

Derpy nodded, still pouting tensely and adorably. "I live on the ground, so you wouldn't even need any cloud-walking things. There's just enough room for a second pony– I mean person – I only have the one bed but there's an old mattress you can use for a while, erm, actually maybe we should wait until we can find furniture for you to sleep comfortably, and the place is a mess anyway, so–"

"Hey, hey, hey..." I rubbed her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. "It might not happen on day 1, but I'd love to move in with you once we get the chance."

The pegasus sniffled, and it looked like she was tearing up a little bit. "You mean it...?"

"Yeah! Twilight's gonna hate my guts if I stay at the castle anyway, and I can't crash on Lyra's couch forever. And I'm sure with this royal job and my power, I can handle getting any new stuff we need to make it work."

Derpy tittered and wiped her eyes. "Yeah, because my mailpony's salary isn't going to cut it..."

"Well, between the two of us, in terms of actually getting paid, you're probably the breadwinner right now."

"Heh heh! Maybe."

I gave her another hug and then turned my attention to the scroll with Luna's seal. It was fairly hefty compared to the other letter. I broke the wax and let the parchment unfurl, and it rolled off the bed and onto the floor.

Time to see what the Princess of the Night had to say – apparently it was a lot.

Dearest Pascal,

You, I, and my sister have a lot to talk about regarding how to wear a crown properly.

First off, I feel as though I should apologize. Perhaps your normality convinced me that everything would be fine and you would be able to handle the pressures that would inevitably arise from that meeting. I was clearly wrong. We could have spent more time "grooming" you for your first security council with Equestria's protectors and leaders, but we assumed it wasn't necessary. You also deserved rest, but that doesn't excuse having the meeting at the first possible opportunity without more time to prepare.

I say this because what you did during the break of that meeting was a clear example of trying to throw off responsibility, in my mind. I won't say the reasoning wasn't sound – surely making yourself less of a threat to everypony would help assuage all fears. But consider the following: If you can remove rules for yourself, you can surely reinstate them later without anypony knowing. So in terms of reducing your security risk, you have accomplished very little. Further, the third attempted and failed item you tried to address, along with the fact that you have apparently rendered several of your companions completely immune, and that you acted cavalier about Twilight Sparkle's potentially dangerous new spell, leads me to a more concerning conclusion: At the first sign of trouble, your first and immediate response is to abdicate as much power and responsibility as you can.

Let me be clear: Do not try to remove or hobble your power again. Not only is it dangerous to your own existence, as you experienced, but it is irresponsible and reckless in these situations where you should instead be taking corrective action.

I understand that you come from a culture of highly democratic ideals. You seem to believe that those who have power are merely temporary servants, who justly should be removed at the first sign of overreach, abuse, or scandal. Alas, in Equestria (and I suspect in your world as well), this is not the pragmatic or realistic way of things. Power is not mercifully taken away at the first mistake; it remains, and we must endure. The difference between a corrupt leader and a responsible leader in that situation is that the responsible leader will learn from that mistake and make things right.

I empathize with you; I truly do. More than a millennium ago, the responsibilities weighed upon our heads and the anger we often faced made me want to throw off the crown and fly across the ocean. I see you in very much the same situation. The crown metaphor is apt, for you are in many ways the Prince of Norms, and we are your Subjects. The responsibility for the actions of those around you does, in fact, lay upon your shoulders. But that does not mean it is time to shy away and shirk that responsibility because of your perceived self-worthlessness. For how far we've already come, instead it is time to face that responsibility head-on, and grow into it if need be.

Please, please do not mistake me for recommending total unchecked control. If you have even a passing knowledge of my history, you must know this position has to be more nuanced than that.

Instead, I implore you to ponder upon taking the opposite approach to what you did last evening. Instead of reducing your power whenever there is a problem, consider the benefits of perhaps using your power more, with greater control and authority. Your friend Moondancer explained in great detail how your power pushed her and my sister to believe in unhealthy notions, but as counterpoint: It is also your power that broke my sister out of that thinking and currently supports her mind. And did you not do something similar with Twilight Sparkle on Friday night? I believe you could have done the same with Moondancer had you trusted your own ability.

In short: A Prince does not cut off his arm to prove he cannot abuse the reach of his sword. All that proves is his madness.

It may be some while before we have time to speak again, and I cannot visit your dreams every night for several good reasons. So for now, these written words. I simply ask you to think on them.

Regards,
Princess Luna

"So what does it say?" Derpy asked as she sat down beside me.

I let out a huff out of the side of my mouth and somewhat sarcastically replied, "Well, if I'm translating the Olde Equestrian properly... it says, 'Nut up and stop being such a doormat already.'"

"Hehe, awww..." She hugged me from the side and scanned the parchment briefly. "You were just trying to stop what happened with Twilight, Moondancer, and Celestia from happening again, right?"

"But that goes against what I am, I guess," I muttered. I rolled up the scroll and set both it and Lyra's letter on the end table. "My destiny is to be a mind-controller that's at least partially above consequences. It's my destiny to make everyone else just have to deal with that. Apparently that's just an immutable fact now."

Derpy nuzzled my shoulder. "I'm sure that when you do something really wrong, somepony will always step forward no matter how Normal you are."

"And when that happens," I said, looking over at the scroll, "Luna's saying I gotta deal with that better next time."

Derpy nodded. She took one of my hands and placed it on the side of her bare gray breast. "You'll figure it out," she assured me, then pulled me around and gave me a big smooch on the lips.

Next thing I knew, we were laying back on the bed and making out.

Fifteen minutes and some wing-unfurling, scream-inducing cunnilingus I was very proud of later, there was another knock on the door. When I finally extracted myself from between Derpy's twitching thighs, wiped the excess cum off my face, and answered the door, a royal guard stallion was standing there.

"Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire have invited you two for morning tea," he reported.

My brow shot up as far as it could go. "Really! Uh..." I looked back at Derpy, who was massaging her poor overstimulated pussy. "We'll need some time to make ourselves presentable, and there's an errand we need to run... Can it wait about 15 minutes?"

"That should be no problem," the guard said with a bow. "When you're ready, just ask for directions to their suite."

"Thanks," I said, and closed the door.

I reached into the drawer of the small desk at the back of the room, where there was spare paper and writing implements. Working as quickly as I could, I scrawled out a letter of my own:

Hey Lyra,

Glad to hear from you. I'm sorry I couldn't be there for moral support when you heard the news. I know how hard it was when I first laid eyes on Celestia that way.

I'm feeling better now. You know me – had to go and be a dumbass for a little bit. Things are back to plodding along at their usual awkward, staggered pace. The takeaway is that I'm still a long way from truly understanding this power and how to use it.

What do I think about the "homo sapiens magicka"? You're right, I kinda hate them. They turned every last one of my fetishes into weapons. Do I think all of them had to go? Probably not, and even Luna admits it might've been a bad idea, but I can't blame the soon-to-be Princesses / former slave-chieftains at the time. When you do something like that to a sapient being and your only justification is "because we own you," there has to be some repercussion for that. It just can't go unpunished. And who knows, maybe ponies would've had a harder time becoming independent if even a quarter of the "good ones" were still around.

It's too late to speculate now. All we can do now is march forward.

I hope I'll be back in Ponyville by the end of the week, even if only for a little while. If I have to, I'll just straight-up demand a break. Who's gonna deny the Avatar of Acceptance, anyway? Let me know if you have any concrete ideas for the weekend, and I'll try to make it work.

Thanks for everything too,
Pascal

Just as I finished writing, Derpy sat up again, her mane even more disheveled and messy than usual. "So, uh, what's going on?"

I folded the paper and stood up. "First, I wanna send my reply to Lyra. Then we're gonna have tea with Princess Cadance."

After a trip to the mailroom and another short no-funny-business shower, we dressed up for tea time. Part of me wanted to wear the tuxedo Fancy Pants had given me, but the friggin' donkey tail made anything other than the robe pretty much unfeasible. Derpy also wore a matching robe instead of going naked – her version of 'formal' in this new nudist chapter of her life.

So we left and sought directions to Cadance and Shining Armor's quarters. After wandering the maze of the palace for a few minutes, we came to the door of a much more impressive bedroom suite than our own. Our room was apparently just nice enough for visiting dignitaries, but heads of state got a whole other level of treatment. The room we entered was about three times the size of our own, with a balcony that had a great view of the entire western valley beneath the mountain.

It was out on this balcony that the royal couple was seated, around a table adorned with fine china. Four place settings were laid out with tiny teacups and plates. Next to the steaming teapot in the center of the table was a tray of muffins, which made Derpy's eyes light up.

I noticed that the Crystal Empire rulers were also dressed down from how I'd seen them before – Shining was in a teal button-up shirt and brown slacks, and Cadance was wearing what looked like yoga pants around her shapely lower body and basically had a big quilt draped over the front of her dirigible-like upper body. You could tell she was wearing nothing underneath because her back was entirely bare. I guess it was a good thing I hadn't tried to pull on the tux.

Shining Armor took one look at me, noticed the tail between my legs, and started snickering. "I see Twily got to you first!" he said.

"Uh-oh," I said back, putting my hands on my hips. I'd had a feeling there was something up about that. "What's really going on, then?"

The white unicorn's face hardened slightly and he said, "We found out what you did to Mom and Dad."

I facepalmed. "Ah, hell."

"Yep. All it took was checking the Sunday paper." He levitated a newspaper over in front of me and opened it up. Sure enough...

I took the newspaper and scanned it. "Well at least it's on page 4," I muttered. "And they buried the lede, too – they don't even mention their names until the third paragraph."

"That's what I said," Cadance responded, setting her teacup down with her magic. "You did something to try and protect them, right?"

"Good for you it's not on the front page," Shining Armor said to me smugly. "Giving you a donkey's tail is just Twi being sassy. If you had really earned her wrath, you'd be part plant. And on fire."

"Sure..." I tucked the newspaper under my arm and glared a bit at the other male on the balcony. Derpy and I walked over to the two empty seats – she sat down, and I put my hands on the back of the remaining steel chair. "Alright, might as well ask right out of the gate. Where do you and I stand, Shining Armor?"

Shining put his hands behind his head and took a deep breath. After he sighed it out, he said, "I'm mad. I can't help but be mad. You got my sister and my parents wrapped up in your whole... sexual rampage, even if you didn't permanently hurt their lives." He glanced at Cadance for a moment, and his expression became more sympathetic. "But you can thank my wife for this benefit of the doubt I'm giving you now. She reminded me that... sometimes this sort of thing has a blast radius at first, and you can't really control how far it goes."

I turned my inquisitive gaze over to the enormously endowed pink Princess. "I was wondering why you were suddenly coming to my defense back there."

"Well, maybe I'll clear that up for you," Cadance replied, smiling in that annoying all-knowing way. "Please, have a seat."

I did so. I wasn't much of a tea or coffee person, so I simply poured myself a cup of ice water.

Derpy, half a muffin already down her gullet and crumbs on her muzzle, reached over the table and mumbled, "Can you pass the butter? These are a little dry."

Cadance laughed, making acres of her body jiggle beneath the quilt she was using. "Of course." She levitated the butter plate over to Derpy's side of the table, and my marefriend got to cutting and spreading. The Princess then looked to me and said, "What do you know about me?"

An odd question... "You're the Princess of Love," I said. "You helped stop the return of King Sombra and now lead the Crystal Empire."

"It's the first part that's key," she replied. "Do you know why I'm the Princess of Love?"

I had a pretty good idea, but I wasn't sure if what I was thinking of and what she was talking about were one and the same, so I erred on the side of cautious ignorance. When I didn't answer, she closed her eyes and her horn's aura ignited. Very faintly, I saw the image of several hearts appearing over her head.

The next moment, I was compelled to look over at Derpy, and she looked at me. She had her cheeks stuffed with half-chewed buttery muffin, but in that moment... a whole wellspring of emotions rose up inside my chest, and I couldn't help but think that she was the most beautiful, kind, considerate, wise mare in the whole wide world, and I just felt lucky to have her by my side. And seeing how her eyes were tearing up too and her overstuffed cheeks rose in a smile, she was probably thinking the same thing. We both leaned in for a sloppy kiss–

And then I pulled back, shook my head, and stared wide-eyed at Cadance. A second later, Derpy snapped out of it and did the same.

Cadance poured herself another cup of tea like nothing was wrong. "So... how much of that would you say was mind control?"

"Wwwwwwhat?!" we both shouted simultaneously, Derpy spraying muffin crumbs out of her mouth.

"Naturally, one could argue that it's not," Shining Armor said, waving his hand around casually. "What that spell does is amplify the emotions that are already there, reminding couples of what they have."

"But there's also many types of love," Cadance pointed out. "The ancient pegasi even had multiple words for it. There was 'agape' – unconditional, selfless, charitable love. There's 'phileo' – platonic, affectionate love. 'Storge,' generally the common empathetic love between family... and of course 'eros,' intimate love. Then there's all the modern words we have: 'puppy love,' 'lovesickness,' 'unrequited love,' 'infatuation'... All of that is under my domain. My spell can either amplify all of it at once, or I can pick and choose, and I can determine how much to boost it. When does that cross over from 'a love spell' to 'mind control'?"

I was now more than a little creeped out. "Depennnds on how you use it?" I said very cautiously.

Derpy swallowed the bits of muffin left in her mouth and stared slack-jawed at the pink Princess. "Wait a sec, you're not saying...?!"

Cadance put her elbow atop her quilt-covered breast and her chin on her hand. "How long did your 'rampage' last, Pascal?" Cadance inquired, like she was asking about how my weekend went. "What was it, three days? About 72 hours?"

"Um..." I thought about it. I'd had the power in that chaotic state from the dead of night Thursday morning to the break of dawn on Sunday... but the 'rampage' had kind of only really started that Thursday morning (counting Lyra and the whole discussion about nudity), so... "Yeah, I guess about 72 hours total...?"

"Interesting," she said, magically lifting her drink to her lips. "Mine only lasted 48."

My whole body tensed up – except for my jaw, which dropped to match Derpy's. Cadance took a long, graceful draw from her tea.

"Yyyyep, here we go," Shining Armor muttered, a blush across his features. "What we're about to tell you, Luna's the only other pony who knows about everything that happened."

"Oh good," I mumbled back in a daze, "because I hadn't heard enough state secrets this week..."

"Well, this one's less of a state secret and more... personal, really. Honey?"

The Princess set down her cup and proceeded to tell us the story of her eighteenth birthday.

10 – Cadance – Universal Love Pt. 1

The big one-eight is a very important time for a growing young mare in Celestia's Equestria. Not only is that the time you become an adult with all that comes with it, it's also when you become free to use your body however you want.

So, naturally, at 1 AM in the morning on a Friday, I was still awake and jilling off like it was the end of the world.

"Um, honey?" my husband asked.

"Yesss?" I replied, batting my eyelashes at him innocently.

He gulped and looked over at our two guests nervously. I noticed one of his hands straying towards the enormous, twitching pouch in his slacks. "You're not gonna... go over every detail, are you?"

With a wicked little smile, I teased, "Worried about containing yourself in front of our guests?" I knew Shiny's sexual appetite could be just as voracious as mine. We both kept it under wraps for the sake of basic propriety, but the difference between him and me was that he seemed to think all that repression was necessary. I looked over at the human and said, "I'm sure Pascal could make it okay for you to whip it out right here."

The human raised an eyebrow. "Um..."

"Nope!" Shiny squawked reflexively.

"Suit yourselves. And yes, Shiny, I'm gonna talk about the squicky parts a little bit. That's what this is all about, after all."

Look, every pony going through puberty has it rough under Celestia's sun, and I was no different. I had it even worse, I'd say! Because I was an alicorn, I had a much closer relationship with Princess Celestia than other ponies, which meant I got the full force of her nannying when it comes to proper sexual conduct. "Sexual addiction is a real threat." "Waiting until marriage is vital." "Do not flaunt and tease your fellow ponies and make it harder for them."

I'm not gonna sit here and tell you I was a rebel, because I wasn't. I was Celestia's good, pure little niece just like everypony expected me to be. But on the inside, I was so fucking sick of it.

My body sure wasn't helping things. I wasn't even done growing yet, and I was still about two-thirds as big as I am right now, which made me practically the bustiest and biggest-booty'd mare on the planet, as far as I was aware. Or it would've, if I didn't use reduction enchantments every single day, so that everypony saw me as another humble stick-thin waif like Celestia. I resented that too. I had big sexy boobs large enough to overflow my lap and a flank that could hypnotize a room full of ponies all on its own, and I had to hide all of that?!

I get the reason now, of course. And looking back, it seems plain as day. Celestia kept using the term "too beautiful" whenever I complained about the reductions, but at the time I always felt like she was just avoiding the word "ugly."

So for me, playing with myself at 1 in the morning on my 18th birthday was a long-awaited sort of revenge. Finally, I could use my body however I liked, and nopony could tell me what was best for me anymore. I was in charge now.

I don't even know how many times I got off that night, like seven or eight times? And towards the end, I was bringing all of my alicorn magic into the act.

See, back then, there was a popular rumor that unicorns feel orgasms more intensely when they're casting at full strength at the same time. In practice... well, we've discovered over the years that it's actually kind of a wash. It makes things a bit more tingly, but you have to concentrate, which takes you out of it... Anyway, the point is, I was all-in on orgasmic casting back then, and that's... sort of how the whole mess started, and why I'm starting the story there.

During the biggest and last orgasm of the night, I was casting the strongest magic I could muster, more than ever before. Not with any particular locus in mind, but my head was kinda far gone at that point. I didn't mean to cast a spell then, but... I kinda did.

That morning, in walks the head maid assigned to me, Care Taker.

I did not like Care Taker.

Because Celestia wanted to spare me the "indignity" of having my true size publicly known, the rotation of palace servants was rather small in my case, to keep the number of ponies who knew my secret low. Care Taker got the primary duties most frequently, and lorded that fact over others and myself. She subscribed to all of Celestia's properness doctrines, so everything the Princess lectured me about got reinforced by her in her shrill little voice.

She walked in, wrinkled her nose, and said, "It is no place for proper ladies to leave such a musk in their quarters," or something like that. Ugh. Then she started about her usual morning chores.

I remember just glaring at her, thinking about how uptight she was. I believed more than anything in the universe at that moment that what Care Taker needed was to get fucked. I felt kind of tingly, but I was tired and chalked it up to last night.

All of a sudden she stopped. A weird look came over her face. And then she walked over to the bed and gave me a great big bear hug, just leaning over like that. And she started stroking my hair and saying, "Oh, you've grown up so much over the past few years, you're a mare now, etcetera," while I'm just thinking, What in Tartarus is going on?!

Then she pulled back and smiled and said, "I'll let you get yourself ready. It is a very special day after all." And she just left. You have to understand, this was the kind of mare that picked out my clothes for the day. She never, ever just let me do my own thing. I couldn't help but wonder what I did differently that day. I thought, Did I do that? Or were those her true feelings all of a sudden?

Looking back, I know now what happened. My love magic had boosted her phileo and storge up to max – she saw me as kind of a surrogate daughter for... let's just say very sad reasons that I didn't find out until long after. So yes, those were her deeply hidden feelings towards me. But I hadn't consciously cast a spell, and my horn hadn't even lit up. By my perspective, it had just happened out of nowhere.

Though as I discovered later, that wasn't the end of it for Care Taker. Those weren't the only kinds of love I had enhanced...

But back to the present. Or the past. Whatever tense works right now.

I put on the bra and underwear with the reduction enchantments (sigh) along with the rest of my clothes and went to breakfast with Princess Celestia. She personally wished me a happy birthday, and we talked about the plans for the next two days.

You see, I wasn't going to have my birthday party that day. It was going to be tomorrow. Because Shining's 18th birthday was on Sunday, just two days after mine! This was a couple of years after the fateful Fall Formal where we met, so we decided – instead of having two big birthday parties in three days – we'd consolidate our birthdays into one event!

"Kind of a bummer we didn't just get two parties," Shining piped up, then grinned. "Though now that we have a whole nation that loves us, we get a three-day festival! So it kinda worked out, heh heh."

Our double-birthday was still a pretty big event at the time, with me being a Princess and all. Not to mention we were both graduating. Shiny was going to be entering the Royal Guard program, and I was about to start working as a diplomat as part of my Princess training. It wasn't like we were going away just yet, but there was sort of a finality in the air nonetheless. It was the end of one era and the beginning of another for both of us and our friends and families. So everypony wanted to make it special.

Anyway, I'm talking with Celestia, enduring a bit of her "You're 18 now, and that comes with certain responsibilities" speech, and over the course of the meal I'm noticing something off about her. She's smiling at me more, and can't seem to take her eyes off me. There was even a bit of blush on her muzzle, I think. So I kinda politely excused myself before whatever weirdness I had going on started to affect her too.

I had a couple of errands I needed to run before the next day's party. Shining was off camping with other Guard prospects and wouldn't get back until Saturday night. I finished dressing up and flew down to Canterlot's business district.

On the way over to my first stop I didn't really notice anything strange, I remember. Or maybe I hadn't been paying enough attention. Ponies just seemed to be their usual happy selves, going about their lives. Fewer ponies bowed or said hello to me in the street, but I always saw that as kind of a blessing when there was a slow day.

I went into this clock and watch shop, "Mr. and Mrs. Clock and Watch," a lovely little repair shop run by an older couple. Mrs. Watch was at the counter. Very nice lady already, and she was as sweet as ever that day. I walked up to the counter and asked, "Have you – ahem – finished that 'project' yet?" I was trying to be all clandestine about it.

She gives me a rare frown and says, "No... Not quite yet. It should be done by tonight or first thing in the morning."

I'm a little miffed, because I need this all gift-wrapped before the party tomorrow night and I know it's a complicated job. I'd also put a lot of bits into this order. I start asking question after question about the reason for the delay, the absolute latest I could get it, delivery vs. pickup, and over time Mrs. Watch starts to tap her foot impatiently and sweat a little bit. It was muggy in the shop, and I was laser-focused on my secret 'project,' so I didn't immediately think it was unusual.

Then Mr. Clock walks into the store, back from some errand or another. And the next thing I know, Mrs. Watch grabs him, says to me "Sorry, come by later!" and drags him into the back room. A few seconds later, I hear a belt buckle hit the floor.
,
At this point, I don't know what to think. I walk outside in a daze. For the first time in my life, I think, Wow, maybe Celestia was right, some ponies just can't control themselves.

Then I notice what's going on all around me. Not... like, constant rutting in public or anything, but I'm seeing a lot of couples holding hands or gazing into each other's eyes everywhere I look. I mean everywhere. Just all kinds of love on display in every direction.

Naturally, I go into denial. I'm just seeing things. I've got love and sex on the brain and I'm just seeing it where it isn't there.

Not a good sign when the Princess of Love is refusing to see love, is it?

By that point it's almost lunch, so I decide to eat. I head to the nearest cafe and order a sandwich and cocoa to get it all off my mind. Except that the pony at the counter is a pony who recognizes me from high school, and she's all, "Ahhhh! Princess Cadance! I'm such a big fan, ahhh!" Even back then I had my fair share of fans, but this filly was one of the loudest. She was starstruck the moment I walked in.

I'm all, "Okayyy, thank you," and try to get out of there. But as I'm looking anywhere but at her, I notice not one but two couples idly playing footsie with each other under the tables. I mean shoes off and feet rubbing up against stallion crotch-pouches or between mares' thighs. And nopony else makes a fuss because everypony else is focused on their own affections.

So I bolt out of there. At some point the sandwich got eaten, I don't even know when. I try to carry on business as usual.

My stop for the afternoon is a clothing store. A week prior, I custom-ordered some lacy pink lingerie in my true size, no enchantments. Sort of a birthday present for myself. I wanted something that would make me look and feel sexy when I was big for a change. Even if I later outgrew them, I thought it would be well worth it to have them at least for a little while.

I enter the shop, and there's a few other mares around. I'm a little nervous, because I don't want my real size to be known just yet. But I find one of the attendant mares – who's only about a year older than me – and ask if my order's in, and I give her the order number.

She heads into the back to find it, and comes out with this fairly big box and a stupefied look on her face. This is what I was afraid of. The store keeps things confidential, but the staff do get to see the item list and double-check to make sure everything's there. So this mare definitely saw the massive (well, relatively massive) bra and panties I had ordered, and she was just in shock. I wanted to get out of there, but I also wanted to make sure it all fit, too. I ask to go into the fitting rooms, and this mare was a little too happy to show me one.

I go into a fitting room in the back, disrobe, and try on my new toys. And they fit perfectly. As they should have – I'd had my latest measurements taken right before I made the order, after all – but I was still really happy. Getting things to fit on my two bodies was a nightmare sometimes. It was only after I got to know Rarity that a lot of my fitting problems went away.

I'm almost tempted to walk right out of the store in nothing but the lingerie, really let the world know how big I am and how proud I was of it. But I was worried Celestia would have me banished for that. So I put on the boring reduction garments, get dressed, and went out of there with my box.

And when I open the door, that same young mare who got my order is right outside the door.

That's when the notice the smell. Y'know, that smell. The mare's purple face is going red and her hands are shaking and she's sweating and her eyes are locked on me like I have a "Want It Need It" enchantment on me.

She goes, "Is there anything else you need...?"

And I go, "No...!" and book it.

And when I head outside, I can't ignore the love I'm seeing this time. Couples of all genders are whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears, making out, practically grinding on each other... In the alleyway next to the clothing store, two well-to-do noble ponies are up against the wall running their hands over each others' bodies, getting ready to tear their clothes off. And when I say "in the alleyway," I don't mean deep in the alleyway either. I mean you turn the corner and there they are, almost in plain view of the street.

It was only the afternoon, but at that point I just flew straight back home to the palace. All of my critical errands were done, I was overstimulated, and all I knew was that I had to figure this out.

The guards and staff welcomed me back, but I marched straight pass them without so much as a "Hello." I did not want to affect any of them with whatever was happening.

I locked myself in my room and inspected my horn. It had to have been my love magic that was causing all this, but I definitely wasn't doing any casting. Had I somehow enchanted myself? I tried all sorts of dispelling magic on myself, but all that did was turn off the figure-reduction spells temporarily. I nearly tore that old black bra asunder as I grew out of it, and the panties squeezed my butt and snapped off. Thankfully I had multiple sets, so I wasn't hosed for tomorrow night. But I still had no clues as to what was happening around me.

Then there was a knock on the door that scared the horseapples out of me! "Cadance, dear!" It was my soon-to-be mother-in-law, Twilight Velvet, and Night Light was with her!

I was at full-size and pretty much naked, so I just shouted back, "Um, I'm not decent!"

"Oh. Well, we just wanted to wish you a happy birthday!"

"That's nice!"

To this day, I can't believe I said that. I wanted to get them away from me as soon as possible, but I couldn't just tell my coltfriend's parents to buzz off on my birthday, could I? I thought about telling them I was sick, but then the party might get canceled! I had a gift to give to Shining, and I wanted the moment to be special!

At this point, while I'm holding my breath because I have no idea what to say to make them go away, I hear some whispering outside the door. "Mmm, not now, honey...! Later...!"

Oh sweet Celestia's non-existent tits! I cursed in my head. They're getting affected too!

I heard the sound of a hand being swatted playfully outside the door, and then Velvet asked, "Are you alright? Can we come in?"

I hadn't even moved. I was still indecent. I just said the first thing that came to mind. "Ummm, there's some Princess stuff that came up emergency I'll see you guys tomorrow!" It all just sort of tumbled out like that.

"Oh! Um... okay!" And they left. I heard from the palace servants later that they'd ducked into a storage closet and got caught–

"Oooooooookay, that's enough about my parents!" Shining interrupted.

...So I locked myself in my room for the rest of the day trying to figure this out. I didn't go to dinner with Celestia or any of her Friday guests. I told everypony else who came by that I was suffering from food poisoning or something. But I got really hungry later that night, so I had to sneak out and grab something to eat from the kitchen. It wouldn't be the first time.

And when I got to the kitchen...

I swear, the sight will be burned into my retinas forever.

Care Taker... naked... getting spitroasted... by two buff pegasus stallions... on the island in the center of the kitchen. Just running a brutal train on her. And she was clearly loving every second.

I levitated some apples that were sitting on the counter behind them and got out of there. I went straight to bed and tried my best to get to sleep, but I couldn't stop thinking, The party's going to be a disaster. The party's going to be a disaster!

"So, hold on..." the human spoke up, raising a finger. "You accidentally enchanted yourself so that you were boosting all forms of love. Including eros, the intimate kind of love."

"In about a one-block radius, yes," I confirmed, levitating one of the last muffins onto my plate.

Pascal gave me a scrutinizing look. "Did you actually have sex yourself? Did you take advantage of anyone? Make anypony do what they otherwise might not have wanted to do?"

I grimaced. "Well... A few ponies got warnings for excessive PDA, and some got ticketed for public indecency. I reimbursed those ponies out of pocket when I learned about it. But thankfully no, nopony did anything ultimately untoward or unwanted. I got really lucky there. Even Care Taker was happy with the way things turned out." My blush got a little bit stronger. "Well, except, there was one instance, maybe. That was on day two. But I stayed faithful to Shining the whole way."

The human let out a long, aggravated sigh. "Then it's not quite the same. Sure, there was a lot of things I didn't control, but there were definitely things I did intentionally. A good portion of those were because I was fighting for my life, but even then... Making Twilight perform surgery on my dick so I could have more sex, for example."

Shining facepalmed.

I tried to be a little upbeat. "At least you had the excuse of self-preservation...?"

"At least you had the excuse of literally not being in control!" he countered. "Did anyone even suspect you had done anything?"

Frowning, I replied, "No... Most ponies just thought 'love was in the air' that couple of days. My birthday was in the news and everything. Even the ponies who knew I was nearby didn't think I had done anything underhanded. Ponies acting more in-love around the Princess of Love was... already kind of a known quantity."

I did my best not to let my disappointment show on my face. All I wanted to do was show some solidarity. I knew what it was like to be accused just because you had a great power over others. The Princesses each got their fair share of conspiracy theorists. Celestia was playing a grand game of chess with everypony's lives, Luna was secretly building a New Lunar Republic and/or biding her time for a glorious return as Nightmare Moon, Twilight had died and been replaced with a winged body double, and I... I was apparently creating a mind-controlled harem of infatuated crystal ponies, with Shining Armor as my chief thrall while I cuckqueaned his mom. Sure, because I was just as bad as Queen Chrysalis, and that whole wedding thing had been an elaborate sham! Seriously, part of me was so glad to be out of Equestria.

Shining glanced at me, and I could tell he was about to say something infuriating that I was not in the mood for. "See?" he said a little too triumphantly. "Even he says it's different."

I leveled a low-lidded glare at him and said, "Shining, we talked about this."

"It's really not the same!" he insisted. He looked over at Ditsy. "If Pascal messed with your parents, how would you react?"

The pegasus, not expecting to get drawn into this conversation, nearly started out of her seat. "Um... Well... Honestly, I guess I would trust him? Maybe there was a good reason."

"Right, like I trust Cadance," he said. I closed my eyes to hide their rolling. "But then what if five or six years later, some other mind controller comes along and messes with your family sexually, someone you already know was being kind of a creep earlier. Also, everypony is all of a sudden trying to tell you they're alright now and you shouldn't try to stop them. Would you find it easy to trust him then?"

Ditsy frowned and sagged in her seat. "I... guess I see where you're coming from."

I put a hand up to my temples and shook my head. "Shining. He might've messed with your parents, but I messed with your parents twice! Neither of us did any lasting damage to them! If you forgive me and condemn him, that's just hypocritical. End of story."

The worst thing Pascal has done, I thought privately, when you put aside all the hypotheticals and close calls and the things he's already making up for... It might be that he broke Twilight's heart by going behind her back. Celestia broke it too, so Twilight's got to be reeling from that double whammy. Maybe those are two punishable offenses a brother can get righteously mad about. But he doesn't know that – heck, she doesn't really understand that yet either – and now is not the time to bring that up.

"I– Gah..." Shining pouted at me, then looked away and avoided the stares of everyone at the table. "I get that. I do. Logically. I can wrap my head around it. But... Ugh. Emotionally, I..."

"Because of what happened with the changeling queen?" Ditsy Doo asked. I winced – Shining really didn't like to talk about what happened before the wedding. Neither did I, if I was being honest.

Shining Armor slumped like he was a deflating balloon. "...Yeah. I've been on the wrong end of really evil mind control. I hate it. I hate the idea of someone or something turning my mind against me. Against my family. I... I want to protect the ones I love, but my greatest fear now is someone tricking me into thinking they're not even in danger..."

"How do you think I felt?" Pascal grumbled. "The Normal was going to turn my brain inside out so I could become the most perfectly boring stallion in existence. I had to push it into other ponies' heads just to keep it out of mine. It wasn't right, but I was terrified."

That seemed to break through Shining's defenses. He stared at Pascal for a long moment, those big blue eyes of his watering up, and then he looked down and to the side in submission. "Alright... I get it," he mumbled.

Pascal folded his arms and sighed. "It's your cutie mark," he said out of nowhere. "It's pushing back against the rationalizations."

"That's our Shining," I said, trying desperately to lighten the mood. "Our shield."

My husband let out a snort and put on a wry grin. "A shield to the most capable ponies in all of Equestria. Yeah, I'm super useful."

I nudged his shoulder with my magic. "Then it's a good thing the Crystal Empire's back! Now you have a whole nation to protect and satisfy your mark."

"Yep," he replied, leaning back so that his head was hanging behind the chair, "and I don't lose aaaaaaaany sleep over it!"

I adjusted myself and the blanket laying over my breasts (a motion that definitely caught the eyes of all three of them) and looked between Shining Armor and Pascal. I had a feeling that things had cooled off a bit, and they just needed a sort of final gesture to clear things up for a while. I realized this sort of thing should've been Twilight's domain, but I noticed the donkey tail attached to Pascal again and remembered that she wasn't likely to step in.

"Well," I said after a moment of silence, "since the Princess of Friendship has been derelict in her duties, I shall have to step up. I think the two of you owe each other an apology." I took a bite of muffin and waited for them to respond.

Pascal didn't even hesitate to start. "I'm sorry I used your sister to get off and enhance myself, and... and turned your parents into a public spectacle. I wouldn't if I could do it all over again."

Shiny lifted his head and let out a sigh. Much more reluctantly, he said, "I'm sorry for... acting all prejudiced and intimidating and generally being a hypocritical dick... during a time when you're probably still scared for your life. I'll... I'll trust you from here on out."

Good enough. Shining had used almost my exact words there, but at least he seemed to understand that they were the right words to use. In this case, the gesture was a bit more important than the message. I swallowed my bit of muffin and looked at Pascal. "You should definitely get an apology from Twilight, too. Don't just let her walk all over you, even if she's mad."

Pascal nodded sadly and stared at his slippers.

With a grin towards my beloved husband, I said, "This is more evidence that you're going to be impossible when our daughter starts dating."

"Oh Celestia, nooo," Shining groaned out, covering his face with his hands. He knew I was right.

Ditsy's eyes lit up as she looked at me and the blanket covering me. "It's gonna be a filly?!"

"According to the ultrasound spell, yes," I replied. "A healthy unicorn filly." I maintained a poker smile, and Shining kept quiet. That had been the reading from the first ultrasound, a couple months in... but the most recent one had made it seem like there might be something strange happening in my womb. We definitely didn't want to tell anypony yet, in case it was nothing.

Pascal took a swig of the last of his ice water, and went to pour himself another cup. "So... what happened on day 2?"

I groaned and rolled my shoulders. "Things just kept escalating from there, and the party? I was right – it was a disaster."

12 – Twilight Sparkle – Confrontation

Predictably, we were not very good at giving massages. Derpy accidentally tweaked something in the lower right of my back, and I discovered that having wings meant there was a whole alien bundle of muscles beneath the shoulder blades that were quite sensitive and did not appreciate random grabbing and pushing. So we eventually hanged the idea and worked out our new kinks with a nice hot shower.

We didn't get up to any sexy business in the shower – we simply enjoyed the hot water and each other's company. For a moment, I was rather proud of myself for being able to stand near Derpy and not lose myself in the veritable playground of her naked body.

When we got out of the shower, however, and we were toweling each other off (Derpy greatly appreciated having someone to dry off those big, bouncy, hard-to-reach places), I found myself getting more and more randy. There was something about running my hands all over her boobs and her belly and... every inch of her, really, that set off some sort of dormant, masculine, possessive instinct. And as I spent extra time on her thick, juicy thighs, I waxed philosophical about it and shared this idea with her.

Derpy chuckled and asked, "You, um... want to treat me like a doll for a little bit?"

My face was already red from the muggy heat of the post-shower bathroom and my growing arousal, but it stood to grow a shade darker. "Um... well..." Despite bringing it up myself, for some reason putting it that way struck a nerve I didn't know I'd had.

She covered her mouth and stifled a sudden burst of laughter. "When– When you were younger, did you play with...?"

I cast my mind back to one incident that was inexplicably stuck in my memory, from before my age was even in double digits. My prepubescent exposure to the idea that maybe girls weren't full of cooties... I grimaced as I came to a very unfortunate conclusion. "...Crap, maybe it is because of my sister's Barbie dolls, a little bit."

Derpy's repressed giggling petered out and she actually frowned sadly. "Sorry, didn't mean to remind you of home. Or tease you."

I let out a dramatic, heavy sigh and stood up with towel in hand, a slight smirk on my face. "Well, I know how you can make it up to me," I said before vigorously rubbing the undersides of her jutting pontoons of tit once more.

The gray pegasus laughed again and moaned pleasantly at her sensitive boobs getting more of a rub-down. She enjoyed the feeling for a few quiet moments, then said, "You know, I don't mind if you wanna run your hands all over me like that. Like as foreplay or something."

"I'm not entirely sure I do," I admitted. I handed her the towel so she could dry her mane some more and ran my hands along her sides, my fingers and palms grazing against her pudgy belly. "It makes me feel like a creep. Comes from a selfish place... a desire to own you, to enjoy you because you're mine. But I don't want to make you feel owned, like I'm taking you for granted."

"Hmm," she hummed in thought as she finished drying her blonde mane. "Would it help if I told you my selfish touch-desire?"

I blinked in surprise and said, "Yes, sure, absolutely."

She turned around, facing the mirror. My hands left her sides as she moved, but she grabbed them and used my arms to pull me forward until my chest was pressed against her back and her wings. She bumped her booty back until it was pressed tightly against my crotch, and she even shuffled her legs back until they were pressed against or interlocked with mine.

Wrapping my arms around her stomach, Derpy smiled serenely and said, "I like this. Feeling a warm body against mine..."

I nestled my chin in the crook of her shoulder. "Spooning?"

"Yeah... But like, held tight and with as much skin contact as possible. I think it can be seen as kind of retrograde too, that sort of submissive female desire to be in the arms of a big strong male, exchanging love for protection..."

Understanding a bit more, I adjusted my stance so that she could lean back against me and I could hold her more comfortably. I smirked wryly and muttered, "'Big strong male'... Well, one out of three ain't bad." I kissed her on the neck regardless.

Derpy giggled and rubbed her cheek against my face. "I dunno, I think the whole 'creating a judgment-free zone with mind control' thing is pretty 'strong.'" She ground her big fat butt against my rising erection some more. "But if you want to work your way up to really really 'big' too, I certainly won't object."

"It is one of my fetishes..." I murmured.

She gently pulled out of my arms, turned around, and placed her hands on my shoulders. Her big golden eyes stared directly into mine (one of them, anyway). "Just as long as I'm not making your body issues worse," she said seriously. "Remember, I fell for you before you went and got that surgery. I don't care if you're overweight and 6 inches, or studly and 60 inches. So long as you're happy and you know that I'm happy with you. Okay?"

My heart was warmed by her words, but the mental image of myself with a goddamned five-foot penis kinda stuck with me for a moment and overrode my thoughts. I snapped myself out of it a moment later and said, "Okay. But now that we're talkin' about it: If sizeplay in general is going to be on the table at some point, what would you like?"

Derpy looked thoughtfully down at her boobs which were pressing against my chest. She stepped back and pushed them together, then fondled and groped the front of them. "Hmmm... I know you'd like to see me with a pair of these bigger than my body, and I actually wouldn't mind trying that... but I guess my big fantasy would be, like, drinking a potion and growing taller and bigger than the houses in Ponyville. Something like that."

I grinned. "Y'know, I had a dream along those lines."

"Really? Me too!" Derpy said excitedly. "And then Spike–!"

There was a muffled knock knock knock from outside the bathroom.

Both of us rolled our eyes. I groaned and muttered, "Why is it always when we're naked and the going's getting good?" I looked down and pouted at my newly erect dick, ready to go after a nice, patient buildup.

Derpy shrugged and said, "We could always try a quickie."

"Gahhh, but then we'd have to get cleaned up again." I clenched my hands exasperatedly. "And a quickie would be so much easier to pull off if I could actually, y'know, fuck you...!"

A pained expression came across her muzzle, and she reached down between her legs to her moistening pussy. Her fingers came up sticky. "Yeah... as much as I like boobgasms way more, 'down there' is starting to feel neglected..."

I wrapped a stray towel around my waist and opened the bathroom door. "Hopefully I'm getting cured soon. I'll find out what's going on."

Derpy sighed and resumed toweling her behind. "Gotcha."

I marched hurriedly over to the bedroom door and yanked it open. Out in the hall was a muscular gray pegasus of the Royal Guard. He nodded firmly and announced, "Princess Twilight Sparkle has requested your presence immediately at the Canterlot Medical College. She also asked me to pass along a message: 'We've made a breakthrough.'"

That was welcome news. "Very good," I replied with a nod.

"When you're ready," the guard continued, "a chariot is waiting."

"We'll get dressed, then," I responded. I turned to close the door and get my clothes, but a thought occurred to me and I stopped. Looking at the guard, I asked, "Hey, you wouldn't know anything about giving massages, would you?"

The guard's stoic facade broke and he blinked several times. "Um..."

The gilded sky-chariot bounced and rattled as its wheels made contact with the pavement in front of Canterlot Medical College – a large campus at the outskirts of the mountain city, matching the style of Canterlot's architecture with its non-angular facades and spiraling towers, colored gold and purple and white. The guard pulling our chariot, the same one who had come to meet us, gently decelerated his stride until we came to a stop in front of the glass double-doors that formed the main entrance.

Our escort lifted his goggles and looked back at me and Derpy. "So you want to lean more of your body weight into each push and rub, so that your arms don't get tired as quickly."

We disembarked from the back of the chariot, myself in my one set of street clothes and Derpy going nude again. "That's real interesting. Thank you," I said politely. Our guard had been sharing several nuggets of advice over the course of our short trip.

The guard shrugged. "That's just what I remember from what my physical therapy friend told me. Sorry I can't be much more help."

"It's fine," I replied. Privately, I thought: Without access to Google, this is the best we can do for now. I mean, I guess that's what libraries are for in a pre-Internet world, but I don't know where that is in Canterlot, and in Ponyville... that'll mean going to Twilight's palace.

"Thanks for everything!" Derpy called to him, waving as we headed for the entrance. The guard nodded back firmly and trotted off to park the chariot elsewhere.

I felt a strong urge to hesitate and take stock before walking through the glass doors, to savor the feeling of crossing another potentially life-changing threshold. Instead I marched through with purpose, shoving the doors open and entering the lobby with a stern look on my face. Derpy sped through the doors before they closed behind me. Ponies at the front desk and throughout the room, some professors, some students, some doctors, looked at us and our grander-than-usual entrance for only a moment before going back to their business.

"Pascal!"

The lobby had a tall ceiling. There was a hallway forward from us, and immediately within that hallway was a staircase leading up to the second floor. The landing of that second floor had a railing looking down into the lobby. Twilight Sparkle stood there and called down to us, tapping her fingers on the railing.

"Come on up," she said, her expression and tone forcefully neutral.

Derpy and I hurried up the stairs. I felt greater and greater trepidation as we climbed – not because of the potential operation, but because of this meeting with Twilight. For the moment, though, there was a more important question. "How's it coming? You said a 'breakthrough'?"

Twilight sighed. "Potentially. We have a hypothesis and some data to back it up, though it's a low sample size due to the time constraints." She put a hand on the side of her face, like she was nursing a headache. "Ironically... it's a good thing you got my friend Moondancer involved, because her observations gave us a roadmap for our experiments."

Derpy raised her hand, even though she hardly needed to. "What happens now?"

"Now I have to check one more thing," Twilight said, stepping around us and looking directly at my hinder.

Ah yes, the donkey tail.

Twilight's horn lit up and cast a ray of scanning light over the appendage sticking uncomfortably up and out of my jeans. I looked over my shoulder and watched her brow furrow and her mouth scrunch up in thought, and then her eyes widened. "Zero transformational decay... One-hundred percent adaptation... You really can be altered permanently. Luna was right."

"So whatever you have to do to change him," Derpy asked, "you only need to cast one spell?"

"Yes," Twilight replied, still kind of shocked. "This is... scientifically significant, to say the least. A magical being that doesn't automatically switch back to their 'natural' form after a few hours..."

"I would very much like to switch to my natural form right now," I muttered, and deliberately swung my tail back and forth.

The Princess snapped out of it and looked aside guiltily. "Right, yes..." She hesitated, though.

I groaned, rolled my eyes, and turned around. "I'm sorry I got your parents involved," I stated firmly and forcefully. "I was minutes– seconds away from death. I had to create a big distraction to survive. I asked for two married volunteers, and by the time I realized it was your parents, it was too late to send them back and find a different couple. If I could do it over again, I wouldn't pick them." I looked aside and added, "Though then it might've been someone else's parents..."

"Alright, alright," Twilight protested half-heartedly. She shut her eyes and her horn zapped my body.

The tuft of hair at the end of my tail fell off and disappeared, and the tail itself receded back into my body until only my normal tailbone remained – a supremely weird and uncomfortable sensation, I'll have you know. I craned my neck as far as I could, and when that didn't work I turned my backside towards Derpy, who looked in my pants and then gave me a thumbs-up to confirm that my butt was A-OK.

"Can we get on with this?" Twilight said, gesturing to a nearby hallway.

Before I was fully back in control of myself, I glared at her. I kept glaring at her for a few straight seconds without saying anything.

"What?"

"Not before you apologize too," I finally found the courage to say.

Twilight quirked an eyebrow at me. Then her face fell into a frown and she sighed, looking down and rubbing her temples. "I'm sorry I lashed out." She took a few steps down the hall and turned to face us, waiting, not saying anything more.

The burning within me just grew hotter and hotter. It took some effort to maintain control of it. I scrunched my eyes shut and shook my head. "No. That's not enough."

The Princess's hands formed an 'oh come on' gesture to match her annoyed expression. "Really, I'm sorry for the tail," she insisted.

I shook my head again. "Not just for that. For... For everything." My voice dropped and got gravelly as a whole gaggle of emotions threatened to tumble out through my throat. Derpy put a hand on my arm comfortingly. I looked around and spotted a meeting room that, through the door's window, looked empty. "Can we step aside? ...I have some... things I need to get off my chest."

Twilight took a deep breath... and on the exhale, nodded and walked back towards me.

Derpy stepped back. "I'll wait here, give you two some privacy," she said, watching me with a knowing expression. In the hours between the Cadance meeting and now, she'd helped me hash out some of my feelings. She knew this was ultimately between me and Twilight.

I opened the door and walked in, noting the sparse college decor – two desks, a few long tables, plenty of chairs, and a chalkboard. The front row of tables formed a walkway from one end of the room to the other, and I traversed that full length before turning around. When I saw the door again, Twilight was closing it behind her, but she was also casting a spell on herself that caused her to shimmer with familiar blue light.

As the door clicked shut and Twilight's immunity spell washed over her, she caught me noticing the spell and failed to conceal a smirk. "Just so you can't brainwash me while we're alone."

I just about facepalmed. This was it; this was the whole goddamn problem. "No, no that's good actually!" I half-shouted across the room at her, waving my arm in frustration. "Now I know I'm telling all this to the real Twilight, and you can't say otherwise."

Twilight folded her arms, took a few steps forward, and waited for me to speak with a grumpy and expectant posture.

My hands balled into fists of their own accord. My repressed anger was threatening to completely overflow now that the moment had arrived, and all of my complaints wanted to come out at once. Thankfully, my 'practice run' with Derpy had helped me figure out where I wanted to start: At the beginning.

"From the moment I woke up in Ponyville General Hospital... to now, I've been scared," I said to her. "Frightened. Terrified out of my gourd. Even after I got this power and I managed a few peaceful, happy moments–" Twilight's frown deepened slightly, and I continued with greater intensity. "–it was always balanced out by a life-or-death risk! I've never once not been scared! Not for a single second! Scared of the townsfolk, scared of what I've lost, scared of not really being in control of myself... and scared of you." I pointed at her. "I depended on you for protection, yet every time – a lecture, and then you'd throw me back out onto the street to face it all again." Twilight's knee-jerk anger faded and she broke eye contact, but I was too angry to care now. "How was that supposed to HELP, Twilight?! I'd just lost everything!! I never got a chance to grieve!! What good was sending me out there to get shunned again and again, huh?!" I made a chopping motion with my arm. "So I'm done. I am done living in fear. I can't keep going like that."

I stopped, because Twilight looked like she was about to cry. I worried I'd overstepped, but my anger dulled any sense of guilt. Twilight sniffled and pulled herself together. "Friday morning. I told you I'd realized we were wrong. That part of what I believed was true, that we'd never really treated you like a person, more like a science experiment and a nuisance." She rubbed her eyes and hardened her expression towards me. "Don't you see...? In the middle of me realizing how horrible I've been to you... next thing I know, I'm jacking you off, giving surgery to your penis, becoming obsessed with your semen, and growing my own breasts so I can attend a topless party in your honor!"

There were a few urges to say something – that the surgery turned out to be necessary, that the topless party really did help me acclimate, that Twilight's obsession had been a sobering sign – but they all came up at once and I didn't know if any of them would actually help.

"When I realized what you'd done, what I'd allowed you to do..." Twilight threw up her hands. "My first thought was, 'Of course! Of course the first thing Pascal would use it for is sex! That is so Pascal!' It's like everything I tried to tell you, to teach you – the second I took my eye off you, you spat it onto the back of my head!"

I could scarcely believe what I was hearing. "You feel betrayed because I 'rejected your teachings'?"

The junior Princess deflated a bit. "I realize that's not quite what happened, but emotionally–"

"How was I supposed to learn anything?!" I shouted, slamming my palm against the chalkboard with a loud bang. I started to laugh, morbidly. "I was not... I was not in a receptive state, Twilight! I was in panic mode! Shut down! All I could do was put on a brave face and follow orders! That was the only thing keeping me sane! And so I trusted you, because who the fuck was I to say no to the goddamn Princess of the land?! And what did that trust get me? Pitchforks–" Bang! "–and motherfucking torches!" Bang!

Now Twilight was getting riled up again. "I'm not going to try and defend all of my actions," she said, her initial carefulness giving way to anger, "but none of us could have predicted how it turned out. The idea was not 'leave Pascal waving in the breeze,' it was 'let Ponyville get used to his presence and help him make a friend out there.' Meanwhile, behind the scenes, I was talking to every social group of every size in town to try and get them to give you a chance!"

This was news to me. Unbelievable news. "Then why did I have to stay outside for hours and hours while you were doing that? Why couldn't I just stay home for two weeks?!"

"I– Because–" Twilight faltered. "Because... I was certain, the one thing we couldn't do was leave you completely alone."

I balked. "I was a... risk?"

"No, no. Not quite like that. But, I mean, you had just lost everything. You needed a group of real friends to help you cope with that, to help you accept your new life here. Otherwise, you were just going to retreat into your shell and get worse and worse. That was the true purpose behind everything."

I started to pace between the chalkboard and the tables, sweating and grimacing. "Who were you to decide what I 'needed'?! Why did I need friendship right away, even though I was clearly not ready for it?"

Twilight's brow furrowed as she frowned. "Well... and this is where it all went wrong... Princess Celestia – and later on, Mayor Mare – were breathing down my neck to give them results quickly. The whole 'experiment,' your status in Equestria, depended on my promise that 'I believe he can adjust to normal pony life.' So... I felt forced to rush it a bit." She sighed. "It was a hard three weeks for me too."

I was reaching levels of mad I hadn't felt in a long, long time. "Don't... Don't... Don't you dare give me that, Twilight. You. Risked. Nothing. I was the one getting raked over the coals every single day. All you had to do was follow and watch."

"I was getting constant, serious complaints towards the end!" Twilight protested. "The ponies in town–"

"The townsfolk would have forgiven you if I'd left. If I'd disappeared. You've saved them, what, a dozen times now? Eventually, they would have gone back to loving you." I folded my arms. "But I was looking at banishment to the Everfree fucking Forest. It was life or death for me. Every day. Every day it felt like that. Fight-or-flight, for 21 fucking days, every second."

"I-I...!" Twilight's hands curled into fists. She stood up on the toes of her feet, increasing her presence (not that she needed to, she was already a bit taller than me).

"And all I got from you," I continued, "was lectures."

"I was never going to give up on you!!" Twilight finally screeched. Her breaths came in sharp and heavy. "No matter what happened! Didn't matter if Celestia herself came down from Canterlot to smite you – I promised to protect you! Against everything! Against the world!" Her steam began to fade, and her eyes shut tightly as they misted up. "I only went along with Discord's idea because, for a moment, we were convinced it was the end. But it wasn't really the end. I was open to other solutions. I was two list items away from sending you to the Crystal Empire! Cadance might've been able to protect you!"

I couldn't help rolling my eyes. "A list... Of course there was a list."

"And then you–" Twilight's breath caught in her throat. "And then you go and do all of this. Using me without me even knowing I'm being used. Perverting everyone I know. Breaking..." Her purple equine face became stained with tears. "Breaking my mentor. My– Our sun."

"Celestia was not all my fault," I said, my voice softening. "This started long before I got here."

"I know," Twilight mumbled. She rubbed her eyes and tried to get her sniffling under control, but she was failing. "It's just... I was never going to give up on you, either of you. But... But I feel like you both gave up on me...!"

On any other day, on any other planet, I would be moved and capitulate. But my resolve didn't waver. "Twilight," I said, "I think Celestia just wanted to protect you, but as for me... I couldn't depend on you! I couldn't trust you. I never got 'help' from you – just more orders."

Twilight's anger flared up once more. "So I'm the reason you used me?"

Immediately, I shook my head. "No. My fear and my greed led me to use you. I own that. But the three weeks that led up to that..."

"...didn't help," she mumbled sadly.

I came to an utterly depressing realization. "Holy shit – we weren't just never lovers, we were never friends. Even though... we both might've wanted to pretend we were. Friends don't keep screwing with each other like this, whether they mean to or not."

Twilight's head hung. "I failed you. I'm the Princess of Friendship and I completely, utterly failed you."

"And I... betrayed the faith you put in me," I muttered back, rubbing my neck. "However misplaced."

My words seemed to stir something in Twilight, and she turned towards the blackboard and stared at it like it was an abyss. "Maybe... Maybe on some level, I was taking advantage of your fear," she thought aloud. "Mistaking panic for pliability. Seeing you as a test of my friendship authority. 'If I can instill positive pony values into this human that won't stop staring at my chest...'"

I recalled the first time Twilight and I had ever spoken face-to-face. It wasn't the first day of my quarantined stay in Ponyville General; it was the third. And I definitely remembered marveling at how busty Princess Twilight Sparkle was. She'd been my first clue that this version of Equestria was ripped out of my fap folder. It probably hadn't made a strong first impression. Was that why she'd been so cold to me those first three weeks? Was that why she'd had to search for somepony to be my good friend; because she'd unconsciously ruled herself out?

"'...and if I can do it all in record time, everypony will be happy,'" Twilight went on, her shoulders sagging. She looked over at me. "Is that what you want? An apology for my... gross negligence?"

I nodded firmly. "Yes." I was tempted to take the initiative and apologize again, preemptively, for everything I'd done to hurt her, but I'd done that so many times it hardly mattered anymore. This time, I needed it from her.

Twilight turned away from the blackboard and faced me, then lowered her head. "Pascal... I'm sorry for all the fear I caused in you. I'm sorry for taking advantage of that to try to control you, even now that you're trying to help."

"Was that what the tail was about?" I said with a bit of a smirk. "Trying to show me 'who's boss,' that I'm not above punishment?"

"On some level, I guess..."

I spread my arms out and spun around. "Look at us. Look at all this drama going on. If this power was unbeatable, if I was above all real consequences... would any of this be happening?"

"Maybe not, but... You realize that you're officially scarier than Discord, right? When Discord changes reality, it's obvious. But you can change our whole society without us even noticing. At some point, I'm going to have to accept that I can't cast this temporary immunity spell forever and just... let you do your thing to me..."

"...and you've already been burned once."

Twilight nodded, her lips pursed thin.

I stewed on that thought for a moment, not sure what to say. Eventually, I shrugged helplessly and said, "I'm in the same situation as Discord. I've done real harm, and now I want to use this power for good."

"And sex," Twilight muttered, a bit of her old sass biting back.

"And sex," I admitted with a small smile. "But mostly good. Can you, of your own free mind right now, be willing to give me one more chance? Knowing full well that if I really screw up, no amount of Normal's really gonna stop my comeuppance?"

Sooner than I expected, Twilight gave me a solid nod of her head. "Okay," she said. "No pressure, no intimidation, no watching your every move like a hawk. One more honest chance."

A weight lifted off my shoulders. "I accept your apology."

"I... accept yours, too," Twilight replied, her eyes barely meeting mine.

I couldn't help but smirk a little, putting my hands behind my head. "And I didn't even need mind control to do it."

Twilight allowed herself a bit of a laugh. "Yeah... where did all this charisma come from? That's not fair, having that and mind control."

"A solid week of life-or-death philosophy homework," I said with utter seriousness. "Kinda friggin' changes a man. Also, I've been literally reborn once and I've just faced my fears head-on, so I'm probably riding some kind of high."

Looking at me somewhat wistfully, Twilight said, "You know... You'd think I'd be more sympathetic to that exact feeling."

"Never too late to start. Now that we've, y'know, aired our grievances and all." I took a step forward and spread my arms out. "Awkward hug to seal the deal?"

"Sure," Twilight muttered with narrowed eyes, "and get a whiff full of your human pheromones."

"Hey, I showered like ten minutes ago."

"Not with the special soap, I'll bet."

"Look, Twi, I'm gonna level with you: The special soap was gross and I'm not sure it even worked."

After a moment's hesitation and tension, Twilight said, "You're probably right," and crossed the length of the room. She leaned over awkwardly (so I wouldn't press against her head-sized breasts) and we hugged – her arms around my shoulders, my arms around her waist (also to avoid her breasts). Awkward hug, signed and delivered.

When we broke apart, attempting to lighten the mood, I fist-pumped and declared, "Now let's go make my semen non-addictive to ponies!"

Twilight just stared at me like 'Really? Really?'

13 – The Cure

After our little heart-to-heart, Twilight and I reunited with Derpy and allowed the Princess to lead us where she needed me to go.

It was a fairly long journey through the campus building, past armored Royal Guards keeping others out and through doors marked 'Staff Only.' The further we walked, the more trepidation I felt. I could scarcely believe that maybe, just maybe, we were on the cusp of taking the whole 'addiction' thing out of play entirely – but what then? I still had a Princess to rehabilitate somehow. And at some point, I needed to figure out how my life was going to work.

By the time we came to the double-doors of one of the larger lecture halls, sealed off by a quartet of guards, I was fairly stressed out. I tried to calm myself by admiring how Derpy's giant naked tits bobbed and swayed.

We walked inside. The room was a semi-circular lecture hall, probably capable of seating over a hundred pony students. A short wall separated the front rows of seats from the presentation floor. There was an empty medical examination table in the center of the floor, an overhead transparency projector on a nearby table, and a matching projector screen deployed along the back wall.

There were only a few other ponies in the room besides the three of us, either seated in the front row or standing at the rim. Trixie and Moondancer were standing on one side of the floor, talking amongst themselves before we walked in. A slender and somewhat drowsy-looking Luna was leaning against the dividing wall on the opposite side. Seated near Luna was the massively endowed Cadance, her pink dress-covered bosoms overflowing onto the two desks on either side of her.

Seated directly in front of us was prim and proper Celestia, whose composure immediately slipped as she laid eyes on me – her nostils flared and her pupils momentarily shrank. Her horn lit up with golden light, and the doors we'd entered through swiftly shut behind us. A shimmer passed over the doors, and suddenly the outside bustle of the school could no longer be heard.

There were a few moments of silence as everyone in the room looked at me, then among themselves, then at Princess Celestia. No one really knew where to start or what to say.

Twilight finally looked at me and gestured at the examination table. I reluctantly hopped on, resigning myself to my role as a subject of scientific inquiry. Derpy walked over to the side of the room to join Trixie and Moondancer. Twilight walked over to the projector and levitated a manila folder out of her messenger bag. She set down the folder on the nearby table next to the projector, then opened it to reveal notes, printed reports, and transparency slides. The sounds of papers shuffling across wood were deafening in the silent, soundproofed theater.

The purple princess opened her mouth to speak, but Celestia stood up and Twilight's mouth immediately re-closed.

Smiling serenely and regally in a very practiced way, Celestia looked at all the ponies present and said, "I would like to thank you all for your help and understanding." Her words slightly echoed around the room. The Princess continued: "When I imagined how ponies might react once they learned the truth, I always feared the worst. But your support thus far has given me comfort... and hope. I know it can't have been easy, to see your leader at her weakest, in her darkest hour, and to... and to process knowledge so terrible about your own bodies. Thank you, all of you." She sat back down and looked directly at the junior Princess in the room. "Twilight, if you may."

Twilight glanced at me, then at Celestia, then down at her notes. She scoffed quietly and shook her head just a little bit. "I must have done this dozens of times when I was your student," Twilight Sparkle muttered aloud. "But now..."

The purple Princess sighed and used her horn to send a charge of power into the overhead, casting a rounded rectangle of light onto the projector screen behind her. She placed the first transparent plastic page onto the device. It was a printed title page with big black letters reading: 'The Effects of Pascal's Human Semen on Ponies Through the Lens of Addiction.' Beneath that, in smaller font, was: 'Preliminary Study Results.'

"As you know," Twilight began, haltingly, "I was charged to... study the effects of human semen." She still seemed mildly disgusted by the topic. "Using samples from the first human in Equestria for over a thousand years. Or... at least the first equivalent."

Twilight walked in front of the projector while her horn switched out transparency pages, pacing back and forth as she spoke.

"We started with a hypothesis based on my friend Moondancer's... experiences and observations from Saturday. She..." Twilight momentarily lost steam and shook her head at the ridiculousness of it all again. "She hypothesized–"

"Apologies, Twilight Sparkle, but," Luna interrupted, "is this all really necessary?"

"Wh-What do you mean?" Twilight asked nervously.

Luna pushed herself off the dividing wall she'd been leaning against and straightened her regal navy blue dress. Her slender height gave her an imposing advantage over the rest of the room. "You're ready to show your work, and we thank you for your diligence. But we are not here to gush over your methodology. Might we please instead skip to an actionable conclusion, if there is one?"

"Luna..." Celestia started.

The Princess of the Night gestured between me and Celestia. "Having these two in the same room is clearly causing my sister distress."

Celestia shook her head. "It's fine. I can wait."

"I cannot," Luna spat, leveling an intense look at her sister. Her starry mane waved dramatically in reduced gravity as her head turned. Then her expression softened. "...I am tired of seeing you like this."

Twilight looked down at the floor for a moment, then sighed and shut off the projector with a flicker of magic. "I can always show my report later, I guess." She stepped in front of the table and rubbed her temples before saying, "The... addictive element of human semen – of Pascal's semen – is..." Twilight paused and shook her head, like she couldn't believe what she was about to say. "It's... the product of the testes themselves. The spermatozoa. ...Sperm cells."

A palpable silence washed over the room.

"It's not a biological process, either," Twilight continued, her eyes clouded over as she recalled the day's experiments. "What happens – what seems to happen, anyway – is that it gets... absorbed. Magically. As soon as a sperm cell makes contact with sensitive nervous tissue, it gets converted into energy or a signal or something and transmits through the nervous system and directly to, we assume, the pleasure centers of the brain. It's brief and instantaneous and almost imperceptible, but... you can see how it might create a physical and psychological connection between the semen and... pleasure. And-and it scales by volume."

Celestia gripped the railing in front of her desk and leaned forward. "Sperm cells? All these years I've been craving...?" She put her hand in front of her mouth as her pupils shrank.

I was hunched over, my fingers pinching the bridge of my nose. This all sounded so stupid, and yet...

"Of course," Luna growled sarcastically, letting out a snort of contempt through her nostrils. "Tying us to the very means of their reproduction? Oh yes, that fits the Masters' profile so perfectly."

"W-Well," Twilight went on, "that's just the one component. We assume the other parts of the semen, the fluids from the seminal vesicles and the prostate glands, they might provide the... flavor and... tingling." Twilight was starting to look a little green around the gills. "But we haven't run enough tests to isolate those elements. Scientifically speaking, these conclusions aren't even rock-solid yet; there simply isn't enough data and review. And yet, the data from the spermatozoa stands out so significantly, that... that... the conclusion is hard to avoid. We can be reasonably confident about its role."

Princess Luna took a breath to calm herself, though it didn’t seem to help much. "Then what is to be done?"

"That’s why Pascal’s here," Twilight said, turning towards me. "If the goal here is to render him non-addictive so that he may... do his job, I've devised a spell that should affect his present and future sperm so that–"

"Wait wait!" Celestia suddenly cried out. We all looked and she was partially out of her seat, her hand outstretched. She looked panicked. "Twilight," she said gravely, "do not tell me about this spell."

Twilight became confused and distraught. "W-What?!"

The Princess's magenta eyes slowly drifted to the floor in shame. "I do not want to be given the opportunity or... temptation... to try and reverse-engineer it."

The lifelong student just stared at her mentor, looking for a moment that she was about to start crying. Twilight took a deep breath and managed to pull herself together, steeling herself. "O-Okay. I'll just cast it then." She forced herself to march back around the table so that she could face me, still sitting on the examination table with my back to the rest of the room.

As we faced each other, both of our eyes drifted down to my crotch. I was still fully clothed, though the enhancements done to my genitalia meant that the shape of even my softest state could be gleaned through the shape of my jeans.

Twilight, full of stress, just groaned and rubbed her temples. "Please... take your pants off," she said, resigned.

I took a glance over my shoulder at Celestia, fearing the diarch's reaction to my exposed junk, but I hopped off the cot for a moment and quickly shucked off my lower clothes. I hopped my bare ass back onto the table, and my hefty-for-a-human penis and ballsack dangled over the edge in front of Twi.

Her mood considerably soured at the sight of my cock. Like she'd said, she probably never wanted to see it again for a very long time once this was over. She closed her eyes and focused, charging up her horn with magic. Longer than usual, she channeled her magic for a solid twenty seconds, making me nervous about what she was about to do to my unprotected family jewels. The things I was willing to do for peace...

Almost faster than I could blink, the purplish-pink magic discharged all at once as a direct beam into my balls. Tendrils of magic spread out from there, running both across the skin and ethereally within my body. I felt like my whole pelvis was hot and vibrating for a few seconds.

And then it was over. The beams, the tendrils, whatever – they faded away, leaving just me looking outwardly unaffected.

"Not... as bad as I was expecting for a magical vasectomy," I deadpanned to let off some stress.

"It wasn't a vasectomy," Twilight muttered. "It–"

She was interrupted by Princess Celestia, who had already gotten out of her seat and was practically stomping towards us. The entire bench was engulfed in her golden magic, and I was spun around one-hundred-and-eighty degrees. In one smooth motion, Celestia knelt, guided me into position, and inhaled my partially chubbed cock into her mouth.

Loud, desperate slurping sounds echoed through the lecture hall. Everypony else in the room looked on, stunned, as their Princess of the Sun debased herself in front of them. Celestia's body didn't seem to care anymore; she sucked on the tip of my penis like I was a drinking fountain in a desert before taking the whole length into her mouth repeatedly. Her steaming hot salivation dripped past her thin white lips and down my shaft, running down the crease of my ballsack.

My cock slowly hardened in her mouth; my biology responded to her physical ministrations. But my heart wasn't in it. This wasn't sexy to me. The desperation and shame in the Princess's eyes, the hearts breaking around the room as they watched their leader do something they'd never imagined she'd do in a million years... It all chilled my blood and made the idea of an orgasm very distant in my mind.

Despite Celestia's expert oral treatment, I wasn't cumming anytime soon. The Princess's patience waned quickly. Her horn lit up, and I felt a familiar buzzing sensation in my whole crotch.

Seconds later, white-hot pleasure rammed through me. Instantaneously I came, spurting my hot discharge into Celestia's maw. She pulled back slowly, filling her mouth with as much seed as she could store in her cheeks until she was bulging like a chipmunk. When her mouth was completely full, she let my cock slip through her lips, and the last of my cum landed erratically across her muzzle. A few ponies gasped, as though watching their beloved Princess get facial'd was even more sacrilegious than what had already happened.

As I cooled down from my spell-induced orgasm, Celestia let my mouthful of cum simply rest in her mouth for a few moments. She actually swished it from side to side a couple of times before swallowing. It took more than one swallow to get it all down. Three or four gulps later, and the room was silent as they waited for her reaction.

Celestia swallowed dryly again. Her mouth hung open for a few seconds, and her eyes were wide and staring off into nothing. "It's..." she gasped, "it's not the same. It-It tastes the same, but it's not... the s–" She bit down on a knuckle of her hand and fought back a choking sob. A cry of anguish rebelled and moaned out of her throat.

I must confess, I'd been raised by teetotalers most of my life and had never really been exposed to any other addiction than porn. I could only barely imagine what Celestia had to be going through. If the kick was really gone from my human semen, was this like if a drug addict suddenly couldn't get a high? If there was no pleasant buzz and dulling of the senses to drinking alcohol? Or was it like if sweet and sugary foods still tasted fine but no longer satisfied your sweet tooth? Or if there was no precious moment of sweet relief to follow the pleasure after a masturbation session? Was it somewhere in-between those, or something I couldn't even imagine?

While I was thinking, there was a quick blur of magic that zipped across Celestia's muzzle, taking an unnoticed glob of semen with it. I tracked it over to the side of the room, where it swiftly disappeared into The Great and Powerful Trixie's mouth. She let it sit on her tongue for a few moments, then swallowed. Shortly after, her muzzle contorted in sudden anger. Her horn levitated her magician's hat off her head and slammed it onto the floor while Trixie turned around and muttered strangled curses into the audience. Moondancer and Derpy looked on at her in concern.

A few moments later, Celestia sharply inhaled and made an extreme and visible effort to compose herself. She stood up, smiling her practiced smile. A wave of golden magic from her horn wiped off the rest of the splattered semen from her face, and she looked like nothing had happened. She looked over my head at Twilight and said, "Twilight Sparkle. You've solved one of the greatest mysteries of my life. Thank you... so very much."

Celestia walked around the table and went to give her student a big hug, resting Twilight's head in the crook of her neck. Twilight seemed visibly apprehensive and didn't quite fully hug back. She seemed to be leaning her head so that no part of her body was touching any part of Celestia's that had recently had my semen on it. If Celestia noticed, she didn't say anything or react in her expression.

When they pulled out of the hug, Luna stepped closer and asked, "It is truly over, then? Pascal is 'cured'?"

"Yes," Celestia said, more than a little sullenly despite herself. "It did not take the edge off."

Luna let out a sigh of relief. "Then my thanks as well to you both, Twilight and Pascal. Not only have you armed us with knowledge, but my sister finally has a chance to heal." She looked across the way at the trio of mares on the sidelines, adding, "Our thanks to you too, Moondancer, Trixie Lulamoon, Ditsy Doo, for your support."

"I-It was nothing," Moondancer replied sheepishly.

Derpy nodded and said, "It was the right thing to do."

Trixie still looked mad, but she shrugged and nodded her head before going back to pouting and tapping her foot.

As I pulled my underwear and pants back up, Cadance raised her hand and asked, "So what happens now?"

"Therapy, right?" Celestia said almost immediately, looking down at me. "I could really use my first session tonight."

So soon? I thought, grimacing. I looked over at Derpy worriedly. Now that I was cured, I really only had one thing on my mind: Consummation.

Derpy noticed my look and shook her head at me calmly. "I can wait. I'm still off work for one more day if, y'know, the Princess really needs you right now."

I knew it was important, but honestly, the prospect of spending another night with the Princess in her... 'big' form... filled me with a mysterious, unspeakable dread. I found myself tongue-tied.

Celestia took notice and frowned. "Please, Pascal. Today has already been so difficult. There is so much to do tomorrow." With an aside glance at Luna, she added, "Equestria cannot wait 19 days while I suffer withdrawal in a dark cave."

Luna let out a sigh through her nostrils and looked away.

The Princess of the Sun took a couple of steps back towards the door, her eyes fearfully lingering on my crotch. "My chambers, thirty minutes, please. Meet me there, just before the setting of the sun." That said, Celestia immediately turned away and walked out through the classroom's doors, joining the royal guards outside who didn't have a clue what was going on thanks to the soundproofing spell.

As the doors swung closed behind her, I just put my head in my hands and hissed out, "Shiiiiiiiiiiiiit..." Derpy walked up to the cot and sat beside me, rubbing my back.

"Pascal," Luna called out, walking up to the other side of the bench. "Did you get my message this morning?"

"Sure did!" I replied with obviously fake cheeriness.

"Have you put some thought to that idea? That you must use your power more actively?"

"You saying that applies here?"

"More than any other situation, I would think. My sister's mind relies on your power right now, but it still wavers. If you must forcibly guide her mind back to stability... you shouldn't hesitate."

Twilight recoiled. "Are you giving him permission to outright mind control Celestia?!"

"He's proven he can use it to heal. I trust him." Moondancer looked ready to speak up, but Luna cut her off: "I understand that with too light a touch, spurious conclusions can be reached. This is delicate work. It will of course be best if Celestia can be guided to healthy epiphanies through regular means. But Celestia's greatest fear right now is not being in control of herself. Pascal needs to show her that her lusts can be managed... even if someone else must hold the reins for a little while." Luna reached over and put her hand on my shoulder. "It's also clear to me that you're afraid of repeating the events of Saturday night."

"Ah," I grumbled, slumping my shoulders, "is it that obvious?" Gee, why wouldn't I want to get fucked half to death for a second time?

"I believe your power is the key to making sure it doesn't happen again. If she starts to lose hope and surrender to the demands of her body... you have the ability to force her back."

"I tried that night," I muttered. "I tried to stop it. But she'd already decided that that was the only way, and I couldn't muster a strong enough argument to dissuade her."

Luna hesitantly pulled her hand back and thought for a second. "Well... The context has changed now. She has placed authority in you, and so your words will have greater weight. The words you told her Sunday morning are still in effect. No matter what, that... event shouldn't happen again."

I buried my head in my hands again. "Even so. What the hell do I do? What's my game plan?"

Twilight stared incredulously at me now. "You haven't made a plan yet?!"

"It's only been like two and a half days!" I protested. "I wasn't expecting to get the green light so fast! And if you haven't noticed, a lot's been going on around here!"

Trixie groaned in frustration, startling all of us. "Ugggh! Just cum inside the fucking Princess, Pascal. Make her your bitch if you have to. That ought to at least get her through the day."

I facepalmed and started strangling the air. All of my private thoughts on the matter started to spill out. "It's not that simple! If I go too far with the sex, doesn't that just tell her that she's a slave to her desires, that they can't be overcome? This is Day 1, people! This is first contact! It's incredibly important; it'll set the tone for the rest of the therapy... won't it? I mean fuck, I'm not exactly a PhD over here!!"

Princess Cadance loudly cleared her throat.

Everypony else looked over at her; she smiled directly at me. "What you should do tonight, Pascal... is cuddle her. Be there for her. That's what she needs right now."

I raised an eyebrow.

Cadance started counting on her fingers. Her elbows pressed into the sides of her gigantic breasts as she did so. "She needs to get used to how her body reacts to you... You need to close the emotional distance between you, since you've been dancing around each other and keeping each other at arms' length... She needs reassurance that you're not afraid and will stick by her, through thick and thin..." She put down her three fingers and smirked. "Cuddle her. Be her lover. And as Luna said, use your power to keep things sane."

I turned my head back towards the door and sighed. "Makes enough sense," I said, even though part of me was still worried this could all go sideways very fast...

Twilight looked towards me, an unsure look on her face. "Pascal... Could I... maybe... Is there some way I could...?"

"Hm?" I asked.

She trailed off and looked away, her face growing red. "Nevermind."

Derpy gave me a quick kiss on the cheek and hugged me with her wing. "You can do it, Pascal. I'm here believing in you the whole way."

My stomach growled.

I hopped off the cot. "Alright, a little bit of dinner. Then... I cuddle a giant Princess."

14 – Celestia – First Session

A flight back to the palace and a trip to the royal kitchens later, I was walking across the bridge to Celestia’s tower with a large blue box cradled in my right arm.

I was struck by the memory of hurriedly running down this path before, chucking off articles of my tailored tuxedo as I went. I felt a similar trepidation to how I felt then, but the contrast of not being in a life-or-death situation was also rather striking. My life was becoming cyclical in a very dramatic way, and I was ready for it to stop any day now.

As I approached the halfway point of the bridge, I looked up and spotted one of the balconies jutting out from the bedroom at the top of the tower. Celestia herself was standing at the railing, looking off into the horizon at the setting sun. She noticed me, though, and I waved up at her with my left arm. I could just barely see her nod her head after a moment. Then she spread her wings and an intense golden energy glowed from her horn.

I turned towards the horizon to watch the sun set and the moon rise. It was fascinating, seeing something that usually took hours happen over the course of minutes. It was spellbinding to watch the light behind the clouds shift from pinkish gold to the pale white of the moon, and to watch that white disk itself climb up just barely over the hills and then slow to a stop. Certainly, it reinforced in my mind how much power and magic the Princesses represented, and to think that it was my volunteered duty to try and provide therapy to one of these beings...

The spiraling stairs were harrowing for my knees as usual, especially since I was carrying a package this time, but I managed and stood before the door to Celestia's chambers once again. Last time I'd been here, Celestia had ambushed me and hit me with a geas in order to interrogate me.

I took the handle of the door. Thankfully no ambush sprang this time.

I walked into Celestia's study – the oh-so-familiar one with the fireplace and the rug and the ring of cushions. The Princess herself wasn't immediately inside, but a few moments later the opposite door to the bedroom opened and she emerged, wearing her usual conservative and slimming white-and-gold dress.

As I closed the outside door behind me, Celestia noticed the box in my arms and asked, "What is that?"

"Oh, this is, uh..." After looking around for a moment, I walked over to the desk near the wall and set the box down atop a pile of important-looking documents. I opened it up to reveal bottles of water, some carrots, some apples, and a few slices of triple chocolate cake. "It's a care package from the kitchens," I said.

Celestia became concerned. "You didn't tell them...?"

"No no no, I just... Luna told them I'd caused you some distress and needed a way to make it up to you. Which, hey. Not exactly a lie."

"Good," she said with a sigh of relief. "The last thing I need is ponies thinking I've come down with something."

I looked at her with a raised eyebrow and closed the box. "You really can't just take a sick break?"

"Alicorns do not get sick very easily," Celestia replied. "We have the natural resistances of all three races and then some. But more importantly, a lot of my job involves getting face-to-face with my subjects, who consider me a comforting, calming presence. If I take a vacation, I inevitably–"

She sniffed and swooned, putting a hand to her forehead beside her horn.

"Oh, goodness," she murmured. "The smell. Already..."

I pursed my lips. I was still standing on the other side of the room, which meant my pheromones must have taken some time to build up in the air and reach her.

Celestia looked increasingly in distress. "Ohhh..."

"Hey hey," I said, taking a couple of quick steps toward her and stopping. "Uh... Let's take this into the bedroom and just sit down, okay?"

"Mmhmm..."

The alicorn stiffly hurried to the gigantic four-poster bed and sat down on the end, wringing her hands. Even sitting down, the tip of her horn still cleared the top of my head while I was standing up. This horse-woman might not have been gigantic as she once was, but she was still freaking tall. As I approached, I found myself contemplating that this was the same bed I'd nearly been fucked to death on. That thought made my heart quicken a bit. Yet it was also where I'd peacefully fallen asleep among three cartoonishly busty beauties. I had mixed feelings about this bed.

I stopped at the door. Celestia had already drawn the curtains to all the windows shut (and probably soundproofed the tower, too). We were utterly alone, but Celestia was as deathly afraid as ever of anyone compromising her secret. Fair enough, I supposed.

Once again, the sheer difficulty of the task ahead briefly overwhelmed me. Sure, I had all this power, but the Princess's trauma had been total and so, so long ago. Twilight hadn't helped things by casting her temporary immunity spell on her last night. The reaction would've given Celestia ample proof to believe that she was completely lost without me. Which might've been true, but this whole effort hinged on the idea that, eventually, she had the strength to stand on her own.

As I considered what to say, how to begin, I could see beads of sweat already running down the sides of Celestia's face as she stared at me, red in the face. Her hands twitched madly as they resisted the desire to slide down her thighs, hike up her pure white gown, and go to town on herself just at the sight of me. Whatever I was going to say, I had to make it fast.

I cleared my throat and straightened my posture, channeling my best Royal Guard. "I am at your disposal tonight," I said as straightforwardly as I could, still nervous in my voice. "This is all about... getting used to each other."

"Getting used to how my body..." Celestia said in a quivering voice, "was engineered to respond to you."

"Exactly," I said with a grim nod. "So you're in control tonight. I will only do what you say."

She let out a disbelieving little laugh. Unlike many other mares I'd seen in my time here, there was no joyful bouncing of the bust when she did so – those magically reduced C-cups were very tightly contained. "Do I look like I'm in control?" she asked me, blushing and sweating.

I had a single moment of doubt, but it passed. "You are."

Princess Celestia swallowed the lump in her throat. Her eyes scanned me up and down rapidly. Her right knee began to bounce as her lower body became restless. Her hands dug a trench in the fabric between her thighs.

"C... C..." She sounded like she had to force out the words one sound at a time. "Could you..." Her whole body twisted to one side like she was trying to pull herself away from me, even though her eyes barely left my body. "Could you maybe, um..." Celestia gulped, then said, "...s-ssssstrip?" She clamped her eyes shut and winced in apprehension.

My eyebrows rose a little bit, but a little smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. This was an interesting and promising first step. And after all, I had promised to do everything she said...

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Obviously, I had no fucking clue how to do a striptease. But I was going to make this a striptease.

I began by rolling up my t-shirt slowly, one inch at a time, exposing my flat stomach. Celestia's magenta eyes opened up wide and zeroed in on the edge of exposed skin as it rose higher and higher. The look of sheer hunger on her face was unmistakable. I suppressed a gleeful chuckle – this was actually kind of fun!

When my shirt reached the bottom of my non-existent pecs, my instincts told me to stop. I had to tease, right? And I still had my socks and shoes on. I tucked my arms against my body to keep the shirt up, then offered a half-hearted apology to Celestia and went to untie my shoes. I turned around and leaned over so that my jean-covered butt was pointed straight at the Princess. I didn't exactly have a spectacular, bouncy-yet-firm pony-ass, but I was getting a free pass for being a human anyway. And the bit of exposed back I was showing off combined with sticking my butt out, I figured, would do the job of ratcheting things up.

I heard a lip-sucking sound and an "Nn!" from behind me before I finished kicking off my shoes and pulling off my socks. This dumb plan was actually working.

I stood up and turned back around, now barefoot and with my shirt still tucked under my elbows. I grabbed the rolled-up edge of my shirt again and, still just basically going with my gut on this, I tugged it from side to side against my torso, pulling it a tiny bit further upward each time, exposing more and more of my unimpressive chest each time. Finally, I figured enough was enough and pulled the whole thing over my head – but at the last second I decided to keep my arms in the sleeves, to let the garment hang between my wrists like a bulky veil.

Next came the belt. I couldn't think of much more than swaying my hips back and forth as I unbuckled and toyed with the button. I did get a bit of a kick from watching Celestia's eyes track my hands. Her facial expression was rather spellbound, not to mention a little bewildered. The rest of her body squirmed with greater and greater need.

The button and zipper were undone, and I just let the motion of my hips shimmy the jeans down until they fell to my feet by gravity alone. Celestia let out an "Eep!" as I was suddenly clad in only my underwear (in which I was a little chubbed up, truth be told) and a rolled-up shirt between my arms. Her hands dug deep between her thighs, not even trying to hide her attempts to rub herself through her gown now. I stepped out from where my jeans fell and strutted around in a small circle, showing off my mostly naked body. Internally, I was cracking up – the role-reversal was so deliciously ironic that I couldn't help but appreciate it. I hoped Celestia would see the humor too, eventually.

Now was the big moment, the big reveal, but I knew I had to draw it out as long as possible. I watched Celestia closely, almost never breaking eye-contact, as my thumbs toyed with the elastic band of my underwear. I pulled them just a hair downwards to stoke her desire, then pulled up when I decided she wasn't far enough along yet. I knew she was so fixated on my human dick, I figured I could turn the reveal into a big "finish" if I worked her up enough. And boy was she getting worked up.

I finally tossed my shirt to the floor with the rest of my clothes and just focused on stripping out of my underwear. I tried everything I could think of to delay the inevitable. I twirled around, showed off my butt (made a failed attempt at twerking, to my utter shame), twisted the band from side to side so that my junk would get squished against my thighs in a way that showed off the bulge in profile...

When I'd decided Celestia was close to the edge – when her horn lit up and her crotch began to glow with a faint golden light – I took slow, measured steps forward towards the bed, tugging down my underwear from the back inch by inch. When I was just a couple of feet away from her, I spread my legs a little bit and pulled them down past my hips entirely, letting them fall to my ankles and expose everything I had.

The reaction was kind of amazing. Celestia's eyes rolled up a bit and her hips bucked. The unmistakable scent of her arousal intensified, and I could hear the moist squishing winks of her pussy past her clothing. She tumbled backwards onto the bed, resting on her elbows while her horn telekinetically fucked herself as she rode out her orgasm.

I took a few steps back to give her some space. She kept going for a few moments more, but eventually managed to reach a cooldown. The spot of her gown where it had been pressed between her legs was stained and sticky. She slowly pushed herself back up and just stared at me, her eyes practically boring into my body, or maybe specifically my cock.

And then she started to laugh. Celestia fell to one side and buried her face into the sheets in embarrassment as the most undignified gigglesnorts erupted from her mouth.

I rolled my eyes good-naturedly and shrugged. The Normal had a way of turning the grotesquely absurd for ponies into the hilariously absurd. That worked in my favor more often than not, so long as I could ride out the assault on my pride. Case in point: Ms. Harshwhinny.

Celestia finally managed to pull herself up from the sheets and looked at me in grinning amazement. "You... You...!" She let out another belt of laughter. I noticed how it made her wavy aurora mane bounce and sway, and actually...

Her multicolored hair had been rather muted so far, and I had been able to see some of the individual strands, which I figured was her default. But as she laughed, her hair coalesced and brightened, shining with bright vigor and energy and even swaying a little higher in the invisible breeze. Was the magic of her hair somewhat tied to her mood? And had I never seen her this happy even once since I got here?

I began to understand. "Not once, huh?" I asked a little cheekily, putting my hands on my bare hips. "The Masters were too proud for that sort of thing?"

Celestia pressed her sticky knuckles against her smiling lips, nodding and inhaling deeply through her nostrils to restore her breath. When at last she could manage a few words, she said, "Never. To be submissive to a slave was a faux pas, and it's not as though we ever had the gall to ask..." She put her hand on her heaving chest and let it ride the rise and fall a few times. "Oh, Pascal..."

I simply stood at attention once more, waiting for my next command and smiling.

The Princess took a few moments to build up her nerve again. While her eyes tried and failed to avoid getting glued to my hanging human dick, she didn't linger as long this time. She cleared her throat and said, "Approach," and stood up slightly off the bed.

As I somewhat carefully walked forward, Celestia's horn glowed into activity. There was a clack as the evening gown she was wearing was, I assume, unclasped in the back, and she proceeded to roll the fabric off her body. She did not rush, nor did she draw it out. As simply as she could, she divested of her dress and levitated it over to the top of the armoire against the far wall. Her tall, slender, pure-white body was now clad only in a lacy set of bra and panties, the latter of which was almost soaked through with secretions, practically sticking to her mons and inner thighs. Her figure was as beautiful as it had looked with the gown on, though I noticed the dress had downplayed one major feature: Her rear and hips were significantly more voluptuous than the rest of her body, though not as absurd as her 'natural' body. Considering this was a figure she'd chosen through magic, this was an interesting detail.

I got within about a foot and a half of her and stood still, watching her. Again, Celestia was a tall mare – we were nearly eye to eye. Close up like this, her brilliant mane of goddess-like hair, shining brighter than ever, gave her an incredibly enchanting quality that made it impossible to look away. Even with her face red and sweaty with lust, her natural beauty and charisma was disarming. No wonder so many ponies adored her. On her best days, getting face time with her must feel like a religious experience.

Then, without giving any warning, Celestia leaned her head forward and kissed me on the lips.

Before I could react, I was trapped. Her hands wrapped around the back of my head and pulled me into her, while her tongue invaded my mouth and basically gave me no choice on whether I would allow her to suck out every drop of human saliva I had – I couldn't push back against that long, strong pony tongue even if I wanted to. This was a mare on a mission, with ancient instincts coming back to the fore after over a millennium.

I was rather frozen in place, so shocked that I couldn't move or even lean in. The only part of me that did respond was my penis – now that the initial nervousness and the awkwardness of the stripping had faded away. Neither of us left our little world until I felt something brush against the Princess's sternum.

Both of us startled, both of us flushed, we pulled away from the sloppy kiss and looked down. It kinda blew my mind that even though we were standing a bit apart due to the awkward leaning required to make the kiss happen, my cock was somehow big enough to cross the distance and boop her in the stomach. Once I got over that, I nervously waited for Celestia's reaction. Even though this was supposed to be her first night of recovery, I found myself worrying that the sight of my erect human cock would cause her willpower to break and we'd experience that fateful Saturday night all over again.

Celestia certainly looked hungry. She swallowed, and her tongue darted out briefly to wet her lips.

To my relief, though, she looked back up at me sheepishly and leaned back a little. Her hands went to her slender thighs and patted them meaningfully. "Would you... please, sit on my lap?"

A reasonable request I was sure we were both relieved to hear. I was a bit confused as to why, and wondered a bit at the logistics of a naked grown man sitting in the lap of a half-naked pony goddess, but I dutifully turned around and let myself be eased back by Celestia's arms until my butt was pressed up against her trim, toned stomach.

Celestia embraced me, completely and utterly. Her muzzle buried into my head of short hair and breathed deeply of it. She arced her chest into my back. Her left arm reached around my chest and roamed over my poorly managed musculature, while her right hand went straight for the prize, grabbing a loose handful of my balls and the base of my shaft. Her gracefully flowing tail even somehow coiled around and brushed against the side of my leg.

I felt like I was being groped by a desperately horny 18-year-old. It was flattering, though a tiny bit unnerving. A part of me jokingly wondered if this was fair turnabout for my clumsy first times with Lyra or Derpy.

The Princess breathed deeply of me again, and I could feel the heat of her body rising against my back. "You can't imagine..." she gasped after coming up for air. "Every time I inhale your scent... it's like a shovelful of coal into a furnace..." In response, I couldn't help but take an investigative sniff myself. From my perspective, the air was filled with female pheromones mixed with... some kind of rich vanilla. Most of it was coming from where I was sitting. Celestia nuzzled into my neck and dragged her long pony tongue across my skin, humming pleasurably at the taste. Her hand gently squeezed and rubbed my balls with strangely precise care.

I was already losing myself a bit in her attentions. After the initial bewilderment of being fondled like some cuddle-doll, it was hard to deny a certain satisfaction in being so desired that simple contact was enough to drive one's partner wild. There was some perspective to be gained here...

I couldn't stay philosophical, though. Her hands, apparently satisfied with my chest and my balls, both maneuvered to either side of my cock and went to town. They glided around the engorged domed head lovingly, spreading drops of precum all down the shaft to slicken it, before jacking me off two-handed with both furious demand and expert care. I couldn't resist a thrust or two into her hands – they felt heavenly, palms and fingers so soft and supple and firm, moving so quickly that I felt them across practically every inch of my length at once.

Celestia noticed me getting closer to the edge and chose to slow down. Her hands settled into a steady up-and-down rhythm that kept my arousal simmering. Her muzzle nudged the side of my head, and she whispered into my ear, "What are you thinking right now?"

I blinked and nervously replied, "This isn't about me..." It was kinda hard to argue in the embrace of a tall woman giving you a two-handed reacharound.

"Distract me... Please..."

Huh? Was she afraid of losing control because she was so close to me? My own concentration was fading, but I fought to blurt something out. "I'm... still stuck on that whole striptease thing, really." The Princess giggled behind me – I could feel the smile in her cheeks as they pressed against my hair. Her hands switched positions, one gently groping my sack while the other petted my cock. I squirmed and spread my legs a little bit, then tried to continue speaking. "It just seems weird – not one human was into submission? Seems like some ponies are built perfectly for someone looking for a dom..."

"Oh." Her hands paused as she thought for a little bit. "I never understood the social strata of the Masters. Every visitor was entitled to a slave they could change however they like, but I was only concerned with my–" She shuddered against me and held back a moan. The scent coming from below me got stronger and muskier. She swallowed and said with audible difficulty, "My Ma-Master. In that upper echelon, where the most godlike magicians mingled, dominance and might were above all...!"

A bit of drool landed on my shoulder.

Celestia pulled back one of her hands to her muzzle, and I could hear a muffled "Fuh–!" nearly make it out of her mouth. She leaned her head on top of mine and groaned.

"I don't think this distraction's working," I murmured. "Sorry."

She removed her hand from her mouth (after taking a few licks off it) and shook her head. "It's not your fault. He... left an impression on me. Or rather an imprint."

I nodded thoughtfully, my curiosity and sympathy winning over my momentarily denied pleasure. "So you were at the top, where a Master stripteasing was unheard of, but it's possible some of the middle-class human tourists were into that?"

"Maybe." With considerably less enthusiasm, Celestia's hands got back to masturbating my junk. "After we ran, we did not dare risk making contact with them again. Not before we banished them."

I exhaled through my nose and smirked. "As usual," I remarked, "the assholes at the top ruin it for everybody else."

That got a playful scoff out of the Princess – a very good sign of her sense of humor. "That's no way to talk about our emancipation!" she admonished me, though there was no bite to her words. "Though yes, maybe I took a few cues from them on what not to do. Not that I haven't made my own mistakes..." Her hands suddenly stopped fondling me and went to rest on my thighs. "Pascal..."

"Yeah?"

"Could you stand for a moment?"

"Sure." I was rock hard and raring to go, but this was her night, not mine. I stood up promptly and... reconsidered turning around to wave my dick in her face, so I stood at a slight angle to look over my shoulder. By now, Celestia looked completely suffused with arousal, her face stuck permanently in a lust-struck stupor due to whatever I'd caused to flood her system. Whatever the hell I was going through with this foreplay, it could only be one-fiftieth of what she was feeling.

"Pascal..." she said again, whispering the words through lips that kept unconsciously forming an 'o' shape. She swallowed and leaned back on the bed. "I want you... to fuck me." If it were even possible, her tomato-red blush got a shade darker at her own vulgarity. She maneuvered backwards and laid down fully on the mattress, her wild multicolored mane spreading out beneath her. "Fuck me like this. In this body. Not the pleasure doll they made."

I carefully climbed up onto a kneeling position on the bed, my dick becoming painfully more erect as the scent of her gushing cunt wafted towards me, even through her underwear. I gulped down the lump in my throat and, as casually as I could muster, said, "You'll... need to undress the rest of the way for that." Smooth as sandpaper, man.

Celestia considered, hesitated, and nearly covered her face in embarrassment. "Could... Could you do it?" I had to marvel at the sound and sight of this regal Princess (and ex-sex slave) acting the part of the blushing virgin.

There was something profoundly fucked up here. Then it hit me: In this version of Equestria, neither Princess had ever really had a childhood, had they? They'd been created as voluptuous adults, first models off the magical factory line of ready-to-please pony sluts. I could imagine they'd reclaimed some of that lost youth in the intervening years between the banishment of the Masters and the founding of Equestria, but still...

The Princess whimpered in desperate need, tugging me back to reality. Why the fuck had I gone on a tangent?!

I nervously crawled beside Celestia's legs, which drew up so that I could more easily access the obstructing clothing. My cock accidentally bumped into the hoof part of her foot, and she gasped and bit down on a knuckle to hold herself back. Trying not to let it bother me, I reached underneath her respectable ass – just beneath the dock of her brightly glowing tail – lightly grabbed the lacy band of her white underwear, then pulled down.

It took some doing, not least because they were completely and utterly soaked through with her thick, sticky femcum. As her pussy lips finally became bare, the increasingly familiar smell of Princess-in-heat washed over me and became inescapable. My eyes glazed over for a second, and I continued pulling the garment down the twin paths of her long, smooth white legs. Celestia stuck her feet up so that I could clear them, and I just tossed them aside onto the floor.

Celestia spread her shaking legs as I moved to kneel between them. Even my first time with Lyra hadn't felt this tense. I looked down at her soaking wet slit, now gushing freely onto the sheets, intimidated by how it was both familiar and new. Following my instincts, I crept down and leaned between her thighs.

"No, no!" she suddenly yelled, and I jerked my head up. Celestia was looking down across her body at me with an embarrassed glare. "It's not cunnilingus that I need," she said tersely, her teeth clenching a couple of times. "My Masters would never strip for us, but they loved making me squeal helplessly at the ends of their tongues once in a while. No, it's your cock that I need! Your human cock!" She levitated a cushion over her head and smashed it into her face in pure shame for having said that.

My chest felt tight in sympathetic discomfort, but I did what was asked and lined myself up for penetration. I rested my cockhead just over her mons, making her groan in anticipation and feeling the pulsating heat that had engorged her nethers. I also noticed one other thing as I drew back...

"You're... small," I muttered in faint surprise. Celestia didn't have the characteristically fat and winking pussy lips of practically every other pony female I'd fucked. Her lower lips were thin and not even very long. She had given herself a relatively compact vagina.

"Nnngh, so it won't bother me overmuch during the day," Princess Celestia grumbled, mashing two cushions against the sides of her head. "It– It'll stretch. Just... please...!"

I took a deep breath and held it as I pressed my head against her tight folds. There was a great initial resistance, not helped by the way Celestia's hips lurched at the barest feeling of me after all this buildup. Moments later, her labial petals winked open (I guess she hadn't completely changed their behavior) and I took the opportunity to thrust the head of my cock inside.

The head was all I got in, because her snatch clamped down incredibly tight and Celestia started screaming bloody murder into a pillow. Her bare, toned stomach convulsed and rippled as waves of uncontrollable pleasure ripped through her system. Her legs wrapped around the small of my back and squeezed insistently; her heels dug into me to push me forward.

I pushed in a little further, but Celestia's cunt was the tightest hole I'd ever imagined, let alone experienced. And every millimeter I dragged across her inner walls produced a fresh scream of ecstasy from her throat. But there was also copious lubrication to go along with the incredible friction, and the way her passage was already trying to milk me was profoundly hot. As much as I wanted to feel guilty for doing so little to get so much reaction... Celestia's tightened pussy was exquisite.

And it seemed like every few seconds her euphoric screams would begin anew (muffled by whatever cushion wasn't drool-soaked by then), her hips would buck against me, and her cunt's milking motions would pause for just a moment to contract really hard. Was she cumming that often? Was that even possible?

I was finding it impossible to last, let alone concentrate. The smell, the sight, the sound, and the impossible fusion of slickness and tightness... I rallied whatever willpower I had left, grabbed her hips, and started thrusting with abandon.

Celestia's howling cut off in her throat, her pleasure becoming too much to vocalize. Her legs unwrapped from around my back and just stuck out on either side, stretching out and stiffening. Her hands dug into the bedsheets and tugged like she was trying to tear out chunks of the fabric.

I looked up at her face. Her eyes had rolled up and her tongue had literally lolled out the side of her mouth. She couldn't have had more of an 'ahegao' face if she'd tried.

My own eyes glazed over and I felt myself start pulsing slowly into her, my sexual enhancements making every shot long and voluminous. On instinct, her pussy started milking me in perfect sync with my orgasm, drawing out the feeling and making it even more intense. After a few shots, though, I resumed thrusting into her – I knew well by now that I would be staying hard for a while longer, and I didn't think her alicorn libido was anywhere near satisfied yet.

I went at her as hard as I could, bouncing her body against the bed and even making the giant mattress rock a little bit. I worried slightly about bruising her, or overstimulating her, or something... but those worries didn't last long.

Celestia managed to find her voice again, and it came out as a sort of rising, staccato laughter. Then, all of a sudden and while we were still joined, she pushed up off the bed with her wings, pulled her legs in to steady herself, grabbed my shoulders, and flipped me back so that she was on top and my head was lying at the very edge of the gigantic four-poster. After making sure I wasn't sitting back on my own legs, she pulled up to her full height and started pumping her hips up and down on my length. She reached back behind her and unhooked her C-cup bra, then tossed it carelessly onto my face. It smelled of sweat and faintly like some kind of perfume.

The alicorn slowly transformed into a madwoman, perched on top of me and slamming her hips into me as fast as she could, grunting and shouting, "Mm, YES! Rrm, YES!! Nngh, YES!!!" And every YES seemed to signal another mini (or not so miniature) orgasm.

All I had to do – all I could do – was lie there and take it until my cock regained enough sensation to realize 'Yes, this is fucking erotic as hell' and fire another eruption of cum into her hungry, gulping womb.

And Celestia kept going.

She got another four orgasms out of me.

Each cycle took more time than the last.

After a while, I just lost track of everything that was going on. My world was nothing but pounding and my cock being squeezed by a wet, pulsating vice. I barely even noticed when she slowed down and pulled off of me – I couldn't even move, I was so fried.

I only really regained motor control when a golden-glowing water bottle floated over my head. I blinked and refocused my crossed eyes, and fought to lift my head off the bed to look at the Princess.

Celestia was sitting on the other side, near the pillows. A small mountain of snarled, tangled sheets lay between us. The large blue 'care package' box sat beside her, opened. She had levitated a slice of chocolate cake out of the box and was currently taking tired, dainty bites out of it as it floated in midair. She noticed my return to consciousness and waved the bottle in front of me a few times.

I took the bottle out of the air and nearly dunked the contents over my head, but eventually I managed to pull myself up and take a long draw from it, sating my desert-dry throat. Now that I was sitting up, I could see past the sheets and between Celestia's legs – I did not see any evidence of my efforts to creampie her, though I had a sneaking suspicion that she might've scooped any excess out of her and swallowed it already. Nonetheless, her mound was still pink with arousal and dripping like a leaky faucet. She didn't look anywhere near finished.

"W... Why'd you stop?" I asked in my very raspy voice.

Celestia swallowed the bit of cake in her mouth and gave me a somewhat saddened look. "Because you were fading," she said. "Just like last time."

I scoffed and started to giggle. Oh, of course! That thing I was scared would happen! Getting fucked so far into oblivion that I nearly passed out/risked a heart attack! In hindsight... what a fucking problem to have, huh? I hummed my laughter as I took another sip of water.

"You don't seem that bothered," Celestia noted, raising an eyebrow at me.

I put the cap back on the bottle and laid back down. My sore muscles were grateful to return to rest. Staring up at the canopy of the bed, I shrugged and said, "I kinda figured I wouldn't have enough stamina at first. I guess I should thank you for taking mercy on my shitty mortal body, ha!"

Celestia's pout deepened, but then she gave me a curious look. "When I left earlier, there were several unicorns nearby that could have easily enhanced you. Why didn't you?"

"Why didn't you while you had me right where you wanted me?" I countered, still not bothering to get back up.

"I... I wasn't sure how you'd feel about it."

I tossed up my hands. "Yeah, same. It's like – sure I'd love to be humongous, but the mind wouldn't match, you know? I could take a spell or a potion and become super muscular, but without the right diet and exercise habits, I'd just let it go to waste and have to refresh it every couple of months. Or if I gave myself three yard-long dicks that never went down–"

Celestia's legs flinched at that, even as her muzzle contorted into a shocked smile.

"–would I necessarily have the mental fortitude and sexual skill to use them right? I guess I wouldn't know if I tried, but..." I swished the water bottle around. "I dunno. I'd like to try my best with this body right now, and if I'm honest... merely being a human porn star and not as exaggerated as all the other ponies is kind of my only remaining asset, and I'd like to hold onto that for a little while longer."

"In other words: Too much too soon," Celestia said.

I nodded, and I tilted my head down a little bit and looked at my drying, softening penis. "Though it might be time to add a few more inches..."

The Princess looked aside. "Maybe it's for the best for me too. If you had a human cock as huge as... as theirs..."

I remembered what Hoity Toity said about the subtle psychological effects of the shape of my penis. Did that scale up for everypony with size? "...it'd affect you even more," I finished for her. "Not to mention with how tight you are right now."

Some of that deep red blush was returning to her face. She took another big bite of cake and swallowed it almost too quickly. "I... miscalculated. I didn't consider that you'd make me feel... so much more full. And hit every sensitive spot at once..."

"Well, we learned things," I decided. "And that's exactly what we were trying to do."

Celestia smiled, then yawned. She floated the last crumbs of the cake back into the blue box and moved the box onto an end table. "It's been a long day," she noted. "For both of us."

"You can say that again..." A few moments after I said that, my whole body was wrapped in a yellow glow and I was lifted off the bed. "Wo-oo-oah! What the...?"

"There's one last thing I want to do tonight," Celestia said in a mysterious, playful tone. As I floated a few feet off the bed towards the wall, she moved herself over where I'd been laying and knelt towards me. "Partly in thanks, partly to... decompress."

While she kept me floating ahead and above her, her horn glowed extra-brightly and cast some kind of beam on her own body. Before my eyes (and for the very first time), I watched her whole body begin to grow, accompanied by a faint magical hum.

Most noticeably at first were her breasts. They surged forward with reckless abandon, covering square inch after square inch of her torso and, soon enough, the surface of the bed beneath me. Soon enough I couldn't even see their progress save for the way they rose higher and plumper on Celestia's chest – they had grown underneath my floating body. But I could start to see her buttcheeks growing so big behind her, stretching out those sun-shaped cutie marks, that you could use just one as a beanbag chair. Her kneeling stance changed as her hips widened to beyond breeder, beyond fertility goddess proportions, and no doubt her thighs thickened beneath those breasts, not to mention the way her vulva must've been plumping up. Even her lips gained greater mass, becoming eye-catching white cockpillows.

The growth slowed to a stop. Her ocean of white bosom had so much mass that it covered easily 75% of the bed, squished against the back wall and the bedposts. I was still floating, but I was gently lowered by Celestia until I was deposited right on top of her firm, bulging cleavage. I found myself settled in the crevasse of her ginormous breasts like they were some kind of makeshift hammock, with my feet dangling past Celestia's shoulders.

I was bewildered at what was going on, but Celestia just smiled and reached over her breasts to grab my legs and adjust me (and my returning erection) closer to her head. She actually grinned a little bit, knowing without a doubt how much I had to be enjoying this situation.

And I was enjoying this, once I got over the surprise. Celestia's full-sized breasts were squishy and soft and supple but supported me like thick and densely packed foam. I could hear the sloshing of her milk traveling through her breasts whenever I moved. And if I leaned my head back, I could briefly use just the slightest fraction of her yards-long cleavage like a pair of oversized earmuffs, or even just shove my head in backwards before pulling up for air. It may have been tragic that Celestia's natural body was a sexual playground, but it was still one hell of a playground.

Which re-raised the question of why she was doing this, why she'd taken the initiative on this. "But why?" I simply asked once I had finally suppressed my giddiness.

"Like I said... a reward," she replied, enunciating carefully to avoid lisping with her enlarged lips. Her eyes focused on my cock less than an inch in front of her muzzle, and she quietly added, "For you and for me."

"So... you're happy with how this went?" I followed up, a little confused.

Celestia didn't answer at first. She leaned forward, took my cock into her mouth, and swallowed it down nearly to the base. She didn't do anything fancy with it; she merely sucked it a few times. She pulled back, releasing my cock with a slurping pop, looked back at me, then chuckled. "It's mostly for that striptease. I still can't believe you took it that far."

"Well, neither can I," I admitted, enjoying the hell out of this casual blowjob setup. Idly, I ran my hands over the acres of white titflesh on either side of me.

The Princess's eyes fluttered briefly, but she regained her composure. "Every time it became too much tonight, or I started to fall into despair..." She leaned down and licked around the base of my cock, cleaning off some of the residue of our previous fucking. She rested my shaft against her cheek and said, "All I had to do was remember that image, the sight of you doing that for me, and my worries seemed to fade away."

My head was leaned back from the attention, but I smiled proudly and nodded a few times. "So it was a good icebreaker, is what you're saying."

"More than that," Celestia insisted with growing earnestness. "You showed me what you were willing to do for my sake. You showed me that I was... that I was worth it." The growing blush on her face this time didn't seem to be coming from arousal this time, but from something more like bashful admiration. "I'm not exaggerating when I say: I might treasure that memory for the rest of my life."

I took on a thoughtful expression. Strangely enough, this seemed to be a matter of self-esteem. Despite being the much-beloved Princess of Equestria on the polite side of her psyche, the repressed sexual side was just as unsure of herself as I was. And why wouldn't it be that bad? The Masters had taught her – quite thoroughly – that she was worth nothing in bed except as a fucktoy. Since the human Masters defined her entire sexuality (save for the occasional desperate affair with a secret stallion), nothing in the last 1300 years had ever really challenged that. And my arrival had psychologically kicked her back to those early days anyway. It wasn't just Celestia the Princess I had to rehabilitate; it was also Celestia from 1300 years ago, the newly freed slave. It seemed likely that a developmental disorder was in play... though it was way too early to be making diagnoses.

"Well, Celestia," I said slowly, "coming from an immortal, that's one hell of a compliment. Thank you. Do you think this therapy's showing promise, then?"

Her face went neutral for a little while as she thought about it, nearly for as long as I just had. Though I wasn't exactly in a position to read her thoughts, but only guess at them. At least my aura of Acceptance helped encourage her to be honest. Finally, she said, "I don't feel 'cured' yet. I don't know if we've taken a step towards a breakthrough. But at the very least..." She tilted her head around my dick and smiled at me. "At the very least, I feel better. And I don't think it's any more complicated than that. You've made me feel simply better tonight."

A warm feeling sprouted in my heart. "I'll count that as a victory," I replied. Looking around at my bed of boobs, I said, "So what do you want to do the rest of the night?"

Celestia nuzzled my cock against her cheek. "Just this for now. I'll let you know if I think of something else." She lifted her head up and took my dick into her mouth again. Her shoulders slumped a little as she took me to the base. I had to wonder if there was a part of her that found sucking cock relaxing, and whether this was her indulging that part.

A little nervous but hardly complaining, I said, "Alright then," and leaned back into my boob-hammock, letting the soft suction of her mouth lull me into relaxation and an eventual slow-burning orgasm.

I startled awake a couple of hours later. The lights had been dimmed, but I was still laying on Celestia's cleavage and... in fact, my cock was still wrapped up within her pony lips. Celestia's eyes were closed and her breathing through her nostrils was steady, but her mouth still occasionally sucked on me.

In her sleep. Like a pacifier.

I wasn't sure whether to laugh because it was absurd or 'aww' because it was kind of adorable. I settled for petting her dimly glowing mane of pastel-colored hair before settling back into my 'bed' for the night.

Author's Note

hey folks it looks like i'm planning on starving to death all august, if you want any chance of another chapter being written before the summer's out, consider sending me food money
https://www.paypal.me/AuNat
sorry it had to come to this, the shameful author's-note money-plug

15 – Luna – Late to Bed

When I next awoke, there was (to my mild disappointment) no mouth around my cock. In fact, not only was I no longer resting in a smooth hammock of oversized tits, I was alone in Celestia's bed with the sheets pulled up over my naked body. Feeling around with my arms a bit revealed a vacancy next to me that had to be recent.

I rolled onto my side and looked to the windows to see how much of the day I'd already missed. Turned out that the light was still reddish-orange, and a long shadow of a certain tall winged unicorn was being cast from the balcony. Maybe it had been the faint sound of Celestia's sunny magic that had started my process of waking. Part of me wished I'd woken up on my own a little sooner – this was the second time in a week I'd missed the chance to watch the raising of the sun live.

After the ceremony was complete, Celestia came back into the bedroom and, with a bit of a start, noticed I was awake. Her head quickly tilted aside, trying not to look either grumpy or embarrassed.

I got the vibe that she wasn't happy with me, but I wasn't sure how to address it. "G'mornin'," I slurred from the bed.

Her expression softened and she fixed me with a strangely automatic-looking smile. "Good morning to you, Pascal," she said in that practiced, warm, motherly voice of hers.

Force of habit, maybe? Either way, I wasn't totally buying it. "Uh, something wrong?" I asked carefully.

Now a proper frown revealed itself. "I– Nngh." Her hand rose to her temple as if to hide herself, and her eyes suddenly found the wardrobe very fascinating. "I can't believe I fell asleep with your..."

"Ah." A moment hanged between us. "I thought it was kind of adorable."

Celestia groaned and wiped her face, growing increasingly nervous. "It just... came so naturally. And it was so relaxing, I..." She shook her head. "I don't like that. I don't like the idea of my body being wired to find your penis so... so singularly soothing."

I sat up from my lazy sideways position and tapped the mattress with my fingers thoughtfully. "Dependence versus independence..." I muttered.

"Exactly," Celestia said with a few worried nods.

I hummed and put my hand to my chin. This bounce back from last night was a little annoying, but not all that surprising. There was a bit of a conundrum here. I was both a source of torture and comfort to her. Every aspect of me aroused her to superhuman levels, even if I was ultimately the only one who could satisfy her cravings (at least partially). There was relief, but there would always be some frustration afterwards.

And let's face it, I was not exactly her ideal lover.

Celestia seemed to sense some aspect of my dissatisfaction and said hastily, "I'm not upset with you, to be clear. And I know that you don't think any less of me for it. It's just... hard to imagine what all of my citizens would think of it."

I sighed in sympathy. "Fair enough." My hand clapped against my sheet-covered thigh. "Still! I think we made progress, didn't we?"

After a moment, Celestia closed her eyes and smiled – not entirely a genuine smile, but not entirely forced either. A quiet "Mmhmm," was all she said.

Our conversation was cut short by the sound of flapping wings from the balcony. I saw another shadow stretch across the floor, and when the wings folded back it was almost a perfect match for the first one. Celestia turned to see her sister step into the room, looking grumpy and tired. "Um... Long night, Luna?"

"Yeah-mm," Luna grumbled, her head swiveling towards me. I was briefly enchanted by the way the light of the rising sun played against the starry night of Luna's ever-flowing mane, but when I refocused I noticed that the younger goddess had faint wrinkles under her big cyan eyes. Quickly and bluntly, she looked back at Celestia and asked, "Are you done with him?"

Naturally, the elder Princess was taken aback. "Buh... what...?"

I just raised an eyebrow and chuckled nervously at Luna's question. It was getting increasingly common to feel like I was being passed around like a hunk of meat. I wasn't objecting, mind, since I was getting to fuck the Princesses, but it was still bewildering and bemusing.

Luna turned and got right in her sister's face. "I have been patient. I waited until he was cured. I waited until you got your first dibs. I didn't even cheat by doing it in his dreams. But you are not the only former sex slave bearing the weight of a nation on her shoulders while craving a hot load from our only human ally in thirteen-hundred years." She took a deep breath and huffed out her built-up frustration. "Simply put: I want my turn."

Celestia was utterly confused. "I... Well... There's nothing stopping you?" she said searchingly. She clearly didn't understand where the anger was coming from. To be fair, neither did I.

Luna wiped at her brow, weary from whatever the night's frustrations had been. "I feared you might keep him throughout the day or something like that."

At that, Celestia looked at me with some consideration. The way she lingered meant that the idea had definitely crossed her mind. But she shook her head. "It would be too risky. And part of this therapy means learning to deal with the... withdrawal as much as the attraction." It looked excruciating for Celestia to have to say that out loud.

"Good," Luna said forcefully. She turned to me. "Pascal, would you object to a 'roll in the hay' as I turn in to sleep?"

My eyes shot wide open, and I involuntarily grinned. "Fuckin– Do I look like the kind of guy who would object?"

"No, just wishy-washy," Luna responded without missing a beat. "Come."

I was encased in an aura of sparkling blue magic and lifted up from the covers. I was still naked, and Celestia averted her eyes as my junk came into view. I noticed my strewn-about clothes being levitated along with me as Luna carried me toward the balcony behind her. The blue alicorn spread her wings to take off.

"Luna...!" Celestia said with a bit of panic. "We can't have anypony see him leaving my tower nude!"

"We shall be swift!"

Luna's magic gripped me more tightly all over, as if to brace me. Like a shot out of a cannon, we took to the air, gaining dozens of yards of altitude within seconds. Somehow, Luna's magic spared me most of the intense vertigo and g-forces, though at some point I had flipped upside down and gained a pretty view of the entire castle from above.

Just as soon as we took off, Luna landed on another tower balcony. The door was shoved open and I was tossed inside before I could even get my bearings. My clothes were tossed in multiple directions, and I landed haphazardly on another giant royal bed. This one was much more stylized, with a frame in the shape of a crescent moon and bearing star-patterned sheets and curtains. I only got a brief look around the bedroom; there was not much furniture and the thick curtains around every window rendered the entire room devoid of sunlight. Though some kind of mysterious sparkling luminescence in the walls gave off a bit of a glow even while the nearby lanterns were off, giving the room an even greater star-touched feel.

I was lucky to even note that much detail before I was pounced upon. Luna dove onto the bed in front of me, landing so that she was laid on her stomach between my legs. Her own legs stuck out on either side of the lower curl of the crescent-moon bed frame. As her eyes fixated on my nude crotch, her long horn sparkled with power – power that was currently being used to invigorate my morning wood.

"So, you're uh..." I said as I was getting stroked off in front of Luna's face, "a bit more confident in your sexu–"

A field of magic pinched my lips shut.

"No psychoanalysis," Luna insisted firmly, looking up at me as my cock rested against her nose. "No heartfelt talks. I have had enough of those tonight." She yawned; my dick threatened to pop into her mouth there and then. She then pouted up at me and said, "I'm tired. Can we please just fuck?"

She released her magical grip on my mouth. I rolled my eyes a bit, but shrugged. "How can I say no to that face?" I teased. "Whatcha looking for tonight– er, this morning?"

"Whatever–" Sniff. "–animalistic desire emerges from my loins," Luna said hungrily, her eyes unfocusing as she seemed to relish the weight of my cock on her face. "Ahhh... For the moment, some satisfaction for the burning itch in my throat..."

She pulled back and let my head land in the fold of her long, broad pony tongue. That tongue curled beneath the crown and quite literally pulled me inside her mouth, her lips forming a tight seal around my girth. Luna then settled into a gentle, rhythmic sucking, making little effort to hurry or rush, mostly massaging the shaft with her incredibly soft lips. She didn't show any of the desperation Celestia had. In a bizarrely hot way, Luna was a picture of confident regality even in her oral attentions.

It was a struggle not to lose my mind to the sheer comfort of it all, but a sparkle of magic and some discrete motions caught my senses. As Luna shifted onto her elbows, I realized she was taking off her dress with magic – peeling off the form-fitting midnight gown from her body with magic while she blew me. She slipped it down her legs, showing her tight bum beneath her waving starry tail. The dress was attached to a hanger and carried off to a nearby closet to be immediately forgotten. The silver shoes and gloves, the black necklace and crown – all followed suit. Without skipping a beat, Luna was now nude before me on her royal bed.

The corners of her mouth smirked; I must have been slack-jawed at her magical stripping display. Luna drew her head back and smacked her lips off my cock. She took a second to suck off the excess saliva she'd left there. "I can still taste a bit of her on you," she noted with a continued smile. "She must have soaked you through when you fucked her."

Even though Luna had forbidden it for this morning, I was dying to ask some questions now.

Of course, anyone would look bewildered at a woman delighting in the residual taste of her sister, and Luna seemed to relish my reaction. She licked my cock again and nuzzled it against her supernaturally soft cheek. It poked cutely against her skin, drooling pre. "I will admit," she said, "this is giving me a very nostalgic feeling." Luna closed her eyes and lowered her head to the sheets, burying her nose against my resting balls. "Mmmm," her muffled voice continued, "when all we had to worry about was worship and following the Masters' commands..." She very slowly dragged her tongue across my ballsack and all the way back up to my tip, which she suckled for a while, her eyes remaining locked on mine in a performative way. Then she pulled back again and said, "A gilded existence, to be sure... but we had some happiness there. It would be unhealthy to deny that."

I raised an eyebrow. Now she was the one waxing philosophical?

"You're right," she responded to my unspoken question. "Enough talk." Her horn lit up and created an aura around the base of my shaft, squeezing and sliding up and down the lower six inches of my length. "It's time for that load I've been thirsting for. You've certainly taken enough time."

"Nearly blacked out last night," I groaned out as explanation as she magically stroked me off.

Luna chortled aloud at that. "She certainly was a ravenous one, even before their cruel change upon her." She pouted her lips and kissed the underside of my cock a couple of times, lifting it up with her hand so she could kiss her way down to the base and give a few loving, pleading sucks to my balls.

That bit of worship pushed me across the point of no return. My cock pulsed in readiness, and Luna leapt to attention with glee, burying my entire length in her face – and only barely tickling the back of her throat. 12 inches was nothing to a 9-foot alicorn's cock-hungry mouth.

Like just about every time since my encounter with Photo Finish, the pressure built up to almost unbearable, volcanic levels before explosively releasing, firing massive spurts in great big spasms. Luna's velvety mouth kept me carefully contained as my cock threatened to thrash about. Gush after gush of semen splashed against, presumably, the back of her throat, but she gulped every shot down with practiced ease. Her eyes closed, and the blush across her dark blue cheeks deepened, as my hot cum settled into her stomach. She hummed in satisfaction, which vibrated my cock and coaxed at least one more spurt out of me.

As my orgasm drew to a close, Luna pulled away just enough so that my last drops could settle on her tongue. She seemed to smile and savor the taste. She swallowed, but her lips and tongue continued to squeeze and massage the sensitive areas beneath the crown, which briefly revived my pleasure and brought on a few fresh spasms even after I thought I was done. The sensation was so prolonged that random specks of color began to appear at the center of my vision.

Finally, mercifully, Luna slipped her mouth off my cock and gently cleaned it with laps of her tongue. She swallowed again for good measure, then said, "Even without the 'active ingredient'... It is still as delicious as I remember. Thank you for being so giving, Pascal." She gave me a slightly evil smirk, knowing full well that this was hardly charity on my part.

I was still a little out of sorts, but I was fairly confident this wasn't over yet. "Thank goodness for parallel evolution," I muttered dryly, wiping sweat off my brow. "What does Her Highness's libido want next?"

Luna yawned greatly – the dim light had obscured and made me forget how tired she was. As her maw stretched open, I could see small specks of white still inside on her back gums. The yawn passed, and she smacked her lips and stared off into space in thought.

If she wants to stare off into space, my inner monologue snarked, she doesn't need to look much farther than her own head. I couldn't believe how much I was my own mood-ruiner.

"I think I know what will suffice," Princess Luna said, thankfully bringing me back out of my own head.

Her horn lit up, and I was once again levitated up off the comfort of the royal pillows and bedsheets. Luna took my place at the head of the bed, and I was dumped between her legs this time. For a moment I thought she wanted me to return the favor, but I was frozen in place by the sight of her growing.

Luna's hips, thighs, and tits expanded back up to the size I had first seen in the dream world. A shadow of her sister's sex-doll form, but still an order of magnitude greater than even Fluttershy's endowments. Her big blue mammaries overflowed her lap and nearly overtook her knees. The memory of being able to curl up in her cleavage came back to me like a bolt of lightning, and my mouth watered. Her big dark blue nipples magnetized me, but I fought to stay still until she told me what she wanted to do.

She spread her legs – and her tits – and reached under one massive boob to play with her own now puffed-up pussy. The lips winked open on their own, revealing both the pink pearl of her clit and the gooey lubrication that had already built up inside. Luna stuck just the tip of her middle finger inside and gently stirred it around, grinning at me as I became entranced. "I would have you take me like this," she said smugly. "Gently, and with your best breast massage. I think I would sleep soundly after such treatment."

Hallelujah briefly played in my head. Then, almost immediately after, I had worrisome, irrational thoughts about how the hell my out-of-shape arms would apply TLC to such a massive 'canvas,' and what the risks might be of somehow pissing Luna off with a lackluster performance.

I silenced both sides. I had a fuckin' job to do.

Almost robotically, I crawled my way toward the thick giantess, though I had to pause a moment to figure out the positioning. Luna's boobs were truly massive in her reclining position, so much so that I'd need to lift or push them out of the way so that my hips could meet Luna's as I fucked her without bumping into the bottoms of her titanic breasts. Such was the absurdity of my life – boobs too big for seated intercourse.

There was only one solution to this bit of jiggly calculus. I reached under both breasts and hefted them up with all my might, scooping them up against my chest as I moved my achingly stiff prick into range. Luna's breasts were of course magically much lighter than they looked, but there was enough mass to them that manipulating them at least felt a bit like a Herculean feat.

I took her right breast, lifted the cup-sized nipple up to my mouth, and wrapped my lips around it as best I could. Luna sharply gasped and moaned as I suckled and pressed my whole upper body into the big blue tit, squishing it between our bodies. My left hand massaged the boob in front of me, my right hand gently massaged the other one in wide circles, and somehow in all this I managed to line up my cock and gently insert it into Luna's waiting tunnel of love, where the internal muscles instantly began to stroke and milk my length.

A dangerous thought occurred to me, and I stopped for a moment. I let the giant nipple out of my mouth and looked past the pancaked boob at Luna's face. "Wait. You don't lactate rainbow ambrosia milk, do you?" I asked. Even at the thought of my experience with the liquid ecstasy Celestia had dosed me with on our fateful first night, my cock throbbed with painful ardor.

"Huh?" Luna mumbled, her brow furrowing at the interruption. When she finally registered my question, though, her eyes widened and she frowned. "I... am not giving milk now..." she muttered slowly, "but were you to re-induce it, I imagine that, yes, it would still be ambrosia. It's been so long that I had nearly forgotten..." She looked depressed for a moment, but fought her way out of it and returned to a businesswoman-like expression. "No matter. Continue, please."

I did, making a note not to churn Luna's breasts too much. Back at that topless party last Friday, I'd managed to induce lactation in Fluttershy within minutes of constant rough breast play (though I could hardly remember what number of minutes; it had all been a hazy, lusty blur). I would have to avoid that here with Luna.

Not that I was disappointed in losing one of my fetishes. I was still fucking the Princess of the Night while pressing every available inch of my body up against her giant fucking titties. I was in a starry nighttime heaven as far as I was concerned.

Her breasts really were utterly fantastic – insert 'udderly' joke here. Awful and poorly timed brain-puns aside, the mild anti-friction and anti-gravity properties of the pony breast really made a difference here, letting me slide my chest all over their wobbly weight, licking with abandon, without sticking or rubbing us raw. Keeping up the steady pumping motion of my hips was almost an afterthought, one that I had to concentrate hard upon occasionally so I didn't forget in all the breast worship.

Luna seemed to be enjoying it, to my delight, cooing and gasping at every opportunity. "Ah... Oooh... Yes..." she moaned. "Nice human... Nice human...!"

I was a little miffed/intrigued at the implied pet-play going on there, but thankfully the light of the room (and the mass of her right boob) hid the questioning motion of my eyebrows. The feeling passed a moment later.

Luna's cunt squeezed like a vise around my length, and a spurt of femcum escaped the seal around my cock and splashed against my balls. Luna out a quivering moan and reclined her head back as her whole body shook and bucked from the pleasure coursing through her. When the moment passed and the grip around my cock loosened, Luna groaned out, "More, more, don't stop...!"

I had no intention of stopping.

I switched breasts, letting her right boob drift a bit to the side and pulling her left nipple up to my face for a good sucking. Such was their size that I could only give my full attention to one at a time. But my full attention I did give again, making out with her other turgid blue-black nipple and rubbing my chest and hands all over the surrounding silky skin, once in a while paying special attention to her puffed-out areola. All the while still remembering to fuck her in a machine-like but not forceful fashion.

Luna's body shifted as she stretched out, yawning, sinking further into the comfort of her bed even as I lavished attention upon her true form. She grinned faintly and mumbled, "Do not mistake that for boredom... you are doing a most adequate job. I am just... relaxing..."

As always, part of me took that the wrong way as a blow to my male pride. It would be far more fulfilling to leave her breathless, exhausted, and utterly satisfied in a sweaty heap. But my rational mind pointed out that, one, my body just wasn't built to truly satiate the repressed lust of the alicorns; two, if I was built that way, it would only exacerbate the human-worship problem; and three... that wasn't what the lady ordered. She'd asked for a few quickies before bed. A perfectly reasonable request.

Chuckling, Luna reached over and tousled my short hair as I pressed my face into her left breast. "This is more like it..." she rasped out sultrily. Her body slid further and further down, until she was almost completely on her back and I was on top of her. Her breasts shifted from a hanging rest to protruding like mountains up off her chest, taking their weight off me and making it easier to cover their expanses with kisses and rubs. It made the actual intercourse a little more interesting, though – I had to lift her legs to get into a better position to piston her. I ended up fucking her a little faster, as my cooldown was over and I was racing to a big finish again.

Luna's hands reached back and gripped the pillows around her head, as if bracing herself. Her teeth bit her bottom lip, and her eyes rolled up just a little bit into her head. Half her face had a reddish-purple tint, and there was a light sheen of sweat all over her body (and plenty more sweat coming off mine).

A moment later, Luna came again, her cunt squeezing me tightly at a moment I was balls-deep inside her. "Pascaaaaaalllll..." she moaned out. The combination of the tightness and her sexy fucking deep voice calling out my name in orgasm... it triggered my own release quite quickly. After a moment of high-pressure buildup, I painted her insides with my seed over and over and over again, while her pussy squeezed and pulled in exact unison to draw my cum as deeply into her body as possible, almost gulping at it like a second mouth.

Her huge nipple softened slightly in my mouth. Her whole body went slack at once as the tension of cumming left her. Luna took a deep breath and let out a happy sigh, then tapped my shoulder with her hand. "That is enough," she said sleepily, her eyes beginning to close. "I am sufficiently tired. Would that I could keep you all morning..." She yawned again, then magically lifted me from the bed (and out of her pussy) and deposited me next to the bed. She pulled the blankets over her gigantic oversexed form, in no way disguising her enormous figure. "...but I'm sure you have other plans."

I stood there somewhat awkwardly, looking down at my dripping penis, then around to figure out where my clothes landed, then back at Luna. "Glad I could help," I said, a bit nonplussed at this sudden stop.

"The pleasure," Luna said with a giggle as she turned over (lifting one huge tit over so she could sleep on her side, forming a giant wall of two enormous boobs), "was all mine..."

Sure was, I refrained from saying aloud. I was still kind of raring to go here, if my stubborn erection was anything to go by. I'd just had a good night's sleep. I still had a whole day ahead of me. What was I supposed to do now?

Luna's breathing changed sooner than I expected, and it was clear she was already off to her own dreamland.

At least the smile on her face was kind of cute. Guess I'd done a good job.

I sighed and looked down at my cock again. There was a mix of our cum soaking the whole length. I carefully took my finger and wiped across a part of my crotch that only had Luna's juices staining it, then brought it up to my mouth.

Luna's taste was kinda fruity... but I couldn't place the flavor. It was delectable, though. I could certainly say that. Dammit, should've asked to do a 69 while she was blowing me. That thought brought on a moment of introspection – I was getting really into cunnilingus these days. Last week I was nervous as hell about the idea, but now I was disappointed at missed opportunities to taste goddesses? Okay, maybe that was self-explanatory.

It was actually a bit chilly in Luna's bedroom, I was beginning to notice. I gathered up my clothes and searched for Luna's bathroom and shower so I could clean up. It was Derpy's last emergency day off from work, and the first day that I could have all kinds of sex with her without addicting her. I had no plans yet, other than a goal to make it a magical experience. Somehow.

16 – Moondancer – Catching Up

I made the mistake of using Luna's mane and tail shampoo.

Turns out one perk of being the Princess of the Sun or Moon was a personalized set of shampoos and conditioners, specially made to deal with the challenges of that magically charged, eternally flowing hair. I did not know this. And Luna's dark, night-themed bathroom decor made it a little tricky to see labels...

Long story short, even after several extra rinses, I left her chambers with my short brown hair sparkling.

Not brightly, mind. I wasn't going to dazzle anybody or blind someone with a laser lightshow or show off the Big Dipper in my hair. No, just every few seconds a point on my head would gleam like a star in the night sky. And I was annoyed because it made me look like I had the most fabulous dandruff problem.

I must have been quite a sight, descending the stairs of her tower in nothing but my shoes and one of Luna's towels wrapped around my waist, my other clothes held in a bundle under my arm. The early-morning guards assigned to the bridge connecting the tower to the rest of the castle certainly seemed surprised. The two armored stallions didn't move from their posts, but their eyes did bounce between naked me and the tower and back to me, attempting to draw the obvious connection.

I thought about saying something with my power to cover up the fact that I'd just had a quickie with their lunar goddess, but I was still a little antsy and grumpy and so I decided to leave them be. Besides, if they were professionals, they wouldn't spread rumors about who was meeting the Princesses at whatever hours.

My plan at that moment was to march back to my room, figure out how to dress myself (since right now I only had the one set of street clothes and the suit from Fancy Pants), and then head to the kitchens for breakfast. But I was derailed by a certain Prince as I rounded a corner and we made eye contact from across the next hall. I wasn't exactly in a mood to figure out how to solve Prince Blueblood's problems, and kind of hoped the preppy royal stallion would leave me be. For a second, I could see something of a grimace on the Prince's face, giving me hope that he would go another way. But then he seemed to summon some courage and march straight towards me, so I braced myself.

Blueblood walked over and stood in front of me, his blue eyes looking my half-naked body up and down. "Pascal..."

I had flashbacks to when the masculine stallion had literally presented himself to me Saturday night, and prayed I wouldn't see a repeat. "Yeah, Your Highness?" I said, trying to keep the edge out of my voice.

His eyes lingered on the lunar insignia on the towel, and I could see the question dancing behind his eyes. But he ignored it for the moment and said, "I... wanted to say something, the next chance I got."

"Shoot," I replied. This seemed to be going better already.

Blueblood took a deep breath and sighed. He took a moment to make sure no one was nearby to eavesdrop, then looked at me. "I realize that my actions that night put a lot of unwelcome pressure on you, and I wanted to apologize for that. I was... under a lot of stress, and I somewhat foisted a few personal problems in your face. Among other things."

No kidding, I thought.

The Prince's chest seemed to puff up, as though some weight was already being lifted as he spoke. "So I want to be clear that I have no expectations. I've since cleared my head. I simply ask for your forgiveness and understanding."

I frowned and shook my head. "Look, Prince. I exploited your fundraising party to... to take in some of the high society life and... and spread my own brand of 'normal.' I'm the one that owes you an apology, frankly."

"Then let us consider the matter squared!" Blueblood decreed, raising a fist in solidarity. Then he leaned in with a bit of a smirk. "And besides, if it has the same end result as last time, as far as I'm concerned you can 'exploit' my events whenever you like!"

Ah, right, I did sort of create a big ol' normalized orgy and walk out, didn't I? I had wondered about the effect on the fundraiser and Blueblood's reputation – looks like it was positive.

Another question lingered in my mind. "So are you not really attracted to me, then?" I recalled it was Spitfire's powered-up influence that led to the whole 'confession' in the first place. Blueblood said he'd 'cleared his head' – was that like Rainbow Dash examining why she enjoyed sucking my dick and coming up with 'method acting'?

Blueblood pursed his lips and glanced aside. A bit of color sprouted on his sharp white cheeks. Uh-oh. "Well... I probably shouldn't say."

Dammit. Alright, time to make my boundaries crystal clear with this dude. "Hey. I'm in an open poly relationship, and it's friggin' inevitable I'm gonna cross the bicurious event horizon someday. When that happens, I might be willing to take you up on your 'offer' in a casual – I can't stress this enough – casual manner. But I wouldn't wait every day in the mailroom if I were you. And if you're looking for romance... you should probably look somewhere else."

The Prince's ice-blue eyes went through a number of interesting motions. There was widening with hope and surprise, bouncing up and down my body with nervous excitement, then dropping low with disappointment.

"Just so you know what to expect from me," I said.

He nodded. "I understand." Then he put his hand on his chin and regarded me in a studious way. "So gender is the main barrier..."

I resisted the urge to throw back my head and groan at the ceiling. Instead I just managed a low grumble in the back of my throat. "Look, if you end up using a swap potion or spell or something – just don't ambush me with it, okay? Geez."

Blueblood's eyes widened at the suggestion; I guess he hadn't actually been implying that and I'd caught him off guard. He then chuckled bashfully. "Sounds as though you have experience."

"You have no idea. In fact, your little 'offer' was nowhere near the strangest" – or most mentally scarring, I internally added, thinking of Celestia – "thing to happen that evening."

"I– Wow." He put out a hand towards me, which I awkwardly managed to shake while keeping my towel and bundle of clothes up with my other arm. "Well, thank you for listening, Mr. Pascal. I wish you luck. I've read up on your situation; being an alien commoner from another world will no doubt make things like bureaucracy and finances challenging here, so if you need any kind of favor, by all means write me."

I was surprised. I had only barely started to think about those sorts of things; I'd been stuck in legal limbo for so long. "That's... very generous of you," I said. Why were you never this kind to Rarity at the Gala? my inner nerd questioned.

"It's the least I can do for, well, everything. In public," Blueblood said with another embarrassed chuckle. Ah, was this some way of ensuring that I didn't spread mean rumors about him? More mean rumors than he was already getting, anyway? ...Okay, maybe I needed to take a timeout on the cynicism.

I pulled my hand back and adjusted my towel before it nearly slipped off my body. "Welp, I gotta go get decent, so..."

"Of course, of course," Blueblood said as I hurried by. "Your hair looks marvelous, by the way!"

I winced hard and continued stomping down the hall. "Just– Just don't ask!"

I wasn't sure if Derpy was going to sleep in without me, so I opened the door to our room carefully and slowly. However, I was not expecting what I saw inside.

"Moondancer?" I called out as I entered.

The beige unicorn sitting at the edge of our (otherwise empty) bed looked up from her book (which she was resting against her enormous sweater-covered bosom) with a bit of a start. "Oh, hey!" As I clumsily closed the door behind me, her eyes locked in on my moon-styled towel. "Um... Is that...?"

I looked down. "Long stor– Well actually a short story now that I think about it, and it kinda tells itself." I hurried over to the bathroom and tossed my bundle of smelly clothes inside, allowing me to get a more proper hold on the towel to maintain my decency.

"Y-Your hair...?"

"That is a slightly longer story."

Moondancer still seemed a little hung up on the unspoken revelation. Without looking down, she magically stuck a bookmark into her novel and set it aside. "Y-You and Luna?!"

"Yeah. She'd been very... patient, apparently. And she's way more confident in her sexuality. Think that might be significant going forward." I grimaced as I realized I probably shouldn't kiss and tell, especially when it comes to royals. Moondancer was trustworthy, and it wasn't like I had signed an NDA, but I needed to exercise a tad more discretion with more than just Celestia's problems. "Anyway, what are you doing here?"

"Well, uh..." Moondancer crossed her legs and looked aside awkwardly. "I guess I should start from where we split up. Or maybe... Long story short, Trixie's setting up a sort of magical night for you two. You and, um, 'Derpy.'"

I was taken aback, mostly because I'd been planning to do the same thing. "Really?"

"Yeah. She wanted to keep it as a surprise, but..." She cleared her throat and pretended she wasn't getting a little red in the face. "So after your treatment, the three of us talked for a while, and it came up that tonight was going to be her last night off in Canterlot, and the first night you're non-addictive, so... Trixie was all, 'We have to make this The Best Night Ever!' and started making plans."

Those never turn out well, I kept to myself. I walked over to the closet to survey my clothing options. When I opened the sliding door, to my surprise, there was an extra bag on the floor with more of my old wardrobe neatly folded in it!

"Derpy went back to your place last night to get more of your clothes," Moondancer explained.

So she flew or took the train to Ponyville, visited Lyra and Bon Bon's place, asked for a few extra changes of my clothes, and brought them back up to Canterlot? All last night? "She is just too kind..." I muttered as I picked out a new shirt and pants and hurried to the bathroom.

While I was changing, Moondancer came up to the door and kept talking. "She and Trixie left about fifteen minutes ago! Trixie's taking her out on the town, shopping and stuff I guess, and setting up something for you two in the evening."

Decency restored, I opened the door and squinted at Moondancer. "I wasn't invited?"

She shrugged and stepped back to allow me through. "Well, we weren't sure what was going to happen to you. She figured you might be tired and need your rest. Y'know, so you could save up... for tonight..." Moondancer lost a bit of steam and sort of sheepishly smiled. "It made a lot more sense when she said it."

I mentally assessed my condition. Truth was, I could probably use a little rest today. I'd just finished another round of craziness. I had nearly blacked out again last night. But Luna's quickie left me with a little extra need in my loins that made me antsy. And more than that...

"I kinda wanted to spend the day with her, too, not just a magical night," I complained, making my way towards the bed.

Moondancer joined me as we sat down. "Maybe let Trixie have this one? I think she's trying to get on good terms with Derpy and make sure this polyamorous arrangement starts out strong. It might be for the best."

"Well, I don't have a choice now. Do you know where she went first?"

"Nnnnnot really..."

I rolled my eyes and fell back onto the big comfy bed.

"Though she did want me to tell you to 'be in your tux at the palace gates at 5.' So I guess that's when the 'magical night' begins."

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed. "Y'know... It's not like I don't appreciate it, and I have a feeling she's gonna burn a crapton of money doing this..."

"She might have some receipts for you," Moondancer jokingly agreed.

"But, ugh." I threw up my hands and then let them bounce on the mattress. "Maybe it's my male pride, but I'm kind of sick of being dragged along by everyone else's plans! I'm dying to do something that I decided to do, y'know?"

There was a bit of an uncomfortable silence. I momentarily regretted my complaining, but before I could backpedal, Moondancer chuckled nervously and said, "W-Well, you're kind of a brand new state-sanctioned demigod. You're gonna have a social calendar now; not much you can do about that. Everyone will have to be proactive if they want your time and attention."

I tilted my head over to her. "Is that what you think of me?"

She shook her head back, quicker than I expected. "Not really. I got to see you in action, see what you're really like. Most everyone else hasn't yet. It's good they don't think you're a monster anymore, but... it might take more time."

I scratched my chin, scrunching up in annoyance as I felt the beginnings of scraggly stubble already making its return. I sighed. "Whatever. Don't want to sound like an ungrateful bastard. She probably knows Canterlot better anyway, and I hope she and Derpy have a great time. Just wish they'd waited maybe an extra half-hour for me. Guess it's not like they would've known when I was getting back, though..."

Moondancer scooted back towards me and gave me a half-worried, half-curious look. "How did the, uh, session go, anyway? If you can tell me."

Shrugging, I replied, "It was a net positive. I don't think she's nearly as happy with it as I am."

She scoffed. "Well, naturally."

"I mean, I thought we were making much more progress, and then she sorta bounced back this morning. It's frustrating. But I think we made at least one solid step forward. Out of a thousand, maybe, but hey, one."

"That's good. So you think it's working? And she didn't go as, uh..." She glanced meaningfully at my crotch. "...hard on you as last time?"

My grumpy expression probably told her all she needed to know, but I still tried to clarify. "Nearly blacked out again, but at least she was the one who stopped things this time."

Moondancer went silent for a while after that, and not in a very comforting way. Her lips were pursed, and her gaze was fixated thoughtfully between my legs. What in the world was she thinking about in response to that?

"Something on your mind?" I asked.

The student pushed up her taped-together glasses, opened her mouth to form a few different words, then started to chew her bottom lip in a concerned manner. None of it helped my mood.

I sat up on my elbows. "Moondancer? Hey, is the world ending, what?"

"Sorry, just thinking..."

"Abooouuut?"

She huffed a bit impatiently and spat, "Your penis, okay? Your dick. Do I need to spell it out?"

Feeling a little testy myself, I replied, "I'd prefer if you did, 'cuz I'd like to know if I should be concerned for the health of Pascal Jr. here."

Moondancer started and put a hand over her face. "Goddess, never call it that again..."

"Believe me, I didn't want to, but I kinda had to snap you out of your trance there. What are you thinking in regards to my dick?"

She spent a few more drawn-out moments trying and failing to figure out how to say what she wanted to say. This time I waited and let her find her words; this was starting to look too serious for further sass.

"Have you...?" Moondancer began, then restarted again. "Besides Twilight's sperm-cell enchantment, have you had any other magic cast on your... your package?"

I sat up fully now, adjusting the bunched-up sheets beneath me. "No, I don't think so." I paused. "What... What was that enchantment, by the way?" Funny that only now did I think to ask what ol' Twilight had cast on my balls.

Moondancer looked aside nervously. In a quiet voice, she mumbled, "Am I allowed to tell you, or...?"

A fair question, if we were considering the risk that Celestia might grill the answer out of me later. But on the other hand... "I have a right to know," I said. They were my jewels.

She nodded and scooted a little closer. She checked over her shoulders a couple of times as if checking for eavesdroppers; frankly, I did the same. Eventually, Moondancer just cast a spell with her horn and surrounded our heads with a pink bubble of silence.

"We didn't want to do a vasectomy, and we didn't want to make you incapable of producing sperm cells," Moondancer explained. "So what we did was... Your current and future sperm now have a sort of reactionary enchantment on each one of them. When it comes into contact with pony tissue cells, instead of triggering absorption, it throws up a barrier and continues on its natural path."

I raised one eyebrow up as high as I could. "You shielded every individual sperm?"

"It doesn't actually add any mass," Moondancer clarified. "It's more of a... situational quantum barrier. To prevent that specific magi-chemical reaction." She brushed a bit of hair away from her eyes. "I mean, you're the only one of your species on this planet – it didn't seem right to go scorched-earth on your reproductive organs."

"Huh..."

Moondancer dismissed the bubble of silence, allowing us to pull back from our awkward leaning postures. We both looked around, then back at each other – unspoken, we agreed not to speak of this in the open. Celestia had eyes and ears everywhere; Moondancer had firsthand experience with that.

"Anyway, so – your penis," Moondancer segued with an impressive amount of calm. "What exactly have you had done to it so far?"

Thrown off by the tangent, I had forgotten the thread of why this seemed to be an issue all of a sudden. But I did my best to quickly answer. "Well, I started at five-and-seven-eighths..."

Moondancer rolled her eyes a little bit, because of course I had measured it so precisely before.

I pretended I didn't notice that. "The first enhancement, that was a slow process with Twi's magic and Zecora's potions and with a bunch of other surgeons keeping watch. That's the 10-inch dick I showed up with on Saturday. Then the other one was..." I trailed off and closed my eyes. "Oh."

"Photo Finish?" Moondancer continued for me. "When she had her personal assistant cast that growth/aphrodisiac mix on you for a fraction of a second? When your body wasn't completely magically ready for it? When we had to use healing auras because it got all raw and... tender and..." She shuddered at the memory.

I rubbed the back of my neck. "Yeah, that one. I'm guessing you think that's–"

"I'm worried it's not healthy in the long term," she said.

I tossed up my hands and nodded; a gesture saying 'fair enough.' "Got me this far, though."

For a moment, Moondancer just stared off into space, shaking her head slightly. "I can't believe I have to be the one worried about the health of your dick..."

"Why ARE you concerned?" I asked, because it was a valid question.

Moondancer waved me off and sat up a little straighter. "Be honest with me; have you had any problems, any at all... y'know, since that happened?"

I thought pretty hard about that. How could I complain, really? It was a thick footlong salami of a thing now. My sack almost overflowed one of my hands. I couldn't remember the last time I shot a blank. And when I orgasmed, the experience was just nothing short of–

I frowned. "Well, there is one thing."

"Yes??"

I had to scoff a bit at how absurd this situation was. "Well, Dr. Dancer," I said, "when I cum, it's very very very very... intense. The buildup is enormous, and the spasms rock my whole world. 'Volcanic' is the word I keep coming back to."

Moondancer's hand started tapping her generous thigh. She really was very thickly built; that sweater and those loose cargo pants really did a lot to obscure her proportions, which otherwise belonged to a very generous MILF. Enormous milk-sloshing breasts, breeding hips, incredible thighs; she was just one big cuddly–

"–would you say?"

I dragged my eyes back up. "I'm sorry?"

"Do I have your attention now?" Moondancer deadpanned, tilting her head down to peer over her glasses.

I sheepishly looked away. It had been a while since I was so completely distracted – and in front of a pony who was immune to my aura and knew my perversions all too well, no less. "I'm sorry."

Moondancer sighed and repeated herself. "Your orgasms are difficult, would you say?"

"I dunno about that... They're still orgasms, they're great. It just stands out."

She leaned in towards me, and I got the feeling that she was about to deliver the point she was trying to make. "Do you think it's possible that the 'volcanicity' of your orgasms and your tendency to black out might be related?"

I reared back. "M-Maybe? But, I mean, that could also be because I have a shitty out-of-shape body and stamina, and I've only blacked out with Celestia, so it might be just her ravenous–"

Abruptly, Moondancer stood up. "Drop 'em."

I gave up. She had a valid point, and I trusted her. I stood up, unbuckled, and dropped my pants and my underwear in one fell swoop. I kicked them aside so I could spread my legs out. I was already pretty comfortable letting my junk hang out in this room, and Moondancer didn't seem to offended. In fact, the sight of my flaccid dick resting atop my balls on the royal sheets seemed to make her pause. She'd said we could be 'friends with benefits' at the end of Saturday night, but I wondered how eager or committed she really was to that idea.

After taking a deep breath to steady herself, Moondancer knelt between my legs and put her face in studying range – that is to say, almost uncomfortably close to my cock. Her huge sweater-bound breasts pressed against the base of the bed, pooling beneath my thighs. All I could say was, "Uh, got a good enough look there?"

"You may want to look away," she said all of a sudden, and her horn started to charge up with energy.

"W-What?"

"Unless you don't mind seeing your penis transparent with all the blood vessels revealed."

"...Ah." I turned my head away. And just in time; her horn went off and zapped my crotch with a spell that felt like it blossomed out until most of my hips were covered. A faint white glow creeped into the lower edges of my vision. I resisted the urge to look down and just focused on the ceiling. I could imagine what she was looking at, though – a 3D X-ray of my manhood.

"Hmmmm..."

I need to stop trusting these unicorns with my cock so much, I muttered internally. "Are you sure you should be the one doing this?" I asked.

Moondancer gave an annoyed grunt and replied, "At this point, I'm one of the world's leading experts on your reproductive organs. And, um..." She quieted down for a second, which piqued my interest. "I... I kind of know a thing or two about... well... magic and penises."

It took me a couple of seconds, but I had to smirk once I finally put it together. Right, she had implied something to that effect back in front of the stadium, hadn't she? "Something of a solo connoisseur, huh?"

I could feel her hair brush against my bare skin as she turned her head to one side in embarrassment. "Um, are you bothered by that?"

Half-heartedly, I shrugged while still keeping my head pointed towards the ceiling. "At this point, I don't know. But let's just say I saw plenty of dickgirl porn art on my way to the hyper and growth and male-dom and mind control stuff, so I'm kind of inured to it."

"Okay..." she replied uncertainly. Moondancer tugged on the head of my penis with her magic, gently stretching it away from my body. "So... you really do get off to this stuff? I mean, the whole brainwashing thing? Having all that power?"

"Eh. Mind control fantasies of various flavors, once upon a time. Confronted now with a brainwashing reality, Celestia in particular... Not so sure."

Moondancer made a noncommittal "Hmm" and didn't comment further. The magical manipulation of my penis finally ceased, though I could still feel the x-ray aura tingling through my crotch. Moondancer said, "I can see why you might be experiencing a lot of backing up before ejaculation and..." I could almost feel the heat of her blush. "Well, I shouldn't go into too much detail. But let's just say I'm kind of worried about whatever other stallions Photo Finish has done this to. She seems to have a particular preference in, well, cumshots. At least for the others it's temporary."

"Yikes," I said. I was starting to get dizzy from keeping my face held up towards the ceiling. "Well, it still got me through the night, sort of."

"There is that," Moondancer admitted. Her hands pushed against the base of my cock (which felt sore in a way I hadn't noticed until now) and gently cupped my balls. "And it looks like your ability to make semen hasn't been adversely affected. But in terms of the shaft, this is not really an 'efficient' penis."

I laughed somewhat exasperatedly. "Well, I'm not really used to having more than one option! But I agree – it's high time for Dick 3.0. Just... I don't want it too much longer, yet."

"Really?" the unicorn responded with some surprise. I shared that feeling, even towards myself. I wore my hyper fetish on my sleeve, but...

"I don't want to affect Celestia any worse with this thing until she's more used to it. And, uh." I became a little sheepish. "For Derpy tonight, she's still saved herself in a couple of ways, so... I don't want to be shoving a baseball bat anywhere on our first 'real' night, even if ponies can stretch around it..."

"Ahh. Okay," Moondancer replied in understanding.

"So can you focus on just efficiency and stamina, if you can?"

I heard the shift of her thick-rimmed glasses being pushed up dramatically. "I've got something I can try."

Her horn charged up with magic for only a second before it zapped my cock with a continuous beam. I held as still as I could as I could feel my parts shifting. I tried to pay no attention to the sensation, but there was an unmistakable widening at the base, a thickening, strengthening, hardening all around... It actually wasn't unpleasant at all. The magic inside me seemed to be helping things along properly this time. Some of the magic flowed deeper into my body, following my blood vessels and making painless, microscopic tweaks within my pelvis. A little bit even tingled in my chest.

The active magic sat in my body for a few more seconds, then it all went away. "There we go," I heard Moondancer say. "Scan's gone too; you can look down now."

Good news for my poor neck. I let my chin fall to my chest, and I beheld my newly optimized cock, almost fully hard and pointing straight at Moondancer's mouth. It had gotten a fair bit thicker all around, especially in the middle – I was now qualified to call mine a 'fat' cock.

As my excitement grew, my boner rushed the rest of the way to full hardness with both surprising speed and surprising ease. My erection felt stronger from within, somehow. My hips tightened in anticipation of some serious thrusting action.

I even looked a little bit longer, too, by about an inch. A long, fat, 13-inch cock.

"I thought I said I didn't want it bigger," I pointed out, but I couldn't even finish the sentence before a growing smirk curled up the right corner of my mouth.

Moondancer looked up into my eyes with a distinctly saucy smirk of her own. "No reason not to give Derpy a little extra."

We stared at each other for a few silent seconds, my cockhead bobbing between us in time with my heart.

I started, "Wanna–?"

"We should–"

We both stopped for a second, chuckling awkwardly, and waited for one of us to say what we were both thinking first. It was eventually Moondancer. "We should make sure it's all working properly," she said, blushing but forcing past all her shyness.

"Wanna take it for a test ride?" I said smugly. I tilted my hips and waggled my new cock from side to side.

Moondancer pouted and poked a finger into her cheek. "Ohhhhhh... Oh, alright. If you insist." She got back up onto her feet – bumping her breasts against my jutting erection in the process – and levitated her glasses over to the end table.

My t-shirt was all I had left, so I quickly took it off so I could watch the rest of Moondancer's undressing. I figured it would be a sight to behold. But as I pulled my shirt over my head and tossed it aside, I noticed that Dancer was frozen on the spot. Her arms were up over her head and her magic had grabbed at the hem of her sweater and the waist of her pants, but she had stopped everything to stare at my naked body.

I got more than a little self-conscious. I looked down to see what all the fuss was about. Still the same weirdly undernourished post-magical-liposuction torso. I tilted my gaze back up at the unicorn, silently questioning.

Her pony face scrunched up cutely, weakly attempting indignation. "W-Well, you're not– Guys don't have a monopoly on staring at naked chests," Moondancer stammered.

"Just... never thought mine was worth staring at," I explained contritely.

Moondancer's face softened, and she looked down at me with a more pitying expression.

I covered my face with one hand and groaned. "Sorry. Fuck, I keep killing the mood."

Moondancer smiled and shrugged. "...Mood's not that important right now." And she lifted the sweater over her head with her magic. She wasn't entirely naked beneath – there was a beige, bikini-like utilitarian garment that seemed mainly designed to cover her nipples and reduce their impression on the outside clothing. But a few snaps later and the bra fell away. Just about her entire outfit came off by itself without hardly having to move her body.

I was right; this was a sight to behold. No fearing for my life, no philosophical debates – I could just appreciate her beautiful body. Each pale yellowish breast big enough to cup with two hands. (Her default size. Quite a bit smaller than her enhanced mass on Saturday, but still big and lovely for my tastes.) And her thick thighs staring me in the face...

She stepped out of the pants and panties pooled at her feet and started to climb onto the bed over me. She was a little unfocused without her thick-rimmed glasses, but I decided they enhanced the unguarded, wild-woman appeal she had right now.

Moondancer positioned her body over mine, forcing me to lay fully on my back and stare up at her. Our big sexual body parts grazed each other; my erection poking her belly, her nipples grazing against my chest. The heat between us was starting to get stifling.

Neither of us had the nerve yet to start something or figure out where the flow was headed. Figures, two nerds getting into bed together...

Moondancer let out a nervous laugh. "I can't believe we're just going to DO this."

To quell her nerves and mine, I pushed myself up and kissed her on the lips. She leaned down into it and kissed back, timidly at first, then going wild and forcing my mouth open with her tongue.

Then she pulled back in shock. "The hell! Your saliva, too?!" She licked up the leftover fluid around her lips.

I gave my best helpless shrug. "Sorry."

She started guffawing and rolled over onto the bed to my right. "Fuuu-ha-ha-ha-huuuck! Pascaaaa-aaal! You're a fucking incubus!" She shot a very very light punch at my arm. "That's not fair!"

"Oh good, I'm not the only one who was thinking that," I deadpanned, smirking. I scooted over into cuddling range, laying on my side and pressing myself against her body, my manhood sliding against her thigh. Moondancer bit her lip and just watched me excitedly, rubbing a hand against my back. "But if anything," I continued, steadily lowering my voice into a husky whisper, "I'm a demon that found his way into heaven..." I reached up and caressed the underside of her left breast, slowly bringing it in range of my hungry mouth. "...where angels and goddesses rule."

I latched onto her nipple and licked around her areola, drawing a lusty groan out of her. "Nnnn... So, you think it's all balanced in the end, huh...?"

I didn't answer at first. No milk came out of her breast, but the flavor, the texture, the scent – all more than enough for a tit man like me. Finally, I popped off and rested my cheek against the side of her boob, pleasantly dazed. "Long as I'm no longer poisoning anybody," I said softly. "I inflame your lusts, you all inflame mine... I demand your tolerance, you demand my respect... It's not 'symmetrical,' but it might be making its way towards 'tenable.'"

"Mm," Moondancer grunted. "We get some help with our sex-life balance... and you get all the tits and pussy you want."

Only half-kidding, I replied, "If I do my job perfectly, so does everypony else."

She actually snorted at that. "Okay, smart-aleck. Why don't you put your mouth to better..." She trailed off and shook her head. "No, no, this is supposed to be about testing your penis's health. Let's focus on your ejaculation first."

"69, then?" I suggested without missing a beat.

Moondancer seemed surprised by the offer to eat her out, but quickly smiled. "Mmm. Okay." I rolled onto my back, and Moondancer perched herself over my face, giving me a perfect view of her creamy thighs and big bulging buttocks. I welcomed the smothering that was about to happen.

At the same time that my world became little more important than the fat, wet pussy in front of my mouth, I felt her substantial tits press against my legs and the base of my shaft, and a nervous pony mouth tentatively accepted the girthy head of my cock. Her tongue swirled once, then stopped to savor the initial flavor. I responded with a few deep probing licks and was rewarded with a pleasant, vibrating moan into my manhood.

Like before, Moondancer had a faint vanilla/cream-soda taste to her. Whichever Master had decided to give every pony just a hint of a color-coded flavoring to their sexual fluids, I couldn't really hold it against them. I could almost see the reasoning: Ponies were meant to be sampled in great numbers, like a harem buffet.

But to me, it was even tastier knowing how intelligent this young mare was, and how much she'd sacrificed to help me. I bet that where the Masters and I differed.

I gripped Moondancer's hips and pulled myself deep between her legs. I gave up any hope of light or air for a change to drink as deeply of her as possible. Moondancer pulled off from her exploratory blowjob before she gasped and bucked herself against my head. Our 69 became rather one-sided as Moondancer lost the concentration to keep going and simply rode out the sensations I was giving her.

After spending so much time going deep, I finished off my attacking her clit with just the tip of my tongue, poking and stroking it. That set her off like a depth charge. About a second later, a torrent of pussy fluids splashed over me, forcing me to close my eyes.

Moondancer collapsed against my lower body, flattening my cock against her tits as her labored breath repeatedly compressed her chest against my thighs. "Is..." she gasped, "is your human tongue supposed to be special too...?"

I pulled back, wiped my face with my forearm, and shrugged with a cocky grin. "No, I just think you Equestria girls are supposed to be easy."

"Is that so...?" she replied, regaining some of her sass as she sat up.

"Like I said, 'supposed' to be. My experience has been... otherwise."

Moondancer sat over my head and gently rubbed her dripping, twitching pussy with her hand. "Yeah... You had to use mind control to get this far, and even then I nearly... well..."

My hands, lacking anything else to do, reached around and stroked her thighs. "Any hard feelings?" I felt compelled to ask.

She gingerly lifted her leg and got off of my face. Now kneeling to my right, she shook her head and said, "No. You put your money where your mouth was. That..." She involuntarily rubbed her upper arms. "That's very important to me. That you followed through." With a bit of light laughter, she added, "You didn't corrupt all of Equestria."

"That I wasn't just spouting bullshit to justify being a perv?"

"That your actions actually stayed consistent with that bullshit," she said with a grin.

"Ah, fair enough."

Moondancer caught herself and shot a withering look at my dick. "What are we doing? We still haven't made sure your new cock is healthy."

"Hey, I'm in no hurry," I said, putting my hands behind my head.

The student put on a thoughtful look. "Well, then... We probably shouldn't do intercourse, because we'll want to see it in action... Um..." She shifted down the bed, looking at me nervously. "Would it be alright if, uh, you just masturbated by hand just this once?" She positioned herself between my legs, and the way she knelt over set up her breasts as a big fleshy curtain right in front of my fattened dick. More quietly, she said, "Maybe onto my... my tits...?"

I smiled with a mix of pleasantness and lust. "I'd love to."

Then I reached out and grabbed my new dick for the first time with both hands. Immediately, I could tell – she just hadn't added an inch of length, she had really made it fatter, thicker, stronger, especially around the middle of the shaft. At full erection, I felt like I couldn't even squeeze it that hard. There was just so much muscle mass, with so much blood flowing to make it all turgid, that I couldn't budge it without some effort.

As I gave it a few slow, soft strokes, another change became apparent as my fingers moistened. "I'm... leakier than before," I mumbled, not sure how to feel.

Moondancer was raptly attentive to the motions of my hands and cock, barely even acknowledging the rest of me. "I mean... That's a consequence of not... of not..." She lost track for a good couple of seconds as another drop of precum poured out of my big cock-slit. "Um, of not tightening the base to get that explosive buildup."

"Okay, I'm just– I'm a little worried for the sake of my future underwear and pants."

"Oh no, I guess you'll just have to get 'drained' regularly," Moondancer said with more than a hint of sarcasm. She still didn't take her eyes off my cock.

I actually frowned a little bit. "I'd like to get some semblance of a normal life, eventually."

"Isn't regular masturbation pretty much normal?" she countered.

She had me there. I dropped the subject and focused on giving her a big finish.

I focused on her breasts, aiming my cock at them and appreciating how full and ripe they looked even as they hanged down. She noticed this and repositioned herself. Now Moondancer was more or less sitting with her knees spread far apart, leaning over and cradling her breasts with her forearms, holding them so close that there was less than an inch between my head and her cleavage...

Rather than a volcanic burst, this time my orgasm triggered normally and shortly after I was shooting. Hard. My cum splattered against her pale yellow boobs and splashed against her arms and her chin. And then right on the heels of that shot was another one, then another one.

"Umm...!" was all I could muster in reaction to my cock shooting off like a goddamn rifle. It was almost beautifully efficient, not jerking or bucking but simply maintaining constant pressure, while my urethra did all the hard work of delivering payload after payload all over Moondancer's chest. It went on for nearly a whole minute, and I was so caught off-guard that I was starting to see tiny spots of color in my vision.

Finally, the flow of cum trickled to a steady drip, and my cock returned to a more normal state of hardness. My balls ached pleasantly with relief. Moondancer just stared down at herself, looking for all appearances as though someone had dumped a can of white paint between her breasts.

"Wow," she said.

"Uh-huh...!" I gasped, reached behind me for a pillow so I could prop up my weary neck.

"So, uh..." She looked up at me. "Was that better?"

I scrunched up my face in thought. "Ummm..." It was hard to tell; it seemed like the first orgasm with a newly enchanted cock was always a more intense experience than the orgasms to follow. But they did tend to set the standard in terms of... I don't know, 'behavior.' I tested my cock in my hands, squeezing gently to try and feel out any lingering pain. "I feel fine. Think you fixed the efficiency issue. Maybe pretty far in the other direction."

"Oh." She bashfully looked off to the side. Her horn glowed and began the work of clearing off the cum from her tits, either lifting globs of it into the air or making it disappear entirely with cleaning magic. "I guess I've had a lot of practice. Pony cocks and human cocks, not a great deal of difference."

"I'm not complaining," I clarified. "But if the goal was to make this less intense so I could stand up to Celestia better... I think we've just traded out for a different kind of intense. I dunno, maybe I'll get used to it."

Moondancer scratched her head and made a big ball of my cum disappear from the room. She levitated her glasses back onto her face and gave my body a studious pass with her eyes. "I think, to solve that, you actually need to build up your physical strength and stamina. There's only so much your cock's quality can do for you." She hung her head and groaned. "That was all just an excuse to play with your cock, in the end."

"Hey..." I started, but then I yawned. The tiredness from my early rise and Luna's quickies was catching up with me. "I think you were right to worry about my dick health, at least." Then I realized what I had just done and furrowed my brow. Now that I was thinking about how tired I was, I was noticing that the rest of my body was still pretty fatigued.

Moondancer noticed how grumpy I suddenly was. "What's wrong?"

I rested my arm over my eyes. "They were right. Derpy and Trixie were right. I should probably be getting my rest today."

Moondancer giggled. Her horn's magic washed over me, clearing up some of the stains on my own body. Once we were both clean-ish, she let herself fall onto the bed next to me. "It's not so bad, though, right? You have a palace suite all to yourself, just relaxing... And you'll have lots of days in the future with both of them, looks like."

I sighed and nodded. I just had to swallow my pride a bit, was all. Then I turned my head over towards her. "Y'know, I've been meaning to ask you..."

"Hmm?"

"So you and Trixie came here this morning to visit me and Derpy. When it was clear I might not be back soon and I'd be tired anyway, Derpy and Trixie left to go out on the town and set up some kinda honeymoon night for me and Derpy. I get all that. But why did you decide to stay and wait for me?"

"Oh." Moondancer's face was already a little red from our activity, but the way her face changed shyly made it look like she was blushing even more. "I... kind of wanted to figure out... this, this whole thing."

I sort of saw where she was going with this. "You and me? The 'friends with benefits' thing?"

"Yeah." Moondancer stared straight up at the ceiling. "I think I've figured out what I want."

"And what's that?" I asked with genuine interest.

She let out a sigh. "I kind of want to try dating. Regular ponies, I mean. I don't mind... this, and I don't think any of my future partners will mind either, thanks to your power, but... I think what I want is a permanent partner. And I kinda want to see what regular dating and relationships are like, now that I've kind of jumped past all the sex hurdles– A lot of reasons, basically."

I nodded. That all sounded reasonable to me.

"You're going to be traveling and doing all this sex therapy stuff, and I don't think I want to stay close enough that I'm waiting for you to come back so we can have a deep relationship. But I do want to stay friends, because I like the idea of what you're doing, and the magical science around you is fascinating, and..." She chuckled nervously. "It's probably going to take me a while to navigate the whole dating thing, so I wouldn't mind you coming over once in a while to do more 'penis research.'"

"If that's what we're calling it," I said with a grin.

"Or 'fuck each other's brains out,' if that works better for you," she teased back.

"Either way."

"Yeah." She lost herself in her thoughts for a few moments. "Basically... I don't want to be part of your harem, but I don't mind being one of your 'girls in every town,' if that makes any sense."

"And friends besides?" I asked hopefully.

She looked over at me and smirked. "You're starting to sound like Twilight."

That one stung a little bit. "I just– I guess I don't want to be 'that pervert guy you hang out with once in a while to run experiments with,'" I muttered.

Moondancer put a finger to her chin. "No, you're more like... 'that guy who took me on a magical adventure that broke me out of my sexual shell.' And who doesn't like being taken on a magical journey of self-discovery?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Even when it's harrowing and the guy leading you is kinda dubious?"

"Have you read a youth adventure novel? That's basically all of them!" Moondancer said with a grin. "As long as it turns out fine in the end, it seems to work out."

I managed a short chortle, but found myself the one staring at the ceiling in adrift contemplation. "But what happens after the adventure? When the 'enemy' is defeated and your 'mentor' just turns out to be a perverted guy with superpowers? None of the books cover that."

There was a pause between us as we both considered the question in calm silence. After a short while, Moondancer tilted her head over and said, "Brunch?"

I suddenly realized I hadn't eaten anything yet. I got up. "Fuck yeah. Brunch."

17 – Moondancer – Brunch

The two of us showered (one after the other) and made our way to the royal palace's Mess Hall, a moderately sized dining area next to the kitchens, decorated with red walls and white columns. There was a much larger hall a few rooms down the hall of the east wing, better suited for state dinners and formal events, but this was the place for staff and long-term guests to get their fixings, day or night. It wasn't free of charge to eat there, nor was it terribly expensive, but I'd already convinced the chefs to cut me and my friends some slack.

It wasn't even that hard to get a free meal pass, either. I got the feeling that Celestia did the whole 'let the down-on-their-luck vagrant stay in the palace until they figure their shit out' routine fairly frequently – just never before with a human.

We found a small around table and sat down with our food, me with a 'Carnivore's Omelette' according to the menu and Moondancer with a bowl of quinoa fruit salad. Pinched under my elbow was a few pieces of mail, two scrolls and an envelope, which I set down beside my plate. I was dressed in naught but the complimentary white-and-gold-trim bathrobe and my increasingly stuffed underwear, and Moondancer...

The unicorn mare looked down past her shoulder, shaking and swishing her tail to cover more of her generous, panty-covered bottom. "Are you... sure no one's going to notice?"

"They notice," I said, a smirk growing at the corner of my mouth. "They just don't think it matters. No one's even said anything, right? The permission is holding."

With a reddening face to contrast her black sweater, the bottomless unicorn nodded and mumbled, "Right. It was my idea anyway..."

I ground through my meat-stuffed omelette with a fork. "It's a good thing I can still give ponies permissions even when I've made them mentally immune. That would be a whole 'nother problem. This way I can at least find a middle ground with some ponies."

"Uh-huh. Yes. Good test," Moondancer squeaked, staring at her salad and looking like she wanted to curl up into a ball and disappear.

"Though if I did allow myself to tweak your mind, I could make you less nervous about it," I said half-jokingly. Then I mentally scolded myself for joking about mind control with a mare who'd kinda been through trauma on that front.

Thankfully, Moondancer didn't seem too offended. "That would definitely be a perk," she mumbled back. "But, um, I think I'll keep going 'au naturale' if that's alright with you."

"Oh yeah, oh yeah, no problem," I said quickly with a couple waves of my hand. "That was in poor taste anyway."

"No, I mean–" Moondancer started, then pursed her lips for a moment, sighing through her nostrils. "I trust you," she said. "I'm not holding any of that against you anymore. I'm... I'm not as scared of you as I was when we met."

My lungs released a few ounces of breath I hadn't known I was holding. "Good to hear..." I muttered. Now desperate for a change of topic, I reached for the royal scroll sitting atop my other pieces of mail. Seemed like that was the most important place to start. While I carefully broke the wax seal, I also asked, "So, um, what do you do? I don't think I ever really asked."

"Oh! Just, y'know... the eternal student," Moondancer said with a self-deprecating laugh. "Working on my second degree."

"Nice," I replied with raised eyebrows.

"Not that nice. Up until... well, a little while back, I probably would've been happy just staying in the university system forever. Never moving on to a career because I preferred the structure of school. But now that I remember that, uh, other ponies exist..." – she joked with another self-deprecating chuckle – "I'm kind of floundering to find something more to do with my life once I'm done with this, y'know, milestone."

"Sounds like we're in similar boats," I said, my heart sinking a little. "I dropped out due to debt and stress, and even if I had that piece of paper to my name, it wouldn't be relevant in Equestria." Under my breath, I grumbled, "No place for a software engineer when there's no computers..."

"Well, you and I have our names on a classified research report the public won't know about for several years," Moondancer joked somewhat hollowly. "So there's that."

"There is that," I deadpanned. I unfurled the scroll before me and scanned its contents.

"What's that about? Or can you not tell me?" Moondancer asked.

"I'm not seeing any classification. It's from Celestia. Or maybe one of her clerks... Oh!" I re-scanned the paragraph I'd just read. "Apparently my legal status is changing."

"Really? What was it before?"

"I think I was officially a ward under Princess Twilight Sparkle. But it looks like some paperwork's being put together to help me apply for 'permanent resident' status in Equestria. Heck, it says in a few years I could make a run at full citizenship." I lowered the scroll and let the mind-boggling concept wash over me. I was gonna get my green card. And then... Pascal, a naturalized citizen of Equestria.

Moondancer swallowed the spoonful of fruit salad in her mouth. "Well that's good. I'm not sure what rights you had as a 'ward,' but this means you'll be able to work, make a bank account, buy property..."

"Everything a stranded alien needs," I finished. I rolled up the scroll and set it aside. "Looks like I'll be stopping by that clerk's office at some point, maybe today or tomorrow, to sign a few things and get that rolling."

Moondancer smirked. "It can't be all sexytimes all the time, huh?"

I shook my head in rebuke. "Honestly, I'm excited. More independence from Twilight? A chance to rebuild some of the modern life I lost? Being accepted, legally, in this magical land of hyper-sexy ponies?"

"Okay, I get it," she replied with a nod. "I'm happy for you."

"Thanks." I reached for the next piece of mail, which was simply a standard envelope. I peeled it open to find slips of violet-colored foil paper, along with a card. The slips of paper appeared to be tickets, marked with the fancy font of Canterlot Fashion Week.

While I inspected the tickets, Moondancer levitated the card across the table to float in front of her eyes. "'Thought you and your friends would like to see the fruits of your labor.' Signed 'Hoity Toity.'"

I flipped the tickets around. "Four VIP passes to see the Beauty In Bloom runway show, part of Fashion Week at the Canterlot Convention Center. Tomorrow evening."

"He also left a little something for you," Moondancer added, swinging the card around to face me. Beneath the critic's fancy handwriting and signature, there was a lipstick kiss mark. The card also smelled faintly of perfume. "Congratulations, Pascal – one of Equestria's top fashion personalities has a crush on you."

I nodded in grim acceptance, looked off to one side, and said in a perfectly even tone of voice, "Rarity is going to flay me alive."

The student across from me chuckled, bouncing her sweater-bound melons against the rounded edge of the table. My eyes reflexively bounced up to meet Moondancer's own big dark purples, but she didn't seem to mind my ocular wandering.

Contritely, I put the tickets back in the envelope and set them down next to the royal scroll. "Well, I think that's Thursday's itinerary sorted out. You coming?"

"I guess I kinda have to, since I helped make it happen."

"And the other two are for Trixie and Spitfire," I said, thinking aloud. "I'll have to figure out how to get ahold of the Wonderbolts captain, if she's even free. I know Trixie will be down for it..." I pulled out one of the tickets again and inspected the scheduled time. "There's a small chance Derpy might be able to make it after work... Maybe I can give one to her and get myself in for free."

"Yeah, why do you even need tickets?" Moondancer joked.

"Not like I'm gonna tell Hoity about the Acceptance," I muttered. "Not until I find out where his boundaries are."

Moondancer blinked. "The 'acceptance'?"

I shrugged and explained, "Kinda seems more fitting than 'the Normal,' but I'm still trying it out."

"Huh."

The conversation lulled, so I reached for the second scroll, the final piece of mail waiting for me this morning. It was held closed by a clasped band. I unfurled it and immediately recognized Spike's handwriting. "This is from Twilight."

Moondancer raised an eyebrow and gave me a slightly worried look. "...Is that bad?"

"Depends," I said, still skimming. "...'apologize again for what I said and did yesterday,' da-da-da-da-daaaa..." I didn't want to linger on our argument, and it seemed Twilight Sparkle felt the same – the letter quickly moved on to a different subject. "...'wanted to make you aware that, when you're ready, I have a check waiting for you to help get you back on your feet'!"

"Twilight's giving you money?" Moondancer asked.

"Ummmm," – I took a few seconds to read further along – "no... Oh, okay. The 'Equestrian Center for Magical Medicine' has a bounty fund for data on 'rare, dangerous, magical, and exotic lifeforms.'" I leaned back in my chair and stared off into space as an uncomfortable feeling passed down my spine. "All those tests and samples they took from me while I was in quarantine... Apparently the medical community was very happy with them, and wrote Twilight a check. But Twilight's gonna pass it on to me."

Moondancer smiled brightly. "Oh! That's good, then! Of course they should be paying you – you're a sentient volunteer and the only one of your kind on the planet!"

I reached the end of the letter and blanched a bit. "Twilight also suggests that my continued cooperation might be useful if I need more bits in the future." I rolled up the scroll and put it down with the rest of the mail. I also pushed my plate a little further away from me, because I'd lost a little bit of my appetite. "That means getting poked and prodded and tested and having every kind of fluid sampled from me again... all in the name of scientific paychecks."

Not quite sure how to answer that, Moondancer tried to stay chipper and said, "Well, uh– good thing you're getting an ID and all that, so you can deposit those bits! Do you know how much it is?"

"She didn't say exactly, but she described it as 'two months of rent on Lyra and Bon Bon's couch.' So not too bad."

"You've been sleeping on a couch until now?"

"Yeah. I never told you that?"

"Twilight didn't let you–"

"No." I folded my arms on the table and rested my chin there. "She didn't want me at the palace except to take my reports or lecture me."

Moondancer pouted at the remains of her salad. "That... doesn't sound like her."

"Well, 'Humans R Bad,' Celestia and the townsfolk breathing down her neck, the fact that I probably stared at her tits too long when we made first contact – all of that didn't help. Besides, Lyra really wanted to get to know me."

With a depressing sigh, Moondancer pouted and muttered, "Right... No one looks like us back in your world. So you couldn't stop staring, and it all just snowballed from there, huh?"

"And that's how we got here. Welcome back to the present day."

She shook her head as if in a daze. "I guess sex and lust aren't things we're wired to give the benefit of the doubt for."

I simply shrugged my shoulders. "I mean, with good reason. Plenty of room for abuse."

"I think the whole point of this is that we need to take a long, hard look at whether those reasons are still good. Some of them probably still are, but others..."

As Moondancer trailed off, I pushed myself up from the table and looked wistfully at my half-eaten omelette. "We should probably finish our food before we completely kill our appetites." Moondancer nodded in agreement and spooned up some more salad. We ate in relative silence until it was time to return to my room.

Out in the hallway on our way back, Moondancer grunted and magically tugged down the edge of her panties, which were starting to ride up. "This was a mistake..."

"Still not into exhibitionism?" I asked casually.

"No, it's drafty!" she shouted with a laugh.

"Yeah, some of the passageways around here are like wind tunnels under the right circumstances," I said, looking around. I was almost certain this was one of the halls I'd come barreling down when I'd first stormed the palace, throwing off fancy clothes left and right. It had been so empty and foreboding then, but the midday sun and the occasional clerk, janitor, or royal guard made it much more homely.

"You're not wearing pants either," she pointed out with a playful poke of her tongue from her lips.

And it was true. I shrugged and said, "It was just for brunch. I'll probably put on pants if I actually have to go anywhere." I opened my mouth for a yawn, and it quickly advanced to one of those deep, mouth-stretching yawns. At the end of it, I wiped my face and muttered, "But weren't you wearing... basically a string bikini Saturday?" I felt a need to stretch my arms.

"I cast a personal climate control spell on myself before I left. And, um..." Moondancer wrapped her arms around her stomach and stared at the floor as we walked, the little hooves at the ends of her bare feet tapping against the tiles. "I don't think I'm an exhibitionist, but I don't think I mind public nudity. Especially bottomlessness. It's just–"

"The actual sex in public is the dealbreaker."

"Yeah, exactly. Unless, um..."

We were coming up on the door to my room, so I slowed down. "Unless what?"

"Unless... Unless it was my dom ordering me to do... to do something lewd in public. That's all I meant."

"Ahhh." I nodded with some semblance of sageliness. I looked at her askance and, with a little nervousness, asked, "Is that something you want to try with me?"

The awkwardness levels rose as she didn't answer for a really long moment, fidgeting where she stood.

Not sure what else to do but dying a little inside, I opened the door to my room and went in, holding it open for her to follow. As she walked through, I added, "Not– Not like as a 'right now' thing, but–"

"Y-Yeah! Definitely not right now," Moondancer yelped, nearly toppling over herself in embarrassment. Her body language betrayed a self-surprising amount of eagerness, but she visibly fought to remain casual. "Maybe I could get back to you with some scenarios...?"

"That'd be great," I said softly, trying my best comforting smile.

Moondancer sheepishly grinned back. "Good! Good."

I glanced over at the bed. "You a little worked up?"

In response, Moondancer's eyes darted up at the nearest clock, and her muzzle scrunched up in thought. "I don't have a lecture until after lunch... but are you sure you're not too tired?"

She just had to mention that. I fought hard to swallow a sudden bout of yawning, but my eyes teared up and I ended up sucking a huge breath through my teeth anyway. As I wiped my eyes, I muttered, "Okay, maybe I am." And truth be told, despite the fat chub stuffing the front of my underwear, I wasn't mentally in the mood for more sex.

Moondancer gave me a polite smile and, with her magic, picked up the pants and socks she'd left piled on the bed.

My eyes were actually starting to sting from holding back big yawns. "Sorry... that I'm not really fit to entertain you..."

"Oh, don't worry, I'll... I'll figure it out at home," she said as she put her lower clothes back on.

I began to stumble towards the bed as if magnetically drawn to the cushions. I must have been running on sheer adrenaline through Celestia and Luna, and now I was crashing hard. That was the only explanation I could think of for why I was so extremely tired all of a sudden. Though as I sat on the bed and got ready to wish Moondancer a pleasant day, a thought occurred to me. "Hey, Dancer..."

The unicorn was just putting her shoes on. "Hmm?"

I reconsidered. "Nevermind, maybe another time. I was gonna ask you about, I dunno, magic lessons."

Moondancer blinked a few times. "...Oh, you mean remedial magic classes?"

"Yeah, if you knew anything or... whatever." I groggily looked down at my palms. "Mostly to see if I can learn TK. But cleaning spells, size spells... Those would be nice, too."

She sucked in a hissing breath through her grimacing teeth. "That– That would be a tough one. You can definitely apply to them, but... For adults, they require you to set aside most of a week in seclusion. And in your case, with so much raw power, probably a little longer."

"A week in seclusion?" I echoed. "It takes that long to learn telekinesis? Just the basics?"

"No, it takes a day or two at most," she explained. "What takes the rest of the week is learning how to stop. How to control yourself."

"Ahhhhh."

"Because like a newborn unicorn foal, your newly awakened magic starts going wild, grabbing and floating everything. It's safe to teach young children with their low magic-weight ratio, but fully grown adults..."

I imagined myself walking down the street, looking at every mare's bountiful breasts or ass, and each one feeling a telekinetic pinch from several yards away. Every single mare, the whole day long, non-stop, whether I intended to or not. "That would be especially bad in my case, wouldn't it?"

"Heh heh, yeah..." Fully clothed, Moondancer straightened out her outfit. "I'd ask the Princesses if they can point you towards a private tutor. Someone really experienced who's confident enough to handle a Discord-level demigod. That's probably your best bet. But, um, you'll probably have to wait until Celestia can... y'know, stand a week without you."

"Crap," I muttered. "Well, had to ask."

"No no, it was a good question. I don't mind."

I sighed and leaned back on the bed as the busty bookworm headed for the door. "Well, thanks for sticking around. And thanks for the spell."

Moondancer laughed for a long moment, chuckling into her hand. "No– No problem, ahahaha!" Then her expression slowly softened into a look of gentle admiration. "Honestly, Pascal... Thank you for–" She gestured vaguely around. "–for getting to the bottom of all this. For not giving up on us. Any of us." With a wry smile, she added, "You're a good person. You're a pervert, but you're a good person."

I smirked back. "You're pretty awesome yourself, Moondancer."

And then she waved and left. The sound of the door latching closed behind her felt weirdly deafening.

My face fell. I looked down at the carpet and muttered, "Thanks for saying exactly what a shmuck like me wants to hear..."

Then I let out the biggest yawn yet; the kind that makes you squint so hard that you start seeing bright colors behind your eyes. I took that as a sign to dive-bomb into my pillows and pass out.

I awoke, as was becoming more commonly the case, to a knocking at the door.

"Come 'n...!" I groaned out as loud as I could. I sniffled hard; I had slept in an awkward position, so not only was one of my arms asleep, but I was all congested on one side. But boy did I feel a lot more rested. I looked over at the clock, and after a few seconds of extremely slow arithmetic, I came to the conclusion I had napped for about five and a half hours. Wow, I'd really needed that.

The door to my room was opened by a royal guard, tentatively peeking in at first to make sure I was mostly decent. Then he entered normally, all imperious and all business. The armored white earth pony cleared his throat and said, "Mr. Pascal, Captain Spitfire of the Wonderbolts has arrived and has requested to meet with you. Shall I send her up?"

I groggily shook my head and stared at him. "Huh? Spitfire?"

18 – Spitfire – Deeper and Deeper

I went into the bathroom to brush down my bed-head and wash my face while I waited for Spitfire to show up. I was a disheveled mess after my exhaustion-nap. At least the last shower had gotten rid of most of the hair-sparkles from Luna's mane and tail shampoo.

Moondancer's remarks about remedial magic stuck in my sleepy mind. I halfheartedly tried to tense up my hand and move one of the plastic cups on the counter with my mind – no glowing, no avail. If I was gonna learn proper magic, I was gonna need a trainer and a week in seclusion. Because apparently adults need more help finding the willpower to not use magic once they gain access to it.

Come to think of it, though... That was a pretty good explanation for why I hadn't asked some unicorn with a growth spell to hyper-fy my dick yet. Because once I cleared third-leg length, no one was gonna see me for a week, probably. The thought put a wry smirk on my face.

There was no knock – I just heard the door to the suite open and firmly close. "Pascal, you here?" Spitfire's voice called out.

I poked my head out of the bathroom doorway. "Yeah."

Spitfire was in some kind of Wonderbolt officer's uniform, though with the top buttons undone and the black tie draped loosely around her collar. Her brow sagged like she'd been glowering all day and had gotten stuck like that, though she perked up smugly when she saw the state I was in. "Woah. The Princess been riding you a little too hard, you lucky bastard?"

I nearly mentioned that it was Princesses plural, but thought better of it. "Basically." I walked out, holding the straps of my robe to keep it closed around my torso. "What brings you?"

Spitfire tilted her head down at me and let out an aggravated sigh. "What else would I come to you for?"

It took my brain a second to think of the obvious answer – a little hypnotic R&R – but I felt the need to protest. "I dunno, some good conversation?"

"No. No," she said firmly, swiping an X in front of her with both arms. "I do not want to have a long, deep, philosophical discussion right now." The Wonderbolt captain looked more and more visibly stressed with every second. Her hands strangled the air as though it were someone's neck. "My day has been so annoying and stupid that it doesn't even bear repeating. I am going to burst a blood vessel or something at this rate. So hang up the chit-chat and just zap me. Capiche?"

It sounded serious. And I had a couple of hours to kill before I was due to prepare for Trixie's big plans tonight. With a lazy sweeping gesture of my arm, I replied, "Right this way, ma'am."

I pulled up a chair and let Spitfire lay down on the bed. I had told her to do whatever she needed to get comfortable.

Spitfire took that as an invitation to take every last scrap of her clothes off.

"Ahhhh, that's better already," she declared, throwing her bare yellow body against the pillows and cushions. She arched her back as her impressive wings stretched to either side, which had the side benefit of thrusting her perfectly perky jutting F-cups into the air above her. Spitfire delighted in the way my eyes followed the tips of her nipples and their journey skyward. "Glad to know I don't need two wheelbarrows to keep your attention."

Mildly stung, I fired back with, "A true connoisseur appreciates all shapes and sizes," – channeling that manga panel I'd seen out of context once.

"Pffft. Easy to say when the gods themselves made 'nice-looking tits' a fucking law of nature."

"'Nice' is... an understatement," I admitted. "Why do you think I got into so much trouble?"

"I bet." Spitfire shimmied her shoulders to snuggle deeper into the pillows. "This is nice," she commented on the bed. "And still warm."

I wiped away a bit more eye-sand. "You literally woke me up."

"Guess you'll have to get back at me by putting me to sleep, huh?" she said with an evil grin. The fit and toned pegasus straightened herself on the bed, resting her fairly muscular arms at her sides, in anticipation of the beginning of my induction.

I leaned forward in my chair, considering the task at hand. Not only how my amateur hypnosis was going to work, not only trying to figure out what Spitfire wanted out of this session, but wondering about the very nature of my power over her.

"What's the holdup?" she asked, after I'd said nothing for a few seconds. Then she nodded to herself in presumed understanding. "I get it; look, you can have whatever naughty fun you want with me while I'm under. Figure a long, deep trance and about five orgasms oughta help. Just..." A momentary concerned look crossed her features. "Don't make me do anything embarrassing, like cluck like a chicken or something? Nothing stupid."

I raised an eyebrow. "Is that what that stage hypnotist you previously hired tried...?"

"Yeah," Spitfire grumbled with a couple of firm nods. "It was dumb."

This stallion sounded like a complete hack. Here I was, a rookie trained on half-remembered MP3s, aided by a subtle power I didn't even fully understand, and even then – the bar had been set on the floor.

Back on topic. "Look, Spitfire, I appreciate the consent – and boundaries – but I have one slightly more serious question before we start."

Spitfire groaned and snapped, "What?"

I clasped my hands together nervously. "I... still don't understand a lot about the Normal. The Acceptance, whatever. I've learned a lot about how it shields me and my friends from the judgment of others, but not so much about how it affects a singular mind. And I'm not sure how much of this... whole thing is just natural hypnosis or my power helping me out. So... I kinda want to test that out."

Spitfire raised an eyebrow at me. "So you can maybe help Celestia better?"

I hadn't even considered that. "Sure."

She sighed. She clearly didn't like having to wait much longer for her precious trance. I took a mental note to address that during the hypnosis. "What do you have in mind, then?" she asked.

Truth be told, I was making up the plan as I went along, but I had a basic idea. "I bring you down to trance like usual... and then... I try using the power directly on you to take you down even further."

"Oooooo," she ooo'd, which wasn't what I was expecting. "Will that be more relaxing?"

"Possibly, if it works," I replied. "Greater focus, greater surrender... but also greater control for me."

Spitfire smirked. She knew that was a direct hit to my fetish. "To do what, exactly?"

I shrugged. "Not sure yet. Just learn what I'm capable of. Y'know, when I have a remarkably good subject."

"Flattered." Spitfire moved her head away from looking at me and settled back into her pillow. "Fine, let's make this an adventure. Get this started."

Feeling my nerves bundle up, I straightened myself in my chair and, after a moment's thought, scooted it closer to Spitfire's head. That way I could lean forward and speak softly into her cute pony ears. "Alright," I said with purpose... and suddenly I was aware of how dry my throat felt. I stood up. "One sec, I'm gonna get a pitcher of water."

Spitfire groaned.

"One. Totally relaxed, totally focused, letting my voice carry you deeper and deeper into a nice, calm, comfortable trance. Nothing else worries you, nothing else bothers you; all you have to do is follow my voice and obey. Doing what I tell you feels so good, so calm, so relaxing. You are deeply in trance; exactly what you wanted, exactly what you asked for. Letting my voice bypass your conscious mind, to be heard by your subconscious mind, while the rest of you drifts along compliantly as though in a dream."

Laying down on the royal guest bed, utterly nude, her eyes closed and an easy smile across her face... Spitfire looked downright artistically peaceful. Like, you could make an oil painting of just how serene and carefree she was. The furrowing of her brow had lifted, and her resting frown was gone. I was rather impressed with myself; she'd once again taken to the trance like a duck to water.

It was different, doing this alone instead of having Trixie to assist. It was also different only having one subject to direct all of my attention upon. The acoustics of the group shower room had been slightly echoey, while this larger silent space made it feel more private and personal. And now having accomplished a full trance a second time, I felt a rather calming effect on myself as well. I was a little nervous at having full responsibility over a second mind, all to myself with no one else watching, but it was also natural to just chill and go with the flow of things. I had plenty of time; neither of us were in any hurry.

My thinking was: If I was going to make Spitfire my test subject today, I should probably give her something practical in return. Not to mention try to make her less dependent on me so this situation didn't happen so often. "Alright, Spitfire. You're nice and deep, and it's time to give you a few instructions. We'll get to the fun and interesting stuff in a moment, but I have something I want to tell you, something I want you to internalize and remember. Nod your head if you're ready to listen well."

With a lazy slowness, Spitfire moved as I had told her. Her smile dipped back down to a more neutral expression – her version of a serious face under the trance. I did a little fist-pump. Watching people respond to commands under hypnosis was so goddamn cool!

"Alright, Spitfire. Thank you. You're doing so well. I want to give you a gift, a tool, in exchange for all the help you've given me. I want to impart the knowledge of how to meditate. At least what I've learned. You see, all you need to do is find a comfortable place, breathe deeply and regularly – just like you're doing now – and repeat a mantra to yourself over and over. Some phrase or word that centers you, focuses you. Replaces all the ten-thousand other thoughts in your head with just that one. I want you to think of a mantra now. Maybe something you tell yourself to psyche up for a show. Don't tell me what it is; just think of it and nod your head when you're sure."

After about ten seconds or so, Spitfire nodded again.

"Good. You have your mantra? Good. I want you to store that deep in your mind, for later. The next time you're stressed at work or at home, and you've got 5, 10, 20 minutes free... Find a quiet, comfortable place, close your eyes, and say or whisper or think to yourself that mantra over and over again. It won't put you in a state quite as deep as trance, but it will calm you in a very similar way. All under your own power. I highly suggest looking up other breathing exercises; you seem like you would take well to them."

Hopefully that would make her less dependent on me in the future. She'd seemed beyond frustrated when she'd barged in here, and I had felt sorry that she'd felt like I was her only hope of relief. Dependence and control was all fun and games until it caused undue suffering, in my mind.

Still, I couldn't deny that I was enjoying this. Being in control in a hypnosis session somehow quieted many of the nagging voices in my mind. I still had to consider my words carefully, but there was no disputing that I was in control; there were no other minds or opinions to consider in real time. I could trust that Spitfire was okay with this, okay with me, and would let me know if I did something truly objectionable. I rarely ever felt that trust towards myself, so this was a nice change of pace.

I quietly scooted by chair closer to Spitfire's head, so I could reach out and touch her. It took a fair amount of willpower not to poke Spitfire's perky, upward-thrusting tits, or run my hands along her toned stomach and lithe arms. Why had she chosen to do this naked?

After taking a drink of water and swallowing hard, I said, "Alright, Spitfire. You're doing so well, and now it's time for the main event. I'm going to try using my magic directly on your mind. I may not know everything about it yet, but I know that when I touch ponies and speak commands, I can enchant them in more specific ways. I'm going to use that to take you– to try to take you into a deeper and more controlled trance."

Spitfire's serene lips curved upwards. Apparently she found that idea... exciting? Cool? I hadn't a clue.

I found myself leaning forward again. "You should know, however... I've previously told you that hypnotic trances are based on trust, and that you can't be forced into suggestions that you absolutely don't agree with. For this next stage, though..." My throat still felt a little dry, even though I'd just taken some water. "I don't know if that will still be completely true. This will be more like mind control than hypnosis, because we both know how this power can change perceptions. So it may be more difficult for you to resist or break out of the trance."

That faint smile on her face went away a little bit. She didn't seem overly bothered yet, not frowning or furrowing her brow. Hopefully she appreciated that I was telling her this up front.

I slowly reached out and gently placed my thumb on Spitfire's forehead. "So I want you to take this command, going forward..." The contact point between my skin and hers began to glow a blue color. "If you have a problem, and need to get my attention to say something or stop the trance, but you're finding it difficult to resist... I promise I will be watching and listening for some kind of signal. Tap my arm or my shoulder. Cross over your heart. I promise I will pause or stop whatever we're doing and allow you to speak your mind."

A pulse of blue magic waved out from under my thumb for a second. Spitfire gently nodded, and the smile came back.

I was a little freaked out. Whenever my hands glowed, that meant I was doing some serious magic, without even knowing how it worked. I was tapping into just a fraction of my full potential as the Avatar of Acceptance. I was basically across the aisle from Discord. I was going to be capable of some crazy, crazy things in the future.

For now, though, it was time for the experiment.

I adjusted my hand so that my palm rested comfortably on Spitfire's forehead. "It's time, Spitfire. We're going from your deep, comfortable trance now... to a level of focus and surrender even beyond. We'll be taking this slow. I'm going to count down from 100 to 1. Each number you hear, my magic enters a little bit more of your mind, your focus becomes a tiny bit more absolute, you body becomes ever so slightly more compliant and relaxed. If it makes you feel overly strange or afraid, give me a signal and we'll stop. Okay? And...

"100. 99. 98. 97..."

My whole palm was faintly glowing now, looking weird as it shone through the skin on the back of my hand. I faltered a bit, but Spitfire wasn't giving me any signals, so I continued on.

"...96. 95. 94. 93. 92. 91. 90. My magic, my active magic, has taken a foothold in your mind. Slowly coaxing you into complete surrender. Complete focus. Complete relaxation. I want you to trust me as we do this. I only want to use it to help you relax and have fun, and to understand this power more. We're going to go a little further now."

"77. 76. 75. We've been through an adventure or two together, but this is more than I've ever asked you to do for me. I'm really grateful for your willingness to do this, and I promise I won't let you down. 74. 73. 72. 71–"

I jumped a little bit as short waves of blue magic pulsed out from under my hand, under her skin. I could start to feel a part of myself entering her... and some ethereal part of her being sucked into me.

I swallowed hard.

"70. 69." I resisted the urge to whisper 'nice.' "68..."

"...51. 50." I slowly lifted my hand from her head. I was shaking a little bit all over. "Okay. Okay. I want to take this moment to pause and examine where we're at. A part of my magic has... clearly entered you, suffused your mind. I want you to take stock of how you feel, how this process has affected you. If– If– If this is getting uncomfortable, if there have been any unexpected, unwanted side effects, I want you to give me a signal."

Spitfire was quiet for a really long-feeling moment. I vibrated with tension.

She shook her head from side to side.

"No?" I asked. "You don't want to continue with the trance?"

She shook again.

"N-No, you do want to go on? You don't have any issues with how it's gone so far?"

A faint, almost smug smile graced Spitfire's lips, and she nodded. I almost got the sense that she was daring me, like I was the one undergoing a mind-altering trance.

"Alllllright then." I put my hand back on her forehead, and the gentle blue glow returned. "We return to the countdown. My magic will continue to drive you deeper down until you have entered the most perfect trance possible. 49. Getting deeper, calmer, more relaxed, more focused. 48. 47..."

"26. 25. Going past merely the conscious mind, or even the subconscious mind. I have total control over those. Now we're diving deep into the unconscious, the primal mind. At the core of who you are. There are certain things that are protected there, at the very center of your being – the magical essence of your cutie mark, and the most fundamental nature of your personality. Even my magic will find it next to impossible to break that core, and I have no intention of trying. But everything else, every layer above... My magic will unlock the full potential of your mind and turn it into a playground, a plaything. And all the while, all you'll have to do is be totally focused and relaxed, taking a most pleasant vacation from all that troubles you. 24. 23. 22. 21. 20..."

My hand was magically pulsing with every count now. I was clammy and parched and feeling oddly drained. "Four. Closer still. Closer to complete control, complete obedience, complete relaxation. Three. You've done perfectly; following my voice deeper down into trance has become beyond second-nature to you; you do it automatically, without hesitation, with eagerness even."

I switched hands, reached for the near-empty pitcher of ice-water, and poured the rest of it directly into my mouth. It hardly helped.

"Two," I gasped out. "When this is complete..." I had to be confident. This only worked because Spitfire's mind believed it worked, and my magic strengthened the perceptions that aligned with that. "When this is complete, Spitfire, you will be my first total thrall. My wishes will be your commands. My words will be your reality. And your reward will be comfort and bliss."

Just one word left. I almost couldn't force it out of my throat.

"One."

There was a final buzzing pulse through my hand, passing through my skin and hers, and a wave of blue magic swept down Spitfire's nude body from the tips of her ears to the bottom of her hooves. I jerked my hand back and clasped it in the other, watching Spitfire's reaction very carefully.

She didn't move or make any sort of stir. She just kept up the same regular breathing as before.

Meanwhile, I rapidly descended into full silent freakout mode. Some higher process in my brain drew a parallel to how I felt in the first few hours of my new lease on life, between my encounters with the flower trio, Twilight Sparkle at the hayburger joint, and Derpy. That same higher process wondered if I'd made any progress at all since then. But the key thing about the fear of absolute power is what you don't know. It's so difficult to understand the scope of what you have – whether it really is absolute, whether you must handle with care lest you break it, what consequences await should you embrace it. Your brain scrambles to produce a report based on what little evidence you have. Somehow, by plumbing this new depth, I was putting myself through that all over again.

Not to mention the years of mind control erotica flashing through my mind at the same time. All the half-remembered hypnosis fantasies I'd read and fapped to on the internet, all at once. Most of them more manipulative and abusive than I was willing to enact in real life. But I didn't want to abandon all this buildup for nothing. I didn't want to chicken out. Spitfire had come to me for pleasure and relaxation, yes, but also for an experience that, currently, no one else could give her. She'd practically goaded me on while halfway into this super-trance. So how could I reconcile that with an aspect of my fap fantasies?

While I freaked out, Spitfire just kept breathing.

I pressed my fingers hard against my temple. Best place to start is research and information, I thought to myself. "Spitfire," I said aloud.

She didn't respond, but her nearest ear twitched.

I took a deep breath and steadied myself. "I'm going to ask you some questions about your current experience, and I need you to answer them plainly and honestly for me." Spitfire's head dipped a little bit – another nod, I hoped. "How does this feel for you, right now?"

Spitfire breathed for another couple of cycles, and then half-whispered, "Like... my head is..."

"You can speak up," I interrupted her. "You can raise your voice without interrupting your trance." At least I assumed so, considering this was a magical trance and all.

Spitfire nodded again and resumed, closer to normal speaking volume. "Like my brain is encased in cool water," she intoned at a rather lackadaisical pace. "And every so often, there's a wave that caresses me from head to toe. Nothing else but your voice. I barely feel my own body."

I was mildly alarmed. "Does that bother you?"

Her head shook slightly. "No."

A worst-case scenario jumped into my head. "Let's say, purely hypothetically speaking, a monster burst through the nearby wall. Would you be able to break out of trance yourself and deal with it?"

It took about three inhale-exhale cycles for Spitfire to respond again. "Yes. I might find it kind of jarring. But I can wake up from this, if I need to. Because I know that's what you'd want me to do."

The last part struck me. Even at this level, just like on the surface level of the Normal, this power didn't erase the subject's common sense, nor their grasp of context and nuance. Of course Spitfire could break out of this is she really, really, really needed to – this whole process was based on trusting each other not to be completely fucking stupid about this. That didn't make the question any less worth asking, but the answer made total sense in hindsight.

"Thank you for that answer, Spitfire," I replied, not sure what else to say. "How about we try getting you to move while you're in trance. At your own pace, I want you to sit up and turn to face me."

With a bit of a groan from her throat, Spitfire lifted her upper body from the comfortable sheets and pillows, then lazily swung her legs around so that they were dangling off the side. Her hands kept her body upright by holding onto the edge of the bed, and her head hung sleepily.

Here was the real test, in my mind. "Carefully now – open your eyes and look at me."

Her eyelids fluttered for a moment as they carefully let in tiny bits of light. Then her head rose up. Her big orange pony eyes looked directly into my own. The pupils were smaller and more contracted than I had expected, giving her an unnervingly focused expression. Most striking of all, at the outer edges of her irises, there were faint hints of magical blue coloration haloing her natural orange.

I couldn't hold back a quiet "Woah." I looked down at my right hand and put the other one on my chest. I had noticed it a little bit before, but I was getting a fraction of that 'hole in the chest' feeling I'd felt back when I'd fizzled out my reserves of magic trying to modify my own aura. (Which I couldn't believe was only two days ago.) I wasn't feeling that as bad now, but I was maybe... 20 to 30 percent of the way there?

So at my current level, putting a willing pony so completely under my hypnotic spell that their freaking eyes start to turn blue... takes up about a third of my magic. Great. What wonderful data to have.

"You don't have to keep looking at me now," I said nervously. "Just let your neck and eyelids rest at a natural state."

Spitfire's head drooped once more. She was still breathing peacefully. I wasn't sure whether to find the steady, unflappable rhythm calming or unnatural.

Well, I had information that Spitfire could speak, move, and look around without breaking her super-deep trance. Now what? I was still left with the question of what to do with her. I needed to relax her, but she also expected a few orgasms out of it. But I didn't want to get too sexually involved myself, because I was supposed to be saving myself for Derpy later tonight!

A hundred shards of a hundred depraved fantasies flashed behind my eyes. Turning her into my sex slave. Turning her into my maid. A robot. A schoolgirl. A sexy instructor. A naughty 'daddy's girl.' A different made-up character entirely. Turning her own body against her. Making her obsessed with my cock. Making her crave my cock in her mouth. Making her beg to be fucked in the ass. Convincing her she had clothes on when she was naked. Convincing her nothing was unusual while she absentmindedly strokes my dick with her hand. Any number of more complex roleplaying scenarios. Or doing none of the above and just using her body as my personal life-sized grope-doll while she was helplessly entranced.

I shook my head vigorously and nearly smacked myself on the cheek. All of that could come later, with more thoughtful preparation and maybe different partners. I had to focus on the task at hand. Keep it simple.

"Alright, Spitfire," I began again. "I have two very important instructions for you. You will listen very closely and accept them into yourself."

Spitfire's head nodded once more. I had kept worrying that she might doze off or something in the moments where I was silently freaking out, but no, she had been waiting patiently the whole time. Again, it landed somewhere in the middle of heartwarming and bizarre.

"First off, we're going to establish a signal, an easy way for you to return to this level of trance whenever we're both ready and willing. I will place my hand on your forehead and say the words, 'Deepest. Trance. Ever.' Just like that. Those words will cast my magic into your mind and trigger you into this trance beyond trance, even all the way from full alert wakefulness. Okay? So I know you understand, repeat this instruction back to me."

"I will..." she mumbled quietly. Then she seemed to remember my request to speak up and restarted. "I will return to this level of trance when you put your hand on my forehead and say the words 'Deepest, Trance, Ever.' As long as we're both ready and willing. I will go all the way down even if I'm fully awake."

"Good, very good. Now the second instruction. I am going to describe something that will happen when you wake up, starting from then and ending the moment you leave this room. When you wake up, you will still feel floaty and totally relaxed, like you're kind of half in trance but not. Nothing will bother you, nothing will trouble you. All you'll have to do is kick back, relax, and chat. On top of that, the touch of my hands will have a special effect on you: Wherever I touch on your body, no matter where it is, you'll feel a spreading tingling sensation and sexual pleasure. Even if it's your elbow, or your ears, or your belly. Wherever my hands touch, you'll feel spreading, tingling pleasure. Repeat all that back to me."

"When I wake up," she responded without missing a beat, "I'll still feel almost as relaxed as I am in trance. Nothing will bother me. I won't feel the need to do anything else. Until I leave the room. When I wake up, your hands will feel very good and tingling on my skin, no matter where you touch. Until I leave the room."

"Very good, Spitfire. I want you to lay back down on the bed now."

Spitfire did so, almost automatically. I briefly felt the intoxication of my power over her body wash over me.

I scooted a little closer to the bed and put my hand on her forehead again. "Okay, Spitfire. It's time to wake up... sort of. Everything I told you in trance will remain true, but it's time to come out of it and enjoy the effects. I'm going to count from 1 to 15. From 1 to 10, we'll slowly bring my magic out of you and return to a normal level of natural trance. From 11 to 15, you'll return from trance to wakefulness, albeit a very relaxed and easygoing wakefulness. Alright? One."

In my palms, I felt the beginnings of an ethereal flow through my skin.

"My magic is slowly retreating from your mind. It felt nice while it lasted, but it would be irresponsible to make it last forever. But it seemed like you enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to what we can do with it in the future. We have that trigger now, so we can return again the next time you feel like it. Two."

After ten, I had lifted my hand from her head for the rest of the awakening. "Fourteen, waking up, feeling rested and relaxed. And... fifteen. Welcome back, Spitfire."

The nude Wonderbolt captain yawned, stretched, and rubbed her eyes. "That... That was a doozy, Hypnodude. Even for you. You sure you brought me all the way out? I still feel..." She yawned again and shimmied her shoulders into the bedding, as if burrowing into the comfortable mattress. "...really just... chill."

"That was the idea," I remarked, rubbing the palm of my right hand with my fingers. Magically speaking, I still felt a little bit drained, but most of that 'hole in my chest' feeling had disappeared. Whatever magic I'd spent putting her in that trance, I seemed to have gotten the lion's share of it back. Good to know. "Don't you remember the instructions I gave you?"

"Sorta," she groaned. "I was kind of on automatic." She closed her eyes and furrowed her brow. "I have to think about it really hard to remember the gist of what you said. You put it really deep in there, I feel like." She shuddered a little. "If you'd told me to forget about something... I'm not sure I'd want to find it."

"Well, I didn't do that. Kinda didn't want to do anything crazy on our first outing."

Spitfire playfully scoffed. "Wuss." She widened her legs and gently rubbed around her pussy, not even caring that I was watching. Her fingers came up slightly moistened with sweat and lubrication, and I noticed the sweet smell of her arousal now reaching my nostrils.

"You enjoyed that, huh?" I asked.

"A little bit," she muttered back, lazily tilting her head at me. "There's something... I dunno, exciting about all this. Not even always the sexy kind of exciting. It's like extreme stunt flying for the mind, if that makes any sense."

"Nah, I get it." Then I reached out and gently touched her upper arm.

Spitfire's eyes widened quickly. "Woah. Woahhh." What little tension was stored up in her arm disappeared, leaving it limp at her side. Her breathing deepened, her gaze unfocused, and her cheeks began to flush. "Holy... How in the..."

I nearly licked my lips in satisfaction. The suggestion seemed to be working perfectly. "What's up, Spitfire?"

"Y-You fucking know what– Ohhh." Spitfire squirmed where she lay as dual signals of pleasure and relief waged war in her brain. "How the fuck... does that even work...?"

Good question, I thought. There was no way an amateur hypnotist on his second outing was capable of this, even with the most susceptible of subjects. This had to be some of my magic's doing. Sure, it was all in her mind, but that mind had just been touched in a very direct way by a very powerful force. Really, what wasn't possible?

I pulled my hand back, and she nearly gasped in release. Her other arm reached over to rub the spot I'd been touching. "It still tingles– No, wait, there it goes. Fuck." She did her best to glare up at me, blushing hard. "That's what you did to me? While I was under?"

For a moment, I had to wonder at this faux defiance she was showing. Hadn't I told her to be totally relaxed and unbothered? Perhaps hers was the kind of personality that found banter and competition relaxing too.

I put on a grin. "And?" I stood up and took off my robe, leaving me only in my underwear. I walked around to the other side of the bed, saying, "I figured, after such a long, hard day, I didn't want to make you do anything other than lay there..." I climbed onto the bed, settling my body besides hers. "...and submit to the gentle caresses of my magic hands."

"You fucker," she grumbled, but there was no bite in her voice. Nonetheless, she scooted her toned body next to mine, close enough that we were sharing each other's body heat. I placed my hand on her belly and rubbed up and down, causing her to groan and arch her body against mine. "Dammit," she gasped, "that feels weird, but... Ahhhhhh...!"

To someone like me, so sexually insecure that my partner's pleasure was a validation, making her moan aloud was music to my ears. I reached my other arm under her pillow, holding her tightly so that both my hands had free reign over her athletic body.

I pulled back just a little bit so I could zero in on the two perfect handfuls that were her perky F-cup breasts. She saw where my eyes and my hands were headed and muttered, "Of course you– NNNH!" The second my fingers began to explore her soft flesh, her body reacted with exaggerated pleasure. The suggestion had an increased effect on her erogenous zones, no doubt. Her legs twitched, one knee raising reflexively. Her nipples, already a little bit firmed up, stiffened with fascinating speed. I could see with my naked eyes how the buds engorged as her body prepared for more sensations.

Internally, I hesitated at how into this I was. Was there something sick about how I craved this level of power over another's body? The ability to create ecstasy with the laziest of touches, and thus render them helpless and loyal?

Then again, this was Spitfire. She'd probably punch me if I stopped everything now to have a philosophical debate.

I ran my hands up and around her full, perky tits, caressing them like they were priceless artifacts. I teased her by avoiding her nipples for a while, and I got to watch them throb, full and flush with need. At the height of her squirming against me, I went in with both hands, wrapping my fingers around the areolae, and gently squeezed those rosy tips with my fingers. Spitfire cried out, "Fuck!" and bucked her hips, and dragged her heels across the blankets.

A few moments later, there was a desperate hand digging through the front of my underwear, grasping for my chubbed cock and furiously rubbing it. I grinned a little wider. "Trying to turn things around?"

"Seems... only fair..." Spitfire gasped out.

I retaliated by dragging one of my hands across her belly, inching closer to her marehood, but stopping just before I was in reach. "Well, you're welcome to," I said calmly despite her frantic handjob, "though I am trying to save myself for a date with Derpy. Now that the cure's in and it's Derpy's last full day in Canterlot..."

The hand down my underwear stopped. "Shit... really?"

"Honest truth."

"So... you don't want me to jack you off in retaliation?"

I chuckled deep in my chest. "It's tempting. But maybe I should make this all about you, hmmm? You came in so frazzled..." Without warning, I struck. My hand, which Spitfire was hypnotized to be extra sensitive to, found its way down between her legs and cupped her engorged petals.

Spitfire's whole body froze up, coiling like a spring.

I leaned up to her pony ear and, in the same low and even tone I used for the hypnosis, uttered, "Just let the pleasure wash over you. Relax. Let your body do what it wants." At the end of my command, I inserted my middle finger between her lower lips.

"Uu-uuuuh...!" The captain's eyes rolled up a little bit and her mouth hung open, robbing her ability to enunciate. Her whole torso undulated before her hips bucked against my hand. Her pussy squeezed around my finger like a cock and soaked it over and over again. Her juices seeped out and pooled between her thighs, staining the bed. Her body twitched in my arms, but she stayed obedient and simply let it happen.

I finally pulled my hand away, and she gasped in relief at being allowed a break from the pleasure of touch. But I rested that hand on her thigh nearby, making sure that sensation wasn't too far away.

My eyes glanced over at the clock. Even with the hypnosis and this enhanced fingerbanging session, I still had about an hour and change before I was expected in front of the palace for my big date tonight.

"What was that you said?" I asked innocently, sporting a cat-like smile. "About five orgasms oughta help?"

Spitfire whimpered.

My impatient hands went about their devil's work all over again.

Author's Note

It wouldn't be until a couple of weeks later that I'd think to ask about what brought her to my room in the first place.

"Wait, that thing? Oh, hell... Alright, might as well tell ya. I had to run my, er, sexual relief policy proposal past this oversight committee for the Wonderbolts. And let's just say there are some really old crotchety farts on that panel. We were talking about risks, and... Fuck, I told ya this doesn't even bear repeating. Alright, you ready? This crotchety old stallion at the head of the panel, my boss, basically a stallion I can't really talk back to, while we're having a serious discussion about the risks involved when we let everypony have casual sex, has the gall to ask this fucking question... 'What if a mare scoops up some excess semen off the locker room floor, stuffs it into her vag', gets pregnant, and tries to scam one of the male members of the team using the baby?'"

"...Oh God," was all I could say.

"RIGHT?! What the actual fuck?! And I can't just tell him, 'No, flap off you clueless shit, that's disgusting' – I have to actually play along and tell him 'Yes sir we'll watch out for that' – as if any mare wants to imagine shoveling dirty locker-room-floor spooge into her– RRRRGH!"

"Wow."

"Doesn't that make YOU want to hop into trance and forget the whole world for a while?!"

"A little bit. I mean, after the Normal, I never want my mind tampered with ever again, but yeah. Just a little bit."

19 – To Date Night

And lo, it came to pass that the appointed hour arrived, and I was forced to quickly wash, stuff my defiantly ignored boner into the trousers of my tux, and head out the castle gate to await whatever surprise Trixie had waiting for me.

There were a couple of hiccups that made me a little late. One, I was stopped by the guards and forced to check in so they could know where I was in an emergency, and they were frustrated by the vagueness of my evening plans...

The second hiccup: I was carrying a near catatonic and barely dressed Spitfire piggyback style. It hadn't been my choice. I offered to let her stay in the room until she recovered, but she wanted to tag along and see what Trixie was up to. But then she exerted just enough energy to throw on her clothes and button her dress blues together to give her some semblance of modesty... then climbed up onto my shoulders and latched her arms around my chest. She then fell into a horny nap right there, even as I started walking around.

Not that I was complaining much about carrying her. I was holding her up by her incredibly taut ass and she didn't seem to mind. Her shapely tits were pressing against the lower part of my neck. Her body would automatically squirm and twitch against me in aftershocks of arousal, as she muttered and groaned under her breath. It was a one-of-a-kind experience. It just wasn't helping the boner situation, and the fact that my suit pants had been tailored for a definitively 12-inch bulge and no more.

Despite the personal inconvenience, I didn't blame Spitfire for still being out of it. I had been relentless. My fingers were sore and sopping wet after going to town on Spitfire's body. When I was getting tired and in the mood for a shake-up, I'd brought out the big black horsecock dildo that Trixie and Derpy had bought (and made extensive use of) yesterday. (There was something extra-dominant about fucking a desperate mare with a proxy instead of your own cock, and I still wasn't sure how to feel about that.) At some point after the sixth orgasm, Spitfire's mind or body or both just gave up and she checked out into an orgasmic coma, half-grinning and drooling while I continued to fondle and penetrate her.

Which probably explained the piggyback situation, even after my hypnotic commands to relax should have ended.

So I was full of excuses and worried about the delay as I left the royal palace. When I finally managed to make my way out the front gate, there was already an ornate carriage waiting off to the side of the road leading down the hill.

A tan earth pony stallion was waiting within the rickshaw-style handlebars at the front, his obscenely muscular physique squeezed into his uniform. He blinked at me a few times, then yelled out, "Pascal? The uh... human?"

"That's me!"

"Yes, I'm here on behalf of Trixie," he called back, lowering his voice gradually as I got closer.

I nodded. "Figured as much."

The stallion nodded in relief. "Okay. Ms. Lulamoon has rented this carriage for pretty much the rest of the night. And my first task was to pick you up and–" His eyes darted up and to the side in a quick burst of thought. "–uh, take you to a surprise destination!" He gestured towards the Wonderbolt on my back. "She mentioned you might have guests, and they're welcome to ride if it's on their way."

I impishly (but gently) bounced Spitfire a couple of times, making her groan. "I don't think she's airworthy yet, so we'll take you up on that."

The driver stallion nodded, and then his face got a little crooked with some kind of bemused expression. "Is that, um...?"

I didn't answer for a few moments. I adjusted the way I was carrying Spitfire so I could get one arm free. Then I waved my hand in front of the stallion's face, Jedi-mind-trick style. "She's earned a night where she can relax as a regular citizen," I said plainly.

To my surprise, my hand briefly glowed blue, a color I saw mirrored in the stallion's big eyes. He quickly nodded a few times and made his way to open the carriage's side doors. "Of course. Step right in!"

Okay, seriously, I was starting to cast spells left and right. What was it going to take to unlock telekinesis?!

As I approached, I tilted my head up and said in a babyish voice, "Hey Spitfirrrre... You gotta get off nowww..."

Spitfire groaned and her legs squeezed my sides tighter.

"There's a niiiiice, comfy seat in there. I'll get you within crawling distance." And so I did, leaning down with one foot on the step into the vehicle.

With the lethargy of a toddler, Spitfire reached off my back and basically fell onto the plush double-wide seat, eventually stretching herself across it like a cat. I climbed into the seat opposite from her. I had to take a moment to adjust my pants again, because my dick wasn't committing to the whole 'softening' agenda just yet.

Once the stallion confirmed we were all set, he went back to the handles and started pulling us down the road with his earth pony speed and might. I could hear his work-booted hooves land on the ground, and for a second I could pretend we were riding an actual horse-drawn carriage, not a pony-man-hybrid-of-unreasonable-strength-and-stamina-drawn carriage.

After watching the sunset-stained hill roll by for a moment or two, I looked across at Spitfire. The vibrations of travel were forcing her to actually wake back up a bit. I said, just a bit smugly, "You enjoyed yourself, then?" A note of trepidation crept in at the end.

Spitfire limply dragged a hand down her face. She really looked exhausted. "Ughhh... Yeah, you might say that..." she said with a slur.

I crossed my legs and looked out the window shyly. "Good, good."

Spitfire groaned yet again. "Pascal... I don't... have the energy... to babysit you through your dom drop or whatever it's called. I liked it, dammit; just accept it."

I put a knuckle to my lips and wondered just how much of my heart I was wearing on my sleeve. "Well, thanks. That–" I wanted to ask 'That obvious?' but it would have been just another way to search for approval, so I stopped and switched tracks. "Sounds like you've done some reading on the subject."

"Yep," Spitfire grumbled, her arm over her eyes and her chest jiggling as the carriage moved onto a cobblestone street. "I'm in the hypnosub club. Print out that card and... hand me that t-shirt..." she grumbled semi-coherently.

"I'll get on it. They have books on being a hypnosub?" I had to ask.

She lifted her arm and glared at me with a growing streak of red across her cheeks. "No, you just– it's not hard to get exposed to the whole BDSM thing when– when all you've got for regular companionship is romance novels, okay?!" She quickly turned her head away, as if she couldn't believe she'd just admitted that to me. My 'easy-to-confide-in' aspect of the aura was still very much a thing.

What she had just said, though, was mildly interesting. This was a running theme I had ignored before. "Those sure are prevalent. The books, I mean. Seems like half the mares I talked to was sort of raised on adult fiction. I'm surprised, since out-and-out porn seems so frowned upon by the crown."

Spitfire groaned and laid her arm across her eyes again. "I dunno, Celestia's admin has a blind spot for borderline erotica," Spitfire mumbled. "If you ask me, I'd bet she has a private collection of smutty novels."

Something to note for later? Maybe not. It was a good rumor – a great one, really – but it didn't gel with my mental image of the Princess, if only because she seemed so romantically unsatisfied that even fantasies were useless. Maybe that had been the case in the past, but more recently they'd become useless as her frustrations grew...

"You're seriously thinking about it."

I chuckled. "I have a conflict of interest. I'm not taking your bet."

"How is that going?" Spitfire asked, her curiosity giving her more energy. "With the Princess, I mean."

"Two steps forward, one step back," I said with a shrug of my hands.

"Well, that's net one step."

I nodded. "Yep."

We rode in silence for a few seconds. The carriage had finally reached the city of Canterlot proper. With the setting of the sun, ponies were out and about on the street on their way home from work. I hadn't been outside the castle complex in several days, not since that fateful Saturday night. It was almost like waking up from a dream, only to realize that yes, I was still living in a world where obscenely large tits, butts, and cocks bulged under conservative layers of clothing as far as the eye could see. A walk through a wet dream. My pelvis stirred unhelpfully again.

"You look hungry," Spitfire commented, smirking at me from where she rested her head.

I sighed. "In more than one sense." I was hoping that dinner was a part of Trixie's big plans. Seemed likely enough.

The Wonderbolt dragged herself up to a proper sitting position, rubbing the side of her face that had been pressed against the fabric. "The perv's never goin' away," she observed. "But the good news is, I guess... you don't gotta be pure all the time. You just need some kinda outlet for that mean, dominant streak."

I frowned. I thought back to how I made Lyrica Lilac call herself a cunt and Lieutenant Rook put on a masturbation show all day Saturday. One of those had been before I'd known I was on a life-or-death timer measured in minutes.

"That's what I think I am, y'know?" she went on. "Not just relaxing for me, but maybe a chance for you to... I dunno, release that pressure valve."

I gave her a wry look. "And all in the interest of global security, since I'm a frickin' demigod."

Spitfire rolled her eyes and waved a hand dismissively at me. "'Captain Spitfire' doesn't give a shit anymore. That's above my pay grade, and I'm already compromised. Nopony's gonna ask me to run a risk analysis on ya. No, I'm just talking about you and me."

There was something about this line of thinking that really bothered me. "I just– I don't want anyone to feel forced, like– I don't want to torture anyone just so I can be the Nice Avatar the other 90% of the time."

The Wonderbolt raised an eyebrow and smirked at me. "You call that torture? Dude... you are the worst torturer, then. Just the worst."

I rubbed the inner corners of my eyes. "I get what you're saying. I do. Just... I have a lot of power. It's extra-hard to make sure everyone's having a genuinely good time, and not just..." The words jumbled up in my throat.

"Your whole power is about making people feel fine, even in unusual situations. If nothing else..." Spitfire then shook her head and threw up her hands. "Nope. Sorry, done being philosophical. I'm dry."

"Fair enough." I looked out the window and watched a few more Canterlot buildings roll by. We weren't yet at Trixie's destination. "One other semi-serious question."

Spitfire rolled her eyes. "Fine, shoot."

"I've been trying to figure out where everypony stands relationship-wise. Just, y'know, trying to make clear what we expect from each other. Derpy and Trixie seem committed–" I thought back to our half-day-long fuckfest on Monday. "–well, pretty damn committed to the 'poly' thing. But Moondancer's decided she wants to date other ponies and keep a more 'friends with benefits' thing with us."

"Good on her!" Spitfire replied. Some real enthusiasm for the bookworm getting out of her shell broke through her lethargy.

"Which kinda just leaves you," I said, leaning forward and clasping my hands under my chin. My eyes strayed to the line of yellow cleavage framed by the haphazardly buttoned navy blue dress shirt, but they bounced up pretty quick. "Where do you and I stand? We've got this semi-professional, semi-casual thing going on, far as I can tell..."

Spitfire spread out her arms along the backrest of her seat and looked out the window. "Yeah, seems that way... I dunno. I'm too busy for a relationship, y'know? Yeah, my day job's Captain of the Wonderbolts, believe it or not." That got a short laugh out of me. "But I dunno. You sorta rode in like a white knight and really made a dent in one of my biggest problems with the team, so..." Her face contorted as she forced out a confession. "So yeah, I kinda care about you. Personally. A lot."

You are so tsundere right now, a part of my brain declared – the weeb part – before being swiftly sacked.

Spitfire leaned her head back and half-sighed, half-groaned. "...I like what we have right now? The semi-professional fuckbuddies thing? I don't want to do the whole 'harem' crap. Can't I just be, like, one of your girls on the side? Separate from the harem, just a you-and-me thing?"

I shrugged. "Don't see why not. Any particular reason?"

"I just don't wanna have to deal with Trixie full-time," Spitfire replied with a grimace, and I chuckled. "And Derpy seems nice, but I don't really know her."

I clapped my hands and nodded. "If that works for you, that works for me."

"Sweet." She dropped her arms and leaned forward. "Speaking of semi-professional, when do you think you can start working on the rest of my team as a hypnotherapist?"

I never doubted that she was serious about this, but it still managed to surprise me. "Uh, well..." There had been some thoughts cooking on the back burner, and now seemed like a good enough time to try them out. "I was thinking... I'll set up an office, either in Ponyville or Canterlot. Once things are a bit more stable."

"And then I can just send them to you," Spitfire added matter-of-factly, nodding to herself. "Not like they can't fly over."

"Is there like an urgent need, or...?"

"No no– well– no." Spitfire shook her head. "I'm just serious about looking after my team. We've needed some kinda mental health solution for a while. Fan-meets and company parties don't really seem to cut it. I'm just looking forward to being able to tell my fliers, 'Hey, I'm gonna send you to this guy, and he'll make you feel a lot better.'"

That idea didn't sit right with me, the way she said it. "Seems like some of that could happen at home, if you know what I mean."

Spitfire hissed through her teeth and avoided my gaze. "Yeah... We could use a bit of a culture shake-up in general. We could be more supportive." She put a hand to her temple. "You probably saw – I've been kinda in total-bitch-mode this whole season. Which is why I really like these sessions. You help me, that helps my team too."

The negative-Nancy side of my brain tried to find a downside there – some other way to bitch about how powerful I was and how bullshit that was. It couldn't, at least for the moment. "...Glad to hear that," I eventually said.

Outside, the pace of our driver's steps slowed from a run to a bit more of a jog, and the carriage made its final turn to park alongside the sidewalk. Wherever this was, it was our stop.

Before either Spitfire or I could open the carriage door and get out, a presence of magenta-colored magic gripped the handles and swung them open dramatically. Trixie was standing there, looking up at us from under her magician's hat, her vast blue cleavage threatening to burst out of her leotard. Her eyebrows jumped up at the sight of the disheveled Wonderbolt across from me. "Ah, Captain Spitfire! You look like you've had fun today!" Her catlike smirk aimed towards me. Her violet eyes looked up and down my outfit appreciatively. "And you... Are you ready for your magical night with The Sweet and Lactating Derpy?"

A bark of laughter forced its way out of my throat. "Wow, really?"

Trixie beckoned us out. "Come now, let's not keep her waiting too long!"

Spitfire and I exchanged a look as we braced ourselves to get back on Trixie's Wild Ride. Then we carefully exited the carriage one after the other, stepping down onto the sidewalk.

"Oh, hey Pascal," a voice to the side greeted me.

I looked to my right and saw... Moondancer? And behind her were her friends Minuette, Lemon Hearts, and Twinkleshine! Confused, all I could do was reply, "Uh, hey?"

Minuette waved back at us excitedly. "Heyyyy!" Then she realized the celebrity next to me. "Woah, is that...?!" Her eyes glazed over for a second, and she quieted down real quick. "N-Nevermind." It looked the 'Spitfire-gets-to-have-a-regular-night' enchantment was still working beyond the carriage driver. It didn't give me any clues as to why she and the other Canterlot friends were there, though.

Trixie stepped beside me, still smug. "It'd be a waste of a carriage rental if we just used it for one trip from the palace to here. And I can't let you and Derpy have all the fun. So I'm having a girls' night on the side! We're going to hit up Canterlot's nightlife, and... well, what happens next is between us." That statement got Lemon Hearts sheepishly hiding behind one of the other girls. "Don't worry, the carriage will be back to return you and Derpy to the palace once you're all done."

"Done with what?" I finally had the wherewithal to ask.

Trixie swept her arm towards the end of the block. "Dinner at one of Canterlot's finest establishments, recommended by Fancy Pants!"

I looked down the street. The building at the end of the block was pretty tame and nondescript by Canterlot standards, but then I noticed a railing and a set of stairs leading down to a basement-level door. A humble sign on the wall pointing down read The Horizon Joint.

At last, the mystery was revealed. "A romantic dinner at a four-star hole in the wall."

"Followed by a night of one-on-one lovemaking with a fully rested human lover," Trixie added, walking her fingers along my upper arm and shoulder. Leaning into my ear, she whispered, "Though it looks like you had some fun anyway..."

"I saved myself, don't worry," I murmured in reply. I ran my hand up Trixie's back and rubbed affectionately.

"Good..."

I could hear the sound of Spitfire rubbing her face. "And meanwhile, you're going out clubbing... on a Wednesday night?"

Trixie looked back and turned her nose up at the captain. "Some of the best plans sound flawed when you say them out loud." Which was... just a quintessentially Trixie thing to say.

Since all three of the Saturday mares were here, I realized this was a perfect opportunity to pass some news along. "Speaking of the best laid plans..." I reached into the inside pocket of my tux and pulled out the envelope from Hoity Toity. I pulled out three of the four invitations and offered them to Trixie, Spitfire, and Moondancer.

Trixie's eyes nearly bugged out, and her grin got even more unstoppable. "An invitation to Beauty in Bloom?! Ahahaha!"

"Oh, fuck," Spitfire cursed. "We made it happen. Fashion Week."

Moondancer flipped over the ticket in her hands, looking at the other mares curiously. "So we're really going, then?"

Spitfire blew a huff of air out from her lips. "Might as well. See what the damage is."

Trixie launched herself at me with a big hug, crushing her enormous titties against my chest. "This is going to be so AMAZING! I can't wait!" She peppered my cheek with kisses, stunning me for a second. Then she leaned towards my ear to whisper again. "I love seeing you make big changes in this city..."

I gave her a chaste kiss on the cheek back, then pulled away and asked, "Before we all go our separate ways, mind if we talk for a second?"

Trixie agreed, and the two of us took a few steps further down the street towards The Horizon Joint. The other girls chatted amongst themselves (and some of them discreetly interrogated Spitfire). Trixie kept her body pressed against mine, which I couldn't deny enjoying a lot. My hands instinctively caressed her sides, straying up towards bountiful, squishy blue sideboob. The unicorn mare leaned in so that the brim of her hat was poking my hair, shadowing our faces. "Something the matter? Am I putting you too much on the spot?"

"I think I've just about got a handle on what's going on," I said. "Just wanting to check in. Last time I saw you, you looked kind of upset."

Trixie blinked. "When was that?"

"After the cure. You snuck a taste..."

The magician girl's unflappable confidence fell almost in an instant. "Yeah... I made the wrong bet. I really wanted to believe, right up until the end... But the spell worked; it really tasted different. Less, well..." She trailed off and frowned at the ground off to the side. "I was an idiot. My usual idiot self."

I lifted her hat just enough to give her a kiss on the forehead. "Being skeptical was valid. You helped us keep a level head instead of falling into a panic. That was important, that day."

She didn't move her eyes, but her electric-blue tail flicked indecisively. "I was... willing to ignore everything else, just to be contrary. I denied it right up until the end. I let myself... get addicted. And I chose it, practically willingly." She covered her eyes, more in exasperation than shame. "I really do have 'sucker for dark pacts' written on my face..."

"Trixie?" I reached up with one hand, tempted to tilt her chin back towards me... but I thought that might be a little cliché. So I instead stroked the back of my fingers along her neck before placing my hand on her shoulder. "It all turned out alright. I wouldn't be here without your help. You've been so good to me, Trixie, I don't know how I deserve you."

Trixie rubbed her eyes and chuckled a little bit. "Is that what it feels like?" she asked. "Getting encouragement from people who care about you and not really believing them?"

Yep, for once our roles were reversed. "Pretty much. Even though you really want to."

Trixie sniffled and finally turned back towards me. "If you're going to be a therapist... who's gonna listen to your troubles, hmm? Might as well help each other out."

"Sounds like a plan." I nuzzled my nose against her muzzle, making her face scrunch up cutely. She gave me a playfully indignant look for a second. I pulled back a bit to give us both a bit of symbolic room to breathe, and said, "So I heard you and Derpy had a day out, just the two of you. How was it?"

"It was..." Trixie let out an almost dreamy sigh, and some of her good mood returned. "I can see why you fell for her."

That was excellent news to me. I knew we were having quite a bit of fun as a threesome, but I was concerned about the dynamic between the two of them. "Really now?"

Trixie nodded. "Mmhmm. She's... cute and sexy and awkward and adorable... Goddess, it's not fair for one mare to be all those things so perfectly. And forget her eyes – the mare can gaze into ponies' souls, I swear! It's like, every so often she can read my mind and figure out exactly what I'm most worried about."

Another burst of laughter broke out of me at 'read my mind.' "Right?! Okay, so I'm not the only one..."

Trixie giggled too. "Anyway, we had a good day. Went shopping, saw the sights, got into a little bit of sexy trouble at Canterlot Carousel... really flustered the manager there..." An evil smirk graced Trixie's features, and it seemed that she was back to full-power smug once more. "You know, I thought between me and her, we'd have this shoulder-angel, shoulder-devil thing going on... But she's got both roles covered all by herself, doesn't she?"

"Oh yeah," I agreed with a nod. "Whether it's for comfort or fun, she's the master of the soul-read and the gentle nudge."

"Which, I guess, makes me the master of pushing you two beyond your easy, comfortable limits. I can live with that."

We finally let each other go. Looking over to the girls'-night group, I said, "You gonna be okay? Sounds like you've been very spendy today."

"Oh believe me, a night to binge like tonight is exactly what my show profits are for." She brushed her tail against my leg. "Though if you want to make things a little bit easier..."

I raised my hand, fingers ready to snap. "Wherever you go clubbing tonight, you can get free admission and drinks... within reason. If things escalate to casual sex, it won't bother anyone outside the group." Snap! A spark of blue magic burst, and I could almost feel an invisible wave ripple through the air.

Trixie's eyes went adorably wide. "Oooooooooh, you've got to show me more of those tricks later."

"Well, you've probably got me for the rest of the week."

"Which is exactly why I'm giving you entirely to Derpy tonight. Seems only fair." She winked and made her way back to the other mares. "Alright, everypony, into the carriage! Let's have some FUN!"

Spitfire, currently leaning against said carriage with her arms folded, said, "Screw it, mind if I come along? I might just end up taking tomorrow off anyway."

The magician didn't seem bothered by the idea at all. "Why not? Today's for celebrating our triumph and getting to know each other better."

"Sure, whatever." Spitfire sluggishly began to climb back into the carriage. To me, she called out, "Have a good night, Pascal."

Trixie turned around to give me a cheeky farewell too. "Enjoy yourself! ...You stud, you."

I bashfully looked aside as the mares climbed into the rental carriage. I had just enough presence of mind to wave them goodbye as the driver pulled them along down the street. My awareness briefly expanded to the rest of the avenue, watching other well-endowed anthro ponies go about their business. The thought that I could have such a special night amongst this race... Hell, even if I were among humans...

I turned around and stared down the stone stairs leading to The Horizon Joint. Derpy had to already be inside, waiting for me. I straightened my tux, adjusted my pants for what seemed like the dozenth time, and carefully made my way down to my dinner date.

20 – Derpy – Dinner Conversation

Eight steep downward steps later, and I was standing in front of the door to The Horizon Joint restaurant. The level of the sidewalk was above my head. A great deal of trepidation and anxiety wound up my nerves, and I paused in front of the door for more than a few seconds.

My only romantic experiences up to this point had been some shitty puppy love in grade school and a long-distance relationship that literally went nowhere. The rest of my life mostly featured my nose in a book or in front of a computer screen, usually amongst other guys. It dawned on me that I had never actually been on a date. Especially not with a girl– no, a woman, a mare so sexy and loving as Derpy. And here I was, walking in with naught but the gifts of others – the fitted tuxedo from Fancy Pants, the reservation from Trixie – and... well, a demigod-like power pulsing in my chest. I didn't really have so much to be worried about, but that didn't stop clichés and media expectations from raising their voices and demanding to know whether this was going to be romantic enough for the movies.

Fuck it. I firmly grasped the door handle and walked inside.

The interior of The Horizon Joint was primarily three things: brick, wood, and orange. It was also small and a little cramped. Magical lamplight cast everything in an aggressively cozy haze. On my forward-left was a long island station serving as a bar, not that far from the entrance. Along the walls, the booths were carved into the bricks, so that each group would have their own little nook lit by an overhead lamp and separated from each other by more bricks. At the moment, there were barely a few customers here already, so the din of the room was low and I could hear the sounds of the kitchen in the distance.

In the middle of me taking this all in, a cyan mare with a prodigious rack bound by a button-up uniform came up to a podium in front of me and smiled at me while her hands reached for some menus. "Hello! Welcome to The Horizon Joint!" she greeted me with a warm customer-service tone. "Just one?"

I cleared my throat, and didn't try too hard to avoid staring at her swaying breasts. "No, I'm here to meet Ditsy Doo, also goes by Derpy? Trixie Lulamoon set this up."

The waiter's eyes widened, and a hint of red flushed into her cheeks. "Oh! So you're..." She trailed off as she seemed to finally take in my appearance – namely the fact that I wasn't a species she recognized. "Oh. Okay! Um..." She put her hands on the podium and leaned forward with an apologetic look on her face (an apology I already considered forgiven with the way her chest pressed against the wooden stand). "Sorry, we get a lot of different kinds of folks here, and we have plenty of options for catering to their unique dietary needs, but... I'm afraid I'm not familiar with..."

"That's okay – I'm the only one of my kind in Equestria," I replied with an understanding smile. "I'm human."

She nodded quickly. "Human! Wow, okay." She gave me a studying look and pressed her hands together palm-to-palm in front of her lips. "So... have you been to an Equestrian restaurant before? What are the indigestibles for humans – do you know?"

Back in my first week in Equestria, quarantined at Ponyville General Hospital, this had been one of the subjects that Twilight Sparkle had rigorously questioned and tested me for. I'd never really had a reason to rattle this list off, but it had been kind of an interesting detail so I remembered some of it. Counting off on my fingers, I said, "No rocks or gems... No grasses or flowers..." When that ran out, I just called upon my grade-school health class food pyramid. "I can eat grain products; fruits and tender vegetables; dairy products; meat, nuts, and proteins; fats and oils... and sweets, I guess."

"Uh-huh," the waiter said, still momentarily confused. Her hand reached down again and pulled out one of the menus from the podium. "So if I were to give you, say, a griffon menu..."

I thought about it for a moment. "I'm not as big a fan of raw meat."

"Oh, we can cook it however you like it, that's fine."

I nodded. "Then that'll work."

The customer-service smile returned now that the problem had been overcome. "Great! I'll take you to Ditsy's table." I followed her, admiring the way her tail and rear swayed, and as we walked, she said, "The mare who set this up – Trixie? – she asked me to give you two a spot that was a little more private and romantic." Indeed, it looked like we were headed towards one of the further corner booths. "I take it this is a date?" she said.

"More of a... chance to relax and pretend we're normal after a harrowing adventure," I said in response.

The waiter laughed. "Oho, yeah! Seems like people in Equestria get sucked into adventures all the time; we get a couple of those types every once in a while. Nothing helps you relax like some good company and great food!"

"That's what we're hopin'," I said kind of wearily. I just wanted to be with Derpy already. "But yeah, it's also kind of a date."

"Oooh, you found love on this adventure?"

To say the least. "Oh yeah."

She giggled and said, "Well, I'll keep things running smoothly for you, so all you have to worry about is having a good time. Here we are!"

We finally arrived at a corner booth that had a round table inside rather than a two-sided bench set-up. I only saw a hint of gray behind the border of the brick wall as we approached, but then we got in front of the table and... well, my breath was taken away.

Derpy wasn't nude, for once. But she was tantalizingly close.

The only thing she was wearing was a transparent babydoll nightie that hugged her milk-bombers just a little bit tightly. There was a more solidly white-colored section across the center of her chest with lacy frills, preventing her nipples and areolae from being seen in their full glory (besides the indentations of those attention-seeking nubs) and framing her creamy cleavage in a stretched-out U. But the rest of the gown was ghostly silk, reaching down to tickle the swell of her hips but no further. She had no panties or underwear of any kind on, so the only thing hiding her soft, swollen marehood were her incredibly thick thighs. But her feet, they were wrapped in a pair of gladiator-style sandals with straps weaving up to just beneath her knees, all of them colored gold to match her mane and eyes.

I must have been staring, slack-jawed, mouth dry, for a solid eight seconds or so. I jolted out of it and just breathed out a "Woooow."

Derpy burst out into bubbly giggles. "You're– You're not looking so bad yourself, Pasky!" I had completely forgotten I was wearing a tailored tux – that she'd never gotten to see me wear until now, since it had been at the cleaners' for a while. "Like the main character of a spy story!"

"You two make a gorgeous couple..." our waiter said in an almost dreamy tone. Then she seemed to realize what she said and cleared her throat. "Um, I'll be back with some waters! I'll take your orders whenever you're ready!" And she took off.

I managed to make my way to the other end of the three-quarters-circle bench and sit down. When I did, Derpy across from me scooted towards the center. I got the idea and scooted there myself. A few seconds later, we were sitting side by side in the center, feeling each other's warmth and looking out into the restaurant. She reached up and kissed my cheek, and I responded automatically by reaching my arm behind her back to steady her as I kissed her forcefully on the lips. She hummed into me pleasantly, our tongues began to dance and duel...

After not too long, we pulled away. "Plenty... of time for that later," she breathed out.

"It was long overdue, at least that much," I remarked. I looked down at her lingerie again and lost my breath again. "Damn... You really figured out this whole 'exhibitionist fashion' thing, huh?"

She bashfully wriggled backwards, intentionally-or-unintentionally giving me a greater view of her chest decoration. The presences of her thick nipples made themselves greater known through the fabric. "Trixie helped a lot. And, um, Sassy Saddles. Trixie, mm, maybe used my permission to go nude to tease her a bit."

I playfully smirked. "Ah, so it's all Trixie's fault," I deadpanned.

"Alright alright, it was fun for me too," Derpy admitted, pretending to pout. A simple smile grew on her face despite herself. "The whole day was fun. Trixie's fun."

"Is she? Good! I was hoping you two would hit it off."

"Yeah, she's..." Derpy stared off into space for a little bit. "She pushes you, and she gets right up to the borderline, but then... then all of a sudden, the guard drops, and she shows a side of herself that is really just so genuine, and so honest. She's learned a lot, and..." Derpy nuzzled her head into my neck. "And yeah, I'm falling for her."

"Awww." I rubbed my cheek against her mane – then thought better of it, because now that I was looking at it and feeling it, something amazing had been done with her mane. Instead of her usual carefree casual style, it had been meticulously brushed and styled down one shoulder. It was like a waterfall of bright gold running down from her head. Probably for the best I didn't mess with it, then. Trying to get my mind back on topic, I said, "Yeah, uh... Yeah, that's the Trixie I kinda fell for, too." With a chuckle, I added, "It sounds like Trixie feels similarly about you. Er, similarly to me, about you, I mean."

Derpy hugged my waist with the arm that was buried between us. "I'm still surprised that I'm getting along with Trixie, of all ponies... but between you and her, I think there's nopony else I'd rather start a harem with." With her other hand, she put a finger on her bottom lip ponderously. "Except maybe Princess Luna."

The thought of that... "Oooh, now that'd be a steal."

A sly look came over Derpy's face. "Might be more likely than you think..."

"You've got an inside line?" I asked, my eyebrows raising a bit.

"She's visited my dreams a couple of times. I may have mentioned it. We're getting along great, honestly."

Tonight was a night for getting dumbstruck over and over again, apparently. When I shook out of this newest spell, I said, "Might make things awkward with Celestia, though."

"How's that going? If you can tell me."

I thought for only a split-second. "Derpy, I'm gonna need someone of my own to talk to about these 'therapy' sessions, and I think it ought to be you."

Derpy looked up at me with a smile. "I'd be happy to be your assistant, Pasky."

The waiter mare came by with a tray a moment later and placed two glasses of ice water on the table. "There you go – my name is Ocean Lily, I'll be your server tonight. Do you need more time to order?"

My menu hadn't even been opened. "Yeah."

"Could we get two more empty glasses? With just a little bit of ice?" Derpy asked out of the blue.

"Uh, sure! I'll be right back with that, and then we can figure out drinks and appetizers and whatnot." Ocean Lily hurried off.

Two empty glasses? My eyes slowly drifted down towards my fantastic view of Derpy's cleavage. "Ohhh man..." I whispered.

Derpy grinned almost evilly at me. "I know you love your milk."

"No, I love your mil– wait." I clenched my eyes shut. "That sounded weird."

The gray-and-blonde pegasus busted out laughing – mission accomplished. She got caught up in a couple of laugh-snort cycles before finally managing to catch her breath. "Ahh... Well, hopefully I'll be sampling your 'milk' soon enough. And not just on my tits, but... ahhhh~" She opened her mouth and let her tongue loll out for a second, before pulling it back and grinning again.

A pulse of excitement washed through me. "Cannot wait."

'Clink clink.' Ocean Lily was back with our ice-only glasses. "Allllright. Need more time to decide?"

I was definitely clueless as to what I could eat here, but Derpy immediately responded with, "I'll still have a soda. And I think I'll start with some salad skewers." Ocean Lily jotted that down.

"Huh?" I looked over to Derpy's menu, which was open and had a picture of the aforementioned appetizer. It was a plate of skewers, each stacked with alternating chunks of lettuce, cucumber, avocados, cherry tomatoes, and drizzled with some kind of salad dressing. "That sounds nothing like what I would usually eat, but tonight's a night for trying new things, so why not?"

"Double order of salad skewers, then?" Ocean asked. We both nodded in response. "Alright! I'll get that set up for ya while you, uh–" Ocean Lily was blushing again. "–enjoy yourselves and decide on your entrées." And then she was off again.

Once the waiter was out of earshot, Derpy shot me a conspiratorial look and reached for the empty glasses. "Help me?" With her other hand, she lifted up her nightie, exposing her soft and massive yet buoyant gray gazongas to the open air without a care in the world. She got up onto her knees atop the bench and looked at me expectantly.

"...My God, yes."

When Derpy placed the glasses under her teats, she used both her hands to navigate her left nipple into her spare glass, while I was entrusted to guide her right nub into what would be mine. Exposed and darkening, they were already leaking tiny drips. As I ran my hands all along her breast in a milking motion, spurts of creamy white spilled into the glass, accompanied by a quiver that nearly toppled the cups over. It was more of an effort than either of us expected, I think, but it was so inexplicably hot that neither of us cared. The more breastmilk came out, the thirstier I got, and the more Derpy's hips squirmed against her seat.

We narrowly avoided spillage by pulling out of each glass just in time. Once both teats were free, we both got the same idea: She raised up and licked away at one nipple while I vacuum-sealed my mouth onto the other, sucking and licking away the excess milk and accidentally drawing out a little more. It took all of my willpower to pull off and avoid causing a milkgasm... and when I did, Derpy still sucked away for a few seconds longer before reluctantly relenting.

Derpy slumped back into her seat, her face red and sweaty from the breast stimulation. Then again, so was mine. Weakly, Derpy reached for her milk-and-ice-filled glass and lifted it towards me.

"A toast?" I asked, reaching for my own.

Derpy nodded, and we clinked the glasses against each other and took a few gulps. As always, Derpy's pony-milk was delicious and nutritious.

"It's probably not as good as Celestia's..." Derpy mumbled as she lowered her glass.

I leaned forward and kissed her, then licked up her milk-mustache. "It's not sending me into a dangerous drug-like haze, so as far as I'm concerned, yours is the best milk on the planet."

"Flatterer..." Derpy murmured bashfully with a smile.

We had lost a lot of time with each other, and there was a sense of desperation since we both knew we would be spending an even longer time apart. So the rest of the night, even amidst our food arriving and us eating, was just spent chatting and talking, drifting in and out of various topics without rhyme or reason.

"Oh, I almost forgot!" I said at one point. I reached into the inside pocket of my tuxedo and pulled out the last VIP ticket to the Fashion Week Beauty in Bloom show.

Derpy immediately snatched it out of my hands and stared at it with amazed marvel. "I heard about this! Can I go?!"

"Well, uh... Is that gonna fit with your work schedule?"

"My route usually ends by the afternoon, so absolutely! I'll go super fast tomorrow to make sure!"

A wave of relief washed over me. "Awesome. Don't overwork yourself, but... Yeah, Trixie, Moondancer, and Spitfire are going to be there too. Hoity Toity gave me four tickets."

Derpy tilted her head at me. "But... what about your ticket?" Then it dawned on her. "Oh."

I shrugged. "I don't think they're gonna stop me."

"But what if there aren't enough seats in the VIP section...?"

"Well, then I guess somepony's gonna have to sit in someone else's lap."

The salad skewers were... alright. What follows probably explains why I was so out of shape at the start of all this, but my diet was far more on the 'carni-' side of 'omnivore.' At least the skewers had a bleu cheese dressing on them that was pretty tasty, and my mind had been slowly opening to be more vegetarian over the last month. After all, if any creature in the multiverse could make a salad that could convert my pizza-singularity of a palate, it would probably be ponies.

"I got you something too!" Derpy reached under the table and lifted up a fairly large paper bag. The handles of a different gift bag were sticking up out of it, suggesting to me that there were several sacks from different stores in that one large bag. Derpy dug her arm into it for a few seconds, before pulling out a small but thick black book. "I was thinking of making it a surprise, but... here!"

She handed it over to me, and I opened it.

Derpy went on, "You said you used to have a device that was communicator, calendar, planner, contact list, and everything all in one, so... And especially since you want to be a therapist, probably with a bunch of clients...!"

It was a pocket-sized weekly planner notebook. A very professional-looking one with its own pen and a socket for storing it. And in the front and back were extra sections for writing down notes or contact and address information.

Nervously, Derpy continued, "You kinda... struck me as the sort of person that would like a practical gift more than a fancy one..."

Would I ever get a chance to breathe air or speak words again? Because they kept getting taken away from me. "Derpy, this... I don't think even Twilight would've thought of this. Thank you." She beamed, and I handed the planner back over to Derpy so she could put it back in the bag for now. I didn't need a small book fighting for room in my pants.

Eventually, I managed to decide on an order. They served pasta here, and I was so, so tempted to just order a big ol' plate of spaghetti and recreate that one scene from Lady and the Tramp, because how else would you describe us?

But I can only stomach so much spaghetti in reality, so I went with a chicken alfredo penne (because it felt like it had been ages since I'd last had it), and Derpy, in solidarity, went with more of a vegetarian pasta primavera.

Before she left, the waiter asked Derpy how she felt about me eating meat, since that was a common complaint among mixed-species couples. Many ponies don't like the smell or even the idea of meat, and in fact it was almost exclusively foreign nations that produced it. Derpy said she didn't care for it herself, but she also said she wasn't going to gag or anything. Crisis averted, I suppose.

We refilled our glasses of milk with Derpy's breasts, and it was just as hot as the first time around. I was seriously starting to worry about my own leakage problem... And Derpy was bringing herself to the edge of orgasm at this point – she really liked having her breasts played with. We could barely take our hands off each other for a few minutes, which gave our waiter and some of the other guests across the restaurant quite a show. Eventually, we managed to calm down and drink our glasses of milk.

"So Spitfire came over today."

"Oh?" Derpy asked, having finished off the last salad skewer.

"Yeah, looking for stress relief. And... apparently, I'm way better at hypnosis than I even knew." I looked down at one hand. "I think I'm figuring out how my special brand of magic works, too."

"Oh my gosh." She wiped off her muzzle with a napkin. "Well, I definitely want to try out the hypnosis thing. I know Trixie does, too. Mmmaybe not tonight, though."

"Yeah, I was kinda wanting tonight to be 'natural' too."

"Mmhmm. But, uh, the magic thing!" Derpy rested her elbows on the table and her chin on the tops of her hands, which had the side-effect of framing her babydoll-bound boobs against the table too. Her look towards me was one of growing excitement. "What have you learned so far?"

"Well, I still can't use telekinesis yet, which is kinda frustrating," I half-joked. "But, I think it's like– I know how to cast spells with my words, with description. I can describe a complex effect and... make that normal."

"Kind of how it always worked," Derpy said with a nod.

A good point there. But there was something scary about what I had been learning. "You know how Discord can just kind of snap his fingers and make literally anything happen anywhere in the world?"

"I saw you snap your fingers a couple of times to do things," Derpy said with a nod.

"Yeah. I feel like, I'm going to get to a point where, as long as I give it enough description beforehand... I could also do just about anything. Make anything normal."

"Like shrink Celestia's breasts?"

I felt like I had been struck by a jolt of electricity. "...What?"

Derpy shrugged, not noticing my reaction. "If you can make anything normal, even change reality... maybe you can get to a point where you can change everypony's 'normal' size? I dunno, it was just a thought I had bouncing around."

I put a hand to my forehead. "Shit, you might be right. I don't think I'm there yet – I burned out just changing two-and-a-half things about my own aura, and deep-trancing Spitfire took out about 30%... but shit. I might be the cure."

"I think you are," Derpy said a bit more confidently, smiling. "That's what Cadance and I were trying to say all along, remember? As long as you believe in yourself, and keep working at it... you'll be able to do legendary things with this power. And you're already on your way."

I leaned back against the plush seat and the brick wall behind me, eyes wide. And then I just had to chuckle to myself. "This is why I need help. I never would've thought of that on my own."

The brightest, most wholesome smile yet graced Derpy's muzzle. "Anytime."

Our food and sodas finally arrived. It was pretty much what I expected. Not that it wasn't quite good – full compliments to the chef and all – but more in the sense that 'this is something I could've eaten on my home world, and if I close my eyes I could almost pretend I'm back there.' Frankly, this whole place felt like somewhere I'd been to on a trip to Seattle once, a few blocks away from the Pike Place Market...

Another forkful of alfredo penne helped take the edge off the melancholy.

"So, when do I get to meet your parents?" I asked semi-jokingly to get my mind off other things.

Derpy jolted in her seat and looked aside sheepishly. "Oh, I don't know..."

"Some awkwardness there?"

"No, I just... They live up in Cloudsdale and I moved to Ponyville because... things happened. Not family things – medical things."

"Oh."

Derpy squirmed in her seat. "Most of the awkwardness is because, well, I'll never get to meet your..." She trailed off and cringed at herself.

I wanted to pretend that the implication simply bounced off my chest in a cool, manly way, but I sighed a bit instead. "No. No you're not." I put my hand on my fist and rested my lips against them. "It's not that I dearly miss them, per se– agh, no. Y'know, the thing is..." I was fumbling on the words and growing more angry at myself, because I didn't want to come off as a heartless jerk but here we were. "If I'd had the choice. If I'd been able to get my affairs in order THEN come here... I imagine I would've jumped at the chance. As it is, I've left them with a shitty way to..." I paused again. "I'm not as sad to leave them behind as much as I feel guilty that, for all they know, I've been abducted by space aliens, never to be seen again for the rest of their lives. That's going to devastate... some of them."

Derpy listened respectfully and nodded her head when I made it clear I'd said my piece. "I'm sorry you had to go through all that," she said contritely. "All of these things, out of your control."

"I'm just glad to be finally back in control," I muttered. I stabbed lifelessly at my breaded chicken. In a hurry to change the subject, I said, "So, we'll probably put off the 'Meet the Parents' thing 'til later...?"

Derpy pouted. "Maybe. I–I'm not sure how to tell them I'm basically dating a sex guru and his other marefriend. Even if your power will make them kind of okay with that. Still..."

I chuckled. "Yeah, pretty much."

Neither of us were in any hurry to finish our pasta.

"So, do you have your eye on anyone else for the harem? Besides Luna?" I asked playfully.

Derpy stopped mid-sip (of soda, not milk) and I was suddenly glad I had not asked a few seconds later and caused a spit-take all over our food. Carefully, Derpy set her glass down and unconvincingly said, "Noooooo..."

"I'm not gonna be offended either way," I promised. And I wasn't. Despite my usual sad-sackery that Trixie loved to criticize, I really was growing more confident in my sexual abilities, at least among ponies. And now that my body could be magically changed, catching up to stallions in terms of stamina and control was a matter of choice, no longer genetics.

"Well– okay." Derpy put her hands in her lap, her arms straight and stiff. "It's not really like real plans, more just fantasies. But I think... it would be really nice... if we could get Big Mac into our group."

I took a deep breath, held it... and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, no, I see it."

"Especially since you and him already had a thing, apparently...?" Derpy asked searchingly. "You never told me exactly what happened."

"It was pretty gay," I deadpanned. "But nah, Big Mac's a cool dude and we already have a rapport. And there's something to be said practically for, once we have an excess number of girls, adding another phallus to go around. Nah, I get it."

Derpy squirmed uncomfortably for a few more moments, then asked, "What if... one of us... had the second phallus?"

Ah, the dickmare question again. "As long as nothing's going near my ass, it's probably fine. Well, I might need some time and some heads-up, but, y'know."

"But, I mean, like, to help with the other girls... and guys that are into that..."

"Hey, as long as everyone's having a good time," I said with a smirk.

Relief washed over Derpy's features. "I'm glad you're so open-minded."

"Oh, I've had plenty of time to figure out where my boundaries are, believe me." I took a sip of my own soda, then frowned. "Hold on, shoot. Big Mac got together with Cheerilee, didn't he? So that's a moot point."

Derpy shook her head. "He asked her out. They went on a date. It didn't seem to work out and they're staying friends again."

That was a surprise to me. "Wait, really??"

"Yeah, heard about it from the rumor mill when I went to Ponyville to get you an extra change of clothes."

"Dang."

We were just about finished with our food. Now we were talking for talking's sake, letting time slip away from us. "I mentioned the medical thing..." Derpy began.

"Yeah?"

"It, um... There's a thing I wanted to talk to you about that." Derpy was staring at the table, not me.

I steadied myself. "Okay. Is it... about your eyes?"

When Derpy looked up, to my mild astonishment, she was smiling, and her big golden eyes were tearing up a bit. "Sort of? I..." Her voice was choking up, and she took a moment to clear her throat. "Sorry. So, I never told you... My eyes started to go like this when I was pretty young." She blinked hard and her eyes swiveled in opposite directions, possibly for emphasis. "At the same time... I was a pretty good flier at that age, but I started to get really bad vertigo, like really intense dizzy spells. Kinda... dangerous for a flier."

"Derpy..." I mumbled, not sure what else to say.

"I got surgery to help stabilize the eye problem, and that, y'know, sort of helped with the vertigo problems. But ever since then, I've had basically chronic dizziness. Just every so often, I lose balance or... drop something."

I nodded slowly, coming to grips with this knowledge. "Okay."

Unexpectedly, Derpy reached out and placed her hand on mine. "I wanted to tell you that because I feel like... that's changed."

"What?"

"Ever since you put that spell on me..." Derpy's eyes blinked, and there were now tears gently falling down across her cheeks. "The one that says all the encouraging things and and lets me see your changes... I haven't had one dizzy spell. Not one."

Forget my jaw – my whole body slackened save for my eyes and I just stared at her in disbelief.

Derpy began wiping her eyes. "And I thought, maybe I'm just happy and they're coming in mild... but it's been too long. I think... I think your power is helping something in my brain."

"Holy..."

"And I kinda didn't want to tell you, because I don't want to hold you emotionally hostage or anything like that... but at the same time..." She scooched closer to me and placed her hands on my chest, staring deep into my eyes as best she could. "You're my hero, Pascal, and I want you to know that."

I was speechless. I just hugged her and fought back tears.

Could I have healing powers, too? Could I extend my powers to reinforce the 'status quo' of the body? Were such forces at work in my own body right this moment? These questions put me in a disconnected state for a while.

Ocean Lily dropped off the bill for our meal. It was a fairly tidy sum. Derpy dropped a bag of golden bits on the table (with Trixie's cutie mark printed on it, bizarrely) and told her to keep the change as a tip. Ocean Lily looked ecstatic and dropped off practically a bowl's worth of mints on her last visit, but I was still a world and a half away.

"Still thinking about the whole dizzy spell thing?" Derpy finally asked me.

I shook my head out of it and sighed. "Every time I talk with you, you open my mind in some way," I remarked.

"You're a really good listener," she replied. "I like having someone to talk to for a change."

My hand was on her shoulder at this moment, and I rubbed my thumb along her soft upper arm. "If there's anything else you want to talk about, I'm here. We've, ah, kinda opened the well, I feel like."

Derpy was quiet for a few moments. "I shouldn't, but..." She hesitated for a little bit longer, and then, forcefully, asked, "How do you feel about children?"

I tried not to frown too much. "Not great... since I'm going to be exploring my own capacity for hedonism and all. Also, genetics."

Derpy sighed. "I know asking about having kids is kind of a red flag for first-date talk, but... I dunno, I thought it might be valid, since we're two different species and all, I mean..."

"Hey, I'm fine. This is more like our third or fourth date anyway."

She looked up at me questioningly. "What were the first two?"

"Well, my couch... the topless party..." I searched a bit for the third I was possibly thinking of. "Maybe the time we've spent in the palace?"

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." Derpy nuzzled her head into my shoulder again. "So... here we go. I've never thought much about actually... breeding. Because... genetics." She blinked her eyes a few times on that last word, perhaps unconsciously.

Oof, I thought. "I understand."

"But I have thought about being a foster parent. And I've babysat for some of my friends and loved it. I've always had kind of a maternal instinct, I think... Did I tell you how I got my cutie mark?"

"No, you haven't!" I couldn't help but get a little excited. At last, the cutie mark story of Derpy Hooves herself!

"Well, it's not special. I just... There was this crying foal, and I wanted to help him... so I blew some bubbles and popped them in front of his face. And he started smiling and laughing, and... that's when my cutie mark appeared!" Derpy was blushing with embarrassment. "I know, I know. No Sonic Rainbooms or anything..."

I shook my head with a smile. "No no, it's very you. Doing the simple things to put a smile on someone's face, to help them when they're down."

"Exactly..." Derpy closed her eyes and rested against my shoulder like it was a pillow. "I applied for to open up for foster care at one point, but I'm alone, and... well, I've had one too many accidents at work."

There went the happy mood. All I could do was let out an "Awwwwwwwww."

"So I'm not in any hurry, is what I mean," Derpy said quickly, opening her eyes again. "But, I just wanted you to know... that's a thing. A thing I'm still interested in."

"Noted." I sighed. "I'm more worried about this whole idea of sexually liberating Equestria, and how we're going to address the issue of potential exposure to... the underage. Just sort of one more thing on the pile."

"So you're still thinking about that mission," Derpy observed. "Good."

"Well, I'm in no hurry," I admitted. "Kinda want to get things more stable first."

"Okay, but..." Derpy pulled away and looked up at my face again. "I don't want to put it off forever. You know how some people complain about what they'd do if they were rich, or if they were in charge, and then they get to that point and they just... do the things they were complaining about?"

I nodded grimly, seeing her point.

"We've 'made it,' in terms of sex. I think it'd be very tempting to just hoard it to ourselves and grow our harem forever, but... I want to commit to that mission, of making sure everyone has the chance that we have, so they don't have to grow up hating their own bodies."

It was so adorably earnest, the way she said it, that I had to resist the urge to ruffle her mane. I settled for rubbing her arm some more. "That's why I think of you as the emotional core of that mission. We wouldn't even have a chance if it weren't for you, and how you shaped me that day. And don't worry, I am committed. ...But I'm also a little overwhelmed right now."

"I totally understand," Derpy said, smiling softly.

"You usually do," I quipped.

I looked down at the table. Our food was all eaten. Our bill was paid. The glasses of water, breastmilk, and soda were all drained. Beyond the booth, customers were coming and going as the dinnertime rush began.

"I think it's time," I said quietly to my marefriend. "Shall we head back to the palace?"

"And do what?" Derpy asked faux-innocently. Like she didn't even know.

I bounced my eyebrows a couple of times. "I dunno... Screw each other silly?"

21 – Derpy – A Honeymoon Of Sorts

As promised by Trixie, when the two of us left The Horizon Joint and got back out onto the twilit streets of Canterlot, the rental carriage was there for us. The driver had been waiting patiently to take us back to the royal palace posthaste.

The two of us got in, not speaking much, just overcome with nerves. We sat together on the soft plush seats as the carriage rumbled its way up the hill to the palace. My hands ran across her back and shoulders, indecisive as to whether to feel the silk covering her skin or slip under to feel it directly. One of her hands gently stroked my leg, occasionally straying towards the bulge at my crotch but too hesitant to make it all the way. Nervousness was giving way to... well, horniness, albeit slowly.

An admittedly odd thought occurred to me. "I'm already overdressed," I said out of the blue.

"What? You look snazzy," Derpy said. "I don't mind."

I let out an unsatisfied 'Hmm' and studied my own outfit. Then I hit upon an idea. After untangling myself from Derpy for a second, I took off the black suit, slipped off the tie, and unbuttoned the dress shirt nearly down to the navel. Now I was ready for the cover of a romance novel. Sliding back to Derpy's side again, I grinned and said, "That's much better, right?"

Derpy's hand slipped under my opened shirt and rubbed my flat chest and stomach. Her gray hands felt pleasantly cool on my skin. "Yeah..." she said back with a growing smile. She giggled, and I couldn't help but giggle back.

Feeling emboldened, I reciprocated with my own hand reaching towards Derpy's chest, gently pressing my fingers against the top of one of her big gray breasts and sliding into her cleavage. She simply closed her eyes and snuggled closer to me, flexing her chest upwards as if to attempt to capture my whole hand hands-free. It was all I could do not to stick my head in and lose myself in a breast-worshiping stupor right there, but I was holding myself back for... some reason. Something about tonight being important. A reason that was getting lost in the arousal as my hardness strained against my slacks.

The carriage rolled to a stop before I had even realized we were close, both of us mid-heavy-petting. Feeling very much in a hurry, I threw open the door and stepped outside, my jacket looped around my arm. I stood at the door as if to gently help Derpy down, but as soon as she was within reach, I swept a hand behind her knees and hefted her up into my arms.

"W-Wooah!" she cried out as I carried her bridal-style. It was a tad awkward, with the pegasus's wings folded against my lower arm and her paper bag of goodies clutched against her chest, but I was determined to make it work. She chuckled nervously at me and said, "Y-You don't have to do this..."

"Who said anything about 'have to'?" I replied with an uncharacteristically cheeky grin. I nodded to the carriage driver, who waved us goodnight and pulled the vehicle back down the paved road to the city, while I marched toward the gate.

Derpy's hands twitched and wandered, not sure what to hold onto, before eventually looping around my neck. She craned her neck to look at the path before us. "You sure you, um, want to carry me all that way? Aren't I a little..." She blushed and looked at the ground in embarrassment. "...heavy?"

Truth told, I was already struggling a little bit to hold her up properly and walk at a brisk pace. I wasn't an overweight loser anymore, specifically, but strength and stamina still weren't my strong suits without magic. But what did I care? "Think of it this way," I said, unable to keep the strain out of my voice. "When else am I gonna get the chance to do this? To carry you across the threshold... of the Royal freaking Palace?"

Derpy brightened up and nuzzled against me as I made my way to the drawbridge. "Lots of times, I hope."

I grinned. "Fair." Equestria had a few palaces, and I could crash at any one of them, plus guests, whenever I liked. "Still."

"Mmhmm," Derpy agreed with a nod. "Still."

Taped to the door to our suite was a note.

I was almost too sweaty and tired to read it properly.

Dear Honored Guests,

We appreciate that you have been through dire circumstances and have a great need to unwind and celebrate. We have also been informed that you are involved in specialized and sensitive work that the Princesses have deemed important.

The endless cleaning of your room, however, is a situation we can no longer abide.

A new suite is being prepared for the human, Pascal, to serve as his office and "office." It will have all manner of enchanted amenities to keep up with the demands of his station. Self-cleaning sheets and carpets, magical towels, and the like. It will be expensive, but Their Royal Majesties Prince Blueblood and Princess Luna have already covered the costs, and your group has already demonstrated that such investments will pay themselves off very, very quickly.

Tonight will be your last night in this room. We understand that you will be coming back from a date of sorts.

Do your worst.

Sincerely,
Assistant Chief Custodian of the Royal Palace of Canterlot, Sugar Lemon

"...Huh."

Derpy's eyes widened, and then gasped in delight. "That means I can use the– Yesss!" She opened the door and dashed into the room, leaping onto the bed with a flap of her wings.

I followed in and smoothly closed the door behind me. With the 'click' of the latch, my heartrate spiked. I tossed my jacket aside without a care and beheld Derpy sitting at the edge of the bed, her thick, curvy, angelic body held back by what amounted to little more than decorative cloths and straps. In our haste, neither of us even thought to turn on the lights in the room – the only illumination was the moonlight peeking through the window curtains.

There had been plenty of outercourse between us already. Tonight, we could have everything. The only question was... when you can do anything, where do you start?

The question had to have been plaguing Derpy, too. She looked up at me bashfully and squirmed on the bed, murmuring, "So... what do you want to start with...?"

"I, uh, I was hoping..." I trailed off. The rest of the sentence was 'hoping YOU had an idea,' realizing too late that if both of us were nervous and looking to the other for leadership, nothing would happen. I put my hands on my forehead and wiped downward, groaning at my own awkwardness. "Ughhh..."

Derpy chuckled, scratching the side of her head. "Guess we don't just magically turn into sexy beasts like all the romance novels say."

"I mean, gaaaah," I groaned. "I had some gumption for a second there, and then just–"

I was interrupted by Derpy's hand reaching out and tugging me by the belt, sending me stumbling forward onto the bed, landing half-atop, half-beside her. She laughed a cute little laugh, right in my face, and I saw no better way to retaliate than kissing her on her soft pony lips. My hands sought to do away with her clothing, lifting her nigh-transparent babydoll dress up and away from her straining, trickling teats. Pretty soon after, the rest of both our outfits went flying off the bed, until we were equally nude before each other.

Our eyes roamed over each other's naked body, both fully aware that there was uncharted territory to explore, both hungry to seek it out. I let out a sigh of effort, trying to retake my mind from my id, and said in a low, quiet voice, "This night is all about you, Derpy. You're the one going back to real life in the morning, so you get whatever you want."

Derpy's eyes bounced between my face and my cock. "Y-You mean... I take the lead?"

I had to admit to being a little confused there. "Haven't you done so plenty of times already?" I always felt like I was following her suggestions, in and out of bed – for the better, of course.

"I mean kinda, but... I dunno," she said bashfully, crossing her legs and looking aside with a shy smile. "We've kinda gone back and forth, playing off each other, but I haven't... I dunno..."

There was something she wasn't saying. "Whatever it is you want to say..."

Derpy nodded and looked back at me. She rose from her sitting position and crawled towards me on the bed. "This whole time... we've been focusing on your pervertedness, how to live with it, how it fits in Equestria, that sort of thing." I nodded, and she continued. "But I kinda wanna... I mean, you probably already knew, but I sorta wanna... show you..." Her head lowered towards my proudly jutting cock, her breath warming it in the cool air of the room. "...how much of a pervert I am, for real. The pervert I was never allowed to be in this world..."

I adjusted by posture, discreetly pulling a few cushions behind my back to prop myself up. "I'm all yours," I encouraged.

The blonde gray pegasus breathed heavily on my cock for a while longer, her wall-eyes seemingly straining to take it all in. "Oh my gosh, it looks different..." she half-whispered.

"Yeah, Moondancer..."

"Oh wow..." Derpy gulped, steeled herself, and then gave my cockhead a tentative lick. I'd had plenty of blowjobs up to this point, but coming from Derpy, just that alone was electric. She seemed to like the taste too, and immediately dove in to suck the whole fat head into her mouth, closing her eyes and swirling her tongue around it – just feeling what it felt like to have cock in her mouth for the first time.

"Ah, Derpy..." I moaned.

She pulled back and wiped her mouth, looking up at me with awe. "Amazing... I felt like – like I instinctively knew what to do, to keep my teeth away, to do certain things with my tongue..."

I couldn't help but grin lewdly. "So, it looks like that's what you inherited from your pony ancestors." For some ponies, it was a heightened sensitivity to human taste or pheremones or aesthetics. Maybe Derpy's genetic quirk was the remnants of their engineered sexual instincts and empathy?

Derpy seemed awestruck by the idea. "You mean I really could be a... a sex–"

"A sex goddess?" I finished. "If anypony had the potential..."

A sense of fiery determination seemed to fill Derpy's golden eyes. She dipped her head down again, but not to suck the head of my cock again. Her aim went lower, nuzzling her pony nose against my shaft as she laid down flat on the bed, so she could nuzzle into my frankly oversized ballsack and give each orb a long lick with her broad pony tongue. I groaned, and my cock twitched, the first drop of precum leaking from my slit thirteen inches above Derpy's mane.

But Derpy wasn't done yet. She moved her head upwards, leaving little kisses and licks from the tip of her tongue along my shaft as she rose slowly, until she was at the now-dripping head of my cock. She gave it two full licks, savoring the flavor of my precum on her tongue, moaning pleasurably. Then she dove down again, this time licking and kissing at the left side of my cock, down and up. Then again on the right side, faster and more frantically. I had to squeeze my eyes shut and really try to control my breathing, because this was a truly unreal treatment.

Derpy finally took a break to catch her breath and swallow some excess saliva. "Hehe," she giggled, "was it that good?"

"Holy hell, Derpy..."

She gave me that cute bashful smile again. "I... might've asked for some tips from Trixie."

My eyebrows rose. "Those didn't feel like Trixie's moves."

The pegasus sputtered into laughter and covered part of her face with her hand. "I-I mean it was general advice, that sort of thing..." She peeked at me between her fingers. "It was really that good?"

I grinned and flexed my hips, making my desperate saliva-slicked erection bob. "Welllll... I don't think you're done yet."

"Aha, of course not," she replied, and lowered her head again. She took just the tip of my cock into her mouth and suckled, and it felt like she was drawing precum straight out of my cock. I came dangerously close to the edge, and pulled my hips back to attempt to stave it off. My cock flexed with pre-orgasm anticipation, and a strand of off-white cum squeezed out and drooped toward the bedsheets.

Derpy dove her head down quick and licked up the strand of semen, sucking it all the way back up to the source before taking my cock into her mouth, denying me my desire to hold back. She started to push her head down, but it was too late for me – I groaned and my eyes glazed over as I started cumming.

My marefriend's golden eyes widened as the first powerful spurt of cum shot into her mouth and halfway down her throat. She pulled back and swallowed with some effort, and the next spurt was already on the way. She seemed to panic a little but refused to pull back, gulping as fast as she could. Her hands reached up and grasped the thick swell of my shaft, as if to steady it or hold on for dear life. She visibly stifled a cough and kept swallowing.

Mercifully, my orgasm began to taper out. By some miracle, Derpy had only let a single trickle of cum escape through the side of her mouth. When my cock had seemed to stop, she pulled back to seal her mouth closed... but the sensation of her lips dragging across my sensitive tip sparked one last spasm from me, spewing a strand across her muzzle, causing her to flinch slightly. Once everything fell still, she took her final gulps, which were deafening in the quiet.

Derpy gasped for breath and stroked her fingers across her neck. "W-Woah," she croaked, her voice a little raspy. "It feels like... it's kinda sticking to my throat a bit. Wow..."

"Some water?" I suggested.

She nodded and got up from the bed, making her way to the bathroom to grab a glass of tap water. With nothing else to do for a second, I made some room on the bed and stroked my cock to inspire it back to life. Derpy came back glugging a full cup of water, gasping as she finished it. She wiped her mouth and muzzle with one of the bathroom towels, and grinned nervously at me. "So... good, huh?" Her voice sounded clearer now.

"Derpy," I said, "I literally tried to hold myself back and couldn't. That was amazing. Your first time, really?"

Her face seemed to glow in the dim moonlight, she was so embarrassingly pleased. "My first blowjob..." she practically sung. She licked her lips with her tongue. "And all those ponies were right; you really do taste amazing. Like... I don't even know how to describe it. Kinda... sweet and savory and like pure sex all at the same time. And this is without the addictive thing, right?"

I let out a sigh of relief. This is what it had all been for. This is what made it all worth it. Derpy could taste my cum safely, and now she had. "Right. You ponies just seem to like the flavor on top of that."

Derpy just grinned and climbed back onto the bed, and before I knew it she was crawling over me, making me lean back, while her big gray milky breasts dragged across my bare chest. "So," she said down to me, still grinning wickedly, "you know what I wanna do next?"

I couldn't see past her humongous bosom, but I could feel her thighs and pussy bumping into my re-hardening cock, searching for the right position to line up. I could feel the heat and moistness between her legs. I smiled nervously up at her. "I'm ready if you are..."

She nodded and lined up her trembling hips. Her pony-pussy winked and grasped the tip of my cock, dripping warm lubrication onto it. Gently, slowly, she lowered her hips down, my fattened cock spreading her at the same time as her inner walls squeezed and rippled around every new inch. We both groaned at the same time, gasping and losing ourselves to a rutting sensibility. Our pelvises moved randomly, wantonly, as we began to seek the limit of how much friction we could create between us. Derpy was wet and hot enough that there was no such thing as too fast.

I was in some kind of heaven, Derpy's curvaceous body bearing down on me from above while all I could do was thrust upwards into her. My instincts cried out for some way to turn the tables and make her feel even better, so I nuzzled one swinging breast upwards and somehow sucked a nipple into my mouth, immediately drawing forth nutritious pony-milk and guzzling it down.

Derpy stiffened and she cried out. Her other nipple flowed faster onto my shoulder. "That's not fa... fuh... faaaiiirrrrrrr!!" she moaned loudly, her voice practically bouncing off the walls.

I was in no position to respond, physically or mentally. There was only her nipples in my mouth, my cock thrusting in and out of her squeezing, milking pussy, and her limbs bracing against the bed on either side of me for dear life. I reached out and took one of her hands, interlocking fingers and squeezing tightly. She instinctively gripped me back.

Derpy was the first one to cum, her cunt suddenly forming a death-grip on my length and spasming around me, letting out a squeaky gasp every time her body convulsed and sent femcum squirting down my shaft. I still had some distance to go, so I slowed my thrusts, gently fucking her.

My marefriend lost some of her energy and fell on top of me, her breasts squishing around my head. I gently rolled us to the side, so now I was the one on top of her, still sucking milk out of her sensitive teat and lovingly sawing my cock in and out of her. She shuddered and moaned each time I bottomed out inside her, and her pussy spasmed each time the thickest swell of my cock stretched out her lower lips. I switched to the other nipple, still in a lewd fugue, and rubbed the sides of her breasts with my hands in slow circles, coaxing more and more milk to the surface. Derpy's back arched and her breasts trembled, before milk sprayed into my mouth and over my back at the same time, as her boobgasm sent her body writhing. Her cunt squeezed rhythmically around my cock once again, tugging at the underside in just the right way to push me over the edge. I popped my lips off her thick nub and grunted quietly, letting my cock pulse deep inside her, filling her greedy pussy with every ounce of cum I could summon.

I collapsed onto Derpy's body, my head landing amidst her leaky gray breasts. When I finally opened my eyes and regained some measure of rational awareness, I saw Derpy's face beaming down at me, as her hand started to pat my head. "You're... so cute when you cum, you know that?" she said.

"W-What?" I sputtered with a raspy laugh.

Derpy shrugged her shoulders, making her boobs bounce against my ears. "You look so... I dunno, relaxed? Like you've been holding onto so much stress and you're finally letting it out." Her ears folded back against her head and her sweaty blush got a little redder. "Makes me feel like I'm doing something amazing... like, I'm the one who fixed the whole world for you."

I grinned again and picked my body up so I could lean up and kiss her, my cock still buried in the sloppy union of our sexes. "You fucking did, Derpy," I muttered back. "You fucking did."

She gasped as our genitals squished together and our combined fluids leaked onto the sheets. "Wow. It really is kinda tingly. Not that I would know otherwise, I guess..."

I kissed her, hoping to dispel a few of her concerns. "The important thing is, it's safe."

She smiled and nodded up at me. "Yeah, and it was super worth it." She got a dreamy look on her face. "I've finally had a pussy-gasm with you... and not just from your tongue!"

I actually frowned a bit. I was in no mood to eat her out now that she'd been creampied.

Derpy noticed my expression and pouted. "Aww... Should've done that first?"

I looked away a little embarrassedly. "It's amazing to you ponies 'cuz you were engineered for it, but... it's still just semen to me."

"Oh well!" she said with a giggle. Her hands lifted against my chest, which I took as a signal to slowly pull my cock out of her. She lifted her legs, bracing them on my shoulders so she could lift her hips upwards, and then pushed her breasts apart so she could look down at her leaking pussy. A thin trail of cum ran down the curve of her buttocks. "Woah," she said. "I'd be super-pregnant now, huh? If you were a pony, I mean."

I grinned, nuzzled her calves against my face, and rubbed her belly. "How does it feel?"

"Warm..." Derpy said, smiling. "Warm and good. And kinda tiring, actually..."

I laughed and gently lowered her legs so she could lay flat on the bed again. "Break time?"

She looked down where I knelt; my thrice-enhanced cock was still half-hard. "I guess... if only to figure out what we do next."

I shrugged and made my way over to lay beside her. There were more than a couple of wet patches on the bed thanks to our cum and milk, but tonight was officially the night to not care about that. I laid down on my side, propping my head up with my hand. I lifted my leg to go for the full seductive pose, my cock springing up against her belly. "So. We got the mouth and the pussy," I said matter-of-factly, smirking a bit at the causal lewdness. "Anywhere else you want this?"

Derpy looked unsure. "I guess that just leaves the... the b-butt..." Her golden, messy tail twitched beneath her.

I toned back my playful eagerness. "Don't feel like it?" Back during our day-long threesome with Trixie, she had done plenty of training with the army of dildos they'd bought from that adult shop in Canterlot's back streets, and had expressed a desire to give me the real thing at some point.

She seemed to deflate in disappointment. "Not really. It's one thing when it's a toy, but um... I dunno, I... I'd rather... I like your cock too much to put it back there?" she said hesitantly. "I don't wanna stop all the other things we can do with your cock just to... do all the preparations and the... after-stuff."

I thought about it and nodded after a few moments. "Especially because neither of us are unicorns who can do lubrication and cleaning spells. Though that may change!"

Her pout disappeared, and she nodded, happy that I seemed to understand.

I glanced over at the closet, where the first paper bag of 'party supplies' was still kept. "Wanna break one out?"

Derpy shook her head. "Nah. Tonight, I just kinda wanted to be about our bodies."

"Of course," I agreed, and leaned over to kiss her again. It was only going to be a quick smooch at first, but it quickly turned into another prolonged makeout. A few seconds into it, I discovered the taste of my... emissions on her tongue, but I powered through it.

My slight cringe didn't go unnoticed, unnaturally perceptive as Derpy was. "Whoops," she giggled, "guess the water didn't wash it all out."

I shrugged. "A little aftertaste, I can deal with." I gave her a rub on the shoulder and sat up, stroking my cock to reinvigorate it. Wasn't difficult with the sight of Derpy's freshly fucked body before me, her pussy reddened and leaking and her breasts heaving and... leaking as well. "So not anal, but we've both got some energy to go."

Derpy pushed herself up and focused one eye on my dick. "Actually... I kinda wanna try another blowjob."

"Sure!"

"But this time... you standing up? And me on my knees..." She grew more bashful with every word, poking her fingers together. "And maybe your hands on my head...?"

I half-smirked and crawled back so I could stand on the carpet, with my absurd-for-my-world thirteen-incher stabbing forth. "Maybe instead of kneeling, would it be easier if you sat on the side here?"

Derpy shrugged. "Yeah, that could work." She scooted over a few times until she could swing her legs over the side. The way the giant Princess-sized bed was built, her head was a few inches above the level of my crotch, but my cock was long enough that she could simply lift the tip up to her muzzle. She smirked and gave it a little kiss, which got her a twitch of appreciation.

I adjusted my feet, making my stance more rigid. My hands tentatively strayed to the top of her head, first giving her a couple of scratches behind the ears (which made her close her eyes and coo) before settling atop her mane. "I'll follow your lead," I said. "Going for the deepthroat?"

She nodded vigorously. "Mmhmm." She hesitated, but then started to delicately push her head down on my cock. I applied gentle pressure with my hands, trying not to force her but still trying to provide a semi-dominant presence.

Derpy kept going down my cock, her mouth spreading wide around the thickest part of the shaft. My thick cockhead poked at the tightening entrance to her throat, and I pushed down on her a little more. I closed my eyes, to try and navigate this by exquisite feeling alone.

But then there was a tapping on my wrist. Frantic tapping.

I lifted my hands, and Derpy's head rose. She pulled her mouth off my cock and swallowed several times. She gasped with a big intake of breath and pounded her upper chest with her fist, swallowing again and clearing her throat.

I watched her carefully. "Y'alright?"

Derpy's shoulders slumped. "No..."

I sat down on the bed next to her and rubbed my hand along her back.

She put her face in her hands. "So much for the 'sex goddess savant,'" she grumbled into her palms.

"It's okay," I reassured her. "Honestly... I'm kinda relieved?"

"What??" she barked, whipping her head around at me.

I shrugged helplessly. "I was starting to feel like the 'porn logic' of this world was starting to get a little too convenient. But if you're not ready to just jump straight into deepthroating... then that actually feels more normal. More real."

Derpy pouted. "Thanks. Doesn't make me feel any better..."

I looked to the floor, not sure what else to do. "I'm not disappointed, is what I'm saying. Not one bit. In fact, I'm kinda proud that you found your limit... and I had the presence of mind to listen for your signal in the heat of things. Consent and all that. We both did good."

She let out an unconvincing chuckle and sighed, rubbing her neck. "Like, I know that we're built for it, but... I dunno, sorry. I just felt like I would screw up and hurt one of us. Like I usually do..." She slapped her thigh testily. "Won't do anal, won't do deepthroat..."

I hugged her from the side. "I don't need you to do any of those things."

"Because you've got other girls for that," Derpy muttered half-heartedly.

I kissed her on the cheek and rubbed her shoulders. "You're still my special somepony."

She chuckled wryly. "Sure... now you put on the moves and be all romantic..."

"Because it'd be real awkward and I'd be a real shitty boyfriend if I didn't," I replied, gripping her shoulders more firmly and massaging them. "I'm not romantically illiterate all the time – just most of the time."

Finally, that managed to make Derpy laugh. She then leaned her head against mine. Her hand drifted down to my wilting, denied cock and she wrapped her fingers around it. She idly stroked me up and down while she rested her head in the crook of my neck. "We're both really bad at this, aren't we?"

"I dunno, we've gotten an orgasm or two between us," I said encouragingly. My own hand wrapped around her side and cupped one enormous gray breast, rubbing and softly squeezing from below. "But I'll admit, I've been kinda coasting off ponies' natural expertise... and receptiveness. Turns out I'm still kind of a fumbling virgin."

Derpy scoffed. "Pfffft. Says the guy who spent the few days driving me wild with his hands, lips, and tongue. I'm the fumbling... well, not-virgin-anymore."

I blinked a few times in surprise. "Was that really your first time?"

She nodded and said, "Yeah... As far as that whole 'V-card' thing goes, I guess. I think the moment you took my–" She stifled a giggle "–'B-card' was way more magical."

"B for Boobs," I said with a grin.

She let out a heavy breath and looked over to the door, where her gift bag was still waiting. It seemed like she was trying to decide on something. "I guess that just leaves... the surprise."

I pulled my hands away and followed her gaze. "Surprise?"

She stood up and flapped her wings, hopping over to the bag in one quick hover. She rifled through it, past the pocket planner and clothes and other goodies from the day's plunder, and pulled out a potion bottle. In the moonlight of the room, I could only see that the liquid inside was glowing a faint pink color.

Derpy hovered back to the bed, kneeling at the foot of the mattress. I crawled over to try and get a closer look at the potion. It had a label on it, but at this particular angle it was too dark to make it out. "What's that...?" I asked quietly.

She sighed. "Something I wasn't sure I would use." She turned the bottle around. The front label had a symbol of an hourglass-figured mare, with motion lines around the breasts and hips. "It's... Well..."

"Is that a growth potion?" I said with a growing grin, trying not to sound too excited.

"Yeah... Trixie got it for me..." Derpy said hesitantly. "I got it 'cause..." She hung her head. "It's probably going to sound weird when I say it, especially considering how I've screwed up everything else tonight..."

"You've done no such thing," I insisted.

Derpy focused her eyes the best she could on the bottle, which she swished back and forth. The pink liquid glowed a little brighter whenever it rippled. "It... It's for me to... to try and... try and fix the problem with..." She groaned to herself and started again. "I know that... really big sizes are your fetish and... that night with Celestia kinda ruined that a little for you."

I stiffened a little, flashing back to the experience of practically drowning in Celestia's flesh... and drowning in despair at the same time, as I rapidly learned what had been done to her and why she hated it so much. The great irony was that, back home, I'd have eagerly fapped to an image of Celestia that big. But now, the thought of it made my blood run a little cold.

Derpy looked over at me contritely. "So, when we were at the shop, I asked for this Hourglass Potion. If I drink the whole thing in one go, it'll make me as big... well, around as big as the Princess."

My eyes widened. "Derpy, that's..."

She suddenly found the patterns in the blanket real interesting. "I... I wanted to try and fix that for you. Show you that... you don't have to feel guilty for liking big things, just like I don't have to feel guilty for having them. That there's somepony out there who'll do that for you, whenever you want, and it can be... happy... a happy thing."

My heart melted, and I actually had to blink back a couple of tears. I raised a hand to my lips and murmured, "Fuck... Derpy, I..."

How was this mare so good at mixing lewd and cute and meaningful like this?! It wasn't fair!

I lunged forward and wrapped my arms around Derpy, hugging her tightly. "That is just... I have no words, Derpy. I don't fucking deserve you."

Derpy smiled and shook her head. "No, Pasky. You worked hard for this. You earned me." She pushed me back, popped the cork on the bottle, and glugged the pink liquid down in five or six gulps. She tossed the glass bottle aside; it bounced off the carpet and rattled at the edge of the room, empty and already forgotten. The pegasus pushed me back a little bit, turned around, and sat in my lap. She then grabbed my hands and placed them against her breasts, where I was just able to reach all the way to her milk-moistened areolae. "I wanna spend the rest of the night like this," she said more confidently. "Big... for you. Because I choose to."

I kissed her neck and buried my eyes in her mane. "That's more than I could ever ask."

The first thing I felt was her big bubble butt pressing harder into my crotch, overflowing my legs. Derpy moaned as it lifted the rest of her a little higher up. From the sheer intimate feeling of it really happening so close to me, I was rock-hard in an instant. I could feel her breasts swelling outward, spreading my fingertips wider, as more and more flesh grew out of my grip.

I spun Derpy and myself around, her bigger breasts swinging wildly and nearly knocking her off balance. Now instead of facing the room, she was pointed towards the pillows at the head of the bed. She looked back at me and grinned nervously. "I'm not sure I'm gonna fit..."

Her ass was getting so big that I couldn't really crane my head up to hers, so I leaned down and kissed one of her growing buttocks. "Sounds like an adventure..." I started to extract my legs out from under her. Derpy did the same, spreading her legs to either side so her ass could grow unobstructed.

As big as Derpy's bubbles were growing, stretching out the cutie marks, her breasts were growing twice as fast. They were already big enough to make contact with the bedsheets and slowly conquering more and more of the mattress. I was sorely tempted to climb over there and experience those breasts growing against me... but I was having a wonderful time hotdogging Derpy's cheeks and feeling her ass grow both against my hands and on either side of my shaft. I squeezed and even gave her a light spank, making her miraculously taut giant ass jiggle.

She grinned and stroked the tops of her own tits, the only parts she could reach at this size. "This is... really good, actually. They were sensitive before, but – ah! – it's like, over so much more space now."

"Oh god... I can't believe you did this..." I grunted as I spurted some precum between Derpy's now torso-sized buttocks. I could practically hug them. "I love this...!"

"I love this too...!" Derpy replied, her voice gooey with pleasure. "Fuck I can feel how much you love this, like... like the first time we met...!"

I knew the feeling very well. The first time I'd seen Derpy's breasts grow out of her minimizer pasties... We were recapturing that moment quite successfully.

Derpy's ginormous rear was very close to making me cum... and forcing me off the bed entirely, unless I surrendered and sank into the cavern between her cheeks. I pulled back and dashed around the bed, seeing her sex-blimp of a body in profile. Her breasts were big enough for the nipples to be pressing into the pillows at the farthest edges, thick spurts of milk staining them and nudging them off. Derpy looked down at me from atop her body, grinning drunkenly at the size difference between us. "Ah fuck... I'm so biiiiiig..."

My mouth was dry. "That... you are..." I gulped and made my choice. I ducked and lifted one gigantic teat, weighty with milk, so I could climb under it. Derpy gasped and her arms felt around the top of her breasts, trying to sense my path.

I had to arch my back to keep the giant, still-growing-but-slowing-down tit from crushing me. I managed to reach the center of the bed, right where the pillows were, and turned my body around so I was laying flat on my back, with a pillow under my head. All I could see above me was a bit of light pouring through a vast canyon of boob. It was hot and stuffy and overflowing with feminine pheromones, the scent of Derpy's sweat and skin. It took some more maneuvering to unpin my cock from against my leg, so that it could stick up straight into Derpy's impossible cleavage. My 13-incher was no match for Derpy's bombers, but I was sure as hell determined to make the best use of it.

"P-Pasky!" Derpy's muffled voice cried out. "Are you okay?"

I responded with a hard upward thrust. My cock dragged across her huge, soft mountains of breast. Her tits wobbled and jiggled, echoing my kinetic force across her skin and bouncing it right back to me, stroking my cock with the weight of two enormous boobs at once. I heard Derpy gasp, and I heard jets of milk splash against the back wall on either side of me.

My hands roamed frantically over every inch of underboob I could reach, squeezing and rubbing and stroking whatever I could, which was proportionally inadequate. No matter how hard or high I thrust my cock into her tits, it didn't even feel like I was reaching a halfway point. And yet, I felt the zen of the truly breast-obsessed – utterly embosomed once again.

"So good, so... AHHH!" Derpy cried out above me. The giant breasts around me grew taut and trembled. Twin gushing blasts of milk soaked the wall behind the bed, disgorging another miniature flood of milk with every pulse of Derpy's mega-bosom. I could almost feel the milk ducts rushing her life-giving nectar past my cock. My eyes glazed over, and in the near-total darkness between her tits, seeing didn't matter. Only the sense of touch.

"I love you Derpy!!" I cried out incoherently. My cock pulsed, trapped between Derpy's gray canyon, my cum just as trapped. I could feel Derpy pressing down on the top of her breasts, and trying to shake them back and forth, but there was too much mass to make a difference. Not that she needed to do anything; just the sheer feeling of this impossibleness, this softness and weight and squeezing and comfort, was enough to drive me out of my mind with pleasure. And beneath it all, I was still utterly touched that she had done this willingly for me, to help me heal. Not only was I living one of my horniest dreams... I was happy, too.

Derpy's breasts stayed gigantic for the next four hours, and I basically spent the rest of my stamina in one of three places: Underneath her, fucking her sensitive tits from below, filling the room with more milk... Atop her breasts like a hammock, letting her mouth play with my cock at her leisure... And behind her beanbag-sized buttocks, massaging the cutie marks and hotdogging my cock between them. Naturally, the majority of the time was spent in the first position.

I managed to last until I could visibly see her breasts shrinking as the potion wore off. With our tired bodies, we managed to flip her over so I could lay on top of her receding bosom, using her body like a gigantic set of pillows as we both drifted off to sleep.

The cleaning crew was going to utterly loathe us in the morning. Milk was everywhere. But they were the ones who had challenged us to do our worst.

As sleep claimed me, I looked at Derpy's sleepy face. She had a smile like it had been permanently etched onto her face.

It was an alien concept to me, the idea that what made me happy could make others happy too. I'd gone through life assuming that my kinky shit would be too much of an imposition on the girls I liked, that my pleasure would be a zero-sum game. But Derpy, Trixie, and the others... They were determined to prove me wrong and put an end to my sad-sackery.

Best of luck to them. Though this was definitely a major victory in the long war.

22 – Luna – Dream Filly

I dreamt that I was laying nude in a fountain of milk atop a cloud in a vast starry void. My face was partially under the surface but it didn't sting. I lifted my head in the dream and looked to the statue. It was a fifteen-foot tall statue of Derpy, milk spraying from her nipples and falling down into the basin.

Then the statue looked at me, her stone-gray eyes widening. "Pascal?" she asked in a booming voice. "Oh... This must be a dream..."

"Derpy?" I asked blearily back.

She blinked. "Wait, are you... Are we...?"

A voice called out, "You are sharing a dream, yes. Thanks to me."

Both the Derpy-statue and I looked up to the source of the voice. Unsurprisingly, it was Princess Luna, descending from the stars above us. Her gown and black jewelry faded away as she landed, and by the time her hoof-toes sank into the basin of milk she was completely nude, her toned, lithe 'incognito' body on display. Not for long, though – her curves grew out quickly as she released the minimizers that kept her real endowments contained.

Luna smiled at both of us, having to look up at Derpy and down at me. "I trust you've had a pleasant 'date'?" she asked slyly. "You're both sleeping quite deeply."

Both Derpy and I laughed. There probably wasn't anything in the world that could wake us up.

I was jolted awake, laying embraced with Derpy on milk-ruined bedsheets, by mariachi music.

Two guesses as to who it was.

Discord was blasting away on a trumpet, doing a little jig around the room, while guitars, tambourines, and maracas floated around independently and backed up his melody. Worse yet, the lights were on.

My eyes were wide and probably bloodshot as I lifted my head up from Derpy's boob that I was using as a pillow. Through grit teeth and bleary eyes, I groaned out, "Discorrrrrrd...!"

Discord removed his lips from the trumpet and smirked down at us, while the trumpet continued to make noise without him. "Pascal! Congratulations!! As of this exact moment, you have survived a whole entire week with the power of Universal Acceptance!"

"Wha...?!" Had it seriously been only seven days?

"That's right! One week since that fateful night! One week since the torches and pitchforks! And look where we are now!"

Derpy pushed herself up sleepily, blinking but looking a bit more chipper than I was. "D... Discord? Oh, hey! So I've got you to thank, right...?"

Discord reached down and picked Derpy up. He didn't seem to care that she was nude and smelled of sweat and milk. "And you must be the marefriend!" He spun her around, making her giggle as they danced and swayed to the ghost mariachi band. "Oh, my darling agent of chaos! His shoulder angel and devil all wrapped up in one package! It is I who should be thanking you!"

By the time they stopped spinning, Derpy was dizzy and delirious, her eyes spinning in different direction. "Oh... Thanks, I guess...!"

I was both miffed and keenly aware that getting all pissy at Discord wouldn't end well. Also I was too tired to get super confrontational. "Discord..." I groaned out again. "Thanks, but... Y'know."

The spirit of chaos playfully tossed Derpy back onto the bed, where she bounced and laughed next to me. "Of course, of course. I just wanted to give you some valuable perspective. So much has happened, hasn't it?"

"No fucking kidding..."

"And I must admit," he added, shaking his lower snake-half to the music, "I wanted to tell you how proud I am of some of the changes you made. Especially that stunt at Joe's Doughnut Shop! Making semen and breastmilk acceptable toppings and ingredients? Getting Celestia to involve the Royal Food Administration? Canterlot's top-chef community is scrambling to find the tastiest 'producers' in Equestria, hiring them under the table before the Princesses approve it!"

"Wait, what?!"

"It's absolutely hilarious!!" Discord guffawed. "So much perversion, and nopony's batting an eye! This is exactly what I had in mind when I suggested this to Twilight!"

"Fuckin' great," I spat, patience wearing thin.

"All those ponies, unknowingly carrying out a lewd, twisted parody of their daily lives – I haven't been this entertained since... since..." Discord suddenly tugged on the collar of his mariachi outfit. He was sweating. He pulled out a handkerchief and dabbed at his forehead. "If anybody needs me, I'll be in my bunk. In my private pocket dimension."

He snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash of light. The instruments were gone too, and the lights had been turned back off. It was like he'd never been there.

I slumped back onto the bed, staring off into nowhere in particular. "Great," I muttered. "First Pinkie, now Discord..." Two unpredictable beings who had suddenly discovered/rediscovered their libido thanks to me. There was going to be a reckoning for such things down the line.

Derpy laughed softly and snuggled up beside me. "Now where were we...?"

I heard myself snoring before I even lost consciousness.

I felt like it took a while to start dreaming again, but it could've been the next minute as far as I knew. We were back in the starry expanse. As I got up and looked around, the surroundings started to coalesce into a different form.

Our field of clouds became a silky-smooth bed, next to a gigantic Olympic-sized pool, or bath. We were in some kind of open-air structure held up by marble columns. An orange-and-violet sunset sky dotted by stars were visible past the columns surrounding the pool.

As I stepped out of the bed, Derpy shifted and got up beside me. Her hand reached out to grab my arm. Her touch felt not-quite-tangible, but I felt a solid connection to her nonetheless. "Pasky?" she asked. "Are you there?"

I looked back at her. "Dreaming? Discord just happened?"

Derpy nodded. "Yeah." She put a finger to her chin and added, "Though I guess it'd be difficult to tell if we're actually having the same dream or just characters in each other's dreams, projecting what we know onto each other..."

I leaned forward and kissed her on the lips. It felt pretty real that time.

She hummed into the kiss and ran her hands along my arms. "Okay. Nevermind, we're here."

I pulled back and nodded, then looked back over the pool. Following my instincts, I approached the water and stuck my toe in. It was a perfect temperature – though whether my idea of 'perfect' was cool or warm seemed to change by the second.

A moment later, something crested the surface of the water and rose up. It was Princess Luna's head, followed by the rest of her, except... a younger Princess Luna? As she took the steps up to the edge of the bathing pool, she barely came up to my shoulders at the top of her head. Her mane was a solid brighter blue instead of a waving starry nexus. Her breasts were still a tad bigger than even Fluttershy's, but they had a much more youthful perkiness to them, blatantly defying gravity and challenging it to speak up. I remembered seeing this version of her in Princess Celestia's vision of the early past, when ponies had first been created by the Masters.

Young Luna bounded up to me, crushing her soaking wet beanbag-sized breasts against my torso and resting her arms on my shoulders, giving me a sultry look. I blushed and my hands hesitantly went to her bare, slim waist, inadvertently confirming that yes, this young version of Luna still had plenty of booty, too. "Hey there..."

"Luna?" Derpy asked, getting up from the bed as it faded away from importance. "Is that you?"

The alicorn nodded at us and led us down to the pool. There was enough room in one of the rounded corners for us all to submerge comfortably, snuggling against each other. Young Luna took the center, while I was on her left and Derpy was on her right. Those big blue breasts bobbed in the pool in front of us, and it took all of my willpower not to dive right into them. Perhaps somewhat literally.

"There's been... something I've been meaning to ask you about," the youthful Luna said to us slowly, looking at me in particular.

"Is it, uh, about the harem?" I asked, my heart beating a little faster.

She laughed and looked back at Derpy. "I see thou hast spilled the beans already, hmm?"

Derpy seemed confused for a moment, but smiled bashfully. "I mean, I guess... Didn't think it had to be that big of a secret, though."

Luna gave Derpy a playful poke on the nose, making the pegasus's face scrunch up cutely. "It is no matter. I never told you the full extent of my interest, anyway." She turned back to me, though her arms reached around both our waists beneath the water, hugging us with each arm against her mighty bosom. "You see, to make a long story short, I never had much of a childhood. The moment we were created, we were slaves to the mighty Masters. They were not 'parents' to us in any meaningful way."

Derpy pouted and rubbed the alicorn's back. "Aww..."

"Simultaneously," Luna continued, "they were our greatest sex partners, fulfilling all of our needs. Needs that they instilled in us in the first place, but nonetheless." She smirked and leaned her head against my shoulder, her horn brushing against my cheek. "So I'm thinking, if I'm going to be a part of this relationship... I might strike down two windigos with one spell, so to speak... Daddy~"

I recoiled in shock. Derpy did the same. "D-Daddy?!" she sputtered.

Luna turned around and snuggled lewdly against her. "And of course, I'd need a loving, caring Mommy too, one who could give me the milk I need to grow up big and strong~" She ducked her head and suckled expertly at one of Derpy's teats, gulping down a spurt of milk that she instantly drew from the pegasus's chest.

I was flabbergasted, my face feeling completely red. "Uh... That's some pretty heavy kink to just... sorta jump into!"

The mischevious, playful alicorn sister removed her lips from Derpy's nipple with a lewd 'pop,' before turning to face me. One of her hands reached down to my chubbed cock beneath the water. "That may be. But tell me you don't want this, one of the most powerful beings in Equestria, worshiping your cock, relying on you for love and affection, calling you Dadd–"

"A-HEM."

All three of us looked to the side of the pool... where the adult Princess Luna was standing, still nude and giant-titted and looking quite impatient. You could tell her hands were on her hips only because you could barely see the angled tips of her elbows on either side.

I looked back to the 'young' Luna, then the 'modern' Luna... and then busted out laughing. A perfect cocktail of shame and amusement swirled through me, making me cackle until my breath was gone with a pained wheeze.

Welp, time to get murdered by the Princess of Dreams, I guess.

The 'young' Luna shrunk, quite literally shrunk, until she had disappeared from existence, leaving a vacuum of space in the pool between me and Derpy. Luna sighed and walked over to the edge of the pool where we were sitting, saying, "If it's any consolation, Pascal... that is the strangest thing I've seen in your dreams to date."

I half-laughed, half-groaned and rested my pounding head against the bathing pool's rim. I hadn't realized it was possible to get an aneurysm while you slept.

Luna stepped into the pool where her counterpart used to be, her mane flowing behind her. When her starry hair met the water, it swirled with color like a beautiful nebula, bleeding out into the water like dye. She settled back against the wall of the tub and wrapped her arms around us, smirking. The Princess's horn lit up with bright blue magic. The temperature of the water warmed up as the great bathing pool turned into a hot tub, and the ornate open-air bathhouse turned into a private garden.

"If I had to make a guess," Luna said slowly, savoring the moments I was on pins and needles waiting for her judgment, "after that rude interruption, I was ejected, but the link between you remained just enough for you two to reconnect in sleep. And you were expecting me to reappear, which is why your combined minds created that... fantastical dream character."

I lifted my head finally and gave her a confused look. "Wait, so that was..."

"...both of us?" Derpy finished.

"I have many kinks, but Daddy/Little Girl play is not one of them!" I insisted.

Derpy threw up her hands in exasperation, splashing the water. "Well of all the ponies in the world to adopt, I certainly wasn't thinking Princess Luna!"

The Princess laughed and squeezed us against her with her powerful arms. "Worry not! Dreams are, sometimes, the subconscious working through problems we don't know how to solve yet. You must have discussed children at some point tonight, yes? And you both want to continue bedding me, but that's no surprise..."

Both Derpy and I looked away sheepishly.

Shrugging, Luna said, "You're far from the first ponies I've seen who dream of a special way to comfort me, to be a comfort for my perceived loneliness. You won't be the last."

I sighed and nodded. That made enough sense. "You certainly seem more 'together' than most of us here."

"Nonsense," Luna replied teasingly. "I've just tackled my problems the same way anypony else does: Through hard work and the support of my friends." She released us from her arms and rested them on the edge of the hot tub. While we weren't looking, the scene had changed again to the deck of some kind of tropical mountain lodge. The tub had also shrunk a bit, meaning Luna's gargantuan breasts were practically taking up all of the space that Derpy and I weren't.

I coughed and cleared my throat a bit. "Do, uh, you count me among those friends, Princess?"

"That's the primary reason I've come to you," she said. Luna stepped up from the tub, water dripping from her breasts, rear, and tail. She stepped out, a moon-motif'd towel materializing in her hands, impossibly humongous enough to close around her chest. The dream-scene changed again, and now we were inside, towels wrapped around our bodies, looking out through a glass wall as we sipped cocktails and lounged in the entertainment room of the lodge. "Miss Derpy and I have already... become well acquainted, and perhaps it wasn't fair to do so behind your back..."

I waved my martini glass dismissively, before wondering when I had picked up a martini glass. "Literally do not care."

Luna smiled from the alicorn-sized couch she was lounging on. Her towel hung loosely around her goddess-like curves. "I'd like to be friends with you too, Pascal. Not just as a source of precious human semen, but as a remarkable individual who overcame his own lusts and fears to make the ultimate sacrifice."

Derpy just looked on at us, grinning with pride.

"There are a hundred other reasons, of course," Luna admitted. "You're the Avatar of Acceptance. You're my sister's therapist. You and Miss Derpy stand a real chance of making great changes to the Equestrian way of life. I owe you a great debt for my role in my sister's subterfuge against you back when you two were enemies. But..."

Suddenly, I was sitting on the couch, and Luna's hand was on mine. Had I sat down? Or was time and causality as malleable in a dream as the scenery?

"Putting all that aside," Luna said, "I wouldn't mind being..." She seemed to lose some of her steam, glancing away bashfully. "...more than professional."

Derpy rested her boobs on the back of the couch behind us, grinning down at me. "She gave me a big ol' speech too, Pasky. She likes to cover her bases almost as much as you do!" Luna shot her a cute little indignant pout.

I chuckled and looked back into Luna's eyes. "You're the Princess of the Night. Basically the coolest pony I can think of. Of course I'd love to be friends with you. Even if I've got a hundred other reasons of my own, too."

"Of course," Luna agreed. She sat up straight and looked out over the veranda, admiring the landscape of purple trees and orange skies.

Derpy flapped her wings and hopped over the couch, landing on the other side of Luna and snuggling into her. I did the same from the other side, and the three of us sat there for a little while, all out of words for the moment. In our busy, busy lives, we all agreed that a little peace and quiet was precious, even if it had to come from our dreams.

Luna spent what seemed like a minute or two opening and closing her mouth, deciding what to say next. Eventually, she sighed and said, "There is... one other reason I wanted to visit, besides the social call."

As always, Derpy caught on quick to the deep concern underlying Luna's voice. "What is it?"

"My sister is... having a bad night," Luna said delicately. Her towel was suddenly replaced with more casual clothes – an obscenely stretched t-shirt and denim shorts. I was clothed in a robe as well, though Derpy was still nudist as usual. "Twice this evening I've had to intervene in her nightmares. I won't divulge more than that, out of courtesy, but you can guess at their contents."

"Oh geez..." I muttered, not sure what else to say.

Luna nodded with a grim expression. "I'll be honest, human – I'm hoping you have some plan, or at least some words of encouragement for me. I've never agreed with Celestia's most prudish ideals, but I hate to see her suffer."

I leaned back against the couch and stared off into space. The way the sky outside rapidly shifted to a starry night, that was almost quite literal. Truth was, I'd only recently begun to get a plausible idea for how to treat Celestia. "...Regression therapy."

"What?" both Derpy and Luna asked at the same time. Derpy peeked over the tops of Luna's breasts like they were a fence between us.

I let out a deep breath and tilted my head to the ceiling. The stucco fizzled away until an unobstructed view of the night sky was above us. We were in lawn chairs now, watching an imaginary meteor shower. The constellations above formed an outline of Celestia's face, alternating between her diplomatically happy and lewdly devastated expressions.

"I think the Celestia of the past, the former slave, has something valuable to say to the Celestia of the present. Present-Celestia locked that personality away, projecting all her sins and failures onto it, letting it fester and gnaw at her for years." I looked over at Luna, who looked worried but thoughtful. "I think the only way to get Celestia to heal and come to terms with her sexuality... is to basically let that past personality out of the cage for a bit, shake off the rust and mud. And I think the fastest way to do that is with regression therapy."

"That is... a bold declaration," Luna said carefully, a hand on her chin. "That is no simple technique you're describing. To call it 'the fastest way'..."

"Well, I've discovered I can do enhanced hypnosis, thanks to Spitfire," I pointed out. "In theory, I think I could pull it off."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Would you be able to do it as soon as your next session tomorrow night, then?"

I cringed automatically, and I wasn't entirely sure why. If I could make Spitfire my deeply hypnotized slave on the first try, using magic I'd literally never practiced before, something like personality regression was within my reach so long as I worded it right. But deep down, I knew I wasn't ready. Celestia needed a viable treatment as soon as possible, but I wasn't ready yet. I needed something.

"I could do it, but right now I'm missing something," I finally said, sitting up in my lawn chair. "A better rapport, maybe? The way we are now, especially if she's having a bad night tonight... I don't think Celestia would be stable enough for that kind of experience, even under my power." I shuddered. "My power's steered her wrong at least once before..."

Luna took a deep inhale through her nostrils... nodded, and stood up. "It's coming together, then. Even if you say you're not there yet, I am encouraged." She forced herself to smile down at me. "Thank you, Pascal."

"No matter what," Derpy piped up, "we'll be there. For you and for her."

I raised a hand to my temple. Something about what my marefriend said stood out to me, giving me an idea. "...Do you think, when I do it, you could be there?" I asked the Princess.

"W-What?" Luna mumbled, balking at the suggestion.

"Maybe that'll help stabilize her," I suggested. "To have someone she loves at 'both ends of the track,' as it were. You were there for her the first time, right?"

Luna's expression went sour. She grabbed her arm with her other hand and looked down at the grass. "Yes..." she muttered. "That's why I've sort of... stayed away from this process. Because back then, I had to do forceful, terrible things to keep her from running back to the Masters." The more she said, the more she seemed like she wanted to disappear from our sight. "There's a distinct possibility... I might be to blame for her... extreme position on the subject."

I wasn't sure what to say to that.

"Forcing somepony to go cold turkey when the freedom of your species is on the line..." Derpy mumbled. "I wouldn't blame you."

Celestia locked away her young, submissive self... because Luna had convinced her it was necessary?

"In a way, I stole my sister's happiness for the good of ponykind," Luna said severely. "I don't think I'd be much good at giving it back."

I covered my mouth thoughtfully and let out a sigh through my nostrils. No wonder Luna had felt both mysterious on the subject and not much help at all besides handing out exposition. I shook my head and put my hands on my hips, looking up at her pointedly. "At least consider it," I said. "Maybe by yourself, you're not enough... but dammit, Celestia needs everypony on her side right now. This isn't just her and me."

Luna appeared struck by that statement, and looked down at her bosom for a moment contritely. "...You're right, Pascal. And I will tell her again I am by her side, always." She gave me a deep bow.

That was all I remembered from that night's dream. Luna had probably left soon after.

Sounds from the bathroom woke me up. The first light of dawn was barely peeking over the horizon. Our room in the royal palace was still destroyed; I would've said I was sleeping in the 'wet patch' of milk on the sheets, but that 'patch' was just the entire bed at this point.

Derpy emerged from the shower, drying her mane and tail. "Gotta get back to work today..." she said quietly, apparently not sure if I was awake or not. She walked over to the closet and pulled out her messenger bag, slinging it over her shoulder. Her uniform was probably at the mail depot? I didn't know.

As she turned to leave, I grunted and picked up my head like a lead weight. Derpy let out an 'oh!' and walked back to me, giving me a kiss on the cheek. "Morning, Pasky," she cooed to me. "Get some rest, okay?"

I took hold of her hand. "Wait..."

"Hmm?" Derpy tilted her head at me.

I shook my head to clear out some of the cobwebs, and focused on the feeling of her hand in mine. My hand started to glow its trademark blue. "I'm givin' you... my aura. Same as mine. The one that kinda lets me do and say anything without... without too much repercussion."

The blue glow traveled up Derpy's arm and settled deep within her chest, making her gasp. "P-Pascal...!"

"It's jus' the same as mine," I mumbled wearily. "No murder, no rape, but you can talk about anything, do or touch anything... Also gonna leave the 'everyone takes your suggestions super-seriously' part out, not because I don't trust you, but hell, it's a pain in the butt even for me–"

I was interrupted by a kiss. My magic pulsed through me and into her as we shared the morning's grasp of our lips and tongues. She pulled away after a moment, smiling with tears in her eyes, and asked, "Why...?"

"Because..." I searched for the right words. "You did something amazing for me. Felt like this was the only thing I had I could give you."

Derpy hugged me tightly. "You didn't have to..." she sniffled.

"You didn't have to chug an Hourglass Potion just to make me feel better about my fetishes," I replied with a grin and a stroke of her wings. "This is nothin'."

She kissed me again, twice, once on the lips and once on the forehead. "Thank you. I can feel it already." She stood up. "Have fun with Trixie, okay? See you at the fashion show tonight, too."

I waved, already lowering my head to the sodden bedsheets. "Love you."

Derpy sounded like she was ready to choke up with happiness. "L-Love you too!" She hurried out the door, and the last I heard of her that morning was her powerful wings flapping her down the royal halls.

I fell back to deep, dreamless sleep for a couple more hours until the sunlight was shining through the curtains. I stirred on my own, but only a few minutes passed before...

Knock knock knock!

I didn't even get a chance to say 'Not decent!' before the door burst open, and a half-dozen ponies in what looked like magical hazmat suits stormed in, carrying mops and chemical bottles and spare sheets. They froze solid as they looked upon the state of the room.

In the light of morning, the disaster we had created was on full display. Pillows, bedsheets, carpet, even some of the wallpaper – all soaked through. Vases and platters knocked off the end tables. Towels and clothes haphazardly strewn about on every available surface. The mattress itself, probably busted or at least severely worn down under the weight of Derpy's mammaries.

I looked to the janitors and threw up my arms in a massive shrug. "You said 'do your worst!'"

23 – Trixie – Enchantment

I was unceremoniously thrown out on my bare ass, followed by several paper bags of clothing and supplies. A hazmat-suited unicorn stretched a length of warning tape in front of what used to be my door before she slammed it shut.

A heavy clinking behind me meant there was a royal guard pegasus standing close by, unfazed by my nudity. "I'm here to take you to your new quarters," he said, in the usual no-nonsense-guard tone of voice.

I got up, dusted myself off, and picked up my bags. "As long as it's got a shower, I think we'll be fine."

The first and perhaps most important detail I noticed about my new suite's location: It was much closer to the Princesses' towers. Pretty much straight down the hall from Celestia's own tower, with Luna's abode not much farther. It seemed that my new "office" was meant to be more directly under the Princesses' purview.

The guard simply showed me to the door, handed me a key, bowed, and left. I hadn't gotten a key for the previous room – that had been handled by the custodians and guards. This told me that the contents of this room were meant to be treated more sensitively.

My new personal key unlocked the door to my new room, and I went inside.

Whereas my first room had been just one large bedroom with a bathroom and a balcony branching off from that, this new place seemed to split into two 'sections.' The first was a sort of office and waiting area, with a proper work desk against the wall, a basic dining table and chairs, and a comfortable couch up against the window with an equally comfortable armchair next to it. No doubt that couch was meant for my 'standard' psychiatric work. Back and to the left was the door to the bathroom, which was about the same, maybe a little smaller than in my previous suite. More immediately to my left was a folding door that opened up to reveal a shallow pantry – perhaps meant for snacks and refreshments needed during long 'sessions.'

That was all just one 'section' of the suite. To the right was a thick red curtain acting as a divider. When I threw it open, what was revealed could only be described as a 'love-nest.' A truly gigantic bed sprawled before me, bigger than even the Princess-sized mattress I was familiar with. The amount of pillows and cushions were downright obscene, some of them gaudy and heart-shaped to boot. Next to the head of the bed on the right was a small end-table. A door behind the bed to the left led to a second, larger bathroom. Along the right wall was a sliding door closet, and to the left was a curtained balcony entrance with a view of the palace grounds next to Celestia's tower. Built into various points on the walls were little shelves with neatly folded towels atop them. The towels would occasionally faintly glimmer with a magical presence.

The whole place smelled faintly of fresh construction, if that made any sense. The scent of lumber. This room must have just been renovated. It couldn't have been done overnight, could it? Surely we would have heard it? Or had this room been intended for some other similar purpose and had been already most of the way there?

The note had said that Princess Luna and Prince Blueblood had been the driving forces behind this. Perhaps monetarily as well. In fact, the whole 'love-nest' vibe had Blueblood's overcompensation written all over it. Maybe this was modeled on one of his own rooms. I could imagine a fussy Prince Blueblood bossing around some designer unicorns, all like, 'No no, trust me, he's going to need a bed at least twice that size.' Though that was assuming he was half the playboy bachelor his public persona seemed to hinge on. Perhaps it would be a while before I knew the answers for sure.

Either way, I was no expert on 'love-nests' or 'cribs'... but as a future base of operations went, this seemed suited to my purposes just fine. One part office, one part living space, one part psychiatrist's couch, four parts master bedroom... and presumably all stain-proof? Hopefully soundproof too, now that I was thinking about it.

There was an easy way to test the most important thing. I walked around the enormous bed to the second bathroom, which was much larger and more spacious. The walk-in shower space was a particular marvel, big enough to require multiple nozzles so that four unreasonably-endowed ponies could comfortably fit – and get up to all sorts of dirty trouble – inside. That was going to be very useful later.

I ran the faucet of the sink and cupped some water in my hand. Quickly and carefully, I stepped back out to the bedroom. Droplets of water landed on the carpet below. I traced over the spots with my bare foot and felt nothing, but I couldn't be sure if that was confirmation. With a bit of a gulp of trepidation, I tipped my hand over one corner of the bed. If this went wrong, at least this spot was far away from the pillows.

The water in my hand splashed onto the bedsheets... and disappeared. I actually blinked multiple times and frantically ran my hands across the spot in case I'd briefly gone mad. Nope, still dry... and unnaturally but comfortably warm to boot. The blankets and sheets were definitely enchanted. Probably the generous supply of towels, too.

I fist-pumped. "Hell yeah!" I said aloud to the empty room. Now I could fuck anypony on this bed and still use it to sleep on later! And the custodians wouldn't want to strangle me every hour! Problems solved!

The expense made a great deal of sense now. Even if it was expensive to cast enchantments on everything like this... hoo boy, at the rate which I 'used' these facilities, it was more than worth it.

There was only one problem with this pristine room at the moment, and that was me. I still reeked of musk and milk from my activities the previous night. Not an unpleasant reminder of a wonderful night, but in this brand-new palatial suite I was feeling a little... unclean.

I had never been so excited to break in a strange new shower.

Refreshed, I raided the closet for one of the standard royal bathrobes and took a running leap onto the mattress. I didn't bounce so much as glide across the surface, barely taking up a fifth of the available space just laying on my side. The thought that I could be laying comfortably between four mares... or even a couple more if we all squeezed together... Just laying there made me giddy.

I lost track of time making angels in the bedsheets and rearranging the pillows to my ideal set-up. There was a distant knock and the sound of the door opening, on the other side of the red curtain. "Pascal...? Woah."

It was Trixie's voice. I climbed off the bed (no quick feat) and practically skipped across the room and through the divider, unintentionally giving myself a dramatic flair as I forced one thick curtain aside. I decided to just roll with it. "Welcome!!" I declared in a booming voice.

Trixie, in her form-hugging leotard and hat – never dropping her brand even for a second, I see (or was this her version of 'formal palace wear'?) – gasped at me and grinned. "Pascal! Well then! New digs, I see!"

"Yep," I said with a chuckle. "They were sick of cleaning up after us, so they were like, 'That's it, we're giving you a new room, and we're making everything magically self-cleaning!'"

Trixie's eyes nearly sparkled. "'Everything'?"

"Well, the bed and carpet so far, at least..."

The unicorn walked past me through the curtain and let out another gasp at the sheer size of the room and bed. "Woooow!" She broke out into giggles and gave me a nudge with her elbow. "All this for you, huh? The Princesses must really like your 'performance,' eh??"

My cheeks were starting to ache from the grinning. "That probably helped. Probably the difference between 'getting a new room' and 'getting thrown out of the palace entirely.'"

Trixie took a running jump onto the mattress, landing tits-first and gathering up armfuls of the warm blanket against her. "Oh, forget the hotel suite! I'm staying here the rest of the week!" She rolled onto her side and looked back at me, preparing her best pout and puppy-dog eyes.

She needn't have bothered asking. "I'm okay with that if you are."

The Great and Powerful Trixie raised her arms and legs in great Vs of victory. "Yessss!" she cheered, and then collapsed back onto the bed. "...My reservation was about to run out anyway."

"What were you going to do afterwards?" I asked curiously, raising an eyebrow.

She lifted her hands briefly in a tired attempt at a shrug. "Dunno. Wasn't too worried. Worst case scenario I take my wagon out of storage and sleep inside for a few weeks." She weakly lifted her head to grin toothily at me once more, but it was becoming clear that, despite her initial enthusiasm, she was actually kind of exhausted. "Best case scenario: This!!"

I walked over and rested one knee on the bed, leering over her with a gentle smile. "Glad to hear that. Looks like you had a good night, too."

Trixie started to chuckle, which grew into a low, seductive cackle. "I... am one sexy bitch."

I chuckled back. "This is known. This is a known quantity."

She put the back of her hand to her head, right underneath her horn. "Oh, you should've seen it – I played them like a symphony. Five nubile mares at my command, making them cum with my hands and my magic, watching them follow my orders to pleasure each other... Fuck..."

Holy shit, Trixie was getting to know her inner dominatrix. I wasn't sure if that was great news or dangerous news for me. As hot as the image was, I had to do a mental recount. Moondancer, Minuette, Lemon Hearts, Twinkleshine... "Wait, Spitfire too?"

Another chuckle from Trixie. "Yep. She was originally just joining us for drinks, but I talked her into joining the fun." She got up and fixed me with a smoldering, lusty stare. "And she had some interesting things to say about you..."

I gulped. "Ah. Like...?"

Her horn lit up and I felt a tug at the collar of my royal bathrobe, pulling me onto the bed beside her. She snuggled against me, her huge blue breasts forming a sort of privacy screen beneath our chins. "She said something about the 'deepest trance ever'?" she inquired with a perfectly knowing grin. "She was a little cagey about the details... but it sounds like you've got some new tricks up your sleeve...!"

My bashful expression gave it all away.

"Ooh, you gotta tell me!"

How could I refuse her? "Basically, I used her magic to send her down to a... trance beyond trance. Some kinda super-trance where my power literally seeped into her."

Trixie wriggled against me. "Ooooh, sounds useful!"

I looked aside bashfully. "It took a long time and... I'm not sure how much I can do with it. Another one of those situations where I could change a lot without realizing if I'm not careful and... and..." When I looked back at Trixie, her cheeks were dusted with a tinge of red and I could feel her legs squirming against mine. "And you find that extremely hot, I take it."

"You don't??" she asked incredulously.

She had me there. "I guess I just don't– I find it hard to understand from your perspective."

Trixie wrapped an arm around my shoulder and pulled me tighter to her, practically grinding her body against mine. "Pasky. Pasky Pasky Pasky. You already pegged me for a switch, remember? Not only do I enjoy the idea of watching you turn other ponies into your helpless, loving slaves..."

Okay, she really had me there. Trixie confirmed for dedicated shoulder devil.

"...but I enjoy the thought of going under just... like... them."

For some reason, this baffled me immensely. "Really? I couldn't..."

Trixie gave me a pat on the shoulder. "Well of course you couldn't! You've just been through a mind-warping ordeal! No one's asking you to get mind-controlled."

I nodded contritely. "Yeah. When I bottom, it's more about... being helpful."

She leaned her head in and gave me a quick nuzzle on the nose. "And I can tell you we all love that. But I like it when you go for the tippy-top, too. Pascal the Dom can be a real savant at times..."

I turned my head towards the bedsheets. "Which is easier thanks to the whole pony-human sex slave thing–"

Trixie quite literally pinched my cheeks with her magic and forced me to look at her. "Pascal," she said seriously. "I've put in a lot of work to give you and Derpy a magical night. I've just worked my shiny blue butt off to seduce and please five mares at once." She rolled onto her back, pulling me on top of her, my chin resting between her beautiful leotard-cupped tits. "I... want... a mind-fuck."

Which was more surprising: That this was the first time I'd ever heard that phrase uttered so sincerely, or that this might not be the last time? I couldn't decide at the moment; too dumbfounded.

"I want to relaaaaax," she moaned up at me, dragging out the vowels with the shape of her tongue. "I want to relive that Saturday where you enslaved me with just a few words. Where all I had to worry about was pleasing you and keeping you alive, but without the 'keeping you alive' part. Please, Pascal?" The pout and the puppy-dog eyes were back, and now she'd brought her hands up and clasped them above her chin like an adorable filly. "Pretty pleeeeease?"

I let out a sigh and gave her a wry smirk. "Sure, twist my rubber arm."

Trixie grinned back triumphantly. "So how do we do this, to get the super-trance? Count down from a hundred, something like that?"

I sat up, straddling Trixie's abdomen, and thought for a moment. Truth was... I wasn't sure Trixie would have the patience for that; whether we might end up wasting time trying to get her to a trance she was entirely too eager for. I had experience with that during my own... exploration back home. Couldn't really go under, not truly. Of course, every person was different, and it was entirely possible that Trixie could be excited AND receptive to a trance... But my gut said there had to be another way.

"First off," I said, deciding to stall, "I kinda need to know where your limits are, what you're wanting out of this."

"What I'm wanting?" Trixie echoed a little incredulously. "I'm wanting... well..." She put a finger to her chin.

I raised my eyebrows and smirked. "Not so easy, is it?"

Trixie shot me an indignant pout, then returned to thinking. "I guess..." She let out a sigh. "I just don't want to think about things. I want following your orders to be... natural." She let out another, heavier sigh. "I want you to take the boastful showboat Trixie and really tame her, really fucking dominate her. Just... remove her from existence for a little while..."

I was a little surprised, then a little concerned. But on some level, I understood. She still harbored guilt over the personality quirks that had led her into certain situations in Ponyville. She didn't want to be in control for once, because when she was in control...

I reached over her upthrust shelf of boob and stroked her shoulder. That put a bit of a sad smile on her face, which I took as a small victory. Trixie took my hand in hers and said, "I guess that's it. Don't make me a giggling brainless bimbo, but... well, I guess if I'm just happy, that's fine, but... somepony who just does what she's told and feels good about it, that's what I want to be." A bit of her usual evil smirk returned. "And if you took me out in public, showed me off proudly... that'd be great, too."

"Like you pretty much did on Saturday?" I teased her, rubbing one of her huge breasts with my other hand. "Seemed like we couldn't walk down the block without you telling everypony."

"Being naked helped," Trixie teasingly agreed. "So. I'm ready to be put under if you are."

Which led me back to the question of how to do this. My subconscious brain was trying to tell me what it wanted, and at this very second I was only sure of two things: I didn't want to do it the same way as Spitfire, there was a way to do this that was more Trixie's speed, and this would make an excellent way to explore more of my powers' capabilities. Okay, three things, and the solution was steadily becoming clearer.

"I'm going to try something a little different," I said, adjusting my position so that I could more comfortably lean over Trixie's mammaries. I placed my hands beside Trixie's head and slowly cupped her cheeks.

Trixie looked a little nervously at the hands beside her head, but excitement quickly took over and she looked up at me with all the excitement of an adrenaline-addicted bungee-jumper. "Alright, yes, I'm into this," she said, gritting her teeth as she braced herself.

Time for another experiment. I swallowed, cleared my throat, and firmly said, "You are my slave."

My hands glowed with their usual blue magic, seeping into Trixie's face. Her eyes widened as she no doubt felt my magic flowing into her. "What...?" Oh, she definitely wasn't expecting this.

"You are my slave," I intoned, unable to keep the smirk out of the corner of my lips. "It is perfectly normal to be my slave. You will do whatever I say. It is perfectly normal for you to do whatever I say."

Trixie's eyes unfocused. Her hands shifted upwards, reaching for mine – whether to pull them off or hold them there, it wasn't clear – but they fell limp at her sides a moment after. "Woah..." she mumbled.

Keeping my hands on her cheeks, I leaned down to whispering range. "Doing okay?" I asked quietly. "Can I keep going?"

The magician nodded furiously, nearly shaking my hands off. Okay then. That was it for check-ins.

I pulled back up and swallowed. Taking control of another's mind always put me on edge... I took a deep breath and steeled myself. "You want to be my slave. That is normal. You're happy being my slave. That is normal." Every command, my hands pulsed bright blue and cast magic into Trixie's mind. "You don't have to think about your own whims and desires when you're my slave. That is normal. You only have to await commands and follow them. That is normal. Everyone else accepts that you're my slave and I can use you however I like. That is normal. You don't worry about the thoughts and judgments of others, only what I tell you. That is normal."

Trixie was completely limp now, and was starting to repeat my words under her breath, her lips forming the shape of the words as she barely breathed them. Her violet eyes had a creeping outer edge of blue to them as my magic continued to pour into her. That draining feeling in my chest was starting to return.

My power didn't even need the formality of a trance. I could just enchant a willing, wakeful pony if I used the right words and context. Good to know.

But in some ways this was still a kind of trance, which meant it had to be thorough. "You're not Trixie Lulamoon, or The Great and Powerful Trixie. You're simply Slave Trixie. This is who you've agreed to be for a short time. That is normal. My words are your truth, your reality. That is normal. This... won't be perfect at first; it'll take a few tries for us to learn what we like when we're 'on' like this. That is fine, that is normal." More and more of my mana seeped into Trixie, and my hands became clammy the longer this went on. I needed to get to a resolution before I zeroed out, but I didn't feel like this was enough yet. "Being in my presence, earning my attention, serving my whims, pleasuring me... being my object, my trophy, my thrall, my fantasy, my whore, my slut... all of this excites you and gives you joy. That is normal. My touch will bring you happiness and pleasure. That is normal. I am your Master, and you will address me as such. That is normal. You... are my slave. That is normal. You are my slave. That is normal." The light reached my own eyes, and the words squeezing out from my lungs thrummed with power as they left my mouth. "You are my slave."

There was a heavy pulse that knocked my hands away. Blue light ricocheted up and down Trixie's laying form as she let out a strangled moan. I fell backwards and barely braced myself against the bed, still straddling her pelvis. I quickly got off of her and crawled up the bed to examine her face, to make sure she wasn't hurt.

As the bright blue light of my magic faded and Trixie lay there with her eyes closed, she looked... still. My magic had a way of calming worried minds, usually in a supernatural, slightly unnerving way. The reality of mind control – even benign, consensual mind control – was uncanny on a level that I had never expected from years of reading erotica. And yet, the potential rewards made it easy to eventually ignore.

Trixie's eyes eventually fluttered open, and she turned her head towards me with a grin and a spark in her eyes. "Master...!" she gasped, and she practically hopped up onto her knees, staring intently at me like a puppy whose owner just walked through the front door. Her tail actually swished behind her. "Master..." she purred again, reveling in the syllables.

This was big.

This was a big deal for me.

This was the essence of everything I'd ever wanted out of porn, fantasy, whatever.

And I now had the power to make that a reality.

"Enjoying yourself, slave?" I couldn't stop myself from asking, stumbling over my own excitement.

She shuddered at the word 'slave,' then giggled. "Y...Yes, Master," she replied emphatically after a moment.

I was hyper-focused at this moment. "What was that pause there?"

Trixie froze for a second, then looked reluctantly contemplative, like it was something she hadn't wanted to think about. "I... My brain came up with some pithy, sarcastic reply, but I decided against it because I'm enjoying this a lot." She tilted her head down and aimed her eyes up at me bashfully. "I feel... happy, Master. Like nothing else matters but you. I don't want to ruin that with my usual bitchiness. Part of me wants to keep pushing you, acting 'disobedient' so that you have to 'punish' me, but a bigger part of me is like... I've won. This is already my reward. I can stop that for a little while."

I smiled broadly. "That's right. You fought hard for this, Trixie. You practically begged me for it."

Trixie nodded and bowed her head expectantly. "What would you like Slave Trixie to do for you, Master?"

I was immensely happy with this, especially knowing that she seemed to be enjoying it. I was pretty sure she was still immune to my Normal aura as of Monday, before the big meeting. So whatever factors had convinced her to do this, this was still all Trixie. Trixie wanted to be my slave. Trixie loved me and wanted me to be her Master. God if I didn't let that go to my head a bit.

"I want my slave naked," I declared to her. "Just like before."

"Yes, Master..." Trixie purred, and she activated her horn. Her leotard peeled down from her chest, letting her prodigious blue bombers bounce free, followed by the reveal of her toned abdomen, the flare of her hips, the jiggly bubble of her booty, and her long, shapely, supermodel legs. The hat and cape were abandoned soon after, which meant there wasn't a single stitch on her – she was even more nude than Saturday.

"I notice you took off the cape and wizard's hat."

Her eyes widened. "Does Master want them back on? If you wish, I will–"

"No no, that's fine," I said with a grin. "I just thought it was interesting that you did that automatically."

Slave Trixie nodded. "I... Does Master want me to tell him how I feel?"

"Always and often," I replied sincerely.

She beamed and nodded again. "I guess I felt like the hat and cape were too... 'heavy' for me, like this? Too much of a reminder of... the Trixie that I am not right now."

Yeah, that made enough sense. She wanted to 'shed her skin' and escape her troubles for a little while, and while being nude except the hat and cape was fun, they also carried their own kinds of baggage. "Then you'll be in your birthday suit today," I decreed. "My lovely Trixie on display."

Trixie shivered, and her hips squirmed and twisted as a feminine scent lingered in the air. "I'd love that, Master." She paused, then passionately added, "I love you, Master."

"I love my Slave Trixie, too," I said, and I reached out and pulled her close to me. My hands shamelessly latched onto her breasts, squeezing them from the sides and playing with them like my own personal toys – which to a great degree they were. "Your body is mine to play with – how does that make you feel?"

"A-Amazing..." Trixie gasped out. With every squeeze of soft blue titflesh, Trixie's body shuddered and her legs shifted restlessly. "More amazing than I ever imagined. Because it's you. You... My body was made for you...! I love it when you use me, Master!"

This was too perfect. Scarily perfect. Was this Trixie getting into this, knowing what I liked? Or did some of my dormant fantasies of how a sex slave should act seep into her mind along with my spoken words? With this level of control, was there even a black-and-white line? The only comfort I had was that Trixie had agreed to this, asked for this, begged for this, been deathly curious to know what this magic would do to her. I guess we were both finding out.

Then again... 'You're happy being my slave. My touch will bring you happiness and pleasure.' Those had been my words, hadn't they? She was certainly taking them to heart.

At the same time, it was only working so completely like this because she'd been primed and ready for the suggestions, right...?

I suddenly realized I'd been lost in thought just groping Trixie's tits for a good minute or so. "Do you want me to move on?"

"No!" Trixie cried out emphatically. Her face was contorted in pleasure. Her heavy breaths shifted her mammaries in my hands. "I'm just your toy. Do whatever you want! If all you want to do is play with my tits for hours, that's... that's more than...! Nnh!" She let out a moan, and the bedsheets' absorption magic was put to the test as a squirt of sticky fluids seeped down between her thighs.

This was surprising. "Woah..."

"Y-Yeah..." Trixie agreed with a lust-drunk grin. "It feels so gooood being your slave. You have no idea... Knowing I can't do anything... That I don't have to do anything... That I'm just yours and you'll just use me. Punishment or reward, it doesn't matter, it's just... aaaaaahn!" She pressed her chest harder against my hands, overflowing between my fingers. Her nipples were stiff and nearly throbbing.

Man, when Trixie switched, she switched HARD. Then again, hadn't she been basically asking for something like this since we started this 'relationship'? Was this what she had been fantasizing about all along? Was that why she was so often ticked off at my check-ins and half-measures? Because she'd been so close to this?

"I own you," I muttered on a whim.

"Mmm!" Trixie wriggled in my grip.

"Nothing you say or do matters," I continued on experimentally. "Only what I want matters. My desires are your satisfaction."

"YyyyYYYESSS!" Trixie screamed. Boy I was starting to hope the walls were actually soundproofed. "Fucking grope me, ogle me, use me like the cheap, disposable entertainment I've always been! I–"

She stopped abruptly there, because we both knew she'd let some deep insecurity slip. I stifled a sigh and gave her a reassuring pat on the boob. "You're special to me, Trixie," I said softly, and even to my weak self-esteem those words felt sincere. "I'm not doing this because you're just another mare. This is something only for you."

Trixie leaned forward, resting her forehead against mine, her horn laying across my bangs. "I know," she said, both wearily and in relief. With her face close against mine, I could feel the twitches around her eyes as she blinked back tiny tears. "I know, Master, I know." She opened her eyes and smiled. "Even if you do this for some other willing mare... it won't be like what we have, will it." It wasn't so much a question as a self-reassurance.

I shook my head at her and smiled. "Never exactly like ours." I squeezed her breasts playfully. "But there may be some similarities."

"Ohh," Trixie moaned, rubbing her nipples into my palms. "I don't mind thaaaat..." She lost her composure and a hand darted between her legs, openly playing with her soaking wet lips. "Oh, fuck, you're going to have so many of us... All of us worshiping you, as your devoted hypnoslaaaa-aaaves...!" She fell back onto the bed, spreading her toned legs wide and showing me every second of her fingerfucking. "This... does this please you, Mm-maaaaaaster...?"

The only thing keeping my erection hidden was the royal bathrobe I was still wearing. "You're a painting, Slave Trixie." I parted the robe and let my thirteen-inch cock stab freely into the air of the room.

Trixie's eyes widened; she hadn't seen my dick after Moondancer's latest minor upgrade, and she practically started salivating. "Oh my Luna..." She giggled and moaned. "I'm such a slut for you...! I'm your slut and it feels so gooooood, aha...! P-Please, Master, tell me what to do with it...!"

To be honest, I was having a hard time deciding. I wanted her worshipful lips on my cock, but the juiciness of her pussy was hard to pass up. ...Ah, of course. I took off my robe entirely and crawled over to her laying body, perching over her, my cock pressing against her cheek while I propped myself up above her crotch. "I want to sample the buffet you've offered me," I said, my arousal making my metaphors gradually sillier. "So we're going to 69 it, okay?"

"Mmm, yes Master!" Trixie agreed. She used her magic to align my cock with her mouth and suckled on the tip, apparently letting me push down at my own pace.

I realized that, while this probably wasn't my first time in this position, this might be the first time I'd been on top. I couldn't have asked for a better setup. I lowered my body so that I was resting my chest on her toned middle. My hands cupped under her firm bottom, and I attached my lips to her leaking pussy, my tongue scooping inside and stealing great flavorful gulps of her blue syrupy taste. Her thighs squeezed around my head reflexively, smothering my cheeks and ears.

Soon after I pushed my hips a couple of inches lower, sinking more of my cock into Trixie's mouth. She suckled hard and swirled her tongue around my cock, having just a little difficulty because of the position and my increased girth. But her occasional muffled squeaks and moans told me that she was enjoying it so far.

Licking a pussy upside-down was a new experience. I had to bend my tongue in new ways I had never tried before. It took me a while to find the fat nub of her clit, making her buck her hips up against me, so after that I pulled up a little and just traced the flat of my tongue along her thick outer lips, licking up her delicious fluids. Then I dove back in, and decided that now was the time I was going to try out... the alphabet. I... L...

Trixie's hands reached out to my own bottom, making me flinch a little bit, but to my relief her hands didn't do much more than squeeze me. She lifted her head and pulled me down, getting almost half of my cock into her mouth, bumping against the back of her throat. She retreated just an inch to collect her breath, then pushed forward again, getting just the head into her tight esophagus. My cock pulsed, shooting some amount of precum directly down her throat. Trixie hummed approvingly, vibrating her voice around my cock.

It distracted me a little bit, but I had a goal to complete. O. V. E. T. Trixie seemed to realize what I was doing as the point of the 'T' grazed against her clit, making her squeal and buck her hips against me again. The flow of femcum into my mouth increased as her lower body began to tense up like a coil. R... I... X... Her cunt squeezed around my tongue, stopping me for a second. I... E... And I ended with a big 'exclamation point,' one long lick from top to bottom, ending with a swirling attack on Trixie's clitoris.

Trixie exploded beneath me, squeezing my head tightly and splashing my face over and over with squirt after squirt of cum. My cock popped out of her mouth as she threw her head back and moaned, murmuring, "Master... Master...!" over and over again. To say I was proud of myself would be understating things a bit.

My magician slave fell limp, her legs spreading on either side and her hands up by her head as she caught her breath. I leaned my head back down and helpfully licked up the excess cum between her legs, making her twitch and groan.

I quickly hopped off the bed and picked up one of the towels on the wall shelves, wiping it over my face. There was a tingling sensation, but a second later my face was completely dry and clean of Trixie's essence. Another couple of wipes down my chin, neck, and chest, and I was clear there too. The towel wasn't even sticky or wet. I folded it back up with a grin and returned it to the shelf, satisfied with the test.

Trixie was back to groping herself by the time I turned around, one hand tweaking a thick nipple and the other playing with her pussy again. "Oh fuck, that was... I love you too, Master!"

I put my hands on my hips and walked up to the edge of the bed, my saliva-dripping cock standing proudly. "Still enjoying being my slave?"

Trixie sat up, her eyes locked onto my cock. "Oh Master, you have no idea. Everything you said is true. I'm happy, just being like this. Like I wanted ever since you claimed me back at the station." She sat at the edge of the bed and opened her mouth wide for me for a moment. "Please, let me help you feel as good as I do...!"

I adjusted my stance and let the head of my cock rest on Trixie's tongue. She dove forward, filling her mouth as quickly as she could, as if catching up to where she previously was. I brought my hands down to her tits and lifted them up so I could play with her while she gave me her best blowjob. Trixie wasn't slow and careful like Derpy – she wanted to prove herself, go straight for the maximum as fast as she could manage. She wanted to have the wettest mouth, the fastest tongue, the deepest, tightest throat. All for me.

I placed my hands on the sides of her head and gently pushed forward, fucking into her throat as she changed her angle to accommodate me. She gulped around me, closing her eyes and concentrating only on her advance. She winced as she passed by the fattest middle swell of my cock, stretching her out wider than ever as she just barely made contact with her lips against my crotch. She pulled back quickly, tears stinging her eyes but looking more determined than ever. She pushed again, my hands guiding her, and gulped even harder and more frequently around my cock as it traveled down her throat-sleeve.

As she pulled out a second time, I began to stroke the slick section of cock outside her mouth, as I was starting to get close. She pulled my hand away, almost batting it away, and thrust forward again, swallowing my entire cock in her mouth and keeping it there, glaring up at me as if daring me to use anything else but her for my pleasure. That is look is what got me; my legs trembled and tensed, and I planted my hands atop Trixie's mane as I unloaded directly down her throat. Trixie's face bloomed into satisfaction as my cum filled her belly, pulse after pulse bypassing her mouth entirely except to stretch her out just a little bit more moment to moment.

I wasn't sure how long Trixie could hold her breath, so I started to pull out before I'd stopped cumming. The friction of dragging back in her throat pushed me past my usual threshold. Trixie coughed just once as a rope of cum blasted into the back of her throat, quickly swallowing it while yet more filled her mouth and she swirled it with her tongue, visibly struggling. I removed myself completely, letting the last of my cum splash and stain her muzzle, dripping down onto her shelf of tit.

Breathing heavily, I stepped back and reached for the towels while Trixie finished swallowing. When she looked ready to open her eyes again, I tossed the enchanted towel to her, which she caught with her magic and used to wipe her face immediately. A second later, she was utterly clean, and she swallowed the last of my cum into her belly. She even opened her mouth to show it was empty.

Then Trixie looked down at the still-clean towel she'd just used, her eyes widening in surprise. "Woah..." she croaked out.

"Right?"

It was hard not to feel the eyes of the palace staff on me as I took my seat in the staff cafeteria. The other chair across from me remained occupied, as Trixie seemed content to rest between my knees and suckle on my cock beneath the table. No one mentioned anything, though I understood that it was hard to look away. It wasn't every day that someone walked in with a naked sex slave happily blowing you while you basically ignored her.

How many times had I wished while sitting at my computer chair for something exactly like this, a busty happy sex slave to give me a blowjob while I worked? I was living a fantasy of my own, thanks to Trixie.

We'd agreed that we'd keep this up for most of the day. I justified it as a stress test of my powers' longevity in a variety of situations, but Trixie justified it as essentially a vacation day. A vacation she hoped to go on many times over the rest of the week, no doubt.

I sorted through my morning's mail as I waited for our breakfast orders to arrive. (Trixie was going to want a real meal after swallowing my cum a second time.) One of the pieces of mail was actually an internal palace memo from Raven Inkwell, Celestia's most trusted personal aide. She wanted to make time this morning to go over some paperwork, finish the remaining steps to make me a permanent resident of Equestria, open up a couple of bank accounts, formalize payment for services rendered retroactively and going forward, that sort of thing.

Setting the memo down, I grinned down at Trixie, who recognized the lewd look on my face and smirked around my cock. I knew exactly where I was taking this slave game next.

24 – Raven – Paperwork

Raven Inkwell, Celestia's most trusted personal aide, stared at us from across the conference room table.

We made for quite the picture, Trixie and I. Myself sitting at a sideways angle, resting one arm on the varnished wood, legs spread, pants down at my ankles. Trixie's head bobbing in my lap, only her horn and mane visible from where Raven sat.

For a long moment, the only sounds in the room were the faint sparkling of the magical doodad powering the ceiling fan above us, the sucking of Trixie's mouth, and the occasional too-pleased-with-herself moan deep within her throat. Trixie loved to flaunt, to show off. Even under my hypnotic suggestions. (Which, in retrospect, were all too welcome and hardly compulsions at all – they just gave her the focus to commit to the absurd levels of submission.)

Raven was outright stunned. Unable to speak or look away for... probably entire minutes. I was too busy enjoying myself to stop her or interrupt or even clear my throat. I just grinned at her the whole time.

Finally, finally, the business-attired earth pony mare cleared her throat. "W-Well then." She paused. She seemed to be waiting for us to stop. We didn't. She had no choice but to continue on. Raven cleared her throat again. "Ahem. Well... I suppose we should get all this paperwork out of the way so you can... get back to..." She pushed the rather tall stack of papers over to my side of the table while she looked away, blushing. "...whatever you were doing."

I straightened up my posture – carefully, so as not to interrupt Trixie's cocksucking – and leaned over the first page. There were a lot of fields. Many of them were filled in with small typewritten text – such as my name, date of birth, species, that sort of thing – but there was still plenty of blank white space.

"Thiiiiiis is going to take a while, isn't it?" I asked somewhat resignedly.

"Trust me, this is the streamlined version," Raven replied. She seemed glad to avoid talking about the elephant in the room, though she still wouldn't look straight at me. "Th-That said, I don't need you to fill in every box. We already have a lot of your essential information from, ah, Twilight's questions, back when you were in quarantine. This is... a bureaucratic step for you to signify that all of this information is correct, and fill in what we might have missing, so that we can send this information to the banks, post offices, etcetera."

I only caught a third of that. Trixie had decided in that moment to see if she could lick my balls while half my cock was still in her mouth. She got most of the way there, but mostly just stroked my underside with her broad pony tongue. "A-Ah, okay..."

Raven reached over and tapped the page with the feather of her quill. "I've already taken the liberty of highlighting what fields and signatures we still absolutely require. If you can fill all those in, verify the rest" – The mare raised a few fingers to her temple and narrowed her eyes a little. – "and don't get too distracted... then we should be done in ten, maybe fifteen minutes."

That was good enough for me. I put one hand on Trixie's mane to gently pet her and signal that she should slow down a bit. She slowly peeled off my cock, sucking hard to not leave behind any excess saliva, and left a smooch on my fat, pulsing tip. Trixie grinned naughtily and started giving me little licks, right beneath the head. Right where I was especially sensitive. My eye twitched, but I chuckled.

With my other hand, I took a pen (a regular one, thank goodness) and spotted the first streak of yellow highlight. All the other info was correct – all this first page needed was my signature. I scratched it on and passed the page over to Raven, who brought out a binder with color-coded dividers and put the document in its place. On to the next form.

The paperwork continued. As tedious as it was, there was a part of me that was kind of excited. Seeing the guts of Equestrian bureaucracy, becoming admitted as a functional citizen of this magical land with all the rights and privileges that entailed... Every scratch of the pen brought me one step closer to being accepted. I wouldn't have been surprised if even my magic was happy about that.

A few minutes of relative silence into the proceedings, Trixie got impatient and made a little whining sound in her throat, nuzzling my cock with her cheek. "Master... how much longer is this going to take?"

Raven's eyes widened. "'Master'??"

I swallowed but stayed calm. I smiled down at my pet Trixie and said, "Hey now, this is important. And we only have to do this once."

The aide across from me backed up by a couple of inches. "Why... is she calling you 'Master'...?" she asked in a rising tone of alarm.

I put up my hands peacefully. "It's just a game we're playing." I glanced aside and brought one hand to my mouth. "And... a meaningful test of my... more direct mental capabilities." I tried to wave her off. "No big deal. She asked for it; we're both adults."

Trixie knelt beside the table in such a way that her tits squished against the edge, her nipples peeking just over the top, while she gripped the table on either side of her breasts and grinned at Raven. "Exactly! Slave Trixie feels so relaxed. And I trust Master to take care of me! Could there be a more perfect union?"

I had to stifle a bit of a laugh at that. Trixie loved bragging to others way more than she liked being deferential to me. Maybe it was something about being valuable enough to be owned? The psychology of submission continued to baffle and fascinate me.

Raven, however, was not impressed. She held her hand over one eye of her glasses, and her brow was furrowed. She stayed like that for a few moments more after Trixie had finished speaking.

Oh boy, here we go, I thought. She's got a problem with this, but the Normal is pushing her towards a way to rationalize and accept what we're doing. Question is, where is she going to land?

"We all went to the same meeting, right?" Raven finally asked, still rubbing her temple. "About... you know."

I didn't recall it all that fondly. "I was passed out for half of it, but yeah."

Raven leaned back in her chair. "And you decided... it would be a good idea... to go around the castle... Celestia's castle..."

The oops hit me like a sucker-punch before she finished speaking.

"...with a naked mare crawling at your feet, calling you 'Master'?"

My mouth hung open to reply – nothing came out.

It had been a good idea up until now! Make Trixie happy, get to know my own fetishes better, test the limits my powers, get more practice before using them on the delicate subject that was Princess Celestia, satisfy Trixie's exhibitionism – win win win win win! A flawless idea!

Except for, y'know... that. That made it an extraordinarily bad idea.

Trixie pouted and meekly raised a hand. "Trixie could call Ma- Pascal something else? Like... Lord? K...Kiiiiiing...?"

Raven sighed, leaned forward, took off her glasses, and proceeded to a full double-handed facepalm. (Which had the nice side-effect of squeezing the fat white breasts beneath that dressy blouse together with her elbows, not that I snuck a glance or anything.) "How long ago?" I almost missed her asking. Raven lowered her hands and gave us a serious look. "How long since the first staff member saw you two like this?"

Trixie and I looked at each other, but it fell on me to answer. "Ummm... Er... Couldn't have been more than... twentyyy-five minutes ago?"

The royal aide tapped her fingers on the table, then glanced at the watch on her wrist. "Knowing the royal palace's rumor mill like I do... and based on Celestia's schedule today... Give or take a few minutes, some version of these events is reaching the Princess's ears right about... now."

I furrowed my brow and glared at Raven. "Okay, I get it, you don't have to exaggerate–"

The light streaming through a nearby window brightened for a split second, forcing me and Trixie to squint. It was so fast, I wanted to think I'd imagined it. Just like I was merely imagining the sixth sense that somewhere, somehow, Celestia was stifling an intense groan of existential anguish and frustration that still managed to ripple through the collective unconscious.

The room was silent for a moment, and then I said, "...No." I started shaking my head. "No no no..."

Trixie looked between me and Raven in bewilderment. "Did that just... Did the sun just..."

I nearly slammed my fist on the table. "There's no way the sun just randomly flares up whenever Celestia has an intense mood swing! That's bullshit!"

"You're right, that would be absurd," Raven replied with a flat look. "Even for a creature who is tied to the sun, the planet wouldn't survive if the brightness and temperature of the sun's rays were magically connected to her every whim and mood. It would have to be a rare circumstance indeed, some kind of 'final straw' type of situation..."

I let out a slow, long groan and lowered my forehead to the table.

Raven relaxed a little bit and chuckled at my reaction. "Don't worry. A little split-second flash like that isn't going to really affect anything. The vast majority of ponies will chalk it up to a trick of the eyes on a warm Spring day. But, I suppose that answers one of my questions about you. Everything you do is 'normal,' but I was still bothered because of something important."

I grunted into the varnished wood. "Mm-hmm."

Trixie tapped her fingers on the edge of the table. She pulled back so her nipples were no longer perched on the edge, bouncing naturally to their resting point on her chest. "We were just trying to have some sexy fun," Trixie mumbled with an adorable pout. "And now it's gotten all awkward and sad."

"Story of my fuckin' life dot tee-ex-tee..." I grumbled under my breath. I got up with a sigh and looked down at the stack of paperwork still remaining. "Will one of these be my last will and testament?"

Raven laughed, actually smiling at us now. Perhaps she was pleased to finally get some catharsis out of us. She took off her glasses and wiped at the corner of one of her big pony eyes. "I'm sure you'll be able to work it out with her eventually. We're all counting on you. But, I have to admit, it's nice to see that you aren't completely invulnerable to consequences."

"I'm sure," I muttered back, swinging my pen to and fro in my fingers. This was going to make tonight's therapy session very interesting, without a doubt. And possibly set our progress back five steps backward when I had hoped that we were at least one step forward. Fuuuuuuck...

I willed myself to calm down. Trying to rush things and work behind the scenes was how Twilight got me into the whole torches-and-pitchforks mess. My master/slave-play fetish was something Celestia and I were always going to have to contend with, and perhaps it was better to get it out in the open. In the long run. Just... I wished I could have picked the timing better.

There was a tapping on my knee, and I looked over and down to see Trixie pouting up at me with an honest-to-god 'cute puppy-dog eyes' expression.

"Master...?" Trixie asked pleadingly. "Can you order Slave Trixie to do something for you...?"

I smiled gently, nodded, and adjusted my seating posture back around so that I was sitting sideways to the table again. My dick was mostly soft but still completely exposed for playing. "Trixie. Get your Master hard, and then he could really use a nice, tight titfuck while he finishes all this paperwork, y'hear?"

Trixie practically beamed. "Yes, Master!" She leaned her head between my legs and nuzzled and licked and stroked my cock, coaxing a renewed erection out of me.

Raven chuckled again and shook her head slightly. "Whatever gets you through the day..."

After another 40 minutes or so, I was done. My name and vital information were on their way into a federal records system, not just Twilight's scientific notes. At some point I would be able to go to city hall and have a photo ID made. In a few days I would have a P.O. box in my name at the Ponyville post office, along with my semi-permanent mailing address at my office in the royal palace. They were also going to set up accounts at one bank in each town, so I could deposit and withdraw bits based on wherever I would end up spending most of my time.

I was on my way to becoming a citizen again, not just a drifter from another world. It was amazing how much of that you could take for granted.

I didn't do anything else perverted with Raven Inkwell before we left. She'd taken time out of her day to help me, after all. And after calling me out on my 'Master' bullshit, anything I could've done to her would've felt like a petty retaliation, which wouldn't have sat well with me. It was enough to have exposed her to Slave Trixie, even if it backfired a bit on us.

When we got back to my palace suite, I was exhausted and rather drained. And not just because she had managed to squeeze two loads onto her huge blue tits, licking up all of my now-safe-to-consume cum, and just generally being an irresistible sexual creature once she got back in her groove. No, now the rest of the day was stretching on ahead of me in my mind. There was the Beauty in Bloom fashion show to head towards in a few hours – to get the final verdict on how I probably fucked up Fashion Week... And then there was my second session with Celestia, which was now guaranteed to go a whole lot worse thanks to my hubris. I didn't feel ready for any of it.

I collapsed backwards on the bed, and Trixie bounced next to me soon after, laying beside me and cuddling her toned, fantastically curvy body against mine. "So, Master..." she purred, tracing a finger along the side of my face, "what do we do now?"

I was glad that Trixie was happier, but there were suddenly a lot of things on my mind. I glanced at the clock in the room. "Well... It's been about an hour since I put you into this state."

Trixie blinked and frowned. "You... want to put Slave Trixie back."

I scrunched my mouth into a pout, but I couldn't voice a denial.

Trixie inhaled deeply through her nostrils and let out a sigh.

Shrugging sheepishly, I said, "I kinda want to know how this has affected your mind. That was the whole point of this."

"I know, I know," Trixie replied quickly. She forced a bit of a smile down at me. Her fingers gently ran through my hair. "It's just... your slave wants to tell you: This is exactly what she wanted out of this. Every bit. Don't you ever doubt that."

I smiled back at her and sat up, guiding Trixie to lay down flat on the sheets instead. I crawled around and knelt behind her head so she was upside-down to me, so I wouldn't have to reach around her deliciously big blue boobs. I placed my hands on the sides of her head, twitching a little bit in anticipation. "Ready?"

Trixie nodded as my hands settled along her temples. "Slave Trixie is ready."

"Okay..." Now, how to word this? I'd put a pretty intense enchantment on her without any induction and I wasn't sure how the rules worked for this sort of thing. Surely it wasn't just as simple as saying it would happen the way I wanted, was it? "Trixie," I commanded, "all of the commands I gave you to put you into this state... One by one, that magic will leave you and return to me."

A bright blue glow appeared where my hands touched Trixie's skin, giving me a tingling, slightly buzzing feeling in my palms. Her eyes unfocused, staring straight up at the ceiling. So far, so good.

"Your time as my slave has ended, and all commands related to it are nullified for now. We may do this again some other time, but... Trixie Lulamoon, you are a free pony once more. Free to own your actions and thoughts. Free from my mastery over you. Back to your own normal, not mine."

The tingling feeling became a rush, a surge of blue magic flowing out of her body and into my arms, into my chest. It finished in a few intense seconds, and I pulled my arms back, staring at my hands and turning them from one side to another. I wasn't sure if I'd ever, ever get used to seeing and feeling the magic I possessed.

Trixie's eyelids had closed while I spoke, and she laid there for a few moments, just breathing quietly. Then she groaned and raised a hand to rub her temple. "Nnnngh..."

I slightly panicked. "T-Trixie? You okay?"

The unicorn mare nodded and rubbed her eyes. "Mmhmm... Just... Bit of a headache..." I put a fist to my mouth in worry, biting on a knuckle. Without even opening her eyes, Trixie grumbled, "Oh, stop fretting. I'll be fine." She slowly sat up, moving to the edge of the bed and blinking her bleary eyes open, still rubbing her forehead.

I scooted down next to her, watching her face for any more clues or signs of harm. "What are you feeling?" I asked a little urgently.

Trixie frowned and thought about it for a few seconds. "I feel... like I've been concentrating very hard for the last hour. Without even realizing it! It felt so natural, but..." She rubbed at the base of her horn. "Mmng... It apparently took all of my focus."

This was very important data. A very important difference between Spitfire's and Trixie's experiences. An important lesson about how my powers worked. And I had an inkling as to the reason why.

"Spitfire didn't mention it feeling like this," Trixie groaned.

"It didn't; she was relaxed," I answered, staring off into space while my brain processed all this. "Because I gave her an induction. An actual hypnotic induction – even the magical part was handled slowly. With you, I just–" I snapped my fingers. "–turned it on. Brute-forced it."

Trixie leaned forward, her buoyant breasts pressing against her lap. "It certainly worked!"

"Well, yeah. You were willing... You had an idea of what you wanted my commands to mean... And you certainly had the energy and drive to give it your all." I let out a heavy sigh. I idly tapped my knuckles of my clenched hand against the bed. "But like Rainbow Dash... you were putting on a very intense act."

"Wait, Rainbow?" Trixie asked, her groggy mood lifting quickly, replaced by amusement. "You did this to HER? I knew you did something to her, but..."

I waved my hand dismissively. "Not this specifically. Although... it's pretty close, actually. I told her 'For the duration of this party, you're going to be my penitent servant and fluffer' and 'You're just as obsessed with my cock and balls as I am with big breasts.'"

Trixie burst out laughing, cackling and slapping the side of her thigh. "Oh sweet Luna, you didn't!"

I shrugged bashfully. "And it seemed to work. But when I asked her about it later, she called what she was doing 'method acting.' Channeling her obsession with other things to put on a very convincing act of obsessed for my dick."

The blue unicorn sputtered into even louder laughter. Her legs kicked rapidly against the foot of the bed. She had to cover her face with her hands to avoid blowing out my eardrums.

I could only nod. "That's when I learned that I can't really control minds like... y'know, you'd expect. I'm limited by, well, the actual limitations of the mind. People can't delete memories so easily. People can't make themselves feel something they can't imagine. I don't force people to change – I force people to force themselves to change. Which is a slight distinction, but important."

Trixie finally managed to calm down a bit while I mused aloud, wiping her eyes and still giggling every so often. "You have no idea how much I needed that. But I think I understand. You gave me the commands I needed to really focus on it, but it was me doing all the work." She stood up, her curves jiggling as she did so, while she held her head. "Speaking of, I think I saw some mild painkillers in the bathroom cabinet. I'll be right back."

As she walked away, a strange and horrifying thought struck me. Ponies didn't act exactly the way I imagined because, like Trixie said, they were doing all the work. If I wanted them to act exactly the way I wanted, I'd have to... have a piece of myself inside them, overriding their free will with my own, basically remote-piloting a part of their very brain. It wouldn't be meaningful; they'd just be a puppet, parroting my own thoughts back at me in someone else's voice. Deep down, what I wanted out of my mind-control fetish was to create a real, organic change in thought and personality (that favored me), not just knock out someone's brain and replace it with one of my own making.

But could my powers even do that? Turn somepony into an actual mind-controlled puppet by planting a piece of my will inside them? I could certainly place powerful enchantments that guided thoughts to an extreme degree, but even then, up to this point I hadn't... gone that far. I thought about whether it was possible, and my gut said... probably. And then my libido chimed in to say that it could be kinda hot.

I wasn't really free of the Paragon/Renegade choice, was I?

Trixie came back from the bathroom, finishing off a cup of water. "Ahh... Okay, but Spitfire said you were able to make her feel things that weren't possible. But you just said you can't. Not to mention, I saw you hypnotize six Wonderbolts and make them cum hands-free at the same time." She put her cup down on the end table and pointed at me. "Which, by the way, is still the hottest fucking thing and we're going to find a way to do that again sometime. But... what's the difference?"

"Well... I think you just answered it," I pointed out. "My power by itself just browbeats people into submission. But combine that power, that sheer force, with the natural power of hypnosis... and the ways it can unlock the mind's potential..."

It dawned in Trixie's eyes, and she nodded. She walked back over to the edge of the bed and sat next to me. "So, say, if you found some way to rapidly hypnotize someone with your power, you really could do anything to them." She held out her hand and her horn glowed. A multicolored spiral of firework sparks spun above her palm in an eye-catching fashion. Too flashy to be of any hypnotic use, but the point got across.

I looked down at my hand, opened my palm, and imagined conjuring a hypnotic spiral in the air. I clenched my hand and concentrated, but it wouldn't come. Maybe I had to summon it with some spoken words? But my only test subject was Trixie, and she deserved a rest.

Trixie chuckled, dismissed her tiny fireworks show, and leaned against my shoulder. "We're learning so much about your abilities. It's exciting!"

"Yeah..." I said neutrally. "Hopefully this'll all be useful for Celestia."

"And many other things!" Trixie chirped. When I gave her a look, she said, "At some point, Celestia's going to get better, right? Or at least she's not going to be your only client. And I'm not going to be your only slave...!"

She definitely knew how to push my buttons and get a blush outta me, that was for sure.

Trixie's wicked grin was infectious as she pressed into me, her breasts swallowing up my upper arm and part of my torso as she leaned in to give me a kiss on the cheek with her full lips. "No matter what happens, no matter what the Princesses think, you're always going to be my Master. You've tamed me. You own me. And I love it so, so much. You've taken this villainous bitch and shown her her place."

I winced a little. "Trixie–"

"It's how I feel," Trixie insisted firmly. "I want to be punished. I want to be remade. I want to be owned and trained into something better. I want to be useful for somebody." She leaned her full weight against me and stroked my chest through my shirt. "And you've done allllll of that...! All for me...!"

I relented and smiled back, nuzzling my forehead against hers. "Happy to help, Trixie." Even if it was a little fucked-up.

Trixie gave me a quick kiss on the lips and pulled back, grinning, her eyes glancing at the clock on the wall. "How long until we have to go to that fashion show?"

"A few hours still..."

The unicorn's horn glowed, and my clothes forced their way off my body rapidly before she gave me a quick shove onto the bed. The naked, curvy mare straddled my stomach, her tail swishing and brushing over my genitals. "Well then... Why don't we see how well you can please your Mistress?"

I had no objections.

25 – Beauty In Bloom

It was a miracle that Trixie and I were able to arrive at the Canterlot Convention Center 1) with minutes to spare before the show, 2) clean, 3) dressed, and 4) with enough energy to step out of the taxi carriage and keep walking.

Trixie Lulamoon had two modes: On and warming up. And when she was on, she did not believe in taking breaks.

Nonetheless, I was in high spirits as we navigated the fabulous crowd gathered under the banners for Canterlot Fashion Week. Regular ponies, starstruck connoisseurs, discussed the shows they'd seen and the trends they looked forward to following. Magazine reporters chatted up their contacts for any lead on the latest scoop. The occasional model or designer would turn heads and make waves before they had to dodge an onslaught of paparazzi. I had never felt so much energy and extravagance in one place.

Truth told, considering my time cooped up in the palace all this week – not to mention the time before my 'ascension' when I largely avoided eye-contact and crowds – it had been a long while since I'd been in a properly busy throng of people. The hyper-sexualized nature of this world was on display in every direction you cared to look. Perfect, bouncing bosoms held tight by extravagant clothing, averaging out larger than their owners' heads. Wide hips swelling out with firm, squeezable buttocks beneath long skirts and slacks and sweatpants, accentuated by colorful tails. Even the stallions, carrying around multiple-sports-ball-sized pouches at the front of their pants, making me want to know what it was like to be that well-endowed. And in a crowd this busy, a bit of accidental bumping or brushing was almost inevitable. It was madness to think that I'd once been expected to do a perfect job of never acknowledging any of this.

Trixie and I strolled up arm-in-arm through the front entrance without a second glance from anyone. It was much less sparse than we'd seen less than a week ago. The only frame of reference I really had for it was the difference between an empty event venue and what it looked like when a convention was fully set up. But about ten times more professional. Many dozens of designers from all over the world were being showcased, selected by the tastemakers who approved them behind the scenes and watched by those who were eager to capitalize on their designs. There was some serious money flowing through these halls.

The runway we were looking for was nearby, so we went towards a roped-off checkpoint where other ponies in line were turning in their tickets. When it came to our turn, Trixie took off her hat, reached in, and produced the ticket to Beauty in Bloom I had given her.

The staffer took Trixie's ticket, scanned it briefly to verify its authenticity, and nodded tiredly. I realized that since this was Thursday, Fashion Week had been taking its toll for a few days now. Not to mention Beauty in Bloom was basically one of the last shows of the evening. Not exactly a main event. So when this guy turned his soulless gaze on me with an expectant look, I felt a little haunted. "Do you have a ticket?"

"I don't," I replied quickly. "I'm going in anyway. I'm the reason this show is happening, and Hoity Toity will be quite displeased if I'm not there."

"Sir, there's limited seating, so we can't let unapproved–"

"Trixie will sit on his lap if need be!" Trixie snapped, wrapping an arm behind my neck and lifting a knee against my body. I took her cue and grabbed hold of her back and legs, sweeping her up bridal-style. "So let this perfectly normal human through!" Trixie demanded without missing a beat.

The young-adult staffer rolled his eyes and unclipped the rope barrier with his unicorn magic. "Go on, then."

As I made my way down the hall, still carrying her, I raised my eyebrows at her. "I think you just invoked my power for me."

"Well, like you say, his mind was already working towards rationalization," Trixie replied with a saucy smirk. "I just... gave him a push, to get there faster."

I nodded. So it was mundane manipulation, but in tandem with my already active aura in a specific situation, it achieved similar results. I wondered if I would ever get tired of learning new things about my abilities.

We followed the signs to the event hall and walked through the open double doors. The room was already full of ponies, since the show was set to start in a few minutes. The runway took up the center of the room, of course, with a black curtain behind it. Gathered immediately around the runway was a small army of photographers, including Photo Finish herself. And beyond that pit were raised seating platforms, where fancily dressed and common ponies alike were already seated. But the majority of ponies were near the entrance, towards the front of the runway.

Off to the side, a pegasus jumped up to a hover, covering her eyes from the harsh studio lights as she looked at me. It was Captain Spitfire. "Hey, Pascal! Trixie! Over here!"

A smile grew on my face as Trixie and I walked over, politely pushing through some of the gathered ponies (this space was quickly feeling smaller than I thought!) to reach where Spitfire landed. It wasn't just the Wonderbolt there – Moondancer and Derpy were present, too, chatting with none other than Hoity Toity!

Derpy gasped. "Pasky!" She ran up in all her nude glory and glomped me, forcing me to hold her up by her plush, bubbly cutie marks as she hugged me tightly. Her lap-filling breasts squeezed against my chest, and twin squirts of milk stained my shirt. She was also rather sweaty. Derpy hugged me tight, kissed me, and then gave me a big grin while she looked at me with her one non-lazy golden eye. "How've you been? I just got here! Did you have fun with Trixie?" she asked excitedly, breathlessly, a mile a minute.

All I could do was chuckle bashfully, and Trixie teasingly rolled her eyes. "You two are so sweet Trixie's teeth hurt. And yes, we had a lot of fun today...!"

Moondancer waved slightly. "Hey." I did my best to wave back without dropping Derpy.

"Well, if it isn't the stallion of the hour!" the smooth, fanciful voice of Hoity Toity announced as he walked over. Derpy dropped from her grip around my shoulders and stood beside me proudly. Hoity lowered his ever-present sunglasses and gave me a slightly lewd smirk. "Though I suppose in your case that's... 'man' of the hour?"

"That'll do the trick," I replied. "How's the show looking?"

"We're about to find out," Hoity said. "We've put our all into the presentation, but the real test will be the reception." His jawline straightened as a serious mood overtook him. "For too long, the standard of beauty has been slimness, downplaying, shrinking down, and even outright pretending that our natural assets aren't there. I daresay this will be the first time in nearly 40 years that a direct challenge to that standard has made its debut at Canterlot's Fashion Week. I want this to be perfect, but more than that, I want Equestria to hear its message."

Spitfire rubbed her temple. "It's been about ten minutes of this since I got here. Please, please, don't make me sit next to him." That got a good chuckle out of the group, even a good-sporting one from Hoity.

"Well, if it isn't the man of the hour!" a boisterous female voice declared from behind me. Before I could turn around, I was practically hoisted up by my chest and hugged from behind, my head pressing into the generous covered cleavage of a tall mare. It took a few seconds before I was released, and I turned around to see who it was. My eyes were briefly blinded by her bright, sparkling outfit, which only confirmed that it was...

Derpy was dumbstruck, then looked about ready to explode with glee. "Sapphire Shores?!?"

The pop princess waved her head to whip the back of her mane side-to-side, then gave my marefriend an appreciative once-over. "In the flesh, honey! Though not nearly as much flesh as you, apparently! Woo, that is bold! I like it!"

My introverted personality was getting crushed by all these A-listers and my friends all crowding around me. I stepped back and let them all chat for a bit while I tuned out. It amazed me, somewhat, that I was the connection between all these disparate types of ponies. A pop singer, an athlete, a fashion critic, a student, a stage magician, and a mailmare. All of whom I'd had sex with in one form or another. It boggled the mind.

As I scanned over the rest of the room, a patch of pure white caught my eye. Seated in the bleachers on the left side of the runway, practically straight across from us, was none other than Rarity. She was wearing one of her fanciest casual ensembles, silk scarf and big hat included, but nothing could really obscure that she was, in fact, one of the bustiest ponies in the room – and there was stiff competition. I couldn't help but remember what it was like to gaze upon her nude body while I jacked off to her poses, way back at that 'welcome party' on the second night of my power.

Rarity noticed me as well, and we shared eye contact for a few moments, feeling each other out. I saw her ruby-red lips pout as she looked away slightly disdainfully.

"Speaking of reception..." Hoity Toity murmured, tapping his feathered fan against my shoulder as he looked in the same direction I was staring. "That's one of Equestria's most up-and-coming fashionistas–"

"I know who that is," I interrupted him quietly, looking away. "I landed in Ponyville. I'm familiar with Rarity."

"Oh, are you two friends, perhaps?"

Ooof. Hard topic. Our relationship could probably be best described as a 'truce.' "Just acquaintances."

"Either way," Hoity continued, fanning himself, "if there's anypony we need to impress – more than, well, the press – it's her. If we can get her on-board with the message of Beauty In Bloom, if we can give her a spark of inspiration, she can take that light and shine it across all of Equestria, I'm sure of it." He chuckled. "...Though don't ever tell her I said that. She might faint on the spot."

I ground my teeth together a little bit. "She's knows I'm... behind this," I admitted to him.

"Ah. Well, you're only behind this minimally. This is Fleur's project now. I'm sure she'll show Rarity something worthwhile." He waved his fan towards the bleachers. "Let's take our seats, shall we? The show's almost about to start."

I sat in the middle of the line of seven. To my left were Trixie, Moondancer, and Spitfire. To my right was Hoity Toity, Derpy, and Sapphire Shores. I wasn't sitting next to both of my marefriends because Derpy was busy fangirling (fanfilly-ing?) over the Pony of Pop.

"I mean, I know that Pasky said that he, um, met you guys... But I never thought...!" Derpy mumbled nervously as she ran her hands all over Sapphire Shores' body, as if not believing she was even real. Also blatantly groping the tall mare.

Sapphire didn't seem too bothered. "Mind the dress, hun. Other than that, any friend of that human boy is a friend of mine!"

I didn't remember me and Sapphire Shores being on such close terms. I mostly remembered my last interaction with her, where she suggested using the former addictiveness of my semen to make money. Did Sapphire want something from me? Was she seeing dollar signs? Maybe... she just thought I was fun to be around.

"Oh, honey, watch that drip you got goin' on there," Sapphire said, scooting aside a little to avoid Derpy's milky nipple brushing against her sparkly, gem-studded coat. "This is a Rarity original, one of my favorites."

She was facing away from me, but I could almost feel the blush coming off the mailmare's cheeks. "Well, um... maybe you could take it off and... help me with my milk problem?"

There was a pregnant pause as Sapphire Shores glanced around at the crowd. Not a small number of eyes were looking their way. But the pop princess grinned and started to unbutton her coat, right in front of everypony. "I see why you two are a good couple," she purred. "You come up with these lovely ideas that, mmm, I can hardly say no to!"

Derpy's eyes were wide and practically sparkling as the Sapphire Shores took off her top layer and patted her lap. Derpy climbed into the celebrity's lap, facing away from the stage, and lifted her breasts to rest them atop Sapphire's huge bra-clad cans. Sapphire raised one nipple up the rest of the way to her lips and started to suck freely, drawing out Derpy's breastmilk and gulping it down. Derpy started panting and grinding on Sapphire's thigh while she rubbed her fat, full, extremely sensitive breasts to coax more milk out.

Not a single pony objected or raised a fuss. Certainly got a few looks in her direction, definitely caused some blushes in the crowd, but no one seemed shocked or offended at Derpy asking the hottest singer in the country to suck her tits.

There was a tug on my collar, and I found myself pulled down to the left and dragged along the laps of the three mares to my left, until I was laying my head under Moondancer's sweater-bound sweater puppies, with my crotch beneath Spitfire's relatively modest bust and my legs buried under Trixie's chest. Moondancer twisted her torso to one side so she could give me a suspicious look past her thick-rimmed glasses. "Pascaaal... Did yooouuu...?" she said slowly. Trixie and Spitfire were giving me interrogatory looks as well.

I just smiled sheepishly and shrugged. "Just testing."

"On her and not me?" Trixie scoffed. Then she thought about it for a second. "Wait, no... That's probably wise."

"Yeah, I'll pass," Spitfire agreed. "I saw how much you freaked out, Pascal, and... I prefer the structure in my life right now."

Moondancer seemed much less certain. She sighed. "I already told you I wanted to go my own way when it comes to romance, didn't I...?" she muttered, scratching her cheek.

I wasn't sure how to respond to that for a moment. "Well... Y'know... It doesn't have to be a 'free sex pass' kind of thing..." An idea struck me. "But it would be nice to have another researcher learning about this power."

That got Moondancer's attention. "R-Really??"

I nodded. "Yeah! I'm still learning more aspects of the Normal – er, Acceptance, whatever – every day. And the more I learn, the more tools I have to help you-know-who."

The student was grinning in a way that I had rarely ever seen her do. "Yes... Yes, of course!" The lights in the room dimmed, and the crowd grew quiet. Moondancer whispered, "We can talk about that another time..." and magically pushed me back to my own seat.

I managed to straighten myself back up in the darkness of the event hall. Trixie leaned against me, and I wrapped my arm around her waist. Hoity Toity leaned over, fanning himself, and asked, "What was that little powwow about?"

I wasn't about to tell an influential pony like Hoity Toity. Blurting out the first excuse that came to mind, I replied, "It's classified." Which wasn't that far off from the truth, honestly. The secret of my power was officially in the hands of the Equestrian government, even though I owned it.

Thankfully, Hoity took it as a joke and chuckled. "Of course, of course. Now let's see if this ship makes it into harbor."

Music began to play over the magical sound system. It was a gentle instrumental dance theme, meant to sound airy, floral, and elegant with a bit of a rhythm to it – acoustic guitar, bongos, chimes, a xylophone, and even a harp. I wasn't sure what the analogue would be in Equestria, but to me it had a Latin vibe to it. Then again, I was basically music-illiterate. All I knew was that it conjured images of a mossy, sunlit glade in my mind.

The runway lit up with a string of lights set around the border. And without any further ado, the first model for Beauty in Bloom stepped out from behind the curtain.

None other than Fleur Dis Lee herself emerged, reminding everybody that she was a naturally curvy, hourglassed mare to rival even Rarity. She was wearing a slightly updated version of the outfit she'd worn on Saturday - a strapless pastel pink dress designed with layered 'petals' framing and pushing up her breasts, covering her areolae but leaving plenty exposed while her breasts formed a jiggling pool of cleavage. There were now sheer layers of cloth draped down from her waist like gossamer wings, bouncing with her every step as she walked confidently, stoically down the runway.

Cameras clicked like mad, flashes illuminating her from every side. Fleur hardly blinked. She'd clearly done this many times before, though perhaps not many times at this size. There were gasps from the crowd and murmurings to the tune of, "THE Fleur...? What's she doing here...?"

Fleur turned at the end of the runway, her breasts swinging an arc over the crowd as the dress accentuated the way the sides of her breasts jutted out proudly from her chest. The outfit left most of her back and sides exposed, showing just a wall of the unicorn supermodel's natural pink color that was almost impossible to look away from.

As Fleur began to return to the curtain, another mare stepped out.

Another unicorn mare, light gray in color, stepped out in a poofy, overflowing midnight-blue dress with glittering sparkles clearly meant for an event like the Grand Galloping Gala. Her areolae were covered from below with triangular cups, but plenty was left uncovered. But below the waist, there was simply an indulgent amount of fabric poofing around her legs, with just barely enough of a gap in front for the mare to take her next steps, the rest nearly overflowing off the runway.

Fleur and the new mare got ready to pass each other, and for a moment it seemed like their enormous assets would bump into each other, as there wasn't enough width on the runway for the both of them. But they both twirled outward as they passed, making one full revolution that looked natural and rehearsed as they passed each other without bumping. The new mare had to pick up her dress to make sure it didn't entangle her legs, but she quickly dropped it back into place and kept walking.

As she reached the end and walked back, out came another new mare, in an entirely different outfit. This one had her mane styled in a punk-like mohawk, and she wore a single-strap purple dress that covered up most of her right breast but only barely covered the left. She wore a short buckled belt around one of her upper arms, and she wore fishnet stocking beneath the dress that were also held up with a buckled collar at the thighs and a spiked collar at her ankles.

There was a theme emerging as these big, busty, hourglass-shaped mares passed by each other, and it seemed to be: No matter what walk of life you're from, you can always let your 'beauty' shine.

My theory was confirmed by the next mare, who was wearing an outfit that combined some very stretched-out denim overalls with a red-and-black flannel shirt, and big brown boots with ostentatious golden laces. The overalls hugged the earth pony mare's big, wobbly ass nicely.

I was squirming a bit in my seat at this point. I'd been in this dramatically unusual version of Equestria for almost a month, and until this whole Normal thing got out of hand, not a single mare I'd ever witnessed intentionally drew attention to their assets.

But here was a parade of mares at the upper end of endowments that I'd ever seen, wearing outfits that demanded that their generous T&A be appreciated for what they were without being crass about it. And boy was I appreciating.

I leaned over to Hoity without taking my eyes off the stage. "How many...?"

"About twenty-five," Hoity Toity replied quietly, then shushed me. I slid back in my chair. 25 outfits? 25 mares? Ohhh boy. I braced myself for the onslaught of big-boobed fashion:

A short green qipao-type dress with the biggest diamond-shaped cleavage window I'd ever seen.

A very bold outfit that was only the lower half of a navy-blue dress and a black sports-bra-like top, leaving the earth pony mare's powerful abs exposed.

An enormous black-and-green kimono that left the center cleavage absolutely uncovered.

A white dress with a deep, deep v-neck due to the mare's size, with a blue sash draped across it.

A thin-strapped yellow dress with a buckle around the waist, paired with long white stockings.

Another deep-blue dress that was narrow like a loincloth in the front and draped like a cape in the back, leaving the mare's cutie marks half-exposed.

The tenth: A black hoodie, a black skirt, and white-and-pink striped stockings.

A shoulderless yellow dress with a white skirt.

A pink dress with broad slings covering each breast and layered petals of fabric covering her legs.

A gray tank-top, khakis, and a heavy jacket worn around the shoulders without using the sleeves. ("Finally," Spitfire whispered, "something I would actually wear.")

Something like a shrine maiden's outfit – white kimono top with red pants and sandals.

A dark purple business blazer that was open and relaxed in the front, complete with no-nonsense slacks and high heels.

A yellow and pink dress with feathers sticking out beneath the shoulder straps.

A pale blue-green shoulderless dress with circles strategically cut at the hips to show off the mare's cutie marks and upper thighs.

A black dress accentuated by gold jewelry and embroidery that left the mare's underboob entirely exposed.

A simple teal single-strap dress with a blue sash trailing behind her shoulder like a cape.

The twentieth: A dress that had both straps and arm loops, black on the sides and red in the center.

A shoulderless blue dress with a black faux-fur cloak with white trim draped around her shoulder and down at one hip.

A puffy white blouse, black vest, and black slacks with gold trim.

A sparkling red backless evening dress.

Then there was a pause in the chain of mares, until the last mare in her dress walked out. A few moments later, Fleur Dis Lee strode out of the curtain in her floral petal dress once again.

"Ah, 23 then," Hoity murmured.

I leaned forward and sighed. Any small mercy I could take. My heart was pounding and my pants were tightening. Hoity Toity held out a handkerchief in front of my face, which I took and wiped off the sweat from my forehead and cheeks. (The thought that I was literally 'sweating towel guy dot jay-peg' right now was not lost on me.)

Fleur and a procession of all the precious mares took places along the entire length of the runway, with Fleur at the front and two lines behind her facing outward. The runway was filled all the way to the curtain at the back, and what was more... the mares had to stand closely together to fit. This meant their big, heavy, juicy, fancy-clothes-covered breasts were all squeezed together, rubbing together as they faced the crowd. Not one of them looked embarrassed – this was clearly part of the plan.

Then all together, as a singular wall of jutting, globular multicolored breasts, they took a bow. Showing off their plunging cleavage to the crowd in every direction. Without a hint of shame or hesitation. The background music crescendoed.

The mares stood back up and walked off the runway two-by-two, until they were all gone. The music faded, and the stage lights over the front of the runway dimmed. The gathered ponies started to quietly chatter.

Finally, one last mare stepped out from behind the curtain. Not a model, but a short, older, heavyset unicorn mare with an even more exaggerated hourglass figure, and a chubby belly to boot. Wearing thick glasses and a heavy apron. She smiled sheepishly at the crowd of fancy ponies, gave us all a finger-waggling wave, and ducked back behind the curtain with an excited giggle.

The crowd broke into medium applause, and the lights came back up.

Hoity Toity let out a breath he'd been holding and started fanning himself as talk broke out all around us. "No flops, no wardrobe malfunctions... Beauty in Bloom's thin strand of credibility was not broken. That was about as good as we could have ever prayed for."

There was a 'pop' as Sapphire Shores' lips pulled away from Derpy's nipple. "Mmm, a show and a snack. You really know how to spice up an event, little filly!"

Derpy's head was rolled back, limp in Sapphire's arms. No doubt stunned at what she'd just gotten away with. And dazed from a few boobgasms at that. "Haahhh... Y... You're... welcome...!"

I stood up, continuing to applaud with Hoity, the other girls, and the rest of the crowd. I leaned in towards Hoity and said, "What now?"

"Now the interviews," Hoity replied, giving me a friendly pat on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I've going to do my part to push this as far as it will go."

I looked out over the crowd. "What do you think? Will it stick?"

"It's already going better than expected, but will it trend...?" Hoity was silent for a few moments. "Forces far more powerful than you and I have tried to shape the direction of fashion and pop culture. Sometimes they've succeeded, but the truth is that there are no absolutes. It all depends on the ponies you see before you."

I frowned and looked across the way at the opposite bleachers. I spotted Rarity again. She just seemed to be staring at the stage, her mouth frozen open, her hand paused on its way up to cover it. I wasn't sure if that was good or bad.

"Well, I suppose I should get down there," Hoity mused, closing his fan and looking at me through the side of his sunglasses. "I'll be at this a while, but if you're free later, I've been dying to spend some quality time with you, Mr. Pascal... Maybe introduce you to my 'sister' again?"

I gulped and clenched my fists just remembering that sudden moment of genderbent Hoity Toity walking into the room. Temptation sang into my ears. But it wasn't meant to be. Tonight was another therapy session for Celestia. "...I've got a very important appointment tonight, sorry."

Hoity nodded sadly. "Well, I'll be making the rounds in Canterlot the rest of the week. Hopefully our shoulders should bump together another time. It was a delight as always, Mr. Pascal!" He scooted past us and made his way down to the floor of the event hall, where he was immediately mobbed by reporters demanding his opinion of what they'd just witnessed.

Trixie, Spitfire, and Moondancer stared at him as he left, then back at me. Trixie was especially surprised. "He really does have a thing for you, doesn't he...?"

I still wasn't sure how to feel about that. "Let's... get going."

"Aww, really?" Derpy whined. "I wanted to stick around and talk with everypony a bit longer!"

I nodded tiredly. "You go ahead then. I'm just... overstimulated as fuck. I'll be out front."

Alone, I made my way outside the convention center while the rest of the girls chatted inside. The city was bathed in the golden light of sunset once again. It was nice to be out of the densest part of the crowd, though it was still busy.

I couldn't believe what I had just seen. A total of 46 ginormous titties strutting about in fancy custom outfits for all of Canterlot to see. What had I done? How would this change things?

"Pascal, wait!"

Turning around, I spotted Rarity jogging towards me, holding onto her giant fancy hat. I frowned and lowered my gaze from her still-wobbling bosom. "Hey, Rarity..."

The fashionista caught her breath for a few seconds before speaking. "Pascal. I... I just wanted to say... I may owe you an apology." She glanced back at the entrance to the convention center. "I'm not sure what I was expecting out of that, but I imagined more... swimsuits and latex and belly-dancers. That was none of those things."

I shrugged, still keeping my head down. "My initial idea was crap; even Hoity said so. It was Fleur who ran with it and turned it into that. So she should get the credit."

"Even so..." Rarity continued, folding her arms, "I happen to know that you could have swooped in and exerted more 'influence' over proceedings at any time. So I credit you for your restraint."

I finally found the courage to look up into her eyes. "Well... as a wise stallion just told me, more powerful forces than I have tried to shape the trends of fashion. I figured it was better to leave well enough alone."

Rarity nodded sagely. There was a bit of a blush rising on her cheeks, I noticed. "Truth be told... I... I rather enjoyed that, deep down on some level..." Her eyes glanced down to her own titanic bust, matched only by Applejack and eclipsed only by Fluttershy, Luna, and Celestia in that order. "I've... privately championed fashions for busty mares, being one myself... and my friends being rather... well-endowed as well..." Her face was really turning red now! "Seeing all those mares, wearing all those different kinds of clothes... may have... awakened something in me..."

Oh no. Another libido sparked. Another fetish unlocked. I really was a corrupting influence, wasn't I?

"And, well, overall, I'm grappling with some complex feelings at the moment," Rarity admitted, tipping her hat forward to shield her eyes. "I was wondering if you... had room in your therapy schedule?"

I wasn't sure exactly what she meant by that, but I certainly knew what I was imagining with those words. Which meant I was immediately disqualified. I'd made a promise to Rarity regarding her chastity, after all. "...I-I can't," I stammered out, holding up my hands. "I just don't think I could be p-professional with you, Rarity. There's a... conflict of interest there."

The fashionista and Element of Generosity somehow blushed even deeper, and wrung her hands beneath the shadow of her bust. "Well... then..."

"Miss Rarity!!" An earth pony mare with a tie and vest holding a notebook ran up to Rarity excitedly. "As an up-and-coming designer with stores in Ponyville, Canterlot, and rumors say soon in Manehattan, what do you have to say about the Beauty and Bloom fashion show??"

Naturally, Rarity was caught a little off-guard. "Um... well..." She looked back at me, chuckling nervously. "I suppose I should do my part, haha..."

I gave her a smile and a gentle forgiving wave. "Be honest, Rarity."

"Well, that's just it..." Rarity muttered, turning back to the eagerly waiting reporter. She cleared her throat and declared, "I feel vindicated! For practically my whole life, it's been taboo to say that one should be proud of and enjoy the size of one's natural body, but I've known countless ponies who've found that attitude completely stifling! Beauty in Bloom proves the concept that fashion is not just the domain of the reasonably sized, but–"

I stepped back a few paces and let Rarity run her mouth to the reporter in peace. It was good that she thought positively of the whole shebang, at least. Maybe big-bust fashion would take off in a few years. ...And then maybe the pendulum would swing back, but who knew? Culture be weird like that.

Speaking of mares with huge tits who felt stifled... I looked up at the royal palace near the top of the mountain. The setting sun cast a long shadow over the city of Canterlot. There was a spark near one of the towers, presumably where Celestia was using her magic to push the sun down past the horizon, and another where Luna was raising the moon. It was a purely and deeply mystical sight that contrasted so hard with all the natural, barely hidden sexuality around me.

There wasn't much time left for goofing around. I had to go back to the castle and face Celestia's emotional baggage once more. I had to face the music for being reckless in a major way in her castle. I had to face everyone else's pressure to fix her and get her back to happy, working order as soon as possible.

More presently, I had to ask one of the girls if they'd be up for a quick fuck on the way back to the castle. I just wasn't going to be able to tackle this with my head on straight otherwise.

26 – Celestia – Second Session

"Huuuhhhhwwwuuuuaaaaahhhhhh..."

Not the most coherent noise I've ever made. But if there was such a thing as 'the noise you make when you cum between your two alien girlfriends' colossal pairs of tits after watching a parade of beauty, extravagance, and sexuality in a crowded room,' that was probably pretty close to being it.

I slumped the side of the taxi-carriage, just barely catching myself before I slid all the way down to the sidewalk. "Holllllly fuck..." I groaned, wiping down my face.

Derpy and Trixie shared a giggle at my overwhelmed reaction. Derpy's laugh was light and bubbly while Trixie's was more of a deep, sultry chuckle. They pulled back, revealing the white semen splattered and strung across their cloverleaf of cleavage. Derpy lifted, pulled, and squeezed her huge tits up towards her muzzle and stretched out her long, broad tongue to start licking up the cum off her boob. Trixie, meanwhile, seemed not to mind the stains at all and instead crouched down further to lick and suckle the head of my cock, drawing out the last leftover pearls of cum from the tip, making me shudder and quake even more. Hell if I didn't need a thorough treatment, though.

Through the hasty double-titfuck, Spitfire and Moondancer had been chatting a few feet away. Moondancer in particular seemed a little worked-up watching us go at it. "Lucky dog..." the blushing bookworm muttered.

Spitfire scanned the unicorn up and down, then smirked and said, "Somehow I'm not surprised you're the 'penis envy' type."

"Yeah yeah, 'the quiet ones,' heard it a million times," Moondancer grumbled sarcastically, looking away as her cream-colored face slowly turned tomato-red.

"Nah nah, I didn't mean it like that," Spitfire replied chummily, giving the student an all-too-friendly smack on the back. "We're all about acceptance, here, remember?"

Trixie pulled her mouth off my cock and licked her lips while giving me her best bedroom eyes, daring me to go for another round, right out in public. It was tempting, oh so tempting, in a 'to hell with all of my responsibilities' kind of way. "So what now?" Trixie purred.

The air in my lungs deflated and I slouched a bit, craning my head towards the castle above the town. "Now... it's probably time for session two with... y'know."

Derpy pouted and let out an "awwwwww," then resumed licking cum off her breasts.

I pushed myself off the taxi-carriage (belonging to an earth-stallion driver who was waiting very patiently for us) and rubbed my forearms nervously. "And... I get the feeling that... that project is going to become the main focus of the rest of the weekend, so... this might be the last time we're all together for a little while."

Spitfire nodded and rolled her shoulders with a groan. "Ach, I've gotta get back to rehearsals anyway. Air-show season doesn't even stop for you, Hypnodude."

Moondancer nodded, some of her blush starting to fade. "Feel free to send for us if you need help." She scratched the side of her temple. "Though... I'm not sure if I ever gave you my address..."

Derpy's eyes lit up. "Oh!" She looked up at me knowingly.

I blinked, then reached into my pocket where my 'honeymoon present,' the little weekly planner booklet, was waiting. I barked out a little laugh and opened it up to the address section. Passing it and the little pen that came with it around, I said, "Here. This way I can get in touch with you."

As Moondancer scribbled her mailing address into my planner, Spitfire smirked and reached into her own back pocket. "I'll do you one better." She pulled out a Wonderbolt-themed business card and handed it to me. "Congrats, you're one step closer to being an actual professional."

With a laugh, I replied, "Not a chance."

Derpy took the booklet next, but only to show me with a proud grin that she'd already written her address long before she'd given it to me, which I legitimately hadn't noticed until now. I chuckled and grinned back. She moved to hand it over to Trixie, before pausing when she remembered the magician's living situation. So instead, Derpy gave it back to me. I slipped Spitfire's business card between the pages and put the item back in my pocket.

"Well, if you're doing therapy," Trixie mused as she stood back up, my semen still adorned on her bouncing tits, "I might head in a different direction rather than stay in that stuffy palace all evening. Anyone up for dinner?"

Spitfire's and Moondancer's eyes immediately widened, and they stammered and blushed. "Not if it ends up like last time..." Moondancer mumbled.

Trixie sneered evilly. "Oh, please, that was a special occasion...! I'm sure you won't end up my playthings after a few drinks a second time..."

The Wonderbolt stretched her wings and took to the air by a couple of feet. "In all seriousness, I gotta rest up for drills tomorrow. Good luck, everyone!" And she took off into the golden sky like a shot.

Moondancer rubbed her arm and looked aside bashfully. "Honestly, I kinda want to head home... Just want to relax."

Trixie nodded with a small sigh through her nostrils. She glanced down at Derpy. "Dinner for two?"

Derpy stood up. The upper surfaces of her boobs shone with her saliva, licked almost completely clean. She swallowed and cleared her throat a bit, then said, "Naw... I was thinking of getting on the train back to Ponyville 'cuz I've got work in the morning... Sorry..."

"Right... The perils of being the only pony on vacation," Trixie muttered. She shrugged. "Can't be helped. Stuffy palace it is." She climbed into the taxi's open carriage.

Derpy gave me a tight hug, being careful not to squish her breasts too much and squirt my chest again. "Mmm, be safe, Pasky, okay? And take care of your mares, too." A kiss on the lips.

Moondancer awkwardly offered her hand for a shake, which I awkwardly took. "Break a leg," Moondancer said. "Er, if that applies..."

I blinked as I remembered our conversation from inside the convention center. Still holding onto her hand, I said, "Wait. Let me try something..." Moondancer watched me a little nervously as I thought about the phrasing I wanted, and then I said, "'You can do anything or ask any favor, so long as you explain that it's "for science" or "for an experiment" or some such, and people will be compelled to answer your questions honestly about their thoughts and perceptions during it.'"

A blue glow passed down from my shoulder and through our palms into Moondancer's body, who jolted like she'd been zapped by static. "Wh-What...?!" She pulled her hand back and stared at it. "What was that...?!"

Derpy's eyes lit up. "He's giving you an aura!"

"Not an aura," I said smugly, one hand on my hip, "but a trigger." As Moondancer just stared at me in shock, I continued. "I know you said you wanted to try going your own way without all this craziness, but what you said in there got me thinking. I could really use your analytical mind helping to figure out all the aspects of this power. This way, it's not constantly 'on,' but you can use it temporarily whenever you think of an appropriate 'test.' Whaddaya think?"

I could almost hear Trixie folding her arms grumpily back in the taxi.

Moondancer took off her fogged-up glasses and continued staring blankly at me. "R-Really...? You're... sharing it with me...?"

I nodded firmly. "I wouldn't have made it this far without you, Moondancer. Do with it what you wish. No strings attached."

Before I knew it, I was wrapped up in another big-busted hug. She was considerably warmer with that black sweater she always wore. She buried her muzzle into my shoulder. "This... This is a lot to take in, but..." Moondancer pulled back and smiled prettily. "I'll do my best. Thank you!"

I didn't really know what else to say, so I shrugged bashfully. "Least I could do."

Not long after, we said our goodbyes and went our separate paths, each looking into the future in different ways. I sat down next to Trixie, who was finally cleaning the semen off her tits with her magic. The stallion at the front started to pull the carriage down the street, causing stunningly beautiful ripples to dance across Trixie's toned, hyper-curvy body. Not really looking her in the eyes, I asked, "You doin' alright, Trixie?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, I'm fine," Trixie insisted. She scooted next to me and leaned into my side, watching Canterlot roll by on either side of us. "Don't mind me."

"Well, I try to pay attention, and... it seemed like you got a little... grumpy back there."

Trixie's reply caught in her throat for a moment. I was starting to recognize the little purse in her lips that meant she was fighting the urge to say something flippant. She finally shook her head and replied, "It was nothing. Really."

"You sure?" I had to ask.

Trixie gave me a flat annoyed look. "What have we talked about repeatedly, Pascal?"

I was at a loss for words.

Trixie sighed and rested her head on my shoulder. "I want you to take charge of my bad impulses. Reward me properly. If you spoil me every time I whine," she added with a slight sultry smirk, "how will I ever learn?"

I chewed on that sentiment for a few moments, and wrapped my arm behind Trixie's back to hug her close. "That doesn't mean I can't try to do fun or nice things for ya, though."

Trixie gently shook her head. Her arms wrapped around my middle and squeezed me tight. "You've already indulged me a lot today. But just between you and me? This is the nice, fun thing. I know I put on a show when we're around the others, but... I like these quiet, intimate little moments with you. And Derpy. ...Don't tell the others I said that."

I chuckled. The taxi driver stallion looked back and chuckled. "Awww...!"

The magician sat up and immediately glared daggers at the driver. "Eyes on the road! And don't tell a soul about what you heard! Pascal, make sure he never tells a soul."

I let out a sigh.

When Trixie and I returned to Canterlot's royal palace, one of the golden-armored guards approached me at a slightly urgent pace. He carried a box bound in twine, just a little bit larger than the breadth of his fingers.

He cleared his throat and spoke to me in a low tone of voice. "The Princess asked me to pass along a message and this package to you as soon as you arrived. She says she will not meet with you in-person tonight. Instead, you are to use this item in your office and follow the included instructions."

How mysterious and slightly bizarre. I gingerly took the package and said, "Sure thing. Thanks."

The guard walked away, and Trixie stared at the box for a few seconds before throwing her hands up. "Sounds like it's 'for your eyes only.' I'll grab some dinner for both of us, then maybe go out and enjoy the view from the gardens or something."

"Sounds good."

We split up, Trixie heading for the nearest cafeteria while I made a hasty beeline straight to my suite. I passed a few ponies, guards and servants and aides, who were all just as lightly bewildered by the human carrying a mysterious package down the hall as I was. There were naturally a lot of questions, but for now I was just happy she wasn't blowing me up for the whole master/slave play thing from earlier in the day. Though there was always the chance the box contained a bomb. Maybe even in a non-metaphorical sense.

It was strange, coming back to what was basically my Canterlot home. The two sections, the psychiatrist's office half and the love-nest half separated by a thick curtain, felt totally alien to my low-middle-class self, calling it mine. Even if it was specially made and on loan to me in exchange for services to the crown, rather than owned directly by me. It was still going to be one of the nerve centers of my new life in this world, and I'd barely started living in it.

I sat down at the little dining table in one corner of the office and set the box down in front of me. After a moment's trepidation, I untied the twine and lifted the lid. Inside was... a glass orb on a pedestal, which I set on the table, and a neatly folded letter.

This orb has been enchanted to connect our voices across large distances. It will only work for you and I, and only when we are both ready. During the connection, our voices will be silenced to any outsiders, and a blurring effect will make it very difficult to lip-read.

Just touch the orb with your hands with the intent to make a connection when you are ready.

No signature. Even the handwriting style was deliberately simple. But there was no mistaking who the message was coming from.

I glanced at the shimmering orb, filled with a violet swirling mist. "Long way to go for what's basically a secure cell phone..." I muttered to myself. I sat back and considered the item for a little while. This seemed to be the consequence of my tomfoolery earlier today – Celestia was too upset to meet with me in-person, so we were doing our second therapy session remotely. Or she didn't want to be tempted by my human pheromones and the other unnatural attractors built into her sexed-up body. I wasn't sure if I was relieved or disappointed that blackout sex with the Princess was off the table for tonight. Leaning towards relieved, honestly.

Beyond the questions and concerns, I was a little bit dreading this next session. It seemed like, other than some forward steps made during our first therapy session, we had done nothing but slide and stumble back. And yet, for Celestia's sake, I needed to be a pillar of support, confident that she could improve and get better. Not exactly second-nature...

With one last sigh of resignation, I reached out an placed my hand on the orb. It glowed brighter and warmed beneath my palm. The violet light inside spread up my arm rapidly and surrounded my head, casting everything around me in a pinkish-purple glow. A tunnel of magic connected my head to the orb, stretching and shrinking no matter where I moved. All the other ambient sounds in the room were immediately muffled, and there was a half-tingling, half-buzzing above my shoulders.

"Yyyello?" I called out experimentally.

I heard a shuddering of breath. A whimper in Celestia's voice.

Well. We were off to the races, then.

There was a familiar shifting of fabric. Was Celestia just laying in her bed? Oh dear.

I lowered my forehead to my palm and sat there for a few moments. Celestia was silent as well. Great, neither of us knew how to start this. Which meant she definitely had heard about it and the onus was on me to clear it up.

"Look, Celestia..." I finally managed to say, "I'm sorry about earlier today. It was reckless, it was stupid..."

There was a sharp intake of breath and a sniffle. Honestly, I had been expecting far more anger. Maybe a strongly worded lecture. Celestia just sounded... distraught, on the verge of tears. Which was somehow way more devastating. There was an audible swallowing and gasp of breath. The sound of a pillow shifting as she turned her head against it. "No... No..."

Now I was confused. 'No' what? I felt it was best just to continue the apology. "If it had just been in the privacy of our own... room, that'd be one thing, but we paraded it around under your own roof. That was unforgivable."

"No, no, no...!" Celestia murmured, audibly holding back tears. "You... You're adults, that's fine..."

That was fine?? Clearly it wasn't. Was the Normal pushing her in a way she didn't want? This therapy session was off to a very strange, confusing start.

Then again, if one's therapist had been parading the fetish dynamic that had traumatized you in the past...

I was a shitty therapist.

"It wasn't... oh..." Celestia took a deep, shuddering breath to try and calm herself. "I was a little upset when the rumor reached me... Well, I was very upset, but not for... for just that reason...!"

It was a hard thing, listening to the Princess choke back tears through a magical voice-sharing orb. It wasn't like Celestia could 'pull away from the phone' for a second, so I had to hear every whimper, every sob like she was right in front of me. And my natural instinct to try and comfort her (how, even?) was denied by the sheer distance. So, note to self: Remote sessions have a few downsides.

Still, it sounded like I was getting somewhere, perhaps somewhere important. It was starting to sound like Celestia had something she wanted to tell me. I sat back in my chair and tried to remain calm and supportive. "Alright... What was the major reason you were upset, Celestia?"

I heard her nod against her pillow and make an 'mmhmm' sound, like I'd found my way to the point. "I... I..." There was a tossing and turning in bed as Celestia's fight to hold back her cries of sorrow failed for a moment.

Geez, was this the life ahead of me? Listening to people cry uncontrollably as they force out the thoughts that are torturing them deep down? That was some great fast-talking on Sunday morning, Pascal. Real good career move.

But... that didn't make me want to help any less.

Feeling that I had been silent too long, I said, "It's okay, Celestia. I'm here for you. Even if I fuck up sometimes."

That managed to get an amused scoff from her, which interrupted the choked sobs, thankfully. She sniffled. There was a tinkling of magic, and I heard Celestia blow her nose into a tissue. With this setup, it was practically right in my ears, and I winced. "Th-Thank you..." Celestia mumbled.

She was quiet for many seconds, collecting both her composure and her thoughts.

"I... I was jealous."

I involuntarily smacked my lips. There... was a kind of logic there...

"And I hated it. I couldn't figure out exactly why. Until..." She sniffled hard, twice. "Until a horrifying thought came to me..." Celestia fell quiet again, breathing through her nostrils shallowly, trying to hold back another wave of tears.

I slumped in my chair, bracing myself for whatever revelation was incoming. "What exactly was that thought?"

Another audible swallow. "I... Deep down... I..." There was a sigh with finality and resignation. "I've always wanted the Masters to return."

My mouth opened, but every word I tried to say just kinda died in my throat.

"I was jealous," Celestia repeated. Her voice sounded low and flat, like she'd been hollowed out from the inside. Which was probably how she felt, too. "I've..." There was a pause and I heard the faint shifting of another tissue dragging across skin. Was she wiping her eyes? Another sniffle. "I've wanted the Masters to return and take the fight out of me, take everything, and just... return it all to the way things were. Much like you and Trixie."

I finally found some words. "What Trixie and I did..."

"...was an agreement between consenting adults, I know. And clearly a test of your powers, because I couldn't think of Slave Trixie as anything other than normal."

Provably not quite true. It was easy to think of her as spectacularly inconsiderate, considering the circumstances...

Wait, no! Not a single soul had blamed Trixie in all this! Raven's complaints and the rumor mill and Celestia's reaction were all about what I had done, taking her as my magical slave under Celestia's roof! And even though I had my aura of acceptance... I had enchanted Trixie so thoroughly that the fact of her enslavement was even more normal than me!

Learning things!

While my neurons were sparking, Celestia went on in that hollowed-out voice of hers. "The principle of... someone else taking charge... a human, especially... I have no choice but to accept... that I've wanted that so, so badly for 1300 years...!"

I grimaced so hard my teeth ground together painfully. This... didn't sound wrong, per se, but I had many, many concerns. "Look, uh– We've been down this road before. My power has a way of pushing people towards incomplete rationalizations..."

"It's the same as Saturday night, remember?" Celestia's voice asked waveringly. "I... wanted this. I surrendered to this. And I became eager for it."

"I... I could hear the anguish in your voice," I cut in, haunted by the memory. "Even as you were loudly declaring your defeat..."

There was a pause and a shifting of bedsheets. It seemed that Celestia was now sitting up. "Your power doesn't create thoughts out of thin air. Even the power of rationalization is done through the processes of our own minds. Therefore..." Sniffle. "This is my thought. My desire. My deepest, darkest secret."

I stifled a sigh and covered my eyes. This was such a backslide it wasn't even funny. Celestia was now more convinced than ever that she was her own worst enemy. And, hell, such was often the case in psychology, but it wasn't going to help my job if Celestia dug this particular trench any deeper. Still, what could I even say, especially on the spot like this? A flash of insight came to me, and I forced out the breath I was holding and gazed upon the orb again. "Celestia, maybe that's the case. But you've also been paranoid about exactly that nightmare scenario for 1300 years. And, y'know, paranoia... When we're paranoid about something, it's not too far a stretch to say that we want it to be true or to happen, right? Because then the tension will be released and we'll at least have the satisfaction of being right. Because the thought that we tortured ourselves for nothing is... just... too much to bear..."

Gee, speaking from a little experience much, Pascal?

Celestia was silent for a while, and I had no read on how she was taking those comments. But eventually there was a neutral 'mmhmm' on the other end of the magical line, which I interpreted as 'I don't really believe you in this case but it makes enough sense.' Which was at least something.

I leaned back in my chair, slumping and sliding and staring up at the ceiling. I had a brief moment of 'What the hell am I even doing with my life?' "Celestia..." Oof, the words I was thinking were going to be risky, but I had to start setting up for my long-term plan. "I think it's fair to say that, as much as you want to deny it, there was a moment you were happy under the Masters."

I braced myself for a reaction. I didn't hear so much as a breath from Celestia. The connection was still on, so I assumed she had just clammed up. I had no choice but to complete my thought.

"Call it naiveté, call it misplaced trust. And you were betrayed, no doubt about that. But... it feels like... those memories, those happy memories of being a servant and sex slave of the Masters..."

There was a choked sob in my ears.

"I'm not saying you need to revert to that," I said hastily – even though, in retrospect, that was kind of the plan?? "I'm saying that the keys to being happy with your sexuality, with your existence as an ex-slave... They're locked away in those times you've repressed; the part of yourself you've maybe labeled a traitor." Time to put the cards on the table. "I think the way forward is to get back in contact with that former self."

I got the sense that Celestia was shaking her head slowly. Maybe some of her head motions were being transmitted as vibrations through the voice-link? I had no idea. "I'm–... I have happiness now," she said in a quiet, weak voice. "I have my little ponies. They don't have to... grow up like I did..."

But you've certainly projected your repressions onto them, I mentally noted but perhaps wisely chose not to state aloud. "...It's about connecting those two sources of happiness. Your present self needs to know how to be happy with her own body. And your past self needs to know what the future is like without the Masters. But... it's too painful to push past all those years of resentment and shame to reach back to her, isn't it?"

Another sniffle. "Mmhmm...!" A loud blowing of the nose, again directly into my eardrums.

I was pretty much constantly rubbing my temples at this point. "Then... I want you to hold off on passing judgment on yourself. Wait until we can ask her if that's what she really wants, for the Masters to return and enslave you all." I was going out on a limb here, but... "Because I think the answer might surprise you."

"W-What...?"

That was about all I could do on that topic. It was up to Celestia whether she believed my words or not. All I knew was, we weren't solving this tonight. "Any other thoughts, insights, revelations, breakthroughs? Just things you've been thinking about?"

Celestia sighed, wordlessly acquiescing to my implied request to change the subject. "I've... I've been really worried about Twilight Sparkle."

No surprise there. Frankly, she was worth worrying about. "...Yeah. Yeah, I can see why."

"I heard you two fought," she said quietly.

What a moment to be reminded of. Although... I had to chuckle a bit. "Truth is, we've been a thorn in each other's sides since I got here. What we did was finally stop fighting, really. We called an armistice."

"Oh..." Celestia sighed. "I'd be lying if I denied I knew as much... and was counting on it a little, during the time I wanted to separate you from her protection..."

"What was the goal, actually?" I asked out of sudden curiosity. "I get run out of town, or I get sent to some lunatic asylum, and then...?"

"...Before the Normal?" Celestia murmured absentmindedly. "Isolate you, study you even further, gather every scrap of information I could that would help prepare us against a possible return of the Masters. ...Oh, thanks for reminding me, I should tell Twilight the truth about Fillydelphia State Lunatic Hospital. Its reputation as a madhouse is just a smokescreen for a secret research facility. That's why I wanted you there."

Really now. "G-Greeeaaat," I couldn't help but groan out with a grimace. Thanks to that reputation, we had taken simply putting me in an asylum to treat my mental inability to cope with all the giant titties off the table and ended up with the Normality debacle instead. Funny how life worked.

From the way Celestia sighed, the same thought was crossing her mind. "Do you think...?"

"Your knack for secrets, spies, conspiracy, and manipulation comes from this key moment of existential betrayal in your life? I mean... that and a thousand years of statecraft, probably. Don't need a psychiatrist to point that out."

I'd meant it somewhat jokingly, but Celestia just let out a sad 'hmm' and remained silent.

This was getting more awkward by the second. (What else was new in my life?) "Ahem. Getting back to Twilight..."

"What else is there to say?" Celestia half-whined. "I was her teacher, and she admired me to a fault. I betrayed her by withholding this information, and I destroyed the pedestal I'd let her put me on!" Her voice began to rise as she got more angry with herself. "And the only excuse I have is that I was so scared of you I wasn't thinking straight!"

"I mean, to be fair..." I didn't want to say it out loud, but she definitely had a reason to be scared, irrational or otherwise.

"And now I've permanently damaged our relationship. The relationship between two of Equestria's Princesses, potentially putting my people in more danger down the line!"

Again, not untrue, but... boy, did Celestia and Twilight look perfect for each other right now.

The door to my suite clicked open, and Trixie walked in levitating several plates and bowls of food from the royal kitchens. She raised an eyebrow at me and the magical aura around my head. I knew she wouldn't be able to hear me or see my lips, so I just sort of made patting motions on the surface of the table. She nodded and set down the dinner portions meant for me, then walked through the curtain with her meal to give me my privacy.

I cleared my throat. "Sorry, uh, Trixie came in with dinner..."

After a moment's pause, Celestia asked, "Is she still your slave?"

I kinda jolted at that. "Uh, no. No. We, uh, stopped that after the meeting with Raven and we kinda realized... how it looked. And it turned out the type of enchantment I used was mentally draining, so it was probably for the best..."

"Enchantment?" Celestia echoed. "You're... enchanting ponies?"

"I've been testing out further depths of my power with consenting ponies that I trust to be honest with me," I replied. "If I place my hands on something and describe an effect... I can..." It was hard to explain. "...pour a part of my magic into them. Create deeper layers of hypnosis, share a customized part of my normality aura... even... make somepony feel normal and look normal being my slave. Y'know, stress tests."

"So that... was the reason...?"

"And because Trixie asked. But right now I'm taking every opportunity I can to... to get stronger. For you." That last part kind of slipped out before I could reconsider.

There was a pregnant pause on the other end. "You want to use this power on me?"

I froze up a bit. Should I just admit it outright? That was the plan, wasn't it? It took me a while to figure out what to say. "I don't know if my normal aura and my normal words are enough." My head tilted towards the floor. "You're still clearly suffering. If... If the whole hypothesis is that I can use this power for mental healing, then... I need more than just surface-level bandages. I need to know how to go deeper. And... I know that sounds scary–"

"I trust you."

Immediately, I shut up.

"You had Equestria in your hands – you had me as your loyal, broken slave. And you gave it all up. You were ready to turn into a pony, and suffer an identity death, to spare me." An audible swallow. "And I didn't deserve it."

Gravity felt heavier on my shoulders. "Don't believe that," I said in a rare moment of clarity and strength. "After everything you've been through, you deserved it. I'm here, still here, still helping you, because you deserve it. And I'm not going away. So... I know it's hard, but try to think that a little less."

Sniffle. "Okay."

I let a silence fall between us as we both mentally and emotionally caught our breath. After a while, I said, "Anything else? Anything else you want to talk about?"

Celestia didn't answer for a little bit. But then: "I've made some changes to my schedule for the weekend."

There was a hesitation in the way she said so that put me on edge. "Oh...?"

"I've completely cleared this Saturday. My only duty will be to raise the sun. To the rest of the world, I'll simply be taking a very rare personal day, but... I expect you at my tower first thing in the morning."

My blood chilled. First thing in the morning? All day? After going cold turkey for three days...?

"I hope that's alright with you. An all-day session...?"

Little hard to say no when you've already cleared out your schedule! "...Sure. I can do that." Gears started to turn in my mind. "But I have an important condition."

"Hmm?"

I opened my mouth and paused. This was going to be a doozy. "I'd... like to invite some friends to this next session."

There was a stifled gasp.

"Specifically, your friends. Anyone who knows the truth and can be a source of emotional support in these trying times. Luna comes to mind. And yes, they'll... see you. Maybe even end up watching, or participating..."

I could almost hear her wringing her hands. "I don't– I don't– I don't know if..."

"I know, I know," I muttered, furrowing my brow at my own idea. "It's very soon. But... I get the sense that you've kind of isolated yourself. Especially from ponies like Twilight."

"I can't–..."

It was hard not to back off right then and there, hearing her whimper like that. But it was like my subconscious had nearly worked out the missing piece of this puzzle and was insisting this step was important. I leaned forward with my fist planted firmly on the table. "I'm just a human pervert, Celestia. I can't convince you alone that your body doesn't matter, that you're okay, that you're still loved by those you love. I want your friends there..." I faltered for a second. Why? "...because I can't reach back into your past without a strong anchor in the present. An anchor that will remind you that you are loved no matter what happens. And... like everything else in this world, that anchor is going to be your close friends and loved ones. Yes, the ones you're afraid to meet again, to disappoint. I've met some of them, and I promise you... if you trust them, they will reward that trust."

Was I bullshitting a little bit? On reflection, maybe. I was the kind of guy that was never certain of anything. But I had to be confident for Celestia's sake.

After an eternity of silence, one last deep sniffle. "...Okay. I'll think about it."

I tried not to sound too exhausted from that push. "All I ask. So... Saturday, first thing in the morning, all day, with guests. That'll be our next session."

"Yes. Thank you."

"And Celestia?"

"Yes, Pascal?"

Another occasion where I needed to word things carefully. I probably wasn't going to do that well. "There are two things I want to you to think about between now and then. First: Is it possible that, in your perception of the past Celestia, you've constructed a boogey...mare for yourself that doesn't quite reflect reality? And second: If you could go back to that past Celestia and speak with her, what would you say? And what might she say to you?"

Silence.

Nothing else I could do. "That's all. And, uh, again, apologies for what happened earlier today. I won't ever do that again under your roof."

A hollow half-scoff, half-chuckle. "I appreciate it."

And then the orb's glow faded, sucking the magic away from my head and back within the glass. My ears popped a little as the room's normal ambiance returned in full force, like someone had taken noise-canceling headphones off my head without warning – though more like someone had removed an entire space helmet from my shoulders.

I leaned back in my chair and could do nothing else but let out a "Hwuuuuuuuugh!" at the ceiling.

Trixie's magic grabbed the dividing curtains and pushed them aside. "Go well?" she called from the bed.

I tilted the chair back and looked over at her lazily. "She... wants to go all-day Saturday. From sunup to sundown."

Trixie paused mid-bite of her food. She gulped. "Um..." The magician dabbed her mouth with a napkin and sat up from the pillows. "I know you're leery of the whole 'enhancing yourself to be more on-par with stallions' thing, buuuuuut... This might be the time to make an exception!"

I returned my squinting gaze to the ceiling. I was feeling a headache coming on. "I have tomorrow to prepare for my one shot at reversing this backslide. If she doesn't fuck me to death first, fuck!"

Why was I in this situation again?! Except now I had forewarning! And that didn't make it better!

"Uh, Pascal?"

"What??"

"Why are your hands... blinking?"

I raised my hands to my eyes. Sure enough, they were repeatedly pulsing with the bright blue light of my magic from within, in a steady rhythm over and over. "What the..." My eyes widened. "Oh no... no, no!"

"No no no no no!" Twilight Sparkle yelped, clutching her mane in her hands as she watched the Friendship Map zoom in on Canterlot, while the cutie marks on her hips pulsed brightly. In the holographic view of Equestria, a blue orb and a purple star hovered around the side of the mountain.

27 – Twilight Sparkle – The Vault

In the morning, as I sat very tiredly at the dining table in my suite, forehead resting in my palm, I looked over a letter that had just come in. Not the one I immediately expected, either. It was a letter from Lyra Heartstrings.

Dear Pascal,

Sorry for not replying quickly after that last letter. I'm sure you're very busy in Canterlot and I don't want you to think I forgot about you. I've been doing some soul-searching the last couple of days.

This is hard to write. By the time you get this, I'll have donated all my human materials (Remember all those papers I showed you in my study room?) to the public library. Not Twilight's library, but a smaller one nearby. I was thinking maybe it'll help spread the truth around a little faster, but she would probably just bury it until the 'right time' on Mommy Celestia's orders.

That got an audible chuckle out of me.

The reason I'm doing this is because I've decided I don't care about the humans of the past anymore. I don't fully trust the Princesses' version of events, but the fact is that I finally got an answer at all. But I already have you. You managed to survive all this anti-human hate, and I hope that my studies, my obsession (let's face it), helped a bit with that. But now a real live human is living among us, and I've realized that you're way better than any mythical historical figure could ever be, even if they weren't total dicks. So I'm letting go. Moving on. I did my part. It's kind of sad, honestly, but it also feels good. It feels right.

So when you come back to Ponyville, you'll still be my favorite human, but I won't be "that human-obsessed mare" anymore. I'll just be Lyra Heartstrings, your friend. And I think your future is going to be way more interesting than the past.

Thanks,
Lyra

P.S. This whole mood has resulted in some sweet soulful music on my lyre. I guess this is what they call a "blue period?" I've got a recording lined up, so thanks for helping my business, I guess!

Trixie appeared behind my shoulder – dressed only in a royal bathrobe. Her heavy breasts smothered my back and right arm. She gave it a quick speed-read and said, "Look at that, a mare who can move on. Rare trait these days." She levitated a hot mug of coffee to her lips and sipped loudly.

I let out a tired, quiet laugh, but then there was a knocking at the door. There was a telltale urgency to it that gave me a feeling I knew who it was...

"What. Happened."

Twilight Sparkle had confirmed my suspicions: The Cutie/Friendship Map had gone off for both myself and Twilight the previous evening. I wasn't surprised the alicorn was barely in control of herself.

I sat at the edge of my bed with a sigh and looked up at Twilight. The Princess was wearing her usual business-casual button-up blouse and long skirt, with a messenger bag slung over her shoulder and resting at her hip. I hung my head and told her, "Celestia wants to have an all-day marathon session tomorrow. The moment those plans became final, my hands started blinking."

Twilight's eyes slowly widened. A part of her suspected the implications, but they weren't all quite making it to her conscious awareness. "All... day...?"

"Oh, and by then she'll have been going cold turkey for three whole days."

The purple Princess had trouble finding her words. She leaned in with an incredulous look. "You and her haven't... er... had a 'session' since...?"

I pointed at the table in the other half of the suite, where the communication orb rested. "Last night's session was remote. She was understandably upset with both me and herself, and–"

"What did you DO??"

I was getting tired of digging my own grave. "The point is, she's been backsliding since that first session. She's still disgusted with herself that she even 'needs' me, and tomorrow's 'session' is just going to make that worse if..." I threw up my hands. "...if I don't come up with some kind of miracle plan to turn things around."

Twilight covered her eyes with her hands and groaned loudly.

The Great and Powerful Trixie, now dressed in one of her spare leotards, leaned against the frame of the curtains separating the two halves of my suite, absolutely relishing the sight of Twilight so frustrated. "So, that must be why the Map called you two here. Celestia is the friendship problem."

Privately, I wasn't so sure. We were still in the first act of this, and it felt too early to make such a definitive call. Even though Celestia was a serious problem that needed solving.

Twilight reached into her messenger bag and pulled out a rolled-up scroll with a royal seal – a crescent moon, to be specific. "Maybe," Twilight said carefully, "but the map didn't call us to the Royal Palace of Canterlot. Our symbols were above one of the sides of the mountain itself. I wrote to Luna for answers immediately." Twilight levitated the scroll and started to unroll it with her magic, but paused and looked to Trixie.

I jumped in before Twilight could ask. "I trust her with this."

But Trixie put up her hands and pushed off the wall. "No no. Don't worry. If you and Twilight" – she couldn't help the hint of venom in that word – "are going off on a mission, I already know it's going to be thoroughly unsexy. I'll see what kind of trouble I can get into with Moondancer and her... experiments." Trixie bounced her eyebrows at me.

I had to admit, that sounded like fun. It also sounded like Moondancer was in for a crazy day. "You sure?"

Trixie scowled at Twilight. "This is the mare who turned tasting your delicious human cum into a very serious scientific experiment. I'll pass on the second round of boringness, thank you."

Twilight scowled back. "I have no intention of..." But before the Princess could finish the beginning of her retort, Trixie had already marched toward the door, levitating her hat and cape after her before she firmly closed it behind her. Twilight let out an aggravated sigh, then glared down at me. "What was that about Moondancer? My friend Moondancer?"

"Hey, she's my friend too," I said automatically, regretting it a nanosecond later. It wasn't right to get territorial about this.

Thankfully, Twilight let the matter drop with only a disdainful shake of her head. The day had only begun and we were starting out rough. I had hoped we could be better off after our big argument and some time apart, but... apparently we still needed more. Of what, I couldn't say for certain.

The Princess unrolled the scroll and showed it to me. I took it out of her levitation and glanced through it quickly, muttering, "'Dearest Twilight'... 'coordinates'... 'can only be'..." The next sentence made my eyes widen. "...'hidden location'? 'Since the founding of Equestria'...?!"

Twilight nodded and took the scroll back from me, rolling it back up and then offering her hand. "The Map called us to a hidden place inside the mountain that only Celestia and Luna know about. She wouldn't tell me exactly what it was, but she's given us permission to visit and find out."

I took her purple hand and stood up. "We're... going on a quest of discovery, then?" I asked a little hopefully.

The look in Twilight's eyes wasn't encouraging. "Just to be clear, for something like this, I'd rather have my fellow Elements of Harmony along with me. But the Map called the two of us and no one else, which suggests there's something at this hidden location that can help us with... with the Princess. That's the only reason you're coming along."

Somewhat understandable, but something about her very explicit insistence struck me as a little off. I couldn't quite put my finger on it at that moment. "...Okay. Makes sense, I guess."

Twilight nodded. "Alright. Let's go."

Her horn built up a current of magic, which then burst and covered us in light. I felt a current run through my entire body as our surroundings whipped away.

When the light faded, we were in some kind of dimly lit cave. It was cold and damp. I released my hand from Twilight's and flexed my fingers over and over, trying to shake out the weird buzzing feeling. "Yeesh. Teleportation, huh...?"

But Twilight didn't respond to my antics. Her gaze was fixated towards the lit side of the cave. And once I turned my head, I could see why.

A great circular door of dark stone and metal, easily 25 feet tall, was set into the rock wall, flanked by torches. The door itself was criss-crossed with a pattern of ancient-looking carvings, cracked apart in places, but there was a definite seam down the middle and hinges on either side, suggesting that it opened outward. But there were no visible handles or locks.

While I was still taking it all in, Twilight had leaped forward with her wings outspread to get right up close to the ancient vault door. "Oh my goodness...! This is incredible!" She ran her hand along the surface of the door. Dirt and dust clouded up in the trail of her fingers. "It looks like something out of Daring Do! And it was right under Canterlot this whole time!!"

It was really nice to hear Twilight sound dorky and happy for once.

I walked up to the vault door, looking up at the faded carvings in the stone, then at the deep cracks to see what seemed like a weird kind of metal underneath. "Was it renovated over the last thousand years? But then why not replace the whole thing...?"

"Leave the archaeological questions to me, please," Twilight requested in a polite but subtly infuriating way. She had already taken out a notebook and started horn-writing furiously as she hovered above. "And don't look up my skirt."

I silently put my hands up and kept my gaze forward. She was wearing pants underneath, anyway. After waiting for her to get back to busying herself with studies, I put one finger on the door and traced it along the cracks.

A bright teal glow shone out from behind the stonework of the door, shining through the cracks and momentarily blinding me. The light was coming from the entire vault door, as was some kind of ominous hum.

"Pascal! What did you do?!" Twilight yelled.

"Barely touched it!" I called back, taking a few quick self-preserving steps away.

Tremors shook the cave. Pieces of the stone facade shook off and clattered to the floor, revealing more of that odd metal beneath it. The teal light seemed to be coming from a lattice of lines in the metal. The hum from the door got louder and louder... before it reached a plateau and stayed there. The shaking stopped and the light remained constant.

Twilight's had trouble picking up her jaw. "What... IS this...?"

Something in my subconscious was screaming at me to do something, to put the pieces together. Incongruous materials, outer layer carved a thousand years ago, known only to the Princesses today, reacting to a human's touch and not a pony's...

I walked towards the vault door again. Twilight yelped, "What are you doing?" But I didn't really have an answer for her.

I reached for the center of the door at shoulder-height, feeling along the glowing seam that ran up the vertical. On a whim, I grabbed as much purchase as I could along the middle, and pulled.

With a great metal shriek, the vault door started to open outward. Faster than I was pulling, in fact, so I got out of there. I rejoined Twilight and watched in equal slack-jawed awe as this giant glowing alien-metal door thunderously swung open, making the cave vibrate with its sheer shifting of weight. The door was deep, too; nearly five feet thick from the looks of it.

The vault swung open to reveal a dark chamber that didn't stay dark for long. Above, candles magically came to life from nearest to farthest, revealing what looked like part of an ancient library - shelves of dusty tomes, cluttered tables of artifacts and scattered papers, and great stained-glass murals propped up against the back wall.

Twilight and I carefully walked across the threshold, our enmity forgotten as we became spellbound together. The final realization hit me. "Oh my god. This must be..."

The Princess looked up at the tallest stained-glass window fragment, depicting a nude human male of herculean build. Its head was nowhere to be seen; the circle where the face should be had been violently broken in. "...The proof that the Masters ever existed in Equestria," Twilight said in a low, serious voice. "They hid it all here."

The gravity settled on our shoulders.

Once my wits returned, I glanced back at the open vault door, which had stopped glowing teal, then down at my fingers. Pieces of information started to click together in my head. "They banished the Masters..." I murmured, clenching my hand into a fist, "but their stuff remained. Their buildings, their items, their records, their... technology." That was the only explanation I could think of.

The Masters hadn't just been wizards... They'd been techno-wizards. Future space wizards! FUCK!

Twilight finally stepped forward and glanced down each row of dusty bookshelves. "Celestia and Luna... All the ponies of the past must have gathered up everything that wasn't destroyed and hidden it here... so their children wouldn't have to know their parents were slaves..."

I kept my focus on the door. I moved towards it with my hand outstretched, and the glowing teal lines returned as I got within about a foot of it, only to fade out when I retreated. "Some kinda space-metal that responds to human DNA...?"

"This is PERFECT!!!"

I winced and turned towards Twilight, who had taken to the air with her arms outstretched victoriously. I chuckled wryly and muttered, "Yeah, great, an ancient library for you to catalog."

"YES- Well, not JUST that!" The Princess flew down and landed in front of me. "Don't you see? This is why the Map called us here! Somewhere in this vault is a secret of the past that can help us fix Celestia!!"

I opened my mouth, but I didn't have any words prepared. That... didn't sound right. That extremely didn't sound right. And again, I couldn't place a specific reason on it right away, but I felt it very strongly. First of all, Twilight's word choice on 'fixing' her mentor... Second of all... "Celestia was there. What could we find that she wouldn't already know?"

Twilight faltered for a second, but still looked very enthusiastic. "Who knows?! Maybe there's some kind of insight that only you and I can put together!" She flew over to a wide stone table that took up the center of the room, in the reflection of the stained glass human-murals.

I rubbed my temple. This was becoming too much; I was getting a headache. One, how could we put an insight together when we kinda made each other mad all the time... Two: "But, I mean, this is their vault, right? Celestia's and Luna's? They had to get inside somehow, make sure no one had looted it from time to time, right? So if that door only opens for humans, how did they do it?"

"Maybe they came up with a secret trick!" Twilight called back to me as her horn lit up. The papers and dusty books all around her took to the air in the glow of her magic, forming rows of concentric circles above her and then forming a queue to pass in front of her eyes. "But Luna knew you were coming with me, so we didn't need it!"

"...Which means they've gone over all the contents already," I insisted. "They were very worried about the Masters possibly coming back, especially when I showed up, so they must've gone over all this with a fine-toothed comb, right?"

Twilight pondered that for a moment. "Well... they haven't done what I can do. What I specialize in."

I was so afraid to ask, but it would've been rude not to ask the begged question. "...And what's that?"

"ORGANIZING!!" More and more books and parchments flew into the air.

"Of course..." In a flash of pink light, an inked quill and a loooooong roll of parchment appeared in my hands. "Hey!"

"Since Spike's not here – and thank goodness for that – I'll need you to help me prepare a full inventory and catalog of all the vault's items. That way, not only will we have a full picture of what remains of the Masters' civilization in Equestria, any future research will go that much faster! Now, give me a few minutes to organize these items by type, quantity, condition, and... language?" She gasped. "Some of these books are written in a language I've never seen before! Do you think it might be the language of the Masters?! Do you think the Princesses still know it?!?"

I pressed the parchment against my face to stifle my groans.

As you can imagine, this process was INCREDIBLY slow-going. Most of the items fell into the broad category of 'Book/Document Written in a New Ancient Language,' which Twilight spent long tangents trying to suss out. Said language was a weird collection of squarish, angular symbols that didn't really match to any kind of Indo-European-rooted dialect.

As I scribbled down item after item for nearly an hour, something about the whole language thing bothered me. If the Masters spoke a completely alien language, why was the ponies' Equestrian indistinguishable from my English? Sure, chalk up 70% of it to 'alternate universe shenanigans,' but there had to be at least some kind of logic or throughline, right? The more I thought about it, the more it distracted me.

Every so often, Twilight would fixate on one object before calling it out for me to record. On one such occasion, Twilight paused for a long time. "Hold on..." she muttered. "I think... This is in Old Equestrian, but... these look like minutes for a meeting between the Masters!"

I put down the quill and parchment on a nearby crate (flexing my hand to work out the cramp) and walked over to the slab to look over her shoulder. Sure enough, in almost unreadable Olde Schoole Equestriane cursive script, was a list of dates, times, and details.

Twilight flipped through it rapidly back and forth before I could take a close look at the text. But I could hear her mutter to herself. "'4th meeting about adjusting the distance between the sun and the planet. Concerns raised about effects on already established global ecosystems. No consensus reached.' 'Thousand-year-scale pony genome planning discussed. Deemed a low priority.' 'Concerns raised about Overseer'–" There was a word scratched out in black, probably a name. "–'potential dereliction of duties. Objections raised about bringing slaves and using them at official meetings. Overruled by Overseer's authority.'"

Wow. Planning meetings about... the development... of Equestria...?

Twilight looked straight ahead in thought, then glanced over at the pile of alien-language texts. "If this was in Equestrian... Perhaps a pony scribe taking minutes... But then why... They'd have to be speaking in... Were there two languages used back then?" Twilight levitated the two documents into the air, comparing them. "One common language between humans and ponies that became modern Equestrian, and then... maybe some kind of trade language that only the humans knew? So they could make records and share information that ponies couldn't understand?"

Something about all this clicked in my head, and I threw my head back and let out a tired laugh.

"What?" Twilight asked.

Giggling, I covered my eyes with my hand and sputtered, "They were still in alpha! Hahaha...! Oh my god..."

Naturally, Twilight looked rather confused. "And by that, you mean...?"

"They weren't done!" I exclaimed, stepping away from the slab and pacing about. "Equestria was... a work in progress. A fucking early-access resort planet! And this guy–" I turned and pointed up at the headless stained-glass mural. "–was too busy plowing ponies and enjoying their worship to actually do his job! Bahahahahaaa!"

Twilight looked up at the mural, then back at me with a concerned expression.

I, however, was fixated on the mural now. "I'd been wondering what kind of asshole would do all of this, react the way she said he did... and I think I have my answer." I pointed imperiously up at the broken decoration. "A fucking trust-fund Chad. Oh, I bet it took some begging and pleading, didn't it? To get dad to invest the money and influence to buy you your own little corner of the universe, and the rights to edit it however you wished. 'Oh, but we'll make it a pleasure planet! Those are easy to flip; they're a license to print money!' And then you FUCKED IT UP!!" I jumped on the table and flipped the mural the double-bird. "GET FUCKED, CHAD! Guess you had to work at your daddy's company after all! Don't break your neck falling into that goddamn safety net!"

As I caught my breath after my rant, Twilight just tilted her head up at me. "...What in the world are you doing?"

I sighed and sat down on the edge of the slab a couple feet away from Twilight's makeshift workstation. "Making shit up about a guy I've never met."

"Sounds like you were working through some issues there," the purple alicorn said flatly.

I folded my arms and grumbled. "Just... gah. I grew up poor. The way this asshole treated Celestia? Absolutely the reaction of a guy who's grown up with way too much money and power, who's never had a struggle or challenge his entire life."

Twilight was still narrowing her eyes in a questioning, confused manner. "Still... Why are you so upset?"

I stared back at her with an increasingly incredulous expression. "Wha... I..." I gestured back at the mural. "I can't have empathy for her?!"

"I mean," Twilight flustered, not sure how to react, "after everything she did to you..."

After a second of dumbfounded silence, I said, "I think that says a lot more about you than me, Twi. I forgave her, okay? I was ready to die for her. Has that not been made clear?" I gestured wildly at the mural again. "I'm not– I'm not THAT guy!"

Twilight made a bunch of awkward half-gestures with her hands and half-sounds with her mouth, but couldn't seem to come up with a quick answer.

"What kind of person do you think I am?" I asked exasperatedly.

A heavy silence fell between us, which was an answer in itself.

In a huff, I slid off the slab and walked back towards the roll of parchment and quill I had set down, but stopped halfway there. "You don't know me, Twi. I mean, what kind of person would I be after the three weeks I went through, as a total pariah? My best self?! Come on."

"Well," Twilight muttered, not facing me and sniffling, "right back at you. Right back at you..."

That annoyed me. I do know you, my brain rebelled. You're Twilight Sparkle, protagonist of Friendship is Magic! But that wouldn't be right to say. And it wasn't right, period. "Fair," I growled tersely. I picked up the quill. "Let's just finish this and hope we find something useful."

"Agreed," Twilight murmured, as her horn lit up to levitate the next item.

After almost a couple of hours of listing and re-listing and organizing all the items into categories, the vault was in a much different state than when we'd entered. It was much cleaner, less dusty, fewer cobwebs. Everything that had been haphazardly piled was now in neat stacks. At some point, Twilight had summoned some kind of label-maker and gone to town with it, marking each item and bookshelf with an alphanumerical code that factored into the final list.

More than half of it was still untranslated, a good portion of it was decayed or vandalized, and the rest was random information like those meeting minutes. We weren't any closer to assembling a complete picture of life before the banishment of the Masters, but the future work to do so would be a great deal easier with this catalog.

I put the final parchment down on the table and rubbed my sore writing hand, flexing it over and over. "Haven't handwritten so much since my frickin' AP tests..."

Twilight slumped back in her chair, a satisfied grin on her face. The girl really enjoyed organizing. After a moment of basking, she sat forward again and levitated a little box over in front of her. "Finally, now I can look into this!"

I sat on the slab again and watched. The item was a star-patterned puzzle box, hardly much bigger than a textbook, that Twilight had seemed to instantly recognize as belonging to Starswirl the Bearded. She'd put off investigating it more closely until the catalog was complete, but now she was ready to geek out. Me, I was wondering what such a thing was doing in the vault of human memories.

"Now, Starswirl made many puzzle contraptions over the years, and this seems to be a combination of a little bit of all of them...!" Her horn lit up and got to work fiddling with the tiny rotating pieces on each side of the box. I couldn't follow the solution – it was one of those puzzles where rotating one piece also moved four others, while another piece rotated those three over there... And that was just one side. There was a sliding-tile puzzle on the adjacent side of the box I could see, which was enough reason to not even care about the rest.

Thankfully, Twilight's magic could work on all of it at once as she rotated the box along every axis. It only took her a minute and a half to unlock every side.

"A crowbar would've been right out of the question, I take it?" I asked teasingly.

Twilight gave me an indignant but cute scowl and said, "No. This is a unique artifact from one of Equestria's greatest minds. ...And sometimes these old puzzle boxes have a trap that burns the contents if you try to smash your way in. Not saying that Starswirl was a fan of that, but you never know."

"Fair enough," I replied with a shrug.

The alicorn Princess placed her hands on the lid, took a breath to prepare herself, and lifted it up. Inside was a sealed scroll and... some kind of black cube thing. Only a little bigger than a Rubix cube, and eerily similar in material to the back of the vault door.

Twilight levitated and unrolled the scroll, while pushing the box a little bit further away. She read it for a moment, then gasped. "This is...!"

"What?"

She slowly turned her head to look up at me. "Remember that scrap of a scroll that Lyra had, that seemed to have Starswirl's hornwriting? ...This might be the original." Twilight floated the scroll towards me, and I skimmed through it.

My loyal apprentice Clover,

I have reason to believe my compatriots and I have no choice but to embark on our most desperate plan yet, from which we may not return. Thus, I have one last secret I must impart to you, one final lesson.

The knowledge of that which was known as a 'human.'

This was passed down to me by a hermit in the mountains, far away from any of our fledgling civilizations. This mare claimed to be a great-grandchild of one of the First Ponies, and over time, I have been given reason to have complete faith in the stories she eventually shared with me.

You have never heard of a human, because the First Ponies made a solemn vow never to speak of them to their children. But some disagreed, vowing to keep an oral history, and they were banished. That lineage ended with this mountain mare, who was ready to pass away childless and alone and let the world "finally move on," in her words. It was my unending thirst for knowledge that finally drew the story out of her, and some nights I have wondered if I should have left well enough alone. But in what may be my last days, I am convinced that a seed of the truth must live on, even if it seen fit to comfort the majority with ignorance.

The mare had never seen a human herself, but her mother and father told her what their mothers and fathers told them. Humans were demons in disguise, she told me. Tailless, smooth-skinned in all the colors of autumn, universally sinful. And long ago, the First Ponies were enslaved to them. The humans were extremely powerful, and no creature in Equestria could resist their might or their charms. One touch from them could have you craving more the rest of your days, she said.

Celestia and Luna, she told me, were both their slaves and our leaders. First among the worthless, the disposable. Until they vanished, escaped their control. The humans flew into a rage, and the spell of love was broken for some of the First Ponies. Beginning with pointed questions and small acts of will, and ending with outright defiance... and widespread punishment that followed, meant to terrorize and extract obedience from the others.

She told me that it was only when Celestia and Luna returned, carrying a purified shard of the Masters' power, that they were able to finally banish every human once and for all, dooming them to never return. Giving ponies a chance to make their own fate.

Many were lost without the Masters' guidance, even then. There was conflict between the freed slaves and some remaining loyalists. That was perhaps the impetus for the vow to never speak of the humans again.

You may think this all a tall tale, Clover, and rightfully so. But I have seen enough evidence with my own eyes... of the scars it left on certain ponies. I shan't say more than that.

Before the mare passed away, she left me a single item, hidden away by her ancestors for hundreds of years. She told me it was a human-made "machine assistant" of some kind, made of a metal that does not form naturally on our planet. I have tested it with every modern tool at my disposal, and it has never so much as bent, let alone responded. It will be one more mystery I will have to leave behind.

This record, and this relic, I leave with you and only you, Clover. This burden is yours now. You may continue to keep it hidden until you find a suitable apprentice yourself. You may attempt to reveal it to the world, if you like. Or, you may give these to my students Celestia and Luna, who I suspect know how to hide these secrets away forever.

No matter what happens, I want you to know that I would not share this with simply anypony. I trust you to make a decision with your usual cleverness, taking into account what may be dark days ahead for ponykind.

As always, your teacher,
Starswirl, "the Bearded"

I put down the parchment and looked over at Twilight, who had pulled the box back towards her and was levitating the strange black box in the aura of her magic. I was a little speechless, to be honest. "There... There was a revolution... Other ponies resisted... and got hurt."

There was a 100% chance of Celestia blaming herself for that, too. All this because of her cutie mark, no less.

Twilight got quiet and still, just staring off into space while the strange black box floated in her magic. She inhaled deeply through her nostrils, then let it all out in a heavy sigh. She brought her hand up to her mouth and looked aside, just shaking her head in disbelief.

I couldn't blame her. Nothing we found was remotely 'helpful' to our common cause. Just records of humans being systemically callous beneath their benevolent facade. Records of ponies seeing no choice but to fight for their safety when all they had wanted was to serve dutifully in every way. There was no happy memory that wasn't undercut by lies and betrayal.

That was what killed me, honestly. It really did seem like the ponies were more or less content under the Masters, even as slaves for both sex and labor. Sure, they knew no other way of existing. Yes, becoming free and able to take on pursuits to advance ponykind's own destiny was a good thing that needed to happen. But at least outwardly, during the earliest days of Equestria, the ponies were... as happy as they could be. They were just helpful little magical creatures who just wanted to love and be loved and do whatever was needed of them.

Even Celestia taking control of the sun – that had just been her wanting to help with a complicated problem. And they fucking destroyed her for it. Out of fear.

And so, once the humans had been banished from Equestria forever, the First Ponies agreed never to speak of the humans again. And those that chose to remember could only see the betrayal, for good reason.

My dour mental recap was interrupted by Twilight letting go of the box, letting it clatter onto the slab, before putting her hands on her temples. "What are we doing here? Why did the Map send us here?"

"That's what I've been saying," I muttered, glancing down at the little box. Chances were good that it would respond if I touched it... but without a better clue of what it might do once activated, I opted not to go poking it randomly without everyone in the room being prepared.

"The Map's never let us down, even when it doesn't seem to make sense," Twi insisted. "But... I'm having so much trouble figuring out the logic here! If the point was to find something to help Celestia's friendship problem... why send us to a place filled with proof that she has every right to be angry and upset?!"

I shrugged. "To tell us that that isn't the 'solution?' That we can't magically make her happy with who she was and ignore all the pain that followed?"

"Then what is the solution?!" Twilight asked exasperatedly. She got up from her chair and stepped a few paces away in a huff. "You've... You've spent more time talking with her this week. What do YOU think it is?"

For a moment, I was concerned about keeping my analysis confidential. But if the Map had summoned Twilight here to help in response to Celestia's planned all-day 'session' tomorrow... then that was probably permission enough to fill her in. "The problem is, those memories aren't just hurtful. She's demonized her past self in every way. Convinced herself she's a... a race-traitor who would gladly go along with the Masters' abuses should they ever return. Even though that's not really..." I trailed off.

Twilight looked back at me with shock and pain in her eyes. "She... She really thinks that...?" she almost squeaked.

I shrugged and threw up my hands. "That's what I'm up against. So... I think that's the biggest obstacle to Celestia healing. She's put her past self in a concrete box and painted over it with a mental image of some kind of insane sex-demon. And we need to break through that if we're ever going to get present-Celestia and past-Celestia to have a dialogue."

The purple alicorn grimaced. "Which is why... having a long 'session' tomorrow without any other plan..."

"...would be extremely bad," I agreed. "It would just confirm her mental image of her past self." Which was why, even after that promising first session, she had immediately regretted it in the morning and had been backsliding ever since.

"So, do you have an idea?" Twilight asked somewhat desperately.

I closed my eyes and braced myself. "I'm thinking... regression... therapy...?"

"WWWHHHAAATTT?!"

"Yeah, saw that one comin'..."

"How are you– Can you even– On a mind like– HOW?!" Twilight looked about ready to tear out chunks of her mane.

With a bit of a smug smile, I glanced over at her and said, "I've been practicing hypnosis all week."

"You've been HYPNOTIZING PONIES?!?"

"Consenting. Ponies. Yes." I waved my hands a bit. "Turns out I'm real good at it!"

Twilight was in full freak-out mode. "You're going to take... our ruler's mind... and send it back 1300 years?! Through amateur hypnosis?!? On the first try?!?!"

I leaned back on the slab, my smile turning into an irritated frown. "Got a better idea? Y'know, I'm starting to appreciate the time pressure you must've felt with me. Just a little bit."

"That's not even remotely the same thing!"

"Oh, don't tell me you weren't ready to hypnotize me into being a 'model citizen' if that's what it came to. Tell me that wasn't on 'the list.'"

"I. Don't. Mind control. Anyone!!"

"No, just the one time."

Twilight was shocked. "How did you... rrRRAAAAHHHH!!"

Her horn charged up and fired a shockwave through the air. Mostly harmless, just rustling some papers and shoving against my chest. But it was enough to push me back a bit and make me fall on my back. My hand brushed against the black cube, which started to glow with teal light.

The Princess jumped as if startled, putting a hand at the base of her horn. "S-Sorry! I... I didn't mean to..."

I pushed myself up with a groan. "Eh, that's fair. Shouldn't have..." I was cut off by the hum of the device next to me, which began to float up off the slab.

The black cube was hovering a couple of feet off the surface of the table. It divided into a number of smaller black cubes, revolving robotically around a glowing 'eye' in the middle, shining a teal beam of light into the room.

"It's... It's a drone assistant..." I muttered in realization. At the sound of my voice, it turned towards me, shining its beam into my face, startling me. A brighter, wide beam shot out from the eyes and passed over my body, scanning me. The beam disappeared, and a negative-sounding chirp echoed out from the drone's core. Nothing else seemed to happen.

Twilight watched in awe. "Oh my goodness..."

The drone heard her and whipped around quickly, flying over until it was just a few feet away from her head. I got up now that it was out of my personal space, and watched as it scanned Twilight. The Princess stood still nervously, not sure what to make of this, but clearly hoping it was friendly.

There was an alarming chime from the core of the device, and its teal eye turned red. A chill spread through my veins.

"Aaah!" Twilight yelled as the alien drone flashed brightly, blasting her with some kind of magic beam. She was knocked back against the bookshelf, thankfully sturdy and empty, but with enough force to briefly disorient her.

The drone shot another, different beam into Twilight's midsection, encasing her body in a blue field that lifted her off the ground effortlessly. I saw her limbs strain to move, but she seemed frozen in place.

I got up off the slab. "Twi!" I approached behind the drone, but didn't know what to do.

The device started to hum at an oscillating frequency. Rings of energy that matched the waving tone flew through the stasis field towards Twilight. Her ears twitched and her movements started to slow. "No... Stop it...!" Her horn lit up. The drone beeped and shot an energy bolt at Twilight's horn, making her cry out and interrupting her spell.

I gasped and panicked. "Twilight!" I cried out again. I reached up to the floating mysterious machine and tried to wrap my hands around it. The edges of the little cubes floating around the core were smooth and almost sharp against my palms. I tried to put my fingers in the way of its beams, but somehow they just flowed around my fingers like water, no matter how much of my arm I tried to wave in front of it, bending like rubber. "Dammit!!"

"Pascal... I..." Twilight was starting to droop. Her mouth opened in a strangled yawn. Was this thing trying to put her to sleep?

Panic and rage filled me to the brim. I raised my hands, not sure what else to do, and prayed for a miracle. "You... listen to me!!" I thrust my hands forward.

Blue light glowed from my wrists to my fingertips, sending a blast of something splashing against the drone. The machine made a few almost confused-sounding chirps.

I couldn't believe it for a second. I nearly laughed in surprise. But I wasn't done yet.

Focusing as hard as I could, I shot my hands forward a second time, keeping my fingers clenched in a claw-like manner. "I said listen!!" Blue light shot forward again, this time in a constant beam that wrapped around the drone.

Twilight remained in its stasis field as the drone briefly looked towards me, scanning me once more and chirping in questioning tones.

I didn't understand a thing, but I didn't care. Keeping my glowing hands pointed at the thing, keeping it in the grip of my beam, I grit my teeth and said, "I'm human! So you're going to obey me! Even if we don't speak the same language!" I had a flash of inspiration. This was just a machine, right? Even if it was an advanced futuristic machine... After drawing my hands back for another blast, I shouted, "End process!!"

A fresh blast of blue light hit the drone, and it shook and shuddered where it hovered. The stasis beam keeping Twilight contained dissipated, just for a moment. The drone quickly turned around and reestablished it, catching the alicorn before she fell to the stone floor.

"No you don't!" I yelled. I drew my hands back again and thrust them forward with every command. "End process! Delete... all standing directives!!"

The stasis field disappeared again, and Twilight finally landed in a crumpled heap on the floor. The drone's glowing central eye blinked yellow and red rapidly, squawking a negative tone.

"No! I don't give a shit if I don't have the credentials! I'm the only human left in all of Equestria! There's no one else! So give... me... ADMIN!!"

My beam of light became a rushing gale, wrapping and squeezing around the drone and making it shudder rapidly. Its negative chirping quieted down, and its eye clicked between colors a few times before settling back on teal.

I hoped that was enough. "Good! Now..." I stepped towards the drone, keeping my glowing hands up. "Delete all standing directives! Delete all other user profiles! Full... factory... reset!" I was close enough to surround the drone with my hands. "Aaand... CONFIRM!" I clapped my hands hard around the drone, containing it entirely in my magic field for just a moment.

A second later, the drone sparked painfully against my hand and I dropped it. The black cube fell to the ground, now in one piece again, sparking in spurts. I kicked it away a little bit, and it seemed to stay where it was.

I fell to my hands and knees, breathing hard. A severe wave of exhaustion took all the energy out of my body. Whatever that was, I had just used a lot of mana to do it.

Across from me, Twilight was pushing herself up into a kneeling position, staring at me wide-eyed. "How... did you do that??" she asked incredulously, her eyes flicking between me and the disabled drone.

Man, hearing Twilight be genuinely amazed at me put such a fanboy smile on my face.

"Well," I grunted, "I figured it was a computer like back home. And even though it knew I wasn't a real Master, and I didn't speak its language... I figured it also spoke 'magic.' And 'magic' from a 'human'... might've been close enough."

Twilight shook her head. "Since when could you use magic like that?"

"Like that? Just now," I said with a chuckle. I slumped sideways and caught myself in a sitting position against the stone slab. "And boy did it take a lot outta me..."

Twilight rubbed her eyes and pulled herself towards me. "That thing tried to put me to sleep. Some kind of subdermal soundwave that mimicked sleeping brain activity..." She yawned as she pulled herself up beside me. "I don't know what it would've done next, but... nothing good." Twilight glanced over at the device, whose light had finally turned off entirely. In a sad voice, she said, "First thing it did when it saw a pony... was try to subdue it. I think that confirms your resistance theory."

I was too exhausted for more theorycrafting. "Wanna take like a... break? Like half an hour?"

Twilight nodded with an affirmative hum. "Sounds good...!"

I closed my eyes and let my body recover.

28 – Twilight Sparkle – Informality

I snorted awake and wiped my eyes. Twilight Sparkle was no longer beside me. "How long?" I asked.

The Princess was standing near one of the bookshelves, going over the catalog list and triple-checking every label with a dull expression on her face. She levitated a pocketwatch from her bag and looked at it. "About half an hour. Your internal clock is pretty accurate."

I performed a sarcastic fist-pump and pulled myself up to a half-sitting position at the edge of the slab. "Where's the drone?"

"The 'machine assistant?' I put it back in Starswirl's puzzle box. I left the letter to Clover the Clever out, but I'm fine not studying that thing for a while."

I nodded in agreement. Who knew if my little magic bullshit even worked the way I imagined? Would I even have enough mana to do it a second time if needed? Better to leave well enough alone for now. "Any interesting finds?"

Twilight frowned. "No. We're not any closer to figuring out why the Map sent us here."

I took a deep breath and stretched my arms. "Well... what have we learned, all in total?"

"That the Masters were not just supremely powerful arcanists, they possessed advanced technology as well," Twilight rambled as she went down the line of bookshelves making checks on her list. "That their leader looked irresponsible and lazy to his fellow humans. And that in the last days, humans and ponies were in open conflict."

It was all very significant, but also kind of a small list in retrospect. "That's... it?"

"Until we get a team of professional archaeologists and linguists to spend years studying this material... that's as much as you and I are going to get in a day's work, I think."

I pouted thoughtfully. "Maybe there's a thing there anyway? Maybe we can show Celestia that Chad was kind of a jerk to everybody, not just her...?"

Twilight paused and looked back at me with an unconvinced expression. "I don't think–..."

"No, you're right," I muttered in defeat. "It's not that she doesn't know he was a douche, it's that she blames herself for falling in love with him, for attending to his every desire out of loyalty and affection. When she was literally created to do that and didn't have a choice in the matter." I groaned up at the ceiling. "This is literally an abusive ex-boyfriend scenario."

The Princess finished with her checks and rolled up the parchment, setting it down on a nearby crate. Then she walked back over to the slab where I was sitting. "So the question is, how do people normally get over that?"

I threw up my hands. "Heck if I know. I'm not exactly a real psychologist." And I didn't have access to Google anymore.

Twilight passed her chair and sat up on the slab a short distance away from me, looking around at the vault we had just explored and catalogued. "You should probably invest in some education. I've got some books I can recommend that might help."

Part of me wanted to roll my eyes and go Sure, of COURSE Miss Twilight Sparkle has a book for everything, but on second thought... "Yeah, I think I'm gonna want to check those out, actually."

We sat there, not quite side-by-side, as an awkward silence settled between us. Both of us thinking, grasping at straws.

"So..." Twilight spoke up after a moment or two, "how... how are you manifesting magic all of a sudden?"

I raised my right hand in front of my face. I flexed it, and imagined that blue glow of my power... and a moment later, my hand gained a blue aura in front of my eyes, which surprised me. "...Well, this is more control of it than I've had all week," I began, "but, uh, it's been kinda growing in strength the more I've practiced with it. Especially when I use it for enchantment." I shook my hand, and the blue aura disappeared like an extinguished flame. "It's like... I have to use my hands in some way, describe something out loud, and my power kinda makes that happen."

Twilight was watching my hand too. She had a hand on the chin of her muzzle. "Verbal and somatic focuses rather than concentration and mental imaging... That's very, very interesting."

"I take it that's not how a pony does it?" I asked curiously.

"No, not since Starswirl the Bearded's time," she replied, sitting up a little straighter as she settled into that all-too-familiar 'lecture mode.' "Magic is in the mind, in the heart, in the spirit, and in the world all around us. The earliest wizards would make grand gestures with their hands and shout magic words to cast their spells. But it was just a way to focus and express the will within. As the study of magic progressed, it was discovered to be more efficient to train spellcasting as a mental art, rather than a performative one."

I glanced down at my hands again. "So you're saying... at some point, I'll be able to do this in my head?"

"Maybe. Your magic is... a little different overall. Which is surprising. When I cast that spell to give you that cosmic concept of normality, I understood it as putting pony magic inside of a magicless human."

"It was," I confirmed. "That pony magic tried to turn me into the most normal pony in existence."

Twilight's shoulders slumped when I said that. "I never really apologized for that, did I? For putting you in danger. I'm sorry; if I had known at the time..." She put her face in her hands and groaned, "Ugh, you actually told me it was resurging, didn't you? And I was concerned for all of two minutes."

It took me a moment to think back. When I had visited Twilight on the second day... Oh, right. "Well, I kinda distracted you with the whole... surgery request."

The Princess furrowed her brow and made a little whine from her throat. Her horn lit up, and a wave of blue washed down from her head to her feet. She shook her head and whined again. "Nnngh..."

"You alright?" I asked.

"I keep getting headaches," she muttered. "Really bad ones. They usually stop once I cast the immunity spell but... lately... it's not... going away..."

My mind flashed back to Moondancer last Saturday. This sounded really familiar. And that realization prompted another, much larger line of thinking.

"Hey, Twilight..."

"Ugh, yeah?"

I looked around, taking in where we were sitting. "Is it just me, or... did the Map call us to the most remote, secret location in all of Equestria? A secret vault hidden deep within the tallest mountain under everypony's noses..."

Twilight glared at me. "What are you implying?"

I realized a second later that she suspected I had sex on my mind. Which – okay, to be fair, I always did, but – wasn't exactly the case. I stood up to give her some space and started pacing. "I mean... this is a place where we can talk without anypony in the world listening. What's said here stays locked up here." I turned back to Twilight nervously. "Maybe the Map's friendship problem isn't Celestia... Maybe it's us."

Twilight didn't like the idea of that at all. She rolled her eyes and kept her hand on her temple. "But the Map went off after Celestia scheduled that all-day appointment."

A decent point, but... "Fact is, Twi..." I folded my arms and lowered my gaze slightly. "I can't fully help Celestia without you."

That shook her up. "M-Me...??"

"She is so worried about what she did to you. How she lied to you, stonewalled you, set you up for failure. All because of her own inability to confront this or tell anypony else. You're... important to her, and you know that." I looked away. "So I won't be able to convince her she's not a bad pony if... if you aren't there to say it. To forgive her."

Twilight digested that for a few silent moments, and then lowered her hands to her lap and took a breath.

I shrugged gently, nervously. "I need you on my team tomorrow. I think that's becoming more clear by the hour. But... we're not going to be able to do this if we're still at odds. I think that's why."

Twilight pinched the bridge of her muzzle and sighed. "Why the Map called us here?"

"More or less, that's the theory."

The purple alicorn looked completely tuned-out. "So, what are you going to do?" she asked flatly. "Hypnotize me? Convert me to your way of thinking?"

Spreading out my hands slowly, I replied, "I was thinking we could just taaalk...!" I had to resist the urge to add 'biiiiiitch' at the end.

She scoffed. "You're going to be my psychiatrist now?"

"Well, you're having headaches!" I pointed out a little forcefully. "Probably brought on by some kind of cognitive dissonance..."

"Oh, please."

"Look: Am. I. Wrong?" I let the question hang in the air for a few seconds. I took a couple of steps closer. "I know you don't want to talk about this. I know– I know it hurts."

"Don't... Don't– Just stop." Twilight stood up from the slab. "You can't be my psychiatrist... You're the person who caused the problems I'm having! Why should I open up to you?"

"In normal circumstances, I wouldn't!" I admitted out loud, gesturing around at the vault. "But even a psychiatrist would tell you that... that we'd need to have a dialogue at some point! So... no, I'm not going to give you therapy." I couldn't find my words for a second. "But... I'm willing to... to hear you out, help you through it. To take responsibility. I promised to do that." I pointed at her. "And you promised to give me a second chance. So I'm calling it in. Not indefinitely later, not a whole town away where you can ignore all this. Right here and now."

Twilight slumped and grumbled and glared at me for a few long seconds, balling her hands into fists. Then she put her hands over her face and groaned into her palms, then finally – finally – let out a weary exhale. She sat back down on the slab at an angle and folded her arms, keeping her eyes closed. She didn't say anything for even longer. Twilight just sat there, angrily thinking.

Weirdly, I considered this progress.

Eventually, she opened her eyes and glanced aside at me. "I'm scared," she admitted with a firmness in her voice. "Scared of becoming a different person every time I speak with you."

Talk about opening up... "That's not quite what my power does," I said as I went towards the chair.

"Y-Yes it is!" Twi insisted, slightly appalled at my response. "And I have first-hand experience! The restaurant, the surgery, the topless party...!"

I sat down and put my hands up defensively. "Y– N– Okay. You made decisions you wouldn't have otherwise made without my power. And to the extent that we're all the products of our decisions, yes, fine, I agree that you acted like a different person."

Twilight rolled her eyes and grimaced in an 'oh for fuck's sake' fashion. Fair enough; that sounded very weasel-y out loud.

"But – I mean, I explained this at the big meeting – that's not what my power does. It doesn't knock someone's personality out and remote-control them. It doesn't rewrite brains. It..." I gesticulated awkwardly in a spherical manner. "It alters the social context around a thing. Removes all the negative, improper stuff around what I'm saying and doing. So when your mind goes out, thinks outward to assess the situation, it doesn't get reminded of all that... that negative societal stuff, which opens up a lot more different decisions and rationalizations." I thought back to Rarity and Donut Joe and Hoity Toity and many others. "But outside of the societal things, if you have reservations or values deeply held in your own mind... especially if they relate to your cutie mark... they still apply."

The Princess waited for me to finish, then raised an eyebrow once I was done speaking. "There's one other thing, though, isn't there?" She leaned forward, folding her arms on her lap, beneath her bust, with a look of half-accusation and half-'gotcha' on her face. "It feels like a faux pas to say 'no' to you. Doesn't it?"

My mouth opened before I had any words to answer her. I had a habit of doing that when I was caught, I realized.

"Remember Applejack and Rarity? When they felt guilty for not being able to literally erase from their minds a thing that had just happened, because you asked them to??" Twilight yelled. "Sure, sure, you don't plant thoughts in ponies' heads! You just make it socially easy to say 'yes' and socially difficult to say 'no!'"

Holy shit. She had me there. And this was something I had already discovered and taken note of. But somehow, I had forgotten because... because...

"And I bet you forgot because everything's been hunky-dory for you."

"Fuck off," I muttered back. First of all, this week and the three days before it had been a fucking rollercoaster. Secondly: "I forgot because that's what my aura changes were supposed to try and start fixing. Y'know, the spells that nearly burnt through my vitality, back at the big meeting? No murder, no assault, no rape. Turning me down is perfectly acceptable."

"And like I said before," Twilight replied firmly, "it doesn't matter much when you can just turn all those privileges back on in private. And even putting that aside, that's just a few extreme scenarios! In every other one, for every other request, you've still got everypony bending over backwards to say, 'Yes, Pascal,' don't you!"

That... gave me a lot of pause. I had completely, utterly forgotten about the whole 'faux pas to say no' aspect of my Acceptance aura. The stick to complement the carrot. And in a way, she was right – I had forgotten because I hadn't really encountered it in a while, because I hadn't seen anything wrong in the ways regular ponies acquiesced to my odd requests. I had seen it before, I had put it out of my mind for the sake of survival, and I had failed to recall it once I had found safety and comfort at long last.

Now, almost a week after securing this power for good... it didn't feel right for that to still be a thing anymore.

Twilight was still lecturing me, but I looked down and placed my hand on my chest. A faint blue glow appeared where my palm and fingers touched my shirt. I took a breath. I swallowed.

"It is not socially unacceptable or shameful to say no to me." Immediately, I felt a pang of dizziness and... for lack of a better term, spiritual tearing. It was too close to the core of this power – I felt I had to mitigate it somehow. "M-My actions and requests are still normal and acceptable, it just... There can be good common-sense reasons to say no and it'll be just fine."

Twilight pulled back, watching me in shock and confusion. "P-Pascal...? You're doing it again...?!"

I looked down at my other shaking, glowing hand. "Except... if I will that social pressure to happen." That would keep it as a tool in my arsenal instead of cutting out the power entirely, and... I wondered if I might need it someday. I stood up from the chair, glowing hand still on my chest, and turned weakly towards the open vault door. I raised both of my hands and said, "This goes... for Derpy and Moondancer too!"

I reared back and thrust my hands forward, sending two blue trails of light out that flew through the vault doors and slipped through the narrow crevices of the cave wall on the other side.

"That's fuckin' cool," I whispered with a slight grin on my face. I fell to my knees and didn't really feel my face hit the floor.

A rush of tingling like electricity filled my body, and I woke up with a start.

I was laid upon the stone slab in the vault. A soft sheet had been laid out underneath me, and most of the books and documents had been moved to the shelves. There was only a book beneath my head like a pillow. Twilight was sitting next to me in the wooden chair, her horn cooling down from a spell cast moments ago. I asked, "How long this time?"

"About five minutes," Twilight mumbled. She sounded... tired. Kind of defeated.

"Oh. Surprised you didn't let me rot there for longer," I weakly joked.

Twilight sighed and glanced away. "I... gave you an infusion of some of my mana. It's based on a spell the other Princesses used on me before I faced Tirek." She sighed and looked back at me. "Why? Why'd you do that?"

"'Why'?? Because you made a good point! Because it was the right thing to do." I tried to sit up, but my body still felt drained and weak, so I just rolled a bit to my side. "Because it's not about the power," I muttered. "It's about how I'm making ponies feel. Even if someone's going along with my kinky shit, I... I want them to be genuinely happy doing it, I dunno. Not scared. Not... ashamed. Not hurt."

She sighed again and shook her head. "Then why even have this power? Why not just... let go?"

"Torches and pitchforks, Twi," I growled. "And because it's helping to keep Celestia sane. ...And because I can use it to tackle Equestria's systemic repression. To make Derpy feel better about herself." I took a breath. "Because this is where I've been pigeonholed."

"Pigeonholed?" Twilight echoed skeptically. "Into a sexual harem fantasy?"

I gave her a flat look. "If I'd landed in a version of Equestria with normal ponies, or anthros with regular proportions..." I waved my arm around at the room. "This is kinda the stuff I'd want to be doing. Adventuring, solving mysteries, going through tons of data to find patterns... This is who I wanted to be when I grew up, y'know?" I laid on my back and stared disappointedly up at the ceiling. "But because I landed in a world designed by an asshole who happens to have my exact fetishes... All I could be was the town pervert. And now, my highest calling is to be history's most useful pervert." I glared at her again briefly. "So get off my back a little."

Finally, Twilight didn't seem to have an immediate retort for that. She just looked away and down at the floor, sadly contemplating.

My feeling of minor victory didn't last. None of this bickering was solving the problem at hand. Twilight was scared of me and my power, and she was fighting something about our interactions that was giving her headaches. Those had to be connected, and it looked like it was up to me to broach the subject.

I sighed again. "Look, Twi..." I thought for a moment about how to begin. "The reason why I said what I said in the hayburger joint... I was freaking out."

Twilight looked at me, her expression attentive but forcefully neutral.

"I... I had been having the craziest morning that day. I had... accidentally exposed myself to Lyra and Bon Bon, which should've gotten me evicted, but nothing happened. I went out into town, and everypony just acted like I was just another citizen on just another regular day. Then I got caught staring at Pinkie Pie's chest, but she didn't get mad... She even shimmied her fucking shoulders at me. And then I went to the flower trio, who... not only agreed to live and let live, they said I could jack off in their garden whenever I needed."

The Princess's mouth fell open. "Wha-What?"

"Right?! So then I go over to the hayburger joint, and see if I can get a free meal. Turns out I can. Now I'm really freaking out. And then you arrive, and... and..."

"Why didn't you tell me then??" Twilight asked.

I felt guilty, but I sighed and said, "Because... of the night before. After all that danger..."

Even Twilight got it quickly. She closed her eyes and nodded. "...you got one moment of safety, and you were worried I... I would've taken it away."

"Would you?" I couldn't stop myself from asking.

"If I knew you were affecting everypony's minds? Yes. I would've fought back," she replied with little hesitation.

Well, that was depressingly expected. I looked back up at the ceiling. "So yeah. I didn't want to say it out loud, but I was still freaking out. I was kinda scared of how much corruptive power I potentially had. So... I figured if there was anything that could 'break the spell,' it... it was making a lewd request to my warden, Princess of Magic Twilight Sparkle." I looked directly at her. "And then you said 'okay,' and we were off to the races."

Twilight kept her eyes closed and took another long, deep breath through her nostrils. "So that's why?" she eventually asked.

"Yeah. It was a Hail Mary." As soon as the words left my mouth, they didn't feel true. "Well – okay, I knew what would happen if the pattern held. But I didn't do it out of revenge, or... anything like that. It was... panic."

Another long pause. "And the surgery?"

"I was worried about the resurgence. I had a dream the previous night where I woke up like a pony. It terrified me. After I had just met Derpy and... had an intimate moment with Lyra. I figured, if I might 'die' in my sleep the next day, I had to see if I could get a dick that could better please ponies. That's why I made the request. The rest... kinda spiraled out from there."

"The topless party?"

"Literally not my idea. I just explained to Pinkie that my staring was the reason I had been a pariah... and she was off like a shot. I didn't even see her again until that evening at Sugarcube Corner."

Twilight opened her eyes to half-lidded. "My parents?"

I half-glared back. "The Normal was trying to eat me alive where I stood. I needed a big distraction. I told the crowd I wanted a married couple, so that I wouldn't end up forcing two strangers together. Your parents were literally the first volunteers, and I didn't have enough time to go through the whole process again. Even at the time, all I could think was, 'Wow, Twilight's going to murder me, Normal or not.'"

That managed to get a weak chuckle out of her, at least. But her mood soured again and, after a long moment, she whispered, "...Celestia?"

I looked back at her solemnly. "I wanted answers. About humans. About everything I'd been through. I was owed that at the very least. And maybe, just maybe, she knew of some kind of third way out of the resurgence problem that didn't involve transforming into a pony or corrupting the entire world. Either way, my only way out was through her." I narrowed my eyes. "And she blocked me every step of the way. The only reason I went on a 'rampage' through Canterlot at all was because she sent her most loyal guards to delay me until sunset."

"Because she was afraid of you. Of what your mere presence would do to her, Normal or not," Twilight murmured.

"Yeah, well... She'd hidden the truth so thoroughly, I couldn't have known for sure until it was too late," I grumbled back. "Even then, before things turned for the worse, she nearly got me. Geas'd me for answers and then locked me in a bubble to... to– ugh." I couldn't even finish the sentence.

Twilight was silent for a very, very long time. I had run out of things to say, too, so I just laid there on the slab and looked around at the vault. With nothing else to make sound, it was very quiet.

When the Princess finally opened her mouth to speak after many moments of hesitation, her voice was much calmer and more vulnerable. "What I don't understand is..." She paused and raised her hands to her temples. "...why I went along with any of it. I should have said no. Or– Or fought back harder."

This felt like progress but on very delicate terms, so I waited for her to continue.

"Even if it works like you say, where it doesn't actually add thoughts... There's... nothing about myself that explains the way I did those things. The little decisions I made." She rubbed her head and squinted – it seemed like the headaches were returning. "I don't know, I just don't know. I'm not that kind of pony. I was a virgin for Celestia's sake! I was taught etiquette by the Princess herself! I idolized her and her example of chastity!" She shook her head over and over again. "I'm... I'm not the kind of pony that would do that. To just... do what I did, in that way."

I was beginning to understand. "But the evidence says you are. And that's where the cognitive dissonance..."

"I can't explain it," Twilight said with more finality, looking up at me with a tired, very tired look in her eyes. This was what she had been fighting, ever since she learned the truth. "I'm not that kind of pony, Pascal. Y-You've got to believe me..."

For her, it was literally easier to believe she had been totally mind-controlled, turned into a puppet, than to accept that she'd taken some perverted actions of her own.

At the restaurant, I had never specified that I wanted her to jack me off with a magicjob. (To be honest, for the record, I had been imagining a titfuck at the time.) I certainly hadn't asked her to taste-test my semen for study. When I'd asked her for penis-enhancing treatment, she didn't even seem to think about saying no, instead looking at all the obstacles in the way of getting it done. And although she'd had probably a couple hours' warning beforehand, she hadn't blinked at expanding her tits and letting me ogle them for an entire night, alongside all of her other topless friends. Not to mention everything that happened during and after that party.

Even though I bore responsibility for all of those actions, Twilight still had to have met me halfway somewhere, somehow. And there had to be a reason that she crossed that distance... so easily, frankly.

The more I thought about it, the more strange I realized it was.

Why the hell had Twilight motherfucking Sparkle, when asked to give the human an orgasm, just said 'Okay' and done it right there in the middle of the restaurant?

Ponies reacted to my powers in different ways. Some ponies raised logistical problems. Some ponies raised objections based on strong personal values. At the restaurant, Twilight – the last pony in Equestria to be okay with that kind of request – just said 'Okay' and gave me a magicjob right then and there.

No objections about being a Princess. No concerns about doing it in public, no requests to take it somewhere private. Just a smile and right to it. Like she was helping out a friend with any other task.

Now my head was starting to hurt. The answer was so close, I could almost feel the words climbing up my throat.

"Why... Why did you just say 'Okay'?" I asked finally.

"W-What?"

"I mean, what were you thinking at the time? The moment I said 'A fucking orgasm would be nice.'" Those had been my exact words, nothing more.

Twilight struggled to answer and gesticulated wildly. "Well– That's– That's just it! I didn't... think. I just– It just– Sorta– It just– It just made sense, somehow... I don't know." She hung her head. "It just made perfect sense for some stupid reason. 'Oh, Pascal needs an orgasm. Of course. It will help with his sexual tension, calm him down, break the ice...' At the time, it just..." She sighed. "It just seemed so simple. So obvious."

That was not quite the answer I was expecting. She gave me a magicjob because it 'made sense' to do so? For... admittedly helpful reasons?

"And– And the surgery!" she continued, sitting back in the chair, switching between waving her hands around and rubbing her head. "'Of course Pascal needs a better penis. He's probably feeling inadequate and if he's having sexual relations with others, it can only help.' And the topless party? 'Of course I should grow my breasts and go topless with my friends. Pinkie Pie's reasoning works as exposure therapy and she's got a powerful sixth sense for those kinds of things.'" She threw up her hands and slumped against the wooden chair. "And I have no idea why I thought like that. I've never thought like that. Ever. In my life."

I digested all of this new information for a few moments. "So... my power showed you a new side of yourself," I hedged aloud. "One that's... reeeaaally comfortable with all this."

Twilight took a deep inhale and nodded. "Yeah. And it kind of scares me. A lot."

I sat up slowly and rapped my knuckles against my forehead. What was the common element? It 'made sense,' it 'made sense,' it 'made sense'... The only way all those things would make sense is in some kind of casual sex world where–

Holy fucking shit.

The way I slapped my hands to the sides of my head slightly alarmed Twilight. "Wh-What now?!"

I couldn't answer at first. How could I? It should have been impossible. And yet...

"I think..." There was no way she was going to believe me. "...you..." But it had to be. "...you might have a fetish."

"WhhhhhhaaaaaaAAATTT?!" she yelped.

I was just as surprised as her, to be honest. "It's... kind of an obscure one. And, y'know, fetishes – they're not always a thing that is 'on' or 'off' or... even starts out perverse, for that matter. Sometimes it just arises from... a way of thinking. A deeper desire..."

"What in the world are you talking about?" Twilight asked. There was actually a bit of fear in her voice. "I-I already told you, I'm not that kind of pony."

I stared straight ahead, raising my hand to my chin. "I'm not calling you a pervert. But. You do have... a desire. Of some sort."

Twilight looked at me like I was crazy. "What desire? And how could you possibly...?"

I clapped my hands together and braced myself. I had one shot at this and I really hoped it was a bullseye.

"You... might have a desire... for..." I gesticulated a bit. "...'casualness.' 'Informality.' All the benefits of a sexual relationship without any of the trappings of courtship, of... any sort of formal agreement whatsoever."

Twilight stared at me, rubbed her eyes, and stared at me again like I had grown a second head. "What?!"

I shrugged sheepishly and soldiered on. "Most of the time it's talked about in a context of, like, alternate dimensions – an alternate universe where people have sex with friends and strangers as casually as talking about the weather! But in a more mundane sense, it's like... If you're up for it, and they're up for it, then you can just fuck, have a quickie, and then put your clothes back on and get on with your day, no strings attached. And no one else minds either."

The Princess stood up from her chair and gestured at me. "You mean... exactly what you can do?"

"Sooorrrt of. In my case, it's more called 'universal acceptance.' That's when everyone agrees to whatever you say, even if they wouldn't normally. And then, on the non-consensual end of the spectrum, there's 'free use'..."

"So now you're a walking encyclopedia of obscure fetishes?!"

I tilted my head and gave her a wry look. "Internet, man. It's a hell of a drug."

Twilight just groaned and walked a few steps away, pressing her knuckles into her forehead.

"But between 'our current status quo' and 'universal acceptance,' there's... for lack of a better term, 'extreme casualness.' Where, so long as consent is respected, anything goes! At any time! With anyone! At the drop of a hat!"

The alicorn turned around and pointed at herself. "And you're saying I want that."

"Well, why not? After all–" I couldn't believe this was the clincher. "–it lets you 'do boyfriend and girlfriend things without being boyfriend and girlfriend.'"

Twilight's eyes went wide, and she swayed like she'd been struck in the head. She cupped her hands around her eyes and stared at the floor, trembling. It had all just clicked in her mind, at last.

And it finally all made sense to me, too. The Normal had inadvertently revealed a side of Twilight even she had never known: The kind of person she was when sex was an acceptable activity. Turned out, she was the kind of pony who wished she could just fuck someone and not have it be anything but a pleasant diversion. A happy activity shared between friends. Not even 'friendship with benefits' – the obvious joke – because that required a kind of formal agreement. No, just being able to jack someone off at the drop of a hat, because it would help cheer them up real quick and that was a good enough reason... Pursuing penis enhancement because hey, why not? Growing huge and going topless with your friends because hey, why not? So long as it helps.

That was the mystery of Twilight Sparkle under the influence of the Normal.

Twilight herself... wasn't handling this well, if the periodic shaking of her head and murmuring under her breath was any indication. She was running out of ways to deny this part of herself. She was scared of it, didn't know what to do with it. But I needed her to accept it, preferably on her own terms.

"Twi?" I asked hesitantly.

The alicorn sniffled and glared up at me, lips pursed. But the anger quickly faded, and she looked down and to the side sullenly. "So that's it, then. I'm a... a... a pervert?"

I tried to shrug it off, though I was nervous still. We were balanced on a precipice here. "Not... really? I think the definition of a pervert is... well, if you've been masturbating to the same idea for years, addicted to it without ever experiencing it..." I coughed not-too-pointedly, trying and failing as always not to glance at Twilight's breasts and the line of buttons that withheld them. "For you, we can safely call it a 'kink'? Everybody has 'kinks' without being perverts about it."

Twilight looked up at me like she didn't believe me, and I was beginning to intuit why. That just wasn't how she was raised in Celestia's world. The standard was 'missionary position with your spouse with the lights turned out.' Everything else was considered getting freaky. And letting one's freak flag fly was practically rebellion, or at least counterculture.

"Look, it's..." I struggled to find the right words. "...it's really just a matter of how your brain is wired, y'know? It's not a judgment on you, it's an extension of... just who you are. What makes you you. And knowing that is not a bad thing!"

The purple unicorn tried to fix me with another glare, but it just came across as tired and sad. "Really?" she said flatly. "You, of all people, have never regretted the fetishes you're stuck with?"

...Fucking really?

"I never expected to end up in a world literally catered to them, and I never– Gaahhh. Even through all of that – all of that, Twilight! – I never– well, rarely beat myself up for having those fetishes. Even I understood that it was just how I was wired! How I grew up! And trying to act or pretend like they didn't exist wasn't the right way to handle it. That's why things turned out the way they did!!"

Twilight actually recoiled from that last statement and turned away, scooting her chair at an angle. She held her arms around her stomach and looked down at the ground, like the room was spinning around her. She was breathing a little heavier as well.

At this point, there wasn't much more I could say. The rest was up to the stability of Twilight's mind. "I know it goes against everything you've ever known," I said, laying back down on the slab. I still felt tired, even more so after having this argument for what felt like forever. "But what's healthier: Ignoring it, or accepting it and dealing with it?"

I swear, if that wasn't the theme of my whole time in Equestria thus far...

Twilight said nothing for a while. I laid my head back and waited. In my head, I feared the worst – Twilight would reject this idea and flee, and I'd be stuck with one less ally for my 'plan' tomorrow with Celestia. And the more I thought about it, the more I realized that I needed Twilight with me. I was drained after, what, three strong uses of magic? And I was planning on putting the most complex, ageless mind in Equestria under my ultra-special-hypnosis, to test a procedure no one's ever tried on her? Did I even have enough mana for that? But Twilight... She had more magical power than me. And she'd just demonstrated that she could share it with others... Maybe she was the pony that made this plan at all possible. That, and her connection with Celestia, if it could be repaired from its current state...

"Pascal?" Twilight asked weakly.

I sat up and looked over at her. "Yeah?"

The bookworm opened her mouth a few times and struggled to fill it with words. A thousand questions had to be running through her mind, and the more she failed, the more visibly frustrated she became.

"I-I still don't understand," she finally admitted. "Chalk it up to me... being a virgin, I guess... O-Outside of– of what we did."

In a way, that was unfortunate. That the option to ease into this on her own terms had been taken away from her... "You can ask me anything, Twi." I chuckled and said, "I'm not here to try and, like, tempt you to the dark side of sex or anything like that, haha. But, uh, I guess I have a fair bit more experience than you at this point, so... Y'know, feel free to let me fill in the blanks."

Twilight sighed. She stood up abruptly, and walked a few paces away from me. "I'm a Princess," she stated. "Before that, I was Celestia's student... and a unicorn who didn't have a lot of friends growing up. Or, at least, I never appreciated the ones I had. And now I'm the Princess of Friendship." She looked back at me over her shoulder, her tail swaying nervously in quick circles. "But you... You don't care about any of that."

I moved my legs over the edge of the slab and watched her. "Nah," I replied with a grimace. "Kinda resent it, really... I mean, I respect your responsibilities, but..." I leaned my head back and let out a heavy breath. "God, you can be so up your own ass about it sometimes."

Twilight let out a flat "Ha" and thought for a moment. "And you..." She gestured at me. "You're a human. Ripped from your homeworld. Stuck in a world that constantly arouses you. Now you have a power that lets you do anything you want, and you mostly use it for sex with your... stable of marefriends. You just don't want to feel like you're hurting anypony in the process."

Okay, a fair assessment, but where was this recap going? "Sure?"

"So..." The Princess turned around, looked at me for a few seconds, and then faltered in her confidence. "I mean, even then, there's still a bunch of stuff – you say I want 'informal' sex, but there's still a bunch of expectations and... and rules, and... all sorts of things to consider, right? There's no such thing as extremely casual sex!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Societally speaking, sure... But one, that kind of stuff doesn't really matter around me..."

"I don't want to think about that yet!" Twilight insisted rather suddenly.

I paused, then swallowed. "...Two... the only things that actually matter are consent and communication. As long as the partners agree on what they want to do in the bedroom – and I guess as long as it's not doing lasting damage – anything goes!" A little bit more quietly, I added, "I mean, surely that much isn't lost on you...?"

"I-I know that much," Twilight quietly replied, wringing her hands together with anxiety. "Just... aaagh. I can't!" She turned away quickly again. "Maybe I want it to be easy! Fine! But I don't want to be easy, you know?! I don't want to turn into a mare that will... that will just have sex with anypony!"

I was mildly confused and concerned. "You don't have to..."

Oh geez, this was the whole superstition about the slippery slope into becoming an insatiable slut again, huh? I'd seen shades of this back with Moondancer. Celestia's millennium of projection strikes again.

"Hold on," I asked, "am I just 'anypony?'"

"No... and yes," Twilight grumbled rather bewilderingly, putting a hand to her forehead. "You're... an alien from another planet. You're not a stallion like I'm... like I'm supposed to– mmgh." Saying it out loud seemed to sound ridiculous even to her.

After a moment's processing, I sort of got it.

She... felt kinda slutty for getting intimate with 'the alien,' not to mention 'the sworn enemy' of Celestia. A 'villain?' Getting tricked into it, at that? Might as well have sucked off Sombra, or stripped for Discord's amusement, or cuddled up with Nightmare Moon. Might as well have gotten railed by Tirek, or hypnotized into eating out Chrysalis disguised as her babysitter.

I was nearly on that level. And I'd gotten away from it. I'd violated the hero and all of her friends, all of her peers, without them being even cognizant of that. Sure, Twilight's other friends had chosen to mostly brush it off and come to terms with the new facets of themselves they'd uncovered... but Twilight had every right to instead take it pretty personally.

I put a hand to my head and sighed. Here I was, thinking that we were getting close, and it turned out these scars ran deeper than I imagined.

Maybe... Maybe we weren't going to get through them in a single day, no matter what the Map intended in sending us here.

Despite everything I did to get here, my big plan was going to be a flop.

After taking a moment to think and let out the longest groan of my life, I got up from the slab and gave Twilight an apologetic look. "Sorry."

Twilight glanced over her shoulder at me.

I wiped my hand down my face. I felt utterly defeated. "Sorry for pushing you." I hung my head and gestured limply. "I thought if... maybe I could help you realize that you... If I could help with that mental block and help you get over your hangups about sex, that would build a bridge towards helping you face Celestia and reconcile." I wiped my face with both hands and groaned. "And I thought – hoped – that we'd have this 'eureka' moment and..."

"And rekindle our sexual relationship?" Twilight asked evenly, raising an eyebrow.

I shrugged and let my arms bounce limply against my legs. "Yeah, best case scenario, I guess..." I sighed and lowered my gaze to the ground. "But you're right. It goes deeper than that. I put you in an altered state and made you sleep with someone you didn't want to after the fact. Someone who came this close to being a villain and conquering the world. Someone..." I swallowed. "...whose flaws and weaknesses you knew very well. Who you knew wasn't going to be his best self after everything he'd been through."

The purple Princess let out a long sigh of her own.

"So yeah," I said pathetically. "That's... shitty. That's real fucked up, what I did to you. And no amount of fast-talking and philosophizing is really going to undo those scars, not this soon. I just... I just wanted to..." I sat back down on the slab. "...get rid of the headache, help with Celestia, I don't know..." I put my head in my hands and groaned. "But I'm done. I'm done pushing you. I'm sorry, for everything."

The longest silence yet fell between us. Twilight took a few deep breaths, making pushing-out gestures from her chest with her hand. She looked up at the mural behind me, and around at the room full of books.

I just sat there, wondering what the hell I was going to do about Celestia now.

I didn't notice Twilight's movements until she was right next to me, sitting down at my side. Not even at arm's length, either – rather close, within side-hugging range. She didn't say anything for almost another minute, and we simply sat together. I was very nervous, but Twilight was just staring off into space.

"Headache's not as bad anymore," she said out of nowhere.

I wasn't sure of the best way to parse that at first.

She glanced at me, a vaguely disappointed but thoughtful expression on her face. "My hangups about sex have gotten between me and Celestia?" She nodded. "Yeah... I'd say so. That's probably the most true thing you've said all day. But it's more than that. She was my role model. She was purity, chastity, perfection..." Twilight paused, sniffled, and continued. "And now I'm realizing, not only is that image broken, it was just propaganda she projected onto everypony, including me. I never saw the real her, but I loved the fake her."

There was a lull, and I thought it wise not to speak or comment. This was Twilight's moment.

"It's never been a fetish, more of an idle thought," she said quietly, her eyes not focusing on anything, smiling softly. "There have been times where I'd get tea with Rarity when she's stressed about a project or see Celestia's facade crack a little. Every so often I'd catch myself thinking something like, 'I wish I could crawl under the table and relieve some of their stress.' And I'd feel super guilty for a minute, then forget about it."

So I was right? Sort of?

"Is that my 'fetish'? No... I don't think so. More like an idle wish from a lonely heart." There was a sad smile on her face as she said that. "But as an argument for why my mind responded the way it did when you manipulated me, intentionally or not... I suppose it holds water."

I gently shrugged with my hands. The mood felt like if I moved too much or made too much noise, I'd break this delicate train of thought and destroy all this progress.

Twilight sighed, leaned back a bit, and looked behind us at the broken stained-glass mural of faceless 'Chad.' "I hate this world he made," she muttered. She looked down at her own breasts, nearly the size of her own head. "I hate being 'beautiful' and 'sexy' the way he wants us to be." Twilight's eyes darted over to me. "The way you want me to be."

Still keeping my mouth clamped shut, I nodded.

She faced forward again, this time with a slight air of approaching finality. "Which I guess brings us to the central question, doesn't it? Do we yearn for the days we pretended to be normal, happy, chaste ponies... or do we face our hypersexuality head-on and find a way to live with it?"

I nodded slightly more vigorously. Yes, that was indeed the question at the heart of... everything.

Twilight thought about that question for all of five seconds after answering it. "I can't hide anymore," she decided gently, clasping her hands together. "Celestia is the light of my world. I need her – the real her." She fixed me with a searching, piercing look. "Six nights ago, up in that tower... Were you really going to do it? Were you prepared to sacrifice yourself for her, for everypony?"

It was a tough memory to go back to, but I closed my eyes and nodded repeatedly. "Yes." My voice was a little raspy from the heavy weight in my heart. "I had stopped fighting. My skin was turning blue right before my eyes. I felt my... 'self' shrinking away into nothing. I'm only here... because Celestia spared me."

Twilight took a short breath and nodded slowly to herself. "Okay."

Miracle of miracles, it sounded like she finally believed me.

My hands started glowing and fading, over and over in rapid succession. A blinking light shone beneath Twilight's skirt at her hips. Both of us looked bewildered for a moment, before the obvious explanation reached both of our minds.

As the glows faded, we looked at each other. In mild wonderment, I said, "The friendship problem... It was us the whole time."

Twilight nodded with a wry expression. "Yeah. We needed to hash this out."

Her cutie marks and my hands, after a short pause, started to blink all over again. I felt a little confused. "Uh..."

The Princess's horn lit up, and a ray of light from the tip cast across the floor, showing a holographic projection of the magical round table back in Ponyville. There was new activity over Canterlot. Not just a random spot on the mountain, but directly above the royal palace itself.

My little 'orb' was there in the Map projection. So was Twilight's six-pointed star. And Luna's dark cloud and crescent moon. And Cadance's crystal heart. And Derpy's bubbles? All five of them orbiting around Celestia's sun in the center.

Twilight dismissed the projection and looked at me seriously. "Looks like the Map's calling us to the real mission."

I wrung my hands a bit. "Yeah... Who knows if we're ready."

The alicorn stood up and walked a few paces forward. "So. If I'm going to be involved in this all day tomorrow... I'll have to be prepared. Prepared to see my mentor... naked." She glanced back at me. "And you... naked. And myself, being naked around all of you, and her, probably."

"Probably...?" I agreed tentatively. This was an odd set of sentences coming from her out of the blue.

Twilight fixed me with a determined, even slightly eager expression, which worried me for some reason.

"Then I guess... it's time for me to get over my hangups. On my terms."

After we closed the vault door, Twilight took me by surprise by teleporting us both back to my suite in Canterlot's royal palace. I landed on my butt on the bed from a three-foot drop.

To my further surprise, my marefriend Derpy was seated at the edge of the bed, nearly launched off by my bounce. "Wahh! Pasky?? TWILIGHT?!"

"Oh good, you're here too!" Twilight exclaimed eagerly, clapping her hands together.

While I shook off the tingling feeling, Derpy rushed to my side where I lay. "Pascal! Are you okay? I saw this blue ball of light fly into my body and I was worried that, that, well...!"

"It's okay!" I insisted, still not quite feeling stable yet. "I just... modified the aura one more time."

"Again?? Pascal...!" Derpy whined. She had every right to be concerned after last time.

"Just taking care of the whole 'faux pas' thing." I paused. "Wait... aren't you supposed to be in Ponyville, working? Why are you here in Canterlot?"

Derpy held up a royal scroll, with a sun-shaped seal already broken. "Celestia... requested my presence here tomorrow. I've got the weekend off!" She unrolled the scroll and showed it to me. "Said she wanted me to 'represent the common pony' in a 'very personal matter.' I think I know what that means, but I'm not sure why!"

Neither did I. I'd asked her to invite ponies she loved and felt loved by... which, in retrospect, probably included all the ponies she felt a duty towards in her royal responsibilities. Still, it felt like she was taking an opportunity to torture herself with those she had wronged with her projection.

"Ah," Twilight said, "that explains why her cutie mark was on the Map!" She looked... almost giddy! I was very, very afraid.

"Yeah! I was just about to... ask about that..." Derpy glanced over at the alicorn, then back at me. "Pasky... what's going on?"

I looked at her and slowly raised my shoulders in a shrug. "Um... Warmup threesome with the Princess?"

Derpy's mismatched eyes lit up.

29 – Twilight Sparkle – Actualization

Author's Note

Warning: Some magical strap-on / futa-adjacent content.

29 – Twilight Sparkle – Actualization

I took a deep breath and rubbed my temple. "You want to what me up? Why?"

Twilight threw up her hands in exasperation, an aggravated smile on her face. "You got me! You 'got' me, Pascal. Here I am, with no other choice but to get used to regularly seeing your stupid, cheating human penis again." (What a fucking combination of words.) "But if I'm going to do that... I need some time 'alone' with it. With none of your... comments or suggestions or reactions. I don't want you to even gesture at me, okay?? So..." Twilight cast a spell with her horn, and two length of violet silk rope appeared by her head, floating almost eagerly beside her. "...I want to tie you up."

"Ooooooh," Derpy cooed, not helping.

Another flash, and two more lengths of slightly thicker fabric joined the ropes. "And blind and mute you, if that's alright," Twilight said matter-of-factly. "I don't want to even notice where your eyes are lingering."

I let out a long, groaning sigh and took note of Twilight's expression. She was quite serious. And I didn't blame her. Everything about me and this situation had forced her to become paranoid to the max, and to keep working with me despite that. If it were me in her shoes, I might want something along the same vein.

Still, there were a couple shreds of dignity left to protect. So I had to tease her a bit. "Is that all? Some light bondage?" I asked with a slight lilt to my tone. "Do you want to roleplay as well? Pretend I'm a captured villain that you're going to teach some lessons; force me to take my own medicine?"

Twilight's eyes went super wide at that – just the most adorable sight – and she hugged her lengths of rope and fabric to her chest protectively. "What– No!! I'm not like that!"

"C'mon, Twi, we just went over this..." I chided her with a shit-eating grin on my face.

Just as Twilight's expression turned into a snarl, about to go red and chew me out again... Derpy came in from the side and wrapped her arms around Twilight's shoulders, giving her a gray-boob-smothering hug. She nuzzled her smiling blonde head into Twilight's neck and said, "That's okay... We all have our stuff."

The building rage was short-circuited and became awkward confusion. "Uh... Ditsy...? Thanks, but..."

Suddenly, Derpy asked, "How long has it been since you, y'know?"

Twilight's eyes went super-wide again and, as an added bonus, her pupils darted to each side unconvincingly. "Uhhh... Whaaat are you talking about?" She put on a bashful, full-toothed smile – classic adorkable Twilight.

Derpy lifted her head and moved around to Twilight's back, rubbing the alicorn's shoulders. "I was just thinking... Learning about all this, having your mind blown the way it was... I wonder if it's enough to make a pony go cold turkey for a few days. It'd be too awkward to even masturbate, right?"

Even I was raising an eyebrow at this. Twilight was growing more stiff by the second, and her grip on her improvised bondage tools tightened. "I... Y'know, that's none of your business!" she said unconvincingly.

"I'm sorry," Derpy apologized sincerely, still touching and hugging the nervous alicorn intimately, burying her face into Twilight's mane as her breasts squished against those wings. "It's just... I know that, especially now that I have a special somepony, I usually try to get at least one in a day. So being too embarrassed to do even that before bed, while being surrounded by the topic of sex, especially sexual enslavement, all the time... Must be torture."

"Wh-What are you saying?" Twilight groaned, squirming a bit in Derpy's grip. She glared at me briefly, like this was my fault somehow. I shrugged.

"I'm saying, no one's ever really asked you about your needs, have they?" Derpy said softly, running her hands up and down Twilight's arms. "So, y'know, whatever you need... Pasky and I will be happy to provide, okay? Can't go facing the mother of all friendship problems with an unsatisfied libido."

Surprise of surprises, that logic actually gave Twilight pause. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.

Was my marefriend Derpy... seducing Twilight fucking Sparkle?

"I... Y'know..." Twilight put her hands on one of Derpy's, to lift it off.. but then it stayed where it was. She let out a long sigh of releasing stress. "No one's really–... I've never really thought about that." With a bit of a thousand-yard stare at the wall, she muttered, "Maybe I do need to 'clear my head'..."

"Great!" Derpy shouted with a sudden uptick of exuberance, startling us both. She peeked her head around Twilight's shoulder and pointed at me. "Then let's tie Pasky up!"

"Oh for fuck's sake..." I cursed under my breath.

My wrists were bound to the upper bedposts, not super tightly but with only a couple inches or so of give. I was also blindfolded with a black cloth and gagged with a bandanna over my mouth. Other than that, I was utterly nude on the bed.

We had thankfully laid down a few ground rules before starting. No pain, no torture, no spanking, no pegging, no going full dominatrix. Since I wasn't going to speak, my safety signal was two tugs on each of the ropes – left left, right right, repeating. They'd ungag me and listen to what I had to say, whether that meant a full stop or just a correction.

We'd played a bit with handcuffs before with Trixie, but this was probably our first time doing some real bondage shit. I trusted Derpy with my life, but Twilight had issues to work out and that made me nervous.

Still, there was something really enticing about not being able to see, helpless and at these sexy mares' mercy.

I kept my legs spread and let my sausage lay out lazily in the middle, slowly engorging from sheer anticipation. The room was soundproofed and very quiet when Twilight and Derpy weren't making a sound, which only made my heart race a little faster.

With my sight blocked, I focused more on my hearing. I heard sounds of fabric being pinched and manipulated a few times. Then more fabric being pushed to the ground. I guessed it was Twilight unbuttoning her blouse and pushing down her skirt. I wished I could see it, but Twilight was probably very happy I couldn't.

"I bet you'd love to see this right now, wouldn't you?" Twilight muttered somewhere at the foot of the bed. I heard a metal click. "Me taking off my bra..."

...Dammit, Twilight.

I heard a giggle from beside her, Derpy no doubt. "Yep, that made him twitch."

A low throaty grunt from Twilight. "...Hmm? Is it... a little bigger?"

"Yeah, I think Moondancer gave it another inch. Evened out the thickness."

"...Why?"

"I wasn't there, but apparently the upgrade from Photo Finish was really not ideal. I like it no matter what size it is. Though if this next session with Celestia is getting serious, it may be time to go full stallion-sized... Sorry, Pasky, I know you were hesitant about that."

I couldn't really shrug, but I spread my hands out wide. At this point, I was coming around to the idea. If an all-day romp with a potentially sex-crazed Princess wasn't the right time to upgrade, when was?

There was a depression at the end of the bed. "That's kind of the thing," Twilight said, her voice closer to me now. She must have knelt one knee on the mattress, peering down at my half-chubbed dick. "It's not even the smallest size an adult stallion usually is. And even that – that has been an unexplained statistical anomaly for centuries, until now, because what should be a normal bell curve distribution just drops at the first negative standard deviation..." A shift of hair whipping around as Twilight shook her head. "Sorry, got sidetracked. But still. All this craziness... for a relatively small penis."

"Hey!" Derpy put her hands down on the bed as she leaned beside Twilight. "He can't help being average for his world, just like we can't help being big!"

"I was just... pointing out the absurdity," Twilight mumbled. "Thanks to the Masters, it doesn't matter what size his dick is. Everypony wants it."

"Okay, yeah," Derpy admitted.

My attempt at a boner was quickly going down at this analytical, mildly humiliating discussion. But then again, this was our first real time with Twilight, so I couldn't say I was surprised.

Twilight noticed and let out a sigh. "Aaand it's soft again."

Derpy giggled. "I wonder why."

Another shake of the head. "That's just it. I can feel these sort of... natural urges because of that shape, and the scent coming off it, the pheromones... But if this were just any other penis... I don't know if I could say I'd be at all excited about it."

"Oooh, bit of a size queen, eh?" A shifting on the bed that implied... maybe some elbow nudging.

I could only assume Twilight was glaring back. "Absolutely not."

"How big's the dildo you got at home, princess?"

"DITSY!"

I chuckled beneath the bandanna.

"Now now, c'mere." Derpy's considerable weight added to the depression at the end of the bed, and I heard naked flesh sliding against naked flesh. Probably another hug. "I'm not judging. Teasing, maybe. But we're all about honest answers and your needs, okay? So I'll just ask one more time: Do you kinda prefer bigger cocks?"

A bit of stammering. "I'm... still a virgin, technically."

"In your fantasies, then?"

A long moment of silence.

"...yes."

"Theeere we go!" Derpy cooed. "And here you are, with a male who can't do anything to stop you, who can not only change, who would not only secretly enjoy being absolutely huge–"

Uh, Derpy?

"–but who you could change permanently, leaving him with a, like, five foot boner to deal with all day!" The pegasus burst into laughter towards the end of that sentence.

Despite herself, Twilight giggled a little bit too. "Yeah... I'm sure he's thinking, 'Oh no, don't throw me in that briar patch!'"

"Uh-huh, definitely."

Whose side are you fucking on, Derpy?!

Twilight fell quiet as I almost felt her stare upon me and my dick. A strained whine escaped from her throat, through gritted teeth I assumed. "Ehhhh... But..."

"Uh-huh...?" Derpy cooed with a teasing, questioning lilt in her tone.

"It's just..."

"It's okay, Twilight." I heard hands caressing skin. "Say whatever you need to say."

Twilight's weight fell back, her forward lean shifting to just one knee at the edge of the bed. She let out a sigh. "I... I don't know. I don't know if..."

"If you're ready?" Derpy asked, her teasing tone swapped out immediately for a comforting one.

"If I want this. I-I'm ready for sex, generally, I mean I'm really worked up beyond belief, you were right, but... Not with..."

"Not with Pascal...?"

"Not with... stallions."

My blood froze. It felt like time had stopped in that room.

After a long moment, Twilight started to babble, "I mean, I don't know – I've been thinking a lot about why I did what I did and– and how obsessed I got with his semen before we knew it was addictive. And I'm thinking right now that I really do like, y'know, sexually, cocks, er, penises and semen, er, cum, whatever – but... I don't know if..."

Derpy let her trail off, and then I heard a few pats. "If you're attracted to stallions?"

There was an audible gulp. "I-I mean..." There was a moment, and then the sound of her hand bouncing against her hip. "If that were attached to a mare, maybe...?" I assumed she had just gestured at my dick.

My brain rebooted.

Whatever orientation Twilight might have naturally been before, there was no escaping the high probability that my bullshit had kinda ruined stallions for her.

I was now, officially, the kind of guy who could could legitimately say 'My ex is now a lesbian.'

Fuck.

I tugged on the ropes binding my wrists – two tugs left, two tugs right, over and over. I felt Twilight's magic wash over me. The bonds were released, and the blindfold and mouth-covering removed.

I rubbed my wrists and looked up at the two mares standing by the edge of the bed. They were both nude, but the situation at the moment didn't feel particularly sexy. As much as it was nice to finally see Twilight's purple breasts uncovered once again, and as much as I couldn't really resist giving them a few nice, long, admiring looks, there was an important conversation to be had.

"Twilight..." I began, shaking my head in slight disbelief at what I was about to say. "If you're not attracted to stallions because of me... I can accept that."

Twilight's eyes lowered and she glanced off to the side, but nodded.

I threw up my hands a bit and chuckled. "I mean, my ego's going to be beneath the mantle of the earth for a few weeks–" That managed to get a chuckle out of the princess, thankfully. "–but, honestly, that doesn't matter. If me being male doesn't do anything for you or it turns you off, then we shouldn't force it and that's that."

Derpy nodded with an 'mmhmm.' She gently continued to rub Twilight's back, between those folded purple wings.

"Sorry," Twilight murmured quietly, staring at the corner of the bed. "I didn't realize it until... right this second. Not until I was literally staring at your penis for an extended period of time," she muttered with a wry chuckle.

I shrugged. "That's kinda how it happens."

Derpy guided her down to sit at the edge of the bed. I scooted forward and sat on the other side of my marefriend, putting Derpy in the middle between us. Continuing to gently rub Twilight's back, Derpy asked, "So, those rumors about that stallion guard you had a crush on...?"

Twilight visibly blushed, which was cute as heck. "Well... I've had crushes on stallions too. But... that whole situation was very weird, very... hormonally weird. And I think there's a part of me that... for lack of a better word, 'expected' to marry a stallion someday? Especially after becoming a Princess – it just seemed right that there might be a Prince in my future? I don't know. I never really thought about it until now. But, ah, in terms of... being attracted to the ponies in my life... I've definitely fantasized about more mares than stallions..."

"Mares with dicks, maybe?" Derpy teased.

The alicorn's blush didn't recede, but she nodded, staring straight ahead at the carpet. "Maybe. I think that's where my sexuality lies."

"Either way," I summarized, "not really interested in pure males right now. Not after my bullshit."

Twilight tossed up her hands with a confused sigh. "It's not like I hate all stallions now... It's just that... No offense, but you don't really do anything for me, besides the built-in reaction to your human dick."

"No offense taken." And that was almost the truth.

The Princess groaned and put her head in her hands. "I'm so sorry," she mumbled into her palms. "We had this whole thing going and I just had to... screw it up..."

"Hey, hey, don't you worry about that," Derpy soothed her, reaching aside to hug her close, their bare, abundant chests rubbing side-by-side in the process. "We'd feel awful if we forced you to do something you didn't enjoy. That's why Pascal's doing all this, right? Because he feels awful about the stuff he made you do that you didn't like after the fact."

Pretty much. "The important thing is not that you and I fuck," I said bluntly. "It's that you're prepared, sexually, for the challenge that lies ahead with Celestia. And even generally–"

"Helping you understand your own sexuality," Derpy finished for me. "That's important." I nodded in agreement.

Twilight sighed and lowered her hands, gently nodding back at us. "I know. It just feels like, though that whole thing in the vault, we were headed for a... certain inevitable conclusion."

I pursed my lips. "I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to– how'd you put it? 'Rekindle our sexual relationship'? But fuck that. I'm happy for ya."

"Really??" Twilight said, leaning over to look at me with not a small amount of incredulity in her eyes. "After all this? You're just going to let me go?"

I grinned back and shrugged. "I never had ya. Not legitimately. I thought that's what we agreed."

Derpy smirked and leaned against my side. "And, y'know, he's already got mares to take care of his needs...!" I chuckled at that and rubbed her shoulder.

Twilight stared at us for a few moments, then scoffed with a smile and shook her head. "You two are... something else."

"'Bout time you realized it," I quipped.

We all sighed and stared out at the quiet room, letting this new revelation process in our minds. Then Derpy asked, "So what are we going to do now?"

"What do you mean, exactly?" I asked back.

"Well... can we still have a threesome?"

Twilight raised her eyebrow at Derpy.

I gestured at the bed. "I don't think I'm getting tied up again."

Derpy put a finger on her chin. "Wellllllll..."

A few minutes later, it was the pegasus who was bound by her wrists, blindfolded, and gagged with the bandanna wrapped tightly against her mouth. Twilight and I stood at the end of the bed, still nude and looking down at her curvy, chubby, busty body. Derpy's legs were already squirming with anticipation and enjoyment.

Twilight let out a breath and looked at me. "This is okay."

"Hm?"

She glanced down at my hanging junk and then back up at my eyes. "I don't want to have sex with you, not really. Maybe not for a very long time. But... I wouldn't mind having sex alongside you, if that makes sense."

It felt like a weight lifted from, well, everywhere from my chest to my eyes. Everything just brightened up. "Really?" I asked with a smile.

Twilight gently smiled back. "Yeah. And if that's what we need to do with Celestia, when the time comes... then I think I... I'll be okay." She glanced over at Derpy, and I saw a bit of hunger in her eyes. "Especially if... mm... I get a chance to unwind a bit."

I swept my arms towards Derpy in a butler-y fashion. "You're still the guest of honor."

The naked princess continued to stare at Derpy's restrained body for a few more moments, then imperceptibly nodded to herself. She crawled across the bed, and I watched as she sidled up along Derpy's right side, placing her head near one of Derpy's full, sloshing breasts. "These are the real mystery. These are the breasts that finally tamed you... I wonder what makes them so special..."

I grinned and climbed along the other side of my pegasus marefriend. "I don't know. In a world that's full of wonderfully stacked mares, hers have this je ne sais quoi."

Derpy squirmed a bit under our attentions, her ears flattening and her cheeks reddening with a mix of embarrassment and arousal. Perfect.

Twilight brazenly lifted her head and latched her lips onto Derpy's left nipple, then brought her hands up to cup the top and bottom of it to hold it steady as she sucked hard on the fat, sensitive nub. The gray mare's whole body tensed and she moaned into the bandanna. Her legs pulled up and her thick thighs squeezed together to temporarily hide the moistening of her puffy folds. I took no small amount of pleasure in seeing my marefriend writhe under the attentions of another mare.

Knowing it would drive her wild, I wasted no time in suckling on Derpy's other breast, smooshing my face deep into that soft mammary before pulling back and tugging, stretching out her breast. I treated her milky tit just a little bit roughly, making sure every inch of it was stimulated.

"Mmmm–! Mmmmhh...!" The pegasus's muffled cries were music to my ears.

Twilight let out a squeak and pulled back as a squirt of milk stained her lips. "Oh," was all she said for a moment. Had she forgotten that Derpy was lactating? She licked her lips and, following her instincts, leaned in to lap up the trickle that was trailing down the curve of Derpy's underboob. "This..." she said between licks, "probably explains a lot."

I paused for a moment and gave Twilight a half-lidded look. Really? I knew what she was thinking: Some Freudian theory where Derpy was the motherly figure of guidance I needed at my lowest moment, complete with breastfeeding. And it wasn't likely to be incorrect. But really?

Then again, I was the one going on this mental tangent when she hadn't elaborated on it. Easily distracted as usual; that's our Pascal!

I resumed my efforts upon Derpy's breast, and less then a minute later was rewarded. Derpy arched her back and her nipple grew rock-hard for a moment before an intense spray of milk burst into my mouth. I gulped it down readily. Twilight struggled a bit with hers, ending up drenched on her chin and neck. Derpy's whimpers of boobgasm pleasure and her heavy breaths were muffled by the bandanna, but the way her legs twitched and slowly relaxed told me that it had been a pretty good one. Seems she very much liked having two people suck on her teats.

Twilight magicked one of the many enchanted towels over and wiped down the excess milk on her chest. She stared at Derpy's breasts thoughtfully, almost intensely. "...It's incredible; I just kind of want to go back for more."

Gulping down the last mouthful of milk, I rolled onto my back and chuckled. "Exactly. They're amazing."

"But..." Twilight got up onto her knees and stroked between her thighs. There was a few moments of hesitation as she rubbed herself right in front of us, but the more she did it the more she seemed to relax. "I think it's time I had one of those... or a few." 'Those' meaning... orgasms? She licked her lips again, her eyes scanning up and down Derpy's body. Seemed she was done with the foreplay.

Her horn glowed and her hand sculpted a glow in front of her crotch. A pinkish cloud began to coalesce into, well, a rather predictable shape. I asked, "Giving yourself a, uh...?"

"Not quite," Twilight responded. The magical field formed a simple but imposing phallic shape about 16 inches long that covered over Twilight's pussy. It was more of a magical strap-on than a full-on gender change. She said, "This will give me some of the feeling, and it's a bit less complex than a complete... you know."

"Yeah." I glanced down at Derpy's pussy, then up at her heaving breasts. "Well, if you take that, then I might take..."

"...Sure." Twilight positioned herself at the edge of the bed and knelt between Derpy's legs, using her magic to spread the pegasus's thighs apart. As I got up next to Derpy, I could feel her shake with excitement. Twilight rested her magical phallus atop Derpy's mons, running it back and forth and hissing at the sensations. I had to remember that this was probably a first for the poor alicorn in a lot of ways. But now she had a chance to let loose and explore herself.

I straddled Derpy's belly and rested my cock between her breasts, all to myself. As Twilight positioned herself for penetration, it was a little crowded, but I wasn't sure what Twilight thought of the view of my back and buttocks, but she didn't seem to have any objections. I started out my titfuck gently, rocking forward and squeezing her breasts gradually.

Behind me, Twilight let out another hiss as the tip of her magic dildo pressed against Derpy's lower lips. Though I could only see a fraction of my marefriend's face, she moaned and shook in such a way that suggested to me that she was desperate in anticipation.

Twilight spread open Derpy's pussy and eased her way in, letting out one long moan as the first several inches sank in and were squeezed by the pegasus's inner walls. Derpy's muffled cries joined hers and her legs tensed and squirmed in the grip of Twilight's magic. Her nipples spewed a short spurt of milk across my fingers, as if she'd had a mini-orgasm just from having her breasts and pussy fucked at the same time.

Weirdly enough, as Twilight kept pushing forward, I could feel her phallus bulge out Derpy's stomach beneath me. The norm for cocks in this world were huge, after all, and even with the minimum Twilight had gone with, the impossibility of it all still struck me every now and then.

Eventually, Twilight was deep enough that her body inevitably pressed up against mine. I felt her breasts graze my back, and we both froze for a moment. A few seconds passed. Then, she continued, not stopping until her magic completely filled and stretched out Derpy's pussy and womb. Those purple breasts squished against my back, and her arms actually wrapped around my midsection. I wondered why, until she pulled her hips back and drove that magical phallus into Derpy in short, heated strokes, using me for support. I was a little confused but not exactly complaining.

I tried to focus on my task, squeezing Derpy's breasts greedily around my cock, but in all honesty my mind was paying more attention to what Twilight was doing. It seemed as though she was finally getting into the swing of things, on her own terms. I wanted to know what that looked and sounded like.

Rising heat on two sides of my body made me sweat a little too. The two mares were humping to the best of their ability – awkward and endearing – working themselves up to a long-awaited climax. I felt almost like a passenger along for the ride, playing with my toys.

But that wouldn't be terribly fair to Derpy, would it? I refocused my efforts on my titfucking, pumping my hips to start jiggling her breasts with each impact. My hands went to her nipples and gave them quick little squeezes and tugs, stroking the puffy areolae and encouraging them to keep leaking milk. The bouncing of her breasts sprayed milk up and down, and the rest slipped into her cleavage to lubricate my already smooth journey. I alternated between squeezing all that mass tightly around my shaft and letting them bounce freely against my body.

Derpy's body clenched and the sound of squirting fluids filled the air. Milk sprayed onto my chest while juices coated Twilight's magical strap-on. She wailed beneath that bandanna. Twilight paused for a moment, but I kept going, sensing that Derpy was up for multiples. Twilight caught the idea and kept thrusting, sounding quite close herself judging by the hot breaths against my back. We managed to bring Derpy to a second convulsing orgasm shortly after.

Finally, Twilight tightened her arms around me, buried her head in my back, and moaned as... well, I assume no ejaculate came out of the faux phallus, but Twilight's pussy certainly clenched and leaked a bit onto the bed. She let out a moan and her horn stopped glowing. Derpy let out a yelp as the presence in her pussy suddenly disappeared, and her inner walls closed up somewhat abruptly.

The princess let go of me and waddled back, both of her hands digging greedily into her cunt. Looking back, she had a sweaty, exhausted, but still needy look on her face. "Need... more... Holy sweet Celestia–" She covered her own mouth in shock for a second, then got over it. "–you were right, I've been SO pent-up the last few days!"

While she accepted this little fact about herself, I lifted Derpy's blindfold and lowered the bandanna over her mouth. The pegasus was sweaty, her eyes were almost revolving trying to set themselves straight, and she had a dopey open-mouthed smile on her face. One of her eyes locked onto me and she asked, "Did I... do good...?"

I leaned down and gently whispered, "Fantastic, hun."

"Nnnnnnngh, fuck...!" Twilight groaned behind me. "I want... I want..."

"Yes?" Derpy and I asked simultaneously.

I think we took her by surprise a little bit. But her lust won over. "I want... a mouth... down here."

"Oooh, Pasky's great at that!" Derpy said quickly, and then winced. "Wait... You probably don't want a male..."

Derpy's bonds disappeared. I was lifted into the air with magic and flipped around. Derpy was moved aside. I was laid down where she'd just been. In seconds Twilight was kneeling above my head, her dripping folds inches away from my mouth. "I don't really fucking care right now. And I think it's fitting, don't you?"

Grinning a little cheekily, I replied, "As you command, Mistre-mmmm." She chose that moment to lower herself onto my mouth, where I dutifully began lavishing attention with my tongue upon Twilight's sweet, sticky, soaking wet cunt.

My hands reached for Twilight's buttocks to support her, but they were tugged away with magic and planted on her thighs instead. Fair enough.

Derpy laid down between my legs and wrapped her breasts around my twitching shaft. She pressed her breasts down to reveal my cockhead and sucked it into her mouth. In the midst of all this, that was enough to get me cumming. I couldn't exactly warn her with a mouth full of pussy, but I only heard pleasant moans and the occasional gasp for breath as Derpy struggled a little bit to swallow all of my ejaculate. Bless her heart.

Somehow, despite cumming between a nice, big, soft pair of breasts, I managed to maintain the all-important focus needed to make sure Twilight wasn't left unattended for a second. I lashed her clit with the tip of my tongue, stroked across her folds with my lips, stuck my tongue as deep as it would go and scraped her inner walls – everything I could think of with my mere days of experience.

Twilight's hands found their way to the top of my head, digging into my hair and tugging me upwards. Slightly concerning. "That's right, you fucking– nnnrrrgh! Lick me! Make up for all the stupid– aaaaannnhhh! All the trouble you c-caused!"

So it was a hatefuck then. Eh, I'll take it.

Derpy continued to gently stroke my half-hard cock with her breasts and just watched Twilight bounce on my face. I could feel the erratic twitches of Twilight's tail-hairs against my chest, which threatened to make me laugh a little bit.

Then, out of nowhere, I got a really, really cheeky idea. And in the heat of the moment, I saw no reason not to go ahead and try it.

My hands, wrapped around Twilight's thighs, began to glow with blue light, seeping into her purple legs. She gasped and stammered, "W-What?" I looked up at her, and on some level I realized that my eyes were glowing blue as well. Even my tongue was a conduit, so deep inside her that she had no defense against it.

You're going to cum for me, I thought with all of my focus as I stared into Twilight's purple eyes. Over and over and over again.

Twilight stiffened all over like she'd been jolted with electricity. Her body trembled atop me; her head rolled back as a long moan, starting low and steadily rising, escaped from her throat.

All your angst, all your confusion, all your hesitance, all your pent-up lust, it's all going to leave your body... explosively.

"NNYYAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!" Twilight screamed. Half my face and chin were awash in Twilight's feminine juices as she clenched around my tongue and flooded me. More than I expected ended up in my mouth, nearly making me cough. I held Twilight's thighs tighter, pulling her against me as I fought against the spray and kept tongue-fucking her the best I could.

Twilight's scream went up another notch and she heaved forward, bracing herself against the headboard as she bucked a second time. That scream turned into a low, droning moan as her body just kept clenching, over and over again.

After a short while, I was so drenched that I had no choice but to just close my eyes and ride it out.

Eventually, Twilight's moan tapered off. She took a deep breath, dismounted from my soaking wet face, and flopped onto the bed beside me.

Derpy let out a "Woaaahhh..." from the foot of the bed. "Did you... Did you just...?"

"He cheated," Twilight gasped out.

I fumbled around with my arms, looking for a towel. One was eventually put into my hands, and I wiped off my face, chin, and my upper chest. Wow. "I just..." Gah, my tongue felt sore. "Blah. I just made it extremely normal to have a mind-clearing, soul-exorcising multi-orgasm in the... y'know, in the heat of the moment." I chuckled as I caught my breath. "Besides, I've been on the receiving end of the magically induced multi-orgasm a few times, figured it was only appropriate for the Princess of Magic herself."

"Still used your power on me," Twilight grumbled. She took the towel from me to wipe off the sweat from her body. Derpy got up from the bed and went into the bathroom to get some cups of water.

I nodded with a slight grimace. "Sorry. Wasn't really thinking straight. And... I don't think that's an 'on command' power, more an 'in that very specific context' power."

The princess huffed and sat up, looking both exhausted and drained. Her normally straight mane was split off in several frazzled directions. "Still... Boy did I need that."

"That's what I figured."

Derpy came back with two cups of water and handed them to us. "Feeling better, Your Majesty?"

"Don't call me that," Twilight said curtly, taking the cup in her magic and chugging the water. She let out a satisfied gasp. "But yes. Very yes."

I considered that a victory. "Anything else you're craving?"

"A break," Twilight muttered, falling back onto the cushions. "Maybe some cuddling."

"Right away, ma'am!" Derpy said with a mock salute. "Just let me get some water for myself and I'll be right there, cuddling between both of you!"

"Sounds like a plan," I replied with an eager grin.

As Derpy left, I found Twilight giving me a long, thoughtful stare that made me a little nervous. We sat in silence for a second or two while the sound of Derpy filling up a cup over and over again for herself filled the background. Then, finally, she sat up and faced me, her big purple tits swaying with her every motion.

Since she was looking right at me, I asked, "What's up?"

Twilight pursed her lips and glanced aside for a moment, glanced at me, and then down at her own chest. "If you ah... If it'll get this out of the way..."

I raised an eyebrow.

"Well, maybe you deserve a bit of a reward for... being so encouraging about my orientation. So... just a little bit." She shimmied her chest at me for emphasis. "Just to get it out of your system."

My eyes felt as wide as dinner plates. "You... serious?!"

"You've had all day to get into my shirt and my pants with that mind-control power of yours. And in the end, you've ultimately encouraged me to... pursue a path of sexuality that doesn't really have anything to do with you. ...Even I have to admit you've exercised a lot of restraint. So yeah. I'm serious." Her eyes narrowed just a little bit. "Be quick about it."

I didn't need to be told a third time. I reached out with both hands and gently cupped Twilight's purple breasts.

The first ones I'd ever seen. Practically imprinted into my mind the moment the alicorn had walked into that quarantine room, clipboard in hand, squished against that blouse she always wore. The moment I had realized that I was not only in a land of anthropomorphic ponies, but they were all built out of my most juvenile fantasies.

I briefly felt like a virgin again, reverently rubbing from the bottom to the top of the princess's bust, then down between her cleavage to part it, then out to her cute, pokey nipples. They were firm, out-thrust, supernaturally buoyant. The skin was perfectly soft, lightly moistened with sweat. I couldn't help but lean my head in, pressing my face against her bust – my cheeks, my nose, my eyes, my lips. Learning every inch of her contours like I was a blind man.

And then, finally, with a pang of regret, I pulled away. My time with Twilight's breasts was up. Possibly forever.

Seemingly despite herself, Twilight smiled at me, maybe with something resembling pride. "Was it worth it? To actually earn it this time?"

There was no other possible answer. "One-hundred percent."

30 – A Small Meeting

That night, it was just me and Derpy in that bed, cuddling in the nude atop the covers, with beams of moonlight illuminating our bodies through the curtains.

Twilight had stuck around for another hour and a half. Mostly her interest lied in playing with Derpy's body and Derpy returning the favor, as expected. But Derpy repeatedly insisted in involving me somehow, which I was more than happy to oblige (and Twilight tolerated). Eventually, she decided that she needed to make a quick trip back home to pick up some materials she wanted to bring to the therapy session tomorrow, so she teleported back to Ponyville.

Princess Cadance was apparently on the way from the Crystal Empire as well, which was... exciting and filled me with equal trepidation, for multiple reasons.

For now, though, Derpy and I were taking this opportunity to rest and relax. It was going to be a long, loooooong day tomorrow, and I needed to save up energy, resolve, and (let's face it) semen.

Derpy, for her part, was absolutely happy as a clam as she snuggled against me. She had every right to be. She'd done what I couldn't – helped Twilight finally realize something about herself that was hampering her approach to sexuality. I never would have guessed 'leaning lesbian.' Probably because I had a severe conflict of interest towards her. But Derpy's simultaneous natural empathy and ability to goad people to their limits worked their magic once again. It put my magical mental powers to shame, really.

"Mmmmm," Derpy hummed, breaking the calm silence of the night. She opened her eyes and nuzzled against my cheek. "That was a lot of fun. I hope tomorrow goes that well."

"If it goes half that well, I'll consider it progress," I murmured. Celestia was going to be a doozy, but Twilight had been a tough nut to crack in her own way.

Derpy sighed and her happy smile refused to leave her cute little face. "I think... I think I like threesomes and group sex the way you love titfucking. I can't get enough."

My eyebrows jumped up. She knew exactly how addicted to titfucking I was. That was a hell of a metaphor. "Oh really?" I replied with a teasing lilt to my voice, turning over on my side to face her. "Well, good to know...!" That explained why she was so down for the whole poly/harem idea.

Upon admitting this, Derpy actually pouted a little bit, her frown traced by the dim moonlight. "That probably means I've been a bit selfish in the way I've... encouraged you. And Twilight. And... everypony, really."

I shook my head and rubbed her shoulder. "And I'm any less conceited? C'mon. I could have never helped Twilight the way you did."

Derpy took a deep breath and let out a heavy sigh, making her breasts rise and fall against the bed. "Yeah... that went okay, at least. But... I don't know." She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling in thought. "I feel like, you've said many times that what I said the first day we met, that kind of helped you focus on the good things about these powers... but I wonder if, maybe, I dunno..."

"What?"

She shrugged. Her nipples waved up and down. "...If what you did that day, what worked for me, won't work for everypony?"

I pouted in thought. "What do you mean by that, exactly?"

Derpy's face-scrunch was just barely visible. She was quiet for a little while. "I'm still thinking about it."

I wasn't sure what to say to that.

Eventually, Derpy said, "I guess... what I needed was to... sort of... get permission to think positively about my body. And a lot of ponies – a lot of people – do need that. But it's not what everypony needs. It's not what Twilight needed... and it's not what Celestia needs, I think."

It was my turn to scrunch my face and nod. "Yeah. I've been thinking the same thing."

Derpy got up, and I decided to join her in a sitting position on the giant bed. We weren't gonna get to sleep just yet. How could we, knowing what was coming tomorrow? The pegasus gave me a questioning look, her golden mismatched eyes glimmering in the dim moonlight. I was slightly struck by the unassuming beauty she so effortlessly possessed.

"Well..." I said, trying to recover my train of thought, but it escaped me briefly. I tossed up my hands. "I don't want to give up on the method I had in mind, but after my experience with Twi in the vault, I can't help but feel like I'm trying to do the same thing with Celestia by rushing things. The same way everypony rushed with me, trying to get me to be a good person while I was trying just to... to hold everything together and not break down because of the sudden trauma I'd been through."

Derpy nodded on my shoulder. "And we're doing the same to her."

I nodded sadly too. "Pretty much. Everybody forcing her to 'bounce back'... and she's probably doing everything she can not to break down in the middle of court."

My marefriend lifted her head and put a finger to her chin. "...Hate to say it, but she probably needs an actual therapist."

I burst out laughing. Laughing so hard my stomach began to hurt! Wiping my face, I groaned, "Yeah...! Yeah... I'm not cut out for this shit."

"And a vacation."

I sighed. "That's... probably gonna be a much harder sell. They've been ruling for what, a thousand years? More? Not only would everypony kinda freak out... Celestia in particular is a girl after my own heart – if she's not workin', she doesn't feel right."

Derpy nodded with a sad smile. "You push yourselves to the limit, and then get upset at yourselves when you don't meet your high standards."

At this point, I could accept that about myself.

We fell back onto the pillows, finally feeling sleepiness start to claim us once again. "So none of this is right," Derpy murmured sleepily, "but for some reason, we're all being called in – you, me, and the Princesses..."

"Maybe..." I yawned. "Maybe she just really needs the support of her peers."

Derpy shook her head lightly. "It can't be that... It can't be just that..."

I couldn't really agree or disagree, but thankfully sleep finally claimed us before we could get into another philosophical conversation.

In the middle of dreaming about... something I couldn't remember, something about... being the sidekick in an Indiana Jones-style adventure (but with busty mares), I saw Luna approach me through the haze. In all her busty glory, and looking rather upset.

"Let us meet in your room before the raising of the sun," she said to me very clearly in a voice that pierced into my mind. "Wake an hour before dawn."

I jolted awake, and Derpy stirred beside me. I looked towards the window, then squinted at the clock on the wall. It was 5-something in the morning.

It occurred to me that Luna's message had been some kind of hypnosis-style suggestion, an order to my subconscious. Normally I'd be very upset about that, after the mind-warping adventure I'd had last week, but this morning I was just like 'fuck it.'

Sure enough, a few minutes after the two of us had gotten up, there was a knock at the door to my suite. Very unusual for this time of day. As I approached the door to open it, I heard a snippet of conversation.

"No matter what happens, I'm super proud of you, Twilight."

"Shh, not in front of him..."

I opened the door wearing nothing but a robe, my hair still unkempt and my eyes feeling baggy. Sure enough, there was Princesses Cadance and Twilight. Cadance was still her immensely busty, bosomy, pink self, dressed in a very light blue maternity dress that was stretched tight around her pregnant body. And Twilight was... not visibly mad to be here, for once. That was a significant improvement.

"Come on in, Your Highnesses," I muttered, opening the door more fully. Twilight hurried past me, and Cadance... Well, Cadance had to use magic to squeeze her belly and breasts through the doorway, and even then she had to force herself through with a heave.

"Whew!" Cadance called out, chuckling. "You'd think Celestia would widen the doors a bit..."

I leaned down towards her belly, too tired to really think straight. "Yeah, what are you carrying in there, the Crystal Empire's new army?"

Derpy laughed. Twilight boggled. "PASCAL!"

Cadance just laughed. "I take it you haven't seen a lot of pony pregnancies."

It was my turn to boggle, 'cuz that woke me up. "Wait... pregnant ponies always get THIS big?" I slapped my forehead. "Fuckin'..."

Twilight tilted her head. "Wait, is that a..." She facepalmed too. "...Of course that's a fetish the Masters built in. Why am I even surprised."

The pink Princess chuckled, which got her assets bouncing, which made her wince as she tried to get her wobbling under control. With a sigh of effort, she waddled over to our massive bed and... pretty much took up the entire width of it, denting the mattress deeply. Naturally, my eyes were locked onto her every second.

"You're lucky you're so normal that you can just blatantly stare at an expecting mother," Twilight chided me.

"Culture shock," was my usual answer.

Derpy frowned. "We're on the same side, you two."

"Trust me, this is us being cordial," I insisted. Twilight nodded in agreement.

Cadance yawned a long and deep yawn. After blinking her drowsiness away, she said, "I take it Luna warned you we were going to have this 'strategy meeting'?" When I nodded, she nodded back and replied, "Twilight's been doing what she can to fill me in, but out of all of us here, you're the one who's had the most contact with Celestia, so I'd like to hear where you think we're at."

I frowned and shrugged. "Not sure. I think we're in trouble, either way. And the plan I had to fix it is... turning out to not be such a great plan on second thought."

Twilight's eyebrows jumped up. "You're... reconsidering the hypnosis? The regression therapy?"

Derpy and I both nodded. "We talked about it last night," she said.

"It's the same problem with my approach towards you," I told Twilight. "Trying to find a magic bullet to end the problem in one shot, when the actual solution might be beyond me. And beyond that, trying to rush Celestia like everyone tried to rush me. It leaves us back at square one, but... I don't think I can go through with it."

Cadance listened to all of this with a thoughtful look and a hand on her chin – with her elbow digging into her enormous wall of pink breastflesh. "So what would you say is Celestia's condition right now? Without going into confidential matters."

I sighed and rubbed the back of my head. "Hard to say. She's gone cold turkey for three days. I thought our first session was great, but since then she's been avoiding me and backsliding pretty hard, so I guess it wasn't."

There was a sad look on Cadance's face as she nodded.

"Could it be withdrawal?" Twilight offered. "As much as I hate to say it... maybe she didn't get the 'kick' she needed from that night with you, and now she doesn't have anything to really... erm... look forward to?" I tried not to take that personally.

"Wow, you've gotten much better about talking about sexual stuff," Derpy remarked.

"I'm... working on it," Twilight mumbled.

Cadance looked around at all of us, studying our expressions. "It's pretty much what I thought, then. Maybe I should have spoken up sooner... Maybe I too was hoping for that 'magic bullet' like everypony else... Or maybe we were all so distracted by the truth we'd just learned..."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Got something to share with the class?"

Taking a breath to center herself, Cadance looked at me and said, "In all of this craziness, I think we all lost sight of the fact that, well... what Celestia went through with you was a mental and emotional breakdown. You pulled her back from the brink of total surrender and helped pull her together... but she still had – is still having that breakdown." She looked to each of us in turn. "Think about it. For 1300 years, she managed to somehow mostly 'turn off' that sexual, 'feeling' part of herself, and expected everypony else under her authority to do the same. Then a human appears, and her mental safeguards just stop working, and that emotional dam breaks. She's just starting to feel everything she refused to feel for 1300 years, and she can't stop it. She shouldn't stop it. This is part of the healing process."

We were all silent as she paused to let that point sink in.

I rubbed my forehead and glanced away. "Yeah... Didn't really look at it that way." I sighed. "Again, not a real therapist."

Cadance tried to give me a smile for a moment. "It sounds like you've been doing your best, really. But this isn't going to going to be 'fixed' today, or even next week, or even next year. She's practically a whole new pony now, who has to learn how to cope with... living again."

I let out another longer, deeper sigh.

A cloud of blue magic manipulated the lock on the balcony doors, and they opened just as Princess Luna swooped down and landed. She was in her 'restrained' form, towering over us with her tall, slender, powerful body. "I see you have all gathered. Good. My apologies for any inconvenience."

Shrugs all around. No one really minded, considering there was important work to be done today.

Luna's expression was decidedly grim. "Yet I'm afraid it might all be for naught. My sister is..." She stopped and took a shuddering breath. Something was very wrong. "...is very not well."

My eyebrows very slowly raised as I got a very bad feeling. And I wasn't only the only one. "As in...?"

The moon princess seemed to struggle to find her words for a few moments. Her arms pulled around her stomach in a defensive, uneasy posture. "Celestia is... overcome with anxiety at being in your presence again, Pascal." She didn't seem to want to make eye contact with me. "The thought of being near you, your scent, your cock... It is... It is making her dry-heave."

"Oh god."

"Oh no!" Derpy cried out, covering her mouth.

"Celestia...!"

"Auntie..."

Luna let out a breath, now that the bad news was out there and she didn't have to carry it alone. "She's barely slept. Her brief nightmares have been chaotic and indecipherable. ...I don't think this 'session' is going to be feasible."

I felt numb. I had to sit down in a chair and hold my head up with my palm. How the fuck were we supposed to do this now?! If just getting the thought of being near me was making Celestia want to puke?!

Cadance was the first one to rally. "Well, maybe Pascal doesn't have to go, but the rest of us still can. We can give her all of our support."

Twilight rubbed the sides of her temples, looking deeply disturbed. "But... rrrrnngh! Pascal's the only one with the mind-soothing power. And the human cock that her body is craving."

CLAP!

"THAT'S IT!" Derpy cried out.

All eyes turned to the gray wall-eyed pegasus.

"Pascal's not the only one with the power!" she explained, bouncing on the balls of her feet – making her naked breasts jiggle wildly – while she pointed two fingers up at her smiling face.

Twilight stared at her, then stared at me. "What?!"

My brain caught up and rebooted. "She... She can do most of what I can do. I gave her a modified version of my own aura." Though without the whole 'accidentally taking statements as a Normal order' thing, as I recalled. "She... has my power."

Luna glanced over at me with an inquisitive brow raised. "Please tell us you're not handing out your powers to all of your best friends."

"Right now, just Derpy and Moondancer," I admitted.

"MOONDAN- Wait, okay, I trust Moondancer. Alright." Twilight took a VERY big breath and forced it out, pushing out with her hands as she did so. "But no more, please!"

Cadance leaned forward a little bit. My mattress creaked loudly. "Would you be alright with that, Pascal? Derpy going in your stead?"

I nodded slowly. "Yeah... Yeah, actually." I looked up at my marefriend, who was looking more excited the more everypony was getting on board with the idea. "That explains why the Map called you here too. There's no one I would trust more with this."

"Thank you thank you thank you!" Derpy swiftly buried my head in a boob-filled hug, squeezing me tightly.

"And what about if Celestia's need for human cock becomes overwhelming?" Luna asked bluntly, hands on her hips. "Will we need to fetch him and risk pushing her anxiety over the top again?"

Princess Cadance cast a sly glance in Twilight's direction. "I'm sure some growth spells might come in handy... and we just so happen to have Equestria's foremost expert in the composition of a human cock..."

Twilight blushed in shock, but simply nodded with her lips pursed tightly shut.

Derpy jumped up away from me and stood proudly in the center of the group, a fist raised high. "We have a plan!"

Desperately wanting to change the subject, Twilight said, "Pascal, Celestia sent you a scrying orb, right? I might be able to tweak that to at least let you see, hear, and speak without having to actually be there."

I blinked. "You want me to call in? Yeah, if that's fine with Celestia."

Luna looked less uneasy and a bit more hopeful now. "This... may just work in theory. Anything could happen during this all-day 'therapy session,' but it sounds like we might just be prepared for whatever challenges or opportunities arise."

Derpy was still bouncy with excitement, but there was a focus in her good eye as she looked at each of the Princesses in turn, and me. "And maybe... just maybe...!" she murmured under her breath. Was she planning something? She was definitely planning something.

Outside the window, the sky started to lighten. Luna glanced behind her and said, "It's time to me to lower the moon. The appointed hour is upon us." She stepped out onto the balcony and spread her wings.

Cadance groaned as she got up from my bed. "In that case, I guess we can all fly to Celestia's tower, then?"

"Will you be alright flying?" Twilight asked worriedly.

"As long as I'm very careful," Cadance said with a huff. "Just don't expect me to do much of anything... strenuous today."

Twilight's blush reddened a little more as she nodded. Then she looked at me. "Stay near that scrying orb, Pascal, and I'll get the spell working from the other end."

I got up from the chair, and Derpy hugged me one more time. "Thank you!!" she repeated emphatically. I smiled and hugged her tightly back.

One by one, the alicorns and my pegasus marefriend took flight from the balcony. I stood beneath them and watched as they took to the skies above the palace, flying up towards the towers that housed the private chambers of each royal sister. I sighed, only a little dejected that I wouldn't be joining them physically – and not as dejected as I might have suspected.

This is good for me, I thought as I went back inside, closed the balcony doors, and sat down next to the scrying orb on the nearby desk. It swirled with dormant, calm magical energy, just waiting to be activated. I wondered how many minutes it would be before I would see any activity – before it would 'ring' for me to answer. It's... not all about me. I can rely on Derpy and the others to get this done. It's not all up to me. I don't have to be everyone's hero every time. Sometimes, the best thing I can do to help is take a step back.

But I was still going to see this through to the end. Not just because of my responsibility in this incident, but because I didn't want myself or Celestia to hurt anymore.

32 – Human Magic

"Are we ready?" Twilight's voice asked through the connection.

I had my hand on the scrying orb in my bedroom. In retrospect, I had spent the whole week learning about my magic to prepare for this. I was working with some of the most powerful beings on the planet, period.

I still didn't feel 100% ready.

"Yep, go for–"

Before I was finished replying, my vision was overtaken by light.

I saw myself racing into a glittering starry void, towards a platform made of light – an intricate magic circle that was solid like glass. Before I knew it, I was already standing upon it, joining the other mares in a round. Or at least most of them. Derpy looked as surprised as me. Cadance gave Twilight an impressed look. Luna and Twilight simply opened their eyes as their horn-lights dimmed.

"Where's... Celestia?" I asked tentatively, looking around. My movements felt slightly sluggish, like I was immersed in water. My voice had a very faint echo to it, along with every other sound. I looked down at my hand, turning it over. I could still feel myself standing in front of the scrying orb, my hand along its glass... but I could also move around independently here.

My question wasn't immediately answered as everypony else got used to the 'visualization.' But then Luna said, "We are inside Celestia."

I turned towards the outside of the magic circle and looked up. I realized that the glittering stars above us formed the shape of the Princess's body all around us. A whitish pink for her body, and then the many ethereal colors of her mane. We were situated in the star-Celestia's abdomen.

It wasn't just the Princess's modified body, either. It was her 'true' body. The one with the gigantic ass and breasts, stretching out so far beyond us that one couldn't really tell where they ended.

"Celestia has opened her body, her very being to us," Luna murmured. "In the real world, Derpy's hands are upon her head, channeling all of our magic through her."

Twilight nodded, a look of grim determination on her face. "This visualization represents our magic inside her. What we do here will guide our magic through her, via our will."

"No pressure, then," I quipped. I turned to the rest of the group. "What now?"

Cadance, ever the pillar of support, had to drop her helpful optimistic demeanor and admit her confusion. "I've done transformation spells before, but never on the genetic level. I've fought against magical curses before, especially with King Sombra, but again, never one this insidious."

"We take it slowly," Twilight instructed. "Narrow it down, isolate the magical signature, and give it all we got."

The purple Princess stepped towards the center of the platform and raised her hands up. As she spread them out, a long blue double-helix string materialized out, stretching out as far as the eye can see in two directions.

"Wait," I had to ask, "are we literally looking at Celestia's DNA?"

"It's a representation tool," Twilight replied. "Transformation spells aren't so complicated as to require perfect knowledge of the genome, but they do alter a being's physical form on this level to accomplish what the caster wills. We're looking at this not because we're looking for the right amino acids to change, but because if we're going to find forensic evidence of the Master's magic, their hold on Celestia, this is more or less where we'll find it - in the tiniest essence of her being."

Derpy rubbed her forehead for a few seconds, then let out a sigh and gave Twilight a nod. "We're investigating the crime scene."

"Looking for the fingerprints of the gods," Luna remarked with a nod of agreement.

Twilight waved her hands, and the giant double-helix strand above us whooshed by, seemingly neverending. "From what I learned by – ugh – researching Pascal's semen and the effects on a pony's biology..." She thrust her palms out, and the 'scrolling' of the DNA came to a sudden halt, resting and gently spinning above us. "The genes we're looking for should be right around here."

It sure was a length of blue double-helix, same as the rest we'd seen. "We'll take your word for it," I muttered.

The Princess of Friendship lowered her hands and rubbed them together, squinting her eyes at the sequence. "Now we need to scan for some magic that isn't part of Celestia's natural mana... Hmm. If we had some trace of the Masters' magic, this might go faster..."

That gave me an idea. "Oh!" I remembered the little auto-drone thing we'd found back in the vault... and a second later, it was hovering above my palm.

"Ah!" Twilight yelped at the sight of the drone, jumping a little.

Luna's eyes widened too, but she quickly said, "Cease! It is just Pascal's visualization." The way she stared grimly at it definitely confirmed that she knew exactly what it was.

"Sorry," I mumbled, then held out the image of the drone. "If the Masters' magic is anything like this drone's, I've probably got a trace of it from when I shut it down."

The night Princess's eyebrows rose. "You... reactivated... and shut down an Atomos?"

"...Yeah, it was wild." It sounded like Luna had some context to add there, but there were more important things to focus on.

Twilight's magic took the drone from my hand, and, after a moment's concentration, tore away all the black cubes that made up its body until only the teal light in the center remained. She lifted the drone core up to the DNA strand above us (I had to remind myself that this was an abstract visualization, a metaphor conjured by our imaginations.) and bathed the double-helix in its glow like a flashlight. After a few moments of this that stretched on in anticipation, a few of the strands lit up with the same bright teal light, standing out among the gentle blue and pink surrounding us.

Twilight quite literally jumped for joy, an excited grin on her face. "Haha! Got it! Good thinking, Pascal!"

My eyebrows shot up as far as they would go. "Holy shit. A real compliment?"

"We're one step closer!" Apparently, she was too happy to get reflexively judgmental towards me. That was something.

Derpy raised her hand like she was in class. "Um, so what is that exactly?" She pointed at the teal light highlighting some of DNA links.

I folded my arms and tilted my head at it. "I'd assume..." I glanced at Twilight. "...the power that's keeping certain aspects of Celestia's physical form on lockdown? Her biological, er, predisposition towards human semen?"

Twilight observed the visualized data for a moment. "That's... extra," she realized out loud, raising a hand to her chin. "What the Masters did to her specifically. But I think it shares the same power source as the magical law they wrote into the universe - that every sapient creature has to revert back to their 'default' form after a certain amount of time."

Cadance chuckled, mainly just holding her enormous pregnant belly steady, lacking anything better to do at the moment. "Can't say I'm entirely following this, but... I knew the two of you putting your heads together would result in something amazing."

Luna smirked at us and folded her arms. "As much as you two fight, you have similar minds."

Twilight and I both whipped our heads towards Luna, mouths open for a snide retort... and then we caught ourselves and looked at each other. We made eye contact, our facial expressions silently communicating. 'We were both just about to–' 'Yep.' 'Great.' 'Better off dropping it?' 'Agreed.' With a bit of awkwardness and not a word spoken, we ignored Luna's comment and returned our attention to the project at hand.

The purple alicorn set her jaw and wove her magic with her horn and her hands, apparently manipulating something very complex that wasn't immediately apparent. The teal light surrounding Celestia's biological data glowed ever brighter. Twilight's magic burst from her horn with a cloud of power. Gradually, strands of emerald green connected the points of teal. Those strands appeared ghostly at first, then the image of them sharpened into chains, chains of pure magic. Those chains wrapped around Celestia's DNA, as if to lock it down and prevent it from moving. Was this the representation of the Masters' universal decrees?

The emerald chains binding Celestia's DNA continued to form, stretching down towards us on our magical virtual platform. From multiple points above us, they met at a single point at one end of the magic circle, looping through what looked like a padlock... albeit an emerald padlock as tall as my forearm.

There was a sense of gravity among all of us. "Is that...?" Cadance murmured.

Twilight lowered her hands. Her eyes were closed as she took a breath to steady herself after that complex magic usage. Upon opening her eyes and looking upon the padlock, she announced, "I think we've isolated it. The Masters' lock on our bodies. The Masters' magic signature."

Feeling like I had to quip something as a defense mechanism, I said, "Well, hopefully that was the hard part."

The silence that followed told me no one believed it. Neither did I.

Luna had a very grave expression on her face. She was almost a little pale, though one wondered if that was a trick of the many colored lights in this visualized space. "Yes..." she murmured, barely audible. "That is... That is his."

Cadance had a pretty adverse reaction to seeing this glowing emerald padlock, drawing back and closing both her hands and her wings around her pregnant belly. "Wow, that's... That's sickly and powerful in a way I've never... Even Sombra's magic wasn't quite this–..."

Derpy's muzzle scrunched up. She balled her hands into fists, and her wings bristled. "That's because they don't want us to touch it. To mess with it. But we're going to!"

That gave us all a little courage. Even me, if I was being real. My gut was telling me loud and clear that this was the hard part, for certain. This lock wasn't just a lock on Celestia – though Celestia's in particular was a stronger version – but on every single pony in Equestria. This had stood the test of time for over a millennium. This was an artificial yet immutable law of nature made manifest, right in front of us. We were going to need courage for this.

BWEEM! The rest of us were startled by Twilight firing a laser of pinkish magical energy from her horn at the glowing padlock. It splashed against it and radiated outward, completely repelled. A growl emanated from Twilight's throat, and her aura enveloped the padlock and the connected chains as she tried to break, bend, or even budge the thing. No dice.

Twilight stopped magically attacking the lock, taking a break to catch her breath and rub her forehead. "...Okay. That's strong. And intricately constructed."

I tilted my head at that last part. "Really?"

"The visualization makes it look like just a big lock to us, because that's how the majority of us are thinking of it at this moment. But it's a representation of the aftereffects of a very potent series of spells from a very powerful source, who clearly knew what they were doing."

"Even if they were dicks."

"If anything," Cadance cut in, "that's even worse. Having so much power that you don't even need to care..."

Luna seemed to be grinding her teeth as she stared at the 'floor' of our virtual world. "Yes... Describes them to a T..."

Derpy looked around at us, still in her 'battle-ready' pose. "So... how are we doing this?!"

In response, Luna unfolded her arms, took a few steps back, and charged up her horn with her night-sky-blue magic. "Derpy, in the real world, you are the one with your hands on Celestia. So we will all channel our magic into you, and you shall attempt to break the curse."

The pegasus went wide-eyed in shock. "Oh! Um... Is there anything special I need to do?"

Twilight shook her head. "Just carry our spells to the lock and do everything you can. Remember: It's not literal, it's a representation guiding our collective magic. Do whatever you think is right."

"Okay..." Derpy turned and looked at me, looking a little concerned – not for herself, I sensed, but for me. "You ready, Pasky?"

I smirked and shrugged, deflecting any worry. "You kidding?" I said a little eagerly. "I've always wanted to be a part of something like this!"

Cadance's horn lit up with bright pink magic. "I'm ready when you all are!"

Luna did much the same, widening her stance and bracing herself. "Let us begin."

Twilight charged her horn once more, and I stretched out my hand towards Derpy, who was in the middle of all of us. Since my magic relied on my words, I said, "My magic, through the scrying orb, into you. You've already got my aura, so for this, everything I've got, it's for you!"

My hands glowed and a blue mist rushed from my arm, streaming into Derpy's body, while beams of pink, purple, and blue hit her one after the other. The pegasus gasped and writhed in place, her feet lifting off the ground, as unbelievable amounts of energy channeled into her. The outer edges of her form glowed with a bright light, and her messy blonde mane
and tail rippled upwards like they were being charged with static electricity.

Derpy opened her eyes, grinning, beyond excitement. The magic of three alicorns and one human avatar coursed through her, embodying Love, Friendship, Acceptance, and the Night. She floated there, her wings and arms outspread welcomingly, looking all the part like a holy angel descending from heaven.

Keeping my arm raised to maintain the flow of energy from myself to her, I said, "You've got this, hun," unable to be more proud than I already was.

Derpy nodded and then turned towards the emerald lock. With a grunt of effort she charged into it shoulder-first!

There was a loud BANG and a splash of magical energy, but no breaking or budging.

Something in my gut tightened and fell like a stone.

Still in her supercharged form, Derpy slammed, punched, and kicked the lock over and over, to little avail. Once she even tried to smack the seal with her mighty, milky jugs, but that just resulted in her afterwards rubbing her poor tender sideboob area. She eventually grappled it, tugging on the loop, the chains, even digging her fingernails into the keyhole. Grunting and growling and flapping her wings furiously as she put all of her considerably enhanced strength into it.

Twilight, still keeping her beam of magic connected to Derpy like the rest of us, shouted, "Keep it up! Pour everything you've got into it! Think of Celestia, how much we care about her, how much we want to help her!"

I was admittedly having trouble 'keeping it up.' My 'beam' was less focused than the alicorns'. Compared to these demigods, despite the unbelievably potent nature of my abilities, I was still a fledgling mage with only so much mana. It was like I was pissing parallel to a firehose.

There was a reverberating metallic crunch. Derpy gasped. "It budged! I think it budged!!"

"Keep going!" Twilight yelled.

But my strength was already failing me. The virtual visualizer-world flickered, and for a moment I was back in my palace suite, standing over the scrying orb, the edges of my vision turning black. I caught myself and kept my legs from crumpling beneath me, but my 'virtual' self fell to the ground in a heap.

"Pasky!!" I heard Derpy cry.

"K-Keep going...!" I managed to groan. Derpy still had the essence of my power, so hopefully that would be enough, I thought. I was drained once again.

They struggled with the lock for a few more minutes while I struggled to catch my breath. But eventually Cadance put a hand up to her forehead and stumbled back, steadying her hugely pregnant belly. "I'm sorry...!" Her horn's light faded.

Luna seemed to still have strength to spare, but her will took a blow seeing us drop off one by one. "It is... little use now..." she murmured as her magic ceased.

Twilight, however, didn't give up. Still keeping her magic focused, she herself marched forward alongside Derpy, her eyes blazing with magical fury. She gripped the lock with her hands and fought to tug it apart alongside the pegasus. "RrrrrrrrRRRRRRRRGH!!!"

After one last surge of effort, the tired mares finally relented. All the magical glowing faded away, and everyone but Luna sat on the ground, all catching their breath.

"It... It budged...!" Derpy insisted quietly, her mane all a-frizzled in the aftermath of funneling all that magic. "It definitely moved just a little...!"

Twilight, panting for breath, mumbled, "You sure...? Ugh..."

"Y-Yeah!" Derpy insisted, sitting up a little straighter. "And it was like... when something's been in place a long, LONG time, like when you're moving to a new home? And it's a little sticky and then it jumps? That's what it felt like! But like... if it'd been there for literally hundreds of years!"

Cadance let out a weary sigh. "Progress, then! Sweet progress..."

Luna stifled a growl and shook her head, folding her arms beneath her chest. "Mmmgh. Then what is required??" Her tone was pretty pissed off. "A hundred, five-hundred more avatars of Love, Friendship, Acceptance?! We do not have five-hundred more alicorns!"

My health had recovered enough that I could finally get up to my feet. I stared at the Masters' lock, then down at myself. We need more ponies? I thought. Or... maybe...

I thought back to when I first got this power. When I was hollow, magicless, little more than an empty outline amidst the cosmic tapestry of destiny. That was the reason I'd been able to absorb the concept of Normality in the first place. And right now, after draining myself dry like that... well, I was feeling pretty empty again.

"Well- er, maybe we just need to do this repeatedly!" Cadance insisted, trying to stay positive. "If we loosen it a little more each time..."

"Assuming," Luna replied pointedly, "that it doesn't regenerate given the slightest bit of time. Which, I'm sorry to tell you, is all to likely with the Masters' magic."

Before I really knew what I was doing, I was walking across the magic circle, past the ponies scattered around me, towards the emerald lock. I had a bold idea in my head, you see.

"Pascal? What are you doing?" Twilight asked.

If I attuned with some of this 'human' magic, much like I'd attuned with the power of Normality/Acceptance... I could control every remnant they had left behind, like like that auto-drone back in the vault! I could fix everything, change everything... I'd have all the keys of the kingdom, and I could finally unshackle every creature from the fate the Masters left them! I could become a new Master myself... but a benevolent one!

I put my palm firmly on the emerald lock. 'Touching' something in this visualization was strange - I didn't feel it like a physical object, but sort of a magical force buzzing back against my hand. But ever so gently, I could feel its power seeping into me. It was working!

Everything was starting to feel fuzzy, though. Especially my hand.

"PASCAL, NO!!"

That was Derpy screaming, I realized a second later through the haze of static. Just as a pair of arms pulled around my virtual waist and yanked me back with all their might.

My body and mind disagreed whether I was being physically pulled back or not, so I stumbled. In the span of a couple of seconds, my hand lifted off the scrying orb, the visualization enchantment connecting me to the others was dispelled, and I stumbled into the chair behind me. I toppled backward, tipping over the chair and landing on the floor, my pelvis propped up uncomfortably against the seat of the wooden chair.

It took me another few seconds just to process what had happened. And then there was pain and discomfort in my right hand, from the knuckles to the tips of my fingers. Fucking intense buzzing and pressure.

"Pascal!!" I saw the scrying orb glow as somepony (Twilight, probably) turned it into a vocal communicator. "Pasky! Are you alright?! Please...!"

My head was full of pain and confusion, so it was harder than I initially expected to speak. "I'm... augh, I'm OKAY!!" I raised my voice in case my voice couldn't get through from the floor.

"Are you alright?" It was Twilight's voice this time. "Any pain, anything–...?" She trailed off hesitantly.

I pulled my right hand up to my eyes and clenched it hard. Everything was intact, nothing bruised or scorched or broken. "Ugh... 'm alright... hand fuckin' feels like it's been asleep for 10,000 years...!"

Next I heard Luna's voice accompanying the glow of the crystal orb. "My deepest apologies," she said sullenly. "This... was probably MY fault."

It dawned on me.

I facepalmed with my other, non-throbbing hand. "Oh, son of a bitch!"

Luna's wish. The memory of her telling me about it during an anesthetic dream, while delayed in remembering initially, was burned into my subconscious:

"Eventually, we found a device: A piece of the source of the Masters' power, a raw shard of creation itself. The last piece that was unclaimed, unspent, discarded and forgotten. It was enough to grant us a Wish, one for each of us. The power to write an indisputable law into the fabric of our world's reality.

"My sister Wished that all ponies would be able to find their own destiny, like we had, while I Wished that no human would ever set foot in our universe again. And just like that, the humans were banished from our world, along with their absolute power.

"In some ways, it was a hasty mistake: We no longer had the power to permanently change ponies' bodies, much less return my sister back to a normal shape. And our image of 'human' at the time meant specifically the Masters and all of their race, which you are not, and that's why you have not been ejected from our universe. Not that we could have predicted the arrival of someone like you 1300 years ago."

"Aaaaaaugh, FUCK." I covered my eyes and groaned. "I almost... Fffffuck!" I pounded the carpet next to me and glared at the ceiling. "Human. Defined as 'a human with that magical signature.' If I'd absorbed that power, I would've- fuuuuuuck." (This was worth at least three 'fuck's.)

"Yeah, you were... fading..." Twilight murmured, sounding a little shaken.

"I'm just... glad you're alright..." Derpy said with a sniffle, sounding a LOT shaken.

As much as I wanted to just be mad at the situation, it was impossible to ignore that all of the rightful blame for this landed on me. My boneheadedness had nearly gotten me teleported out of this universe. I was lucky to have fingers on my right hand at all, let alone the rest of my body. If Derpy hadn't pulled me back... Whoa-kay, not thinking about that too hard right now. "Sorry," I replied lamely, deflating a bit. "I wasn't thinking straight."

"Everyone, please..." This time, it was Celestia's quiet voice that I heard through the connection. Whatever trance she'd been in during our ritual, it seemed she was out of it now. "You've all done more than enough for now. It's okay..."

It wasn't okay. Not when we were that close! Despite nearly getting launched off the planet, there was something in my gut telling me... I didn't know exactly, but I felt like I'd made a wrong turn at the last second. I fixated on the ceiling as my mind raced to figure it out.

Celestia continued. "Pascal? I think I'm ready for you to come up here. I just want to... see that you're alright..."

"I'll go get him," Derpy said.

With a groan, I finally got out of my awkward position on the floor. "No, no." I got up on my feet and set the chair upright. "I'll walk. I need to fuckin' think."

I was already mostly dressed in my shirt and pants, so all I had to do was put on some slippers and I was out the door before anypony could object. The hallways were occupied by guards and the occasional servant or bureaucrat making their way through. A couple of them who recognized me as a guest of the Princesses gave me only a quick nod as I passed by.

Once I could be alone with my thoughts, I took a deep breath and rubbed my forehead. I couldn't give up on finding a solution yet. Derpy was right – we'd been called here by the Map for this reason. We were so close, and yet so far...

My head was aching; my gut was churning. The answer was somewhere in my head, but I couldn't connect the dots.

Okay, so absorbing the Masters' energy and taking it for myself wasn't the option. But what had I been thinking before that? We need more ponies? Luna didn't think that was enough. My guess was that she was partially wrong and partially right. We DID need more ponies, but... we needed the right kind of ponies. So who was the right kind? Luna seemed to think we needed more alicorns, more paragons of virtue, more gifted magicians, but... was that really necessary?

Why was I thinking that? I couldn't think of a reason in words why I thought that was the wrong way of looking at it. For some reason, whenever I thought about 'enough ponies to beat the Masters,' my brain went to...

Humans are unbelievably strong.

It would take the SOUL of nearly every monster...

...just to equal the power of a single human SOUL.

...Undertale. Fucking Undertale.

I was lightyears from home, stuck in a land of high fantasy and sexual excess, and my reference pool was still as shallow as fucking video games. Because I'm a huge incurable fucking nerd.

But alright, fine. My brain was clearly trying to tell me something by bringing this memory up. Maybe it was true for ponies, too, that a small army of them were needed to overpower a Master.

...Huh.

The Masters weren't invincible. They were so obscenely powerful that they could create life, but...

They had been afraid. Of Celestia. Of the ponies' destinies. Of even the slightest hint of independence or rebellion.

Once you accept all that... then it seems obvious a small army of ponies could overcome the Masters' magic.

But what do you do with that small army?

By now I was in one of the palace's interior gardens, with Celestia's tower in view at the end of a long pathway. I remembered running down this hall, throwing socks into the fountain just to stay abnormal long enough to face her. ...No, that was distracting to think about. Head in the game, Pascal, head in the game.

We needed more ponies. But not just for numbers' sake. They needed to be... 'right.' ...What the fuck did that mean?

Derpy described us as having the virtues of Family, Love, Friendship, and Acceptance, and that seemed to be the difference-maker in at least getting the lock to budge. But Luna was right - there were no more alicorns or avatars. So anyone else we got would be a regular pony with no holy virtue to champion like that. ...Unless...?

C'mon, brain, where are you going with this?!

The flow of words stopped. Once again, my brain was tugging at some ridiculous nerdy bullshit memory:

An image of Goku raising his hands to the sky. "The rivers, the trees, the wind! All the living things in nature! Please offer me your energy, I ask of you, please!"

Fucking Dragon Ball Z now?! I was fucking ashamed of myself! I didn't even like DBZ that much! I only had these memories burned into my brain because they were in my Saturday morning cartoon rotation as a very young 90s kid (with nothing better to do before the golden age of the internet)!

Why the fuck was my brain thinking about the Spirit Bomb?!? What, like I'm supposed to gather up all the Acceptance of the ponies around me and use it to–?

"OH MY FUCKING GOD!"

The guards and servants in the hallway jumped and stared.

I kicked the door to Celestia's quarters. It didn't open. After a quick moment to regain my balance, I grabbed both handles and shoved them open. I entered the room with a dramatic point towards Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Twilight, and Derpy.

"I'VE FIGURED IT OUT!!" I shouted triumphantly.

The mood in the room was both startled and in despair. Already I could see faces falling. I knew what they were thinking. 'Oh, he's just trying to overcompensate for his mistake. Poor guy. We'll have to let him down easy.'

Not so fucking fast!

I kicked the doors shut behind me and started pacing horizontally. "Derpy!" I yelled as I pointed at the nude pegasus, making her jump a little bit. "The lock definitely budged, right?!"

"U-Uh, yeah!" Derpy replied after a moment, balling her hands into fists determinedly. "It definitely did!"

"Luna!" I pointed at the tall moon demigoddess. "We need more ponies, but they have to be properly spiritually aligned, right?! We need more power, but it has to be the right kind of power, the right kind of energy!"

Even the normally unflappable Princess of the Night seemed taken off-guard, confused. "Er... yes...?"

"Twilight!" It was the bookworm's turn to get pointed at by me. I was grinning with excitement, jittery even, and my finger lowered as I marveled at all the pieces falling into place. "Fuckin'... This is what you ponies are all a-fuckin'-bout! Putting your hearts and minds together in the spirit of friendship, community, harmony, combining your strengths to pull off something impossible!"

The Princess of Friendship stared back at me for a second. A breathless chuckle escaped her, as an incredulous smile tugged at the corners of her mouth. "My lectures, you... you listened...!"

"Of course," I said quietly, smiling back. "Friendship is Magic."

Cadance smiled at seeing me and Twilight have this little moment, but her overall expression was one of nagging doubt. "Are you sure? Bringing more ponies into this? Won't that mean...?"

I smacked my forehead, my palm glancing off as I rolled my eyes. "Right. We'll have to move up the timetable for telling the public about all this."

Celestia, still kneeling on the floor wrapped up in her blanket, squeaked, "What?!"

Reconsidering, my mind still racing in overclock, I raised a finger. "Actually...! We can probably leave the Masters stuff out of it. That's a huge bitter pill to swallow. But the stuff about Celestia's real body and the reasons she needs to change for her own health? Yeah, we have to be honest about that. This doesn't work otherwise. But I think saying 'Hey Celestia was cursed with a hypersexual body this whole time, details later, just help us out now' is something we can get away with. Especially if they see it for themselves."

Celestia pulled her blanket tighter around herself. "S-Sh-Sh-Show them...?!?"

I took a step forward and got down onto one knee, looking Celestia in the eyes. (Actually, even with her on both knees she was taller than me, so I had to look up into her.) "Celestia. I know. It's a tough ask. But if there was ever going to be one way that this could be done... I am fucking 99.9% certain about this. And Luna's been in my head; she'll tell you that I'm only 65% sure about getting out of bed every morning. This is IT. You can finally have a normal body again. But we need the help of your subjects to make it happen; we can't do it by ourselves." I smirked a bit. "Don't worry, I can MAKE them understand. But I think, on the whole, they deserve more credit than that."

Luna, more than a little exasperated, used her magic to pick me back up onto my feet. "Would you mind giving us ANY details for this 'brilliant' plan of yours?!"

Celestia's gaze had gone far off into space for a bit as she thought. "How... How soon? How soon would we have to...?"

Good question. I looked out the window. We'd started this therapy session at the crack of dawn. Despite all of the intense stuff we'd been through already, the morning had just barely begun. If we started the process of gathering ponies posthaste...

I looked back at Celestia with an awkward grin. "Um... today?"

33 – Ritual of Acceptance

The sun was beginning to set. The stage was set down where they usually held the Summer Sun Celebration, a massive public courtyard between the noble district and the educational campuses. Thousands of ponies – many of them guards and servants from the castle, others familiar Canterlot faces, and several more from beyond – were gathered in the courtyard in front of the stage, murmuring in a great loud din.

The only things the ponies gathered knew upfront was that this was an emergency announcement, no younger colts or fillies below the age of majority were allowed, and that Celestia needed their presence and help. It had taken most of the day to organize this on such short notice, but the moment was swiftly upon us.

I was behind the stage with all the key players, pacing back and forth nervously, trying to mentally rehearse what I was going to say.

Twilight stepped in front of me and put a hand on my shoulder to stop me. "Pascal? Listen. What we're about to do... what you described... There's no spell in any book even remotely like this. If this works, you're going to invent an entirely new spell, one that will be studied and replicated for years to come." A soft, nervous smile slowly appeared on the Princess of Magic's face. "When I completed Starswirl's final spell, applying all of my understanding of friendship... that was the moment that I became a Princess. And I think that you're on the same precipice of really coming into your own destiny. So I'm behind you one-hundred percent of the way."

I smiled proudly. Hell yeah you are. "Thank you, Twilight. That means a lot."

"That said..." She took two great handfuls of my shirt and yanked me close. "ARE. YOU. CRAZY?!?! What if this doesn't work?! What if we reveal Celestia's secret and nothing happens?! What if everypony loses respect for her, or gets demoralized that not even Celestia has the power to overcome her body?! ALL OF EQUESTRIA IS DEPENDING ON THIS!!"

Weirdly, despite the shrill mare shrieking in my ears, I was calm. Almost amused. Another day, another Twilight freakout.

"It's okay, Twilight." Princess Celestia was also pacing a nice furrow into the cobblestone with her golden shoes, and had stopped only for a moment to intervene. "I'm the one with everything to lose, and despite all that I've decided that this is a risk worth taking."

Luna, who had arrived moments ago after catching a quick nap – yet still dressed in her best midnight-black dress – yawned and glared grumpily towards me. "That's most likely due to Pascal's... extra-persuasive powers. We've all rationalized a way to agree with this course of action."

I raised a finger. "And, it'll let me make sure everypony out there is on-board." I brushed Twilight's clawing hands off and took a step back. "Look, this is the one time my mind-control powers have a great purpose beyond my own sexual gratification. Like hell I'm gonna tone it down now. And I'm not just confident, Luna. The more I think about it, the more sense it makes to me. If there was one way this is ever gonna work... this is it."

"Yes, you've said that a hundred times now," Luna sighed. "But no reason not to throw everything else we have at it as well." She glanced to Twilight. "Have the Elements of Harmony arrived?"

Twilight let out a long, deep breath, pushing out her hand from her chest to calm down, before nodding back at Luna. "They're here. We'll use our rainbow power when the time is right to help supercharge this ritual." A few moments after she said that, a scroll poofed into existence in front of Twilight. She unrolled it with her magic and skimmed it. "Ah! Cadance says she's gathered her subjects around the Crystal Heart, and she and Shining Armor are about to speak to them now. They'll send over an infusion of love power from the Crystal Empire when I give her the signal."

I still couldn't believe this addition to the plan, and it was making me a little nervous. "'Send' it over? All the way here? Like an artillery strike?!"

"Which brings us to you," Luna muttered as she turned to me. "You've made your point that your affinity with the concept of Acceptance is the key to this... scheme."

I nodded. We'd had it all backwards. It wasn't just Family, Love, Friendship, and Acceptance. It was the acceptance of family, loved ones, and friends that would make this possible.

"But for other reasons, you're also the weakest link," the princess bluntly pointed out. "You've expended your energy to exhaustion multiple times in the past two days. I realize it's your martyr complex driving you, but you're being reckless with your own ability to withstand these feats of magic, with no regard for how ready you actually are. That's my biggest concern."

She... had a point. "Well..." I looked around at the gathered Princesses. "That's why I'm getting all your help. All these ponies' help. It's all their power that's going to make this possible, not just me. Besides, all I have to do is collect it, hold it, and pass it along to Celestia, right? That... should be within my abilities."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "And if it's not?"

After a moment's hesitation, I shook my head. "I'm not going to drop the ball, Luna. That's literally my one job, and I'm gonna do it."

The moon princess let out another sigh through her nostrils and let the matter rest.

"Pasky!"

I turned around to see not just Derpy, but Trixie, Moondancer, and Spitfire coming around the stage! "Oh! Hey!"

Spitfire folded her arms, clad in her dress blues and staring through her imposing sunglasses with a no-nonsense frown. "This is quite the shindig you've thrown together, Hypnodude. Anything we can do to help?"

"This is your show. But if you need a beautiful assistant," Trixie purred with a naughty grin, "I suppose I could be convinced to give up center stage. Just for a little bit."

Moondancer adjusted her glasses, glancing around and looking intimidated to be in the presence of all these Princesses, Luna in particular. But she put on her best gentle, awkward, yet encouraging smile towards me. "Good luck, Pascal."

I grinned back at them, giving them all a quick nod. I was very happy to have them all here.

Though Moondancer had an extra-nervous energy about her that was hard to read. "...But, uh, before you start, could we talk real quick? It's about–"

"Moondancer!" Twilight yelled in delight, magically pulling the nerd in for an unexpected hug. She was clearly dying for someone else with her level of knowledge. "I'm so glad to see you! Quick, what do you think of these calculations?" The purple alicorn levitated multiple scrolls up to Moondancer's face that all unfurled to the ground. "Do you think the crowd spacing is right? Should we try to get them to form a broader arc? Maybe surround the stage? I just want to avoid any stream collision and give the energy the best possible chance to coalesce."

"Uh– Well–" Moondancer tried to push the scrolls down. If anything, she seemed to be even more worked up and anxious with Twilight so near.

I chuckled and said, "We can talk after this is over, I promise."

The unicorn grimaced, taking a hissing breath through her teeth, like she was quickly weighing the pros and cons of waiting versus insisting now. "...Okay, yeah, this thing you're doing is more important."

"How about the rest of us?" Spitfire asked again. "What can we do?"

I looked to all these mares I could happily call friends. "Just be my eyes in the crowd, help lend your energy and acceptance to this crazy spell, lead the way for all the rest."

Derpy pouted a bit. "You sure? Do you want us up there with you?"

Taking a deep breath at that, I thought about it and replied, "You're the most accepting pony I know, Derpy. I'll need your power just as much as anypony else's. Just... pick a spot where I can see you, okay?"

The pegasus brightened up at that. "Okay!!"

"And what about me?"

FLASH! Discord the draconequus appeared in the center of the group, seated on a lawn chair wearing sunglasses and munching away at a bowl of popcorn. Moondancer, Spitfire, and Trixie all jumped in surprise, while Derpy grinned and waved.

I raised an eyebrow at him. (Surprising even myself, I was rather nonplussed at his sudden entrance.) "You sure you want to be around here? There's going to be a lot of Normal magic in the air."

Discord flicked his sunglasses above his eyes and smirked at me. "Trust me, this is going to be the one time our elements are aligned." He turned his smug gaze to Celestia. "It was only after those pesky Masters were banished that true chaos was allowed to manifest. Everything before me, including everything about you ponies, is what's left over from their 'normal.' Including that inconvenient rule of permanence you're battling now. Why wouldn't I root for it to be decimated?"

Derpy flapped her wings in glee, hovering slightly above the ground. "Acceptance, Family, Love, Friendship... AND Chaos!"

"See, she gets it," Discord agreed with a wink.

Celestia allowed herself a heartwarming smile, her eyes shimmering in the shadows of the stage. "Discord..."

"Don't get me wrong, I'm not here for moral support," the draconequus insisted in a suddenly bratty way. He clicked his sunglasses back down and pointed a fingergun at me. "I'm here for the fireworks. Break a lag, Pascal." And then he snapped his fingers and disappeared in a flash. There was a gasp from the crowd on the other side of the stage as presumably Discord reappeared somewhere out there.

In the distance, a clock tower chimed at the top of the hour. It was time. I had to get the unknowing crowd ready for a plan that I wasn't even 100% certain was magically possible in this world. But looking down at my hands, seeing the blue glow pulse beneath my palms... there was a sense – not so much a thought as a feeling – that the rules of magic are only what you make of them.

It was time.

I stepped out onto the stage, and the din of the crowd quieted. Countless ponies, all of them astoundingly endowed yet conservatively dressed, focused their attention on me. My mind flashed back to the previous times I'd stared out into a crowd of multicolored pony faces staring back, waiting for me to speak.

The first was when they were brandishing torches and pitchforks to run me out of town.

The next was in front of Canterlot's cloud stadium, recruiting for extreme sexual hijinks that I needed to make happen to survive a magical attack on my identity.

Once was in Prince Blueblood's private garden, to create a noble excuse for an elite, fetishistic orgy.

And the most recent was just earlier this week, when I had to explain to a boardroom full of powerful ponies that I had affected their minds and would continue to affect their minds for the good of Equestria. It seemed like so long ago.

My eyes made contact with a golden mismatched pair beneath a blonde mane, and my nerves settled a little bit.

Hopefully this would be the last public speaking gig for a while.

"Fillies and gentlecolts!" I shouted out to the crowd, not really having a better way to start it. Thankfully, the acoustics of the courtyard carried my voice far enough. "My name is Pascal. Some of you may know me as 'that human who caused a bunch of sexual shenanigans last week.'" There was a bit of chuckling and awkward clearing of throats from the crowd, and I smiled back. "Others of you might have seen some of my work, yes. Or been part of it. And I'd just like to take a moment to thank you. Your willingness to challenge what is normal is the reason why I'm here today... and it's the reason why we're asking for your help today."

As I scanned the crowd, I caught sight of the Elements of Harmony themselves, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rarity, and Twilight Sparkle. Pinkie Pie bounced up and waved her arm frantically back at me, her grin beaming like a searchlight. Twilight pulled her hand down.

I began to slowly pace across the stage. "I took my adventures all the way to Canterlot palace." There were a few gasps from the crowd. "That's right, to Princess Celestia herself. I'd heard of her reputation. The reputation you try not to say in polite company. A repressed, militant prude. With a burning hatred, or fear, of humans. I wanted to know why. To know why, even though I was stranded in this world totally by accident, and having an understandably hard time adjusting, I was so far beyond a persona non grata in your society. So I stormed up to the palace, leaving a swath of sexual deviance in my wake, ready for a clash of convictions and ideals." My shoulders slumped. "And by the end of it, my anger was gone. I sympathize completely with your Princess."

We didn't exactly have a script, but since we were getting close to the subject at hand, Celestia chose that moment to take the stage behind me, slowly and gravely approaching. A waved of bowed heads rippled through the crowd.

"You see, a few things had already struck me as odd by that point," I continued. "You're all destined, every single one of you, with these... hypersexual bodies, and there is a specific magical law that prevents you from changing that. Sure, you can quaff a potion or cast a spell to play around with your... shape, but after a few hours without refreshing that enchantment you'll just go back to whatever form you 'naturally' have. It's a neat little safety net... but in some cases it can also be a trap, as I've found out."

A few ponies in the crowd started to murmur, connecting the dots between me and the Princess ahead of schedule.

"How horrible would it be," I said, raising my voice and and slowing down for emphasis, "if you were stuck with a body that was designed to be physically addicted to sex? If you had to fight that every hour of every day... for 1300 years?"

Behind me, Celestia took a deep breath, and lit her horn. Her flowing white-and-gold dress unclasped and fell from her body, revealing absolutely nothing underneath. Her tall, slender, statuesque body was on full display for the crowd, naked save for her golden regalia. There were a few thuds as some ponies fainted on the spot.

And then she started to grow. Most visibly in the breasts and hips. Even her lips fattened up slightly. She sank to her knees and her ass-cheeks overflowed her feet, not stopping. Her breasts grew even more rapidly, taking up all the space in front of her, obscuring everything from the shoulders down. They didn't stop until they were taller than me, forming a wall of white tit behind me, capped with two giant, throbbing, needy pink nipples.

The ponies in front of me were a mix of horrified and outraged, muttering and cursing and exclaiming, the din rising and threatening to get out of control.

I put my hands up and shouted, "Everyone QUIET!" My hands pulsed blue and a ripple of air traveled over the gathered ponies. Gradually, they became silent and attentive. Satisfied, I lowered my hands and gestured at the wall of breasts behind me. "Your Princess," I declared, "is being unbelievably brave to finally come out with this painful, painful secret that she's kept, right or wrong, since the dawning of Equestria itself. You will respect that."

The supernatural silence gave way to a more rational quiet. Understanding was dawning in the faces and eyes of the ponies in front of me. This would have gone very differently if I hadn't been here for this – at the very least it would've had to be handled a hundred times more delicately – but I was starting to be glad I was present to speed this up.

A clacking of hoofsteps alerted me to Luna emerging from stage left, flanking Celestia's stage-obscuring breasts. To my surprise, she too had let her 'full body' grow out in all its glory, with breasts that despite their idealized shape still obscured her knees and would rebuff two full-grown ponies from being able to embrace her. She wasn't nude, however – she was garbed in a navy-blue maxi dress, with enough fabric to dress two regular mares used just to keep her nipples bound while still revealing a devastating absolute cleavage. "Everything this human has said... is true," Luna decreed, her voice far more powerful than mine even without using any magical technique.

Several more ponies audibly fainted. I wondered if maybe revealing both Princesses at once was a bit much, but maybe Luna couldn't pass up the opportunity to get it out of the way.

"As you can see, I too have been hiding my 'true' body from you," Luna said. "But even this... this is nothing compared to what my sister has dealt with. I can live with my body. Her body is a curse a hundred times over."

"And this is exactly why we are here," I interjected, taking over the speech. "She is trapped by the natural order... that says no sapient creature can permanently change their body, no matter how mentally unhealthy it is for them. This is not the body she wants! She wants to change! And she can't do it... without YOUR help." I pointed out over the crowd. "Many of you work in or near the palace. Many of you have met with her, spoken with her, or even just seen her conducting business in town. You are her extended family. Her community. Her village. And you represent hundreds of thousands more all across Equestria. You are the only ones who can help Celestia become the pony she wants to be, needs to be for her own health and happiness! So tell me: Will you do this for your Princess?!"

A loud "YEAH!" emerged haphazardly from some scattered sections of the crowd.

"There is no room for doubt!" I shouted back at them. "Some of you might have reservations. Some of you might just plain not like her. But you or someone you know might have once wished that they could overcome their obstacles and make a permanent change. If Celestia can do it, they will be able to as well! And if there's any universal cause of good worth fighting for, I'd say it's striving for the health and happiness of everyone, from the lowest among us to the highest! Do you agree?! Are you with me?!"

More unified, caught up in the thrall of my enchanted words, nearly all of the ponies in front of me raised their fists and let out a combined, raucous cheer.

This was the moment.

I thrust my hands into the air above my head, palms out to the sky.

"Then let us begin!" I yelled. "I want you all to think, and feel in your hearts: 'I accept Celestia's new body.' Hear it clear in your mind. 'I accept Celestia's new body!' Say it under your breath, close your eyes and see it in your mind, feel your heart swell up with the feeling of it! Let that acceptance pour out of you, join it with everypony around you in common purpose, and then send it to me!"

Most of the ponies I could see closed their eyes. Even Luna on the stage near me closed her own eyes and started murmuring under her breath. A whole throng of ponies before me, repeating after me almost like they were hypnotized. And I was mind-controlling them, really... but for a noble purpose.

At first, nothing visibly changed, and for a nanosecond I panicked.

Then tiny sparkles of blue light appeared over the heads of some ponies in the crowd.

I cursed under my breath. No fucking way... My hands warmed as they glowed with blue light above my head, drawing in tiny sparkles of energy like a slow magnet. Dot by dot, the energy collected into a point above and between my palms, gradually collecting into a swirling sphere of blue magic.

This had been exactly what I'd set out to do, but I still couldn't believe it was actually happening. I was making a goddamn motherfucking Spirit Bomb out of feelings of acceptance and goodwill.

"Keep doing it!" I shouted, my voice nearly cracking from the tension and excitement. "You're ponies! You're all stronger together! Feel your hearts and minds harmonize, making your acceptance louder, until the whole universe can hear it!!"

Then there was an explosion of light from the right side of the crowd. The Elements of Harmony rose into the air, surrounded by an aura of rainbow light, their manes multicolored and flowing in the breeze they generated. Twilight's blazing eyes locked on mine with a grin, as if to ask 'Ready for this?'

A swirling rainbow beam shot up into the air, arced over the crowd, and bullseyed the orb above my hands.

It was like I'd been holding a heavy iron ball, and someone jumped off a nearby roof and landed on it with both feet. My arms rippled and my knees wobbled for a second. Rainbow light mingled with the blue light swirling above my hands. I looked up – it was already wider than my shoulders. It was on its way to being bigger than my body!

...But I needed just a little more, I realized. I needed this energy to transform Celestia inside and out, mega-sized breasts and all. I needed a much bigger bomb.

I heard Luna call out "Incoming! Get ready, Pascal!"

It was hard to see past the glowing ball of light above my head, but on the horizon to the north I could see a line of teal light rising up towards the sky. It rose and rose, and then slowed down... and then the tip of that line started to get brighter and brighter... closer and closer.

No way... My limbs were already shaking from the 'weight' of this thing. The Crystal Heart...?

An artillery strike of love magic hit the magical vortex above me, sending shockwaves of bright light radiating outward as the Crystal Empire's love and support mingled with the Elements' rainbow power and the acceptance of Canterlot's common ponies. Every nerve in my body was buzzing like the whole world was on 'vibrate.' My already weak arms felt numb. I repositioned my footing, then again as it felt like the entire thing was bearing down on me, like Atlas trying to hold up the heavens.

My shoe skidded, and my footing got out from under me. I fell backwards, my magical 'grip' on the spell slipping.

There was a gust of wind and a flash of magical light, and suddenly I was caught by many hands and arms. And more than a couple of large breasts pressing into my neck and back. I managed to keep my hands up, and I tilted my head around to see what had caught me.

Derpy was squeezing my left side, her arms looped under my shoulders. "You got this, Pasky!"

Beneath her was Trixie, grabbing onto my left thigh to keep me upright, grinning with manic delight.

To my right were Spitfire and Moondancer, steadying my right shoulder and hip to make sure I didn't fall at the last second. Gray and yellow feathers fluttered in the wind, shed from a quick takeoff. Moondancer's horn still glowed from a recently cast teleportation spell.

"Girls...!" I murmured, my voice nearly lost in the magical storm above us.

I felt a shift in the waves of pressure against my hands, calming... like the magic had stabilized somewhat. Its power thrummed audibly amidst the howling wind. I didn't notice until a few seconds later that my feet had left the ground – the five of us were floating!

Suspended above the stage by the aura of this gigantic ball of multicolored magic, we slowly spun away from facing the crowd to looking down at Celestia. From a top-down view, the princess of the sun was mostly just boobs and buttocks, with a head and shoulders in the middle staring up at us in amazement. I must've looked quite the sight, and to be honest I felt as heroic and powerful as I looked.

"IT'S READY, CELESTIA!" I yelled down at her. "THINK OF YOUR NEW BODY! I'M GONNA SEND THIS POWER DOWN, AND FROM THERE IT'S ALL UP TO YOU!"

The princess stared blankly up at me for a moment longer, swallowed, and then closed her eyes and nodded.

I couldn't hold it much longer anyway. I reared back, cupping both of my hands to throw the giant bomb of energy. With a mighty shout and monumental effort, I willed the orb to move as I flung forward. "GO!!!"

The giant orb of magic wasn't flung like a ball. Rather, I felt its pressure leave my hands and it floated down slowly, almost ominously. It was as big as Celestia's enhanced body and then some – large enough to engulf the center of the repurposed Summer Sun Celebration stage. Even Luna felt the need to fly a short distance away from the stage as it descended. Our levitation began to falter, but Moondancer's magic kept us aloft for a moment. Spitfire got under me so she could carry me on her back and scoop up Trixie and Moondancer under her arms. The Wonderbolt captain was a strong mare for sure. Derpy hovered away to make room as we all watched.

From above, we couldn't quite see the moment of contact between the orb and Celestia, but after a moment we could see her cartoonishly sexualized silhouette rise to the center of the orb, like she was being drawn into it. A dark shape surrounded by swirling blues and teals and rainbows, generating a whirlwind that whipped everyone around it.

Then it looked as if the blue energy sank into and absorbed the silhouette. Suddenly the vortex spun incredibly fast, becoming a swirling tornado that shot up high into the sky. There was a vacuum-like sound, then some loud crack, and then–

BOOOOOOM!

Spitfire struggled to keep us all aloft as a shockwave of wind and light blew everypony back. The tornado of magic shredded into individual streams of color like it had ripped apart under its own inertia, shooting out in all directions, slowly fading away.

Once the magic light-show had dimmed down, all that was left on the stage was a massive cloud of dust and mist, obscuring the entire site.

"T-Take us down," I groaned. My throat was hoarse with all the speech and shouting. Every muscle in my body ached on top of that.

But I had to know. We all had to know.

Spitfire awkwardly flapped down to the stage. She let Moondancer and Trixie go, and I stumbled off Spitfire's back. Derpy landed behind me and put my arm over her shoulder to steady me, which I was thankful for. Luna and Twilight landed on the stage nearby and used their magic to send gusts of wind forward to clear the cloud covering the stage as we all advanced forward.

We saw a silhouette laying on the ground, and Luna, Twilight, and I all rushed ahead, kneeling around her.

It was Celestia, alright. Still nude, and... very different.

She was... Well, she wasn't slim, like her 'public persona.' In fact, she was rather...

Don't say 'thicc.' Don't say 'thicc.' Don't say 'T H I C C.'

...bottom-heavy. Her breasts were merely the size of her head, but her hips flared out obscenely and her booty curved into a rather eye-catching shelf. Her thighs were plump and soft, too. Gone was the thin hourglass waist, and instead there was a healthy layer of padding on her belly. Instead of being some ultra-hyper-endowed sex toy, now she was a ten-foot-tall fertility goddess.

Was that a good thing? My heart sank a bit. Did the spell only half-work? Had we gotten rid of the boobs but couldn't fix the lower half? Or something?? Was this even permanent? "Twilight...!" I murmured.

She was way ahead of me, scanning Celestia with her magic. She gasped, and covered her mouth in shock. "No... No transformational decay... This is...!"

Celestia stirred, and we all leaned in close, Luna especially. "Sister...! Sister!"

She blinked a few times and looked up at us. "Everyone... Did it work...?"

I wasn't sure how to answer that. "Um... Is this... the body you wanted...?"

The princess finally propped herself up on her elbow and looked over herself. Laying on her left side, the upper swell of her hips were almost level with her craning head. And yet, Celestia let out an incredulous gasp, and she smiled. "Aha...! Is... Is it...?"

Twilight was still shocked. "It's... permanent...! There's no... This is... This is your body now...!"

Celestia answered that by... suddenly grabbing my hand and bringing it up to her muzzle. She sniffed deeply of my palm, and I even felt the tip of her wet tongue graze it. I panicked slightly. Was her need for human stimulation still so high?! Yet the Princess was smiling even wider when she let my hand go. Tears were forming in her eyes. "Pascal...!" she breathed excitedly. "You're just... You're only... good...!"

I was confused for a second by that wording, but then my heart stopped when I got it.

"Good." Not "great." Not "addictive." Not "ecstasy I can't live without." Just "good."

Luna cast a sideways glance at me. "Was this form... your choosing, Pascal?"

That was the part I couldn't figure out. "No, I told her to–" Suddenly my brain caught up, and I stared wide-eyed at Celestia, then at her hips, then into Celestia's eyes again. "You chose this?!" This bottom-heavy breeder-hipped body was the one SHE envisioned for herself?!

Celestia's smile took on a hint of bashfulness. "I... I wanted to start over... Back to how my body was at the very beginning..." She looked down at her chest, which by the standards of pony head-to-boob-ratio was almost below-average. "...but with a change of focus..." She visibly blushed. "...a guilty pleasure..."

Like a flash, I remembered observing that even Celestia's slimmed-down body had still had some hips to it. After countless lifetimes of being a boob-doll, was having an eye-catching ass her secret fetish...???

Twilight leaned in and helped Celestia sit up, hugging her from behind. "If this is the body you wanted... then I'm so, so happy for you...!"

Then, only then, did it finally really hit me.

We had done it.

We had permanently changed Celestia's body. One that she wanted. Without eight-foot boobs. Without an overblown human fetish a hundred times over.

WE HAD BEATEN THE MASTERS.

I stood up. My legs were protesting, but I didn't care. I stepped towards the edge of the stage. By now the blown-away dust and mist was clearing enough in the setting sunlight that the other ponies outside it – Derpy, Trixie, Moondancer, Spitfire, and all the ponies gathered – could see Celestia now.

This is an important moment, I remember sort-of-thinking. Gotta make sure everyone knows what it means.

"Change doesn't happen in a vacuum," I told the crowd as their expressions of surprise and wonder grew. "The impetus for change has to come from within, but... it can't happen completely without the support and acceptance of friends, family, loved ones – the people who care about you and are invested in your future. Only then can what we want to be become... normal..."

The crowd began to applaud and cheer, I was fading fast. Derpy flew up behind me and caught me as my legs gave out from under me. She rested my head in her bosom, petting my scalp. "Please, please don't pass out on me again...!"

"Hokay," I murmured, swiftly getting loopy. Blackness crept in at the edges of my vision. "Buuuut I worked really hard today, so... can I have naptime?"

Derpy let out something between a scoff and a chuckle, blinking away tears that landed on my cheek. "O...Okay...!" She turned her head and shouted, "Twilight, help!"

My last waking thought was a promise to myself. No more crazy mana-draining spells for AT LEAST a week.

From Miracles of Metamagic: From Mind to Spellbook, published two years later:

"Thus was born 'Pascal's Ritual of Acceptance,' the first Named Spell in Equestrian magic to be invented by a human being.

As Pascal would later be quite thankful to learn, he would not be personally responsible for changing the bodies of everyone in the world who needed a new lease on life. Nor would the Elements of Harmony and the Crystal Heart need to be used every single time. (Though in Princess Celestia's case it was arguably necessary, considering the extra enchantment from the First Humans.) Princess Twilight Sparkle had taken copious contemporaneous notes and gathered a phenomenal amount of data through instruments set up around the area, so every detail could be studied, copied, and eventually replicated by others. Today, Pascal's Ritual of Acceptance is making its way into advanced textbooks, and thousands of creatures have undergone the procedure.

Many elements were streamlined and simplified, but the basic elements of the Ritual remain intact from its first use: There is a Subject, the Subject's Community, and an Avatar that channels the Community's acceptance into the Subject. But the Avatar can be anyone close to the subject or even a medical care provider. The Community doesn't need to be half a city; in one case where the Subject was an extreme introvert, the Community was only seven creatures large – close friends and family – and the Ritual was still successful. The Community doesn't need to be mind-controlled into accepting the Subject's change; they just need to be convinced of the change's necessity for the Subject's health and wellbeing. (Though once again, in Celestia's case, that mind-control was arguably necessary.) Not to mention, the spell itself no longer needs so much excess energy that it disturbs local weather and rattles the walls.

However, as ponies and eventually other creatures went through the procedure, limitations were discovered as well.

The Subject's change can't be merely for vanity. For example, if a creature simply wants to be larger for fun, there are plenty of methods to enjoy that temporarily. But there's a natural difficulty in convincing one's Community that a couple extra inches of stallionhood is strictly necessary for one's long-term quality of life. (Though there are always exceptions. Pascal himself reportedly went through multiple enlargement processes, benefiting his quality of life in Equestria due to the vast difference in species.) The Ritual itself leans toward causes where the Subject's mental and social health is at stake, where the absence of the change results in continued suffering. Inversely, the Community can't force a change on a Subject that doesn't truly want it, as a backwoods community near Tall Tale discovered. 'The impetus for change has to come from within.'

There are also cases where the Ritual's chances of success sharply drop if the change requested doesn't address the true problem at hand. In a case where a pony wanted to be turned permanently into a griffon and convinced his Community of its necessity on false pretenses, the Ritual failed because the actual motivation was a desire to run away from sources of stress and start a new life abroad under a different face and name. When the Ritual failed and the true motivation was revealed, a more direct approach to addressing the problem presented itself and the Ritual was agreed to be no longer necessary. (Though it is theorized that if they had attempted the Ritual again with the honest pretense fully understood and agreed as the best course of action by all parties involved, it would have likely succeeded.)

Sadly, it is also possible for creatures to be 'spoilers' to the process. Toxic members in the Subject's Community, especially members of great importance like family members or local leadership, who refuse to offer their acceptance of the change drastically lower the Ritual's chances of success. In most cases, if the 'spoilers' cannot be convinced, then the Subject's best hopes are to cut ties with the toxic members of the Community, and convince the rest of the Ritual participants to do the same or at least disregard the toxic members' opinions. In the most extreme of cases, some Subjects first had to move to an entirely new location and build a new Community that would accept their change.

This is why there is a long counseling process before Pascal's Ritual of Acceptance is used. The Subject has to be confident and self-aware that the change they want is the change they need. The Avatar and the Community must also agree on its necessity, to the point where acceptance is readily given without reservation.

Many of these lessons, and most of the great strides of research into Pascal's Ritual of Acceptance, were learned in the Crystal Empire. Today, the Crystal Empire is the number one destination for creatures all around the world to research and seek permanent transformation. This is likely due to the natural empathy of the crystal ponies, the involvement of the Crystal Heart in most public Rituals of Acceptance, the early championing of the program by Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and a growing network of specialized counselors and experienced Avatars based in the Empire."

34 – Celestia – A New Lease on Life

I dreamt of standing in a field of stars, marks of destiny high in the sky above me. I looked up and saw just above eye-level a PA speaker floating by the force of the mini-propeller attached to the back of it. Like the dream at the beginning of the week, it spoke in my voice, filtered and grainy.

"Well, Pascal, you finally did it," my internal monologue told me candidly and somewhat disdainfully. "You did something so good that even you can't qualify it, downplay it, and deny it. Something that actually lives up to the impossible standards you hold yourself to. At last, you're what you thought you'd never be: A hero."

Busty, nude ponies I knew materialized all around me on the field of stars. They all broke out into gentle applause that made their curves jiggle.

"Congratulations!" Dream-Derpy said exuberantly.

"Congratulations," Dream-Trixie purred.

"Congratulations...!" Dream-Twilight declared breathlessly, almost in tears.

Just as I was about to die from embarrassment, Graham Chapman strutted onto the field in a colonel costume, waving his cane at the circle of naked anthro mares. "Stop that! It's silly! Very silly indeed."

The mares abruptly halted their applause and awkwardly backed off, fading into the starry night.

"Started out as a nice little scene of self-reflection to bookend the week's adventure, but now it's gotten silly!" He waved his cane towards me, and I flinched. "You haven't even seen Evangelion! You've only watched parodies and read thinkpieces! So get on with it!"

Graham Chapman marched off, his image turning hazy and then into nothing. Chuckling in sheepish mirth, I put my face in my hands. "God, I'm such a fucking dork...!" When I had my laugh at myself and sighed and lowered my hands, a gigantically tall glowing figure of a blue anthro stallion was standing off in the distance, looking down at me. Gently smiling back, I shrugged and asked the figure, "Well? Did I do good?"

The giant blue stallion – the specter of what I might have been had I succumbed to the normal, had Celestia not saved me nearly a week ago – wordlessly nodded and disintegrated into glittering stars.

I nodded back, putting my hands on my hips and staring off into space. "...Yeah. For once."

The world lurched. My balance shifted as it suddenly got very difficult to stand. A whirlwind of sensations buzzed between my legs, impossible to parse at first, but rapidly increasing in clarity. Hazy, moist, caressing, red-hot...

...pleasure.

I rejoined the waking world in an enormous, sturdy bed, immediately feeling like I'd been here before. The mattress, the pillows, the sheets – I recalled the feeling of Celestia's bed before I really consciously knew where I was. And as my vision cleared, it was obvious I wasn't alone. There was a giant figure bundled under the sheets between my legs, impossible to see past due to its size, its blanket-covered horn bobbing up and down above my stomach.

The shock of coming out of dreamland gave way almost instantly to returning pleasure, surrounding the entirety of my cock. A hot, wet mouth eagerly swallowed me down to the base of my 13-inch length. I felt their lips squeeze and nostrils puff every time they hilted me, like they were giving my crotch a kiss and huffing my scent at the same time.

I fought to catch my breath. Beneath the sheets I still had my shirt on, pushing up and down with every heavy gasp, but I could feel nothing else, no pants or undergarments.

My guest noticed my waking and redoubled their efforts, fucking their face on my cock faster and faster, wrapping around me and squeezing with their long tongue. A golden glow beneath the blanket was followed by a tingling pressure around my sensitive scrotum, making them feel magically massaged, encouraging me to burst deep down my wake-up-call's throat. How could I refuse?

I let out a long groan of effort and relief as my cock pulsed inside that hot, wet mouth, spurting rope after rope of cum. It swallowed in perfect synchronization to milk out every drop efficiently and spur me to keep cumming until my sore loins couldn't manage another.

Even after I was done, the mystery blowjob-queen suckled on my slightly softening shack, making sure that there had been no spillover and that I'd been sucked clean. Their tongue peeked out and swirled around my base to lap up excess fluids. That by itself had my heart racing and blood pumping to go again. But to my slight relief, they lifted up, up, up, and off with a wet smacking of lips. A deep, womanly chuckle emanated from the blanket.

There had been enough playing coy. I grabbed the edge of the blanket and tossed it over my guest's head. Who else could it have been but Princess Celestia? Still in her new, amazingly thick body. Her blanket-covered mountain of an ass behind her was just visible past her auroral mane, obscuring my view of a good portion of the rest of her bedchambers. That's what I noticed first, but what I noticed second was that Celestia's face was the happiest I had ever seen it. Her mane was glowing so brightly it was almost hard to look at, but at the same time it was gently warm where its wavy locks caressed my arm. She and I were in our own little world, where she was light and life and everything and I was just basking in it.

"Had a nice nap?" Celestia teased with a little naughty giggle.

I managed to tear my marveling eyes away long enough to look for the balcony doors. It was dark outside. "How long...?" I croaked wearily. "What'd I miss...?"

Celestia – and her massive, plush body – carefully maneuvered around me on the bed, making the mattress sink with every movement of her knees. Eventually, she settled in on my right, laying on her side facing me with her gloriously nude amazonian body. Before I could pick my jaw back up, she reached out with her hand and pulled me close, so I was nose-deep in her bosom and pressing my naked pelvis against her soft belly. Keeping me there like a nursing baby, she stroked my hair amorously and let out a light chuckle.

"Almost three hours," she finally said. "Derpy carried you back here immediately after. You missed Rarity springing into action, fashioning a brand-new dress for me out of the stage curtains. Pinkie threw an instant Congrats-On-Your-New-Body Party. And then, once I was dressed and the party was underway..." She sighed, somewhere between happy and slightly exhausted. "...I basically had a two-hour, impromptu town hall with half of Canterlot, where I answered their questions about what happened."

I managed to pull myself up a little so I could see her face and speak, and get a cushion properly under my head. She was still really warm. "Did it go well?"

Celestia nodded slowly, staring off in thought. "Fairly well. ...I think you were right; I didn't give them enough credit. They all were very supportive. Though I'm sure your magical speech helped with that," she added with a smirk.

"Happy to help."

She nodded and then frowned. "There was one thing. Somepony asked if it was humans who had made me... that way, and if that was why I apparently disliked humans and sex so much."

Oh dear. "What did you say?"

"I couldn't really tell them the full truth, but... I decided to say yes, it was the..." She paused, and then chuckled wryly. "I nearly said 'Masters' back there, but then Luna cut in and said it was the 'First Humans' that did it. To make them distinct from you, I think. We told them they had just done that to me, specifically, which is... technically true."

The more I thought about it, the more I liked it. "We broke their curse and undid their last major act towards you. I'd say they ain't Masters anymore. Why not a rename?"

Celestia softly giggled some more and nodded. "I like it."

She rolled onto her back, but in the same motion she picked me up and pulled me onto her chest. I was nestled between her breasts. They were roughly the size of her own head – a far cry from the person-dwarfing eight-foot-diameter masses they had been before – but since she was so much larger than me, they were still just big enough to smother my whole skull if she wanted to.

Petting my hair, her eyes a little misty, she said, "I'm never going to be totally free of what they did to me. Thankfully the spell removed their... compulsions towards humans, but looking at you, I still remember how they felt. I still have those scars. I don't know if your spell could have taken them away... and to some extent, I wouldn't have wanted them to."

It was a little sad, but I totally understood. "That spell is about the body, not so much the mind. Well, I guess there's like biochemical processes we changed on a genetic level, but... anyway." A stinging realization hit me. "Ah fuck, I'm gonna have to change everypony in Equestria, aren't I? One by one..."

But Celestia just laughed. "No need! What you just did, you 'invented' that spell. It's going to be replicated and studied by other magic users now. It might take months or even a year or two, but eventually..." She craned her head forward and kissed my nose. "Everypony will be able to choose." The amazonian Princess hugged me tightly to her chest. Her arms were rather thickly padded like the rest of her body, but still amazingly strong. "You've given me everything I've ever dreamed of, ever since those first moments after we banished them. I'd given up for so, so long..."

Even just that little bit of praise had me giddy. Princess Celestia herself, happy and thanking me and hugging me! It was too much! I opened my mouth to speak, but I couldn't even think of any words to say!

The princess of the sun pulled me up higher. My arms naturally encircled around her broad shoulders, and my abdomen rested in the valley of her cleavage. She kissed my forehead and rubbed my back. "There's so much I want to say. But there's no getting around... the big one."

With a surprise motion, she rolled left onto her front! I found myself smothered in all her plush weight, her bosom crushing my chest as her big magenta eyes stared down at me brightly.

"I... love you...!"

My heart caught in my throat.

Princess Celestia pouted and kissed me firmly on the lips, taking my stunned self by surprise. She peppered my cheeks with a flurry of kisses, then pulled up to ramble. "I'm sorry, just...! I've kept myself locked up for so many centuries, and my heart is a broken dam overflowing with passion...! Passion for the one who saved me, gave my people hope and a future...!" Another big, long kiss on my forehead, then a gasping chuckle as she stroked my hair and stared lovingly into my eyes. "I can't help it, can't stop myself. The old me is waking up, the me who used to love sex and passion and... she wants you. I want you, but more than that... I want you in my life, and to be in yours, as long as possible. Because you've given me everything and..." Her voice hitched and her eyes got watery. "I made you my mortal enemy before. I inflicted so much suffering on you from afar. I don't deserve... everything you've done for me..."

I unburied my arm and stroked her chiseled equine cheek with my fingertips, quieting her rambling. I smiled at her gratefully. "I... Wow. Between, ah, the depression, and the poly thing, and everything... I don't know if I can really return that much love, but–"

"That's okay," Celestia insisted quickly with a gasping laugh. She leaned down and hugged me tight, nuzzling her cheek against mine. "I don't care if I'm a spoke in your polyamorous wheel, one of your harem girls, or even just some slut you bang twice a week." She pulled back and gave me a toothy grin and a naughty giggle. "I just... As far as I'm concerned, you've earned a lifetime's supply of blowjobs! From me personally. Least I can do." More giggling followed. I couldn't tell how serious she was about that (one hell of an) offer, but she certainly seemed to have fun just saying it and having an excuse to be a little filthy. Not that I could blame her.

I put a finger on her nose. "But," I repeated firmly, smiling. "...I want you to be happy. I care about you. I want to make sure you're, y'know, adjusting to all this. And if any new challenges come up... I want to be there facing them with you." I paused for a moment of self-reflection. "I guess... that's the shape of my love for you."

Celestia's happiness somehow got even brighter, and she nodded. "Of course." She pulled me up a little and hugged me tightly again. "Every love is different. I'm sure that's what Cadance would say." The mega-sized princess let me go and got up onto her knees, looking down at me and laughing. "Oh goodness... I must be coming off as horribly clingy right now... Sorry!"

"Hey, completely fuckin' understandable," I replied, low-key dumbstruck by the view of pure white nude alicorn body looming over me.

The princess's idle hands drifted towards my crotch, where my partially erect dick bobbed lazily after my body had been tossed around a couple of times. As she stroked towards the base and grasped it, there was a sparkle in her eyes and a biting of her bottom lip, like a horny schoolgirl excited just to be touching this mysterious thing.

"It's so... different now," she murmured mostly to herself. "It's a completely new sensation. Before, I was in so much thirst I was in pain. But now... now it's just the fun parts, without the... everything else."

I grinned despite the heavy topic. And why wouldn't I? Princess Celestia was having fun playing with my cock. Her hands were less delicate than before, but still flawlessly smooth and warm. "I'm really, really glad to hear that. And not just because I'm the subject of your attentions." A thought occurred to me. "Do you still like human co– anatomy over everyone else?"

A bit of red tinted Celestia's cheeks, and she glanced over her shoulder towards the bedchamber door. "About as much as any other pony, I think. That's how I wanted it. But I can confirm~..." Her horn lit up, and she shifted out of the way, moving to my side so I could see the door open.

Out in the study, propped up amidst the cushions on the central rug, was Derpy. She was napping, but her legs were spread unnaturally wide. Her sleeping face seemed to have a blissed-out, dopey smile on it.

"...that I can appreciate my fellow equines at a normal level now," Celestia continued with a triumphant grin. "Whether they're female, male... or a little bit of both~."

I put two and two together. "Oh. You... made her a..."

"Just for a little bit. It started out making my intentions clear that I wanted to be one of your romantic partners, part of the 'harem,' and I thought it best to, ah, 'make my case.'" She closed the door, letting Derpy resume her post-coital nap in peace.

"Well," I said with a half-grin, "that was something she'd been curious about for a good while. I'll bet you made her night."

Still laying by my side, Celestia reached down to my cock again, playing with it idly until she could squeeze its turgidness in her fingers. "And how can I make your night, hmm? I'm dying to pay you back...!"

As much as I was extremely enjoying this passionate, flirty side of Celestia, a quick lift of my arm demonstrated a minor obstacle in the night's planning. "I'm kinda really tired, to be honest. Not just from the ritual, but... from this whole fuckin' week."

Celestia gave me a kiss on the forehead and ruffled my hair. "That's okay. You don't need to lift a finger. You've already moved mountains. Just let me do all the work." She sat up on her side and used her horn to wrap my cock and balls in a gripping field of golden magic, making me gasp while she stared at it lovingly. "Hmmm...! I think I know~! I recall there's this fetish that you've held back from indulging, for both our sakes. Something that still separates you from the stallions of this world...!"

I swallowed hard. My heart raced. She couldn't mean...? "Um...!"

"What's the matter?" the princess asked with a predatory grin, clearly eager to see me at the disadvantage for once. "Worried it will be too good?"

Yes? Yes. "Fuck, I don't know if I could handle it. I don't have their self-control. I'd... I'd have non-stop boners for weeks!"

"Aww, what a shame. If only there was a big, sexy princess to take care of all of those boners for you~!" The glow of Celestia's horn intensified, and the aura of magic around my dick intensified, seeping into my skin.

Then the stretching started.

I inhaled until my chest was taut, watching my tip stretch upwards, inches of flesh spilling out from my pelvis behind it, like a snake slithering from its shelter. With every beat of my heart, every pulse of new blood, it grew just a hair thicker as well, beating outwards like a secondary heart. Agonizingly slowly at first, first one inch, then another... and then climbing higher, faster!

"Oh, can't forget these too~," Celestia purred, and I felt her magic seep into my testicles as well. A surge of lust sent my loins into overdrive. My balls expanded to fill my scrotum, which a moment later stretched out to make more room until they were both growing at the same pace as my cock.

"C-Celestia..." I croaked, pawing at my thighs. "Oh fuh–...!"

It was like growing erect twice over. I fought to keep my eyes focused past the sensations overwhelming my brain as new sensitive nerve endings kept getting added to my throbbing, rising tower. It passed roughly two feet long, nearly double my current length – quadrupling my original size! – and Celestia didn't stop there. I let out a strangled cry of lust as I was helpless to do anything but watch as Celestia grew my cock until it was akin to a third leg, with fat, heavy balls that squished and partially rolled over my thighs! Only then did she stop!

When the golden glow finally faded, leaving my cock in all its newfound glory... If it weren't attached to my groin, I wouldn't have believed it. Laying down and staring up at it, it felt so tall a part of me hallucinated that it was about to touch the ceiling. A flex of my pelvic muscles made it squeeze and bob, and a wave of alien sensations buzzed in my brain as triple the nerve endings reported sensory data that hadn't been quite the same just a minute ago! And the thickness! I couldn't get both hands around it! It was nearly as thick as the base of my thigh, where it met my hip! Third leg, no kidding!

Celestia licked her lips and closed in on the shaft, stroking it with one hand. "Mmm...!" She kissed the side of my gargantuan cock, making my eyes cross! She moaned, too. "Oh yesss... Oh, this would have destroyed me, broken my mind before tonight, but now~... Now I can just enjoy it!" Her kisses turned into licks, then into slathering and slobbering with her long pink pony tongue that sent rivulets of saliva down the length of my veiny shaft.

Meanwhile, my only comment was: HER mind?? MY mind was broken! I had a hypercock now. I was hyper-endowed now! Big Macintosh himself would have to consider me a peer in this department. Utterly impossible... and yet, in this world of magic, it was actually happening!

The princess stopped licking my cock and grinned at me, grinning even wider at the silly look that must have been on my face. "Want to know how big you are~?" she teased. She leaned down towards my face. "Thirty. Nine. Inches." I shook like I'd been defibrillated. She went on. "How do I know that? Because even to this day, I remember my old Master's preferred cock size like the back of my hand... and I made you exactly one inch longer than that. Little bit thicker, too. Mind you, he was much taller, but... You're a bigger man than he ever was... and now you've got the cock to prove it!" She reared back and burst into laughter; cackling, triumphant laughter, and fist pumping. "Ha ha ha! Feels so GOOD to say that!! Woo! I'm finally free of that monster..." Celestia lifted one massive knee and maneuvered herself to straddle my legs, bringing my cock to rest against her abdomen and between her relatively modest breasts, which now could only just smother the massive crown. She wrapped her arms around the lower shaft and hugged it against her soft belly. "...and I even traded up! Keeheehee!"

These silly antics helped bring me back down to earth somewhat as I chuckled. I wiped my brow and rubbed the back of my neck as I fought to catch my breath. "Hoo...! Fuck. I'm not sure who's having the power trip here..."

"Oh, it's me. Definitely me," Celestia replied eagerly, looking down and admiring the fat tip of my cock peeking up between her boobs, even though she was so much taller than me and kneeling upright! The more she looked at it, the more excited she seemed to get, licking her lips and smiling wider and getting a lusty gleam in her eye...

There was some kind of silent decision made, and she pulled back and got up onto her feet, standing on the far side of the bed, her feet digging into the mattress. And then she turned around, ponderously... jiggling the whole way.

Never had I been struck so dumb as I was the first time I truly beheld Celestia's holy motherfucking buttocks.

'Huge' didn't adequately describe them. They would have been 'huge' on a person about my size. On her nearly-ten-foot frame, they eclipsed nearly my entire field of vision, broken up only by my own mega-erection standing in tribute. Those big sun cutie marks shining down at me from the sides... That long, deep line down the middle, starting high and ending low... The perfect roundness of them, looking firm but not plastic... The sheer mass of them, looking heavy but not droopy... The way they shook back and forth with the slightest motion, carrying so much momentum that even after she'd stopped moving, they wobbled for ages... If she were to sit on me sideways, right in the middle of me on my pelvis, and all that flesh pancaked out, there was no doubt in my mind I'd be covered from my chest to my ankles!

I was halfway to a goddamn religious experience because of this impossible ass!

And there was no guilt in it this time! Technically, her past form had been even bigger and more indulgent, but that had been a sex-doll nightmare made real through malice. THIS was the form SHE had chosen for herself! She WANTED to be this big! Which meant we could both love it without reservation!

"Remember to breathe~," Celestia teased. She was holding onto one of the bedposts and looking over her shoulder at me. I guess when I gasped and didn't speak for a good... minute, probably, that made her really happy, because she was giving me one hell of a side-grin. She gave her hips a little rocking, and... my brain stopped for another second. "I want to give you this ass," she half-purred, half-growled down at me. "I want you to be the first to take it. To break it in. To have the one-of-a-kind experience that HE will NEVER have. The first taste of my new body and its best part. Do you want it~?"

"Yes..." That sounded too weak; I needed to shout it from the depths of my soul. "YYYES!!"

My fervor made her beam one more time, and then... she sat her ass down on my dick.

I don't know if I can adequately describe the feeling of those fat, plush cheeks hugging the head of my cock as she sank down. There was so much flesh, it just seemed to go on forever. Or maybe that was the time-dilation of my intense fascination with her hyper-sized booty. Either way.

The expanse of soft white flesh swallowed me up so completely I couldn't see past it; my dick was just disappearing into her hungry cheeks. But eventually I hit muscle at the bottom, and felt a tight, puffy hole kissing my tip, waiting to pull me even deeper.

Then I noticed how much cock was still left outside her, and I had a moment of doubt. Could she really even fit all of that inside her...? I knew ponies were stretchy, but... How would that even feel for me??

Celestia wasted no time in letting me find out. She pushed down – well, more like adjusted her stance so her ass could get weighed down by gravity a little harder. My erect megacock remained steadfast, and soon enough that hole I was feeling started to streeeetch. The princess gasped. "Oh– Oh fuck yes...!"

My cockhead entered a warm, soft, tight sleeve, while the puffy entrance and the massive buttocks slid down the length of my shaft gradually, inexorably. For a good stretch of time, those senses became my whole world - the feeling of the world's most perfect ass swallowing up my cock, and the sight of that ass descending towards my body. My cock pushed into depths I had never imagined let alone experienced before, nothing but friction slowing its ascent into Celestia's tailored body. The part of my mind that knew even the slightest bit of human anatomy was going 'No, wait...' while my libido was shouting it down because 'WHO CARES?' This felt too amazing!

The next thing I knew, two things happened at roughly the same time. One, Celestia had gotten low enough on my cock that I could feel her ass starting to touch my thighs. Yet I felt very, very far away from 'hilting' in her. Second... my cockhead reached a 'wall' deep inside Celestia.

"Ah! Ohhh~..." The Princess stopped for a moment. She was now positioned in a deep squat over my body, leaning back slightly, covering me in complete shadow. Suddenly I felt... hands? On the head of my cock, through the 'wall' I was feeling, I felt hands caressing the lump...

I croaked out, "Oh fuck," when I realized what I wasn't seeing. My cock had reached her stomach and was now poking at her abdomen, enough to cause a real, actual, cartoonish stomach bulge.

Both of us were now, in this moment, reduced to mere pornographic caricatures of ourselves. But considering we had worked so long and so hard to get to this point... what little shame I felt about it didn't last all that long.

Celestia seemed to be enjoying herself too. She resumed her descent, sinking down ever deeper, her ass finally reaching the mattress and squishing around me, smothering my body. Her hands continued to rub the bulge as it poked higher and higher, stretching the skin of her stomach with it, like she was giving me an assfucking and a vigorous handjob at the same time. The sheer impossibility of it made my head spin, but I couldn't deny the pleasure I was feeling. I felt so... pampered.

There was a potent power fantasy in having such a huge cock and fucking someone so deeply that their bodies literally couldn't contain it. And as Celestia got closer to the base of my dick, as that bulge traveled just a little bit higher, bumping against her breasts, I felt incredibly powerful too. Was this how every stallion felt? Had the Masters felt like this?

"Been so long..." Celestia gasped. "I missed this...!" Her ass descended until those glorious, massive cheeks were sinking into the mattress on either side of me, swallowing up the middle of my body. I couldn't see her front, but I felt her breast brush against the stomach bulge as she lifted it up towards her lips. "Oh fuck, now I can–" Her murmurings were cut off by her lips latching onto a pink nipple and sucking hard. And while one hand kept that breast lifted, the other reached down to her sopping pussy that was dripping its lubricant onto my enormous balls.

Everything about this was so alien and impossible, I literally couldn't process it all at once. There were a hundred other sensory items that were only just now hitting me in bursts. The vibrations of my balls every time her motions shook the bed. The rapid beating of my heart. The searing heat of the blush and sweat on my face. The little whimpers escaping my throat involuntarily. The sight of her glorious white wings twitching and partially unfurling. The creaking of the bed under her lewdly proportioned weight. The squeezing twitches of her anal ring around the thick base of my cock. The overpowering scent of her feminine pheromones mixing with my supercharged masculine dick-musk to create a heady aphrodisiac. The pooling of saliva at my bottom lip as some part of me fought valiantly not to drool. And more and more that got ignored when it came time to refocus on the heavenly vista of Princess Celestia's ass bouncing on my cock in short bursts.

Celestia seemed too enamored with my cock inside her to want to thrust very long and hard, but she moved just enough that my shaft and her insides were rubbing vigorously. She stopped sucking on her tit every so often to gasp or curse, but other than that, both of us were far beyond saying much more than animalistic grunts.

Time lost meaning for a while. There was just the union of my greedy cock and her generous body, taking incredible, long-needed pleasure from each other.

She came before I did. She stiffened, and there was a waterfall of femcum spraying all over my balls as she let out a desperate moan. "So... fffucking big...!" I was surprised I had outlasted her, honestly. I wondered if she had somehow blessed me with incredible stamina to balance out the all-too-exciting size.

But I wasn't going to keep her waiting too much longer. I first felt it as a rumbling in my balls, an almost audible churning as they tightened and prepared to pump. The sensation of crossing the point-of-no-return normally felt like a thin strand of cotton string breaking. Now it felt more like a braided steel cable exceeding its capacity and snapping apart, piece by piece, as the pleasure started to jump up rapidly towards an overflowing plateau.

I tried to warn her. But when I opened my mouth, the pleasure started hitting me like a train as lava-hot loads of semen started to travel up my mega-shaft. All I could do was vocalize it. "I'm...! Oh god... Oh FUCK! NGAAAAH!"

My giant-sized orgasm was so intense I couldn't even fully wrap my head around it. If a regular orgasm was like a bicycle pump suddenly going automatic, this was like having a slow-firing pulse jet attached to your loins. Explosion after explosion of spraying bucketloads of white-hot cum into the deepest recesses of the giant pony above me. I could feel those loads splashing against her stretched-out stomach, pooling up, sloshing around my dick as the next load followed.

I couldn't see it, but I could kind of feel it, and beyond that I just knew it to be an absolute fact: I was inflating Celestia's belly with cum. There was no way around it. My cock was so deep inside her, there was plenty of room to fill up.

And it just... kept... coming! I didn't know if it was the size of my balls, or some extra spell Celestia had cast, a matter of fact of having giant genitalia, or just the sheer overwhelming lust of the situation. But I was putting every cumshot over the last week and a half to shame. I was just lucky I had a lusty princess to dump it all into. If I didn't, I'd be giving her bedchambers and everything in it a brand-new coat of paint! Even then, giant sloppy globs of my jizz were leaking out of her hole from the pressure, sticking her ass and my crotch together like glue.

Everything was just so... big. Not only the orgasm, not just the pleasure, not merely the amount of semen, but even the afterglow as well. Once the sheer amount of effort and energy in making my cock start to pump and flex was taken care of, all that was left was the industrial-grade endorphins flooding my brain with congratulations on a job well done. And I wasn't even done cumming yet. It just kind of kept going, like a perpetual motion machine. All I had to do was ride the wave.

Celestia gasped and cooed and rubbed her swelling gut as every glorp of cum swelled it larger and larger. She'd stopped humping on my cock and just sat there, letting my dick plug her up and keep filling her as she watched and stroked in fascination. I couldn't even see it, but I could feel the weight tugging her belly out and down. Was this going to be my life now? An uncontrollable fountain?

We sat there for a long while, quiet save for our panting breaths. Eventually the red mist faded from my eyes and I managed to take a deep breath to refill my lungs and get oxygen back to my brain. Even then, all I could slur at first was, "Holky fuck."

"Heeheehee!" Celestia breathlessly giggled, making her entire bloated front jump and wobble in a way my dick definitely felt. "Everything you expected?"

"Fuck... off!" I grunted back with an incredulous laugh. "That was... Holy shit! SO much. It's one thing when it's a masturbatory fantasy, but..." My giant cock twitched inside her, still mostly hard. I wondered if it'd ever go down before sunrise. "...to actually FEEL ALL of it...!!"

Celestia laughed some more, brightly and freely. Then she abruptly stopped – "Ooh" – to settle the sloshing in her cumflated belly. "Aha... It's been so long since I got a good stuffing... that I actually liked..."

"I'm glad," I groaned, trying to unstick myself from the sweat-stained bedsheets a bit. Hard to do pinned as I was under her gigantic ass and by the weight of my own manhood. Eventually I gave up.

"Is it alright if we, um..." Celestia asked sheepishly, "stayed like this for a while? It's been so long since I just... let a cock warm itself inside me~...!"

"Oh?"

"He would, um, sometimes..." She grew more embarrassed the further she explained. "...just let us... ride around on his cock. I liked that. He obviously didn't care, but... it made me feel... I don't know..."

"Safe?"

"A little. Valuable, maybe..."

I chuckled, though I regretted it instantly. This was her opening up, not something to ridicule. "Well, I'm more than happy to sit here with you."

There was a palpable release of tension from her when I said that. "Thank you. I'm... rediscovering a lot about myself, and... I guess I need it to be okay."

"That's my specialty, baby." Which was true!

She giggled in that deep motherly voice of hers, more alive than it had sounded in weeks.

With the afterglow finally fading off, we both just had a nice, calm, contemplative break. There was a deep clarity to things in this moment, at least for me. Even though I had a three-foot-plus cock buried inside a giantess's stomach. I had finally gotten what I'd wanted, and it was good, and fun.

"So," Celestia spoke up teasingly, like she wasn't impaled on a giant human dick, "what's next for you, Mister Avatar of Acceptance?"

I was not entirely prepared for that question. All I could really think about was how fuckin' tired I was. Which I guess was kind of the answer. "A fuckin' break, honestly," I sighed. "Not just from the big magic stuff, but... from Canterlot, I think. Y'all move lightning fast here. This week has just been non-stop."

"Aw," Celestia murmured, but nodded over her shoulder at me. "To be fair, it's been a very... exceptional week. But I don't blame you one bit. Think you'll spend some time in Ponyville, then?"

"Now that I'm not a pariah there, yeah. Sounds good."

"Be warned, Ponyville has its own sort of... hectic pace."

"Yeah, but it's more friendship problems than state secrets, so I'll take it."

Celestia laughed. "I do envy Twilight that sometimes. Lucky for the both of us, next week is Spring Break. There will be lots of parties and festivals to take one's mind off things." She wriggled her hips slightly, making... everything wobble. "Though I must admit... I'm actually looking forward to returning to my duties like this, hmhm!"

That wriggling had shifting my cock side-to-side, and I was still recovering from that. "Hoo... Ponies are gonna freak out for a bit."

"Yeah... Yeah, they will," Celestia agreed sadly. "...But honestly? I'm more content with that than ever. Sure, what I said at that impromptu town hall will be in all the papers across all of Equestria by morning, and it will shock the nation. Outraged ponies will make inquiries back here at the castle. There'll be a media storm. But that's a dialogue I'm ready to start having. And it's not... the most horrible truth. Not yet."

The truth that the First Humans were the ones who created ponies and all of Equestria? "Yeah, that's a tougher sell."

"You definitely forced my hand, but... I'm glad you did."

"Well, I promise that's gonna be the last time for a while. I'm dog-tired. Hell of a week."

Celestia chuckled, then changed the subject by tensing up her glutes, squeezing her ass around my mega-enlarged dick. "So, like the test drive? Think you'll keep it?"

I had to let out another heavy breath. My brain still hadn't adjusted to all the new nerve endings. "Ooof. I don't know. Day-to-day? I can't just 'turn it off' like pony stallions can..."

The princess thought for a moment, tilting her head back and forth. "Perhaps if we gave you an enchanted ring you could wear on your finger, where as long as it's on you stay soft, then take it off to allow yourself to get hard?"

I raised an eyebrow incredulously. "You can do that?" Worst of all, it wasn't that bad an idea. Having some absolute modicum of self-control was the only way to make the hypercock thing work as a lifestyle and not just a repeatedly explosive and messy sexual fantasy. "I mean... maybe. Might be better off going back down to like... I don't know, 20 inches?"

Celestia looked over her shoulder with a pout. "Won't you reconsider? If I have to say goodbye to you for a little while – and I might just come to visit you in Ponyville if that's the case, maybe a couple nights a week – then I'd reeeeally like it if you kept the cock I gave you, so I know you're treating other ponies to it~...!" On the word 'reeeeally' she squeezed her ass around my dick again, just to make sure there was a Pavlovian reinforcement to her persuasion.

In my weakened state, I was vulnerable. I knew this, and I laughed and surrendered anyway. "Alright, alright! I'll try it out. For you."

She grinned triumphantly. I wondered if there was a hidden prankster side of her coming out. "Great. I'll have my tailor adjust your clothes in the morning."

"Cool. Uh... think now we could separate and–?"

Knock knock knock!

I was gonna say 'clean up because I'm worried the cum will start drying,' but no, apparently there was someone knocking on Celestia's bedchamber door. For some reason.

Celestia was even more startled than I was. And with good reason – she was the one facing the door, in all her cum-inflated barenaked glory, with my legs and basketball-sized testicles the only things visible in front of her. There was a 0% chance she was going to be able to pull the 'It's not what it looks like!' cliche.

"PRINCESS! Are you in there? Is Pascal awake? We've got a problem!"

That was Twilight Sparkle's voice... Okay, NOW I was worried.

Celestia scrambled for something to cover herself, but she was kind of immobilized by the giant flesh-rod up her ass, the sheets were beneath us... She panicked and used her horn to levitate all the pillows from the head of the bed and use them to awkwardly cover the naughtiest parts of our bodies, and even then that was barely enough. My head thumped against the mattress as even the pillow I was using was donated to the cause. "T-Twilight, I'm not dec–"

The door opened anyway. I couldn't see past Celestia; I could only go by sound. But it didn't seem like Twilight was alone. There were multiple footsteps, and even the sound of something levitating... before being let go and crumpling to the floor with an "Oof!" That was Trixie's voice. Oh boy.

But first, Twilight's reaction to Celestia in flagrante delicto. "GAH!!"

"...not decent," Celestia finished. She huffed and added, "This is on you for barging in, Twilight."

"Sure, yeah, no, that's fair..." Twilight murmured. Her voice got quieter as it was clear she had turned her back to us. "That's perfect. Just... what better way to end this day that's already crumbled my worldview to dust...?"

"Twilight! WHY are you barging into my chambers at an hour like this?" Celestia asked firmly.

Clearly too embarrassed to face her mentor, Twilight ordered, "Moondancer. Trixie. Explain." Wait, Moondancer was the other footsteps I heard?

There was a defeated sigh from Moondancer's voice. "We, um... kind of messed up."

Twilight insisted, "Tell them what happened in the middle of the interviews I was conducting after Celestia left."

"Pascal?" Trixie asked. "Are you alive under there?" A magical aura lifted up the pillow covering up my balls, and she gasped, "HOLY SHIT!"

"Will you FOCUS?!" Twilight shouted.

"HEY DERPY!" Trixie called back out to the other room. "PASCAL'S HUNG NOW!"

I could feel Celestia's full-body blush. "She... got a temporary upgrade too. In that department."

"WHAT?!" Trixie let out a laugh. "You lucky bitches!!"

Twilight stomped her foot. "Oh my g– WILL YOU JUST?!"

Moondancer walked around the right side of the four-poster bed so she could see me behind Celestia. "So, um, Pascal," Moondancer began quickly before there could be any other interruptions, "you know how I was wanting to talk to you before the whole ritual thing?"

Uh-oh. I had a funny feeling I knew where this was going. "Y-yeah?"

Moondancer took a deep breath. "So, Trixie came to my place this morning and, um, encouraged me to use the power you gave me. The power of normal experimentation. So we went out to start something. But I couldn't think of anything, so..."

Trixie emerged on the opposite side of the bed on my left. "I gave it the patented Trixie Push!" the magician finished a little too proudly.

"She went up to this rich-looking mare and, well, forced the issue by asking, um... 'If you had to pick going topless or bottomless, which would you prefer?' And the mare was so started I was worried she was going to start a scene, so I backed Trixie up by saying it was for... a survey. For science. As an experiment. And that seemed to smooth things over. So... this mare investigated how she felt about the question. First by stripping off her top... then putting her top back on and removing her bottoms."

"Skip. To the part," Twilight growled, still at the door facing outwards. "Where half the adult ponies in Canterlot were stripping out of half their clothes."

"They what?!" Celestia gasped.

I died a little inside.

"They all got dressed back up for the ritual," Trixie murmured. "And didn't start stripping until the Princess was gone. Clearly they've got enough wits to stay clothed when it counts."

Moondancer groaned and rubbing her face. "Rrrrgh... The first mare caused a scene, and other ponies asked what was going on, and before I could get it under control Trixie told everypony it was a social experiment – which is better, toplessness or bottomlessness? And I didn't... really... refute her? Well, I said 'sure' because I didn't know what to say, I got nervous... And then everypony got into a big, heated discussion about it... and before I knew it ponies were stripping left and right. To 'try it out.' And then going off to tell their friends. And their neighbors. And anypony they happened to pass on the street."

Wide-eyed, I asked, "Did you... put any limiters on this experiment?!"

"Y-Yeah. Only adults, only until the end of the weekend. But apparently it kind of... became..." She gave me a terrified grin and pushed her glasses up. "...an instant fad?"

Celestia... suddenly burst into riotous laughter. The kind of laugh a mom makes when their kid does something unbelievably stupid but perfectly in-character. "Ohohoho! They... They absolutely would! Turn that into a fad! A fashion war! Ohhhohoho nooohohoho...! That is so, hoho, Canterlot...!"

I facepalmed. I was in the bedchambers of one of the two highest rulers in the land, with a three-foot dick buried in a ten-foot-tall fertility goddess of an alicorn who had just sculpted a brand-spanking-new sexy body thanks to me, while two of my friends explained that they had accidentally used my borrowed power to turn the high-society capital city into a bunch of half-nudists in the name of 'science.'

And the worst part was, I already knew there was no easy way to turn it back. The ponies of Canterlot were clearly taking the idea and running with it. Stopping it now with the same power would be considerably harder than just letting it run its natural course.

I started to laugh, too. I covered my face with both hands and muttered, "How the fuck is this my life...?"

35 – Roll Credits

After I explained how things had gone wrong and there wasn't much to do except ride it out, Twilight and Moondancer went home, and Derpy and Trixie joined me and Celestia in bed. I was out cold soon after.

Some time in the middle of the night, I felt an urge to get up and stretch my legs. So I very carefully disentangled myself from the pile of boobs and limbs around me – slipping my enlarged cock from the arms of Trixie who was clinging to it like a body pillow – and stepped off the four-poster bed.

My feet landed in a field of stars.

I was dreaming.

With a chuckle, I looked around at the beautiful starry mindscape. I wondered why I wasn't dreaming of anything more specific these days. Maybe knowing that dreams were a real magical place in this world got me lucid a lot more often? I was certainly due for a stress dream, with everything I'd been through. Maybe Luna was protecting me from those. That was nice of her.

♪ Myyyyyy Little Ponyyyyyy... ♫

I laughed again. Yeah, this whole night definitely felt like the conclusion to a season of... the show...

An icy chill of panic took hold of my heart.

I had never told anyone else that I recognized all these ponies from the TV show back home. I had no way to explain that. Nor why I was in a sexual parody of that universe. It was irrelevant to my future, anyway, because I had been in the middle of watching Season 5 and I already had confirmation that we were past that. So I had been planning to take that secret to the grave.

But in a dream... Luna...!

I whipped my head around, looking frantically for the source of the outro music. I had to shut it off! I wasn't exactly thinking rationally, but that was my rationale.

Some ways out from the four-posted bed across the field of stars, there was a door standing freely. I ran towards it; the music got louder. I recognized the door as I got close – it was my bedroom door, from back on Earth. My computer was probably in there, with all the media I remembered from home. I had to shut the video off!

I slammed the door open.

Princess Luna, sitting at my computer, jumped. "Ahh!"

I stared. Sure enough, inside was a hazy recreation of my room back home. The part that was clearest was my old computer desk. The cheap dirty card table, the two bargain-bin widescreen monitors, the ten-year-old Windows desktop sitting on the floor beside it, the rolling office chair bought at a thrift store... Exactly as I remembered.

Luna, Princess Luna, the princess herself, was sitting awkwardly in my chair that was too small for her. With a wired Xbox controller in her hands.

On one monitor was a Windows Media Player window, where the My Little Pony credits were rolling. Next to that window was a web browser with Derpibooru as the active tab. On the other monitor was a game window with an item menu visible that, after a moment, I recognized as Dark Souls.

While I was staring and Luna was staring back at me, the Dark Souls character on the screen got waylaid by a barrage of poison arrow out of the darkness, too fast for the character to move out of the way. "Oh, shoot!" Luna reflexively cursed as the words 'YOU DIED' filled the screen in red.

I slowly raised my hand to my mouth, closed my eyes, and let out a long, quiet groan deep in my throat.

Luna swallowed awkwardly and then stood up very slowly out of my chair. Fixing me an uneasy grin, she said, "Worry not, I am not the real Luna, this is just a figment... of your... You're not buying this, are you?"

I pinched the bridge of my nose between my eyes. "How long?"

"Um... How long what?" Luna replied, feigning ignorance.

"Have you told anyone?"

"Well..."

I balled my hands into fists. "Luna. Have you been using MY brain, and all my memories of home and all its media, as your own personal entertainment system FOR A WHOLE MONTH?!"

It wasn't easy for a nine-foot regal alicorn to look cowed, but my outburst managed it. She flinched back a step, stared at me like a deer frozen in the headlights, and then finally said, "...Only three weeks..."

I stepped aside and pointed towards the bedroom door. "Out."

Luna immediately started for the door, but she protested. "I haven't told anyone about the entertainment program. Your secret is–"

"You were spying on my dreams and you didn't even report this important info?!"

She put her hands up as she ducked under the doorframe and turned around to face me. "Look, I only, ah, use it during my dream-duty breaks. It's been really helpful–"

I let out a huff of air through my nostrils. "We are going to talk about this later. But for now, you are grounded, young lady."

Luna's eyes widened in outrage. "'Young la–' You are– Thou art NOT my dad!"

"WELL MAYBE YOU NEED ONE!!" SLAM!

I slumped against the closed bedroom door and sighed.

"Fffuuucking ponies..."

Author's Note

Thank you very much for reading my second adult novel.

Pascal will (probably) return (eventually) in Universal Acceptance: Spring Break.

For now, I need a break and later a palate cleanser of some sort. Just some different kind of story that isn't UA.

With this, I've told the big stories in this world I really wanted/needed to get out there. I've still got more ideas, but Avatar had the really big important ones I felt a sequel needed to explore. I originally intended Avatar to be more slice-of-life, but there was a lot more drama left to resolve than I expected. Spring Break will eventually be my attempt to get more slice-of-life in Ponyville; we'll see how that goes.

At this point, I've been writing Universal Acceptance off and on for almost five years. Through some of the hardest mental, social, and financial events of my life so far. Going forward, I reserve the right to burn out or focus on myself without making writing smut a top priority. I've told the big important stories in this world I wanted to tell. I'm not cut out to write smut as my day job.

But it's still been fun, and barring something life-threatening I'll return to write some more in this world. I hope you've all enjoyed it too.

AuNaturale

1 – Derpy – A New Lease On Life

Waking up felt weird now.

It didn't help that my sleep schedule was going to be officially out of whack for a while, but that wasn't really the big thing. Hell, this was far from the first time I'd collapsed in the afternoon and woken up at sunset. And in the last week or so, I had at least gotten to the point where I could wake up and think, 'Yep, still in Equestria, an entirely different planet light-years away from everything I've ever known,' without letting out a melancholy sigh.

But today... Today it felt weird for three reasons. First, I was in a very comfortable and spacious suite of Canterlot's royal palace, instead of a hospital bed or Lyra and Bon Bon's couch. Second, I wasn't alone.

And third, weirdest of all, I was free. No worries about employment or money, no angry ponies to avoid, no magical resurgences to fight off, no 'human-checking' first thing to make sure I still had my sense of self... For the first time in a while, I had nothing to dread outside the comfort of my blanket. And that was super weird for me. And it was super weird that that was super weird, so it all just looped in on itself.

I found it very hard to break the circular thinking on my own, so I instead went for my favorite method of escaping the spiral: Looking over to the right and seeing a vision of lewd adorableness sleeping next to me.

My sexy cross-eyed blonde. Her light gray breasts, big even by pony standards – huge and fat enough to fill her lap when she was sitting, yet bouncy and perky enough to maintain their pleasing roundness when standing – had only the slightest roll to them as she laid on her back, her boobs resting on both her chest and the mattress. Her darker gray areolae were pronounced from the rest of the breastflesh, and bigger than one of my palms. Her nipples were thicker than my thumb and had just enough length to be both enticing and adorable. As she breathed, both mammaries swayed and wobbled, showcasing both their natural (albeit magical) weight and the promise of delicious and nutritious pony breastmilk within.

I was a boob-man through and through, and living in this wet-dream version of Equestria had only made that worse, but my eyes wandered to the rest of her body as well. The covers had rolled down, revealing her pleasingly pudgy belly beneath the shadow of her tits, her relatively thin hourglass waist, those foal-bearing hips, those big, soft thighs, and the enormous bubble-butt that was pressing into the mattress and bunching up the sheets. Anyone who said that Derpy wasn't the total package was a goddamn liar. (I also made a mental note to save that 'whole package' pun for a really good later occasion, her being a mailmare and all.)

I bit my lip and glanced down at my legs. Sure enough, my recently enhanced 12-inch-long, soda-can-thick erection was coming back to life. The aphrodisiacs (from both Photo Finish's surprise spell and whatever the hell was in Celestia's milk) were probably out of my system by now, but a little rest and I was already raring to go again. "Count on you to get me into trouble..." I muttered under my breath.

Flashes of memory from last night's events danced across my eyes, and I winced. You wouldn't think getting fucked half to death by a mind-broken sex-doll-shaped demigoddess would be legit traumatic, but... it was going to take some time before I could really move past that.

Still, the sine-wave of my willpower to resist temptation was on the low end right now. So I extracted myself from the covers and carefully straddled Derpy's stomach, trying very hard not to rest too much of my (recently reduced) weight on her body. My cock naturally landed in the valley betwen her breasts, and all it took was my hands gently pressing against the sides of her boobs – my fingers sinking into the soft, smooth skin a little – to bury it completely. I suppressed my sigh of pleasure and relief, but a snort of lust did escape my nose as I began to shift forward and thrust in short lengths.

God, this was still too good. Part of my mind was shouting, 'This is fucked up, you just learned that these ponies were literally created to be sex toys, that they've spent over a thousand years rebelling against their programmed nature while their leader feared they might be enslaved again, and now you're titfucking one of them again,' but I forcibly tossed out the notion. If I let that stop me, I'd go insane from my own repressed lust, and that's how this whole mess had gotten started. And besides, Derpy's tits were too heavenly to give up. Like, I was starting to think that pony skin had some kind of anti-friction magic to them, because even without lotion I was just gliding across her cleavage, feeling nothing but that warm, jiggly pressure around my dick. It was extremely good.

And on top of that, when I looked down over Derpy's bouncing tits at the anthropomorphic pony's face – her short, messy, sweaty mane splayed out on the pillow, her cheeks tinged with a blush, a small smile across her muzzle – I couldn't resist feeling a surge of warmth in my heart as well. This adorable, sexy, wonderful mare flew from Ponyville to Canterlot after me, and constantly assured me that no matter what happened, she would love me and stand by my side.

I didn't deserve Derpy. I really didn't.

Her eyelids fluttered for a second, and her smile broadened. "Mmmm..." she moaned. "That time again, huh...?"

"Sorry," I whispered reflexively, and chuckled. I didn't stop thrusting; in fact, I started squeezing her breasts a little more firmly, and my fingers danced over to her hardening nips.

"No no, that's– mmm." Derpy, her eyes still closed, rolled her shoulders and settled her head against the pillow. "This is like... the equivalent of waking you up in the morning with a blowjob. This is really good."

I got what she meant, but that got me thinking about a different sexual act. "Y'know, I could try the actual equivalent of that if you want. Got some practice yesterday."

"Oooh, definitely later. But... ahh, pussy orgasms are nice and all, but – mmm, boob-gasms are where it's at for me. You know that."

I was no expert on female anatomy, and ponies were just plain weird when it came to how they were wired, but such an idea threw me for a loop just as much as it turned me on. "I guess I'm still wrapping my head around it," I admitted as I slowed down my thrusts. "Are they really that much better?"

"Oh yeah," Derpy agreed, sighing in relief as I gave her tender mega-tits a little break. "Like, normal orgasms are great down there, but... boob- and nipple-gasms are great down there, up here, and pretty much my whole entire body! It is so much more intense." She gave me a cute, sheepish little smile. "At least for me it is."

This was pretty much how it was all the time with Derpy: If she wasn't hitting me right in the heart, she was getting me right in the fetishes. I couldn't believe how perfect she was for me. Me, a pervert with low self-esteem stranded on another world. "Good– Good for me I love your tits," I groaned, and picked up the pace of fucking her cleavage in earnest.

"I... I do too!" Derpy moaned back, her face contorting in pleasure. "I always did. I remember – even when they started coming in! But everypony taught me to be sorry and ashamed... With you, though, that doesn't matter! I can love my... my...!"

Her eyes shot open at the same moment milk started spurting out from her areolae and nipples.

"We gotta get up. Gonna soak the sheets!" Derpy said, pushing herself off the bed.

"Good idea," I mumbled, extracting myself and quickly stepping off the fancy palace's bed. All I had to do was stand to the side; Derpy just took a seat on the side of the bed and held her enormous breasts up to engulf my cock again. And none too soon – milk freely dribbled down the curve of each tit, getting her fingers wet and dripping onto the carpet. I grabbed the sides of her boobs and humped away, making them bounce and jiggle against her chest. "Nngh, the cleaning staff probably hate us..."

"At least we're doing... what we can... ahh..."

I changed position, crouching a little to rest her bouncing gray boobs against my upper thighs. This freed my hands to stroke around the girl's abundant titflesh, teasing the edges of the areolae and occasionally tweaking a nipple.

That got my marefriend truly gasping in pleasure. "Oh, P-Pascal! MMM!!"

Derpy's whole body convulsed once before she arced her back and spread her legs. Milk rocketed out from her gently pulsating breasts, flying past my sides and landing on the carpet behind me, at the same time that a wave of her cum drenched the edge of the bed. I was a little behind in terms of pleasure, but I just grabbed huge handfuls of her sideboob again and rubbed them alternatingly up and down against my prick. The rough handling seemed to prolong her full-body boobgasm, and a few moments later I crossed over the edge too.

My own orgasm was still about ten times as intense as I was used to. Even with it completely buried in Derpy's cleavage, I could feel the intense rush of each hot load of sperm traveling down the shaft and stretching my urethra. I could feel it splash into the tight warm confines of her breasts. So much, over and over again. Until finally they diminished, after what felt like half an hour later.

And yet somehow, in terms of sexual size and capacity, the low end for stallions was still about 50% bigger than that. After not one but two rounds of painstaking enhancements on myself. I knew they had to get used to it over time, but every time I came I had to ask myself: How does anypony get anything DONE?

I only then noticed that I was comparing myself to every other stallion in Equestria during every post-orgasm cooldown. Maybe that was a little bit unhealthy, I considered.

Thankfully, Derpy was ready to bring me back to reality, panting in the afterglow of an orgasm that seemed to have taken just as much out of her. "Gosh..." she said. "I don't know how I got along without you..."

I felt a little guilty. "Maybe there's a correlation?" I couldn't help but hypothesize. "Between, I dunno, my addictive cum and–"

Derpy put up a hand, and I shut my mouth. "I, Ditzy Doo," she declared, "being of sound mind and body, fully aware that I'm descended from a race of magical sex slaves, hereby make the conscious decision that I like it when you do stuff with my breasts." She leaned back and pulled her breasts apart so she could admire the load I'd left dripping there. "It's not like I'm used to getting this kind of treatment. The most I ever had from somepony else was a mean grope from an awful prom date, and I didn't even have my minimizer pasties off for that."

I reached over to the nightstand and grabbed another bunch of napkins, some of which Derpy took and used to start cleaning up my semen. I did the same with my half-erect dick. We both probably needed a(nother) shower more than anything, but for the moment we didn't want it to dry, and it still wasn't safe to put my cum inside anyone.

"I mean, imagine me just sitting in my bed at home, playing with my own nipples for almost half an hour before finally getting a weak boobgasm and some milk dribbles. That was what my, y'know, my sexual baseline was, Pasky. You and your talented hands were exactly what I never knew I needed."

Feeling romantic despite the lewd topic, I leaned down and kissed Derpy on the forehead. "Just like you were exactly what I needed when I was freaking out?"

Derpy blushed and grinned as we both remembered the first time we met. "Heh heh, it's hard to believe that that was just, what, three days ago? Time sure does fly, huh?"

A quick wave of melancholy washed over me. So much had happened in the last 72 hours that trying to remember it felt like trying to recall a previous life. In some sense, maybe it was a previous life. After tossing the cum-stained napkins into a nearby bin, I pointed a thumb over my shoulder and said, "I'm, uh, gonna crack a window. It reeks of sex in here."

"Good idea," Derpy agreed, standing up and stretching.

I walked over to the tall balcony door, shoved the curtains aside, and unlatched it just enough to let some fresh air in. I couldn't tell you what part of the castle we were in – after Luna led us here, we only had enough energy to titfuck once before collapsing into bed – but this balcony had a great view of the castle grounds and part of the city of Canterlot, so this part had to be facing south-ish. The golden light shining down from the west made the brightly colored buildings glow, and it boggled my mind to realize that the residents of this town got this kind of view every single sunny evening.

As I was taking in the sights, Derpy's arms wrapped around me. Her breasts smooshed against my back, and her muzzle pressed into my shoulder blade. (She seemed so larger-than-life to me, it was kind of crazy that she was actually a few inches shorter.) "Two bits for your thoughts," she delightfully mumbled into me.

I struggled to capture the feeling I'd been having since I woke up, that this view was bringing back. "It's sort of... It's like..."

"Use your words," she teased.

I scoffed and threw up my hands in faux exasperation. "That's what I'm trying. I'm trying to find the right words!"

Derpy chuckled and replied, "Then start with the wrong words, and find your way to the good ones."

Shaking my head, I gestured vaguely at the city and said, "Everything's so... big now."

"That's Equestria for you."

I rolled my eyes and turned halfway around, putting one arm under hers and looking into those yellow eyes. "I mean, it's more like... My life has, well, expanded. I have more options than I did– Well, that's not even putting it... I have options now! At all!" I chuckled a little at both the simplicity and the profoundness of it. "So much of my life I've spent just surviving, day to day... Even when I got here, that hadn't really changed. But now I actually have a life beyond survival. I can plan, and... have goals. It's... scary, really."

"And you can have sex with whoever you want," Derpy added with a grin.

"Well yeah, heh. That's great. But... y'know, as much as I can use this Acceptance thing to satisfy my fantasies... In the reality of it all, this was the real fantasy." I shifted so that I was directly in front of Derpy, my chest pressed against hers, my hands on her hips, admiring her eyes and lips. "A roof over my head, not needing to worry about money or food, a chance at a job that actually fulfills something in my soul... and spending the day with someone I love, and who loves me back..."

Derpy smiled and gave me a quick peck on the lips. "Glad I can be part of your dream come true, then."

I let out a sigh of happy relief. Maybe I was laying on the melancholy a little thick, but I considered myself very lucky in that moment to have someone I could share this kind of thing with, to get it off my chest. I looked at her and said, "Penny for your thoughts?" I caught myself and corrected: "Sorry, two bits for your thoughts."

The pegasus mare nuzzled into my neck, her breasts compressing against my chest and stomach. "I'm in the royal palace with a nice, interesting guy, who's gonna take me on all kinds of wild, crazy, sexy adventures. Heh heh. So yeah, I'm a little excited for the future too."

I tried to fight down the rising feeling of anxiety in my core. "Yeah, I guess that's what this all boils down to. Looking to the future."

Derpy gave me a kiss on my cheek. "We don't have to answer every question today. I know there's a lot, but I think if we take this one day at a time, it'll all become more manageable."

I nodded. "Yeah, that's–"

Suddenly, she pulled away. "Oh horseapples! I gotta work tomorrow! But I wanna be here for you! Oh shoot, I gotta talk to somepony!"

As she headed for the door, I weakly raised a hand and said, "Um, maybe Celestia can give you a pardon or something...?"

Derpy threw the door to the guest suite open and looked down the spacious palace hallways. "That's the idea, but I gotta make sure my route is covered too. I don't want to dump it onto one of my coworkers... but dang it, this is practically a family emergency! I dunno, maybe the Princess can send a replacement...?" She glanced back at me. "I might be a while."

I stretched my arms and rolled my shoulders, swallowing a yawn. "That's fine," I groaned out. "I'm still tired as heck."

"Okay." Derpy smiled and nodded. "See you when I see you, Pasky." And with that, she marched with purpose into the labyrinthine royal palace hall, letting the door shut gently behind her. The last of her I saw was her considerable shelf of naked butt jiggling away. It wasn't like she would get in trouble for walking around nude; she had my permission to be as dressed or undressed as she wanted. Just one of the weird ways my new power worked.

Introvert that I was, I didn't mind having a moment to myself. To take stock of where I was and how far I'd come. And as I considered what was about to be unleashed on the poor palace guards and servants – namely one gloriously nude Derpy – I pondered whether my powers would grow, now that they were a permanent part of me. I could already spread new social norms by word of mouth. What could be next?

I took a running leap onto the spacious Princess-sized mattress, and suddenly pondering the future became far less important than getting some more precious sleep, no longer plagued by deadly dreams of the most normal stallion in the world. Fat chance of becoming that now.

11 – Cadance – Universal Love Pt. 2

I woke up the next morning – barely got a lick of sleep due to stress. Especially because I knew at that point that my influence was spreading throughout the castle, maybe even while I was asleep.

Sure enough, as soon as the servants find out I'm awake, there's about six of them knocking on the door to my room going, "Princess Mi Amore Cadenza? Can we help you in any way, I mean any way?" Being a Princess comes with a certain amount of unconditional selfless love, even if I wasn't and still am not as popular as Celestia. Thankfully there wasn't much eros towards me among them, or at least so little that it was drowned out by agape.

All of those ponies offering to help and see to my every need in the morning... and I'll admit, I was groggy and disheveled and completely clueless what to do about all this. So I gave up, shrugged my shoulders, and said, "Sure."

I'll tell you something: I've been pampered a lot as a young Princess and given a lot of preferential treatment. But what I got from those servants was something else. Even the crystal ponies at their most sycophantic rarely compare to what those six did. Brushing my mane and tail for me, bringing me breakfast, massaging my hooves to take out every bit of soreness... Almost all of them offered to give me a sponge bath, but thankfully they didn't take my refusal too badly.

"So this is it?" Pascal asked me, leaning back and folding his arms. "The one time on Day 2 that you 'abused' your power and enjoyed the luxury it brought you?"

My eyes widened for a second. I quickly became rather contrite and my face went a shade pinker. "Oh. Um, if we're counting this... then no, I guess there were two big exceptions. The other one happened at the party."

I don't mean to say that they just buzzed around me like mindless drones. The whole time, they were each pouring their hearts out about how much I meant to them, the first times they saw me, the impacts I'd made in their lives serving as an example... It was a very moving experience, too. I became much deeper friends with several of them. In fact, you could say I poached one of those servants from Celestia when we moved to the crystal palace, and she's still working with us.

Anyway. I had a very lovely morning, but I was still worried. This birthday party was already going to be a big event, but with this unstoppable love aura still active, I was worried about causing real harm. I'm happy to say now that I was lucky and nothing super wrong happened, but at the time I was thinking, It'll only take one unhealthy, unrequited love being inflamed to cause a horrible incident!

I had one plan: Get the party cancelled.

I finished getting dressed and went out into the castle to find Kibitz, Celestia's Royal Scheduling Adviser. I didn't have a great relationship with him and didn't really see him often, but I thought that if anypony could get the party moved to a different date and time while I figured this out, it was Kibitz.

Unfortunately, I didn't find him and wasted a lot of time trying to do so. He's the sort of stallion that's always on the move. If somepony tells you where he is and you go there, chances are he's already two steps ahead of you by then. I've sort of learned how to catch up to him these days, but at the time I was still a fledgling Princess and had never made use of him before. Meanwhile, I was running around the castle, and no doubt spreading my 'aura' with each new hallway I traversed.

Eventually, I thought, It's a long shot, but maybe I can see if Raven can help instead. She's Celestia's top aide, and even though my party wasn't exactly within her purview, I figured she could talk to the right ponies to get it rescheduled.

So I fly through the castle to Raven's office. Good news: She's there. Bad news: I hear some very vigorous noises beyond the door.

From what I understand, Raven was secretly a rather promiscuous mare for a while, rotating through a variety of partners to deal with the stress of advising Celestia. She's happily married now, so I'm not sure what changed, but apparently she was full of pent-up eros and now unleashing it on whoever her current coltfriend was back then. I think it was actually her future husband.

But I'm exasperated and at the end of my rope. Even though I can hear them from outside, I pretend I hadn't and knock on the door. There's this very obvious and panicked scrambling, and then – "Come in...!"

I sigh and walk in. Raven's at her desk. Her chair's been pulled up so close to it that her belly is pressed against the table. She's still got a bit of a flush on her face. I roll my eyes and say, "Raven, I need your help. I cannot, cannot go to the birthday party today. Is there any chance we can move it?"

She starts to respond, but she interrupts herself with an involuntary gasp and moan, and I hear something bump under the desk. And I'm just standing there trying not to look like I know exactly what's going on, just like, Ugh, come on...

Eventually, she manages to pull herself together and says, "Are you sick?"

That's the best way to explain it. "Yeah, yeah I am. Don't want to spread it around."

"Check in with the Royal Physician and get me a note from her, and I can look into it."

Now that's not good. Based on the pattern today, I can already guess how a 'check-up' is going to play out in close quarters. I reply, "I'll... I'll see what I can do..." and try to get out of there.

Before I go, Raven suddenly asks, "Hey, um... Happy birthday. How... How steady are you and Shining Armor, by the way...?"

I... pretend I hadn't heard that and kinda slam the door behind me.

I skip lunch. After a long and frustrating morning, watching this get worse and worse and worse, I decide that what I need is to get out of the castle, get away from all living ponies. Normally I'm supposed to have an escort when I leave the limits of Canterlot, but I just completely skip the guards and take to the clouds. I found a nice big cloud over Ponyville to hide in and sulk for a couple of hours.

It was then that I started to really confront the idea that I might be stuck with this forever. Maybe it was just a product of the Princess of Love turning 18 and couldn't be turned off. If so, how could I possibly plan around it? Would I need to exile myself? Find an abandoned island and form my own sovereign nation of lovestruck ponies? Could I maybe use it to my advantage in Equestria? This is when I was really tempted, you see. To make the most of it, to abuse it. If everypony's at max love all the time around me... well, ponies in passion are pretty easy to manipulate, to control. I thought back to the morning's treatment, and imagined what it'd be like to really have a bunch of loving drones serving my every whim. I... might've indulged the fantasy a few times while I was sitting on that lonely cloud. My libido had broken through the panic and come back with a vengeance.

Eventually a Royal Guard spots me – thankfully I'm back to being decent by then – and escorts me back into town. This wasn't the first time I'd "disappeared," so all I got was some tired admonishments for running off. But now the birthday party was closer than ever, and there was no time left to cancel or delay it.

My new plan is to show up, stay just long enough so that the guests have a chance to say hello, then fake illness and duck out as soon as possible. If I keep the exposure very short, I thought, I could avoid affecting them too badly.

First things first, gotta get my gift. I grab a quick shower at the castle, then fly down to the repair shop to get Shiny's gift. I meet Mrs. Watch, who is in a much sunnier mood than yesterday, and she says I'm lucky I got my 'project' finished because Mr. Clock suddenly developed a hip problem and will be taking a vacation for a couple of days. As I walk out of there, I'm thinking, Now I've done it; this out-of-control power is causing real physical harm! (Though the two of them told me years later that that burst of intimacy was just what their marriage needed at the time.)

I get back to my room at the palace and start getting ready for the party. I refuse to get any help with it, so I do all of it – my mane, my makeup, my dress – all by myself. Which made it take much longer, and the day's constant stress didn't help. There was one strand of my mane that refused to stay straight, the eyeshadow couldn't conceal the bags that were forming under my eyes, and every time I tried the trademark Princess Smile, my teeth would grind and make me look crazy. It was not my best look.

But I have no choice. It was time to go to the birthday party.

Celestia set aside a big ballroom in the palace for the event, and already everypony I know is there. The Princess, her nephew Blueblood, Shining's parents, little teenage Twilight Sparkle, and all of our school friends and teachers. The only pony who's not there is Shining, who was running late. And that was bad – if I left before we blew out candles, got our presents, did all the photo-op stuff, I was sure the night would be ruined for everypony else. The big one-eight is an important time in a young mare's life, and all these ponies wanted to be part of it.

I say hello after hello after hello after hello, but as soon as I can I grab a glass of punch and hide in a corner of the ballroom. I start coughing to set up the story that I'm getting sick so ponies will stay away from me. It doesn't work that well. Not that distance really mattered, because the radius of this thing was more than enough to affect the entire room no matter where I was standing.

Already I'm seeing effects of my non-stop love magic. Night Light and Twilight Velvet can't keep their hands off each other. Blueblood's got a gaggle of teen mares hanging on his every word. And little Twilight is bawling all of a sudden, crying about how two of her best friends in the whole world will be going away soon. (Even though Shining would just be working in the palace, so he'd stay in Canterlot. I would be leaving for a while.) Even though she was never the romantic type, if there was one type of love Twily embodied with all of her heart, it was storge, the love of family.

About 20 minutes in, when I'm really considering just sneaking out of the party, Princess Celestia walks up to me and asks, "Can I speak to you alone for a minute?" And I start freaking out – She knows! She knows and she's gonna kill me! But what can I do but follow along?

We go out into the garden, away from everypony else. She starts talking at me, but I'm stuck in my own head trying to think of a way out of this. And just as I'm about to break down, to tell her everything and beg for forgiveness–

Celestia grabs my head and kisses me. On the mouth. With tongue.

"Wooooaaaahhh!" Derpy exclaimed, her mismatched eyes open as wide as they could go.

"Right?!" Shining agreed, adjusting his crotch-pouch to try and contain his massively growing excitement. "I mean– just– wow."

Then I realize what words I'd been drowning out: Celestia's nervous admission of forbidden attraction. More than a little repressed eros. Towards me. And I'll admit it, I kissed her back. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, and I went all-in on it. It was scorching hot. I still get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about it.

But many seconds pass, and I start to worry. I couldn't let this go on. I didn't love her like I loved Shiny. And I couldn't believe Celestia would really love me like that in her right mind. If Celestia found out what drove her to this, not only would it ruin her reputation, it would probably break her heart. So I did the only thing I could do: Cast a dizziness spell on her while she was distracted. When she stumbled back, I set her down on a bench nearby and quietly went back to the party. I sent a guard to look after her. When she broke out of it, she would assume that somepony had spiked the punch – that's the excuse everypony believed to explain what happened.

"That's the big reveal...?" Pascal asked more than a little incredulously. "You kissed Celestia and got away with it?"

"That's huge!" Derpy insisted on my behalf. "Nopony knew she was a former sex slave back then! She was the pure, innocent, assumed-virgin Princess of Equestria! She didn't kiss anypony!!"

"But everypony sure wanted to," Shining admitted, rubbing the back of his neck and blushing. "She had that whole ageless, unattainable goddess factor going on. Wasn't a colt or filly in Equestria who didn't fantasize about her at least once. When Cadance told me, I wasn't even mad – more like jealous."

Pascal furrowed his brow and looked around the table in bewilderment. "It was just a kiss..."

Getting back to the story... I immediately run and find Twilight, trying to ignore the makeouts that were already happening in the ballroom.

Twilight's seated at the edge of the ballroom, sniffling to herself. (She always had a hard time socializing at these sorts of events.) Then I run up and grab her shoulders, and I'm like, "Twilight, if you have ever loved me, I need your help with a magical problem right now."

A little extreme, I admit, but she sits up and pays attention. I swear, she invented a whole new category of love for magic and academia. She gives me the cutest little salute and says, "What's wrong?"

I try to explain to her as best I can without any lurid details... or indeed giving away that I'm affecting everypony in the room at that exact moment. So actually I didn't explain it very well at all! But I said, "Suppose, hypothetically, there's a pony that enchanted herself at max power with no locus in mind at time of casting, and the enchantment lasts at least 24 hours. Dispel doesn't work. What do you do?"

"Well this is why it's always important to prepare a Failsafe spell for–"

"I don't have a Failsafe spell for this! What do I do?!"

"...What was in the caster's mind at time of casting?"

"Um... uh... Passion? ...Longing?"

"It's possible the self-enchantment, then, is shaped by the locus of desire. It is trying to fulfill or gather something the caster perceived to be lacking. Theoretically, if the caster gets what they 'want,' the enchantment should be satisfied. ...What's this all about, Cadie?"

And while I'm thinking to myself, trying to recall that late-night masturbation session and remember what I 'wanted' at that exact moment... That's when Shining finally walks through the door.

"Mind if I take over for a bit?" my husband asked.

I nodded at him.

"So I'm not exactly showing up in my Sunday best either. My train was late, and all I could do was grab a quick shower before going to this birthday party. But as I'm walking up to the ballroom, I can already feel the tingling of Cadance's magic wash over me. I was pretty used to it by then. It, uh... Like she said, using active magic to spice up fun was real popular at the time, so Cadance's love spell... when we were making out... Ahem. Anyway, so ironically enough I wasn't too strongly affected because I knew how to let it roll over me. I mean, I was a little curious why I was feeling Cadance's magic from a block away, and I was so happy just to be able to see her again after a week away... but, you know, I was able to keep my own head on straight a lot longer than everypony else."

"Kind of like me and Pascal's Normal magic!" Derpy excitedly pointed out. "After a while you get used to it, you adjust."

Shining leaned back and began to slowly nod to himself, looking between our two guests and smiling a little. "Yeah... It is kinda like that, I guess."

Shining's arrival caused a big cheer and everypony crowded around him in a big mob. I couldn't even get close, there were so many ponies. So many increasingly amorous ponies. I get an idea and shout out, "Alright, cake time!" And in the heat of the moment, everypony just sort of goes along with it. Our cake is brought out, 36 candles in total, and we blow them out. Then I'm all, "Okay, presents!" And we tear open all the presents as fast as possible – except for my secret present, which I'm saving for later.

"When I can get a word in," Shining added, "I whisper to her, 'What's the rush?' And she whispers back, 'Just trust me, we gotta get out of here.' I already knew something was odd, so I played along."

Then I say, "Picture time!" and the ponies around us take their hands off each other for a couple of minutes to pose for a photo. And once it's done, that's it, time to get out of there. Shining's parents are already starting to grind against each other on the dance floor. Before we go, however, I have to make sure that Twilight doesn't see anything that'll scar her for life. So I run over to her and say, "Hey, last I saw of Celestia, she was looking a little sick out in the garden. Can you go check on her?" And she's off in a cloud of dust before I'm even finished.

Shining and I say our goodbyes, with me coughing loudly and obviously but I just didn't care anymore. We hightail it out of there, lose the guards, and head up the trail to the summit. There's this beautiful overlook partway up the mountain with a gorgeous view of the valley and trees providing cover in the summertime. It was our secret spot.

When we get there, Shining asks, "What's the problem?"

And I spill everything. Every single detail about what happened, just like I'm telling you now. All the while, I'm freaking out because "I've ruined them! I've ruined everypony's lives!"

But no matter what I say, Shining reassures me, "We already know how this works; you didn't make anypony feel anything they weren't already feeling, you're fine."

Derpy looked over at Pascal with a grin. "Reminds me of when we first met." The human looked away and rolled his eyes a little, but the corner of his mouth curled upward all the same.

We end up talking about... so many things. For hours and hours and hours. The magic, what it means for my future, for our future...

Until eventually I realize: It's still our birthday, and I haven't given Shining my secret present. I pull the tiny box out from under my cleavage, my favorite hiding place, and hand it to him. You remember what it was?

"I sure do. It was my late grandfather's silver pocket watch. You had it restored, and you had them place a little picture of the two of us on the inside of the cover."

I thought it would be a perfect gift to remind you of us while you were pursuing your Royal Guard career and I was doubling down on Princess training. We would be far apart, but we would always be in each other's heart.

"We even sang a little song about that, didn't we?" Shining said with a laugh. "But I had a secret present for you, too."

We're laying there, looking up at the stars, when suddenly Shiny pulls out a little gift-wrapped box of his own and floats it over to me. I unwrap it and find a small ring-box. At first I'm a little worried – it is way too early to be doing any proposals, with our lives going in separate directions for a while, but I open it up... and inside are two plain rings with this colorful swirling pattern in the metal.

"There was a metallurgy course at the camp. I found these really pretty-looking rocks and shaped and purified them down into a couple of promise rings. She's right, it was too early to propose, but I figured... Well, we already knew we were going to be each other's special somepony, and that we were going to live in a crystal palace someday. And we were both frustrated with having to, y'know... wait for it. So I thought, if we exchange these promise rings, now that we'll both be 18... it doesn't matter what ponies think about what we do as a couple, because we'll have already made a 'vow' to each other."

While he's explaining all this, I look at the pocket watch. In all of our talking, we completely missed the passing of midnight more than ten minutes ago. It was Shining's real birthday. It was the date of Shining Armor's birth. And he was born close to midnight anyway. As far as anypony would ever be concerned, Shining was now 18 years old.

I pounced. Tore off his nice slacks. Sucked his fat cock halfway down my throat. No joke, I came right then, with both hands buried under my dress. I felt all the magic rush out of me in one big wave.

What I had wanted more than anything was to finally express my passion for Shining, and when I did... the enchantment was broken.

I watched the pink alicorn Princess close her eyes and place a hand on her cheek like she was recalling the most romantic memory. "Then we fucked for three hours straight," she said dreamily, her words contrasting her blushing-bride appearance. "Using contraceptive spells when necessary, of course, but mostly rough, deepthroat blowjobs. I swear I developed an oral fixation in minutes."

Next to her, Shining blushed a brilliant red and tried not to look too excited at the memory. There was a sound of shifting fabric beneath the table that made it seem like he was struggling to exert self-control on his endowment.

"And when you went back down, the spell was broken?" Derpy asked.

"Yes, though the damage was already done," Cadance replied. "I was no longer causing everypony to feel the full strength of whatever love they had, but we came back to a trashed ballroom and the cleaning staff murmuring about a lot of suspect stains on every surface. The next day, everypony chalked it up to spiked punch and moved on."

"How convenient," I grumbled under my breath, a little meaner than I meant to.

Cadance looked at me, frowned, and sighed. "I get it," she said. "It's really not the same magnitude as what you went through. I just wanted to show you that I went through something a little similar, and could sympathize."

"Wait," Derpy said, "that was before Luna's return from the moon, right? But you said she's the only other one who knows about all this."

"Ah, right." Cadance smiled sheepishly. "I... sort of had a brief relapse. After the wedding. On our wedding night. And instead of a one-block radius over two days, it kinda... covered the entire town for an hour. Luna tracked it down to us, and we told her everything. And she agreed to keep it secret, because, y'know, Celestia still wouldn't take it very well if she knew..."

Derpy blinked in surprise. "Celestia still doesn't know?"

Cadance pouted and magically lifted her teacup towards her lips. "I probably should, now that she has shared her big secret with us... But in the state she's in, I just don't think it'd be a good time..."

I stood up and took a step to the side from my chair. "I appreciate all this," I said to Cadance. "But... honestly, now I just kinda feel worse." I turned around and walked over to the railing of the balcony, staring down into the verdant valley. "You didn't control anyone. But I manipulated – and dare I say effectively – everyone I met as soon as I got the power. I used it to get sex. I used it to enhance myself. I used it to get things for free. For a lot of it, I didn't have to, I wasn't forced. You..." I sighed. "Your moral compass is a lot stronger than mine. That's the takeaway."

"No," Cadance said firmly. She tried to stand up, but the quilt covering her threatened to tumble away and reveal all of her enormous pink chest, so she sat back down and readjusted. "That's not what I was trying to say."

"Then what?" I asked, not looking back at the table.

She paused, taking a few moments to find her words. "I messed up," she said, "and that's not even the only time I messed up. But today I'm married to the love of my life, and I have a whole nation of crystal ponies to watch over. I'm living up to my full potential as the Princess of Love. What I'm trying to say is: No single mistake, no matter how big, prevents you from reaching greatness. You may think that what you've done is all you are, but that's not what I see. You have this great power, and you're already planning on using it to help ponies. You have so much room to grow, to rise. You have the potential to become legendary!"

I finally turned my head, and Princess Cadance was smiling.

"Pascal, what I'm really trying to say is: I believe in you. Everything else has just been 'why.'"

"Just like I believe in you," Derpy agreed, tearing up a little bit.

Shining seemed to come to an internal decision and nodded his head. "That's it, then," he mumbled as he stood up. "That's how I satisfy my cutie mark." Looking directly at me, Shining Armor said, "You're not a villain, not yet. Spending time with you, I can see that now. You really are the kind of guy that would sacrifice yourself for the pony who hated you the most. At this point... driving you away and treating you like a villain would do more harm to all of us than good. The way to protect my family, my nation, is to welcome you as a friend the best I can."

Cadance took a deep breath through her nostrils and nodded.

Me being the kind of guy I was, it didn't make me feel that much better. "And I have to keep manipulating ponies just to survive," I said, gesturing at the royal couple pathetically, my arm bouncing off my side. "Sure, if I could let go of my hangups about that, I could finally be happy with all this, but... Ugh."

Derpy stood up and walked over to me, putting her hands on my sides. "You have to let go of the endless guilt, Pasky. It's the only way to move forward, right?"

"But who's going to carry it for me?" I muttered. "So I don't do this again?"

"You don't need guilt to grow. It only holds you back," Cadance advised.

Feeling a surge of anger, I glared at her. "You kissed Celestia. I had an all-night force-fuck-fest with her."

Cadance let out a sigh. "I know. Your problems are unique to you. Only you can give yourself the kind of absolution you seek."

"Do I deserve it, though?"

"I believe in you," Derpy said, hugging me tightly from behind.

"I believe in you," Cadance echoed from the table.

"At this point," Shining added casually, "being all mopey isn't really helping anyone, is it?"

My hands gripped the railing tighter. And while I grappled with the conflict between my own feelings and the well-wishes of the semi-controlled ponies around me, the words from Princess Luna's letter blazed through my mind again. I inhaled through my nose until my lungs felt fit to burst... and then something gave way in my chest, emotionally, and I let out all the air in my body.

At the very least, I owed the ponies around me some gratitude. I turned around, hugged Derpy briefly, and then made a small bow towards the tea table. "Thanks for having us, Cadance. Thanks for the... story."

"Anytime," Cadance said, looking at me with a mix of disappointment and hopefulness. "And just so you know, you're welcome to visit the Crystal Empire whenever you like."

Placing his hands on his hips, Shining said, "Yeah... Now that I'm thinking about it, there are some good uses for a guy who can go anywhere and say anything... It's like having a nice changeling on our side."

I chuckled darkly. "So this was all about diplomacy, huh?"

Cadance tried to mask a little embarrassment. "Partially. But, in my book, there's no reason that making an ally and making a friend can't go hand in hand."

I'd just about had enough. I needed some time to think. "Appreciate it." Looking to Derpy, I said, "Shall we?"

She frowned sadly at that; she'd been enjoying this little meetup much more than I had. But she noticed the look on my face and nodded. "We might as well..." To Shining and Cadance, she added, "Thanks for the tea and muffins!"

We headed out through the bedroom and into the palace hallway. I let out another breath I'd been somehow holding in. Even when dealing with perhaps the 'nicest' Princess, it was still a pretty intense experience. I rubbed my temples as we meandered down the hall, muttering under my breath.

"I think that went really well," Derpy pointed out.

I had to hand it to her. "Yeah! Very well. Shining Armor and Cadance are in our camp now. All we had to do was sit there and listen for most of an hour."

"Cadance already was on our side, so I guess the important one was Shining Armor."

"And I have no doubt in my mind that my power helped push him to that 'Gotta make friends to protect my loved ones' rationale."

Derpy put a hand on my shoulder as we walked along. "I think, just this once, we can let a little leap of logic slide. What's important is that he's willing to give you a chance in a way that makes sense to him. And Cadance helped him get there, if you didn't notice."

"I noticed, I noticed..."

"And hey, the Elements of Harmony all made their peace with you last night. Princesses Celestia and Luna are on your side. You've got Trixie, Moondancer, Spitfire, Lyra, Bon Bon... You're even on decent terms with Discord, you said. What do you have left to be afraid of?"

I came to an abrupt stop. Ever since Cadance had finished telling her story, it had felt like there was a knot forming in my stomach and I didn't know why. Now I knew what the feeling was: Fear.

Fear of dying. Fear of starvation. Fear of persecution. Fear of authority. Fear of being alone. Fear of losing control. Fear of failure. Fear of...

Fear of what Twilight would think. It all came back to Twilight. And here she was again, the one pony left judging and punishing me. I looked back at the donkey tail swinging between my legs. It had felt like an almost natural attachment while I was listening to the story, but there it still was, a reminder of Twilight's petty sass.

"Uh, hello? Equestria to Pascal?" Derpy called to me. She waved her hand in front of my face. I must have zoned out for a second there.

I rubbed my eyes and groaned. "Twilight Sparkle." The knot in my stomach twisted tighter. "I have some... choice words for her I've been holding back for a while now," I realized aloud.

Derpy's face fell. "Oh... That sounds like it would get loud..."

"Probably, yeah." I took another deep breath to calm myself and tried to shake my shoulders loose. "But that can wait. Until the next time I see her, at least. She's working on something important for us, and right now I need to decompress."

Nodding, Derpy swayed her hips back and forth and said, "Maybe you can tell me about it back at our room? And then maybe we can... give each other massages?"

I blinked. "Really? Do you know how to give a massage?"

"Ummm... no. Do you?"

"Heh. Not one bit. Let's do it anyway."

31 – Celestia – Third Session

I hovered by the scrying orb on my desk. My anxiety was basically rising with every minute that passed by. I desperately tried to imagine what was happening in Celestia's tower – what was being said, how Celestia was reacting to this change of plans, how all the Princesses were feeling as they met together for basically the first time since the truth was revealed earlier this week. Not knowing was driving me up the wall a bit.

It wasn't like I could walk away. We hadn't set up a protocol for this. If this all fell through, I could only assume that at least one of the mares would fly back here and tell me. Or Twilight could activate the orb remotely at any moment, and who knew how fast I would have to react.

So when the orb glowed purple, I reacted so fast I slapped it.

It was made of smooth, solid crystal. My palm hurt.

All at once, my senses were overridden like I was plunging my head into a pool made of buzzing water. Slowly, the image of my surroundings began to clarify all around me, and I found that I could look around. It was not unlike wearing a virtual-reality headset.

I was viewing Celestia's private study from the perspective of something in Derpy's lap, probably another crystal orb. The mares were all seated in a circle on the floor among the pillows and cushions on the center rug. Celestia was across from Derpy and Twilight, flanked by Luna and Cadance.

Celestia was wrapped up in a large quilt up to her chin, and looked rather... small, for lack of a better word. Which was impressive, considering she was nearly ten feet tall. But she looked as bad as I'd ever seen her, probably worse than anypony alive in Equestria had ever seen her. She looked sick and upset and withdrawn, visibly wincing away tears, not looking at any of the other ponies in the room.

"Pascal? Pascal, can you hear us?" Twilight asked, her voice still a little static-y in my ears.

"Uh, yeah, hello?"

After about a minute of Twilight fine-tuning the spell, it was like I was right there. Well, more like my disembodied head was right between Derpy's crossed legs. Thankfully that wasn't what it looked like to them – I was just an orb with a voice. I could see and hear in every direction, but I couldn't touch, smell, taste, or move under my own power.

Celestia took a deep breath as soon as we were done, collecting herself. "Pascal..." she began. Her voice was a little ragged, and I could tell she was really putting in the effort to sound like her regal self. "I thank you and apologize, for putting up with my difficulty and agreeing to this arrangement. I do not fully understand it myself; by all expectations I should have..." She trailed off and began to cough.

"It's okay! It's okay," Princess Cadance insisted, leaning over and rubbing Celestia's arm through the quilt. Sensing that it was best we change the subject, she said, "Why don't we just get started?"

"Yeah, it's fine," I agreed quickly. "This is your show, Celestia, so we'll follow your lead. Anything on your mind from over the past couple of days, or anything you particularly want to begin with?"

Celestia looked down for a moment, then at the rest of the mares gathered. "...Yes. I want to... say something to each of you in turn. And then, I guess, if you have anything to say to me... you can say that." I could tell even through the orb-o-vision that she was really, really nervous about where she stood with her fellow Princesses and Derpy.

My viewpoint shook and was briefly obscured when Derpy nodded hard enough to make her boobs bounce on the orb in her lap. "Sure thing, Princess!" After that, a decision was made to just put me in the middle of the circle so I could look at everybody.

Once that was settled, Celestia decided to just go around the room, starting with Cadance on her left. "Cadance... You were trained by me to be a Princess. And I know you chafed under that, under my perfectionism and chastity. I'm sure the reasons all seem obvious now, but that still wasn't fair of me to inflict– to project my insecurities onto you and everypony under me. For whatever it's worth, you've made me incredibly proud with your work in the Crystal Empire, and I'm confident you have what it takes to make your people a happier, more free society than I ever showed you."

Cadance let out a chuckle and raised her knuckles to her mouth, but mostly to brush off the fact that her eyes were tearing up. With a cough and clearing of her throat, she glanced down at my viewpoint and asked, "Do we respond now or do everypony first?"

"Celestia's choice."

"I'd... like to say my piece first. I've been thinking about these things a lot the last few days." Celestia's gaze turned to Twilight. "My precious student... I fear I may have taken advantage of you. You took to your studies so thoroughly and completely, revered me so highly, there was a time where I thought: 'This is going to be a new generation of pony, one who is above all these carnal pursuits and will advance ponykind forward at last. I'll give her the ultimate example to live by.'"

Twilight looked a bit taken aback.

Celestia shook her head and sniffled. "That explicit thought didn't last long, but... my actions towards you may as well have been directed by that idea. It wasn't fair to you, and I can't help but worry now it might have stunted your ability to form deeper relationships. Whether or not that happened, it doesn't change the fact that I created that environment for the duration of your adolescent years. That's... part of the blame I'm struggling with. I still want to say I'm so proud of you and everything you achieved, but now... now it feels like I'm saying I'm proud of you for expanding my dogma, too." She sighed. "From now on... it would make me happiest if you lived for your own ideals, rather than mine. Mine are compromised. Yours are so much stronger."

And now Twilight was utterly shocked. "C-Celestia...!" She looked nearly on the verge of tears herself. She was dying to respond, but held it back as her mentor turned to Derpy.

"Ditsy... Er, Derpy... Which do you prefer?" Celestia asked in a somewhat awkward, cute manner.

"Oh! Derpy's fine, Princess. My friends call me Derpy," my marefriend responded with a beaming smile. But then she looked sadly at Twilight. "But, um, I know this is out of order, but I think Twilight really needs to say something."

"No, no, it's fine..." Twilight said through grit teeth, her hands tightly knotted into fists atop her skirt.

Celestia nodded sadly. "Please, Twilight. Let me have it."

"No, that's not it!" Twilight shouted, leaning forward and pounding her fists on her lap. "I don't want to yell at you! I'm just so..." She sniffled and wiped at her eyes, losing control over her sadness. "This is so messed up..."

Cadance levitated over a big box of tissues, which Twilight hurriedly used to wipe her eyes and nose. I noticed there was a small stockpile of tissue boxes in the corner of the room.

Once Twilight was in control of herself a few moments later, she looked to her mentor with determination. "I... I..." She struggled to find her words. Finally, with a bit of a huff, she blurted, "I just found out that I like mares over stallions. And I think it's because... I really really liked you!"

It was all I could do not to let out a Huh?

"You were... perfect, Celestia," Twilight rambled. "I mean, to me you still are, in a way... But I meant a different kind of 'perfect.' Flawless, idealized. Back then, when I was your full-time student, I wanted to be just like you in every way. And that included the attitude towards sex. I wanted to be smarter than sex. But I was also kind of a budding teenager! And guess who was the most beautiful mare in my life?!" She laughed a little in sheer shock and disbelief. "So I... I unconsciously pushed it all down! So I could be more like you! And it worked! I mean, I guess it sort of... turned into a platonic desire to... be your kinda 'knight' to rescue you from your tower of sadness... which definitely didn't help with the whole orientation business..." She looked around sheepishly. "...but– but hey, here we are!"

Celestia closed her eyes and let out a breath through her nostrils. "I'm so sorry, Twilight."

The purple alicorn winced and rubbed her temple. "No no, this is sounding so much worse than I intended..."

How was this supposed to go down, Twilight?! I wanted to scream.

"The-The point is!" she finally said. "I don't need that anymore!" She got up onto her knees and waddled across the circle to reach through the quilt and take Celestia's hand in both of her own. (Her knee ended up knocking my orb away towards Luna.) Twilight looked deep into her mentor's eyes and said, "I don't want or need you to be on a pedestal for me, not anymore. I... I don't need you... to be... to be... perfect."

Twilight let out a long breath, like that had been a difficult thing for her to say (which everyone in the room knew it was).

"I don't need you to be my flawless, shining ideal anymore," she said more quietly this time, looking down at their clasped hands. "...I forgive you. For whatever you think you deserve blame for. But... what I want now... is to be your friend. Not your student, not your peer, though – heh heh – I will always be those things, deep down." Twilight smiled and wiped her eyes before looking up into Celestia's. "I just want to help, in any way I can. Can I be your friend, Princess Celestia?"

Celestia sniffled, then hugged Twilight tightly, pulling the quilt around both of them, and fought back a sob. "Y-Yes, Twilight...! That's what I want too, more than anything...!"

"It's... It's a deal, then...!" Twilight murmured into the white alicorn's shoulder. The group let them hug it out for about a minute, before they finally parted and Twilight made her way back to her place in the circle. "Sorry about that...!"

Derpy shrugged. "It's cool! That looked like it was really important for both of you."

The princess of the sun looked towards the pegasus. "Derpy, then... You've had to grow up during my reign of repression..."

"I forgive you," Derpy interrupted with a smile.

Celestia blinked a couple of times. "Huh?"

Derpy covered her mouth. "Oh! Sorry, I was supposed to let you finish. Go on."

"I... But..." It seemed Celestia couldn't quite let this go. "After everything you had to go through...? Growing up feeling like you had to hide and hate your own body?"

"Well, yeah," Derpy replied casually. "But I get it now! And I got lucky – I have a special somepony who showed me I could love my body almost as much as he does!" She giggled at that. I laughed too. "You had your reasons, Celestia," she continued. "I understand them, and I forgive you. That's really kind of the end of it for me. Can't speak for everypony in Equestria, but hey! That's what I want to work on with you, together. If... If you'll let me and Pascal, that is."

Celestia let out a breath of relief and smiled gently at Derpy. "That's very kind of you. Thank you."

"Luna's turn!" Derpy called out excitedly.

The two sisters looked at each other with a sudden gravity and depth that none of us were prepared for. It was like they were speaking telepathically in that way only siblings with a lot of baggage can.

"On second thought," Luna murmured, glancing aside, "perhaps the two of us have said plenty to each other, and we don't need to go into all of it in front of everypony..."

That was somewhat true from my perspective. Out of all of us here, Luna had been the one most in contact with Celestia, even checking on her frequently in her dreams. There was no way of knowing what they had said to each other up to this point. Hopefully healthy, helpful things.

Celestia took a deep breath. "Luna... I've... I've always admired you, for being the one who ultimately rose up against the... the Masters."

Luna sniffled and didn't reply.

"You were right, all those years ago," Celestia said sadly. "You were the champion who first broke free of their chains, and you had to drag me along, kicking and screaming..."

The moon princess's eyes widened as she stared gravely at her sister. "Sister... I said that when I became Nightmare Moon. I said that to hurt you. I didn't mean that! Don't tell me you took it to heart...!"

Celestia refused to make eye contact, staring off to the side with a sad smile. "You've always been the brave one. The one with conviction and the defiant spirit to act on it."

Luna grunted and sat up straighter. She gave her sister a deadly serious scowl. "Then why did I need you?" That got Celestia's attention, and Luna continued. "Why did I have to foalnap you, steal you away from them, and spend the next month 'weaning' you off in that torturous way? All that before I could ever have the courage to take the fight to them?" Luna took a shuddering breath. "I was the coward. Breaking and remolding your mind so that you could lead the charge, with myself behind you. I'm the reason for your... your fear of this. I deserve the blame!" With that finally out there, Luna fell silent and kept her lips pursed shut in sorrow and anger.

I looked around at Derpy, Twilight, and Cadance. None of us really knew what to do or say. All we could do was watch and hope for the best.

But Celestia just shook her head and let out a sigh. "No... That's not how I see it."

Luna sniffled.

"Back then... you saw me, your sister, being..." Celestia closed her eyes and winced at the memory. "...being absolutely used. And your immediate reaction was horror and to hatch a plan to steal me away. To defy our creators, our gods! Putting your big sister's well-being above them, sacrificing our comfortable lives of endless pleasure, because that's what you thought was right."

Celestia, still wrapped in her blanket, scooted over to Luna bit by bit, and reached a hand out from under the blanket to take Luna's clenched fist.

"That thought – 'My sister risked everything to save me' – has given me more strength than I could ever say."

It was clear the moon princess wasn't going to allow herself to cry today. But she still reared her head back and took a deep sniff to rein herself in before she threw her arms around Celestia's shoulders to give her a big, clingy hug. They held it for half a minute or so, interrupted only by the occasional sniffle, sigh, or whimper.

Eventually, the royal alicorn sisters parted, and Celestia returned to her place in the circle. She looked significantly happier than before this all started, even if her eyes were a little puffy around the edges.

The sun princess lowered her gaze to me, the little blue orb in the center of the circle. "I guess that brings us to you, hm?" Celestia asked brightly.

I'd been content to just sit back and watch, I hadn't actually been expecting to get called. "Uh, that's not– We've talked plenty."

"I thought about what you said," Celestia went on, then paused. "Well, a little bit. Mostly I've just been... stressing out the last day or so, preparing for this... which, so far, has turned out better than I expected, I'll say." She shook her head a little and got back on track. "You asked what I'd say to myself. My past self. And I think at the beginning of this week, or before you ever arrived... I would have said that I hated her. That I blamed her for her naivete, for selling her soul for pleasure because she didn't know any better. Now..." She sighed. "I don't know what I'd say. But I don't think I'm that angry anymore. This... This sexual dysfunction... This is something THEY did to ME, not something I did to myself. I think I'm ready to admit that much."

I bit my tongue and stopped myself from letting out a quiet 'holy shit.' Was this actually... progress???

She laughed a little. "I mean, of course they did... Not that I ever believed otherwise. I hated them for it. For their 'curse.'" Sniffle. Hugging the blanket tighter against herself. "But... for 1300 years, I thought that I'd be so foolish again, that I'd give into them immediately if they ever returned. I wouldn't be able to resist." I finally saw a little bit of a smirk on her face, albeit a wry one. "Thanks to you, though... I guess I've gotten a little bit of practice in, now. We've learned a lot over this past week, and I feel more... armed and ready, for lack of a better phrase. So thank you, Pascal."

When she was finished, the conversation lulled, and I felt an expectation on me to say something in return, when I had nothing. All I had was, "Thank you for saving me, and keeping me around. Even though I've been a little conceited about it."

Twilight let out an involuntary 'tch.'

Celestia waved her quilt dismissively. "It's a highly unusual situation. And with all due respect, you're the equivalent of a stallion in your mid-twenties who just got his cutie mark. My expectations weren't that high."

Derpy covered her mouth in surprise, but couldn't completely stifle the giggles that followed. The whole circle shared a bit of a sudden laugh at my expense. I didn't mind; I was just amazed that Celestia had cracked a fucking joke. She had enough of her wits to roast me. This was a TON of progress!

It was cathartic, too. Everything had been heavy for a while, and something to laugh at was much needed by pretty much the entire group.

Then Cadance cleared her throat to get attention. "Um... if we've gone around the circle, I haven't actually gotten my chance to respond, and there's... something I need to confess."

Of the entire group, only Twilight and Celestia seemed unaware of what that might be. "Confess what?" the elder princess asked.

Cadance arched her fingers together and turned her gaze downward. "Remember my 18th birthday?"

Celestia's eyes widened, and she immediately became contrite. "Y-Yes. In the garden... I apologize for–"

"No, no, you see," Cadance interrupted, blushing red atop her pink cheeks, "that happened because... my powers were going haywire that day. Amplifying all the kinds of love all around me. ALL the kinds of love."

Twilight narrowed her eyes, confused. "...I just remember being very sad that day..."

"That's because I was boosting your love of your family, and me and Shining were about to disappear from your life for a few years. For Celestia... apparently there was some... repressed eros towards me."

Derpy, Luna, and I already knew about this, but Twilight was shocked and Celestia was rather embarrassed. "Oh," was all Celestia said after a few moments of silence, followed by another few moments of silence. "So... it wasn't just spiked punch..." Personally, I was actually a little surprised by the reveal that Celestia hadn't known about this, considering her love of espionage. Maybe she had just refused to investigate it or question the incident out of shame.

"Wait... what happened?!" Twilight asked with increasing concern.

"We kissed." "They kissed." The ENTIRE group answered her, almost at once.

There were some looks exchanged. Celestia towards Luna in particular. "You KNEW??"

Luna shrugged. "A similar thing happened on their wedding night, and I interrogated them in their dreams."

Celestia facepalmed with the quilt for a moment. "No, I knew about the wedding night incident, but I chalked that up to the Alicorn of Love getting married to her true love, after generating so much love that it sent the changelings back to the Badlands. I never... connected the dots– oh goodness."

The aforementioned Alicorn of Love grimaced sheepishly and shrugged. "Sorry...! Just, if that's been bugging you all these years... that's why. Sorry I didn't say anything."

After a moment, Celestia shook her head and waved her hand to one side. "No, I absolutely understand. Thank you." She sighed. "That one had been bugging me a little bit. Whenever my lusts, my pent-up lust would shine through, I was always angry at myself for slipping. At least that time, I can chalk it up to powerful magic. Thank you for telling me."

Cadance let out a sigh of relief and smiled back at her aunt. "Thanks...!"

Then there was another lull in the conversation, somewhat awkward this time. We had gone around the circle and sorted a lot of baggage, so... now what?

Actually... "Celestia? Now that we've all kind of broken the ice a bit... I think there's something I should ask." This was a difficult question on my mind, but it had been bugging me gradually more and more for most of the past few days. "At the end of the first session – I won't go into any details – things seemed... alright. On a positive upswing, at least. And then in the morning, and every day since, you've seemed really down on the whole thing. And I thought I could just guess why, but... I never really bothered to ask, either. What changed between the end of that night and the next morning?"

Celestia blinked a few times at me – or rather, my orb – in surprise. Like I had proposed something she had never considered. "I... was fine?" she murmured to herself, raising a quilt-covered hand to her chin and looking down and to the side. Something dawned in her expression. "I was fine... doing those things with you... until the morning–"

She stopped. Her hands fell in her lap.

And then she started laughing.

"...hahahaha. Ehehe! Ahahahahaha!" Celestia, princess of the sun, threw her head back and laughed like she'd just figured out a punchline she'd heard days ago but hadn't understood at the time. Relief combined with utter disbelief.

Naturally, the rest of us were very confused. Twilight in particular looked concerned, like her mentor had just snapped or something. "C-Celestia?"

The princess took a deep breath, but she was still chuckling. "Oh goodness..." She finally removed the quilt from her shoulders and tossed it aside. Underneath, she was wearing rather skimpy clothing on her slimmed-down body, barely more than a pajama top and shorts, custom-tailored with her cutie mark logo. She looked to the rest of the ponies in the room. "I guess, for context..." She hesitated. "...I'll just say it. The night ended with a... with a blowjob. A blowjob that lasted through to the next morning."

I looked around the circle to see the others' reactions. Luna was imperceptibly nodded. Derpy was trying not to grin. Twilight was trying not to look alarmed. And Cadance's eyebrows rose just a little as a ghost of a smile curled her lips.

Celestia shook her head wryly as she recalled that night. "It started as a– a reward. For his volunteering to do something very awkward and humiliating for my entertainment. It made me feel better. The night had some bumps, but I was just so happy to... to have any reason to feel better about my condition, I thought, 'Why not?'"

More than that – she had grown her body to full size and let me sleep atop her cleavage like a hammock while she stuck my dick into her mouth like a pacifier. It had been a giant leap in confidence for her. It wasn't that strange that she had bounced back, but it WAS strange that she had leaped forward in the first place. That was the puzzle I wanted to solve.

The princess's face fell. "The fact that it lasted all night – that in the morning I was still sucking your cock automatically, and my instincts demanded even MORE..." She sighed. "That's what disgusted me... about myself."

"Mm-hmm, mm-hmm," Derpy hummed and nodded, hand over her mouth like she was suddenly deep in thought.

Then Celestia started to chuckle. "I was so disgusted... that I kind of forgot that I'd been fine at the start! I'd been fine with the blowjob! Fine with... the sex!" She actually got up from her seat on the floor to stretch her legs and pace about near the cold fireplace. "It wasn't the blowjob itself that disgusted me, it was... my body's artificial, endless NEED for it. For human cock and semen." There was a moment's pause, accompanied by a quiet gasp of surprise. When she turned around to the rest of the group, she had a bright look of amazement on her face. "I'm fine with sex!"

To Twilight most of all, it was like an alien had suddenly snatched and replaced her mentor. "Wh-What??"

Cadance shushed her and looked eagerly back at Celestia. "No no, go on!"

Celestia paced around the circle excitedly, motioning with her hands as she spoke. "I used to love sex. Of course we were MADE to love it, engineered to... but once upon a time, I had a genuine, earned affection for it. I had my reasons." She stopped and stared off into nothing. "I saw sex as... a way to stay humble." She glanced over at her sister. "Our power was still nothing compared to the M-Masters, but you and I, Luna, we were still the commanders of all of ponykind. We led armies to build their utopian playground. Our little ponies obeyed us, because we had the authority of the M...Masters. And I didn't take that lightly. I thought it was a great honor and responsibility."

Luna gave her sister an odd, confused look from where she sat, but then nodded to herself. "Back then, you did seem to have a... sanctimonious attitude towards the whole sex slave thing."

The Princess of Love grinned. "Lemme guess – YOU were a bit more of a party girl type. Am I right?"

"Hmph."

The sun princess's excited energy started to cool off a little bit. "So... being submissive, focusing on others' pleasure, being called derogatory names like slave, whore, cunt, bitch–"

Twilight looked like her eyes were about to bug out of her skull.

"–I saw all of that as an equalizer. Not as a humiliation, but as a source of humility. A way to remind myself that I was just one pony, not special because of my station."

"I doubt the Masters saw it that way," Luna murmured a little darkly. "And that attitude would have played right into their hands."

Celestia took a long, deep sigh. "It certainly did." She slowly made her way back to her place in the circle and sat down. "And I didn't see their betrayal coming because of it. And now... they've ruined sex for me." She looked down into my viewpoint from the orb in the center of the circle. "To answer your question, Pascal: It wasn't the blowjob that bothered me, it was the fact that my body made me suck you through my sleep, all night. And that my body still wanted more in the morning. That... That is just not how sex should be."

Well, it was something. More than something, honestly. I felt like we'd made another breakthrough. Celestia had rediscovered and started to accept her earlier self's attitude towards sex, hooray!!

But... where did that leave us?

"Your body..." Derpy echoed, nodding to herself. She suddenly got up, flapping her wings to get on her feet. She put her hands on her hips and looked over the group. "I know why the Map brought us all here!"

All eyes turned to the nude gray pegasus.

Derpy's confidence faltered a bit as she realized she had the attention of all four alicorns. "Um..." She clenched her fists and rallied. "Okay. I was Pascal's first success story; I needed to rethink how I felt about my body and realize I was happy with it. And I think a lot of ponies could benefit from that kind of thinking." She gestured her shaking hands in Celestia's direction and continued to ramble. "But you, Celestia... With you, I think we've been going about it the wrong way, thinking that that could work for everypony. For you, it couldn't! Your body is literally fighting you! Torturing you! Every day you have to wake up and recast the transformation spell and put on a fake body so that nopony suspects your past, it's a reminder of what they did to you! And it doesn't matter – well, it kinda matters – what you think about sex, but– because the Masters screwed up how your body even reacts to that! You don't need therapy! ...Well, you do kind of need therapy, but from a real therapist. But from us... You don't need therapy, you need surgery!!"

My marefriend took a moment to catch her breath, her chest heaving up and down and her face sweaty with nervousness. Twilight beside her looked up and asked, "Are you saying...?"

Derpy nodded at the whole group. "I think the Map called us here to help Celestia get a new permanent body. Today. We're here to change the rule, the Master's rule, that says everypony is STUCK with the body they grew up with whether they like how sexy it is or not. We are here to break. the. curse."

Shock washed over us. In my heart and in my gut, I knew she was right. But was it even possible?

Luna, poker-faced as ever, took a breath to calm herself. "...Temper your hopes, Derpy," she said solemnly. "Though I think your assessment is correct, the–"

"More like she's absolutely right," Cadance agreed, though there wasn't a lot of hope in her eyes.

Luna shook her head. "The Elements of Harmony couldn't do it." She let that hang in the air for a couple of seconds. "The Tree of Harmony couldn't do it. The Pillars of Equestria couldn't do it. Star Swirl the Bearded and dozens of his most clever students and disciples, all pooling their minds and their magic together, couldn't make a permanent change to a single pony." She glanced at Celestia, who looked rather sullen, and added, "And to my understanding, a thousand years of the brightest minds working on Equestria's most secret research hasn't cracked it either."

The sun goddess couldn't look anypony in the eye at the moment. "We made... a little progress. Narrowed down the genes that were altered to make me... crave the things that I crave so intensely. But they're locked by the Master's magic. No pony magic can break them. It's why, even in this form," – she gestured at her slimmed down 'public' body – "I still react to human pheromones and... fluids the way I do. If I could change that, I would."

Derpy balled her fists, scrunched her muzzle, and stomped on the rug. "But look at who we've got here!" she insisted. She pointed at Luna, then Cadance, then Twilight. "Family. Love. Friendship." She gestured at both herself and the orb I was viewing and communicating through. "Acceptance! If any forces combined could break through the Masters' magic... IT'S ALL HERE!" She looked around desperately. "...Right??"

I decided to speak up. "We've got nothing to lose by trying. We might learn something."

My Normal words bolstered Derpy's, and together we achieved an almost visible ripple of changed minds around the room. Twilight groaned as she stood up and looked at her mentor. "It's up to you. This is your body we could potentially be altering."

Celestia was quiet for a long while, and all of us waited patiently.

"I... had given up hope," she admitted. She forced a bit of a smile and looked up at her favored student. "But if there's anypony I trust to open up my body to... they're all here in this room."

Oof, left out on a technicality.

"And you too, Pascal."

Hooray! Wait, how did she know...?

Luna seemed to take a moment to consider it more, and then nodded. "We'll make an attempt, then. Pool our magic. The power of Acceptance is the newest variable, so we'll channel it through Derpy, with Pascal guiding remotely. If he can do that through this focus."

"Probably," I said. "My powers have been growing by the day. If I can visualize it and put it into words, I can kinda pull it off."

Twilight tapped her foot. "I know a visualization spell that can work on a group. It's usually used for, ah, other things... but I think it can help us navigate Celestia's genome and find the sequences marked by the Masters."

Princess Cadance adjusted her posture. "I don't know how much help I'll be, but I'll pump in as much love magic as you need."

Derpy looked back and forth between all the princesses, her wings fluttering faster and faster as it became clear that this was happening, that we were really doing this. "Yeah, yeah! We've got Twilight Sparkle, we've got Pascal... Those Masters are going DOWN!"

I smirked as I came to a realization of my own. "I know why the Map called you here too, Derpy."

She looked down at my orb. "Oh?"

"Because without you, this session wouldn't have come together, and I don't think we'd have been nearly so bold as to try something like this."

Derpy blushed and swayed with her arms behind her back. "Awww..."

Princess Celestia smiled, and it looked like she was fighting back tears. "Whatever happens... Thank you. Just the fact that you have hope, Derpy..."

The pegasus swooned with her hands covering her eyes and cheeks. Princess Celestia had used her nickname!

But that was my Derpy for ya. Equestria didn't deserve her.