The Great and P-Powerful

Starlight was lost deep in her thoughts, watching, but not really watching as the green, rolling hills of the countryside slowly passed her by. Following her encounter in the park, she’d quickly made a beeline out of there, to get as far away from them as she possibly could in as little time as she could.

She couldn’t stand to be in the same town as them. She couldn’t stand to be around Trixie. She couldn’t stand, period. That was why the first thing she had done was go to the train station and get the first ticket back to Ponyville. It didn’t matter if they gave her the worst seats, or even a position in the hold, all she cared about was that she had to get away.

And thus, here she was, sitting on the train, alone, with nopony else but herself and her own thoughts.

Luckily the train ride wasn’t a long one. It was only an hour back from Canterlot. It wouldn’t have surprised her to get there and find Trixie already set up with her cart behind the castle. In fact she expected it. But it still left her with her thoughts, plenty of time to think.

Time to regret.

And thus, as she sat alone, in the last economy class cabin, watching the land roll by, she couldn’t help but think about how things could have gone differently, and what she could have possibly done to make things better.

What had happened, between her and Trixie was wrong. At least that’s what they taught in school. Every unicorn, young and old, was trained in the laws of their tribe. Thou shall not steal. Thou shall not lie. Do not impose thy will over those more vulnerable than thee.

Those were the first three morals that came to mind, the most important; the most sacred. There was a time, before she formed her own school, when Celestia herself would travel from town to town, visit the local school houses, and teach these same morals to she and her classmates.

That was how she learned them, and again when she’d finally gotten her first casting scrolls. She was sworn by them as a mage, and how many of those same rules had she broken in her—Old Starlight’s conquest?

Probably all of them. Definitely all of them. But she was better now, right? Didn’t she deserve forgiveness for her past actions?

But she did. They had forgiven her, some part of her said, a more hopeful part. Twilight had forgiven her. The old Starlight had died. She’d been reformed. She’d become a hero to equestrian, rather than its tyrant, but why did she still feel this way?

Same-sex couples were forbidden among unicorns. She couldn’t say the same about the other tribes, but to them it was as much a pillar of virtue as all the rest. And she’d broken that pillar. Not only that, but she was sure Sparkler and Berry knew she’d broken that pillar.

She didn’t know how they found out, but there was no doubting their choice of words—‘We’ll leave you with your fillyfriend’ –couldn’t have been a coincidence.

They knew.

It was set in stone, and the only thing she didn’t know was what they were going to do about it. They knew she’d broken that pillar, and with her best friend, no less. Does that make her any less than she was? Is Starlight Glimmer really no different than the Starlight that had enslaved that village all those months ago? Was it all just a ruse? Had she really simply fooled herself into thinking she’d changed when nothing had actually—

Starlight winced. She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned against the wall, letting the vibrations and the soothing sound of the train’s motions wash over her. No. She was different. If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t be regretting what she’d done.

But that still left the matter of what to do.

This whole situation was fucked up. Whether she liked it or not, she’d been with Trixie. She’d liked it. She was pretty sure Trixie herself had liked it. But it wasn’t right. Not in the eyes of the law, and that wasn’t the worst part of it.

She’d promised Trixie she’d always be there by her side. They were going to make the trip back to Ponyville together, taking turns pulling Trixie’s cart and chatting up a storm. They were going to stop on the way and get some croissants, eat some early breakfast, and then maybe, just maybe, she could get Trixie alone. They could be kissing. She could be caressing Trixie’s subtle flanks, feeling that soft, bristly fur under her frogs, getting a whiff of that mane.

They’d be alone in the cart with nopony around. With the perfect chance, she could pull Trixie’s body against hers, their breaths quickening, their kisses deepening. She’d let Trixie explore her mouth. She’d explore hers, and then, as their hearts beat faster in loving unison, she’d—

The cabin shook. The loud ruffling of baggage, and the sharp clackity-clack-clack-clack-clack brought Starlight violently back into the present.

She was leaned against the corner wall of the Ponyville Express, her cheek pressed against the window with her rump only just on the edge of her seat. Her heart was beating, and her breath felt hot. She became aware of a misted patch against the glass, and the strain of drool dripping from her maw.

Not only that. Her nose twitched—as did something else, something below—to a certain new scent sharing the cabin with her.

“M-Ma’am?” A stallion’s voice spoke up behind her, causing Starlight’s mane to bristle.

She choked. “O-Oh, yes! S-s-sorry!” Starlight sprung off the window, flashing an awkward smile as she returned to her upright position. There was something sticky between her thighs and the chair, and Starlight wasted no time in clamping her legs together and leaning forward to preserve her modesty.

He was a brown, well-dressed stallion who had taken up the seat across from her. She guessed he must have come in without her realising it, because by the looks of things he had just sat down. His mane was carefully combed back, though it hung with long strands that he quickly brushed away before offering a hoof to Starlight. “Hi, uh—” He coughed. “I’m Chocolate Ganaché,” he said.

Starlight hesitantly bumped his hoof. She could feel her blush still receding, though the sticky seat and she fading scent in the cabin still lingered as a reminder of her actions. Had she really just been fantasizing about herself and Trixie? now!? “I-I didn’t notice you coming in.”

“I’m sorry.” He sat up, pulling a briefcase up from the seat beside him. “Th-The door was unlocked. I thought this cabin was unoccupied, but then when I came in here, I-I saw you were sleeping and I didn’t want to—“

“It’s okay.” Sleeping. That was a good excuse as any. She waved him back to his seat and waited until Chocolate had settled back down before continuing. “H-Honestly, you seem like a nice guy—” Smile, damn it, Starlight! She smiled. “And I could use a bit of company right about now.”

~ ~ ~

There was no telling how long she had stayed there on that step, wallowing, and thinking on Starlight’s words. The Starlight Trixie had seen that morning was nothing like the Starlight she had seen before. She was unlike the Starlight she knew. The glimpse of the mare she got was the same time strong and fragile, fixed and broken.

It reminded Trixie of herself, in a way. Every night she thought back to what she’d done with The Amulet—what Twilight had done, she reminded herself. It all had to be Twilight’s fault, she—she... I-If she hadn’t....

Trixie was grinding her teeth when she arrived at the back of her caravan.

She paused for a moment and took a deep breath. In, and out... she motioned a hoof over her chest, mirroring the lesson Starlight had taught her.

In, she breathed, and out again, and Starlight left the tension behind, relaxing her back as she felt every muscle in her being uncoil and unwind.

Once more, in, and she closed her eyes, focusing on the moment, holding it there, pushing all worries out of her with the wind.... out.

She opened her eyes and looked over the door of the caravan, her caravan, the same hunkering beast she’d spent a little over half her life in. It was her home, her sanctuary, her abode where The Great and Powerful Trixie could truly be The Great and Powerful Trixie.

Even through the wear and tear—Trixie acknowledged the tiny nicks and scratches in the paint as she stepped across the wonky step to reach the back door—it had held firm and showed a strength she could only wish she had.

She opened the door with a click and pushed it inside. Almost immediately Trixie was overwhelmed by the veritable wall of musk that flowed out to meet. “Oh—Oh g—“ She coughed and spluttered, falling away from the entranceway—“Oh Celestia, what is that—“ Her nose flared. She gasped for fresh air only for a new gulp of the acrid odour of sex to invade her nostrils. “—That—“ Her eyes began to water, only making the situation worse for Trixie as she squinted and to even see where the caravan was. “—That smell.”

Finally, Trixie stumbled into the dark inside of the caravan, her eyes watering and her nose burning, as she took in the surroundings. Nothing had changed since last night—other than the obvious odour. At the time her performance was the top priority, and thus in their hurry neither of them even stopped to consider the state they were leaving the caravan in, her caravan, Her precious baby.

The curtains were drawn—that was the first thing Trixie made to correct. She tugged them aside with her magic; a stream of sunlight bathed the mess in its radiance. Clothes and random objects lay strewn around. The clothing rack was an utter disgrace, even in comparison to its normally organised chaos. The extra hats and capes lay in a bundle in the corner, positioned perfectly in the corner exactly three inches to the left of her hamper.

Every chest had been opened and its contents unceremoniously dumped on the floor next to them, gutted like a breakfast turkey read to be stuffed. Her brushes and combs, hair spray, and pretty much every other cleansing agent under the sun cluttered the dresser where the dim yellow of her show lights still burned from where Trixie last pitied herself.

And framed in the middle of this—Trixie slowly began to do her paces, carefully side-stepping each garment as she cast her magic forth to begin picking up the pieces—was the last, final, straw.

Her chair lay sideways, toppled with one leg broken and shattered, and the other bent at an odd angle where the wood had clearly splintered. It had a clear darkened patch on the seat, and the scent of arousal wafted off of it like the heady musk of two mares in heat.

The sickeningly sweet smell of candy floss and cum.

~ ~ ~

“So, um...”

It was silent in the cabin, nothing but the repeated clack-clack=clack of the train’s tracks rung in the background. Starlight was sitting awkwardly across the game from her... new friend, she was going to call him. In all honesty, she still didn’t know very much about Chocolate Ganaché. Besides the usual pleasantries, she’d quickly falling back into her same old habit: staring longingly into her cup of tea.

She’d just taken a sip, when the stallion’s words caused her to snap back to attention.

“So, um”—He was scratching his ear to seem nonchalant. “Starlight, how long have you been staying in Ponyville?”

“Oh, you know...” Starlight’s face turned red, and she quickly blew back her back and turned her face away, hopefully hiding her growing blush from the stallion. “I-It’s been about three months,” she said, and then quickly threw in, “S-Since I moved.” She wanted to say something about Twilight Sparkle and the castle, but that was running the risk of revealing too much.

What was she going to say? Hi, I’m Starlight Glimmer, I enslaved an entire town full of ponies and moved here because I vowed revenge to kill Twilight Sparkle with a time spell that ended up destroying the entire universe, but don’t worry, I’m good now! And totally don’t know any other dangerous magic that could—wait where are you going, don’t bring the guard...

She giggled, cracking what she hoped would be a placating smile. Instead the stallion seemed to be staring at her with a look of more concern than composure. “Um...” He leaned forward, but quickly thought better of it and pressed his back against the seat, one ear pricked to the door in case he had to make a dash. “Starlight, a-are you okay?”

“Yes!” She shouted, then quickly backpedalled and repeated more softly. “Yes, yes, I’m fine, sorry.” Her ears drooped—sinking with her heart, but then picked back up as the stallion seemed to relax.

“Sorry, y-you seemed kind of out of it.”

“Yes. I was...” Starlight looked out the window. She glanced past her own reflection to the rolling landscape outside and then back to the stallion. “I was... thinking again.”

“You should stop thinking.”

She snorted. “I agree.” Chocolate Ganaché added his own snicker, and this triggered a full on guffaw from Starlight. “Ha, yeah!” She dismissed the joke with a hoof as she stifled her own snickers. It was a lame joke, and in any other other situation it would have earned a smack out of her, but in this... It was just what she needed. “So yeah, it’s been three months.”Starlight continued, “Y-“she giggled. “You could say I’ve been here a full season now.”

“Oh wow...” Chocolate mouthed a big ‘O’ as his eyes widened in realisation. “So I’m talking to a veteran, then?”

Starlight covered her mouth to stop herself from laughing. “Yes, yeas, but enough about me...” She took a deep breath, restoring her previous composure. “What about you?” Starlight said. “I don’t exactly ride this train very often, but I’m very certain I haven’t seen you around Ponyville before.”

“Oh, well...” This time it was Chocolate’s turn to blush. “Y-You wouldn’t believe—It’s actually a funny story...”

~ ~ ~

The sickeningly sweet smell of candy floss and cum danced its way across Trixie’s nostrils, forcing a tremor to rides it way up the nape of her neck. Her whole body seemed to stiffen, as if turned on by a switched. Her muscles coiled, as is preparing for something as the familiar scent sunk in.

Trixie’s eyes widened. Her breath caught in her throat, and she felt herself suddenly growing hot all over again. That scent was like an old home, something you could never forget, never get away from. No matter where you went or what you did, who she did, Trixie could never forget the memories of that smell.

It was unique, one brought on by the intermingling of two mare’s juices, or the coupling of two souls made for one another. It was like the old family home one could never get back to, and when you smelled that smell, you were instantly teleported back to the last and best moment you had in that place.

Her mouth was dry. Trixie licked her lips, tasting the air as she swallowed to moisten her stiffened tongue. She couldn’t help but have her eyes wander, drawn towards the darkened patch in the clearing of the floor—that one, small, wet patch where their juices had seeped into the oaken wood.

They’d probably never get it out now, not that she’d ever want to get it out.

As she drew closer to the sacred spot, the memories of the night before came crashing down, awash in heat as they rushed through her mind. All the thoughts, or how Starlight Glimmer has so taken control, forced herself upon Trixie, come to take what she wanted—what they both wanted.

It gave her a twist in her stomach a new sensation that was hard to pin down. Sickness? Uneasiness? Excitement and resentment? All of those words seemed to meld together, forming a mesh-mash of different feelings—all distinct but all the same; inseparable but worlds apart at the same time.

Something about how Starlight had acted—combined with how she’d asserted herself against those mares it sent shivers down Trixie’s spine.

She quickly found herself panting, her breath hot and heavy the thoughts and images of Starlight on top of her, Trixie herself pinned on the ground and unable to do a thing about it. How Starlight would use her weight to reassert her dominance, to force herself upon Trixie—upon her—and take what she wanted.

And that was somehow... good. Every fibre in her being was screaming at her in different way, all acknowledging the same truth, the truth that she herself didn’t know if she was ready to admit.

It both scared and excited her, and boy did it excite her. She could feel tension growing in her knees as she trotted, every so slowly, in the direction of the puddle, as if drawn nearer by an unseen force. She was transfixed, her eyes glued to the slight glistening of the scented, unimaginably sweet concoction that had drawn her attention.

Everything about it, she was both infuriated and adored it. As she kneeled at the edge of the small puddle, a small tickle of her sanity squeaked in the back of Trixie’s mine. She almost gave an audible squeak as her cheeks flushed at the thought, and Trixie no time in checking over her shoulder.

The caravan was empty. Of course it was empty. This was her private quarters, after all. Why would anypony else be in here? And yet, she still felt the need to check.

She glanced to the windows, and gently drew them closed with a bit of her magic, then cast a weary eye to the only exit. The front door was luckily locked, though she did double check the latch before turning her attention back to her... devious activity.

Slowly and deliberately, Trixie lowered the edge of her hoof into the middle of the puddle. Just the tip made contact, and it sent a yet another shiver up her spine. It was cold, and judging by the slight crusting around the edges of the floorboards, the majority of it had already dried of seeped away.

Yet there was still enough to sate her curiosity.

The fluid clung thick to her frog, and tiny trail of cum glistened in the light as it stretched across the widening distance to the underside of her hoof. It was thicker than expected, and gave off a strong odour of fresh sweet nectar as she brought it closer to her nose.

She gave it a light sniff and, sure enough, there it was: candy floss, as clear as day, along with anther, more familiar scent. It was sharp, but not altogether unpleasant. More than anything, it was...

Trixie licked her lips. The heat slowly rose around her, Trixie’s breath quickening, growing hotter, and less restrained. She smacked her lips, swallowing as her mouth became dry.

Slowly, gradually, and with practiced precision, Trixie brought the hoof in closer to her mouth. She drew in the scent with every heated breath, thinking of the source, disassembling and deconstructing it in her mind.

It was a mixture of both Starlight’s and her own secretions, a potent concoction that was the product of their love. It was something that they could only ever hope to make together ,and that made it special. This had might as well be liquid gold in Trixie’s eyes, and this, this right here, was the only sample.

The smell of cotton candy had long since been taken over by a strong, more immediate, more needful scent when Trixie, finally, let her tongue out to take a sample of the sweet nectar.

It tasted nothing like what she’d imagined. Not like how it smelled, it was almost bitter, and tasted a lot like hoof, but regardless, she couldn’t deny she’d been worked up.

The scent of a mare in heat hung heavy in the room, and Trixie was forced to widen her stance, spread her legs out to allow some fresh air between her nethers. Her tail hack twitched sporadically all throughout, and she was only now beginning to notice the stray hairs plaid across her flanks, and the unmistakable sensation of something wet trickling down her insides of her thighs.

Trixie flinched when she felt her love bud stretch against her lips. She couldn’t think what it must look like behind there, what any any stallion would think if they’d seen her now. Just the thought of somepony catching her, the Great and Powerful Trixie, acting like a common hoarse was—

She winked again, slathering a fresh splash of juices against the hardwood floor. With it came strong smell of heat, want, and need that all but choked out every other odour in the room.

--Dammit.

She shook her head, almost facehoofed with the soiled hoof, buck luckily thought better of it at the last minute. “St-St-stupid sexy S-Starlight Glimmer...” she swore under her breath, admonishing herself for being so weak. She was the Great and Powerful Trixie, Celestia damn it, she was the one who’s supposed to be having stallions—er—mares falling head over hooves for her! Not the other way around!

Trixie flicked the cum from her hoof and turned it around to wipe the remnants away on her chest. No, this simply could not stand. Trixie Lulamoon was not a plaything for other mare. It was beneath her, she was too good for that. If anything, she should be the one taking top position.

She should be the one taking and dealing pleasure, and if anypony were to be left high-and-dry, it was going to be the other mare, Starlight Glimmer.

It was all just a matter of laying the right foundation, or coming up with the right plan, staying focused and, whatever she does, she couldn’t get distracted thinking about Starlight Glimmer, and just how friggin amazing her tongue would feel pressed between the folds of her pussy right about now, and—Oh, the things she would do, how she’d hold Starlight, kiss her, caress her. About how when their bodies were intertwined, she would love for Starlight to press her down and pin her against the soft fabric of their shared double hotel bed...

They’d lie there for ages, simply whispering little nothings into each of their ears. “Oh, Trixie,” Starlight would say, “I wish we could be here forever,” and then they would kiss, a slow, long, passionate kiss like only true lovers do, the kind of kiss that would make even Rarity swoon.

Starlight would be on top, the master, whilst she lay there, unable to do anything. She’d be at the whims of her lover, utterly defenceless. The Meek and Utterly Defenseless Trixie would be forced to lie there and watch, to beg, if her master so allowed, and simply wait for and take whatever wonderful gifts Starlight Glimmer would bestow on her.

The kiss deepened their breaths becoming hot ad ragged, their tongues dancing over each over as they both crossed into that moment. Trixie felt her hooves start to wonder—they tried to wander, but were halted short by the tight bindings that held her in place on the bed.

Starlight pulled away, looking Trixie over with a knowing smirk, her smile half-cocked, as if she were admiring her work. “Are you comfortable, my dear?” she said. Adding another wiggle to her hips, Starlight ground her marehood against Trixie’s growing, erect teats. She was dripping and hot, and the sensation of arousal dripping and trailing over her own sex was like the soft patter of raindrops against taught canvas. It sent shivers through her whole body, making the black ropes tremble with every motion. “... or must I tighten it some more?”

Trixie started. She shook her head, unwilling to squeak a word. She didn’t know if Starlight wanted her to speak, so perhaps, she thought, t would be better to stay quiet for now. They could always get loud later, after all.

“Good...” Starlight cooed. She looked Trixie over. Her eyes were hungry, and she could feel herself being sized up, meticulously catalogues by the unyielding stare of her mistress.

Starlight inched herway further down Trixie’s body, trailing her hooves over the sensitive parts of her body, pressing firmly on her chest, forcing Trixie’s back to depress the mattress, and then continued down.

Next she was over her stomach, feeling the muscles and tendons underneath before settling to pause, and play with Trixie’s engorged teats. All this while, she had Trixie locked with those eyes: sparkling and hungry with lust, ready and willing to do whatever she wanted to make Trixie feel good.

“Are you ready?” she said, coy with that bubbly, playful tone.

Trixie felt herself squirm. She screwed her eyes shut, biting her lip not to moan as Starlight suckled on corner of her throbbing hot flesh of her hood. It caused her breath to catch, and the bitter flavour of blood filled her mouth as she pressed down on her lower lip.

Starlight stopped. Again looking Trixie in the eye, eyebrow raised. She used the other hoof to stroke her pussy, giving it just enough stimulation to keep her on edge, but not enough to offer any sort of relief. “I said,” she repeated, this time in a more stern tone. “Are you ready, my pet?”

THUD

There was a loud bang as something slammed against the side of the caravan, causing it and everything inside to shake around her. Trixie snapped out of her daydream with a yelp, “Ah!” she gasped, stumbling as the ground shook.

There was a second, less heart-attack-inducing slam against the outside wall, and a stallion’s voice called back. “S-Sorry!”

Another commotion followed and the sun outside seemed to fade. It flickered as something passed the windows, and another vehicle trundled past outside. Trixie silently spat, “D-Dammit, Celestia!” She was flushed red and smelled like heat more than ever before. Her legs were utterly drenched, and Luna forbid anypony catch her now.

She stamped her frustration squeezing her eyes shut as she admonished herself. “Focus!” She stomped and the boards creaked beneath her. “Focus, Trixie, focus!” Another stomp, and her hoof crashed clear through the floor, causing Trixie to jump sideway with a yelp.“Focusssss—a Yah!”

She lurched into the hole and, just as she was about to land smack on her face, she twisted and succeeded a wobbly, albeit awkward, recovery. “I can’t get distracted. Not now, not yet.”

Squinting, she turned to start inspecting the space, strutting proudly as she sidestepped the—now multiple—stains—and holes—in her floor. She whispered, “C-Cleaning up can wait. Right now Trixie has more urgent dealings to take care of, plans to be laid, deals to be made...”

With a flicker of her horn, Trixie sent out a meagre tendril of magic to dig through her belongings. She let it wander under the clothes racks, focusing it as it felt over the various objects of different shapes and sizes.

Her muzzle scrunched in concentration until, finally, her magic grazed across its target. A familiar mottled texture was transmitted back to her over the aether. Soft and flesh-like. Some more exploring revealed more objects, and a wide, devilish grin spread across Trixie’s face as straps, some kind of plastic, or latex—it’s been so long since she’d used it, she wasn’t really sure any more—and so, so much more revealed itself to her magical tendril.

She couldn’t stop herself from grinning as the tendril retracted back with its cargo. A dark, metal black box slid into view, awash with the faint blue tinge of Trixie’s magic. With it came a bundle of black straps, an unmarked plastic bottle, and a packet of peanut biscuit.

The box and the straps were slapped down on the dressing table, shoving any prior arrangements aside. The chair quickly righted and fixed itself.

Trixie took her seat, admiring her collection, as she pulled out the first of several salted snacks, dipped it in the peanut butter, and took a slow, deliberate bite, savouring the creamy delicious coating.

As plots and devices began to take form before her, she templed her hooves with a menacing evil grin. “Oh, my dear, naive little Starlight Glimmer... You made Trixie the sub; you may have made Trixie like being the sub, but now it’s time for Trixie to return the favour.”

~ ~ ~

The deep trebled hiss of the steam train’s brakes riverbed through the cabin, adding its tone to the trundling squeal of the tracks below. The luggage shifted as the entire hulking mass lurched to a gradual halt, and there was the distant yells of stallion-workers outside as they began the first refuelling of job of the day.

Starlight’s eye grazed across the window, her attention caught momentarily as a pegasus mare—one she almost recognised as Rainbow Dash—zipped across the sky with a raincloud to attend the some other part of the carriage. Far behind, the barrel of a slough rolled around on its hinges to feed coal into train’s open maw.

“...and about this stallion,” Chocolate’s voice called her back to the present, and Starlight’s eyes snapped back to the stallion sitting by her side. They’d long since switched seats when the breakfast cart had come, and they both were sitting with the leftovers of a pot of coffee and eggs. He said, questioning, as he lifted the cup to his mouth. “Dickixie, is it?” He took a careful sip. “Did you ever stop to ask what he wanted?”

Starlight winced. She couldn’t have been that stupid, could she? “Well...” Her eyes turned back to her hooves, and to the cup of cold black liquid barely hanging on in her aura. “...N-Not exactly,” she admitted, albeit afraid to look up. “W-We spoke, a bit, b-but then—Everything happened, and then I kind-a...”

She looked Chocolate in the eyes, hoping he would get the idea, but the stallion simply looked back with one eyebrow raised, silently calling for her to continue. He gave his cup a nudge in her direction as a sign of good confidence.

“I kinda left in a hurry,” finally, she admitted, and Starlight winced, turning away ready for his admonishment.

But then nothing came.

Instead, after a short silence filled by the clapping of hooves across the roof—and a featherbrain fluttering past the window—he eventually breath. “Well...” Chocolate heaved. “Let me ask you one question, then.” His voice was soft. Tired, but understanding, like any gentlestallion ought to be. “Don’t think about it; just simply try to answer it as truthfully as you feel in your heart.”

A slight pause gave Starlight the chance to nod in his favour, and he continued.

“Do you love him?”

She didn’t think; she didn’t have to. It just came out. “Y-Yes.” Starlight said. Then, just as quickly as if she’d realised what she’d just said, she doubled back. “I—I mean, I do, but she—“

With a gentle bop to the nose, he silenced her. “No buts,” said Chocolate. He tsked and took a last sip of his drink before setting it back on the tiny tray it had come with. “That is the answer. It’s all you need to know, and it’s all that matters.

“And if he loves you just the same, he’ll forgive you. Your stallion will accept you for whoever you are, flaws and all.”

Giving another pause, Chocolate allowed his words to sink, and Starlight couldn’t help but crack a thin little smile. She looked Chocolate in the eyes—those beautiful eyes, and then brushed back her mane, but then something wretched inside twisted those feelings into regrets. Thoughts, memories, doubts, and the smile all but vanished.

He seemed to notices, and Starlight couldn’t keep him from frowning, as if in sorrow for her. “Listen, Starlight,” he said. He inched closer to her, and the gentle warmth of another body enveloped her as Chocolate squeezed her into a sideways hug. “I know you’re not telling me the whole truth. It’s clear as glass, any foal can see that.”

“Chocolate, I—“

He shushed her. “—and I don’t blame you. You don’t have to tell me. It’s personal. But what if I told you this...”

He moved back away, and Starlight could feel the brightness of a smile shining out of the corner of her eyes. Tentatively, she looked up to meet his gaze.

“You wanted to know why I was coming to Canterlot? Well,” she forced a chuckle—his smile clearly strained as the stallion pushed forward. “I’ve.... been having relationship troubles too. You see, Cream Heart, she, um—” He shook his head, chuckling. “I-It’s not important. The point is: when I get to Ponyville, I’m going to go see Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

Her breath caught in her chest. Starlight coughed—she was lucky she’d been neglecting her coffee otherwise it would have been all over the opposite bench. Regardless, she made sure to drop it back to the carrying tray, nearly spilling it, as she jolted back up to question Chocolate—more of a incredulous scream than anything else. “T-T-Twilight Sparkle!?” she almost choked from holding back the laughter.

Chocolate himself, smirked, waving her down as he smile. “Yeah, yeah, I know”—he rolled his eyes—“What’s a ‘handsome stallion like me going to The Princess of Friendship with a love problem, but believe you me, friendship and love are not that dissimilar, and the princess of Friendship is bound to know a little something about relationships.”

“But—” Suppressing a snort, Starlight managed to regain enough composure not to fall off her seat. She steadied herself as she asked, “But why not go to Princess Cadance? She’s the princess of Love.”

“She’s the Princess of Lust, Starlight,” he corrected, with all but a roll of his eyes. “She’d sooner have me getting a dick-enhancement surgery as her way to better pleasure a mare, and that’s the last thing I need right now.”

A wicked grin spread across Starlight’s face, her face reddening as the first through to grace her mind slipped past her lips. “... Y-You got a long Ganaché?”

“No—I mean, yes—I mean—” Chocolate Ganaché’s ears burned bright red, as too did his face. He shook himself, stuttering as he struggled to get past th-that—whatever that was. “Th-That’s beside the point. The point is that Princess Sparkle is better. I’m going to her castle after lunch, and I suggest you come with me, then she can help both of us.”

“Oh, well...” Starlight deflated into her seat. Her ears drooped, and the butterflies in her stomach were screaming at her about how much of a terrible idea this was going to be. “I—I don’t know about that...”

“Come on,” Chocolate egged on. He flashed a grin, before he switched tactics and turned to the puppy dog eyes instead. “You’re not going to leave me to go it alone are you?”

Starlight scrunched her nose up, screwing her eyes tight to keep from looking at the pony beside her. She knew what the puppy dog eyes were going to do to her—she’d been subject to Fluttershy’s rendition one too many times to know the types of horrors that lay in wait for underestimating the powers of Weaponised Equine Cuteness.

She squeaked out one last protest before she was forced to give Chocolate one last look. “B-But will she understand?”

She looked, and like the flaming arrows of Artemares, the cutest face she could ever imagine burned itself into her retinas and her memory forever. It burrowed deep through her soul, cutting straight on a mission to melt the nearest mare’s heart. She’d been just about to clutch at her chest, all but ready to call for an ambulance when, luckily, Chocolate’s expression melted into a more subdued—equally as cute, but less piercing—look of adorable confusion.

“Yeah?” he said, half asked and cocked his head to the side. “Of course.” He blinked. Starlight glimpsed movement as one of his ears flicked casually. “T-This is a Princess we’re talking about, after all. They’re, like, as understanding as a pony could possibly be.”

Starlight leaned in closer, their faces just a few inches apart. This could be a solution or, at least, a math to one.

She had to know.

Starlight’s voice was barely above a whisper as she asked, “And you’re sure?”

“Yes.” He nodded, affirmative. The gap between them was pushed apart as Chocolate, wordlessly, held up foreleg, hoof ready for her to grasp. “What do you say?” He said, smug with a flicker of his eyes to the hoof between them. “Princess Partners?”

“Hrm...” Starlight frowned. She took a deep breath, as if studying the offered leg. She tapped her chin as she considered the options.

On the one hoof, she’d be putting herself out in front of a princess, a measure of authority, and all on the words of a stallion she’d barely had a few hours to get to know. On the other hoof, this was Twilight Sparkle—Bookworm extraordinaire they were talking about. It was doubtful she would have any good advice but maybe she could trust this princess to keep a secret...

Starlight let out a long, defeated sigh.

Her hoof pressed against his and they shook.

“Deal.”