My mind was slow to process what was going on as my eyes struggled to open. My back was pressed against something hard and I could feel two warm bodies resting on top of my tail. Whispered voices met my twitching ears as I forced myself back to wakefulness, and as I pushed into an upright position I heard the conversation suddenly cut off. Feeling it was time to know what was happening around me, I rubbed a hoof over my eyes and down my muzzle before opening them.

My gaze travelled over the fruit trees that surrounded us on almost every side, the white wooden barrier cutting us off from the wide trail that ran past the grove behind us as my eyes focused on the beings nearby. The seven ponies and the baby dragon from before were grouped together off to one side, their eyes locked on me as I stretched the kinks out of my back. I glanced down and saw that both Willow and Evergreen were still out cold, and I decided not to wake them as I turned my attention back to the ponies.

“So, what’s going on over there?” I whispered as I felt my spine pop a few times in my pony half, “Are you planning on what to do with us now that we’re no longer causing a panic in your clan?”

The purple mare, Twilight if I remembered correctly, was opening her mouth to speak when the larger white mare held a hoof to her mouth, “We have come to a decision as to what shall be done with you and your companions. Given you have nowhere to stay, I have taken the liberty of assigning you to one of the vacant houses on the edge of Ponyville.” She must have seen the confusion in my gaze, because she indicated the collection of structures behind us with one wing, “Ponyville is the town that you passed through on your way here. This land belongs to Applejack and her family, so unless you were to live in her home, you cannot stay here.”

“But what about Evergreen’s tree?” I asked, still keeping my voice low to avoid waking my friends, “It can’t leave this place until it has had time to recover from being uprooted for so long. Who will guard it if none of us are allowed to enter this area?”

The mare’s lips curled slightly into a smile as she replied, “We have spoken about that, and Applejack has agreed to protect and care for the tree in your place until it can be safely moved to your new home.”

I glanced down at the slumbering nymph, not really sure if I should leave something so important in the care of strangers. After all, we just met these ponies, and I didn’t know if we could trust them with something so dangerous. Yet, they could easily have harmed the tree while we were out, so I guess a measure of trust had already been established between our groups. I sighed as I turned my attention back to the giant mare, my voice hesitant as I spoke.

“Let me speak to this, Applejack, so I can see for myself who is going to be looking after Evergreen’s tree.” There was no room for negotiation in my tone, and I could see that the ponies before me seemed to understand that. They stepped aside to reveal the orange mare, who walked forward while removing her hat from her head.

“Ah didn’t know how important yer tree was when ya’ll first came charging onto mah property, but now that Ah know you have nothing to fear for your friend’s health. Ya’ll have mah word as an Apple that no harm will come to yer tree until it can be safely moved to wherever it is ya’ll settle down and call home.” She placed her hat back where it had been before walking up to me and offering me her hoof, “Ah’ll care for Evergreen’s tree like it was mah own flesh and blood until ya find a place safe enough to move her to. Ya’ll can count on me and mah family, and that’s the honest truth.”

I started into her emerald eyes for several moments, gauging her words against her resolve. Yet she never faltered in her conviction, her gaze remaining locked with mine and her hoof steady as she waited for my response. Remembering the trust we had already shown them by asking them to help save Evergreen, I held out my own hoof and bumped it against hers, shaking it up and down once before pulling back.

“Thank you, Applejack. I am trusting something very important to your care.” I leaned in and bared my fangs at the orange mare in warning, “Harm Evergreen or her tree in any way and I will personally make your last moments an exercise in agony. Am I clear?”

She barely flinched at the sight of my fangs, although there was a slight tremor in her tone as she nodded, “Crystal.”

“Oh, how rude of us,” the white mare with the purple mane spoke up as she placed a hoof against her cheek, “we forgot to introduce ourselves to all of you. Um,” she indicated my sleeping companions with her gaze, “wouldn’t it be prudent to wake then up for this? It is a rather rare event that anypony gets to meet the Princess of the land in person.”

I lifted my eyebrow as I started her into submission, “And who exactly is this princess that we get to meet? You?”

The posh mare blushed bright red about the cheeks as her taller companion chuckled, “No, that would be me Lady Rarity is referring to.” She stepped forward and inclined her head, her regalia shining in the sunlight as she spoke in a powerful yet calm voice, “I am Princess Celestia, co-ruler of the land of Equestria, Diarch of the Day and Steward of the Sun.” Her formal stance softened slightly as she winked at me, “Between us, I would rather if you simply called me Celestia. Titles can be rather bothersome things, wouldn’t you agree?”

My eyes widened in shock at the very idea that royalty was cracking a joke at my expense, although I suppose it was something I was partly familiar with, given that I never referred to Evergreen by her title when we were traveling together. I allowed my lips to crack into a smile as I bowed my head and upper body, “It is a pleasure to meet you Princess Celestia.” I turned my head towards the others, “I already know Twilight, Applejack, and now Rarity, but what about the rest of you?”

The bright blue mare flew up and performed a few flips though the air, a confident smirk on her lips as she replied, “Name’s Rainbow Dash, fastest pegasus in Equestria and the only one to ever perform the legendary Sonic Rainboom.” She crossed her forehooves over her chest as she cast a smug look my way from her lofty position over the others, “Pretty cool, right?”

I rolled my eyes and chose to ignore her boasting, turning my attention to the timid yellow mare who was trying to hide behind the bouncing pink one. “And your name might be?”

The pegasus squeaked in fright and hid behind her mane, although she was quickly pushed forward by the boisterous pink mare as the second pony’s mouth ran like she didn’t need to breathe.

“Come on Fluttershy, go one and introduce yourself to the nice snake-pony. Oh wait, I just did that for you, shoot, now I’ll need to let somepony else introduce me or else it won’t be fair for everypony else for getting to introduce themselves to you.” She sucked in another breath to continue but was cut off as Twilight’s horn ignited in a bright pink glow, a similar glow forcing the mare’s mouth shut as the others breathed a sigh of relief.

“I think that’s enough for now Pinkie,” Twilight stated as she released her companion’s mouth, Fluttershy taking that particular moment to move behind Rarity as the bouncing pink mare turned her attention towards Twilight.

“Thanks Twilight, now I don’t need to introduce myself to Sapphy.” She draped a hoof over the other mare’s shoulders as everyone else took on confused expressions, my own eyebrows rising at the adaptation of my name, “Now we can continue without it being unfair for anypony.”

For a moment Twilight simply gaped at Pinkie, her mind apparently having to reboot after the confusion caused by her companion’s antics. Yet, she managed to get herself back under control as the group turned their attention to me, their expressions seeming to indicate an expectation of some sort. For a moment I wasn’t sure what it was they wanted from me, but then Celestia nodded towards my sleeping friends, who were still oblivious to what was happening around them. I nodded my understanding and tapped Willow on the shoulder, the timberpony waking in a rush as she jumped to her hooves and looked around.

“Who, what, where?” Her eyes locked on the others before turning back to me, her head tilting to one side as she spoke, “Did I miss something?”

I nodded, shaking Evergreen gently as the nymph pulled herself into the waking world, “The ponies were just introducing themselves and explaining what was going to happen to us now that we’ve entered their land.”

Evergreen was far slower to rise than Willow, although she seemed to become much more alert as she saw the collection of ponies near to her tree. Her wings flared as the blades were directed at the ponies, but I was able to keep her still as I placed a hoof on her shoulder, shaking my head slowly as she glanced up at me in confusion.

“They aren’t going to harm your tree, Evergreen.” I nodded to Applejack as Evergreen’s gaze followed my motion, “Applejack has agreed to care for your other half while we get settled into a safer location.”

Evergreen looked over the orange mare for a moment before nodding, although she kept her wings flared as I turned my attention back to the ponies, “Evergreen, Willow, this is Princess Celestia.” I pointed towards the towering mare as my companion’s eyes widened, their bodies dropping into identical bows as Evergreen’s wings finally folded back against her flanks.

“Please forgive us Your Highness,” Evergreen said from her bowed position as she glanced up at the monarch between her lashes, “we meant no disrespect by being cautious. It is only because of the dangers we have faced together that has made us wary of strangers.”

Willow murmured her agreement, her own body held low to the ground as she revealed her neck to the taller mare in submission. I was rather surprised to see that from the normally combative and confident hybrid, although if my senses were telling me anything, it was that the largest of the ponies was by far the most powerful, and not just in physical strength either. Celestia seemed to have an aura that demanded respect, and yet it also seemed to soothe rather than frighten those who were enveloped in its radiant glow.

Celestia smiled and gestured towards my companions with a hoof, “Please rise. You are not my subjects, and therefore do not need to show such subservient behavior towards me. While the gesture is appreciated, it is not needed nor desired on my part. You are your own beings and should not be forced to bow to one who does not lead your people.” Her smile took on a slightly more mirthful shape as she turned her attention to Evergreen, “Besides, one of you is a royal herself, or had you forgotten that young Evergreen?”

Now it was Evergreen’s turn to blush, her legs straightening as she averted her gaze and tried to hide behind her too-short mane, “Oh, I guess that’s correct. I’m not used to being given respect from beings that aren’t part of my coven.”

Willow was a bit more forward as she stood up and walked over to Celestia, tilting her head up to stare at the mare’s eyes as the Princess looked down at the hybrid, “So we don’t need to treat you like our alpha while we are in your lands? That’s so weird, because back in my pack any wolf that wished to enter our territory had to submit to my alpha’s demands or risk being attacked and driven off.”

The ponies gaped at Willow like she had just kicked their ruler in the face, although Celestia simply lowered her head to Willow’s level as she replied, “While those may have been the laws of your past life, you need not fear harm from me or any of the beings around you. We ponies are a mostly peaceful race and would rather avoid conflict if at all possible.” Celestia turned her attention back to me, “Now, I believe you were going to finish the introductions before we showed you to your temporary home?”

I nodded, bringing Willow and Evergreen up to speed as I pointed out each of the ponies in turn. Twilight corrected me in saying that her full name was Twilight Sparkle, a strange name but then again who was I to judge, and that the baby dragon at her side was called Spike. Pinkie gave a long and complex string of words before stating that we could just call her Pinkie Pie instead of her full name. I could barely understand what I had just heard, let alone repeat it, so I wisely accepted the mare’s offer of using a shorter version.

With that out of the way, Celestia turned around and led us back over the wooden barrier that stood between the orchard and the wide trail, the other mares following at a close range as Willow and Evergreen fell in at my sides. We travelled back through the collection of structures, or town as Celestia had called it, seeing more of the ponies as they cautiously watched from openings in the sides of said structures. Many waved to the Princess with wide smiles, although as soon as they spotted us their expressions were quick to shift to ones of fear or suspicion.

I chose to ignore them as we exited the town on the side near the Great Forest, our escort leading us along a slightly less wide trail that wound along the edge of the forest in a northern direction. For a moment I thought we were going to enter the woods, but I was proven wrong when we came up to yet another structure, slightly larger than the ones we had seen in town but still made of wood and covered in dead grass on top. The openings in the sides were unadorned by the wooden barriers that some of the structures in town had, and the south wall was mostly covered in trailing vines that wound up the wood in droves.

All and all, I wasn’t really sure what I was looking at. I had never seen anything like it before, and judging from my friend’s expressions, neither had they.

Rarity stepped up to my left and glanced up at me with a confused look, “Well, aren’t you going to go in?”

I looked down at her with the same expression, “Go in? How? There is a wall of wood in our path and the openings on the sides are far too small for me to squeeze through.”

The alabaster mare’s eyes narrowed as she walked up to the rectangular block of wood that sat in the middle of the wall before us, her horn glowing as it twisted a small golden bump I hadn’t noticed before. The block swung inward, revealing a hole in the wall that all of us could enter or exit through, and I could feel the shock rolling off me and my friends in waves as our jaws hung low.

Rarity tilted her head as she shifted her gaze from me to my companions and back again, “Why do you look like I’ve just done the impossible? It’s just a simple door. Every house in Equestria has one, many in fact if you count the ones usually inside the house.”

“What’s a house?” Willow asked, earning multiple stupefied expressions as Rarity held a hoof to her mouth.

“Why, this is a house,” she indicated the structure behind her with a hoof, “a place where ponies can live without having to resort to sleeping on the dirty ground or out in the nasty weather.” Her gaze returned to us as she seemed to realize something, “What would you normally call home back in your lands?”

“Sleep in a cave or in a thicket of bushes with my pack.” Willow replied.

“I just normally rest inside my tree.” Evergreen muttered, jerking slightly as the ponies gaped at her, “What? The tree and I are one and the same. We nymphs usually stay hidden unless we have no other choice. It’s not my fault my other half is all the way on the other side of town.”

“And you, Sapphire?” Rarity asked, sounding almost afraid of my answer.

“My clan claimed a grove of trees far before I was born,” I replied, “every family lives in the branches of a single tree as long as there is enough room. We sleep in the canopy and come down to the forest floor during the day to hunt and to interact with each other.”

The ponies all looked between one another with uncertain glances, although Celestia seemed to be taking it all in stride. “Perhaps it would be best is you showed our new friends how a house works. Given they have never encountered Equestrian ways of life, I am sure they could use a bit of help getting settled.”

Twilight beamed as she began pulling me forward by a hoof, Pinkie taking up my other as Willow and Evergreen were directed into the structure by the other mares.

“Come on Sapphy,” Pinkie said with an equally wide smile, “we got to get everypony comfortable before I can give you your big Welcome-to-Equestria-and-happy-house-warming Party!”

Willow and Evergreen shared another confused look as we were directed into the house, our eyes taking in the large enclosed space as the duo turned back to Pinkie, “What’s a party?”

The pink mare gasped like we had attacked her, her body freezing in place as her jaw hung literally to the floor. The other mares backed up slightly as Pinkie seemed to go through a small mental episode, her body twitching in odd places before taking in a deep breath and calming her features.

“So, you’ve never had a party thrown for you,” her voice had become eerily calm, and I felt a shiver run up my spine as she lifted a completely blank expression to look at me, “is that correct?”

Not really sure what to do, given the rather frightened looks the other mares were giving their companion, “Umm, no?” I flinched, expecting to somehow set off the apparently unhinged mare, but her reaction was not what I expected.
Instead of going ballistic like I thought she was going to, she simply nodded, walked past Celestia without even bouncing once, and glanced over her shoulder at the rest of us with her still blank face, “Tomorrow night, you are going to get the party of your life to make up for all the ones you’ve missed.” All at once, her sparky attitude came back as she beamed at us, “See you all later! I’ve got work to do!”

With that she rushed off at blinding speeds, leaving the rest of us to stare after her in awe and a little fright.

“I know that was just Pinkie being Pinkie,” Rainbow said as she glanced at the others, “but should we be worried about what she’s going to do? You all remember what happened when she and Cheese Sandwich got into a competition to create the biggest party ever for me.”

“While I think your friend’s reaction might warrant some caution,” Celestia said as she walked past us and into the center of the space, “she means the best and would never do anything to harm others. That much I know from Twilight’s letters and from my own experiences with her. She’ll be creating quite the party for Sapphire and her friends, but I don’t think she will go too far with what she puts together.” She glanced over her shoulder at our group with a serene smile, “Now, how about we get back to the tour? I’m certain Sapphire, Evergreen and Willow are looking forward to seeing what their new home will be like while they are staying in our lands.”

With that rather effective balm to our frazzled nerves, the mares all jumped at the chance to show me and my friends everything the house could offer, one room at a time. We all were amazed by what we were shown, from the idea of contained fire to keep the house warm in winter to the very concept of controlling the flow of water with the simple turning of a knob. Willow especially thought that the cleaning room was especially interesting, taking a drink from a provided bowl of water before being politely pulled back by Fluttershy. The normally timid mare whispered something into the timberpony’s ear, causing Willow to jerk her head back at the bowl before sticking out her tongue and making a disgusted face. I was tempted to ask what she had been told but a pointed look sent my way told me that we would have that conversation later.

All and all, the biggest thing to me was the fact that we wouldn’t be sleeping on the wooden floor. After climbing up a flight of stairs (Twilight told us what they were called as she led us up them), we came to a set of rooms that all shared the same basic design. They all possessed openings in their outer walls, windows if I remembered correctly, and had several hunks of wood that served various purposes. The furniture, as Rarity was quick to point out, could be used to store things that we got for ourselves like clothing and other such items, although why we would ever need such things was apparently lost on the mare.

It was in said rooms that I found my newest wonder of pony life, beds. Soft, comforting blocks that were stuffed with feathers and covered in thin pieces of fabric to ward off the cold at night, my mind was in bliss as my tail coiled up on the large surface and I couldn’t help but sigh as I rested my head on the pillows I had piled around me. Willow and Evergreen were a bit skeptical at first, but after I pulled them up onto the squishy surface with my tail, they too quickly fell into contented bliss as the ponies slowly filed out of the room.

“We’ll be around tomorrow morning to check on you. We’ll go over some of the other important things you’ll need to know to live in pony society once you’ve gotten some rest.” Twilight closed the door softly as she turned off the lights overhead, plunging us into near darkness as the sun began to set through the open window on our right.

I let out a content sigh as I wrapped Willow up in my tail, coiling her from hooves to chin but not constricting as I rested her on my left side. I left a couple rings of coils open for Evergreen if she so wanted, having never done so before for the nymph. Normally she had slept inside her tree, but with that all the way across town I figured having us close by would help her relax. She hesitated for a moment before taking a slow step forward, lifting my coils up and over her body with her front hooves before lying down on her stomach.

I pulled in the slack until my tail was wrapped around her in a snug but gentle embrace, and she sighed as her eyes fluttered for a moment, “Oh this is wonderful. Why haven’t I ever had you do this before?”

“Because you were always sleeping inside your tree while we were on the move,” I countered with a slight grin, “You never gave me the chance to try before you would disappear each night.”

The mare nodded in thought as she rested her head on one of the pillows around us, her eyes closing as a smile formed on her lips, “Well I guess I’ve found a new place to sleep. This is far better than sleeping as part of my tree.”

“Oh?” I raised my eyebrow as one of her eyes cracked open to look at me, “And why is that?”

Her lips pulled back further to reveal her teeth as her smile grew, “Because I trust you to take care of me as I sleep. My tree can’t do anything to help me if I come into danger during the night. I trust you to protect me, Sapphire, just as you promised to do so to Elder Lichen.” She reached out with her muzzle and rubbed it against my cheek softly, pulling back slightly as I held a hoof to my cheek, “Thank you for doing all of this to save me after my coven died. I don’t think I’ve ever actually said that before now.”

I felt my cheeks heating up from both her words and her actions, “Well, I, umm. You really don’t need to thank me, Evergreen. I was just doing what anyone would have done if given the chance.”

Evergreen giggled softly as she nuzzled against my cheek again, pressing a soft kiss there before pulling back once more, “Somehow I don’t think that’s true, but I’ll let it go for now, so we can get some sleep.” She rubbed her cheek against my tail as the coils warmed up around her body, murmuring in contentment as she whispered to me, “Goodnight, Sapphire. Goodnight, Willow. See you in the morning.”

“Night Evergreen.” Willow echoed as she dragged a soft lick up the side of my face, purring slightly as I turned around and returned the gesture between her ears, “Night Sapphire.”

I felt my heart warming at the love and care these two were sharing with me, and I couldn’t help the single tear that ran down my face as I watched them fall asleep in my coils, completely trusting of me and my ability to protect them, “Goodnight girls.” I pressed a soft kiss to each of their foreheads before pulling them close and resting my own head on the pillows behind me, “I don’t know what I would do without you now that we’re together. I promise I will protect you and earn the trust you have in me. No one will ever bring you harm, not as long as I have anything to say about it.”

With that the sun finally set and the soft silver glow of the moon spread over the land, falling over our intertwined bodies as we fell into a peaceful slumber. I had no idea what was going to happen next, but with my Mating Bond pulling at my heart stronger than ever, I had a feeling things were finally going to start working in our favor.

Author's Note

Sorry I wasn't able to post this yesterday, but work drained me like a sieve and I passed out almost as soon as I got home. But, to make up for it I'm going to post another chapter tonight for Wolf in Cybernetic Armor before I go to bed. I WILL make sure that I keep to my schedule for the rest of my 2nd Anniversary Chapter Marathon, and I will not let myself fall behind again. That you have my word on, my faithful readers and followers.

Anyways, what did you think of the chapter? Was it good? Was it crazy? Did Pinkie pulling a Maud scare the ever-living daylights out of you? If you answered yes to any or all of these questions then I would call this update a success.

As usual, have fun reading, and make sure to like, follow if you wish, and leave plenty of comments in the towel section for me to read. I love hearing from you guys and look forward to your feedback.

See you next chapter,
Shadow Quill, Messenger of the Moon.