“How was your first day back at work?” Tigerbright asked as Violet walked in the door.

The unicorn mare snorted. “You know all those analyses that I put off so that we could hasten to the next site to set up more sensors?”

“Yep. Got stuck with them, I gather?” the chakat asked sympathetically as shi poured them both a drink.

Violet wearily unbuckled her saddlebags, levitating them upstairs before flopping on the sofa. “Uh-huh. Not that I mind doing them but the boss wanted at least half of them done before I went home today. I was informed that they were very overdue now. The fact that I had been on a special assignment that took priority meant little to her. Even if you love your job, turning it into a grind just makes it unpleasant and tiring.”

“Here – this’ll perk you up,” Tigerbright said, passing her a large glass full of some kind of liquid concoction.

“Thanks, love.” Violet took a sniff. “What is it?”

“Just try it,” the chakat replied before taking a swig out of hir own glass.

The mare shrugged and took a generous sip. It was both sweet and creamy. She drank a bit more and sighed in pleasure. “This is lovely.”

“Family recipe for a kind of fruit smoothie. It’s both refreshing and gives us energy. You’re going to need it.”

“Oh? Is someone feeling extra frisky?” Violet asked with a smirk.

Tigerbright gave an exasperated sigh. “It’s bad enough that I’m on heat right now, but I also had to lock myself in my office for most of the day.”

“Your work piled up too, I gather?”

“Not really. Paul and Willowbranch coped well in my absence. There were only a few items that required the Chief Administrator’s authority left for my attention. I had those attended to in a couple of hours.”

“Then what was the problem?”

“Because every time I saw or got a whiff of a pony stallion, I nearly lost my mind with lust for him!”

Violet winced. “Ouch. Sounds like you have it as bad as we do during our yearly mating season. But you have a cycle that is measured in just a few weeks. Don’t you take days off then?”

Tigerbright threw up hir hands. “That’s just it! I didn’t use to have to do that. Sure, I got horny in female peak, but at worst it was an annoying distraction. Now, I can’t even think about a stallion without fantasizing about how good it would feel with his cock inside of me!”

Violet nearly snorted her drink out of her nose and she had to swallow hastily to allow her chuckles out. “Oh yeah, you’ve got it bad. Need me to work off your horniness?”

“Why do you think I prepared that energy drink?” The chakat then finished off hirs.

“What brought this on anyway? Auntie Twilight didn’t mention any physiological changes in you except perhaps for the sensitivity to pony pheromones.”

“I don’t think that’s the problem. It’s because we are both empaths and we empathically bonded during the surge. I’m guessing that I’ve been turned into a hippophile!”

“Is that a word? And are you sure you aren’t just having an exceptionally bad heat?”

“It’s a word now! And no, I’m not. Males of other species or even other chakats don’t have the same effect. Willowbranch didn’t seem any more attractive than during normal heats, and neither did Paul, but when one of the spaceport’s stallion employees came to the office, I was just about ready to jump his bones. I think I frightened the bejeebers out of him before he scooted out of there.”

“Well, you were a big scary predator who was just about ready to eat him up right then.”

Tigerbright stared at hir mate for a long moment before they both burst out laughing.

“Okay, finish your drink, come up to our room, and strap on that awesome toy of yours, hon. We’d already be up there if I didn’t want you prepared for a long session.” Shi turned and headed up the stairs.

“You really know how to lift my spirits after a hard day, don’t you?” Violet replied with a giggle, following her mate eagerly.

“Just like you know how to lift my tail!” the chakat called down.

The mare laughed as she trotted up the steps. “Wishful thinking! Fortunately for you, I excel at making your wishes come true!”

The two lovers lay together on their bed, watching a gorgeous sunset through the open blinds. Neither had thought to close them before they made love and they hoped that no passing pegasus or griffon had noticed. Then again, they were both feeling so good that neither was greatly bothered by that possibility.

“That was better than yesterday,” Tigerbright murmured.

“Still learning how best to please you, darling,” Violet replied, her voice muffled a little as her muzzle was nestled between the chakat’s boobs.

“I think I’ve learned a thing or two also which I’ll have to try when I get off this heat.”

“How long will you be like this?”

“Every other time, I would say just a couple of days, but what with all that has happened lately and bearing in mind how I feel around ponies, I’m not willing to bet that’s the case now.”

“Going to take tomorrow off if you’re still horny?”

Tigerbright shook hir head. “I got through today and I don’t feel like staying home without you.” Shi stroked Violet’s belly with hir handpaw. “Without both of you.”

“Feel like having one of your own now?”

“Yeah, but that’s the hormones talking. Ask me again when I’m back to normal.”

Violet chuckled. “I don’t think that there will be anything normal between us ever again.”

Her mate grinned. “You may be right, and I don’t regret that one bit.”

“Me neither. Now, I seem to recall a certain chakat telling me that it was impossible to arouse one side of hir sexual nature without the other side getting stimulated too.”

“Truer words were never spoken,” Tigerbright admitted.

“Good, because it’s my turn now.”

“Am I going to need another energy drink?” the chakat asked with a leer as shi moved to oblige.

“I think we both will, love.”

Fortunately for Tigerbright, while shi still felt the desire for stallions the next day, it was nowhere near as overwhelming as it had been. Shi was able to have a near-normal workday and indulge in some conversation with the staff. Shi brought home the interesting news that Willowbranch had hit it off with Morningmist and hir mate, Evening Shade. Shi had been going out with them regularly since the new assistant had visited the chakat for the necessary empathic interaction. This suited Tigerbright because it released hir from the obligation and let hir concentrate all hir time on hir mate.

The two spent their first weekend socializing with friends, but the second saw them revisiting one of their favorite camping spots. They spent a couple of days exploring the area and making love frequently.

Naughty illustration!

Fifteen days after they returned to Chakona, the surges stopped. Three days later, the authorities were confident that they would not resume and life returned to pre-surge normality.

The next evening, the couple was surprised by the doorbell while they were snuggling on the sofa. Tigerbright looked down at Violet and asked, “Were you expecting someone?”

The mare shook her head and slid out of her lover’s arms. “I’ll get the door.”
A moment later, the chakat heard, “Auntie! Come on in. What brings you here today?”

A purple alicorn walked into Tigerbright’s view and shi got up to meet the mare, opening hir arms in invitation.

Twilight Sparkle hugged the chakat like she had just done with Violet. “I’ve come to officially close the book on your special assignment and update you on our findings.” Seeing the expressions on both their faces, she giggled. “No, I’m not going to lecture you, although it wouldn’t hurt to study my official report.”

“Would you like some coffee while we chat?” Violet asked.

“That would be lovely, thanks.” The alicorn levitated a folder out of her saddlebag and put it on the coffee table before she settled into a chair. “That contains our official findings and I’ve left a copy with the prime minister and Governor Slate. Read it at your leisure; I’ll just give you a summary.”

Tigerbright fetched a cookie jar and offered the treats to Twilight who selected one with thanks. The alicorn waited until Violet brought over her coffee before beginning.

“For starters, we have confirmed most of what we had already surmised. Both of the arrays were designed firstly to recharge the portal gates – the Chakonan one from the plentiful local supply of mana and the Lunar one from Celestia’s sun. Secondly, they corrected their alignment. It validates our theory that it was intended that we could always see Chakastra from Equus and that someone would eventually notice the star’s anomalous nature.”

“Which is what Starry Path and Techbird did, which eventually led to the development of our space program,” Violet commented.

“Exactly,” Twilight confirmed.

Tigerbright said, “Since the surges have stopped, I assume that the portals are fully charged. How long before that needs to happen again?”

“That’s uncertain,” the alicorn replied. “The array on the moon was definitely drawing mana from Celestia’s sun which we can now confirm was the cause of the solar storms due to the disturbance of its magical matrix. Those happened on a predictably regular basis right up until the latest. Normally, those events occurred every 127 Equian years but this one started twenty-three years early. Now, what do you think caused that to happen?”

“The portal started to be used regularly, thus depleting the mana stores in the portals,” the chakat replied.

“Precisely!” Twilight exclaimed, delighted that shi had figured it out. “So, to answer your question, bearing in mind past usage and projected future traffic, I would estimate that the next charging event will occur between thirty to forty years from now. Further data from the portal monitoring station will enable us to refine that estimate considerably.”

Violet said, “New Horizon will have to make plans to take that into account.”

Tigerbright nodded. “A committee will have to be formed to figure out how best to deal with it and I’ll work with the governor to implement any safeguards that will need to be placed both here and elsewhere on Chakona. Fortunately, we should have plenty of time on our hands. Or hooves, as the case may be.”

Twilight said, “And I will ensure that they get all the most up-to-date data to work with. However, due to there being no apparent warning for a charging event, it would be wise to have standard procedures in place well before the earliest predicted recurrence.”

“Considering the cost in damaged equipment due to the initial surge alone, that would be a wise idea,” agreed the chakat.

“Have you made much progress with deciphering the runes?” Violet asked.

The alicorn nodded. “After a slow start, once I got access to Pif’s computational analysis team, I began getting some very significant results. There are still months of works ahead of me due to not being able to spend all my time on the project, but the Chrome Changeling will manage in my absence.”

The unicorn mare raised an eyebrow. “So, you’re not concerned that this dangerous knowledge will escape onto the datanet?”

Twilight smiled and shook her head. “Pif assures me that it will be under the tightest security, and you know what she’s like.”

“That’s reassuring,” Violet admitted.

“Good. I don’t want any stress affecting your foal. How is your pregnancy progressing, by the way?”

The mother-to-be gave the alicorn a sharp look. “Did you really come here today to check up on me?”

“No! Not at all.” Under the unicorn’s continued flat look, Twilight’s ears folded down partially. “Well, maybe a little.”

Both Violet and Tigerbright laughed at the alicorn’s sheepish admission.

“I haven’t even had any morning sickness yet,” Violet informed her. “But if you’re that interested in the foal, why don’t you come around for dinner in a few weeks and we can update you. And if anything of significance comes up in the meantime, I’ll send you a note.” When Twilight seemed to want to say something more, the unicorn held up a forehoof to forestall her. “Yes, you can bring along your testing gear.”

Twilight let out a relieved sigh. “Thank you, Violet. Now, I suppose I had better head back to Equus. I’m scheduled to give a lecture at the Crystal Kingdom’s House Path branch in an hour and I need to go over my notes.”

Violet got up to give the alicorn a hug. “Thanks for the visit, Auntie. It’s always good to see you.”

Twilight beamed and hugged her back. “I’ll be waiting for that dinner invitation.” She gave Tigerbright a hug too before teleporting home.

“Now – where were we?” the chakat asked.

“I don’t know about you, but I was about to ask you to try to get me doubly pregnant,” Violet replied with a wink.

“My favorite pastime!” Tigerbright declared, picking up hir mate and bounding up the stairs.

The months passed blissfully. While there was the occasional disagreement between the couple, their empathic bond made it impossible for them not to find compromise and a resumption of their idyllic lives. Violet never got more than the mildest of morning sickness for about six weeks, but when her food cravings kicked in, they were unrelenting. Tigerbright had no desire whatsoever to find out what gherkins and ice cream tasted like with soy sauce topping.

Violet’s ever-growing belly hardly even interrupted their lovemaking but it did add increasing difficulty to the mare’s use of the strap-on dildo during the chakat’s heats. Tigerbright continued to get excessively horny during those days and they learned to work around them. However, after one such night of assuaging her lover’s needs, the mare was surprised to hear hir scream out as shi came into orgasm, “Yes! Fill me with your seed! I want your cubs!” While the artificial organ could hardly accomplish that, it seemed to Violet that her mate’s subconscious was expressing itself. She decided to broach the subject as they lay in bed after their lovemaking.

“Tiger, love, do you want to be a mother someday too?”

The chakat was startled. “That’s an odd question. You know how I’m normally like when I’m not dealing with heat hormones.”

“I do, so why did you yell out that you wanted to bear my cubs?”

Tigerbright looked stunned. “I did?”

“Yes, you most emphatically did. Be honest with me – does it bother you that I can’t sire a cub for you?”

The chakat hesitated. “Vi – you have to understand that my species was designed with a strong reproductive drive. It’s only to be expected that I might have such desires under these circumstances.”

“So, that’s a yes then?”

“No! I mean, I don’t let chemical changes make decisions for me. If you were a chakat, we would have already discussed this and made decisions on who got whom pregnant and how often.”

“I notice that you still haven’t denied wanting to be a mother. Just because I’m female doesn’t mean that your wants and desires aren’t important.”

Tigerbright groaned. “Darling, right now my masculine side has been repressed and my feminine side is making up for lost time. Of course I feel the desire for a cub right now.”

“I’m not talking about right now. I’m talking about when everything is normal and you’re not in heat or rut. How does Chakat Tigerbright feel about bearing hir mate a cub someday?”

There was a lengthy moment of silence before the chakat finally responded. “My beloved Violet, if you asked and if it was possible, I would give you a cub in a heartbeat. I just never allowed myself to consider it due to a certain lack on your part.”

“I suppose it would have been handy if I was a herm too, but perhaps all is not lost. Next time Auntie Twilight comes over for dinner, we’re going to broach the subject.”

“As you wish, darling. Meanwhile, can we practice for the possibility? I’m horny again.”

Violet rolled her eyes. “The work of a chakat’s mate is never done! We’re doing it sixty-nine this time though.”

Twilight’s fork paused in midair, the morsel of curry tofu impaled upon it threatening to fall off as the alicorn got lost in thought. “Hmmm. How serious are you two about this?”

“Violet and I discussed it again after I got over my heat so that I wasn’t influenced by hormones. We came to the same conclusion. I meant every word when I said I wanted to be able to get pregnant by her and bear us our second child.” Tigerbright spread hir hands and shrugged. “Turns out that even though I love being her stallion, giving us a cub still sounds like a great idea. And it’s not as if I don’t get turned on by the thought of Violet knocking me up with a big pony appen—”

“I get the picture!” Twilight interjected with a blush. “Violet – do you really feel the same way?”

“Face it, Auntie – Tiger and I are more than a little kinky. I’m kind of excited by the idea. I just don’t know if it’s anything but a fantasy.”

The alicorn sighed. “You’d think I’d be used to situations like these after being married to Free Agent for so long.” She finally ate the food and put down the fork while she chewed thoughtfully. Time stretched out and the couple’s anticipation grew. Finally Twilight swallowed and gave them a serious look. “The big problem is not the shape-changing; that’s easy. The hard part is making you inter-fertile. If you were a stallion wanting to become a mare and have a foal, that would be doable. In fact, while rare, it has been done before. The reverse is the problem. You lack a Y-chromosome, Violet. I could change you into the physical likeness of a stallion with all the right… umm… equipment, but you would not produce sperm cells. If transformation was that simple, our gender imbalance would be slightly better. Not many mares want to become stallions, but enough would if they could.”

Violet said, “There’s really a way to change a mare into a stallion and have happy fun times? Why haven’t I heard about it before?”

“Have you ever asked at your local sex shop?” Twilight countered. “It’s an expensive and uncommon spell, but it can be bought readily enough. Some mares choose to use it as a way to bypass Mating Season. Sometimes, one mare in a lesbian relationship will do it for kicks.”

Violet was chagrined. “I never really got into anything but the basics because I wasn’t interested in a relationship until I met Tiger. You seem to know a lot about it though. This would seem more along Cadance’s specialty.”

Twilight gave her a flat look. “My husband is a changeling queen – believe me, I’ve been educated.”

Tigerbright snorted as shi unsuccessfully held back a laugh.

The alicorn rolled her eyes. “Anyway, I trust you see the problem?”

Both of them nodded with disappointment.

“I guess we can put that idea to bed then,” the chakat said.

“Well, I never said that,” Twilight clarified with a smirk.

Violet frowned. “What haven’t you told us, Auntie?”

“There is a way if you are prepared to compromise a little.”

“How do you get around the Y-chromosome problem?” Tigerbright asked.

“A donor, of course.”

“No, I want to bear Violet’s cub, not a surrogate’s.”

“Ah, but you haven’t heard the details yet,” Twilight said with a mysterious smile.

Tigerbright turned to face hir wife. “Don’t you hate how immortal alicorns take literally forever to get to the point?”

“Stop teasing us and spit it out!” Violet demanded.

“I learned that it was possible a long time ago. My counterpart in an alternate timeline became male to impregnate Free Agent when she went into queen breeding mode. She learned the trick in the same way another Twilight from a parallel world did – from a flower.”

The unicorn stared at the alicorn in disbelief. “How can a flower or a potion made from one give a mare a Y-chromosome?”

“It can if that flower is poison joke. A Royal Guard mare was accidentally exposed and turned into a stallion. He never tried to turn back though because, as a mare, she suffered from gender dysphoria. Once he became a stallion, he restarted his social life, met a mare, got married, and sired several foals.”

“What’s poison joke?” asked Tigerbright.

“It’s a magical flower that causes all sorts of random effects to those it touches, usually very unpleasant but not normally dangerous.”

Violet folded her forelegs over her chest and gave Twilight an impatient look. “Sounds like you just described Discord but with a stem and petals. So, how did the poison joke do it when you couldn’t?”

“It took us a long time to figure it out, but as I said earlier, she got a donor. The mare was in a squad on assignment in the Everfree Forest. She was not the only one to be affected. Among them were male Guards. Genetic testing of the new stallion showed that he had a Y-chromosome identical to one of those males. The poison joke borrowed it from him to give to her.”

Violet brightened. “So, you can replicate that? We only need to get an appropriate donor stallion and I can become male and impregnate Tiger?”

“Yes. But this would not be a simple overnight procedure. You would have to remain male for a few days to build up a sperm supply before attempting insemination, and then you will need to repeat for however long Tigerbright is in heat to maximize hir chance of being fertilized. Then you may want to wait until you’re both sure that you succeeded before changing back, possibly another whole chakat fertility cycle.”

“If Tiger is willing to be pregnant for months, I reckon I can live with being a stallion for as long as it takes,” Violet declared.

“That may be, but while I am sure that you’re kinky enough to enjoy sex that way, you may find yourself suffering from gender dysphoria the rest of the time. It’s a major reason why the practice never caught on much, or is offered by a sex therapist.”

“If Tiger is prepared to go ahead and bear a cub, I will grin and bear any drawbacks. I’m more concerned about who we would want to donate the necessary Y-chromosome.”

Twilight smiled. “As you said earlier, this is more in Cadance’s purview. I suggest you try asking her if you want suggestions. Oh, and she also knows the sex-change spell.” She resumed eating her meal.

Violet and Tigerbright looked at each other and nodded. “How do we go about making an appointment?”

“You want to bear Violet’s cub? That’s so romantic, and in such a new couple like yourselves!” Cadance gushed. I can sense your love for each other and I’ve seldom encountered such strong feelings. I bet it was a case of love at first sight, correct?”

Tigerbright nodded. “Yeah. She knocked me for a loop the moment we met. It took a lot of restraint for me to not proposition her on the spot.”

“It didn’t stop your hands getting familiar with me soon after,” Violet said with a smirk.

“Don’t think I didn’t notice that you really liked what I did with them,” the chakat retorted.

Cadance giggled. “Yes, I can tell that you are in tune to Sigma Five level of compatibility. While Twilight was a little hesitant about you doing this, I believe you will be fine. So, the first thing we need to do is find a desirable donor stallion. Did you have anypony in mind?”

Violet shook her head. “I’ve made a few stallion acquaintances on Chakona, but none of them even remotely interest me as a donor.”

“Perhaps I can offer a candidate?” Cadance said coyly.

“Oh? Who did you have in mind?”

“My husband.”

Violet blinked in shock. “Prince Shining Armor?!”

“Did I hear my name called?” asked the snow white alicorn stallion as he walked into the room.

Tigerbright snorted. “Okay, that’s too much of a coincidence. Were you just waiting for your cue, Your Highness?”

The stallion chuckled. “Yep. My wife explained to me what was required. As there’s no actual sex involved, I am certainly willing to make the necessary donation. It’s hardly the strangest thing the Alicorn of Love has asked me to do.” He gave Cadance a wink and she giggled. “Anyway, would you two find me to be an acceptable donor?”

“Would we? Heck, yeah!” Violet exclaimed.

“What she said,” Tigerbright added with an amused grin. “And who said actual sex wasn’t involved? I don’t remember saying that. Ouch!”

The last exclamation was courtesy of a light rap on the head administered by Violet. “Behave yourself, chakat! Unless you want to sleep alone on the couch… in the basement!”

Tigerbright shrunk in on hirself, clasping hir hands together in supplication. She squeaked out a meek, “Yes, dear.” The sincerity of the apology was somewhat ruined by hir wide smirk.

The two alicorns got a chuckle out of the young couple’s antics. “Excellent! When do you wish to try for a cub?” asked Cadance.

The chakat looked up and replied, “Violet and I have decided that we will wait until after she’s given birth. When she’s recovered from labor and we’ve had a chance to settle down with the new foal, then it will be a good time to impregnate me. So, let’s say four weeks after the birth?” Shi looked to hir mate for confirmation which was given with a nod.

Cadance said, “While I was hoping it would be sooner, you’re wise to take it easy. Shiny and I know very well how tumultuous those times are.”

“I have one question,” Violet said. “What’s this going to cost us? Auntie Twilight implied it wasn’t cheap.”

“Oh, quite a lot,” Cadance replied cheerfully. “Or you could just let me visit on a regular basis and enjoy your growing relationship. I want to see what kind of children you bring into this world – both of you.”

“How about you come along to our regular dinners with Auntie Twilight?” Violet suggested.

“That’s a wonderful idea. I’ll coordinate it with her. And now that we’ve got that arranged, tell me what kind of foal do you think you’ll be having? The first chakat-pony hybrid sired by a mare is certain to be marvelous!”

The big day finally came.

Tigerbright’s parents wanted to bring their entire family over for a birthing party as was the common practice for chakats. Violet balked hard at the thought of being on show for a couple of dozen people even though her husband was all for it. Eventually, they settled on allowing Tigerbright’s three parents to be present for the birth.

Violet had never had a foal before but, even so, she knew that this would not be a normal event. Their child was a hybrid and, while they had assiduously monitored hir health, both parents wanted hir exact nature to be a surprise. Therefore, everyone expected the unexpected. After a period of labor that was a little longer than normal for a pony, their child was safely delivered.

The foal was a hermaphrodite, as expected, and a taur like hir sire, but while hir upper torso was feline, hir lower was all pony. Hir hair and tail were multi-hued like hir mother’s but hir eyes were the same blue-green like hir sire’s. And while hir fur was all orange and white like Tigerbright’s, only the feline portion was striped with black. When Violet brushed hir short mane back, they could see the very small nub of what would grow into a unicorn horn.

“I want to call hir Tiger Lily,” Violet said as her foal suckled on her teats for the first time.

“That’s a beautiful name, but we’re going to have to call hir Lily for short. Tiger’s already taken,” her mate said with a fond smile for the new mother.

“I wouldn’t have it any other way,” the unicorn replied, following it up with a kiss.

(Lily as a young teen.)

There was never any issue about whose responsibility it was to look after their foal – everything was shared equally, right down to feeding Lily. Because of hir chakat heritage, shi required the chakafertizine hormone that was only present in Tigerbright’s milk. Immediately after the foal’s birth, the chakat had emptied hir breasts of their normal milkwater content with the very willing assistance of Violet. A medicinal dose of CKF started the immediate production of mother’s milk and Tigerbright fed their child just as often as hir mate. That meant that at least one of them got a full night’s rest while the other did the mid-night feeding.

Naturally, there was a period of settling in while the new parents learned the routine that worked best with the new addition to the family. After a couple of weeks of maternity leave, both went back to work, leaving Tiger Lily in the care of New Horizon’s crèche. While this was still a fairly young community, the crèche had always been a priority to cater to the needs of a species where working mothers were the norm. The young ponykat was the center of attention for a while by the staff and certainly didn’t lack for love.

Tigerbright’s next heat occurred about three weeks after Lily was born but neither shi nor Violet were ready for their second child. Not only was their life hectic, but the mare belatedly realized that she would have to give up feeding her foal while she was in male form. Therefore, they waited another full cycle before taking the plunge. A message was sent to Cadance, and she and her husband arrived that evening.

“Now, it would be unprofessional of me not to confirm your commitment to this endeavor,” Cadance said, despite the couple both empathically sensing that the alicorn was barely restraining her eagerness. “Are you absolutely sure that you’re prepared to be a stallion for as long as required?”

Violet replied, “Only our commitment to the welfare of Lily has held me back so far. However, Tiger and I want to give hir a sister not too much younger than hir. So it has to be now and I’m as ready as I’ll ever be.”

“Very good. Final check – have you conserved your mana and had a good meal?”

“I ate while feeding Lily about an hour ago, and I’ve barely used my horn today.”

“Excellent. You’re going to need those reserves.”

Tigerbright raised an eyebrow. “I looked into that first poison joke transformation and I saw nothing about requiring all that to achieve the change. Why does Vi need it?”

Cadance gave the chakat a knowing smile. “My dear Tigerbright, it is my intention to give you the stallion a chakat deserves,” she answered mysteriously. “Okay, let’s do this. Shiny, dear – would you please make physical contact with Violet while I cast the spell? A wing over her back will suffice.”

“Of course. Pardon the familiarity, Violet,” Shining Armor replied as he did as his wife instructed.

The mare waited nervously as Cadance fished out an amulet from Shining Armor’s saddlebag. She then placed it over Violet’s neck. “What’s that for? I thought you said you need to cast a spell?

“I do, but that amulet has been enchanted to help guide and modify the spell to give you more… options, shall we say.”

“What do you mean by that?” Violet asked, but the alicorn princess lit up her horn and cast the transgender spell.

A bright blue glow enveloped the mare, obscuring her from sight for a long moment before starting to grow.

“You can step away from Violet now,” Cadance instructed her husband.

The alicorn stallion did so and he joined Tigerbright to watch the magic field expand and then begin to fade. When it cleared, the chakat’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Violet was indeed male now, but what a stallion! He was at least fifty percent larger, with strong, well-defined musculature. His fetlocks were heavily-feathered and his mane and tail had changed into a masculine style.

He also had another outstanding feature. The old Earth saying ‘Hung like a horse’ drifted through Tigerbright’s head. “I’ve never been so turned on by a male in my life,” shi murmured.

“I feel weird,” Violet said in a deep bass voice before his eyes widened in surprise. “I sound weird.”

“Believe me, dear, your voice suits the new you,” the chakat said as shi came over to have a closer look at hir spouse.

Violet craned his head around to try to look at himself. “Whoa! I need a mirror!” He hastened upstairs, his hooves thundering on the steps.

Cadance grinned. “Do I deliver or what?” she asked smugly.

“No complaints from me,” the chakat replied, still staring in awe in the direction that hir wife, now husband, had departed.

“Don’t you think you might have overdone it a teeny bit, hon?” Shining Armor asked with a smirk.

“I don’t believe Tigerbright thinks so. Besides, Violet needed to be bigger for the task ahead of him.”

“Granted. Good thing I’m not the envious type though.”

The pink alicorn kissed Shining on the cheek. “You’ve always been perfect for me, my love. My clients have different needs and desires though.”

“Princess, you never said a truer word,” Tigerbright said. “Now, if you’ll pardon me, I’m going to join my mate.” Without waiting for a reply, the chakat bounded up the stairs. Shi found Violet in their bedroom, standing in front of the full-length mirror, taking in his new appearance.

“I look like somepony who belongs in the centerfold of Playmare Magazine,” the buff stallion said in wonder.

Tigerbright put hir arm around his withers and shi gazed at their reflection. “No, you look like somepony who belongs in my embrace.”

“I don’t know what exactly I expected when I turned into a stallion, but it wasn’t this… this… hunk.”

“Were you anticipating just a swap of sexual organs? Believe me, love, I think Cadance knew better than both of us what we needed.”

Violet turned his head to look at hir. “What do you mean by that?”

“You know that I’ve never been much interested in males except when I’ve been in heat. Well, that’s still a couple of days away but I’m really aroused right now by you. Hon, you are breathtakingly sexy to me and your new size will work so much better when we do the deed.”

A slow blush spread on the stallion’s face. “Now that I’m paying attention, I can sense your arousal. Oh, crap! I think I’m getting an erection.”

Tigerbright stepped away from hir spouse. “Think calming thoughts – anything but me or sex. We still have guests downstairs. Try exercising your new body – feel those muscles of yours.”

It took a few minutes but both Violet and Tigerbright managed to get their emotions under control. They then went back downstairs to find Cadance and Shining Armor enjoying a cup of coffee and the snacks that had been prepared for their visit. The alicorns smiled at the couple’s reappearance.

“I hope you’re satisfied with the result?” Cadance said.

“Well above my expectations,” Violet replied in his warm bass voice. “It’s going to take a bit of getting used to, but I am happy with this body.”

The pink alicorn shot her husband a ‘told you so’ look before asking, “What have you said to your co-workers? They’re going to be surprised when you turn up at the office.”

“I didn’t even try to explain what was going to happen. Instead, I’ve arranged a field trip to coincide with the time I’ll be trying to impregnate Tiger. I’ll send in reports online so nobody will ever know of this change.”

The chakat added, “And I’m taking some personal leave time to go with her– him. It’ll be just the three of us out in the wilds of Emu Island.”

“It seems you’ve thought this through quite well,” Cadance said.

Violet nodded. “Yeah, although there’s one thing I need to ask – how do I change back again? Do I give you a call and arrange another visit like this?”

“Let me show you something,” Cadance replied. She levitated the amulet off of Violet and its golden cover popped open. Inside was a large deep-blue sapphire. “This enchanted gemstone not only stores mana but also holds your body pattern. Now that I have cast the transformation spell, that is recorded on it too. That’s your key. Tap it twice and say ‘finité’ and you will become a mare once more. It takes a couple of days for the gem to recharge from ambient mana though, so you won’t be able to use it to change back yet. If you have a problem before then, you will have to call me.” She snapped the amulet shut and placed it on the coffee table.

Violet looked at Tigerbright. “It sounds as if we’re as ready as we’ll ever be.”

The chakat nodded and said, “Thank you for everything you’ve done, Princess Cadance… Prince Armor.”

The alicorn mare waved a hoof dismissively. “It’s my calling, dear. Nothing makes me happier or gives me more satisfaction than enabling lovers to be fulfilled.” She wing-hugged Shining Armor and kissed him. “Right, darling?”

He kissed her back. “Indubitably, dear.” He then faced the others again. “And I think that’s our cue to leave you two to explore your new dynamic. And may I say, Violet, from one stallion to another – good luck with your endeavors.”

Cadance giggled. “Endeavors!”

“Oh, hush you,” Shining replied before both their horns lit up and they teleported away.

Tigerbright turned hir attention back to Violet. “You can relax now.”

The stallion shot hir a look and smirked. “Oh, no – I’m going to be anything but relaxed, and you’re going to help me deal with it!”

The chakat grinned. “Time to calibrate your new equipment?”

“Gotta make sure it’s up to spec,” Violet agreed as he lit up his horn and carried Tigerbright in his magic up the stairs with him.

It was a considerable amount of time later before they were both satisfied. Tigerbright reflected on how much better it was to have a lover hir size mounting hir as compared to the mare with the strap-on dildo. Violet was running through his memory of the new sensations he had experienced and how they compared to those of a mare. They rested a while before Tigerbright mentioned that they ought to clean up and get some sleep for the day ahead of them.

Violet agreed. “I need to take a leak first.”

A minute later, the stallion’s voice floated out from the bathroom. “Pissing is weird!”

“You’ll get used to it!” Tigerbright responded with a laugh.

The couple spent the next few days on site at the south-west end of the island. They took turns carrying Lily around while the other hauled water, snacks, and the equipment Violet needed while hiking around. Tigerbright had the sole feeding duties now that Violet lacked udders. The stallion let his mate sleep in and prepared the meals for them. This allowed the chakat to get more sleep.

Then, Tigerbright went into heat. With a stallion as hir lover, hir hormones drove hir to passion beyond any that Violet had experienced before, but his new body was up to the task. He silently thanked Cadance for the forethought even as he enjoyed the hell out of putting his increased endurance to use.

The next morning, the couple woke up before the baby and luxuriated in each other’s embrace.

Tigerbright said, “You know, we need to come up with a different name for you in this form. Just ‘Violet’ is, you know, kind of vague.”

The stallion in question cocked an eyebrow. His mate was giving off the telltale aura of mischievousness. “I suppose I could settle for a nickname like ‘Studmuffin’ or ‘Heavy Load’.”

The chakat smirked and looked down at the unicorn’s crotch. Shi then whispered softly into the stallion’s ear.

Violet broke out in laughter, somewhat restrained to keep from waking Lily. “Silly chakat. I’m not like that for you only in the morning. Speaking of which…” The stallion rolled over on top of his mate and nipped at hir neck, drawing gasps from Tigerbright.

“Time for you to take care of that for me.”

Three days later, the heat faded at last. That didn’t stop the couple from making love, but it was more deeply emotional and less physical than the past couple of nights. Violet fervently hoped that the chakat had been successfully fertilized, but Tigerbright gave him a reassuring smile.

“There’s one thing I haven’t mentioned before – chakats know when they are pregnant. Obviously, I’ve never experienced it before, but every chakat who has been a mother has told me that I will know when it happens.”

“And when will that be? A few days? A week?”

“Right now, actually. Well, I thought I felt it earlier, but I’m certain of it now. I’m going to be a mother, love.”

Violet bellowed in joy and hugged Tigerbright enthusiastically.

“Can’t… breathe…” the chakat gasped.

The stallion released hir with an apology. Then he looked a little regretful. “I suppose this means it’s time for me to change back again. I admit that I’ve been enjoying being a stallion for you, and I don’t mean just the sex.”

Tigerbright put an arm around him and gave him a loving squeeze. “I might not be in heat anymore, but I’m still in female phase. Besides, I’ve been enjoying our time like this even discounting the sex.”

Violet brightened. “So, you want me to stay a stallion a little longer?”

The chakat nodded. “Wait until we get beck from this field trip. Let’s make the most of this opportunity.”

And that’s what they did. Back home, they made love one last time before Violet ended the spell. The mare blinked and shook herself. “I feel weird. Why?”

“You got used to being a stallion, but I’m glad to have my mare back again. Wanna break your old body back in?” shi asked with a leer.

Violet shook her head in wonder. “You’re insatiable!”

“And you love it,” Tigerbright replied unrepentantly.

The mare had to admit that shi was right.

“I’m so happy that you were successful,” Cadance said, radiating joy like a bonfire.

“We’ll keep you appraised of the pregnancy,” Tigerbright promised.

Violet levitated the amulet over to the alicorn. “Thank you again. It was a wonderful experience.”

“Keep that, dear – it’s of no use to me now.”

“What do you mean?” Violet asked.

“It’s keyed to you and won’t work for anyone else. Besides, you might want to use it again.”

Tigerbright blurted out, “You mean it’s re-usable?”

Cadance nodded with a smile. “I told you before that the spell is recorded on it, and so is Shiny’s little contribution. As long as you wait for it to completely recharge, Violet can become a stallion whenever it suits her. All she has to do is tap the sapphire twice and say ‘execute’.”

The chakat and the mare stared at each other, their smiles growing into broad grins. Then they simultaneously pounced on Cadance and hugged her wile thanking her profusely.

The pink alicorn laughed ecstatically. She so loved these moments!

When Tigerbright’s pregnancy became obvious, naturally all hir acquaintances wanted to know who the sire was. Shi always replied that Violet was the father but never explained how that was possible despite their skepticism. At the most, shi would reply, “Magic”, and leave them to speculate.

Chakats almost never have problems carrying a child and Tigerbright was not an exception. Shi worked right up until the moment that shi knew shi was going into labor. Hir parents were already guests at the house in anticipation of the event, plus a few more of hir family. As shi was the one giving birth this time, shi had insisted on the privilege of a larger birthing party. When Starshine and Fireball arrived, they picked up right where they had left off, integrating into the chakat family just as easily as the last birthing party. Therefore, there were many witnesses to the birth of the newest hybrid cub and they all craned their heads to see what shi looked like.

Their second child was a sphinx, although not of the Equestrian variety. Shi had hir grandmother’s coat color and wings, but while shi had a pony’s head, hir torso and legs were feline. While shi had tiger stripes, hir tail was that of a pony. Unlike hir sister, shi was not a taur. However, the wings gave hir a total of six limbs too.

Their second child was an unrelenting bundle of joy. The cub was named Azure Ace and shi was a handful/hoofful from the moment shi learned that shi could fly, so much so that they nicknamed hir Crouching Mischief. Thankfully, Violet was able to levitate and teleport herself after their hyperactive daughter whenever shi eluded the mare’s telekinetic grasp. The couple was occasionally exhausted by coping with hir as well as Lily but the love shi exuded for them made it all worthwhile.

It would be difficult to prove that they were the happiest family in the colony, but anyone would be hard-pressed to deny it. The extraordinary mixture of races in New Horizon from both Equus and the larger Federation ensured that the unusual children were never singled out as freaks. Despite a year’s difference in age, the sisters grew up close. They even started double-dating when they reached the age when hormones stirred their loins. Their parents kept a gentle watch on their children, letting them find who they were and what they wanted of life.

And every few months, ‘Morning Wood’ came to visit for a couple of days.

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Author's Note

Art by Foxenawolf.

Thanks to Airy Words for his feedback.