The following morning was a rather busy one, given that Twilight and her friends came over at the crack of dawn to check up on us and to see if we had any ideas about what we could do for work. Willow and Rainbow Dash were chatting about what it might be like to work with the Guard, while Evergreen was sitting on the couch with Applejack and Fluttershy in order to work out the details concerning where and how she could help ponies with their crops, given that most farmers were very particular about how their plants were taken care of. That left me with Rarity and Pinkie Pie while Twilight sat on the chair across the room, taking notes on our ideas and adding in her own thoughts every once and a while.

“Well I for one think it’s a wonderful idea.” Rarity stated with a smile as she felt along one of my coils with a hoof, “I’m sure Lotus and Aloe would be delighted to have you aboard if you can really give massages with this beautiful tail of yours.”

“Yepperooni!” Pinkie added as she bounced on another section of my tail, her weight barely registering against my scales as she climbed all over my lower half as her hooves prodded and poked in various places, “I’m sure ponies will be lining up around the block to get a massage once they hear about how great they are.” Her face scrunched up in thought as she paused midair, making me and my friends stare openly at her in shock as she seemingly defied the laws of nature, “But how good do they actually feel? Ponies might be scared of you at first if you just grab them and wrap them up in your tail without any idea what to expect.”

Rarity hummed as she placed a hoof against her muzzle, Pinkie thankfully falling back to the ground as the unicorn mused aloud, “True enough, although finding a pony that would be willing to experience it as well as having a good standing with the town might be tricky. Naturally I would love to try it myself, but I’m afraid my habit of gossiping might have come back to bite me in this situation.”

Apparently our conversation had attracted the attention of the others, and I was slightly surprised when Applejack stood up and walked over to me, Evergreen and Fluttershy following suit as the earth pony came to a stop before us, “If ya’ll need an honest opinion, then Ah can be your trial run.” She cast a slightly nervous glance at my coils before letting out a long sigh, her gaze hardening as she stepped up and onto my tail before turning to face me, “Don’t make me regret this, mah family needs me to work the farm so don’t squeeze too hard.”

I swallowed thickly, feeling a rush of nervousness as I nodded, “Sure thing. I’ll be gentle.”

Taking it slowly at first, having noted Applejack’s slight flinch of fear as my tail began to move, I shifted my tail up and over the mare’s body, coiling up and around her hind legs as she stood rock still. Everyone’s eyes were locked on my movements as my tail tip rounded the curves of Applejack’s flanks, and a vibrant blush overcame her cheeks as my coils began sliding over the toned muscle of her rump.

“Whoa, Nelly,” she gasped as her tail was pressed between her cheeks and my belly scales began rubbing over her powerful and toned plot, “that certainly feels different.”

“What exactly does it feel like, dear?” Rarity inquired; her eyes locked on my tail as it began wrapping around Applejack’s barrel.

“Like Ah’m being wrapped in a warm blanket, yet not quite the same. It shifts and Ah can feel the muscle under her scales, but right now it’s almost like warm water flowing over my body.” The earth pony jerked slightly as I lifted her up off of my tail, her eyes widening as my tail secured her front legs to her sides, “Um, what exactly are ya doing there Sapphire?”

“Just getting you into the most comfortable position.” I replied, too focused on my task to say much else.

Now wrapped up from the shoulders down, I debated about securing her body all the way like I had done for Evergreen and Willow but decided against it as my tail tip came to rest on the side of Applejack’s neck. She had more than enough of her body in my grasp for the time being. I wouldn’t want to push my luck, seeing as well as feeling Applejack’s slight sigh of relief as my tail stopped moving. I set her coil cocoon down with her face pointing toward the ceiling, using my other sections of tail to create a pillow of sorts for her so she wouldn’t strain her neck. The others quickly closed in around the wrapped mare, their eyes wide with curiosity as well as slight trepidation, knowing that their friend was completely trapped in my grip.

“So how does it feel, Applejack?” Twilight asked as she sat down beside the other mare’s head, “Are you uncomfortable or in any pain?”

I bristled slightly at the very idea, but calmed down as Applejack shook her head, her main tickling my belly scales slightly as she replied, “Nah, just a little nervous. Ah’ve never been completely locked in like this, not even when Big Mac used to hogtie me to keep me out of trouble when we were younger.” She glanced down at the coils securing her body in place, her eyes taking on a thoughtful light as she inspected her predicament in greater detail, “Other than that, it’s not bad. Ah just don’t really see how this would work for a massage.”

All eyes shifted to me, waiting for my response, and I felt a slight grin coming to my lips as I answered the unspoken question, “Watch and you’ll get the idea pretty quick.”

Without a second of delay, I began undulating my coils in a rhythmic wave, running from Applejack’s neck all the way down to her hind hooves as her eyes shot open in surprise. Her mouth gaped open as she turned to her friends, only to stop mid-word as her body finally registered the sensations being enacted upon it. Her eyes fluttered closed as she let out a hum of pleasure, her hat falling off as her tight muscles began to slowly relax under my care. The other ponies watched in awe as the farmer went completely limp in my grasp, her flanks and hind legs shifting every so often as my gentle grip began working out the dozens of kinks and knots in her lower body.

“Oh, Celestia that feels amazing.” Her eyes managed to open just enough that she could look back at me, “Ya’ll can put some more force into it, sugarcube, Ah ain’t made of glass.”

I nodded, having been reluctant to use too much force in case I scared her. With her permission, I began constricting my tail in more random rhythms, adding force to some while letting others go slack for a split second, only for the reverse to happen in the next moment. Applejack’s mouth hung open as a long moan escaped her lips, making most of the others blush bright red as Willow and Evergreen exchanged knowing looks.

I could feel the tightness in Applejack’s body slowly leaving her as my powerful muscles worked out the kinks and knots in her body, even helping to shift and straighten some of her joints as several loud pops emanated from within the cocoon. Her friends jumped in shock and worry at the noise, but slowly calmed down again as Applejack groaned and moaned even louder.

Finally, after several minutes, I couldn’t feel any more tight spots in her body, and I slowly lifted her off of the ground before loosening my tail over the couch. She slid down between my coils and flopped onto the fabric, the other mares rushing to her side as Pinkie secured the apple mare’s hat back onto her head. Applejack for her part barely seemed to notice the return of her headwear, her eyes closed and her body completely limp as her mane lay spread around the couch in a haphazard manner. At some point my ministrations seemed to have pulled her mane tie off, leading to her rather frazzled appearance as she lay there with a big smile on her lips.

“So, I take it you enjoyed Sapphire’s, ahem, ministrations.” Rarity asked as she hid her own smile behind a hoof.

“Ah haven’t felt this relaxed in years.” Applejack replied, managing to open her eyes but staying still as she turned her head to face the unicorn, “She can do that to me anytime she pleases. Ah didn’t even know about half of the knots and kinks she worked out of mah system.”

“So, I take it you’ll be willing to spread the word about Sapphire’s abilities if she can get the job at the spa?” Twilight asked.

“Sugarcube, Ah would darn near marry that mare if she would let me.” Applejack declared, although her sarcastic smirk made the others roll their eyes as the earth pony finally managed to sit up, although it took a visible effort to stay upright as she turned to face me, “You do that for one of the twins and Ah guarantee that you’ll get the job. Ah’m sure Rarity or Fluttershy can show you the way, just make sure you don’t use too much force on other ponies. Ah’m tougher than most so you could get away with being a bit more forceful than normal without hurting me.”

I nodded, “I cold feel the muscles under your coat, especially in your flanks and hind legs. You must work them very hard to have such a powerful body.”

Applejack nodded, stretching her legs one at a time before hopping to the floor, “Been bucking apples with mah family since Ah was little. Comes with the lifestyle.”

“Well,” Twilight said as she turned to face me and my friends, “I can safely say that you all have solid ideas for getting jobs, although given how long it might take you to get settled in, I made a request for Princess Celestia to send a stipend for the next couple months to help you get off the ground. It won’t be much, but it should let you go about daily life unhindered until you can earn enough bits to live off of comfortably.”

“I’ll put in a word for you with the local Guard station,” Rainbow added as she bumped Willow in the shoulder with a hoof, “They might be big sticks in the mud, but they know a good recruit when they see one. I’m sure they’ll be jumping all over you once I tell them you’d make a great Guard.”

“And Ah’ll see what Ah can do about talking to the other famers about having you help with the crops,” Applejack said as she glanced at Evergreen, “Ah’m sure they could use the help if you can make our plants healthier and help them produce a bigger harvest.” She glanced at me before adding, “And Ah’ll spread the word about your skills with that there tail of yours, as long as you make sure that Ah get first dibs when ya’ll get the job.”

“Dibs?” My friends and I chorused.

“It means she gets to go first because she is claiming that right.” Rarity clarified, although she sent a rather annoyed glare the other pony’s way as she pouted, “Although given she has already gotten to experience your abilities once I am uncertain she needs to do so again before the rest of us get a chance.”

The smirk that crossed Applejack’s face was there for only a moment before her calm and collected expression wiped it away, “Snooze ya lose, Rarity.”

Fluttershy turned to face me as Rarity and Applejack devolved into a friendly argument, “I, um, wouldn’t mind feeling your tail as well, once you get settled in of course.”

I smiled, leaning down and licking along the side of the pegasus’ cheek, making her squeak as her eyes widened in surprise and her wings shot straight up from her back.

“I’ll be sure to make it worth it once you have the time.” I whispered, smiling as Fluttershy’s face lit up with a bright blush, her mane doing little to hide her embarrassment as her wings slowly folded against her sides again.

“So now that you all have your plans for what you’re going to be doing for jobs in Ponyville,” Twilight grabbed our attention as she indicated sun as it neared its zenith in the sky, “Would you like for us to escort you to where you need to go? You’re still new in town so it might help to have a pony showing you around until you get used to it.”

“That sounds like a great idea, Twilight.” Evergreen said as she stepped up on Applejack’s left, “I wouldn’t mind it if Applejack introduced me to the other farmers in town,” she glanced at the slightly taller mare, “if you don’t mind helping me get around, that it.”

“Sure thing, Evergreen.” The nymph sighed in relief as Applejack placed a hoof around her shoulders, “Ah don’t see any reason why Ah can’t give you a tour of the town while we get ya’ll settled in.”

“Then I shall escort dear Sapphire to the spa.” Rarity spoke up as she lifted her gaze to meet mine, “After all, I have a bit of a repour with the owners, given I use their services so often. I’m certain they’d be delighted to meet you.”

“Which means I can take Willow over to the Guard station to see if she can apply for a job with them.” Rainbow added as she took to the air, hovering over the timberpony as they shared a smile, “We’ll knock those stallions so far out of the park they’ll hire you on the spot!”

“And then we can all go to my Congratulations-On-Getting-A-Job-Welcome-To-Ponyville-We’re-So-Happy-To-Be-Friends Party!” Pinkie leaned over to loudly whisper to Fluttershy as my friends and I stared at her in confusion, “I don’t think they get the idea yet. Maybe I should just make it a party for all of use until they get used to ponies.”

The others rolled their eyes as Pinkie bounced out the door, leaving the rest of us to simply shake our heads and try to forget the confusion that mare left in her wake.

“I’ll send a letter to Princess Celestia with your ideas,” Twilight said as we filed out of the house, my friends splitting off with their escorts as they prepared to leave, “I’m sure she’ll be happy to hear about how well you’re settling in with the rest of the townsfolk.”

There was a chorus of agreement, and with that we split up, Rarity leading me into the town as she went on about how my scales had inspired her to create some new designs. I wasn’t really listening though, because as soon as we made the turn towards the northern part of town, I realized that my Mating Bond was pulling at me even stronger than before, creating a nearly impossible urge in my core that overwrote everything else in my mind. I didn’t even realize I had left Rarity behind until I came to a stop in front of a sloped building, the sign out front depicting a mare’s head with a long, flowing mane.

The panting unicorn managed to catch up with me as I sat there, suddenly uncertain of what to do next. Beyond that door, was my mate. I could feel it in my very bones, the one I was destined to be with was inside this building. Yet I was almost certain now that it had to be a pony that I was searching for, and that left me uncertain of how to go about introducing myself.

“Are you alright, dear?” Rarity pulled me from my thoughts as I shifted my gaze to hers, “You just suddenly took off out of the blue. I understand if you’re eager to get to work, but how did you even know where the spa was? I never told you where we were going.”

“This is the spa?” I had completely forgoten about that in my rush to find my mate, “I had no idea.”

Rarity’s head tilted to one side, her eyes narrowing as she inspected me closer, “Darling, you look conflicted, are you nervous about getting a job? If so then I can assure you that there is nothing to worry about. The twins are some of the nicest ponies I’ve ever met. I’m certain they will love your idea.”

I shook my head, “That isn’t it. I can feel my Mating Bond pulling me inside, and that means that my destined lover is inside this building somewhere. I just don’t know what to do if they turn out to be a pony.”

“Mating Bond?” Rarity’s eyes widened as her brain processed what I had just said, “Destined lover? Darling, are you saying that your kind have the ability to sense where your fated one is?” I nodded, although I was caught by surprise as Rarity swooned, before pushing me towards the door with her magic with a surprising amount of force, “Then we mustn’t wait a moment longer! You’re one true love is on the other side of that door, and I will not allow you to let this moment go to waste! Now get in there and take your destiny into your hooves.”

I felt rather bemused by the now slightly frantic unicorn as I was bodily shoved through the opening, my mind barely able to process the reverse-color mares at the counter before my eyes locked onto the doorway on the other side of the room.

Standing in the opening, her long pink curls falling to one side of her face, was another mare. My jaw dropped as my eyes took in her light lavender coat and her bright rose eyes, although my body wasn’t as inert as my coils quickly straightened themselves out. I could vaguely hear Rarity in the background, although it was like she was speaking from the other side of a deep cave, my entire focus on the earth pony in front of me as her eyes stayed locked with mine.

I was only partly aware of my own movements as my coils shifted me forward, my Mating Bond screaming in the back of my mind that I had to claim what was mine. The mare stayed perfectly still as I moved closer, my forehooves coming to rest on the floor as my head came level with hers. I stopped just a few hooves from the other mare, her eyes now roaming down my body and over my long tail as it curled up under and behind me. She didn’t seem afraid of me, of which I was thankful for, but as she shifted her gaze back to mine, I saw something else that made me suddenly uncertain. There was no recognition, no light of love in her rose orbs, just confusion and a healthy dose of uncertainty as her tail curled between her hind legs slightly.

“Um, can I help you?” Her voice was soft and sweet like the smooth honey I had once been able to get from a beehive back home, although the uncertainty in her voice made me suddenly unable to speak as she took a single step back.

Seeing that slight shift away from me, that single hint of rejection, made my Mating Bond flare to life and I acted before I could even think. My eyes narrowed into slits as my body lunged at the other mare, her scream falling on deaf ears as my coils wrapped around both of us in a tight embrace, her breathing coming in short gasps as I held her to my chest and stared into her wide and terrified gaze.

“Mine.” I hissed out, my lips pressing against hers as my tongue invaded her mouth, her gasp of shock barely registering in my hormone-addled mind as I closed my eyes and deepened the kiss, although I jerked back in pain as she bit down on my tongue and bottom lip. My eyes shot open as I stared in shock at my mate, my mind having regained enough sense to recognize the fury and fear that warred inside her gaze.

“Whoever you are,” she growled out, “whatever you are, I don’t belong to anypony. Now get your creepy tail and hooves off of me before I call the Guard on you and have you charged with sexual assault.”

My mind ground to a halt at her words. I couldn’t understand it. My Mating Bond told me this was the one, that we were destined to be together. And now my mate was rejecting me, not even taking a moment to think about it before pushing me away.

“But, you’re my mate.” I managed to say, “We’re destined to be together. Why would I ever let you go?”

Her eyes narrowed as she stopped trying to wiggle free, the raw fury in her gaze making me flinch as she locked her rosy orbs with my emerald ones, “Let. Me. Go. I am nopony’s mate, and I most certainly won’t be going out with a freak like you. Now get off of me, before I do something I’m going to regret.”

Her words cut into my heart like a claw, my coils shifting off of her body as my hooves released her from my grip. My head was hung low as I tried to make myself seem as small as possible, my muzzle nearly touching the floor as I looked up at her.

“But my Mating Bond says that you are the one.” I tried to explain myself, but the incensed mare before me wasn’t having any of it.

Her hoof pointed towards the door that lead outside, her gaze firmly boring into mine as my heart clenched in agony, “Get out, before I lose what little patience I have left. I am not yours. I don’t belong to anypony and I won’t ever belong to anypony. That bridge burned long ago, and I won’t make the same mistakes again.”

With that, she turned around with a huff as marched through the doorway, the solid hunk of wood slamming shut with finality as I sat there in a shocked stupor. I barely felt Rarity as she gently directed me out of the building and back to the house, my mind repeating my mate’s words over and over again in my head as I was directed into the bed. I didn’t even remember Rarity leaving as my tail curled up around me, my hooves holding a section against my chest as my heart clenched in agony. I didn’t know when the first tear began to fall, but I didn’t care as I closed my eyes, wailing out my heartbreak as I soaked my scales with tears.

My mate didn’t want anything to do with me. My entire journey had been for nothing. The one being in this world that I was destined to be with, and she had pushed me away like I was nothing.

I must have fallen asleep at some point, because the next thing I was aware of was two sets of hooves wrapping around my body in a tight embrace. I knew by their scents that Willow and Evergreen had come back, and that the other ponies were downstairs as my friends tried to comfort me. Yet it only made the pain worse, and my sobbing began anew as the two of them whispered comforting words to me, holding me tightly as I wrapped my own hooves and tail around their bodies.

I didn’t know what I was going to do now, but I knew one thing for sure. I couldn’t go back to my clan after everything that had happened. I would never be able to live with the shame of being rejected by my mate, so I resolved to stay with Willow and Evergreen. They were the only things left in the world that I cared about, and they were the only things that made my life worth living. They were here, helping me in the only ways they could, even though they knew I could never love them the same way I could for my mate. And yet, they loved me back just as much, and I fell back asleep with both of them clinging to me, shielding me from the pain of the world so I could deal with the pain in my heart.

The sun began to set as I cried myself back to sleep, Willow’s tongue gently licking away my tears as Evergreen closed the blinds with one of her wing blades. Needless to say, we never did get to go to Pinkie’s party, although I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have been able to enjoy myself anyway, not with the hole in my chest where my heart had once been.

Author's Note

Well that was something. I hope you all are enjoying this little number now that I finally got back to updating it instead of letting it sit. Other than that, please remember to like and leave a comment if you have any thoughts about the book.

Also, say hello to my two Patrons, WuBzY and Earthpatriot117, who have been supporting my stories for several months now and have helped me in many ways to keep updating for my books.

Hope everypony is enjoying the book, and I'll see you next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.