Violet sighed and nuzzled Tigerbright’s chest fur as she basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking. She was pretty sure they had wrecked the chakat’s bed in their enthusiasm. Her head rubbed against Tigerbright’s boobs, causing her lover to chuckle.

“Thirsty, are you?”

The mare giggled. “Not everything is a hint. Besides, aren’t you satisfied yet?”

“Hon, I honestly can’t get enough of you.”

Violet’s heart nearly burst with happiness. So many things in her life had changed in the short time that she had been on this world, but her mate was certainly the best. Before meeting hir, the mare had not realized how much she had been missing out on. She was beginning to understand why her mother had been so determined to find her a stallion. Not that it excused her poor choices that had put Violet off dating. Then this chakat had practically stormed into her life. From the moment that they had met, the mare’s life had changed for the better in all its aspects. The most obvious was her sex life.

Until now, Violet’s experience with sex had consisted of exchanging favors with other mares in heat during Mating Season, but that was more about relief than pleasure. She had gotten more of the latter from a copy of Playmare Magazine and her hoof. But as of less than three days ago, Violet had gained a lover who knew exactly how to take her to the heights of ecstasy and was unstinting in its application. Also self-admittedly horny, but when you’re an empath and can share your lover’s pleasure, who wouldn’t want to do it often? She certainly did. The fact that her new indulgence had led to pregnancy had been a surprise and the mare had yet to figure out how she felt about that. However, bolstered by the feelings of loving fulfillment while in the secure embrace of her mate, Violet confronted her feelings.

The momentary shock was forgivable – the mare hadn’t had a reason to contemplate pregnancy when she didn’t even have a coltfriend until then, and Tigerbright’s supposed inability to fertilize her certainly hadn’t changed that preconception. But did the unplanned nature of the conception matter to her? True, Violet hadn’t been given the chance to plan it, but was she opposed to the idea? She searched her feelings and came up with a distinct negative. Okay, having a foal was a nice idea. But how it would affect her career? Lots of mares worked right up until they were due to give birth. Perhaps Violet wouldn’t be doing extended hikes when she neared term, but the vast majority of her work would be unaffected. So that wasn’t really a factor. How about what was good for the foal? Shi would have two working parents, so there were no financial problems, but what about time spent with hir? Again, not a problem. Mares had been arranging crèches to look after foals in pony communities for centuries. Violet knew she would be able to spend a lot of quality time with her foal while doing her share of helping to care for those of the other mothers. More opportunities would arise also, just as they had done for her own parents when she was still very young. In summary, Violet could see no real downsides to this pregnancy. So, did she genuinely want the foal?

“Yes!”

“Yes, what?” Tigerbright asked.

“Do you want this foal as much as I do?”

The chakat purred, “Yes!”

Some answers seemed obvious in retrospect.

After a lengthy ‘celebration’, the pair figured that they had taken too much time to spend more on making lunch. They opted to pick up something from the cafeteria instead and head back to the spaceport. Tigerbright had asked for the shuttle to be given a quick service while they went into town. The chakat dropped into hir office first to let Paul know that they were leaving again but was surprised to find a chakat sitting at hir desk.

“Who are you and what are you doing in here?” Tigerbright asked.

The leopard-spotted newcomer stood up, smiled, and said, “Hello, shir. My name is Willowbranch. You must be the Chief Administrator. I was sent over by Minister Jaguarondi to assist Mister Iotor while you are on leave.”

“Ah. Right. That makes sense. We were busy enough before I left, so you’ve probably been a big help to Paul. How have you been finding the job so far?”

“I’m enjoying it. I’ve met so many interesting people in such a short time.”

Tigerbright grinned. “You like the ponies, I take it?”

Willowbranch blushed a little. “Actually, a sexy griffon has caught my eye.”

“Oh? I’m afraid you’re going to have to work a lot longer at getting their interest than this temporary assignment will grant you.”

“I know.” Shi grinned slyly. “But I’ve been wanting to come here for months, and the minister reckons that the colony’s growth might justify a small increase in personnel if requested.”

Tigerbright smirked at the younger chakat’s transparent desires. Then shi realized that this was a perfect opportunity for hirself too. “I think that is a strong possibility.” Willowbranch’s smile grew. “But there’s one duty that I would like you to take over for me if you do stay.”

“What’s that, shir?”

“The only other chakat currently in the colony is Morningmist who works at the local BioGen office. Shi and I have attended to each other’s empathic needs for a long time although neither of us is much more than acquaintances. I’d like you to take that over if it suits both of you.”

Willowbranch’s eyebrows rose. “I thought I’d have to do so with you. What about your needs?”

Tigerbright grinned widely. “I’ve very recently acquired a denmate who is also an empath and, believe me, she has been attending my needs… several times a day!”

The leopard chakat snorted as shi tried to restrain a giggle at both the words and the emotions of hir boss. “I’ll look into that, shir.”

“Good. Welcome to the team. Umm… where’s Paul?”

“He went out to lunch.”

“Ah, okay. Let him know I’ve left again. Tail high!” Tigerbright turned and headed out of the office.

The shuttle was about halfway to their destination when Violet facehoofed. “Doh!”

Tigerbright glanced at her. “What brought that on?”

“It only just occurred to me that I don’t have to rely on tracing mana surges anymore. Any arcane object that can control all that power will almost certainly register on a mana detector at short range. If I reconfigure one to be highly directional, I bet we can shorten the time it takes to find our mystery object.”

“Like a radio tracking device?” the chakat asked. When hir mate nodded, shi continued, “Makes sense. Hopefully, it works out that way.”

As soon as Tigerbright found a suitable landing site, Violet got to work modifying one of her devices for its new purpose. As soon as it was ready, she tested it, turning around in a circle while watching the readout. Eventually, she came to a stop and sighed.

“Well?” Tigerbright queried.

“I’ve found a strong signal.”

“Which way?”

Violet sighed again. “The mountain.”

The chakat gave her a huge grin.

Violet rolled her eyes. “I owe you a blow-job.”

The grin impossibly grew bigger.

The mare growled. “Come on, horny kitty. We’ve got a bit of hiking to do. Unless you can land the shuttle on a steep slope?”

“Not risking it,” Tigerbright replied as shi grabbed their saddlebags. “Besides, I had supreme confidence in my intuition. I parked the shuttle at the clearing nearest this face of the mountain. Let’s go!”

The unicorn mare grumbled, “Cheeky chakat.” She made sure to talk just loud enough for Tigerbright to hear.

The terrain was rugged, but for the two experienced hikers, that only added to the fun, especially as they had no established trail to follow. They only paused occasionally for Violet to take more direction readings. Those finally brought the two to the bottom of a rockslide that had exposed the underlying strata. Violet stopped to examine it more closely.

“Hey! Check this out!” she told the chakat excitedly.

“What am I looking at?” shi replied.

“This is a vein of gold-bearing quartz.” The mare looked around and pointed. “There’s another.”

Tigerbright’s brow furrowed. “Aren’t they what you said affects the ley lines?”

“Exactly! These can act as conduits for mana and run directly into the mountain.” Violet switched on her detector and checked its readout. She nodded in satisfaction before turning back to her mate. “Keep your eyes open for caves or deep gullies that we could use to go underground.”

“So, you believe our target is under the mountain rather than on it?”

“Yep. And because it’s almost certainly an artificial object, considering the effect it’s having on the portal, it had to have been placed there. That implies a way to access it again.”

“The portal has been around for centuries – anything could have happened in that time,” Tigerbright pointed out. Shi looked up. “For all we know, there could have been a twenty-meter high tunnel entrance here that has since collapsed.”

“True, so cross your hooves… paws… that the route remains open.”

Using the veins as a general guide, the pair forged onward. Violet would pause occasionally to chip away at the rocks to examine the geology and adjust their course accordingly. However, because she was so focused on the immediate neighborhood, it was Tigerbright who spotted the cave upslope from them.

“Hey, Vi – does that look worth checking out?” the chakat said, pointing at the dark hollow high overhead.

The mare looked. “Yeah, that could be a way in. Let’s check it out.”

Violet had to levitate herself, but Tigerbright leaped easily up past some boulders, stopping at a ledge partway to their target.

“Looks like a landslide happened here a long time ago, judging by the weathering of the rocks,” the chakat commented.

“I think you’re right and that could be a stroke of luck for us because it has exposed more of the cave entrance. We might have missed it otherwise. Of course, it may yet be a dead end. Let’s find out, shall we?” Violet forged ahead.

“Yeah, but if it doesn’t pan out, I suggest we go back to camp. We’ve only got a couple of hours before tonight’s surge. I spotted a place I could squeeze in the shuttle tomorrow, so we can resume the search with a head start.”

The unicorn nodded. “I suppose so. Still, I’m feeling optimistic.”

“Mare’s intuition?”

Violet chuckled. “Nah. The mana intensity has been growing quite sharply and it’s making me a little antsy.”

They reached the mouth of the cave and peered within. Besides some wind-blown debris, it seemed to be a normal creation of nature if it wasn’t for the slight glow illuminating its depths.

“Where’s that light coming from?” Tigerbright asked.

“There’s a quartz vein running through the wall. Normally, the background mana would not be strong enough for it to manifest significant illumination, but this is far from a normal situation.” She started stepping inside but was restrained by her mate.

“Whoa! Can you check it out for inhabitants first?” Shi sniffed the air a few times. “I can’t smell any carnivores, but I’d like a second opinion.”

Violet blushed. She had gotten too focused on her goal and neglected a major precaution. “Thanks, Tiger.” She scanned the cave before nodding. “I detect some very small life-signs – nothing for us to worry about.”

“Good. Let’s hope it stays that way. Let me take the lead. My vision is excellent in low light and I’ll be able to spot trouble before you do.”

“Okay. I’ll keep scanning.”

After rounding a corner, the chakat’s eyes adjusted to the dim glow and shi confidently headed further in. While the cave walls closed in on the sides, the height remained fairly consistent, allowing even the taller chakat to walk without needing to duck.

“This passage appears to have been carved by water a very long time ago,” Violet said. “Judging by how dry it is now, the stream must have broken through into an easier route.”

“At least it makes for a smooth path,” Tigerbright replied.

The passage continued in an upward direction, occasionally widening and narrowing again, then bending around some harder rock. At no time, though, did the way become particularly difficult. Then they reached a fork in the path.

“Which way?” Tigerbright asked.

Violet examined the rocks and then pulled out her directional sensor. Nodding in satisfaction, she pointed to the left tunnel.

The chakat started off but was immediately brought to a stop by the mare.

“Just a moment. Let me mark the path.” She levitated a pea-size sapphire out of her pack and placed it on the cave wall a couple of yards before the junction. Her horn flashed briefly, leaving the gemstone adhering to the rock, pulsing slowly with blue light. She then repeated the action a similar distance down the left tunnel. “There! Now we can be sure of the route in either direction.”

“Good idea. We don’t have any breadcrumbs anyway.”

Violet blinked in puzzlement. “What the hay are you talking about?”

Tigerbright chuckled. “An old folk tale. I’ll tell you about it later.”

Violet shrugged and let her companion take the lead again.

The unicorn had to repeat her actions several more times. Once, they came to a junction with three alternatives. There was no clear indication of which was the more preferable and it turned out that their initial choice narrowed down to impassibility. They wasted valuable time retracing their steps. The unicorn removed the sapphire from that path and reset it on their second choice. That one seemed a lot more promising as they forged on.

“Do you hear that?” Tigerbright asked.

Violet halted so that her hooves would stop making noise. Her ears swiveled. “Water. We may be coming to the stream that formed this cave ages ago.”

They continued on. Due to the sound reflecting down the hard rock walls, the watercourse proved to be some distance away, but they eventually came upon the torrent. It cascaded through a crevice crossing their path, leaving a narrow ledge to one side of the rivulet. Violet lit up her horn to peer down into the inky depths downstream.

“Well, we’re sure not going that route. No way we can navigate that.”

Dipping a finger into the water, Tigerbright declared, “Icy cold too. Care for a drink? I’m pretty thirsty.”

The mare realized that she had gotten absorbed in her quest again and nodded. “Yeah.”

The chakat took two mugs out of hir saddlebags and dipped them into the water, passing one to hir mate. Tigerbright took a sip before asking, “How much further do you think we’ll need to go?”

“Aside from the fact that we don’t even know for sure yet that this is the way to what we seek, we might be at this for hours. In fact, some cave systems take days to explore.”

“Oh. Do you think that’s going to happen here? We might have to go back and get an early start tomorrow.”

Violet shook her head. “Those tend to be limestone caverns – a different geology. I’m confident that this cave system will be a lot shorter.”

“So, we follow the ledge upstream and hope it doesn’t disappear? I don’t feel like wading through that.”

“Me neither. Let’s hope it won’t come to that.”

They finished their drinks and the chakat put the mugs away before heading upstream.

While the ledge did get awkwardly narrow at a few points, the pair managed to avoid getting paws and hooves wet. They had to climb a couple of short drops where the rocks were slippery from the spray of small waterfalls, but while they were slowed down, they were not really challenged. Three times, they encountered branching tunnels, but they elected to keep following the stream. Then they came to yet another fork and Violet pointed upward with a hoof.

“Look!”

The mare indicated the ceiling which had risen considerably since they had first encountered the water. Tigerbright only then noticed several bands of glowing stone all headed in the direction of the dry tunnel. The chakat then examined the route.

“Vi – you’re the expert; does this rock look odd to you?”

Violet nodded. “This shaft doesn’t look water-carved. If I was to guess, I’d say that this has been artificially widened.”

Tigerbright grinned. “I was hoping you would say that. We may have found our goal.”

“Only one way to find out.”

The mare started trotting up the tunnel. It was barely wide enough for her saddlebags to clear. The chakat was broader and had some difficulties until shi removed hir saddlebags and slung them over a shoulder. The passage proved to be fairly short and there was a strong glow ahead. They turned a bend and the tunnel suddenly opened into a large cavern. Both stopped just within, squinting due to the intense illumination. After such a long time navigating by the dim glow of either the quartz veins or the unicorn’s shining horn, their eyes had to readjust. When they did, they both gasped in awe.

In the middle of the cavern was a huge, six-sided pyramid, illuminating the entire room. It pulsed with barely-restrained power. Tigerbright was mesmerized by the sight. The chakat dropped hir saddlebags to the cave floor, forgotten. Mouth slightly agape, shi padded forward, reaching out to touch it before a pink glow enveloped hir arm and restrained hir.

“Uh-uh! No touching the arcane object of immeasurable power!” Violet scolded.

Tigerbright froze then shook hir head to clear hir thoughts. “Whoa. What was that?”

“You were overwhelmed briefly by the enormous amount of ambient mana in this chamber. I’m guessing your empathic talent must be sensitive to it.”

With a bit more caution, the chakat started examining the artifact. Walking around it, the first thing that shi noticed was that each of the six facets had a symbol set upon it. “Hey, aren’t those the same markings as the ones on the portal moonlets?”

“Yes, they are,” Violet agreed. “And look at the base.”

The pyramid stood on a black marble platform that was heavily veined with gold. The outside surface was copiously inscribed with more of the strange markings.

“What are those?” Tigerbright asked with a frown.

“Magic runes,” the unicorn replied. “They’re an ancient method of controlling spells. They were discontinued ages ago when arithmancy allowed unicorns to calculate structured spells that were more easily cast and controlled.”

“If they’re that ancient, how come they’re still working?”

“That’s where runes are superior to cast spells. While even the most powerful of enchantments will fade eventually, rune spells are indefinitely self-sustaining once they’re activated. Unless the runes are physically damaged, they will continue to work centuries later as good as the first day of operation. And that’s probably why this artifact is in here. There’s nothing to affect it – no weather, no plants, no animals, and up until now, no meddlers.”

“So, what does that all mean?” the chakat asked, waving a hand in the direction of the markings.

Violet shrugged. “I can only guess. We touched on the subject of runes in the History Of Magick at Celestia’s school, but we didn’t really delve into it. We were being taught far more advanced modern magical theory there. To be honest, I don’t think even Celestia knows more than the basics of rune magic. It fell out of favor well before her time.”

Tigerbright pondered that for a while. “Considering how it ties in with the portal, I’m guessing that this thing charges it up with all the mana it draws in.”

The mare nodded. “I think that’s very likely, especially considering that the starship incident points to it doing the same on the other side. Mana is only thinly available in space and the portals have to be consuming it constantly to remain active. This world is not only rich in mana, but life is also constantly creating more. Chakona is a battery for the portal and this is its terminal.” Violet’s horn lit up as she cautiously probed the pyramid. “Hmm… the diamond’s structure seems to have a focusing enchantment embedded into it. That’s how it sends the collected mana to the portal.” She made a few notes on her datapad.

The chakat blinked in shock. “Are you telling me that this huge crystal pyramid is solid diamond?”

“Yep,” Violet replied. “Obviously artificially grown for its purpose, and carefully too as it seems to be flawless. Considering the load it must carry, it needs to be big.”

“You could buy a planet for this!”

The mare snickered. “Don’t tell the rock farmers that. You’ll start a stampede on real estate.”

Tigerbright rolled hir eyes before resuming contemplation of the object. “If we assume that the focusing sends the beam of power straight up through the apex, then it must point directly at the portal briefly every evening.”

“Hence the daily cycle,” Violet agreed. “But why the slightly later time every day?”

“Because Chakona moves in orbit around its star. Allowing for our change in position, alignment happens a few minutes later each day.”

The unicorn face-hoofed. “Of course! Why didn’t I think of that?”

“You’re a geologist and magic expert – you can’t know everything. And I’m not just a pretty face. And a sexy body.” Shi grinned and wiggled hir hips at hir mate who giggled.

“Granted. Anything else you can figure out, O Wise One?”

“Yes, actually. The portal is located 3.1 light-days away on the plane of the ecliptic. While I don’t have a way of checking at the moment, I’m willing to bet that because of Chakona’s axial tilt, our location passes through the ecliptic when the surges happen.”

“That makes sense.” Violet made some more notes.

Tigerbright leaned closer, a lascivious grin on hir face. “If you really get turned on by nerd talk, I’ll work in the precession of Chakona’s rotational axis for you.”

Violet smiled and pushed her mate’s face away with a hoof. “Behave or I’ll sic Auntie Twilight on you. There are few experiences more terrifying than being caught up in one of her manic episodes of scientific discovery.”

“You think there’s another array on Equis?”

“There haven’t been any reports of surges there, but its sun is going through a period of sunspots. It’s not a star like Chakastra though – it’s an immense mana source. You don’t want to draw power down from there to the planet unless it’s somewhere very isolated. My guess is the focusing array is on an uninhabited island. Or perhaps on the moon. We’re going to have to have a chat with Princess Luna and Twilight Sparkle to see if they have discovered it yet.”

“Do you think Twilight will understand these runes?”

The unicorn mare tapped a button on her datapad and made a complete circuit around the platform. “She’s been actively studying the gateway for years. Besides, I don’t think that there’s anything that she doesn’t know about magic. It’s literally her special talent!”

“I suppose that the sooner we report this find, the sooner we get some answers. How much more data do you need —”

The chakat was interrupted by a pulse of light and a deep throbbing sound from the artifact.

Violet’s eyes widened to the size of saucers and she glanced frantically at her datapad. “Oh, buck! We lost track of time. The surge is about to happen!”

There was another brighter pulse and the bass thump shook them both to the core.

Tigerbright stooped to grab hir saddlebags. “We’d better get out of here!”

“It’s too late. We’re about to become immersed in power to rival that of Celestia’s sun.”

A third, longer pulse nearly blinded them.

“We can’t just do nothing!” the chakat protested.

Violet grabbed Tigerbright around the waist. “I… I’ve got to risk it.” Her horn lit up but it was drowned out in a river of light. Then everything went black.

The light and sound were gone except for the panicked breathing of two beings.

“Are we dead?” Tigerbright asked.

“No, I don’t think so,” Violet replied.

“What did you do?”

“I tried teleporting us to safety.”

“I thought you only could do short-range line-of-sight jumps?”

“I was desperate. Now my horn aches like crazy. I think the spots are clearing from my eyes.”

“Where are we then?”

“Let me give us some light… Ouch. Horn-burn. Let’s try that again but at minimum power.”

The tip of the mare’s horn lit up with a very weak glow. While not enough for Violet, it was sufficient for the chakat’s eyes and shi blinked in surprise.

“We’re in a bedroom.” Shi stepped over to a lamp on a nearby desk and switched it on.

Violet blinked and then her jaw dropped. “What the buck? How…?”

The room had a pony-sized bed, neatly made and ready for someone. Besides the lamp, the desk had only a photograph of some ponies on it. On the wall was a framed poster-sized class photo featuring Princess Celestia and several young-adult unicorns arrayed around her. In neat letters underneath were the words: “Class of 1240”. While neat and clean, the room had an air of disuse.

“Do you know where we are, Vi?”

Before the mare could answer, there was a loud clatter of hooves from beyond the door, and then a green unicorn stallion burst through the door, his horn lit and his stance ready for trouble.

“Who are you and how did you get—?” His jaw dropped as he recognized one of the intruders. “Violet?”

“Hello, Dad. Hi, Mom,” she added as a blue pegasus followed the stallion into the bedroom. “I’d like you to meet my fiancé.”

# # # # # # #

Author's Note

Well, that's one way for you to introduce your mate to your parents.

Art by Foxenawolf.

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