Clair Ree

It shouldn't have been surprising that Jeff won in a landslide. I ran through the headlines and read what news pieces had been shunted over. We had more computer hardware here now and even had one of the soldiers designated as IT expert (though his experience wasn't with the high-end server hardware we'd received, he had guides that got him through everything).

"Eighty-five percent margin. It's almost unbelievable." And it was. Given the recent history of politics in the United States, having such a majority of the country come together behind one leader seemed impossible—but Jeff had done it.

Securing so many literal magic cures for everything from the common cold to MRSA, was it any wonder? But enough musing on such things—I had a job to do. Reaching a hoof out, I tapped the intercom. "Send them in now please."

I could have seen them early, but that's not how business is done. My guests might have arrived early, but that was no excuse to bypass due process. The two ponies walked awkwardly into my office and took a seat opposite me. "Good morning, I trust your trip wasn't too much of a shock?"

One was an earth pony while the other was a pegasus who had the characteristic wing-droop of someone completely unused to having a third set of limbs. The earth pony nodded. "Just a little. I trust everything on your end is going well?"

"Absolutely. The teleportation array is charged and you're expected at the other end." I tried to make it seem as routine as possible, but the truth was this was the first time someone had been translated not just from Equestria to Earth, but from another Earth, through Equestria, and to our own world. "I hope you have a good trip, Ambassador."

"Before we head off"—I knew this was coming—"I understand your nation has just had an election? Could I inquire as to how that went?"

Trying my best to ignore the queasy look on the pegasus' face, I turned the screen I'd had up around (after hitting the keystroke that locked the terminal to non-sensitive data only). "As you can see, President Miller won by a large margin—the largest we've seen for many years. Popular opinion holds that it's because of the trade agreements being made with Equestria."

"My own party back home has enjoyed similar success, though we have things a little easier due to how our portal works." The way he spoke made it feel like he was trying to dig for sympathy. "I don't suppose you'd be willing to provide some information on what kind of welcome we'll receive?"

They wanted something for nothing. Too bad I was way too deep in being a pony to fight it. Normally even just this information would cost them, but Jeff had also told me to play nice. "The president said he'd welcome you himself shortly after you arrive. I believe he has a press conference scheduled and, in accordance with the inter-dimensional treaties act that was passed recently, a building of your own will be leased to your country with no expectation of repayment unless you actually wish to pay for it.

"Let me see, you'll also have some television spots reserved with friendly networks—don't worry, you won't get hit with any blindsiding questions—and we're trying to arrange to have your own teleportation array built and made available."

The pegasus tried to reach a hoof up to what should have been a coat pocket—if he wasn't a pony and was actually wearing a coat—but his wing moved too and when he tried to correct it, he fell over.

Wincing in sympathy (I could still remember the trouble Saffron had at first), I coughed to distract from the awkward fall. "We are going to enable the transmogrification system on the teleport in the hope it returns you to your bipedal form." Both of them looked relieved at that. "But you may encounter a problem involving clothing at the other end. Please have no fear that people are standing by for that eventuality."

"I feel at a loss, Ambassador Ree. You seem to be going far out of your way to accommodate us," the earth pony said. Dammit, I really needed to sort out their names, but I had my suspicion that the earth pony was Ambassador Jerry Mander, given the way he seemed to do all the talking. That made the pegasus Glib (oddly with no last name), the ambassador's assistant.

"Of course we are. We already have established good will between our nations thanks to the amplification array you sent—which is enabling far greater flow back and forth with our world. There's no reason not to support your mission as much as possible." Ass-kissing I could do. It was part of my job description. That said, I was glad we wouldn't have to entertain these two any longer than absolutely necessary. If they were going to remain ponies, they would need time to adapt to their new forms—which would mean I'd have to assign babysitters.

My intercom flicked red for a moment, leading to me reaching across to it and tapping the accept button. "Ambassador Ree, Ambassador Mander and his assistant's ride to Earth is ready. We have their equipment and luggage on the pad and ready to go when they are." The voice of my secretary, Helen Maxwell, was no longer strained or worried (as it had been when she'd first arrived.

Helen was the first of a test group of four. A sixty-three year old ex staff sergeant in the marines who'd been given five months to live. She wasn't meant to be working, of course, but she had insisted that she could take on light duties—which now included running the day-to-day civilian side of our Mission.

"Thank you, Helen. Please let them know I'll escort the ambassador and his assistant down very shortly." I lifted my hoof off the button the moment Helen replied in the affirmative. Lifting my head to look at the two across from me, I put on my best smile. "Well, gentlemen, are you ready?"

"One last thing before we go," Mander said, "do you really get used to this?" He held up one hoof.

"You do. If the transmogrifier doesn't work for you, I can assure you that it isn't insurmountable. My son is a pegasus and has learned the joy of flying, in fact." Standing up from my seat, I walked around the desk. "You even get used to typing, though wings give you a huge advantage there. Your feathers are prehensile, once you learn the trick to it, and can type as fast as any typist with some practice."

Helen opened the door just as we reached it and gave her best smile. She smiled a lot given she'd been told she was cancer free. The downside was, of course, she could never go back to her human life. So far only one of the four patients had considered that a downside.

I returned her smile with a genuine one. It had taken me months to ditch the last shreds of my fake smiles. "Thank you, Helen. How's your leg?"

"All four are doing great, Madam Ambassador." Helen was brutally formal whenever anyone impressionable was around. As soon as we had the other Earth's people off the premises, I would just be Clair again. "I've called up an escort."

Sure enough, Sean Brenner and Salvador Carlson were waiting for us, both standing at attention by the door. I gave them a nod. "We'll be heading down then. Ambassador Mander, are you and your staff ready?"

"I doubt we'll ever be ready for all of this, but we are prepared. Please, show us the way to this portal and we'll get this over with." Mander sounded weary now, or was it afraid? Dratted ambassadors were always senior politicians first—which meant they could not only lie to your face but make you believe it too. If I didn't know better, I'd say all politicians studied as actors first.

Brenner and Carlson led the way down the hall and to the basement where the teleporter pad was that targeted our Earth. In there, Salma Rodriguez, former Staff Sergeant of the USMC, stood with her eyes closed and her horn glowing. It had been a surprise to find her so attuned to learning magic, but she'd qualified to operate the equipment and oversee it.

"Staff Sergeant?" Carlson asked.

"All ready. All who are heading back please step on the platform within one of the teleportation rings. This is a full transmogrification teleport, so you'll need to remove any garments or items. Just place them to the side and I'll send them within an hour." Rodriguez's voice was calm and firm. I could feel the magic power radiating off her and the teleportation pad.

Sensing magic had come with spending more and more time around Riley. Even Princess Twilight hadn't been able to evaluate how much magic my little filly had in her. We'd all grown sensitive to knowing when she started using it. "I'll leave this in your capable hands—or hooves—Staff Sergeant."

This wasn't Rodriguez's first dance, and given their skills it wouldn't be their last. The two transferring diplomats stood on the pad and then were gone. I let out a sigh of relief.

"Rough one, Clair?" Rodriguez asked.

"It just bugs me when Jeff constrains me like that, but I understand he wanted them in the US ASAP so he could deal with them. Thanks for the work, Salma." With the visitors gone, we were back to a more comfortable atmosphere. "You heard the news from Flurry?"

Rodriguez nodded and blew out a tired breath. "That Celestia wants us to take over managing this nexus? Yeah. I might need to get someone else here who can drive all this while I study up on the other gateway systems. Perhaps Corvinus would be a good choice?"

I raised an eyebrow at her and then turned to Brenner. "Can I promote people in the field?"

"I don't think so, ma'am. I could pass on a request to the major if you'd like?" Brenner's smirk told me he knew what was up.

"Good thought. Okay, I have a request of Major Bryant to assign Staff Sergeant Rodriguez enough seniority to have her in charge of the magical goings-on here without a need to ask me for my say-so." I delivered the request with as much calm as I could. I needed my Mission to function without my micromanaging.

Heading out of the teleportation room, I made my way back to my office without an escort—though I did hear a laugh from the room after I left it. This was the kind of thing that was easily planned for in any diplomatic Mission but mine, and it was why Jeff gave me so much leeway.

"Your husband is in your office." Helen's voice startled me from a moment of reverie. When I blinked at her in surprise, her face softened. "And a cup of tea. That coffee isn't doing you any favors."

"But I like coffee. I couldn't drink it when I had—" And that's when I spotted my littlest filly bouncing around in my office. "Golden." Stress and worry fled in the face of maternal instincts. I knew that's what was doing it, but trying to stop myself from feeling amazing was an exercise in not just futility but stupidity too.

"Thought you might need a little something to pick you up. How's your day been?" Philip, curse his wonderful idea, was sitting in a seat at my desk while watching me rush into the room.

I didn't answer at first, walking up to where Golden was rolling and bouncing around on the floor before dropping to my belly with her. Pressing my nose to hers, I felt a little jolt of connection between us. Okay, it might have been wind, but my little filly's face lit up and she rubbed her snout against mine.

When I wuffed out a breath at her, she screwed her face up and then giggled—which had me giggling too. Is it so wrong I could sit here and giggle with her for hours? Okay, maybe I did have work to do, but I knew Helen would guard my door better than the whole Royal Guard legion.

"There's a myriad of little things that people have to keep asking for my attention on. The latest was—It doesn't matter. How has the milk been today? She's not too fussy?" Fussy was a kind way of putting what my little terror did with formula. It was lucky I'd kept using the pump, because Golden would have nothing but what I made.

"It's the fat content. Your milk is just a little less fatty than the formula. I spoke to Dr. Bright Meadow, and she said that all pony milk is higher in fat than human milk. Seems our little girl has a preference for humanity." Philip spoke with the absolute certainty I'd learned to trust. If he said my milk was less fatty, it was less fatty. If he said she preferred that because of the fat content, it meant it was true. Where would I be without him? Probably not pregnant, but definitely not with a content little filly.

Tilting my head to the side, I pressed my snout to her belly and blew out a perfect raspberry. Golden squealed with a torrent of laughter, so I did it again. After doing it enough times that a blush was coming through her yellow coat, I kissed her on the nose and stood up.

Philip was quick with his magic, as I'd come to expect, and used it to pick Golden up and set her between my shoulders. That earned him a kiss too.

"Anything new happen? Is our home on fire? Is Saf finally entering an emo phase? Has Riley taken control of the throne?" I asked each question between little pecks on the lips, finishing up with a longer kiss before walking behind my desk and sitting down. Golden slid down my back and to one side, as I planned, and I caught her and brought her around to my belly with practiced ease.

"Only the first one. The reason I was talking to the doctor was she needed help with a patient. Turned out they had a thyroid problem. They were not making enough vitamin D. It was—Well, she had all the knowledge and just needed nudging onto the right track, but it was nice to help somepony." As he spoke, I noticed my dear husband was looking a little brighter than usual.

Did he need me to tell him? He probably did. Philip was nothing if not true to his word, and he had promised to always take care of our children. "You enjoyed helping?"

"Yeah. I did. I don't—" He went silent again. I was going to have to push him all the way to do what he wanted. Damn him, but I loved him enough to do it too.

"Maybe you should ask about training as a nurse?" I asked.

"I could never do that. The kids—"

"Are both at school most of the day. Also, Saf can take care of himself and Riley—I trust Riley on her own for a few hours each evening." He was staring at me with what I thought was a mix of hope and shock. "What did you think I was going to say?"

"You. Are. The. Most. Amazing. Woman." Slumping back in the chair that I knew was exceptionally comfortable for ponies to sit in, he closed his eyes and shook his head. "Clair, this will be a huge shake-up of our family. I've been—twenty years. I told you I'd do this for the rest of my life, and it's just been twenty years."

"We both have new lives here. Things change." I watched him squirm for a little bit, then he stopped and jerked upright in the chair again. "Revelation?" I asked.

"I'll go to the school tomorrow and ask about doing a part-time course. I said it before: time! Time we have. If it takes me ten years to do a nursing course, so what? I have plenty more years ahead of me." Philip looked across the table at me with a big, goofy smile. "Plenty of time to charge off and learn a new occupation, but I only get one chance to watch our kids grow up."

We both let out a sigh at the reminder of our situation. "When my job here is done, I'll take over being the good housewife and you get to have twenty years of a career." It felt odd to say, even though we could expect to have at least a hundred and fifty more years. Planning that far ahead was almost too much.

"We'll work something out, darling." His eyes were locked on mine, but as Golden's suckling got a little louder, he looked down. "She's such a precious little thing."

"She has two amazing siblings to help her grow. We're not going to try for more just yet, are we?" I asked.

His eyes jerked back up to me and I could see a searching look in them. Did he want more? Was he trying to work out if I would say yes or was he trying to work out if I wanted more?

"Let's try this another way." I reached to my desk and tore two pieces of paper from my small notepad and passed one to him with a pen. "Turn around and write on there."

"Do we really have to do it like this?" he asked.

"Philip, if you tell me honestly, right now, we can skip the secret poll." I delivered him a raised eyebrow, but the effect was ruined a little as I pulled a face when Golden swapped sides.

He let out a sigh and closed his eyes. "I think we have enough to deal with right now. Maybe in another thirty years?"

Riley and Saffron would both be adults by then, at least in my eyes. "I think that would be a good idea. Let's try to keep to one young foal at a time." That's when I realized the next important thing to ask was, "Do ponies have a long-term contraceptive?"

We both looked at each other sheepishly before a case of the giggles took us. I fought back mine before Philip did. "Okay, we need to talk to a doctor about this."

"I'll organize an appointment and let Helen know." Philip rolled out of the seat and stood up. Glancing across my desk, he watched Golden still suckling. "Is she almost done?"

"Almost. Is this why you brought her here?" As luck would have it, Golden leaned back a little, looked up at me, and burped loudly. The smell of her milk-burp was overshadowed by a stronger smell. "Aaannd she's ready for a change."

Philip used his magic to pick her up and float her over to his back. "I'll take her home and deal with that. You have a wonderful day."

I had to walk around my desk to catch him before he left, and the quick kiss I'd planned for turned into a longer one—not that either of us was complaining. "I love you, Philip."

"Mmm." He looked at me like I looked at chocolate-covered noodles when I was pregnant. "I love you too, Clair. I'll organize that appointment for us."

A princess. It was hard to remember that Flurry was a princess sometimes, but she had the wings and horn and all the royal breeding to back them up—and she was our foalsitter. "Are you sure you're fine with it?"

It was sometimes hard to remember I only had a few years on her. Flurry Heart was an adult by pony standard, and while most other mares her age only barely seemed adult mentally, she had a mind like a steel trap.

"Hey, it's no problem. I mean, Saf doesn't need any supervision, Riley too for that matter, and the only one left is the most adorable foal in all Equestria." And I'll give her another thing, she has a silver tongue when she wants to use it. Flurry leaned in and used her wing to obscure our conversation. "You should go before I change my mind."

"It'll just be the afternoon. We'll be back in time for dinner." I grabbed up my saddlebags (a handbag was a long-surrendered item now) and turned for the door.

Flurry cleared her throat. "You don't have to be. You have milk for Golden in the fridge and I can whip up something for the others. Have a night out."

Okay, so her mother was the embodiment of romantic love among ponies, but did that carry over to her? Her cutie mark was a heart emblazoned on a shield—literally a merging of her parents' cutie marks—what did that… Stop it, Clair. You are literally looking a gift horse in the mouth. "You know what, I think we will."

With my bags stocked with the most important of things—a notebook and a bunch of pens—I walked out to find Philip waiting for me. "Come on, lover boy, Flurry just offered to sit for the night, too."

Philip's eyes flashed with excitement. "Thanks, Flurry!" Before I knew it he had the door open and was leading me outside. Just past midday, the city was bustling with ponies of all kinds doing business or just on their way somewhere else, like we were.

I'd almost forgotten the looks Philip got when he walked through the city. He was handsome—no, he was hot. He was also mine, though it did satisfy a jealous little part of me to know that it was me he trotted beside—not all the mares (and a few stallions) who ogled him.

We had to loop halfway around the central ring of the city and then take the joining street to the outer ring and the medical district. There was a hospital here with a college attached, as well as piles of other medical specialists in little offices.

Our destination was the outpatients section of the hospital. We checked in at the desk and were asked to wait. Not five minutes had passed before Dr. Horse came out with a big smile on his face. "How are my favorite aliens today?" It was a joke we'd all gotten used to, but it was still a little eye-roll worthy.

"Doing well, thank you doctor," I said, following him back to the office he led us to. "We'd like to chat about long-term options for birth control."

"I'm not sure about the long-term, but you would do well to use some or little Golden will have more siblings than you know how to handle." He sat down behind his desk and looked at us expectantly.

"Doc." Philip glanced at me before looking back at the doctor. "The thing is, no one has told us anything about any birth control."

That's another reason I loved my wonderful husband, he knew when to run interference before I stomped someone. Dr. Horse looked shocked.

"Y-You mean you've been here for a year or so now and none of you have had a talk about—" He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry that it's taken this long. This kind of thing is normally taught to foals the moment they start showing an interest in each other.

"In Equestria we have three forms of birth control, though the one I recommend is a charm necklace. You just have to wear it for an hour and it will protect you for a week. The shorter duration one is a pill you can take that lasts a day. The final is a spell that will work on stallions or mares for a year." As he explained, the doctor looked at Philip when he mentioned the last one.

But it wasn't Philip who answered him. My brain kicked into high gear as something big became more apparent. "These charms and pills, are they expensive?"

"Uh, if price is an issue, your husband can learn the spell," Dr. Horse said, looking to Philip—probably the saner looking of the pair of us right now.

"No, it's not an issue for us, but—" I bit my tongue. This wasn't something to waste my doctor's time with. "If you would, I'd like to get one of the charms for myself and a spare."

"And I'd like information on the spell. That would be—more than helpful." Philip shot me a grin and a wink. "You just never know when things might come up."

I couldn't help myself. Between how active our bedroom was and his innuendo, I was giggling like crazy despite the breakthrough idea I had. Scientists back home were in a constant battle to make a contraceptive that was both effective and reversible. Something you only needed to slip on for an hour a week? If they were cheap, this would be a huge turn around and freedom for women everywhere.

How the pro-lifers would take it would definitely be a problem for Jeff.

"Okay, well, I think I'll have to refer you to a pediatrics nurse for the charms. They're not often broken, but you should probably get some literature on how to use them. As for the spell, I can have a copy of that mailed to you." Dr. Horse was scribbling notes down while he spoke. "Please take this to the receptionist and she can arrange the next step."

Philip took the note and we both stood up. "Thank you, doctor."

I nodded too. "Absolutely. Thank you for understanding."

"All in a day's work. Where's little Golden today?" Dr. Horse had an easy smile, and sounded more relaxed now we were out of serious talk territory.

"We arranged a sitter so we could get all this done and have a night out together." Tell him that a princess is foalsitting for us? No way, too many questions that way. "Thanks again!"

So we took the note to the receptionist, who raised an eyebrow at both of us but ushered us through to see a mare just a few years (decades, maybe) older than us by the name of Nursery Rhyme.

"What can I help you with?" Nursery asked, looking a little perplexed.

Since Philip had saved the day last time, it was my turn to info dump. "I'm the ambassador from the United States on Earth, and our doctor has sent us to acquire a contraceptive charm and information on using it. He said you'd be the best at giving us the information we need."

"Oh!" She looked at least ten times more understanding than Dr. Horse had, but then that was the job of nurses, right? "I can get one for both of you. I'd probably recommend a spare, too."

"Wait," I said. "Both of us?"

Nursery rolled her eyes. "Dr. Horse probably doesn't keep up with this stuff, being at the other end of things, but there are charms for stallions too now. Would you like one each and a spare each?"

"Yes please." Okay, this was someone I should be talking to about this. "Do these work on other species?"

She looked a little confused for a moment before the light bulb lit. "Err. Oh, right, you aren't actually ponies, are you?"

"Well, we are, but I've been investigating items that would be useful to our world that we can trade with Equestria for. These—if they work for humans—would be very suitable." Time to go all-in on this. If I'm going to make this work, I need an expert. Nursery Rhyme was the closest I had here. "So…?"

"They work on griffons, hippogriffs, kirin, and even yaks. They don't work on crystal ponies—something relating to their mixture of crystal and living flesh. If you'd like, I'll investigate the limits of them for you? Uh, I don't really have a permanent station in here, but if you ask at the front counter they'll be able to contact me for you." There was one thing I could say about every pony we'd met—they were all helpful in their own way. Nursery Rhyme was proving to be more so than most.

She got up and walked to a cupboard in the corner of the little consulting room and pulled out four little boxes and some pamphlets. "Okay, these are marked for male and female. You'll know they've worked when the gem on them goes out. If the gem stays lit all the time, or never lights up after an hour since use, it's worn out and you need to get a new one."

It never ceased to amaze me how ponies managed to make such ergonomically perfect items. It gave feedback when it worked and when it was broken. Somewhere there was a bunch of magic-engineers who could make seven-figures if they went to Earth and worked for Apple.

"Thanks. Are these for information on the charms?" Philip asked, using his magic to float the little pamphlets over to himself.

"That top one has the spell notes that should let you be able to cast the long-term protection spell. You'll note that both the spell and the charm works off the same effect, so if you put the charm on while the spell is working, its gem should never wink out." As Nursery described it, I was further surprised at how perfectly integrated the whole thing was. "You can use the charm to test any pills, too."

"The spell and pills are universal, but the charms require versions for males and females?" he asked.

"Oh! No! The spell is universal, the pills aren't. There's something about how the charms draw power that requires different versions of them. The pills might work on stallions, but they're not recommended. The spell always works." She passed me some of the pamphlets and the charms.

Opening up one of the boxes, I lifted out what looked like a fairly normal necklace with a pink, glowing gem on it. "Is there any kind of social stigma in being seen wearing one?"

A twinge of red appeared on Nursery's cheeks. "No. It's seen as responsible, but—Okay, there might be one. A mare wearing one would be seen as responsible and taking charge of her body and household. A stallion is seen more as—Uh, there's a word that's not all that polite to use: studding."

Philip cleared his throat and leaned over to peck my cheek. "There's only one mare for me."

A shiver ran through me at the kiss, but the words made my whole body and mind hum with delight. Of course, I'd noticed his increased libido, but the extra excitement in the bedroom had only brought out my own. "And just one stallion for this mare."

He used his magic to open up his own case and lift out the charm and put it over his head, then did the same for me with mine. "I've been learning subtle ways to distract mares for over a year, it's only the stallions that I have trouble with—and I don't think this charm will mean a thing to them."

I leaned over and kissed his cheek to distract myself from the case of the giggles I'd suddenly acquired. "Well, you just leave those to me. I'll protect you from the deprivations of amorous stallions."

"With all this I think we're set. Do we need anything else?" Philip asked Nursery.

"Let's see, you are both adults, so I don't need to give the usual talks—Err, you have worked out how everything works, right?" Nursery sounded a little anxious at that.

Philip saved the day. "I think we have that side of things well under control."

Wrapping things up at the hospital, I think we both felt much more secure in our adulthood given we didn't have to worry about my womb being on a hair trigger. It was late afternoon and, despite having the evening to ourselves, I felt like we had nothing to do. "So, uh…"

"Why don't we organize to have dinner somewhere flashy? Then we can find a hotel and make sure these are working right." Hungry and excited was the look Philip gave me. The thing with stallions having a high sex drive seemed utterly proven, though that didn't mean I couldn't match him.

"I think," I said, "that sounds like a wonderful idea."

We wound up walking aimlessly through Canterlot. Every other time I'd been on the street I'd always had purpose. Philip might have spent some time in the market just wandering around, but it felt good to just share some time with him.

"Now there's a pair of faces I didn't expect to see." The female voice had an edge of familiarity about it. When I turned to look, I thought I was looking at a mirage. Her body—from her angles to how she stood—screamed Twilight Sparkle to me, only her colors were all wrong and she was definitely not an alicorn. "Where are my manners. We were introduced at one of the balls at the castle—I'm Twilight Velvet and this is my husband, Night Light."

The names broke free the information I had suspected—Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor's parents. It was quite the pedigree. "Clair and Philip Ree," I said. "It's a lovely night to enjoy the city, isn't it?" No politics, my acumen told me, they were just another couple out for a night of enjoyment—plus they held no direct power themselves.

"We were just heading out for a walk ourselves with a thought toward having dinner." Night's voice was like literal honey—rich and deep.

Twilight's face broke into a big and open smile. "You should join us. There's this little place that does the most amazing fruit compote."

Kissing Twilight's cheek, Night looked just as besotted with her as Philip did when he looked at me. "That's my darling, always focused on dessert."

Philip looked askance at me—now this was my decision. It would take a lot of the stress out of finding somewhere, and the parents of current royalty were at least not going to cause an interdimensional incident. "You know, dear, that would mean we could avoid a faux pas by being seen at the wrong kind of place." I turned back to the couple. "Lead on then."

"Flurry tells us you had a new filly?" Waiting for me to nod, Twilight seemed to glow with excitement. "I've been trying to convince Night we should have another. With Shiny and Twily out of the house for a while now, I think it's a good time to have another one or two."

With a sigh, Night reached out and kissed Twilight on the cheek. "Does this mean I have to give up my observatory?"

"Of course not. We'll have an extra room added to the house. Something on the ground floor." Twilight's horn suddenly blazed to life and built a wireframe of a two-story home. "See, we can add an extra room here, and it means we can also increase the size of our walk-in, as well as stretch our room a little too."

Night's horn caught fire too and he modified the structure where it floated, stretching a room on the ground floor into what had been that new bedroom, and adding an extra room among the other bedrooms. "This would work much better."

Narrowing her eyes at the design, Twilight shook her head. "Or we could just use your observ—"

All of the changes Night had made evaporated and Twilight's version of the extension was back into place. "I believe your way might be better, dear."

"An observatory?" Philip asked. "You're an astronomer?"

"Amateur, yes. It's one way to pass the time now the foals are all moved out. Though I suspect that is about to change." Pinning his grinning wife with a knowing expression, Night eventually smiled along with her. "Ah, the life of a stallion who devoted his days to domesticity."

Holding up his hoof, Philip got a clunk from Night's. "I hear that. I made a promise to Clair many years ago that if she wished to pursue her own career, I'd support her."

"And he has," I said, unable to keep an appreciative purr out of my voice.

Night nodded. "My better half has a head for business that I just can't begin to contemplate. Sometimes I wonder why such a clever mare chased me down to put a ring on my horn."

"It was the opposite for me." Philip's stride broke into a trot-at-walking-speed sort of prance. "Once I saw this wonderful woman and experienced a moment in her presence, I had to chase her down or my life wouldn't have been complete."

"He runs fast, too," I said, getting a laugh from Twilight and Night.

"Here we are." Banishing her little house design, Twilight nodded toward a little building half a block ahead that had a sign of a steaming plate above the door. "You're going to love it here."

Here turned out to be a restaurant that, as we got closer, had ponies waiting just inside the door to get a seat. Faces turned to us as we shimmied in at the back, but the maitre'd strode around the small crowd. "Madam Twilight, Monsieur Night, please come this way."

"Pome, Clair and Philip here are our guests tonight." Twilight turned to look at us. "Follow us."

"We'll take our usual table, Pome," Night Light said.

Something was odd here. They weren't just known to the maitre'd, he was taking orders from them. What else could we do, though, than follow along as he led us through the dining room of ponies enjoying food that smelled and looked amazing, then opened a pair of doors and led us into the huge kitchen to a table just off to the side.

Now, I'd been to a lot of fancy dinners—they came with the job—but I'd only ever heard of a chef's table on celebrity dining shows. This wasn't just good treatment from the maitre'd, he was treating us like literal royalty.

Taking our seats, I tried to give Philip a questioning look and only got a slight shrug from him. "Thank you." What else was there to say?

"Pome-dear, this is ambassador Ree and her husband. If they need a table on any night—and we're not here already, I'm sure you can find them one." Twilight's voice held no subterfuge at all, but it brought together a bunch of little facts.

"Nice place you've got here," Philip said.

"It's Twilight's. I don't remember how long ago it was, but she decided we needed somewhere nice to be able to eat out. Buying the business was her idea. Everything's her idea." The way he said it, this was an old mainstay of conversation between them. Philip and I had our own, of course. "Feel free to come down whenever you'd like."

How should I respond to this? They barely knew us—Wait, no. They probably knew us quite well. Philip had struck up a good friendship with their son, I saw their granddaughter on a daily basis, and it was their own daughter who was peripherally in charge of relations with the USA.

Right, so they probably new about as much about Philip and myself as your average intelligence agent. "Thank you. But you really didn't need to." Standard thanks but are you sure type response. I felt like I was on my toes again, or at least on tippy-hooves. Was tippy-hooves a thing? Regardless, were they playing a game or just being friendly?

"Nonsense. You're both friends of our family, plus it's nice to have another couple to chat to about—Oh, your charms have taken effect." Twilight gestured to my neck with a hoof.

Looking down I saw that, sure enough, the gem had just winked out of my charm necklace. Reaching up to it with my hoof, I lifted it free of my neck and carefully set it in my bags. "We just got them. After having our latest little one, we both pondered the sanity of not having any contraceptives."

"Oh sweet Celestia yes. Your world—Err, your species isn't as fertile as ponies?" Twilight asked.

A unicorn mare dressed in the local equivalent of a chef's uniform approached us with a set of floating menus beside her. She stood there and looked at us expectantly without interrupting. She was plain so far as what colors I could see, brown coat and black mane, but there was an energy about her that made me wonder if she was actually about to break into song.

Night cleared his throat and smiled at the chef. "Please, Magnifique, do explain what creations you have for us this evening."

"My pleasure, there is a wonderful potato and leek soup to warm your palates, a rich and vibrant ratatouille, then a fine dollop of ice-cream on a plate for dessert." Magnifique spent exactly half a second with a straight face before her smile broke through. "Do not fear, it will be your favorite."

"Magnifique, you know me too well." Twilight turned to Philip and myself. "Her predecessor here used the same, bland menu as every other restaurant in Canterlot. When he absolutely refused to change—or take orders from a mare—I installed her as my head chef. This is her restaurant, I just make sure the bills are paid."

"I best get back to cooking. Excuse me." Magnifique bowed to our table and then returned to the cooking area.

I'd been to plenty of dinners with a fixed menu, but never to a restaurant with one. Was this an Equestrian thing or just some kind of exclusive restaurant thing? How rich were these ponies?

"Where were we? Oh, fertility." The topic seemed so far ago that I was almost lost, but Twilight seemed determined to continue it. "Earth ponies tend toward being fertile again within weeks of giving birth—Sorry. I believe I was getting carried away there."

"Humans don't tend to get pregnant so much unless they're…" Philip trailed off before we all started laughing.

Night was first to recover from the giggles that seemed unlikely to stop among the rest of us. "This topic might have legs, but I think we should shift to something less awkward."

"We were thinking about holidaying on Earth. Would you suggest it?" Twilight asked.

Business. I could handle this. "Being a pony in America is feasible. The only negative effects we have noticed is a reduced amount of magic. It is not suggested to spend any length of time there if you're pregnant." I shrugged my shoulders. "But, barring that, all you'd need to do is apply to Princess Celestia for the right paperwork on this end and the current ambassador to Equestria for the paperwork you'll need when you arrive there."

"So you're saying I'd need to wine and dine the ambassador and ask my daughter's teacher for some paperwork?" Twilight had a way with her smile that threatened to make me giggle again. "I'll have to plan for this."

"The issue you'll face is calling it a holiday." Okay, so this information wasn't strictly by the books, but Twilight had the clout here as a business owner—she could pull this off. "If you called it a working holiday, then things could be arranged." I hoped this wouldn't come back to bite me.

"See, now that's what I like to hear. So your country would be open to investment? How does America's economy op—" Twilight froze. She tilted her head down and chuckled. "This is the wrong time to discuss hard business, sorry."

"Why don't you drop 'round tomorrow and we'll have lunch somewhere? I'd need to check if I have any room for you on my calendar, but my lunches are my own." There was the oddest sensation of having put my foot in something, but I couldn't figure out what. The most important thing I had to do was document everything and keep my own finances out of anything to do with Mrs. Velvet.

Our food started coming out, and conversation about anything but the food was dropped by the wayside. I'd been to a lot of fancy restaurants in Washington, big gala events, even several celebrations for a particular US president that's a good friend, but nothing I'd eaten before could compare to the meal at this restaurant.

After each course was consumed, and with a little time allowed to talk about it, Magnifique would come over and ask how much we enjoyed her cooking. Her cooking. She was the head chef here, apparently, but with a chef's table, she ensured she did every little bit herself. It was impossible to not gush.

When we got to the dessert, though, four different plates of ice cream came out—each a different flavor. Magnifique herself set them down before each of us. "I trust this will be the perfect capstone for a meal." She bowed and withdrew.

"Go on. Try it." Twilight was staring at me with so much excitement in her stare I had to wonder what was going on. The meal so far had been amazing, but with the infused nature of the ice cream, I couldn't tell what the actual flavor was.

Using my hoof to bring a spoon of the silky-smooth ice cream to my lips, I barely got it in my mouth when the world fell away. No drug illicit or legal would ever recreate this moment. The mango-chocolate ice cream reminded me of every ice cream I'd ever eaten in my whole life. All those moments, stacked end to end, barely reached halfway to how good this was.

My body was on autopilot. The moment the flavor left my tongue, I had another spoonful ready to replace it. When my spoon scraped the empty plate it'd been served on, it was the worst moment of my food-associated life. I almost wept for its loss.

"That," I said to break the spell of loss, "was the best meal I have had in my life."

Night was only halfway through his ice cream, somehow displaying superhuman (superpony?) levels of restraint. "We told you, Magnifique does amazing work, don't you dear?"

"Cooking and knowing the perfect flavor profile for each and every customer is my special talent. I am grateful that Mrs. Velvet and Mr. Light allow me to practice my craft freely." Magnifique bowed her head in my direction, gently levitating my bowl from before me.

I leaned against Philip's side and kissed his jaw. My mind spun with all the things I'd do with him after such an amazing day. After all, what's an amazing day without an amazing night? "If you get me home sooner rather than later, it gives us more time to test these amulets," I whispered to Philip.

I felt him respond by leaning against me, then his teeth pressed down on my ear and squeezed just how he knew I liked it. When he released, it was like a haze lifted from me for just a second. I saw Twilight and Night, opposite us, doing the same sort of thing we were—both whispering back and forth.

Did I want to know what two ponies in love were saying? Not really. After all, I heard them from Philip and my own throat. "Perhaps we should be leaving?"

"Should I ask them?" Twilight asked. The only reason I heard was she'd sounded eager about something and raised her voice a little much. Night's slight shake of his head caused her to then bite her lower lip.

What exactly was going on? I couldn't seem to get a read on their motives here—which was odd for me. "It's really been lovely. We'll have to do this again sometime." What resulted wasn't so much an evacuation as a calm wishing well as we all made our way from the restaurant. We got halfway home before I realized we hadn't paid a cent.

It wasn't that their "should I ask them" line had been eating away at me all night (Philip had taken care of that), but as the clock drew closer to noon I felt trepidation grow. Not only didn't I know what she wanted to ask about, but I didn't know if she would today.

My morning work done, I awaited the call from Helen to tell me I had a visitor. Was I worried? Would she compromise my position with the government?

I was no idiot. Plenty of political figures took what amounted to bribes—kickbacks, they called them—but the idiot that I am had a conscience. And, sunk in that mood, I almost missed Helen's intercom beep softly for my attention. Reaching a hoof out, I tapped the acknowledge button.

"A Miss Twilight Velvet is here to see you."

"Mrs. that is Helen. Send her in." I released the button and waited. A moment later Twilight opened the door with her magic and entered. All the stress and worry I'd had drained—at least superficially. "Good… afternoon. Sorry, sometimes things get hard to track when you work indoors all the time."

Twilight Velvet almost pranced in. She looked so full of energy that I wondered for a moment what had happened. Then I remembered what Philip and I'd been up to the previous night, and figured she and Night Light might have done the same.

"Afternoon it is. Come on, let's get out of this place before we start discussing portfolios and international trade ourselves until we calcify with boredom." Twilight kept up her prance and came around behind the desk and used a hoof to guide me out of my chair.

I'll be damned if her perkiness wasn't contagious. As soon as I was out and had my hooves on the floor, I felt excitement. "I think I needed that. Thank you. Where are we going if not here?"

"You know, there's a nice quiet bar nearby I happen to know the owner of." The twinkle in her eye as she said it reminded me that this mare was connected—even discounting her political contacts. "You know, I spoke to my little Twily earlier about my proposition for visiting Earth—she explained to me that I may have put you in a difficult situation."

Following her out into the lobby, I nodded to Helen. "What time is my first afternoon appointment?"

"You're walking beside her. For some reason everypony I had booked for the rest of the day sent their apologies." Helen looked at Twilight Velvet with a raised eyebrow.

Waving away the inference, Twilight giggled. "I'm sure they all found things they needed to do."

My brain tried to connect with what just happened. I was sure I had at least three meetings scheduled, two of which were with Equestrian business… Connected. Definitely connected. She pulled some strings and everypony I was supposed to be meeting jumped to heel. "If I'm not back by five, send out a rescue squad." I laughed to make it a joke, though I was still getting an odd vibe from Twilight.

Walking over to the counter, Twilight slouched a little. "I'll try to have her back by then."

Helen lasted nearly four seconds before she lost her stern face and broke into a laugh. "Just—Just see that you do. Don't make me call your husbands."

I couldn't help it, I laughed too. "No, mom."

Twilight's energy kept me going—talking about completely boring things like the weather—all the way to the little tavern at the end of the street. As she angled us toward the front door, I had to ask, "How many businesses do you own?"

"In Canterlot?" Twilight asked.

The dancing shimmer in her eyes worried me again. "Forget I asked. Can I just assume you own at least one business on every arc of the city's circles?"

"Yes. That's a conservative view of things." She stepped inside and I heard a gasp from someone.

"Mrs. Velvet! Are you here checking up on little old me?" The stallion behind the bar was unique. All the ponies I'd seen had been ranging for a soft brown to every pastel color in the best coloring sets. This pony was almost completely black, had what looked like folded black bat-wings, and his smile showed a set of sharp teeth that would have looked more at home in a vampire movie.

"Oh, relax, Spicy. We're just here to chat and have a drink or two. What's cooking for lunch?" Twilight made her way over to the bar and climbed up on a stool—leaving me to follow suit.

"The lunch menu, as you well know, is bat food. Literally. Why would you—?" The bat pony, Spicy, looked at me with an admiring gaze that traced my snout to my tail and back again. "A fruit platter it is."

"Uh." I waited for Spicy to leave before continuing. "Fruit platter? Bat food? What is this place?"

"Well, it's one of my bars that serve double usage. At night it's a bar where ponies can find a little relief with a stranger or professional, during the day it's a refuge for those who don't appreciate bright things. Bat ponies have wide dietary requirements. Most stick to fruit, some partake of insects when they're feeling a little savage, and for special occasions they get a touch bitey." Twilight kept explaining even as Spicy brought out the platter. "Though I am apparently the only pony with sense enough to give them a little slice of Canterlot to call their home."

"She's lying. You wouldn't believe the work this task-mistress put me through before she'd bankroll Tender Screech." Spicy set the platter of fruit before us. "Can I get you lovely ladies something to drink?"

I almost asked for something hard when I remembered that I still had some lactating to do before I could let my hair down like that. "A tea, please."

"Actually, a tea does sound good, but I'll have mine on ice, Spicy." Twilight seemed intent on leaning close and giving the bat pony an almost-kiss before laughing when he jerked back. "You're terrible at this."

"I'll get you one day." With a slightly-screechy laugh, Spicy walked away from our spot to give us privacy.

Twilight used her magic to pluck a toothpick from one of the little bowls and start spearing fruit. "While I was at your embassy, I put in an application for a business trip to your country. I'll need to convert some local goods to your currency, of course, but then I'm going to hire someone to introduce me to your local businesses." She popped a piece of mango and a grape in her mouth and chewed them like she hadn't just casually mentioned what could be considered financial invasion.

It also took the heat off me completely. She was no longer somepony I was doing a favor for. "I'll need state department clearance on all that. It should be processed within a week. Please note, there are some goods that are proscribed from trade until established costs can be established." I located some mango pieces for myself and started chewing on them.

"Such as?" Twilight's eyes gleamed. How much she already knew and how much I was going to give her was debatable, but I was betting the former far outweighed the latter.

"We've examined the size and purity of Equestrian gemstones, they must not be transferred to Earth until we can come to some agreement on how to save our gemstone market. Magical medications and treatments are restricted to the few that our scientists have vetted. Animals and non-pony individuals are restricted until further notice." As I ticked off the big three, Twilight maintained her smile. What angle she had was of concern to me—if she destroyed a sector of the US economy, it would be my fault. Even if Jeff could spin it as free enterprise.

"I was thinking more along the lines of metals. It's my belief that gold is quite valuable on Earth, but we have it in plentiful supply here. I will be investing in various markets on Earth—with the permission of your government, of course—but what I'd like to do is build a currency exchange." There probably wasn't much else she could have said that would have worried me nearly so much as that.

So far the government had been the sole manager of exchange values. Initially this had been seen as a requirement to prevent destabilizing each other's economies. "I'll have to speak to the president about this. Right now we're holding the conversion of funds in a strict grip, but it may be time to release the reins. You already know most of that."

Twilight just nodded. "Would it help if I had a royal writ backing me for such a role?"

"It's out of my hooves, regardless. The scope is beyond anything I can agree to in my role." I didn't say that it also made me feel uncomfortable morally. Already despising the back-room-deals that were so common in politics meant this situation was even more of a hot potato for me. "I'll write this up and have it sent home as soon as I can arrange it."

"Well, with it all out of your hands, you're free to relax a little, right? That's how your politics works?" Twilight raised an eyebrow at me and lifted her drink up. "You and your husband are still the talk of the town, you know. The president of Prance's wife along with the First Queen of Saddle Arabia spend time with your husband on his debut night in society, and he is the perfect gentlecolt." She shook her head with a knowing smile. "You have quite the catch there."

Of everything I expected to come out of this mare's mouth, that wasn't it. Damn the milk—I wish I could have something alcoholic to drink so I could blame it for not keeping track of Twilight's reasoning. "We've been together a long time. I won't say coming to Equestria wasn't an adjustment—we were both approaching late life and all its problems—but while our bedroom has seen a rise in activity, it was absolutely mutual." There. Take that, Equestria! I lifted my own drink with a hoof and took a sip.

The tea was good, not that I knew my brands of tea apart. I was American and not British. But still, it was hot and tasted vaguely of spice and lemon.

"You are amazing, then. I couldn't keep up with Night. Randy bastard that he is. I took a chance and invested in a few places, helped them shine, then moved on. The reason I started with these bars, in fact, was because he'd complained about the care and comfort that was on offer." Twilight gestured to the establishment around them with a hoof.

She took another sip and continued before I could even work out what exactly she was talking about. "This wasn't the first, but by the time I made Spicy an offer I was on a roll. All my bars were doing significantly better than the competition. It mostly came down to me establishing a consistent experience."

It was on the very edge of making sense to me, but there was something that just didn't click. Well, I could either tease it out of her with a series of questions or I could change the topic and save face. "And then you branched out into restaurants?"

"No, that really was a case of we both wanted somewhere we could go to always have a nice meal and not be bothered." Well, she'd accepted the change of topic. "Perhaps you would like to come over one night? With our little ones all grown up, we're a little starved for company."

I could try to lie and say I couldn't find a sitter, but my sitter was Twilight's granddaughter. It would just take a careful question from Twilight to Flurry and my plot would be revealed. The real question was; why would I try to avoid it? Like Twilight, Philip and myself were hardly swimming in friends.

"I'll have to talk to my wonderful foalsitter to see if she's free, but I'm sure we could always have Saffron take care of things." Sometimes it was a struggle to remember he's an adult, but the longer I spend in Equestria, the more his stature reminds me of a foal.

"Let's not beat about the bush. I'll chat with Flurry. If she can't cover for you, I'm sure she knows a friend who'd be more than happy to. Pick any night but Saturday and I'll have Magnifique send her sous chef over to prepare some snacks."

I'm sure now that I don't dislike Twilight. She's nice, has a great sense of style, and is sharp as a knife. Talking to her is a challenge, though. She knows a lot more than she tells and makes it a game to figure out what is happening. Okay, compared to politicians—even pony politicians—she is a breath of fresh air. "Why don't we make it the day after tomorrow?"

"Perfect! I'll see about getting us some games to play." There was playfulness in her voice that I couldn't pick up the source of—I guess she really likes board games.

I finished my tea and we chatted about less heavy topics, then said our goodbyes.

It was Thursday night and our sitter had just arrived. "Are you sure you're—?"

Sudden Turn Raised an eyebrow. "You're joking, right? I'm only here to hang with Saf. Riley is probably more responsible than all of us put together, and Saf is an adult." Dammit, she could remember that better than I could. Even if they never did get together, like I was pretty sure they would, Sudden would be the best friend Saffron ever has.

"You know what I mean though. If something happens and someone needs to speak to an adult, they will completely ignore Saffron." It was stupid to try to rationalize why I felt better having another adult here. I might as well add a sit down and talk to Saffron about my problem with his size session to my schedule. "Sometimes it's hard for me to remember that."

Reaching her wing up to my shoulder, Sudden nodded. "But you're trying, and I bet Saf knows it."

Damn, but if Saffron didn't snatch her up the moment he was comfortable with it, I would be upset. Sudden, as far as I could tell, was probably the single biggest force keeping Saffron sane through all this. I nodded, smiled, and turned to look for Philip.

He was standing right behind me with a patient expression that told me he'd been there a while. "You're ready?" He smiled as he raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I am, I'm just stressing about things I can't change." Closing the distance between us, I kissed him until he closed his eyes. We spent a few moments like that, connecting silently and intimately, before breaking apart again.

His smile was warmer now. "I wouldn't have you any other way."

"Come on, stud, before we get distracted and spend the night in." I led him out the front door and into the street. As with all evenings in Canterlot, the high altitude caused a slight chill that all but lifetime residents felt. We didn't talk as we walked across the city, just made sure we were close enough to rub shoulder and thigh with each step.

We followed the directions Twilight had given me, and soon enough we were out the front of the house she'd described. I looked at Philip with a smirk. "I saw all those longing gazes."

"They meant nothing to me."

I felt playful. "Not even mine?"

"Well," Philip kissed my cheek, "maybe those ones."

"Good answer. Well, let's knock." We both walked up the path of the small garden and I knocked on the door.

A few moments later the door opened and Night Light's smile grew wider as he recognized us. "Clair! Philip! Please, come in!" He stepped back and made room for us.

Warmth, both figurative and literal, filled the room we walked into. There was a fireplace crackling at one end of the living room while Twilight sat on the couch looking, well, a little nervous. "Thank you for having us. It has been a bit—well, awkward of late. Nopony here really treats us as equals except your own family. Flurry has become a social rock we're both clinging to, and one of Saffron's friends. Anypony would think we were hermits living in the most fantastic city in the world."

"The old-money aristocracy are terrified of my investing, and our new-money contemporaries don't know how to take us having royalty in the family. We couldn't have removed ourselves from society any easier short of never leaving the house." Twilight Velvet was reclining on the couch and watching the pair of us with a strange sort of intensity I'd not seen in her before.

We sat down together on a second couch at a ninety-degree angle to the one Twilight was on. Night curled up beside Twilight and another mare walked into the room.

The newcomer was a pegasus, her coat was white and she had a blonde mane and tail. Her wings each held a tray covered in canapes. Giving a nod to us all, she set the trays down on the coffee table and then fled the room again.

Night's eyes had followed the mare throughout everything she'd done and now his smile looked a little wistful. "Don't mind Pesto, a talented mare in a kitchen, but she doesn't adjust to new situations or new ponies well. She'll be leaving shortly to assist Magnifique in her kitchen."

"So," Philip looked from me to Night and Twilight, "you mentioned games?"

Twilight's face lit up with a big grin. "Honestly, I was worried we might have been coming on a little too fast, but it's wonderful to see two other adventurous ponies."

Finally, finally my brain started to make some sense of the odder things Twilight and Night had spoken of. I was just starting to put the pieces together when Night started to speak.

"Yeah. I mean, I don't mind using the bars, but swinging with ponies I like socially is way more fun than picking up another stallion or mare for the night." All the gears and cogs in my head ground to a stop at his words. Philip had told me some hearsay about the bars of Canterlot, but I hadn't put that together with Twilight saying she purchased a bunch of them.

The bars were more than just somewhere to have a few drinks—they were for stallions and mares intent on relief to get it in reasonable safety. Twilight Velvet owned the city's brothels. She had invited us around for a night of swinging.

As I turned to look at Philip, I could see the same dawning realization on his face. What did we say? How did we explain we didn't know? We couldn't go through with this, that wouldn't be right to either them or us.

"Night, I think we've made a mistake." Twilight's voice sounded more than a little defeated, though genuine concern shined through her tone. When I looked back at her, she looked crestfallen. "I think we may have assumed some things we shouldn't have."

"We might have too," Philip said. "We didn't exactly connect the dots, as it were."

It broke the moment, thankfully. We all started laughing at our own stupidity and the folly of assumptions. If we weren't careful, though, the laughter would die off into silence and we'd all be left thinking different things. "I'm sorry, really I am, but we're happily—"

"… paired." Philip finished for me. He turned to look at me and smiled. "I can't imagine being with anypony but Clair." His eyes were deep and still pools that I could just happily drown in.

"I imagine you'd rather take your leave before the rumor mill starts connecting us?" Resignation and frustration slipped through Twilight's careful tone.

Philip quirked his eyes and lifted one eyebrow. When I repeated the gesture back to him, he nodded. "Perhaps we could just play some games instead? It's not—We're not going to—Just getting out of the house is nice."

It was awkward at first, but we started a game of charades that made all of us look silly, and we laughed enough to erase the faux pas of the initial moments of the night. I don't think I'd ever been so embarrassed and delighted in the same night.

Author's Note

Saffron: When are you and Riley going to teach Discord to play Calvinball?

"I'd have to look that up. Is it anything like football? I wasn't much into sport back on Earth—mostly computer games and girls and stuff." Shrugging his wings, Saffron looked around. "Is that all you wanted to ask? I figured you'd want to know all the weird stuff about being a girl for a while."

So I do this "Ask X" thing. X can be any pony within the story. You can ask them anything and they will definitely, hopefully reply. Keep the questions appropriate to the age-rating of the stories, and they will answer the best question in the author notes of the next chapter. The more votes a comment has the more likely I will get it to the right pony to answer. Try to keep it to one question per post! They will pick one question per chapter.

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