“This is something I never dreamed of doing,” Tigerbright said conversationally to Violet.

The two of them trundled over the grey dust of a lunar plain toward a low range. Twilight had determined that it was a likely place to hide the array that was the twin to the one on Chakona. They were in a rover on loan from Magitek Incorporated’s Lunar Branch and, as it had been designed primarily for pony use, Violet was driving it. The vehicle had been constructed for the harsh conditions on the surface of Equus’ moon and its self-contained life-support system was good for at least a month without replenishing air, water, or food. Its mana-based power supply was rated for years of use and was of zero concern to them. It had an airlock that allowed the explorers to make forays in their spacesuits to investigate sites for a hidden entrance to a cave or tunnel that concealed their quarry. While getting the use of the rover had taken the intercession of Luna herself, that had not been the primary hold-up to beginning their quest. Providing the chakat with a spacesuit had been difficult in a locale where hir kind was still a rarity. And as Violet had no intention of proceeding without hir, the mates had taken care of other matters in the meantime.

“Neither did I,” the unicorn mare replied. “But here we are on yet another exciting adventure. And we’ve learned so much already. We’re going to have a lot to tell our child when shi’s old enough.”

Tigerbright smiled fondly at hir wife. “I’m betting you won’t wait that long.”

Violet giggled. “You’re right. I’ll tell hir bedtime stories from the day shi’s born.”

It had been a great relief to both expectant parents to have Twilight provide further insights into their pregnancy.

Immediately after returning from Chakona, they had forestalled Twilight’s attempts to put them both through the scientific wringer by holding a simple wedding ceremony for the benefit of Starshine and Fireball. Tigerbright’s three parents attended via Twilight’s diplomatic videofeed with the promise of a second ceremony for Violet’s new chakat family at the earliest convenience. After that, the alicorn had whisked them away to her laboratory. While the unicorn was quite familiar with the place, the chakat was a little intimidated by the mad scientist vibe it had. Assurances from hir mate that the decor was mostly just Twilight’s private joke did not greatly reassure hir. In particular, the ‘mostly’ part.

After dozens of meticulous measurements and samples, the alicorn had presented her findings, first to the unicorn mare.

“To start with, I can confirm the New Horizon doctor’s diagnosis. You and the fetus are in perfect health.”

Violet and Tigerbright had hugged each other joyfully at that news.

“Next,” Twilight continued when she had their attention again, “while the exposure to the mana surge has given Tigerbright the ability to visualize magic in ways I hope to explore in great detail later, it’s had no effect on hir genes. I suspect the activation of a hitherto dormant chromosome region. Analysis of hir semen sample shows perfectly normal chakat genes.”

Violet said, “So I was correct when I said that it was amplified love magic that enabled hir to fertilize me?”

“Yes and no. While the surge undoubtedly magnified its effects, it was the activation of your changeling genes by the love magic that did the trick. From my analysis of your current genetic structure, I can tell you that you are now interfertile with chakats. This is a permanent change, so you will be able to have more children without needing the amplifying effect of the mana surge.”

“That’s wonderful news, Auntie!” the unicorn said with an enormous smile and a hug.

“Depending on your desires, it might not be all good news,” Twilight said seriously.

Violet pulled back. “Oh, no. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong, per se. It’s just that you will never know what your children are going to be like due to the adaptive nature of your changeling genes. Also, when I say you’re now fertile with Tigerbright, I mean that you are going to have to practice some serious birth control. Your fertility index is sky-high! Tigerbright could just about impregnate you with a sexy thought when you’re on heat.”

That made both the chakat and unicorn snort and laugh. Tigerbright said, “In that case, we’re going to need a bigger house.”

There was more laughter before Violet said, “All joking aside, Auntie, we’ll be careful. I’ll just have Tigerbright wear hir body-condom at all times.”

The chakat laughed. “You mean my spacesuit?”

“Yes, that.” More laughs all around. “And whatever I give birth to, I know that shi will be a wonderful blend of both of us.” She hesitated for a moment. “The foal will be a herm, right?”

Twilight nodded. “Tigerbright was correct in saying that it’s a hyperdominant trait. Any foals you have with hir will all be herms too. But as shi well knows, physical sexual characteristics aren’t necessarily what will define hir gender.”

The chakat added, “What Twilight means is that our child might see hirself as female, male or some combination, just as I’m very masculine-oriented. We will have to see how shi grows up to be.”

“I fell in love with an alien from another world – I have no preconceptions,” Violet stated firmly.

However, it had not stopped either of them from speculating, and they were still talking about it when they had departed on their lunar trek. Twilight had regretfully bid them farewell for now because she had too many other obligations that could no longer be ignored. While the time she had spent out in space and on Chakona was justified, exploring the lifeless lunar surface for days was not. She promised to rejoin the duo if possible when they located the array.

Tigerbright found out that hiking in a spacesuit was nowhere near as much fun as their trips on Chakona. And while Violet was interested in the geology, it didn’t take long for the chakat to get bored with endless basalt and dust. It did help keep hir focused on their main mission while hir mate got distracted several times.

“How come we’re not setting up sensors like we did back home?” shi asked.

“No ley lines,” the unicorn replied. “Or virtually none. Besides, we’re pretty sure that this array doesn’t draw mana from the environment like on Chakona. It’s the Equian sun that’s the source, hence the solar storms.”

“So, there’s no way we can track it down then?”

“Oh, it’s not quite that bad. The mana beam leaks a little and that raises the background level a tiny but measurable amount. I’ll set up a directional sensor for tonight’s surge and try to get a rough bearing. If one isn’t enough, we’ll try again tomorrow. Just like on Emu Island, patience is the key. Hopefully, you won’t get bored.”

Tigerbright shrugged. “I’m never bored when I’m with you. It may not be a thrill a minute, but I get to share your excitement at exercising your passion even while we search for the array.”

Violet gave hir a sly smile. “So, you’ll help me sort and catalog my rock specimens when we get back to the rover?”

Her mate chuckled. “Pass. I’ll cook us up a fancy meal. I mean, it won’t be damper cooked on a campfire but I think I can tickle your taste buds.”

The mare giggled. “Okay, deal!”

Unsurprisingly, the pair did not find their quarry that day. Tigerbright cooked some cheese and mushroom omelets for dinner, followed by Sweet Apple Acres apple pie a la mode. When an alarm that they had set forewarning of the next surge rang, they ensured that any active magic systems were temporarily shut down to play it safe. Violet managed to get her reading and, although it was just as vague as predicted, it did enable them to cross off at least one area that they had planned to visit. Then it was time to go to bed.

In space, no one can hear you scream in passion.

On the sixth day, they found it. Or more precisely, Tigerbright did. Hir peculiar ability to see magic had been practiced a lot lately and, just by squinting, shi was able to see ley lines like Violet had shown hir on the day they had met. The weak lines on the moon meant that shi had been paying closer attention to the faint signs, and that enabled hir to notice a dim glow in a place that should have been in shadow. When the two investigated, they discovered a concealed entrance to a tunnel. Unlike the cave that they had traversed on Chakona, this passageway was of consistent size and much shorter. The tunnel opened into a cavern a bit smaller than its counterpart on Chakona.

“No animals or elements to protect the array from here,” the unicorn commented as they stepped up to the twin to the huge diamond on the other side of the portal.

However, while the glowing blue crystal had the same six sides inscribed with the identical glyphs, the chakat immediately noticed that the runes carved into the base were different. Shi pointed this out to hir mate.

Violet nodded. “That makes sense. It has to perform several different functions and its target is forty lightyears away rather than three lightdays.”

“Well, you’d better start recording while I set up the mana beacon. Twilight will want to check this out as soon as possible.” The beacon had been specially prepared for this situation. A purely electronic timer and control system enabled it to shut down the beacon minutes before a surge and re-initialize it a safe time afterwards. It also had some hefty magic insulation. Hopefully, those measures would enable it to survive proximity to the arcane device. By the time Tigerbright had installed and tested it, Violet had completed the recording.

“Ready to go back to the rover?” Violet asked.

“Yep. I’m going to break out the special treats I’ve been saving to celebrate finding the array. But first – selfie!”

The two posed in front of the array and took a photo that they later sent to a certain Lunar Princess.

Tigerbright and Violet considered themselves fortunate that they managed to eat their breakfast before Twilight Sparkle called and asked if they were ready to meet her at the Lunar Array. The purple alicorn was not known for being a morning pony but both knew how eager she got when involved in an exciting project. Nevertheless, she had to be patient while the chakat and unicorn suited up. Spacesuits were not something you threw on in a couple of minutes. The two made very sure that all systems were hooked up and working properly before they stepped out of the airlock.

They had moved the rover as close as was practical to the tunnel entrance, so it did not take the explorers long to get to the array. They found the alicorn there already, wearing a spacesuit despite her ability to shield herself with magic.

“It lets me concentrate on my investigatory spells,” she explained when queried. “Plus it’s so much easier to communicate with you two via the in-suit comm system. Now if you’ll excuse me.” The alicorn turned to face the blue crystal.

To Tigerbright, it seemed that Twilight was just standing there, staring at the array while her horn glowed, so shi decided to try something with hir new talent. Focusing on the mage, the chakat tried to visualize what the alicorn was doing, much as shi did when looking at the ley lines. After a few moments, shi succeeded. Tigerbright gasped and staggered, overwhelmed by what shi perceived. Drama shows that Tigerbright had watched had used special effects to represent magic spells at work, but they paled in comparison to what shi could see the Element of Magic using. Arcane structures filled half the room, some static while others flowed around and through the pyramid. If the changing colors and symbols were any indication, Twilight was adapting or rewriting multiple enchantments on the fly. How any one mind could generate so many spells at once let alone control them was far beyond what the chakat could comprehend.

Violet put a hoof on hir mate’s shoulder and asked, “Are you alright, darling?”

Tigerbright shook hir head dazedly. “Not exactly. I made the mistake of looking at Twilight’s spells.”

The mare nodded in comprehension. “Oh, yeah. We learned long ago not to focus on Auntie’s spellwork when she is engaged in something complex. There are maybe two or three ponies capable of merely keeping up with her, let alone comprehending everything she’s doing simultaneously.”

“Then why are we here, Vi? What use are we now that we’ve found the array?”

“Because Auntie Twilight knows that it was a team effort to get this far and she won’t leave us out of this moment. And, also, a lay person can sometimes notice things that an expert can overlook as inconsequential. Remember when I dismissed your assertion that the array was within that mountain on Emu Island? I was the magic expert there but you were the one who sensed its presence. Sure, you thought it was a hunch but, in hindsight, it was an ability that we could have utilized sooner if we had understood it better then. Why do you think I let you do the navigating while I drove the rover?”

“I thought it was to give me something to do. You could have told me about that.”

“No, you would have tried to force it because you don’t understand it. I let you play your instincts instead. We could have been out here for weeks without finding the tunnel.”

“What about that tracking device you made?” the chakat countered.

“It narrowed down the search area, true, but it was much too imprecise to zero in on the site.”

“I think I’m going to have to take some lessons in handling this talent of mine,” Tigerbright said with a sigh.

“I’ll arrange for you to attend magic kindergarten,” Twilight said with a grin. “Anyway, I’m done for now. If I need to test for anything else, I can use the mana beacon to go back later. Let’s head back to Equus.”

Violet said, “We have to return the rover first.”

The alicorn replied, “Don’t worry about that – I will arrange to have it picked up. Just put it into stand-by mode and then I’ll teleport us to House Path’s Griffonia base.”

The three left the tunnel and headed for the rover. After Tigerbright and Violet secured the vehicle and gathered their personal items, the alicorn teleported them all to Equus. They divested themselves of their spacesuits only then and Twilight had Violet and Tigerbright’s put into storage after being given a standard service. The custom-fitted protective gear would not suit most other ponies or chakats but would be available to them if they ever needed it again.

“I’m going to go to my backup intermediate thaumaturgical studies laboratory and get to work on this data. I’ll leave you in the hooves of my herdmates,” Twilight told the two as she guided them to the mansion’s entryway. While both had been there for the Casual Friday, this was a separate area of the vast structure.

They were shown into a dining room where several people were eating lunch. They immediately recognized Prince Destined, an earth pony stallion named Long Path, and a male griffon named Free Agent. There was also a female hippogriff that the chakat had not met yet.

Violet gave a respectful nod to the prince but Tigerbright said, “It’s a pleasure to see you again, Your Highness.”

“Please,” the alicorn responded, “This is not Canterlot and I’m not on duty. Call me Destined.”

Long Path said, “It’s good to see you two once more. Tigerbright, I don’t believe you have met my granddaughter yet as she was out of town at the time. Gisela, this is Chakat Tigerbright, Chief Administrator of the Emu Island colony, who recently married Violet Woods. Tigerbright, this Gisela Path, current Lord of House Path.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Gisela said with a kind smile on her beaked face.

“I’m pleased to make your acquaintance at last,” the chakat said.

Gisela chuckled. “Sadly, my position keeps me busy enough here on Equus that traveling to Chakona is only an occasional indulgence, and normally to visit my counterpart in Amistad. The colony is the baby of my grandparents, hence my lack of official visits. Not that I haven’t been updated on its progress regularly.”

“If informality is your preference, Violet and I would enjoy extending you our hospitality,” Tigerbright offered.

“I think I would like that.” The hippogriff turned her attention to Violet. “When Gramma Twilight told me about your move to New Horizon, I admit that I was taken aback by your decision. You’ve continued to surprise me, first by your involvement with the mana surge investigation and now your marriage to Tigerbright. Events have happened so rapidly of late and you’ve succeeded in every sense of the word! Whirring Cogs would be very proud of his descendent, I believe.”

Violet blushed. “I got lucky – right place at the right time kind of thing.”

“Perhaps, but what someone does at such propitious moments determines their destinies.”

“Sit down and have a bite to eat or drink,” Free Agent said. “Twi rushed off in such excitement this morning that she neglected to let us know what she was intending to do. I gather that your mission was a success?”

“It was,” Violet replied. “I think Auntie Luna is going to be miffed.”

Path laughed. “She’ll get over it. Now, let’s hear the juicy details.”

“What are your plans now that you’ve completed your task?” Path asked the couple.

Tigerbright replied first. “While this has been a wonderful and long-overdue holiday, I’m afraid that I will need to get back to my primary job.”

Violet nodded. “And while I was assigned to this special project, now that it’s done, I’ll be expected to begin the work for which I was hired for in the first place.”

“Good thing you got your honeymoon in before the marriage then,” Free Agent said with a wink.

The unicorn blushed a little but the chakat shared a grin with the impertinent griffon.

Destined rolled his eyes. “I’ll take you both back to Chakona tonight. I suggest you make the most of the rest of the day. The House is open to you. Violet can show you around, Tigerbright – she’s been here often enough.”

“That sounds good, but why not take us back right now?” the unicorn asked.

“Mom wants you to observe the effects of the surge on the portal. You’ve been involved in this since the beginning, so you ought to see the whole picture. And, as the next surge won’t be until late this evening Griffonia Standard Time, there’s no point in leaving before then.”

The chakat nodded. “Sounds like a plan to me. I’ll contact my assistant to advise him that I will be returning to duty tomorrow so we can arrange our schedules.”

“Excellent,” the alicorn said. “I suggest we meet here for dinner. The time difference between here and Chakona will allow you to have a leisurely meal before we need to leave.”

“Okay, we’ll see you then, Destined,” Violet replied. “Come on, Tiger – I’ve got lots to show you!”

Tigerbright had been fascinated by the behind-the-scenes look at the famous House Path, but the thing that had made the greatest impression on hir was meeting a dragon for the first time. They ran into Cinder in one of the large conference rooms. Introductions had to be cut short as the dragoness was setting up a wargaming tournament among the teenage members of the house. While Tigerbright had heard that dragons had helped establish New Horizon when it was built for the war effort against the Swarm, none had been in residence since shi had been assigned to the new colony as its Chief Administrator. And while Cinder had been a marvel to meet, she had been immediately eclipsed by the Matriarch. The gigantic and ancient dragoness had been remarkably cordial, but she had puzzled the chakat after introductions were made.

“Ah, yes, I remember now,” the Matriarch rumbled. “It’s a pleasure meeting you again at last. Congratulations on your and Violet’s lovely foal.”

Tigerbright tilted hir head and raised an eyebrow. “Thanks, but shi hasn’t been born yet and I don’t recall ever meeting you before. And, believe me, you’re not readily forgettable!”

The dragoness chuckled in a deep bass. “No, but I have changed a bit since then.” She turned to look at Violet. “You have not told hir my history, have you?”

“Not yet, Matriarch,” the unicorn replied with a smile.

“I will let you elucidate hir then. Until we meet again, Shir Tigerbright, farewell.” With two flaps of her wings that generated gale-force winds, the dragoness then retired to her loft.

The chakat turned to hir mate. “Okay – what am I missing?”

“I’ll give you a few hints. First – you met the Matriarch only a short time ago. Second – that’s her title, not her name which is actually Shaikhan-Gal. Want to guess what that loosely translates to?”

Tigerbright frowned in thought. “I’ve only met Cinder before the Matriarch… does Shaikhan-Gal mean the same thing?”

“Yes. And…?”

“The Matriarch was joking because she has the same name as the younger one. Although that doesn’t really explain how she knew that we were having a foal.”

“You’re halfway there. Another hint: Cinder’s real name is Shaikhan-Gal.”

“Are dragons in the habit of naming children after honored elders?”

“Not that I am aware of. I’ve never heard of two dragons with the same name.”

“Then they’re the same dragon? How is that possible? Can Cinder grow huge at will? I don’t know if Equestrian magic can do that or not.”

“Yes, Cinder did grow, but it took a couple of thousand years for her to get that huge.”

Tigerbright blinked, trying to reconcile seemingly contradictory facts. Then hir eyes widened. “She’s from the future!”

“Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner!”

“But how… Wait. You told me that Prince Destined is the Alicorn of Time. Does he have something to do with this?”

“Right again, and it’s a long story and involves alternate timelines. However, you worked it out. The Matriarch met you first as her younger self. She has an excellent memory although she slipped up a bit with the timing of the birth of our foal. Honestly though, that is more reassuring to me than all the medical pronouncements. She has seen the birth already and it seems shi’s going to be fine.”

“That is good news. Anyway, let’s hear the whole story now.”

Both of them had worked up quite an appetite by the time dinner rolled around. Tigerbright found hirself seated next to Destined Path on hir right with Violet on hir left. The alicorn was expounding on how in rare circumstances, two temporal paradoxes can nullify each other, allowing time to flow unfettered. The chakat was inexplicably fascinated by what the stallion was explaining despite not understanding half of what he was saying. Nevertheless, hir attention was riveted and shi drew closer before pushing hir muzzle into his mane, sniffing, and purring.

The startled alicorn was momentarily at a loss for words and, before he could respond, Tigerbright reached up to start scratching him behind the ears. Destined’s eyes rolled up and he groaned in pleasure.

By this time, the chakat’s antics had attracted the attention of everyone at the table, and Violet’s in particular. At first, she was just as stunned as the alicorn, but when hir mate reached up with hir handpaw to begin massaging the stallion’s back even as the ear scratching continued, the unicorn began to grow annoyed. While every mare had to be prepared to share her stallion with other mares, hers was getting frisky with another stallion! And right under her nose without even the courtesy of informing the mare of hir interest! … Which… really didn’t make sense. Her husband was as masculine as can be, as she was happily able to attest. But here the chakat was practically making out with a male in public.

Violet had learned long ago to mute her empathic abilities or get driven nuts by the constant blare of unrestrained emotions. Now though, she opened her senses fully to her mate… and rocked back by the wave of raw lust coming from hir. Feminine lust. Violet’s jaw dropped and eyes widened in comprehension. Tigerbright had gone into heat! She slapped a hoof over her mouth to stifle a laugh. “Snrrk!”

Destined’s head flopped onto the table with a silly grin on his face. “Ooh! That’s just… wonnnnnnderful.”

By the looks on some of the others’ faces, they had caught on too. This was the first time Violet had experienced a chakat going into hir female cycle but, even so, she suspected that Tigerbright’s swing was extra intense due to hir being so relentlessly male most of the time. However, her mate was in for disappointment.

“Tiger, dear!” Violet said in as near to a conversational tone as she could manage under the circumstances.

“Mm-hmm?” the chakat responded without ceasing hir ministrations.

“While I think Destined will be grateful for what you’re doing, I’m afraid you’re not going to get what you need back.”

Tigerbright’s efforts faltered and the alicorn whined in protest. “Why not?” shi asked dazedly.

“Because the prince is a colt-cuddler.”

“A… what?”

Free Agent spoke up. “It’s an Equestrian euphemism. I believe you would say he’s gay.”

The chakat stared at Destined for a long moment. “You are?”

“Yesss, don’t stop,” the alicorn replied.

“Oh. I’ll mount you if you do me first.”

Free Agent fell off his chair laughing.

Twilight was blushing when she interjected. “Violet, I think Tigerbright has been hyper-sensitized to stallion pheromones. Shi’s not thinking rationally right now.”

“You reckon, Auntie?” Violet replied sarcastically. She got off her chair and enveloped her mate in a telekinetic glow, lifting hir away from the disappointed stallion. “I’m taking Tiger to our guest room and availing myself of the Mating Season toys to alleviate my mate’s needs.”

“Don’t forget the time. I have that presentation on my preliminary findings about the arrays to make in two hours’ time.”

“I’ll try. Send someone if we’re not down five minutes before you start.”

“I’ll do that,” Twilight promised.

Violet was old enough to have gone through many Mating Seasons and having to deal with the burning desire for sex with a stallion, so she was well versed in methods of soothing raging hormones. Intellectually, she had known that this time would come, but her mate’s unfailing maleness had lulled her into a false idea of the permanence of that trait. On the plus side, making hir yowl in passion as she mounted hir with a strap-on stallion member was almost as enjoyable. She could see that the next couple of nights were going to be a lot of fun learning the ways hir mate liked to be thoroughly bucked.

“… take advantage of how each carbon atom is in a rigid tetrahedral network. The orientation of the four covalent bonds connecting an atom to its neighbors is constant throughout the crystal. With this in mind, microscopic channels on each face of the diamond perform a very specific function. Precise modulation of femtosecond pulses on opposite faces build one-atom wide connections through the crystal along three of the four covalent bond vectors. This allows rapid thaumic storage by excitation of the four electrons in the second shell of each carbon atom. The fourth vector is utilized to discharge the crystal upwards. The Sandy Mane – Golden Bell principle of thaumic self-attraction is utilized to provide beam steering of approximately .023 radians. Any questions?”

Tigerbright looked around the lecture hall from hir place on stage behind and to the left of the speaker, Twilight Sparkle. While the alicorn claimed this was to allow the couple to answer any questions sent their way, hir mate voiced a differing opinion. The couple was put on display like stuffed waterfowl to highlight their importance to the research project.

With difficulty, the chakat had stifled any yawns through the hour-and-a-half lecture by the Element of Magic. Tigerbright followed the chemistry easily enough, but ninety percent of the lecture consisted of mind-numbing thaumaturgical equations and constructs that sailed way over hir head. Violet had not felt the pressure of over a hundred eyes and dozen video cameras pointed toward the stage. The unicorn mare had leaned up against her mate’s side and started snoring even before Twilight displayed the first graphic. The chakat almost wished shi was back in the haze of sexual desire but shi had already made enough of a fool of hirself for one day.

The purple mare smiled. “No questions, then? I expect to have four to six scientific papers out for peer review in the next few weeks. I have the contact information of the physical and virtual attendees so I will let you know when publishing dates are set. Thank you everyone for coming.” The sounds of footsteps and muffled conversations echoed through the lecture hall as the audience headed for the exits.

Tigerbright roused hir mate as Twilight reached the stairs exiting the stage. Just after the last video camera red light went out, the purple mare stopped. “By the waaaaaaay…” She turned to face her herdmate in the front row. “I believe an unnamed Alicorn of the Night, Lunar Mistress, and Senior House Path member… lost a bet.”

“Pshaw!” Luna stood up and stretched. “You said yourself the effort spent hiding the array plus the miserly amount of magic leakage…”

Twilight cleared her throat.

“… Add to that the location on the far side of the moon…”

A gentle cough.

“… knowledge of anything in such an unfashionable, uncouth place cannot be…”

Twilight used a touch of the Royal Canterlot Voice. “Pay up.”

The two House Path alicorns stared each other down until Luna sighed. “Oh, very well, if I must.”

A silver disk the size of a medallion appeared in Luna’s magic. It rotated in the air, both sides reflecting light off their mirror-like surfaces. Luna’s blue magic increased in strength for several seconds before it resumed its previous hue.

As the object began to float toward the purple mare, she motioned with her head. “That one goes to the happy couple. You need to make two this time.”

Luna paused and looked over Tigerbright and Violet. “By definition, alicorn challenge coins have only been bequeathed amongst ourselves. That being said, I concur.”

Violet caught her breath. The wash of emotions cascading over her let Tigerbright know the magnitude of this privilege. Luna gently placed the surprisingly heavy medallion in the chakat’s hands. Shi realized it must be made of pure silver! With hir mate pressed up along her side, Tigerbright flipped the coin over.

Twilight said, “And thank you for my copy, dear Luna.” She gave a mock bow and smirked. “Now I can put it with all the other reminders of when I was right.”

Tigerbright had an epiphany and looked up. “That’s what these are, aren’t they? Immortal alicorns use these to fix memories so you can always remember your times together.”

The room fell silent. Only then did Tigerbright noticed that everyone else had left, leaving only the four of them.

Luna gave Tigerbright a sly smile and walked around the chakat. The blue mare stopped between the couple, placing each under one wing. “Violet, dear. I think this clever creature is a bit too much for you to handle. Don't you think shi is better suited for an alicorn?”

Violet stepped free of Luna's embrace. “Ha, ha. Thanks but no thanks, Auntie.”

Tigerbright embraced Luna with both arms and smiled. “Don't you get it, my dear mate? With the coin and now this offer? Luna was proposing to make you an alicorn.”

Violet sputtered for a few seconds. Before she could get a word out, Tigerbright held up a hand and closed hir eyes. “Too late. You already said no. Pity. Still, you had your chance.”

Twilight and Luna snickered in amusement while Violet gave her mate a very dark stare. The chortling ended abruptly as the unicorn mare deliberately stepped closer. Tigerbright felt Luna’s wing leave hir back as the Mistress of the Night retreated. The chakat fidgeted, spooked at the prospect of anything that could intimidate an alicorn.

Violet walked right up to Tigerbright and gave hir a predatory smile. “Oh, you cheeky chakat. One day, your mouth will get you into more trouble than the rest of you will be able to pay.”

As the unicorn mare walked away, the two alicorns now laughed at the terrified expression on Tigerbright's face.

The couple looked around curiously after Destined Path teleported them aboard the Gateway Portal Observation Station. While it had originally been established purely for scientific purposes, the ever-increasing use of the wormhole had turned the station into the de-facto traffic control center for the route. However, it still functioned to observe the portal’s behavior and the surges had attracted a great deal of attention lately. Thus, the room that they entered was crowded with equipment both technological and arcane.

A male fox morph came over upon seeing them and nodded politely to the alicorn. “Welcome, Prince Destined Path. Are these the guests that you warned me that you would be bringing?”

“Yes, Director Vulpes. This is Chakat Tigerbright, Chakonan Chief Administrator of the Emu Island colony where the first array was found. And this is Violet Woods, Tigerbright’s wife and co-discoverer of the array.”

“Thank you for your contributions to this project and welcome aboard,” Vulpes said with a slight smile. “I have reserved two places for you to observe an event. From there, you will be able to see the portal both directly through the observation window and also a close-up view via the vid-screen.” He gestured toward the designated area. “Please do not stray from your positions or distract the staff. Each event is too brief to make conversation while they are happening.”

“Understood, Director,” Violet replied.

They did not have to wait long. A chime announced the beginning of the surge which struck all six moons that delimited and controlled the portal. Through the window, it seemed as if each of the satellites started glowing softly. However, the close-up view of one of them showed that the glow was a result of the runes illuminating them as they were activated. Then the show was over. The researchers had recordings that they would review in detail later but it felt a bit anti-climactic to the visitors.

When Vulpes came over to them, the chakat and unicorn figured that they were free to ask questions now.

“Can you tell us anything about what happens during these surges?” Violet asked.

“Certainly,” the fox replied. “We’ve determined that all six moons act like a battery. After every surge, they each show a stronger magic potential. Basically, they’re recharging.”

“Is that all?” Tigerbright queried.

Vulpes shook his head. “While it wasn’t obvious, those satellites shifted position slightly. The first time there was a surge, the movement was far larger and quite obvious.”

“Do you know why they moved?”

“Simple enough. They’re realigning themselves. We found that the Gateway is aimed directly at Chakastra, hence why it has always been visible from Equus. But even the most precise placement needs to be adjusted for perturbations and natural drift over time. The volume of traffic it has seen lately has increased the rate of drift from alignment, but that is still too small for you to see. Only our instruments can pick that up.”

Violet asked, “How much have you been able to figure out regarding how they work?”

“Very little so far, but we are optimistic about Princess Sparkle’s latest analyses. We’re looking forward to seeing what she has learned from the Lunar array.”

“Me too,” the unicorn mare admitted.

Destined stepped up. “Time to get you two back to New Horizon. Thank you for your hospitality, Director Vulpes.”

“Anytime, Your Highness.”

“Are you ready?” the alicorn asked.

Violet frowned thoughtfully. “Umm, can I ask a favor?”

Destined raised an eyebrow. “What would that be?”

“I want to test my range. I’ve never teleported this far without the surge amplifying my performance.”

“Okay, but just yourself. No need to risk Tigerbright.”

“Is that wise, sir?” Tigerbright asked.

“A failed teleport spell will leave her woozy, but the same could have a lot more serious effect on anyone she tried to take with her.”

“Gotcha. I’ll sit this out.”

Violet tilted her head up to give the chakat a kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be fine. See you soon.” She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and disappeared.

The alicorn nodded. “That seemed smooth enough—”

Violet popped back in again. She grinned. “It was easy, but as I stood in the lounge room of our home, I realized that you didn’t know where that was, Destined.”

“True,” he replied with a chuckle. “You can show me later. Let me take you both to the governor’s office. She’s staying back late to see us and listen to your report. You won’t have to visit her in the morning.”

“Good idea,” Tigerbright agreed.

A moment later, they were gone.

After updating the governor, Destined accepted the couple’s offer of coffee and cake. Violet teleported them all to their home, the distance being trivial to the unicorn now, even with two passengers. After he departed, they unpacked their bags before showering together.

“Ready to go back to the grind?” Violet asked as she scrubbed the chakat’s back.

“I like my job, so I don’t really think of it like that, but it’s still going to be dull compared to the last few weeks.”

The mare nodded. “I admit that I am looking forward to working on those surveys. The time we spent in the field only whetted my appetite.”

Tigerbright turned hir head to show a lascivious smile on hir face. “Want to know what I’m hungry for?”

“I don’t have to guess, sexy kitty. Now, how does that chakat saying go again? Tail high, darling!”

# # # # # # #

Author's Note

It had to happen sooner or later – Tigerbright hirself told Violet that that chakats always enjoyed both sides of their sexuality no matter their normal preferences. Of course, shi didn't anticipate being mesmerized by a stallion's pheromones while shi's on heat. Violet won't tease hir too much...
Who am I kidding? She's going to have a field day ribbing her husband.

For anyone not familiar with the Matriarch's origins, please read "Quantum Gallop" for the full story.

The Alicorn Coin was created by Airy Words based on a template by Akili-Amethyst.